29. Josie

TWENTY-NINE

Josie

The salt air had never felt so heavy. Caleb leaned against me, his energy ebbing away as pain gripped him. My heart broke, but I was charged with a strength beyond my own, helping him stay upright as we headed for the car. Every step we took was an ordeal.

“Nearly there, Caleb,” I murmured, doing my best to keep my voice steady. I refused to believe that he was being taken away from me. It wasn’t denial, it was a pure and unadulterated belief to the core of my being that he was meant to stay.

I managed to guide his weight into the sleek black classic car. His skin was ashen, eyes clouded, though I felt a radiance rolling off of him. As I let him go, the glow dimmed and he gripped his head.

I closed the door, the solid click echoing ominously. For a moment, I leaned against the cool metal of the car, watching the scene of new love between Marigold and Axel. Jealousy burned in my chest.

Why shouldn’t I get my man? Why was I the one who had to give him his last remaining artifact, the one that would send him off, possibly never to return.

Never . It was too much—too dark, too deep of a word.

But I had already made my choice.

I loved him too much to keep him.

This was not like seven years ago. Seven years ago he disappeared and I was torn in two. Incapable of facing another day. I was nobody without him, or so I had thought.

Now I knew who I was and I knew I loved him. Body and soul, with all of my heart, and forever. Maybe I would never love again. That was fine, because I already had the love of a lifetime; it didn’t get any better than this.

And I couldn’t be the one responsible for him facing an eternity of torment. It was worth having my heart broken in two if that meant he would be okay. He would forever be my great love.

My gaze dropped to my bag in the car’s back seat. It all came down to a book, and the irony wasn’t lost on me. Seven years to build my bookshop, and our love story was going to end with a book that held the power to send him back to a world beyond what my eyes would ever see. A tool of salvation and a harbinger of our end.

It was his, yet it felt like it was mine, too.

I opened the driver’s side door and slipped in beside him. My hand trembled as I reached into my bag, the cool, embossed leather of the journal meeting my fingertips and instantly heating up. A shiver ran down my spine, the sensation eerily similar to the very first time Caleb had grazed his fingers against mine. With a deep breath, I pulled the book out. It felt heavier than it should, every ounce loaded with the weight of longing, regret, and acceptance.

I met Caleb’s eyes. His features were drawn, the usual spark of life subdued. I knew there was only one thing I could do to make it better. And in that moment, I could deny him nothing.

“This belongs to you,” I said, my voice a hushed whisper in the car’s confines. As the words left my lips, it felt like a piece of my heart had been torn away.

The journal left my hands, moving to Caleb’s. Our fingers brushed in a bittersweet farewell.

The moment the leather binding met his skin, the pallor left his face. A glow began at the top of his head, cascading downward over his body in a ripple of golden shimmer. His eyes widened, surprise quickly giving way to a profound relief, leaving only stunned silence.

The faintest of smiles danced on his lips. “You found it.”

“I… had it. All this time. When it fell as you ran from me, all I wanted was to keep a part of you.” A blush rose up my neck. “Do you hold it against me?”

“I never could.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “This is exactly where it was meant to be.”

In that instant, everything around us stilled. Time came to a halt, a perfect frozen snapshot of life as we knew it. The laughter and chatter of beachgoers, the distant honking of cars, even the soothing crash of the Pacific waves against the shore—all was held suspended.

The world had taken a collective breath, waiting, watching, as if it knew the significance of this singular moment.

In that surreal bubble, it was just Caleb and me.

He was right—this was how it was meant to be. This was the right thing. We were a part of something larger than ourselves, a narrative spun by the hands of fate, and now, our page was being turned.

“My Caleb,” I said, knowing that any word I said could be the last I’d ever get to say to him. “It’s my turn to tell you what you told me seven years ago. Those words changed my life and brought you back into it.”

“Josie…” Anguish in his eyes, his voice, the tilt of his head.

“The future you seek is already seeking you.”

The distant toll of a bell cut through the silence, though I knew no churches were around here. As the sound echoed, winding its way through the frozen tableau of the world, Caleb turned to face me. His eyes held a world of emotions—fear, determination, and underpinning it all, a love so profound it left me breathless.

“I love you, Caleb,” I managed between silent sobs. “You can go now.”

He leaned toward me, his hands cradling my face as the world waited. His breath ghosted over my lips, a soft brush in the stillness.

And then, he was gone.

The warmth disappeared and his touch faded, leaving the passenger seat empty. Empty like the hope inside me that faded the instant he was gone.

The world continued as it had been. The orca volunteers laughed, cars zoomed by, and waves crashed against the shore.

And I was alone.

I stared at the place he’d been, the lingering traces of his presence still tangible. I touched my lips, still tingling from his kiss. It was the right thing. He was where he needed to be.

Slumped against the steering wheel as volunteers outside cheered for the rescued orca, I cried until there were no tears left.