Page 74 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

Chapter Fifteen

DALLAS PICKED UP Apebble and threw it into the ocean, standing near the little cove he and Skylar used to frequent as children. Sometimes her cousins and his brothers had joined them.

The pebble skipped a few times, then drowned. And he was drowning in his sorrows, his heart heavy like not just a pebble, but a boulder.

Why had he imagined she’d stay this time? With her grandmother’s wedding postponed, Skylar didn’t have to spend another minute in their hometown. It seemed he wasn’t a good enough reason for her to stick around.

But how could she be so nonchalant about it? Say she was leaving like that, and that was it? Break his heart all over again?

“I thought I might find you here.” Kai’s voice made Dallas turn around. “What happened?”

“Why do you ask?” Dallas grumbled.

“You look like a storm cloud.” Kai strode to him. “No, I’m wrong. A storm cloud looks brighter than you do right now.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Kai scooped up a few pebbles and jiggled them in his palm. Then, for some time, they just tossed them into the water like in childhood. Dallas had usually won those competitions, and his pebbles still skipped further than Kai’s did now. But there was no satisfaction in it. Kai kept quiet, which was never easy for him.

Finally, Dallas said, “Skylar said she’s leaving.”

His brother frowned. “She might come back.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Then go after her. She’s your lifelong dream. She’s worth going the extra mile—or fifty—for. And even if she rejects you, which I doubt, at least you’ll know you’ve done everything you could.”

Could there still be hope for him and Skylar? He gave his brother a sidelong glance. “Of all our brothers, I didn’t expect words of wisdom from you.”

Kai chuckled, unoffended. “I’m surprised myself.”

Dallas selected another pebble. He’d known Kai his entire life but apparently hadn’t known him enough. “Why don’t you take your advice?”

“With Marina?” Kai visibly swallowed. “I told you. I didn’t want to weigh her down. I’d never cut her wings. And when I nearly risked it all, she fell in love with someone else.”

“What about now?”

After a long pause, Kai shrugged. “I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than not at all.” Another pause ensued before Kai clapped him on the back. “But your situation is different. You love Skylar, and she loves you back. Geographic distance won’t matter if you admit that simple truth.”

---