Ty exhaled and tried to make it sound like a laugh. “Really? That’s what you want for your thirtieth birthday?”
She nodded. “The toe in one of mine is busted. I got a boot full of dirt today.”
“Boots for your birthday. I can handle that.”
He waited for more about the girls, Jenna, school—something—but Betsy turned in silence and reached her arm across him. Ty smelled the lemon scent of her shampoo when she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. Instead of bringing it all up again, he closed his own eyes. Finally, he felt the rhythm of her breath deepen.
Boots for your birthday, he thought before sliding into sleep. You deserve so much more than that.
thirty
Jenna
Jenna’s phone rang while she was still several steps away from her cabin. She hurried to open her door, fumbling and dropping her camera bag, though thankfully her camera still hung around her neck. She’d spent the morning shooting one of the artists, a painter who had set up his easel in the bow of a canoe and rowed it to the center of the lake so he could better observe the reflection of the trees’ canopy on the water.
Jenna was fascinated by his concentration, his determination to angle the canoe in just the right position to study the reflection and transpose it onto his canvas. She was so enthralled, in fact, that she hadn’t realized until now that she’d left her cell sitting on her kitchen counter instead of sticking it in the pocket of her bag before she left her cabin.
Once inside, she grabbed the phone without looking to see who was calling.
“Oh, Jenna dear. It’s Delores. It sounds like I caught you at a bad time.”
“No, no. It’s fine.” Jenna flopped down on the small love seat and kicked off her shoes. “I was just hurrying to get to the phone. How are you? It’s been a long time.”
“It has and I’m better now that I hear you’re okay. I started to worry when I didn’t see you and the girls back at your house. Are you still at the art retreat?”
“Yes, ma’am. And I’m sorry for not calling to let you know my plans changed.”
“It’s no worry. I would have called sooner, but I didn’t want to be a bother. Now, tell me all about it. What happened to make you stay longer?”
“Well, the first two weeks were hard. I wasn’t even sure why I’d come. But things started to pick up for me toward the end, and when my mentor offered me the chance to extend my stay, I took it. All the first two weeks did was tell me I needed to be here longer.” She ran her hand through her tangled curls, then grabbed a clip out of her bag and pulled her hair back, away from her face. “It’s been great, being able to focus on my work and really push myself to try some new things.”
“That’s wonderful. The time away must be a good thing. I know you miss your girls though. Are they still with your sister?”
“They are. They’re turning into little farm kids. But I do miss them.” She shifted in the love seat to lie with her legs hanging over the arm.
“I’m sure they miss you too. This is turning into a long trip. I’m glad things are going well for you there though.”
Jenna sighed and closed her eyes. She’d been focused on her work, adding quality shots to her portfolio and soaking up instruction from Gregory, but she hadn’t been able to shake the phone conversation with Ty. He was an honest and forthright man and she’d always appreciated that about him, but when the brutal honesty was directed at her, the words stung. She struggled to push his words away, but at the same time, maybe they were the exact ones she needed to hear.
“Hon?”
Delores’s voice was so concerned, so gentle, Jenna had to struggle to hold back tears. “You must have some kind of miracle phone powers.” She sat up and put her feet on the floor. Forced a small laugh. “I get terrible reception here, but your call came through with no trouble.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s any kind of miracle. Just good timing. I’ve been thinking about you and figured one phone call wouldn’t disrupt your muses too much.”
Jenna smiled. “Is your computer close by? I’ll show you a little of what I’ve been working on.”
She gave Delores the address of her Etsy shop, then listened as Delores’s fingers tapped on her keyboard.
“I’ve almost got it . . . there.” She paused. “This is your work?”
“Some of it. I have a lot more to add, but I wanted to get my shop back up and running now that I’m shooting again.”
“These are beautiful. I’m impressed, though I’m not surprised. Those photos of Addie and Walsh on your living room wall told me you were talented, but I didn’t know you had all this in you.”
“I didn’t either, to be honest. But I’m building my portfolio to show more of a range of work. I’ve been researching jobs—event photographers, photo assistants. Just entry-level jobs right now. And I’ve applied for a few freelance positions. I know I won’t get them, but it’s good to get my name out there anyway. It’s hard to get picked up if no one knows who you are.”
“That all sounds wonderful. I’m curious though—now that you know what you can do, will coming back home to Nashville feel like small potatoes?”
Jenna laughed. “I don’t know about that, but it definitely would be hard to put the photography on the back burner again and go back to just making coffee. I don’t think I could do it. Not now.”
“But why would you need to? Women were born to multitask. You’re already a mother, a friend, a strong woman—a talented woman. You can work your job and raise your kids and do your
