Page 11 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

Mrs. Rafferty turned to him, a suspicious sparkle in her eyes. “Would you mind accompanying my granddaughter? Please?”

The lady’s intention was clear, but he didn’t have the heart to refuse. Besides, he still had too many questions, questions to which Skylar had never provided answers. Would she ever? He opened the front door. “Sure.”

Skylar’s hazel eyes flashed and narrowed, and he understood. He should’ve refused. It would’ve been wise to get out now and never look back. But his thoughts scrambled when it came to her. Still did.

“Let’s put you on the leash, though.” Skylar snapped the collar around Breeze’s neck, who didn’t protest. “Good girl,” Skylar crooned. “You know all about leashes, don’t you?”

The dog acted mannerly, but the instant Skylar opened the door, she shot out and Skylar followed, holding the leash and nearly tumbling down the porch.

He caught up on the last step and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I can take the leash.” His heart started beating erratically as he touched her, and memory did him a disservice. It brought back all the wonderful moments when happiness was possible. When her tender lips, shiny eyes, and bright future were so near.

Her eyes widened, and her pupils dilated as if she felt something, too. But she scooted away. “It’s fine. I’ll manage.” The same words she said when he asked her what she was going to do in the big city echoed in the emptiness inside him.

“Okay.” He shrugged.

But after a sprint with a hyperactive and enthusiastic dog, Skylar was out of breath. “Do you think it’s okay if I let her off the leash?”

He shrugged. “I can catch up with her if needed.”

Even if he’d never be able to catch up with Skylar. Why wasn’t he asking those important questions? He’d imagined their meeting so many times. And now, he was speechless. But then, she’d often left him speechless.

Breathless, as well. His breath caught in his throat as he recalled their first kiss.

As they strolled, he turned away from her and stared at the ocean sparkling in the sun, keeping an eye on the energetic dog. “You didn’t come back because... Was it because of a man?”

Her face changed, and her eyes hardened. She kept silent for a long while. “I guess you can put it that way.”

It hurt more than it should have. Maybe it was best not to ask those questions. Not to know. She’d fallen in love with someone else. The most logical reason to break off their engagement, and yet for years, he’d kept telling himself it couldn’t have been the reason.

To distract himself, he scooped up a stick and threw it in the air. Breeze jumped and caught it.

“Well!” Skylar gave out a squeaky laugh. “Someone knows how to play fetch. I guess she must’ve been someone’s pet.”

Dallas merely grunted. He knew how the animal felt. She’d been loved and abandoned like Skylar had loved and abandoned him.

So she’d met someone in the city. Most likely, someone polished and dashing who knew much more about art than Dallas, a simple cowboy growing up on the ranch, ever could. That man must’ve been very important to Skylar. He swallowed hard.

Breeze brought back the stick, and he rubbed the dog’s back and praised her, then threw the stick again, further this time.

He asked the question again, the one she’d avoided answering. “Skylar, why did you stay away so long?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Hmm. There was no ring on Skylar’s finger, and if she’d married and divorced, the grapevine would’ve brought the news to the ranch. Even if Skylar had asked her grandmother to keep it a secret, everyone knew Mrs. Rafferty couldn’t keep secrets. At least, not from his mom.

Skylar’s mother and her sister were close friends with Dallas’s mother, and the trio had practically raised their children together. When Skylar’s mother had left her family for another man, Skylar’s grandmother had, in her own way, taken her daughter-in-law’s place in their friendship circle.

Snippets of Skylar’s dating a few years ago had put daggers in his heart. But nothing had circulated about her being in a serious relationship. Ever. Had she managed to conceal it even from her grandmother? But why?

Everyone was in everyone’s business here. Maybe things worked differently in a city. Still, it didn’t feel right.

“Did he... did he let you down?” Was he poking in her wound? In his? In both? His brothers had told him to let it go. He’d thought he’d done just that.

Until she showed up.

Her lips thinned, and her eyes narrowed. Then Breeze brought the stick, and Skylar bent and stroked her luxurious fur. He took a breath of salty air, waiting. The pause stretched.

Finally, she said a single word, releasing it like an exhalation after a long time of holding it in. “Yes.”

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