Page 23 of Wishful Cowboy

Chapter Nine

Luke watched Connor hit the water and try to maintain his balance. He laughed as the boy toppled over, face-first, into the waves after only a few steps. The best part about this beach was that the waves didn’t roar to shore, but sort of lapped at it like a lazy dog trying to get a drink.

Missy followed Connor with more caution, and she went out further before she lost her momentum in the waves. She stood taller and had longer legs, which made it easier for her.

Luke employed every ounce of willpower he had not to turn around and check for Hannah. Was she going to stay? Had she really just dropped the kids off without a word?

“You were mean,” he muttered to himself, and Petunia looked up at him. “No,” he said to her. “I didn’t offer you any food.”

How he’d come to be sitting on the beach, babysitting someone else’s children, with a twenty-pound piglet on his lap, he couldn’t fathom. A year ago, he’d been watching his back, wary of a new inmate, and counting down the days until he and Slate could leave River Bay in the rearview mirror.

He patted the pig, who put her cool snout right against Luke’s chest. He looked down at her again. “Can I just apologize? Hannah will forgive me, right?”

Petunia gave a soft sound halfway between a snort and an oink, and Luke really wanted that to meanyesin teacup piglet language. He looked out to the brilliant gulf again, and let the warm wind wash over his bare skin.

“I have to apologize no matter what.” He’d like to do it face-to-face, as he’d hurled the jab at her that way. It would mean more than a text, but the minutes passed, and Hannah didn’t come sit by him.

He finally twisted around to see if he could catch a glimpse of her. Perhaps she’d needed to use the restroom or blow up a big floatie to spend the afternoon drifting in.

He couldn’t see her, and annoyance flashed through him again. Nate had texted an hour ago to say,Church just got out, and Connor invited Missy to the beach too. Hannah’s going to bring them. That cool?

That’s cool, Luke had said. His pulse had spent the next sixty minutes in various stages of erratic, and he hadn’t meant to be so hurtful to Hannah. The truth was, he was hurting, and when he felt like he currently did—like someone was trying to remove his stomach with a spiralizer—he shouldn’t be around people.

He should’ve told Connor he was just looking for vitamins or something, and he’d thrown on his swimming trunks because he needed to do laundry.

Better text her, he thought, and since Luke had really been trying to act on the little thoughts he got throughout the day, he pulled out his phone and shifted Petunia in his lap. She snuffled at him louder now and even nudged the bag of potato chips.

“Can pigs eat potato chips?” he asked her, and she wore such a look of hope in her eyes that he decided she could. He pulled out a chip and fed her the sour cream and cheddar snack. Then he focused his eyes on his phone and quickly typed a text to Hannah.

I’m sorry for saying what I did. Thank you for bringing the kids to the beach, and I really appreciated the ride to the airport last year too.

Regret lanced trough him, and he quickly pressed thesendbutton before he could go on and on about his faults. He could beat himself up silently until she answered.

Every few seconds, he checked his phone. No text. Nothing. Not even a like or smiley face. In fact, the text only said delivered, not read.

She probably had both hands firmly on the wheel as she drove back to Hope Eternal. Luke hoped with everything he had that she’d see his text and respond. He even started to pray for such a thing.

He checked his phone a few more times before tossing it in the brown paper bag that held everything else he’d brought to the beach. He kept one eye on the kids, because the last thing he needed was to tell Nate and Ted that some harm had come to Connor or Missy because he’d fallen asleep on the job.

He watched the gulls flying above the gulf, and he wished he could be a bird. Simply spread his wings and fly away, taking in the grand picture below him and seeing the whole future in front of him.

A sigh came out of his mouth right as someone asked, “Is this spot taken?”

He looked up to find Hannah standing there, a beach chair looped over her forearm. She wore a cute little tank top that showed off her shoulders, a pair of shorts that barely reached mid-thigh, and a floppy beach hat the color of her lips—bright pink.

Luke jumped to his feet, keeping Petunia tucked in his arms like a football. “I’m so sorry,” he blurted out. “That was just mean, and I didn’t mean it, and I’m so glad you stayed.” He gestured up toward the sidewalk where he’d met her and the kids. Unfortunately, Petunia was still in his arms, and she squeaked and oinked as he waved her around.

“Give that pig to me before you drop her,” Hannah said, and they switched items. She cuddled Petunia right against her chest, stroking the animal like it was a fluffy bunny and not a stubbly, hairy pig. “Will you set up my chair for me, please?”

“Yes.” Luke looked at the chair and unfolded it, setting it in the sand very near his towel. He kept his eyes down as he made sure the seat locked into place, and he added, “I really am sorry, Hannah. It’s been a rough week for me, but that’s no excuse for saying what I did.” He met her eye, though it was hard to see behind the lenses of her sunglasses. “Did you get my text?”

“As I walked down here, I read it,” she said. She lifted her chin slightly. “Apology accepted.”

Relief rushed through Luke, and he grinned at her. “Thank you.” He indicated she should sit first, which she did. He took up his spot on his towel next to her, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “You didn’t have to stay,” he said. “I’m okay with the kids.”

“If I stay at the ranch, I’ll work,” she said. “I don’t want to work today.”

Luke nodded. “It’s hard to get away from sometimes. My dad is like that.”

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