Chapter 14

ANDROS ISLAND

Lyn Johnson became preoccupied with learning more about her friend and business partner, Kay McCavoy. She'd always been curious, but yesterday was the first time Kay had ever said anything about her life before she moved to the island.

Evelyn Johnson met Katherine McCavoy in an art gallery four years earlier. Lyn had just had her second child and wanted to work from home. After her first child was born three years earlier, she and her husband decided to get out of the corporate rat race. They too had fallen in love with the island and decided to move there. Although her husband kept his license, Max Johnson left his law practice and fulfilled a life-long dream of opening a restaurant. Lyn stayed home with their son, helping out in the restaurant occasionally. By the time their second child was born, Lyn was ready to go back to work.

Lyn was a designer by trade and loved art. Soon after moving to Andros, she became friends with Sam Willis, a gallery owner who often displayed the work of local artists. She'd spent a lot of time the past couple of days thinking about her first encounter with Kay.

"Sam, I love this." Lyn was staring at a beautiful portrait of Sam and his family.

"It is fantastic, isn't it?"

"It's incredible. Who's the artist?"

"Well, she signs all of her work TF sort of intertwined. That's all I know."

Lyn smiled at her friend's mysterious answer. "Come on Sam. Who is she?"

"Really Lyn, I don't know her name. She came in one day and asked if I'd sell some of her work. She didn't have anything to show me but said that if I gave her a photo she'd return with something she was sure I'd like. If I agreed to sell her work, she said she wouldn't charge me for the portrait. I didn't think she'd come back, but there's the proof. In one week, I've already gotten more orders for her than she can fill. Tourists especially, love the idea of having a portrait done by a local artist."

"Hmmm, I wonder if she'd consider doing some work with me. Can you get me her number?"

"Sorry Lyn, I can't. She only goes through me; that was the deal. That was one of her conditions."

Now Lyn really wanted to talk to this woman. She explained to Sam that she was looking for an artist for a new venture. She then persuaded him to give her number to TF. She really wanted to talk to her.

One week later, Theresa Stiles called Lyn Johnson using her new name for the first time. Six months later, Kay and Lyn signed their first contract as principle owners of Central Graphic Design, CGD for short.

Lyn and her husband had been a little leery of entering into business with Kay with the scant information they had found on the woman, but neither had been sorry. Both now considered her a close friend. "but Kay is my partner, I have a right to know more about her, don't I?"

When Lyn got home, she talked to her husband. Max Johnson "attorney at law" still had contacts in the states. As a favor to his wife, he called a few friends.

Three days later, Kay McCavoy's fingerprints were on their way to a police database in Miami and Lyn was kicking herself for not having done the same years earlier.

Stiles landed on the Island a little after 11 PM and went straight to the hotel. When he made his reservation he had a hard time explaining that, yes, he was the only one staying in the biggest room in the hotel, but eventually, he got it. The suite had a few updates, but it still looked the way he remembered.

Stiles went to his bedroom, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes. In his mind he could picture his honeymoon. He could see his bride, her smile. He could feel her touch, hear her voice. Stiles felt a single tear fall down his cheek as he remembered his first night with his wife-the smell of the ocean, the wine, her perfume, the act of love that brought the promise of new life-a life that wasn't meant to be.

Though he was happy with Kara, part of him still missed Terri. He needed this trip to say goodbye. He needed this trip to let her go.

Stiles had a few days before the anniversary of his and Terri's first trip to Andros. He spent his first day on the island reliving his first day there with her. He remembered every detail. His first morning was spent fishing, thinking abut Terri and trying to figure out how to let her go. That evening, he went to the Blue Palm restaurant. He could see Terri entering the dining room late after falling asleep in the tub. She took his breath away that night. If he closed his eyes, he could see the black dress she was wearing, her hair in waves, smiling at him from across the room.

After dinner, just as they had that first night, Stiles took a walk on the beach. There were a few new restaurants, but for the most part it looked the same. As he was walking back to the hotel Stiles noticed a small art gallery. The sign said it featured local artists.

Stiles thought to himself, "I should get something for Kara."

Stiles browsed the gallery and didn't really see anything that captured his attention. But on his way out he spotted the portrait on the wall behind the counter.

"Is that your family?"

"Yeah"

"Nice looking bunch. The painting is great. Is that by one of the local artists too?"

"Yes, a local did that one; pretty popular artist."

"Do you have anything of his for sale; I want to take something back for my fiancée."

"No, I don't have anything right now. I'm selling them faster than she can paint them. She's really good as you can see. She often does the portraits from photos and I ship them to the customer. She said she would have a couple of things for the gallery later this week. Maybe you can come back?"

"Yeah. Maybe I will. I'll be on the island until Sunday. Thanks."

Stiles left the gallery and kept walking. He ended up at the beautiful little cove he and Terri discovered that first night. He still had some of Terri's pictures from the cove on his mantel. He would be back at this place in two nights burying one of his deepest connections to his wife. Stiles spent over an hour at the cove reliving his and Terri's time there. Their visit was the best second date he'd ever had.

He saved the final spot for the last day. The dream house would be his final goodbye. After visiting the cove, Stiles went back to the hotel and called Kara.