Chapter 14
Thursday morning was spent having breakfast with Jace and JT. They told the little boy together Kinley would be moving to New York…to dance. He didn’t understand entirely, and his little heart hurt, but they got through it. It would get easier with time — they hoped.
Jace made a deal with JT. They would make a trip to New York to visit Kinley and see her show. It appeased JT in the moment, but both Jace and Kinley knew the likelihood of the trip was slim to none. Once the initial ache of being separated wore off and new routines were established, staying in touch would slowly fade. That was just how these things worked.
The morning escaped them, and it was early afternoon before she knew it. There was packing to do, and Kinley was expecting a package delivery. The production was sending a messenger with her airline ticket, production scripts, and music, along with instruction on where to pick up the key to her new apartment once she got there. Kinley couldn’t miss the messenger.
For now, she was packing clothes, a few sentimental items, and the essentials. Sadie and Connor had offered to pack up the rest of her belongings and ship them the following week. Not even they had asked her stay. Surely another sign she was supposed to leave, pursue her dance career, and live her New York dream.
Kinley almost believed her own bullshit. Truth was, if she did miss the messenger and never made it to New York, she wouldn’t lose much sleep over it. It was a hard decision to make, and had Jace asked her to stay, she probably would have with a quick yes. It would have been easier. But he didn’t, so she was leaving.
Spending her last night in her quaint little loft apartment in small town USA, Kinley laid wide awake, despite the early morning wake up and long flight the next day. Kinley Reed was only hours from living her dream, in the city she loved, and making a name for herself. What she couldn’t get over was the heavy feeling in her chest. She was about to embark on the greatest journey, yet it broke her heart in a million pieces.
Footsteps on the outside steps leading to Kinley’s apartment alerted her to Sadie’s early morning arrival. It was time to go. Kinley had been up for hours already, not really falling asleep at all the night before. When she would doze off, it was restless and fitful.
“You ready to go, kid?” Sadie asked after letting herself in.
Kinley let out a deep sigh and plastered on a faux smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Grabbing her suitcase and oversized purse that doubled as her carry on, Kinley took one more look around the open space, then headed for the door. “Let’s go.”
With last minute travel arrangements across the country, it was near impossible to get a flight out of the nearby airport, leaving Sadie and Kinley with a scenic hour’s drive to the nearest large airport in Portland. Leaving Pine Valley left Kinley with a dull ache in her chest, one she hadn’t expected. The further they ventured through wine country and distanced themselves from their small, quaint town, the sharper that ache became.
“You ready? Got everything you need to get by?” Sadie said, breaking the silence. “Connor said your stuff should arrive in just over a week.”
Startled from her thoughts, Kinley responded with as much optimism as she could muster, “Oh…uh, yeah. I don’t really need much. I’ll be getting right to work and putting in long hours for a while. Won’t be home but to sleep.” She chuckled, hoping it passed as excitement.
“So, how did Jace take it?” Sadie ripped off the Band-Aid. “Where did you guys leave things?”
“Um, we didn’t really leave it as anything. I mean, we weren’t even together, technically, so not really a loose end to tie. He and JT will come to New York.” Kinley shrugged. “Maybe around Christmas, to visit and see the show. It’ll be nice to see them.”
Sadie guffawed at the nonchalant, informal take on the situation. “Nice to see them? C’mon, sis, you’re talking to me here. I’m not buying it. What’s really going on?”
Leave it to her sister to draw out the tears. Kinley didn’t even fight them this time. She just let them flow and poured out her heart.
“I don’t know. That’s the honest truth. I don’t know what’s really going on. This is my dream, right? Or at least some modified version of it. I may not be performing, but I’m still a major player in this, maybe even more so than as a performer. So why does it hurt so bad?” Kinley let it all out. “Why am I hung up on this fling, hoping I made the right choice?” She paused, took a deep breath, and asked the real question that was haunting her. “Why didn’t Jace ask me to stay?”
“Oh, honey. I think he wants whatever decision you make to be entirely yours. Think about it. If you weren’t entirely sure and stayed because he asked…you would always wonder what could have been, right?”
“Probably…”
“Jace doesn’t want to be the source or cause of that wonder,” Sadie explained. “Honey, he loves you, it’s obvious. He just wants you happy, even if it means he’s not. Eventually, you’ll realize you love him too. Maybe you aren’t ready and just need to try this first.”
Kinley turned to her sister. “And what if I get there and it’s not what I want anymore?”
“Then you know where to find us!” Sadie shrugged.
“I hope I made the right choice…”
Sadie glanced her sister’s way, and said, “Dreams change, honey. Maybe yours just isn’t in New York anymore. You’ll know. You’ll know.”
Portland was always busy, despite the hour, and the airport more so. With airport security what it was, and not being allowed past a specific security point without a ticket, Sadie dropped her sister off in front of the airport where they said their goodbyes. Kinley was to call as soon as she made it to New York, letting Sadie know she made it safely. Tears were shed, hugs had, and promises to talk on the phone weekly, text daily, and see each other at some point over the holiday season made.
With baggage checked and more than an hour until her flight, Kinley sat in the coffee shop nearest her departure gate, alone with her thoughts due to a delayed flight. Of course, there was a delay — more time for her sit in the crosshairs of regret and possibilities. That was…until a familiar face sat at her table, across from her. Angelo Moretti. The gelato guy.
“Why the long face, kid?” he said in his typical crusty tone.
“I’m leaving, headed back to New York,” Kinley replied in between sips of her coffee.
“So, what? I asked why the long face, not where ya headed.” Classic Moretti edge and straight to the point.
“Oh, um…I don’t know. I’m just not excited to leave Pine Valley. Not sure if dance and New York is for me anymore.”
“Pffft. Then why are ya goin’? I don’t see a gun to your head. If Pine Valley is where you want to be, then be in Pine Valley,” Moretti said with a side-eye glance. “Seems simple to me.”
It really did seem simple when he put it like that, but why couldn’t she adopt that thinking? What was she chasing? Better yet, what was she afraid of?
“I guess it’s just not as simple as it seems…or should be. I had a life in New York too,” Kinley admitted. “What if that is where I am supposed to be and Pine Valley was just an intermission?”
“The way I heard it, little lady, was you were dumped by your life in New York. Is there really something there waiting for ya?” Moretti was a straight shooter of the brutal kind. “Or is this more about the pride you young ones carry around like a badge? I don’t get your generation one bit.”
“Pride? No…not that at all, Mr. Moretti.”
“Then what? Why are you running away, back to a place that already kicked you out, kid?”
His words were harsh, classic Moretti, but provoked her own questioning. “I just don’t know.”
“Ah, you do. You know why. Just too stubborn to see it. You’ll figure it out, though, and feel foolish when you do. Wish I was going to be there to say I told ya so.” He looked at his watch, then stood from the table. “My shipment should be offloaded soon. I better get back. My ingredients for the gelato arrive today from Italia.”
Kinley’s jaw dropped. “You fly in ingredients from Italy?”
“You young people…you just don’t understand. Of course I do.” Angelo Moretti put his hands out in question. “Why do you think it tastes as it does?”
Kinley shrugged her shoulders and giggled at his offense. Truth be told, she liked Mr. Moretti and his abrasive honesty. She would remember him fondly.
As he wandered out of sight, her gate was called for boarding. Her plane was there.