Page 11 of Finding Forever
“Apple cider would be great.”
“What brought you to Sunrise Bay?” Jonathan asked as he took two glasses out of a cupboard.
“I needed to paint some canvases for an exhibition that’s only a few months away.”
“That’s why you were checking your art supplies. What do you paint?”
“Landscapes,” I explained. “I like the way I can use oil paints to add texture and life to a scene.”
“Did you bring any finished paintings with you?”
“A few of my older canvases are at my grandparents’ cottage. Most of my work is sold as soon as it’s displayed in exhibitions or galleries.”
Jonathan looked impressed. “There wouldn’t be many artists who could say that. Do you know what you’ll paint while you’re here?”
“I want to focus on Willow Lake. I have a lot of happy memories of the time I’ve spent either in or around the water.”
“It sounds like you made the right decision to return to Sunrise Bay.” He handed me a glass of cider.
“I hope so.”
“It’s okay to be unsure. Sometimes you have to trust that you’re where you need to be.”
I thought about my grandparents, my mom, and dad. There were a lot of things to be thankful for, but it’s the things that made my heart ache that brought me home. I wanted this visit to be so much more than a chance to create two paintings. I needed to forgive myself for the choices I’d made and learn to like the person I’d become.
I looked at Jonathan, feeling a surge of gratitude. “I’m glad I met you.”
“I’m glad I met you, too. Welcome home.”
nine
ERIC
A lot of people like country music. The local radio station's playlist was full of Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, and Dolly Parton. If you enjoyed songs about achy-breaky hearts and love gone wrong, Sunrise Bay was the place to be.
But what I hadn’t expected to see at tonight’s concert were hundreds of people waving American flags and wearing Tim Evans Fan Club T-shirts.
I turned to Alex, pulling him out of the way of a woman pushing a stroller. “I thought you were exaggerating when you said there’d be a lot of people here. Where did they all come from?”
“Beats me. Jenny said she got inquiries from people as far south as New Orleans. It’s just as well I bought our tickets when I did.”
I looked over my shoulder. The line of people waiting to buy concert tickets hadn’t shrunk since we walked through the makeshift gates.
“We’re sitting over there in the VIP area.” Alex pointed to an old, gnarly oak tree on the right-hand side of the stage. “If anything goes wrong with the sound system, I’m not far away.”
“I thought you’d be backstage,” I said, trying to hide my growing unease.
“Not this time. Tim brought his own sound technicians. All I had to do was set up everything.”
For Alex’s sake, I hoped nothing went wrong. Even though we weren’t sitting far from the stage, it would still take a few minutes to move through the crowd.
“Eric!” I turned around, searching for the person who yelled my name.
“Over there.” Alex pointed to someone waving a red cap in the air. “Is that Riley?”
A smile tugged at my lips when I recognized his face. “It is.”
“Come on,” Alex said, changing direction. “We’ll need to be quick. The concert starts in fifteen minutes.”