Page 20 of Beneath Pearly Irish Skies
When they reached the beach, he carefully led her through the low tide to the small island at the edge of the shore. The horses splashed in the clear water, seaweed dancing in the shallow current. Majestic pulled a little on the reins, wanting a drink, and he patted to let her know she would have it in a minute.
“I’ve never been out here before,” Megan said, looking at him with a grin, “but I’ve seen horses grazing on the island and wondered how they came to be there.”
“They’re from our farm,” he said, “and there’s a path leading to the top of the hill with sweetgrass for them. I thought you’d like to come. This place has been a favorite of mine since I was a boy.”
They cleared the right corner of the island. A heron took off, its massive wings flapping audibly. Large boulders dotted the shore, ones he used to play leapfrog with.
“There’s a grey seal by the rocks straight ahead,” he pointed out. “A group of them comes here in autumn for breeding or to give birth.”
She gasped. “Liam said they were around, but I’ve never seen one.”
“Good. Then my surprise is what I’d hoped. Let’s have a better look.”
Megan rode tall in the saddle, and they shared a smile. The seal started its funny movements across the sand, which he’d always thought looked like the breaststroke on land by a giant dirigible. Yet it moved fast and with purpose to the shallows and soon disappeared from sight. As they neared, a trio of seals made quick work of doing the same. At the tide’s edge, Kade gave Majestic the cue to halt, and Megan and Blaze came to a stop beside them.
“There’s more of them!” Megan exclaimed as a few others maneuvered off the large rocks and made their way across the sand and into the sea.
“I used to love watching them when I was younger,” he said, his heart full as he spotted a seal bobbing his head out of the water as if equally intrigued with them. “I might have wanted to adopt one. My mum usually let me keep whatever animal I wanted, but this time she put her foot down. Although she did give me an entire salmon to feed my friend.”
“What a wonderful memory. I don’t know your mom well, but she seems like a nice woman.”
He swung out of the saddle and crossed to help her down. Gazing down at her flushed face, he couldn’t help but trace her cheek. “You need to ride on the beach more. You’re glowing.”
She touched the place he’d caressed, almost as if testing for an imprint. “I’d love to.”
He patted the ponies to send them off a few yards. Their training ensured they wouldn’t wander.
He and Megan faced the water, a few seals visible in the bluish gray sea. “But I still don’t know what to do about this.”
“By ‘this’ you mean what’s between us?” He turned his head and smiled. “How does riding more on the beach sound? Going out to dinner?”
She blew out a breath. “That isn’t all we’re talking about. We’ve been spending time together for months, and I love that, but this new thing between us would mean more… Kade, I’m still working through some issues.”
“I know you are, love, and I’m glad you are.” He held out his hand to her. “As for us… How about we start here?”
Her brown eyes gleamed and then darkened. She took another breath. A light caramel color punched through in her irises before she grabbed his hand. He could feel the change in the way she touched him. There was an electric receptivity to it that called to the man inside him, like how he expected the tide felt about the moon.
“I can do that,” she said softly as she gave him a new smile, one alight with rare treasures like the sea glass under their feet.
“Then everything else will fall into place,” he responded, raising her hand to press a gentle kiss to it.
They held hands for the entire stretch of the beach with the horses trailing behind, the smell of oranges hanging around them.
