Chapter 49: Escape

When she returns home, she sees Samantha and asks her, “What should I do? I honestly do not know how I feel about Aaron. Grayson just made love to me, and I don’t really know how I feel about him anymore. I am so confused.”

Samantha looks at her surprised, “You know, you should go away for some time to figure it out. You need to get away from them both. I really think it would help you make your decision. Besides, when I said iron it out, I didn’t mean make love to him.

She smiles, “You know, you are right. That would help me to get away for a while. I am going to get a beach house and rent it for a week or two or maybe even more. Let me call a realtor and find out what I can get right away. As soon as I find out, I will let you know, but do not tell the guys. I will leave a note for them, but I am not going to tell them where I am going.”

She calls around and finds a beach house out of the way, on a private beach. Only a few people have access to that part of the beach. This way, she will not accidentally run into them. As she hurries to pack, she hears Samantha on the phone with Ben. He is so charming, and they like each other a lot. She is extremely happy for them. Hopefully, they stay together.

After packing, she takes care of any bills due and gives Samantha plenty of money to take care of anything in the meantime. She carries her luggage to the car and says goodbye to Samantha. She made it. She thinks to herself as she pulls away from the house. She left with Samantha a note for Aaron and Grayson that they can open later. She must find out for herself what she really feels.

She has always had someone around. In high school she fell for John. They got married and had kids, then they kept her busy when John died. Grayson came along and Julian. Now, Aaron. With the kids gone, she can finally find out what it is to be alone.

As she gets to the beach house, she calls Samantha and reminds her to give the letters to the guys. Aaron is there, he wants to talk to her, but Samantha will not let him. She instead gives him the letter. Kelly hangs up and unpacks.

She walks around outside; it is very peaceful and beautiful. The beach house is painted light blue with white accents. It has big windows, including a huge bay window. She sits outside on the porch swing and stares at the water as it cascades over the beach. It is such a serene scene that she falls asleep.

When she wakes up, she sees a man walking up to her. He has brown hair, radiant blue eyes, a nice dark tan, and he is gorgeous. Those intense blue eyes are rare, but he looks like a god. As he walks towards her, she wonders who he is.

She sees his full lips turn into a smile. “Ah, I see you woke up. I saw you earlier on my walk, but you were asleep. I did not want to scare you by waking you. I’m your neighbor right there.” He points at the house over the sand dune. “I live here year around. How about you? Did you buy the place or are you just visiting?” She stares into his eyes captivated.

“I am just renting for a while. I need to get away and take some time off. I was in a stressful situation.” She sits on the swing and feels in awe of him.

She thinks to herself, “Why does this man have such a hold on me? I am already in trouble with two men that are gorgeous, but this man is beautiful. He could be a model or an actor. He says something to her, but she does not hear him because she’s lost in thought.

He touches her arm, and it sends shivers up and down her spine. “Hey, I asked if you wanted to come over and help me finish off some leftovers. I had a party last night, which you missed. Everyone that lives on this beach, was there. If you want, I can get you acquainted with everyone.”

“I am sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” She smiles.

“Oh, sorry. I’m Joel and you?”

“I’m Kelly, pleasure to meet you.” She extends her hand. He smiles and takes it in both his hands.

“It is really nice to meet you.” Still holding her hand, he begins to subconsciously rub his thumb over it in circles.

“I tend to get ahead of myself. You don’t have to come over if you don’t want to.” There is a little sadness in his voice, and she realizes he is still holding her hand.

“No, I’m hungry and I haven’t had time to get any groceries yet. I would love to. Thank you for asking.” She smiles graciously as she accepts and tries to remove her hand.

She finally gives up and walks with him across the beach front to his house hand in hand. It is a quite spacious house, white with huge windows. Inside, it looks extremely comfortable. She notices that he has a piano in the living room and hopes he will play for her some time.

“So, we have ham sandwiches, watermelon, strawberries, all kinds of salad and of course, wine. What would you like?” He stares at her as she tries to decide.

“I think I would like a ham sandwich, and do you have some potato salad?” She asks.

“Your wish is my command. I threw a couple of strawberries on there for color. I hope you like them. By the way, would you like some wine?”

