Page 34 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

Kai caught up. “Rumor is Marina and her sisters are coming back to town soon for a couple of weeks to help around the restaurant.”

Sothatwas what was on Kai’s mind.

Kai and Marina had grown up together due to their mothers’ friendship. They’d been best friends since they’d known how to walk. By their teens, Dallas had thought Kai and Marina would become more than friends, and the glances his brother sometimes sent Marina’s way hinted as much. But it had never happened.

Then, in high school, flirty and laid-back Kai had dated a lot and changed girlfriends often. Geeky and studious Marina hadn’t dated at all until meeting a dashing lawyer while waiting on tables at her mother’s restaurant. The guy had returned the following summer for his vacation. Marina had just graduated high school then, ready to leave for college in Charleston. When he’d left, they’d left together, and she’d had a ring on her finger.

Marina had visited home sometimes, but not for long. Why would she stay here for weeks?

Right.

“Oh yeah.” Dallas whistled. “Mom said Marina’s mother decided to go on a singles cruise. One of the tourists and restaurant patrons found love and got married that way and highly recommended it.”

“A singles cruise? What’s happening? Suddenly, everyone wants to get married? First, Skylar’s grandmother. Now, Marina’s mother.” Kai gestured wildly with his hands and nearly dropped the reins. “Is there a marriage bug going around?”

“No marriage bug. Because none of us caught it. Neither did Skylar.” Dallas swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. He was fine living as a bachelor. And so, it seemed, were his brothers. So what if Skylar made his blood run faster?

“Right.” Kai raked his fingers through his dark hair. A few strands escaped his low ponytail, giving him a roguish look. Well, more roguish than usual. No wonder he played a pirate in the pirate ship performances for tourists. “Doesn’t look like Marina will be catching that bug, either. A year ago, I heard she got divorced.”

Dallas didn’t comment because they’d reached their destination.

At the bridge, he dismounted and started checking the planks. One did seem loose, so he put a few nails in to keep it in place. Another one was missing a nail, so he nailed it down. And one more had a nail loose. He remedied that. They should’ve worked on this a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Kai checked the support posts underneath. “All good.”

Dallas got up and wiped his hands on his jeans. “Let’s go back. Or do you want to check on the herd nearby?”

“Let’s check it first.” Kai mounted his horse again. “I had to find out from Marina’s mom that she’s coming back. We just lost touch.”

Dallas pulled himself into the saddle. Then he studied his brother as they rode side by side along the pasture. Was this about Kai missing his best friend? Or was this about more? Much more?

“Your friendship with Marina surprised many people.” Dallas tensed because Garnet’s ears twitched, and her tail swished as if she heard something suspicious. But then everything went back to normal, and his shoulders relaxed.

“Why’s that?” Kai sounded defensive.

Huh. Did Dallas hit a sore spot? “You’re complete opposites. You’re outgoing, talkative, often loud, sociable—”

“Are you sure you’re not describing my parrot?” Kai chuckled. He rose in his stirrups, gazing at the herd in the distance.

Undeterred, Dallas continued, “With a short attention span often jumping from one thing to another.” Or one girl to another, except where Marina was concerned. But Dallas keptthatcomment to himself.

Kai laughed. “Now you’rereallydescribing my parrot.”

“Can you be serious for a moment? But right, then it would be Marina. Serious, quiet, studious, focused, and goal-oriented.”

The smile slipped off Kai’s face. “With a father like hers, she had to be. He favored his son over his daughters so much that it made me cringe. Then when the son didn’t measure up, he made Marina follow his own dreams. I said things to him, but it only made it worse for the family. Marina asked me not to interfere.” He stopped, his jaw set tight.

Anger surged inside Dallas like hot lava when he thought about their own family. His uncle was a much better father figure than their father, and Dallas had envied his cousins sometimes.

As Dallas and Darius had been the oldest, they’d tried to stand up to their father, but they’d only gotten thrown around and punished. Kai had joined in sometimes, though Dad had never hit his adopted son. Then something horrible had happened....

No, don’t think about that.

“Marina and her sisters always had to prove themselves and, even then, received little of their father’s affection.” Dallas frowned.

“Well, in the end, their mother got fed up and divorced him.” Kai’s eyes narrowed.

“Right.” Dallas nodded. “After he publicly humiliated her and her youngest daughter for what had seemed the thousandth time. But the damage was already done.”

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