This Much is True - Tia Louise Page 0,65

steak dinner after a forty-day fast, water after a three-day walk in the desert. Like he couldn’t get enough, and all he wanted was me.

Heat is in my belly, and a tear is on my cheek.

I shove it away. Snap out of it, Hope.

Fate has dropped this amazing second chance in my lap, and I can’t squander it. Few people get a second chance like this, and I have to explore the area and see if I can find a good location to open a family-friendly restaurant where patrons can let their creativity flow.

I have to get my head back in the game, and my brain back on my dream.

Four hours later, the sun is setting, and I’m walking to Metallicar only partially satisfied with my afternoon exploring.

The buildings are historically beautiful, navy and maroon board with white wooden porches and green awnings. The alleys are wide, and I can imagine tucking Pancake Paradise into one of them with a folding sign out on the main walk sending visitors my way.

Still, I’m not getting that click. Dad said I would know the change was right when I felt the peace in my heart, the feeling of satisfaction.

I felt it in the Embarcadero. San Francisco was my home, so perhaps that’s why it seemed so natural to me.

This place is strange. It’s beautiful, small with a gorgeous coast and an absolute built-in clientele. It just doesn’t feel like home.

A bit discouraged, I park the car outside the beach shack. The night has turned hazy and cold, pretty typical for late summer in San Francisco, and I walk inside the empty place, dropping my keys on the counter and going to the closet.

My teddy bear coat hangs on a peg, and I take it off, walking outside to try and see the stars. I’ll be lucky if I see anything tonight.

Tonight I’m on my own, and the loneliness weighs heavy on my shoulders.

I know they’re up there. I know if the fog rolls away, I’ll see them looking down on me just like Dad said. Holding my phone in my hand, I can’t call him again. I’ll only make him worry, and I have to be an adult now. I have to stand on my own two feet and face these times of loneliness.

I have to believe this too shall pass…

A drop of rain touches my cheek, and I close my eyes, allowing a tear to join it. It’s so poetic for the rain to fall at this point in my story. The darkest night, the fog, the cold rain…

I’m gearing up to feel very sorry for myself when a low creak echoes from the other side of the house. A thump on the boards, and my eyes fly open. My heart skips like a rabbit.

Shit… Someone’s here!

The bad thing about being in the beach cottage is the same as the good thing—I’m so far out here on the beach highway alone, anything could happen.

I can’t breathe. Fishing out my phone, I unlock the screen quickly and press the two buttons to call 911.

Backing slowly along the rail of the balcony, I make my way towards the wooden staircase leading down to the beach. It’s a long, winding descent, but I know it better than any burglar. I can be away from danger in thirty seconds or less.

“Hello?” A low male voice stops me in my tracks, freezing me to the spot.

“911, what’s your emergency?” A higher, female voice cuts through the swish of the waves far below, the push of the wind around my ears, the soft cry of seagulls.

“Hello?” I call back, straining my eyes in the darkness.

The voice sounded familiar, almost like…

Spotlights on the corners of the house point away from where I stand, leaving me dazzled by their light, and concealed in the darkness.

“Hope? Is that you?” The deep, rich voice is like warm caramel in my veins.

“John?” It’s a hushed whisper, a prayer. My entire body is tight.

I hear him before I see him. I hear the heavy thump of his feet on the wooden boardwalk, and his silhouette appears, outlined in the beam of the spotlight.

“You’re here!” I cry.

“Where have you been?” Relief is in his voice, almost like he can’t believe he found me on the back porch of my family’s home.

“Monterey?”

Instantly, I’m surrounded by his strong arms, sweeping me up in a hug against his hard body. I never even saw him move. Of course, my eyes are flooded with tears. My hands grasp