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Some may say he’s overbearing, but not me. He’s exactly what I want. What I’ve always needed. Should I tell him? It would feel good to tell someone.
Now that I’ve finally told myself.
A whisper escapes me. “Yes, Fiona. I think I am.”
A fellow intern comes up to us, interrupting our conversation. “Hey, Kitt. The professor is here. He wants a word with you. We couldn’t find you hiding over here, and he’s been waiting. You better get going.”
The professor is here? Already? I only just emailed him my proposal a few hours ago. I didn’t expect an in-person visit, especially not this soon. A call in a few days maybe…
I stand, slowly, feeling the full weight of this moment. What the professor says could change things for me. Forever.
“Sorry, Fiona. I’ve got to go.”
“Go on,” she says. “Thanks for the cuppa.”
“Thanks for the chat.” I leave her with a nervous grin.
The professor waits for me at the door. “Got your proposal this morning. It really piqued my interest. After the recent strife amongst the people, the firebombing, I don’t think your proposal could have come at a better time. Can we grab a cup of tea at the Chronicle and have a word about it?”
“Yes,” I say, walking through the door as he opens it for me. “I’d love that.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bayne
She’s agreed to meet me outside of the lodge. Our first time seeing one another since the morning I left. I’m sure Carol Ann’s and Fiona’s noses are pressed against the glass, watching our reunion.
I don’t mind.
She stands there, dark hair over her shoulders, pink sweater wrapped around her, looking every bit as lovely as she always has.
“Congratulations.” Nerves take over and I spew out every detail I’ve heard over the past few days. “Word on the island is that the professor has hired you on full-time. You got your visa. And you can finish your senior year at college online, making your grandparents proud.”
I offer her the congratulatory bouquet of flowers I’ve brought for her. For all she’s pulled off in such a short amount of time, it’s not enough. She looks pleased enough.
“Thank you.” She takes the flowers, inspecting the strawberry-shaped flowers. “These are beautiful. Are they from here? I’ve never seen them.”
She’s walked by them a thousand times on our nightly walk, just never noticed them.
“Strawberry Grass,” I say.
They look like a simple brown grass with a wheat-like top growing where the sandy soil of the shore meets the fertile earth. They only bloom one day every summer. A little red strawberry-like flower at their tops. I couldn’t believe when I woke this morning to find that today was their special day. I went down to the shore and picked this bouquet for her.
“They only bloom one day a year. You never know when that day will be. It just happened to be today.” I reach back, pulling the stem of the rose from my back pocket. “And this, for memories’ sake.”
Her cheeks go as rosy as the flower I’m handing her, us both thinking of that first night.
She twirls the stem, playing at admiring the rose. “I’m going to be your boss. Not really. But we’re going to have to work together. You, the head of the clans, me the head liaison between the center and the people, overseeing all the fishing regulations here on the island.”
“And you’ll be able to see gray area where there was once black and white?” I ask.
She gently taps the rose against my chest. “Let’s just say that with a baby on the way, someone like Hammer might be able to get a few extra nets past inspection.”
All the warmth and admiration I feel for her erupts to the surface. “I love you,” I say, my voice breaking with emotion. “Come back to the house.”
“The lodge is closing for the season, and now, me with a job and a work visa, but nowhere to live…”
“Is that a yes?”
