by C. J. Urban
“Oh,” she slumped back in her seat. “I don’t know. I guess I haven’t given myself time. And I need to.”
“Well, I can see that I was wrong,” Skye admitted. “I wanted to talk with you, but I didn’t know what to say. I thought if I showed you that you could make it work here, you might stay.” He sighed, feeling resigned to the inevitable. “If you need to go back, then you should do that. Maybe it was selfish of me to want you to stay here. You probably have a lot more family and friends down at the beach, and if that will give you the time you need, well, who am I to try to stop you?”
Skye was trying his best to be supportive, but his heart ached. He would miss her. God, he would miss her! He closed his eyes, rubbing them, forcing his own tears at bay. He would not let her see them. It would just make it harder for her.
Then he felt her hand on his cheek, and he opened his eyes again. She was kneeling beside him.
“See now, that’s what I’m angry about,” she said as she looked into those big blue eyes.
“What? What did I do now?” Skye asked. “I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t. What do you want from me? What are you mad at now?”
“At myself,” she said quietly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Skye. Not now, and not before.” She glanced down, and said, “I don’t have family down at the beach. They’re gone. I just have to accept that. But I do have family here. And, I do have friends here. At least two,” she smiled, “and pretty good ones at that.”
“I’m trying,” Skye said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand women, but I’m glad you feel that way.”
“If I run every time I get scared, or lonely, or overwhelmed, I’ll probably just keep running. And that wouldn’t be good for me or Sam.”
“What are you saying?” Skye asked.
“I’m saying thank you,” she answered. “Thank you for everything. For helping me with the case, for being so kind. And for showing me how it could work here. How it will work, if I try.”
“You’re staying?” He asked, almost afraid of her answer.
“I think I should give it a shot.”
Then Julie kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“Besides,” she said, “I know this guy here. He’s really cute, and sweet, and I never thought I’d meet anyone like him. I couldn’t just up and leave.” She poked him playfully.
“Really?” Skye asked, kissing her again. “What’s his name?”
Julie laughed. It felt so good to laugh with Skye.
“You have to promise me something though,” she told him.
“Oh, a condition. What is it?”
“Promise that we’ll laugh every day.”
“That, I can do. With pleasure.”
THE END
C.J. Urban is a social worker and writer who lives in a small town in Southern California.
Click here for J.R. Rain’s bestselling mystery novel, Silent Echo, at Amazon Kindle.