“Yes, that sounds wonderful. Thank you.” She gobbles down the sandwich. Sitting on a bar stool at the counter, she finishes her food. She takes the glass and tries the wine. The fragrance is exceptionally smooth and makes her mouth water.

She takes a sip as he asks her, “So what brings you here to our secluded beach? Are you running from a job? Or an ex-boyfriend?” He waits for an answer, while he runs his hand over the countertop.

“No, it is extremely complicated. It would take a while to tell.” She explains.

Joel stands up and motions to her to follow him into the living room. “Well, let’s get comfortable. I have all evening and I love stories.” He walks over to the fireplace and lights the logs. “It gets a little cool in here at night with all the windows, but I love the water. It is so calming and beautiful, especially when the sun sets. I paint them because they make beautiful settings.” As she sits down on the couch, she notices that it is light brown and has a suede feeling fabric. Unbelievably soft.

“So, you are an artist?” She looks at the paintings covering the wall.

“Yes, but you still didn’t tell me anything about yourself. Now that we are comfortable, tell me your story. I want to know why you are running away.” He sits next to her on the couch and sounds anxious.

“Well, it’s very personal. I don’t know if I should be telling someone I just met.”

“Oh, it’s got to be about a guy. Tell me. I swear, I won’t tell another living soul. I promise.” He looks so excited to hear her story.

“Fine, I will tell you.” She relaxes back on the couch. He watches intensely as she tells him her story. “It starts out with buying a haunted house. The next day, the neighbor across the street comes over to help. We become romantically involved. For several months we carry on and I start to think that we are getting serious, then I misunderstand something he did. I get mad and I have a fling with a rock star. Later, I find out that I was wrong about the neighbor and then I was in a relationship with him and the rock star.” She pauses.

“They know about each other and yet we still go on. The rock star takes me to Paris and asks me to marry him. Of course, swept up in the romance of it all I do. The next day, he dies. A woman shoots him in the hotel restaurant in front of my children and myself. I was utterly devastated.” She takes a deep breath and pauses for a minute to collect her thoughts.

“So much, that when I came back, I couldn’t deal with anything. My sister took care of the kids and everything. She sent them to my parents for the summer so I could try to recover. After a couple of weeks of massive depression, my sister had our friend a psychiatrist come over. He helped me recover.” She looks at him and sees sadness in his handsome eyes as he listens.

“Then, I found out that he has loved me for many years from afar. He did not think that we could ever be together because we were just friends. None the less, we got together and now the neighbor has come back into the picture. I must decide and I can’t with them around.” She looks away at the water. “I have come here to find myself, because I have never been alone."

"I fell in love in high school, got married and then just shortly afterwards we had kids. He died three years ago of cancer. The girls were devastated, but I wasn’t alone because I had all of them.”

He looks at her again, “I knew I had seen you somewhere. I remember the article in the newspaper, it was everywhere. I am so sorry. You have led such a complex life in such a short time. If I can help you in any way, I will be here. I do love to listen.” His eyes are so calming, and she peers into them because they remind her of the water on the beach front.

“Would you like another glass of wine?” He has a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Yes, please.” She hands him the glass. He returns in a minute with the bottle and two glasses. After he sits back down, he fills hers and then his. When he hands it back to her, they touch, and she feels how cold his hands are.

Trying not to concentrate on it she says, “I see you have a piano. Do you play it a lot?” She tries subtly to suggest him play for her.

“Yes, what kind of music do you like? I play pretty much everything.” He states as he looks at her waiting for an answer.

“I like pop rock, the slower stuff. You know the smoochy stuff as my girls call it. I also like classical and some blues.”

“Do you mind if I play something?” He turns to her as he gets up.

“No, that would be great.”

“I know a lot of that smoochy stuff. They are great for getting the women.” He pauses and clears his throat realizing how that sounded.

Saying slowly as he scans her face, “That is, before I moved here, I was a player. Women love artists and musicians. I’m both.” He smiles as he walks to the piano and sits down. His fingers run over the keys as he starts to sing. She is surprised that he sings so well. His voice is smooth and mellow. It reminds her of honey.