Page 45

She glanced at Delilah. “I’m a square peg trying to fit a round hole.”

“I wanted a baby,” Delilah said without any segue, and Emery was suddenly rescued from her downward spiral.

“I’d just turned thirty, and after twelve years of singing in smoke-filled clubs, meeting Samson, hitting it big, touring the world, I ached to be a different Delilah Mead.

A wife. A mother. Samson and I had created so much together that a child felt like a natural extension of us. ”

April’s breeze was gentle and laced with an evening warmth as Emery listened to Delilah’s story, picturing the wide-eyed beauty with full lips and a pixie haircut wearing a bright pink dress and white go-go boots on the cover of Mom’s favorite record album.

“To my surprise, I was pregnant the next year. I was going to be a mom . No awards or success or cheering concert crowd, no amount of money, compared. Even Samson marveled, got swept up in marriage talk, looked into buying a house. We’d finally settled on a wedding day when I miscarried.

Samson decided t hen and there that children were not our future.

He slammed the door on anything outside of music. ”

Emery exhaled, waiting for the rest, sensing small sparks of hope popping on her insides.

“We recorded another album as the world changed around us. JFK and his brother were shot, as were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Our generation was protesting the Vietnam War. We did drugs to find the meaning of life, but there’s not a drug in the world with the true answers. I know because I tried them all.”

“Should I be writing this down?”

Delilah’s soft laugh harmonized with the breeze in the palm fronds.

“This story is just for you. Listen, Emery, listen . Sometimes the meaning of a person’s story lies beneath the words.

” She tapped her chest. “You feel it here.” She paused a moment, then said, “Samson became even more driven, and I began to wonder, ‘Who am I living with?’ I tried to stay in it, make Samson Delilah work, but I hungered for change. I was tired of the road, tired of being about nothing but music. Tired of the parties, tired of living with a man who refused to marry me.”

“If you didn’t find meaning in your music, then what?”

“One night I ended up at a Hollywood coffee shop with a bunch of long-haired hippy types who weren’t stoned. They were full of light and life. Happy... no, joyful. Little did I know I’d walked into a room of Jesus Freaks.”

“Jesus Freaks?” Emery made a face. “Never heard of them.”

“They were as much a part of the counterculture revolution as the Summer of Love or Woodstock, impacting their corner of the world. A few months later, I met Jesus for myself, and my life changed, literally, from the inside out.”

“And Samson? Your music career?”

“We broke up. Personally and musically. I recorded on my own for a while, but when you step into a whole new identity, the old one doesn’t fit.

You see yourself and others differently.

I didn’t need music to feel worthy because I’d found the One who made me worthy.

” Delilah turned at the sound behind her, then patted Emery’s arm.

“That’s how I ended up here. In a town with Immanuel, God with us. ”

She stood, dusting sand from her yoga pants. “Caleb is here.”

CALEB

“Evening, Delilah,” he said as she passed, gently squeezing his arm.

“Evening, Caleb. Take care of our girl.”

“Will do.” He sat in Delilah’s place as the last of the sunset streaked gold and orange across a darkening ocean.

Emery scooped grains of sand to dribble on the exposed portions of the Sunday Gazette —while sitting on the rest. “Delilah was telling me her story.”

“Really?” He glanced back at her cottage. “How’d that come about?”

“She just started talking. Said she left music because she found something greater.” Emery stared toward the water as the seagulls swung low, searching for food, gliding on the current. “Ever wonder if life is against you?” she asked. “Even God?”

“Sometimes.” He tucked a lock of her loose hair behind her ear. “Talk to me, Quinn.”

“If I were Elliot and Henrietta, I’d fire me and sell the paper.”

“Ever think you came down for more than a job?” Caleb rested his arms on his raised knees.

“Like what?” She shifted slightly toward him. “You?”

H e glanced at her, surprised. “Maybe. Or to have some closure with your mom.”

“I already had closure. I just didn’t know it. She’s always with me in my heart, in my memories.”

“There you have it,” he said.

Emery tugged on an exposed corner of the paper.

