She woke up early that next morning, grabbed a canvas out of the hall closest, her paint basket from the den, threw an old blanket down, and took a seat on the porch with a cup of coffee and some inspiration.
She didn't get much time to paint at home, not when there was always something else distracting her. She was usually working, catching up on sleep from working, helping Becks with Silas, or keeping Constance in check. It was always something, so when she was there, away from the chaos, she was able to sit down and let it all out.
It was quiet, safe, and all the magical things she loved were around her. She had the sun, the sand, the birds, the ocean, the house... and Lindsey.
So she sat there for a long time, the tip of her paint brush running along the canvas she'd bought in bulk five years earlier. She didn't have any particular idea in mind- she just started letting her hand move along, aimlessly and before she realized, she was humming the tune to one of her favorite songs.
It was nearly an hour later when she heard the creaking of the old wooden floors. She could feel his eyes on her for a long moment, which caused her to look up from her art.
"You slept in..." she lingered, a smile on her face as her eyes met his through the screen door. "Good morning," she added.
He nodded lightly, gently pushing open the door to step out into the warm morning air. "Good morning, angel." Lindsey carried his cup of coffee to the porch swing, taking a seat.
"What do you think?" She slid her brushes to the side, carefully picking up her painting to show him what she'd been working on that morning.
It different- like all of her artwork. It was colorful, but in a dim way and it told a story, but he could never quite pinpoint what kind...
"That looks great." He didn't always have the creative eye that it took to see what story her artwork was portraying, but he'd never admit that aloud... even though she already knew.
She smiled softly, setting it back down on the wood carefully. "I was watching the news this morning, and it looks like it's supposed to rain later in the week..." Stevie announced, a gentle sigh escaping her.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek, eyes wandering from her back towards the water as waves rolled in, and crashed hard against the shoreline. "Well, we should soak it up while we can, huh?" Lindsey brought his cup up to his lips, letting the hot coffee work it's magic.
She leaned back, hands falling against the old wooden boards to hold herself up. "Did you call home yet?" Stevie always asked, only because there were moments that made her feel guilty.
She wasn't married- not yet, but he was. He had a wife at home, and even though she wasn't totally in denial, Stevie still felt for her... It couldn't have been easy, and she didn't know how Carol did it.
"Texts work just as good these days." He assured, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "Did you call George?" The way he said the other man's name caused her to roll her eyes lightly.
"I have spoken to him, yeah." She mumbled, a deep breath filling the air around them. "He's a really good man..." Stevie added after a moment of silence had engulfed them. "And just because my girls don't approve, doesn't mean anything." She didn't say that to be mean, she said that to be honest.
Constance and Becks had always been a tough crowd, not just in their mothers life, but also their fathers as well. They didn't want their parents to be together, but no one else was good enough either... Until their dad met the one, of course and then they gave up on being his largest critic and focused primarily on their moms life.
"What's so wonderful?" The tone in his voice let her know that he wasn't trying to start an argument... he was really curious and he wanted to know.
She paused for a moment, looking down at the ground as she thought about it for a second. "He thinks I'm interesting." Stevie shrugged. "He listens when I talk, he makes me laugh, and he..." she stopped for a quick moment, biting down on the inside of her cheek. "And he really loves me." She concluded, finally bringing her eyes back to Lindsey's.
Raising a brow, he nodded lightly. "That all sounds good." He knew there was more to it- there had to be, but he wasn't going to dig any deeper... He didn't want to hear it.
"We don't have to talk about it." She already knew that was the case- she could see it in his body language. "And that's fine, but don't ask about it." She was starting to get this feeling- it felt like she was missing home, and she never missed home while she was there... She was actually missing her fiancé.
He sighed softly, seeing that look flash in her eyes. "I didn't mean to do that." He really didn't, even though it felt like he had. "This is hard for me..." he admitted something that was already obvious, but she was trying to ignore.
Staring into those deep blue eyes, she wanted to be annoyed with him... but she wasn't. "It's hard for me, too." Stevie mumbled, gaze growing much weaker and even a little sympathetic. "I don't want to throw all this away either, but come on." She tossed a hand out, motioning around the old house that she loved more than other old monetary thing. "We've spent so many summers here, filling one another with empty promises and false hope..." she hated to call it that, but that's how it was for them. "It's time to let go of it." Stevie had his full attention- she could tell by how intently he was staring at her. "We have to let each other go, Lindsey..." she could feel the tears build up when those words left her mouth, but she wasn't going to cry, not in that moment.
He sank back after she'd grown quiet, both of them taking a second to process what she'd said.
Lindsey didn't want that.. he didn't want to let her go for a single second and he hated that she felt obligated to do this.
"We should take the boat out, float for awhile?" He was good at changing the topic when things got too hard to bear, which usually annoyed her, but not that morning.
Nodding softly, she used the side of the swing to help pull herself up. "Let me change and I'll meet you back here."
