Page 105 of You Know You Wanna

Lexi straightened up to walk between the guests, obviously having realized that my head was a million miles away. I shook my head at myself. Instead of joining her, I watched her closely, seeing how she smiled and interacted with the guests, helping them to get the positions right without ever making them feel like they’d been doing it wrong to begin with.

She’s ready, I realized as she laughed with a teenage girl who’d joined her parents for the session. The studio will officially be fine without me.

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks, making me want to cry and do a victory dance all at once. For all the time I’d spent building that studio here into what it was today, it had taken less than two weeks for me to train someone who could take my place.

It was frightening to realize just how replaceable I was, but simultaneously, it made me happy because it meant that I was now truly free. If I wanted to, I probably could have left immediately. I wouldn’t, but the fact was that I wouldn’t be leaving Alan, the resort, or the retreat high and dry if I did.

Caught between the two completely conflicting emotions, I bounced from one to the other for the rest of the session and all the way back to the resort. I felt a little lost, even on this trail that I knew better than the back of my own hand.

The revelation had knocked me onto my ass and had given me wings to fly at the same time, and both of those couldn’t be true. Can they?

I didn’t know, but I felt both sick and excited and I had no idea what to do with those feelings. When we got back to Blue Pines, I turned to Lexi and handed over my mat. “Do you mind stowing that for me and wrapping up the session at the studio? I’m not feeling so great all of a sudden.”

Concern clouded her eyes, but she nodded. “Sure. Of course. Anything I can do to help you feel better?”

“Nah. I’ll be alright. I probably just need to lie down and drink some water. I enjoyed the sun out there, but I suspect it was a bit too much.”

She cringed. “I hate it when that happens. Take care of yourself. I’ll lock up at the studio when I’m done.”

“Thanks, Lex,” I said.

She rallied the troops before leading them around the main resort to the studio. Desperate for the air-conditioning in the lobby and a drink of ice-cold water, I headed inside the main building instead of back to my cabin, wiping sweat off my brow and making a beeline for the bar. I wasn’t even halfway there when something smacked into my side. Hard.

Caught off guard, I nearly tripped but then something else appeared at my other side, catching me and keeping me steady. I caught a whiff of something intoxicating. My eyes widened when I realized it wasn’t a thing, but a person.

Not just any person either, but Remington, and the thing that had smacked into me at first wasn’t a thing either. It was Laurene.

“Lulu? What…” I slid my arm around her shoulders and the other hand to Remington’s chest, but they were both definitely real.

They were here. I wasn’t stuck in a dream or suffering from sun-induced hallucinations. My jaw dropped open as I turned to him, looking into those smiling eyes and blinking hard. “What are you doing here?”

He snaked an arm around my waist, pumping his dark eyebrows. Then he pulled me close and kissed me deep, right in front of Laurene and anyone else who cared to look. I melted into him, my heart racing and entire body overcome by the relief of being fused to his once more.

“We came back for you, Birdie,” he murmured against my lips, his arm still around me and his warm breath ghosting over my skin. “We missed you, so here we are.”

I stared back at him, speechless and dumbfounded. He had promised he would be back, but right until this very moment, I had never truly believed him.

I tightened my grip on Lulu and looked deep into her father’s eyes, still completely unable to believe that they’d come all this way so soon after they’d left. There was no denying it, though. They were here. For me, apparently.

Now I just had to figure out what the heck I was supposed to do about it.

55

REMINGTON

Clearly shocked, Birdie just stood there staring at me. Her palm rested right over my heart like she needed to feel it beating to know I was here. She clung to Laurene too, her thumb stroking light circles on her shoulder, but she didn’t say a word.

Realizing that she probably needed a minute to process, I looked past her at my daughter. “Do you want to go see if you can find Cassidy?”

At the mention of her friend’s name, Birdie blinked herself out of her trance and turned her head to smile at Lulu. “You’re in luck, actually. She’s at the Kids Camp today helping Jenna with String Art for the little ones.”

Lulu gave her another hug, beaming up at her as she let go. “String Art? That sounds like fun. I’ll go check it out. See you guys later.”

As comfortable and relaxed as if we’d never left, she spun away from us and jogged out of the lobby, looking carefree and fully happy for the first time since the day I’d told her to pack her bags. A deep breath rattled out of me. I shook my head, glancing back at Birdie as I took her hand.

“That kid just isn’t the same when she’s not here,” I said. “Can we go for a walk?”

She nodded silently. Her movements were slightly jerky as she fell into step beside me. By unspoken agreement, we strode toward the trailhead and turned down the path to the lake.