“I really wanted the paper to succeed, Caleb. Wanted to prove I could do the job. Once I arrived, I was surprised by how much I loved this place, how every corner felt like a place I want to be, even with the memories of Mom. Then, surprise, you were here.” She looked toward the stand of palm trees. “I didn’t feel alone here.”

“Sounds like Sea Blue Beach. None of us are ever alone.”

“Because of Immanuel?”

“More than we probably realize.”

“Immanuel aside,” she said, raising up, pulling the paper out from underneath. “You’ve seen this?” Emery flipped through the pages. “The much-ballyhooed collector’s edition has big blank spaces with teeny-weeny text in the middle saying ‘Gallagher Real Estate’ or ‘Leman Pre-owned.’”

Caleb scooted toward her. “You could argue they still got their advertising. I can read these names. I get who’s advertising.”

Her laugh sounded sincere. Free. “Where were you when I was getting blasted by angry customers?”

“Call me next time. I’ll be there.”

“Next time?” She groaned. “Please tell me this won’t happen again.

There’s no rhyme or reason to it, Caleb.

Elliot hasn’t called yet, but when he does, he’ll want answers.

By this time tomorrow, I might be out of a job, leaving Sea Blue Beach.

Does Immanuel, God with us, come with us when we leave? ”

He wrapped his hand around hers, and with a sigh, as if she couldn’t keep her chin up any longer, fell against his shoulder.

“ When Cassidy ran off, I remember my grandfather saying, ‘Let’s see what God will do.’”

After a moment, Caleb stretched out on the sand, taking Emery back with him so she rested her head on his chest. From the night sky, the first stars winked at them.

“Em?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

She stiffened. “W-what?”

“I love you,” he said, gently rolling over to see her face, the light from the courtyard casting a soft glow against her hair. “I want to marry you.”

“M-marry me?” Emery jumped to her feet, slipping on the sandy Sunday Royal Gazette .

He slapped his hand to his chest. “You stole my heart the summer we met, and I’ve been searching for it ever since.”

His phone rang, but he ignored it.

“You’re serious?” Emery said. “A minute ago, we were talking about my failure as the editor of a small-town newspaper, possibly moving on, and now—” His phone went off again, bouncing between rings and pinging texts. “Answer your phone, Caleb.”

“I’d rather you answered me.” He glanced at the screen. “It’s Cassidy. She can wait.”

“See what she wants. It seems urgent.” Emery took a few steps, giving them space. “And I need a moment.”

When he answered, Bentley’s voice was loud and wild. “Uncle Caleb! Mom’s crying. Like all the time. I’m scared.”

“Okay, okay, buddy. Calm down. Are you all right? Is she all right?”

“I don’t know.... She’s in the bathroom and won’t come out. I got to pee.”

“ Where are you?”

“Somewhere in Mobile. Did you see the text? I sent the address. Can you come, please?”

“I’m on my way. And go down to the lobby if you need a bathroom.” Hanging up, he turned to Emery. “It’s Bentley. He said—”

“I heard,” Emery said, lightly brushing her fingers over his hair. “You need to go. He sounds scared.”

“Feels like we’ve been here before.” He gathered Emery in his arms. “My family having a crisis when I want—need—to be with you.”

“I’d go with you if I didn’t have my own crisis to confront. Plus I don’t think Cassidy wants an audience.”

“I’ll call you,” he promised.

“Unless she throws your phone in the ocean. Or a pool.” She grinned. “Maybe the shower.”

Caleb clamped her close for a kiss. Not one but two. “She won’t. I’ll call you.”

She walked with him to his truck, and at the driver’s side door, Caleb had one last thing to say.

“Em, I’m not trying to recapture some teen fantasy from our summer together. We both have bittersweet memories from that year.”

“We do.”

“But is it possible we met then for now ? Sixteen years later, we’re back to where we started. Only now we can say yes to love.” At his truck, he raised her face to his. “You stole my heart a long time ago. Either give it back or love it. Love me.”

“If I keep your heart, then I’ll give you mine.” She peered up at him. “But for this moment, can my kisses be enough?”