Page 69 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

“Cal, you are not your dad. What you do for others is amazing. No one’s life is free of mistakes or regrets. It’s what you do after those mistakes that counts. And you have done so much.”

He dropped everything onto the blanket and studied me. “Does this mean you forgive me?”

I glanced at the fast-moving clouds above us. “I think I forgave you when I found out about how we got to see one the best oncologists in the world because of you, or maybe it happened when I signed up to help. I dunno. Maybe this is forgiveness.”

He stepped up to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, his thumb gently caressing the area near my collarbone. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“I know.”

“I’ve never stopped wanting to be with you.” His eyes were a shimmering sapphire color, bright with earnestness.

This was it—the moment I’d thought about a million times over the years. It wasn’t closure I had wanted or revenge either. It was a chance to have Cal back. Maybe I was stupid or pathetic, but our time together had been so good. And though I told myself that what we’d had was over, I’d still been holding on to it all these years, never really letting go.

I missed him. I wanted him. And he was telling me he wanted me. Still. And my head was asking my heart if it was sure it wanted to take this leap again.

“Reenie?”

There I stood, half of my body numb, afraid, and the rest quivering with anticipation. And the response my brain came up with was embarrassing, but I let the words out anyway because I had nothing else.

“Cool. Great. Awesome.”

ChapterTwenty-Seven

SABRINA

Cool? Awesome? That’s what I said? Even thinking about it made me want to cringe. I wanted to jump him right then and scream, “Yes!” in his face. Instead, I’d said, “Cool.”

Cal’s lips twitched with restrained laughter, which triggered my flight-or-fight response. I scurried away like a scared bunny, exclaiming, “Oh, I want to go to the top of that waterfall!”

Everything went downhill from there. Twelve minutes later, I was on the ground, sprawled out across the rocks that made the edge of the waterfall, soaking wet. I tried to push up, but my hand slipped on the wet rocks, and I got nowhere.

Cal held out his hand, offering to help me. His eyes danced with merriment.

“Don’t you dare sayI told you so.” I slapped at his hand.

“I don’t have to; you just did.” A smirk popped up, but he had the good sense to wipe it off his face before I threw a handful of mud at him. “Can you stand?”

All I’d wanted to do was stand near the falls and put my hands in the water. Cal had warned me that the rocks might be slippery and advised against it. His words, “I advise against it, Reenie.” So cocksure. So bossy.

I had proceeded with caution and gotten to do exactly what I wanted and had been feeling super smug and cocky only to fall on the rocks as I was trying to make my way back to the not-as-slippery grass. My previously injured ankle was still weak, so when I’d started to slide, the ankle had offered no support. My butt—my entire backside really—was soaked, and my ankle was throbbing.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me. Busting my ass isn’t funny.” I slapped my hands against the shallow water in frustration.

He gave a clipped nod. “Though it was a spectacular busting of the ass. How is it you can look pretty, falling?”

The spray from the waterfall had dampened my hair, and now strands clung to my face. I was muddy and wet and knew my face had to be a hundred shades of red. But his words were sweet.

“I’m not so vapid that calling me pretty will make me feel better.” Mostly. It did make me feel a little better.

“I never thought you were vapid. It was simply an observation.” His arms were akimbo as he studied me.

“Thanks, though. I appreciate the compliment.”

“Can you stand?” He was still on the safe grass at the edge of the rocks.

I tried to adjust to stand, but my hands lost purchase. “I think if I flip over to my knees and crawl, I can get off the rocks. How humiliating is that?”

Cal opened his mouth to say something, a flash of lightning lit the space, followed by an ear-deafening crack of thunder, which shook the ground. Have I been sitting in the water so long the storm caught up? I had been careless, and he had been right, and now I was going to get struck by lightning and die out here. At least the backdrop was lovely. But the universe had to hate me if it was going to let Cal Beckett be the last person I ever saw before I’d had a chance to jump Cal version 2.0 and see what that was like.

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