Free Love Me Forever by Ari Thatcher

her phone and called the airline to change her flight.

Chapter Six

    Matt tumbled in the crashing wave, letting the ocean have the control it demanded. Holding his breath, he stayed relaxed and drifted until the wave settled, then kicked his way to the surface. He sucked in air, glanced back to see the progress of the next wave and paddled to catch it as the water swelled around him.
    This wave he rode in to shore, letting his body be his surfboard. When he got close to the beach he stood and shook the water from his hair. His muscles were drained. He’d stayed out there bodysurfing probably longer than he should have, but the ocean was the best release he’d found since Jen left.
    A month had passed since the man at the front desk stopped him on his way to pick her up for dinner after work. The clerk had handed him a note, which he read as he rode the elevator to Jen’s floor.
    She was gone. The note wasn’t so much a Dear John letter as it was an update to a casual friend. Plans had changed; she was flying home sooner than expected. She thanked him for showing her around the island.
    And that was all. No “Let’s do it again soon”, no “I’ll call when I get home”. What the fuck was up with that?
    He knew she’d had feelings for him, probably the same thing he felt for her. He was pretty damned certain it was love. Not the promising crush of their youth that hinted at what might lie ahead. An easy, grown-up emotion that infiltrated his entire being with a need for having Jen close.
    Her laughter. Her sighs when they watched late night TV while curled up together in the afterglow of the totally insane , fucking-hot sex they shared. The gasp that escaped her when she saw something beautiful in nature.
    They’d shared more than their bodies. So why’d she packed up and taken the first flight back to Missouri?
    As he dried himself in the parking lot next to his car, he knew he would call her again when he got back to the house. She had yet to answer. He was having an affair with her voice mail. Not once did he question her actions. There was nothing accusatory in his tone, no weak begging either.
    “Hey, honey, I just got back from body surfing. The water is a bit cool still, and the air hasn’t warmed up enough to make the first brisk shock feel refreshing.” He wandered through his living room as he spoke. Pausing at the window, he gazed at the mountains in the distance behind the house.
    “You should see the sky today. So blue, with a few puffy clouds over the mountains. It’s a perfect day for hiking. I might take that trail, the one we didn’t take, later this afternoon. Watch the sunset from the crest.” Matt drew in a deep breath and turned back to his empty room.
    “I hope the weather is warming for you. Have you been able to break ground on the garden you planned? I’d love to see pictures when the flowers start blooming. I won’t keep you any longer. Talk to you tomorrow.”
    He disconnected the call. Talk to was apt. He certainly wasn’t talking with her.
    Frustration gnawed at him once again. His battle with the waves had held it at bay only a short while. If he could talk to Jen, he could find out what went wrong, why she ran scared.
    If it was too soon after her divorce, he could work with that. He could be a patient man, within reason. They had all the time in the world, the rest of their lives, to find out where their relationship was going, what lifestyle best suited their needs. But that would only happen if she talked to him.
    ~*~
    Jen pushed open the door to Mrs. Miller’s apartment after unlocking it for her. “Here you go. Now, let’s find your keys so you don’t get locked out again.”
    She followed the tiny woman into the main room of the small suite. Mrs. Miller was at that sad stage of life where her forgetfulness was increasing. Her children had hired a nurse to come by daily with her medications, to be sure they were taken correctly. Her close friend, Mrs. DeBerry,