Page 89 of You Know You Wanna

“Please.”

“Buck the hell up and make it happen, son. If that’s what you want, what are you sitting here talking to me about it for? You don’t strike me as the type not to be a man of action, so go put these words into action. Quit whining and just do it.”

I gave the old man a gruff smile and stood up. “Thanks, Alan. I’m not sure what I’m thanking you for, exactly, but thank you. Thank you for listening and thank you for the advice. You’re right. I am a man of action and it’s about time I was reminded of that.”

As I turned and walked away from him, I was glad he and I were allies now. I also understood a little better why Birdie didn’t just want to up and leave him, but the least I could do was to give her the option to come with me.

Alan knew my intentions now and he hadn’t seemed opposed to us building a life together. That had to mean something, but I had to have a conversation with her to find out just what that something was.

46

BIRDIE

Despite Remington’s ex being in town, my day had been pretty normal. I led two yoga classes in the morning and helped Alan out with some management stuff once I was done. I hadn’t seen Remington yet today, but I knew he was working on something for the golf course with Declan and Alan.

As I headed to the Kids Camp to check on things there, I smiled, thinking about how things had been between Remington and me these past couple days. We’d been talking a lot more about what we wanted out of life in the future and it definitely sounded like he wanted me in theirs after they left here.

He and I had spent a lot of time with Laurene, taking walks, playing board games when it rained, and swimming in the lake together during the days when it didn’t. Jacqueline was still missing in action and wasn’t returning his calls, but he’d assured me that wasn’t strange. Just a power play on her part while she got her own plans straightened out.

As a result, things had been quiet for us once more and it had been glorious. Somewhere along the line, I’d even stopped worrying about when the time would come for them to leave because the universe had brought them to me and I was okay with trusting it about what had to happen next.

In general, I was just back to being at peace and it felt amazing, like I was rediscovering a part of myself that had been adrift for weeks. Still smiling when I pushed open the gate at the entrance of the Kids Camp, I looked around for Laurene on instinct, but she didn’t seem to be here today.

“Lulu and Heather have gone into town,” Jenna said, not even needing to be told who I was looking for. “They met up with Cassidy and they’re going to be helping her family at the bakery with prep for the summer fair.”

“I’d forgotten that was starting this weekend,” I said, unable to believe that the time had flown by so fast. “Do you know if anyone else in town needs help with the preparations?”

“I’m not sure, but you don’t always need to keep busy, Birdie. How about just relaxing for once?”

I laughed. “That does sound good, but we’ll have plenty of time for relaxing once summer is over. How about you? Is there anything I can do for you around here?”

“I’m good, but thank you.” She tilted her head in the direction of a few kindergartners playing in the kiddie pool. “It’s just them for today. The others are all out with their parents or doing other stuff, and this group is loving the water. The only thing I’m doing is watching them and making sure to keep reapplying sunscreen.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said, strangely bummed about not having anything to do.

I really enjoyed the summer rush. Whenever this time of year came, when it started winding down, I always found myself needing some time to readjust to the slower pace. There was still a whole month of summer left, but most didn’t stick around here until the day before school started.

We were still busy, the resort still almost full, but one could feel the shift in the air already starting to happen. Only one more month left, and we were all aware of it.

“Why don’t you go to the spa?” Jenna suggested. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you there and I know how much you love the ice-cold pools on hot days. Go for it. Go unwind. It’s been a crazy summer and we’ve still got the tail end left. Recharge while you can.”

“That does sound nice,” I admitted, blowing out a breath through my nostrils and deciding to follow her advice.

After making sure that I really couldn’t help her out, I headed to the spa and wondered if I should text Gracie to meet me there. Once the summer was over and she went back to school, she wouldn’t have time to enjoy the facilities anymore and she loved them nearly as much as I did.

Pulling my phone out of my back pocket, I tapped out a quick message, letting her know I was going and inviting her to meet me if she could. She’d been spending every free minute with Declan, but since he was in the meeting with Alan too, I figured we could have some girl time.

As I walked into the cool, air-conditioned building, I greeted the girl behind the desk with a friendly wave. “Hey, Lexi. Do you guys need help with anything?”

“It’s a slow day around here,” she said, smiling as she waved me in. “Andrea told me most of the guests are out on hikes and stuff, trying to squeeze in as much nature as they can before they have to go home.”

“Yeah, that tracks.” I sighed. “Another summer nearly gone. I can hardly believe it, but it’s been a good one.”

“It has,” she agreed happily, then arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re not here to make small talk with me, though. Go hit the pools. There’s only one other guest in there at the moment. It’ll be nice and quiet.”

I chuckled. “I like making small talk.”

“I know, and so do I, but if you stand still for too long, someone is going to give you work to do. Go. Enjoy it.”