With A Twist(66)

I’m not feeling overly grateful he’s reached out. No fluttering in my stomach, no thumping beat of hope within my chest.

I’m not angry or annoyed that he’s now realizing he was so very wrong to do that to me.

In fact, the most overwhelming feeling I have right now is wondering if I should really make naked bagels for Wyatt or make another attempt at pancakes.

The most I feel about David, at this moment, is a vague curiosity as to why he wouldn’t at least talk this out with me. Why didn’t he afford me that respect?

I don’t bother responding. I will, of course, but I want to wait until I can get on my laptop so I can type out my thoughts. I also want to think carefully about what to say to him. I am curious enough that I want to know the “why” of what he did, but I’m not overly eager to actually talk to him. I’ll have to think on that, and bagels or pancakes seem like a more important thing to ponder.

The sound of feet trotting down the deck steps penetrates, and I turn to see Wyatt coming out to join me. He’s got on just his jeans that he wore last night, and he looks absolutely edible and completely huggable the way his hair is sticking up all over the place. He’s not a calm sleeper, that’s for sure.

Sitting down beside me, he says, “Good morning,” and then leans over to kiss me on my temple.

“Morning,” I say and then scoot in closer to him. His arm comes around me, pulling me into his warmth and security.

“Waiting on the sunrise?” he asks.

I nod, lean over to grab my mug, and bring it up for a sip.

“Usually a pod of porpoises will be swimming along the coast around this time. If we’re lucky, we’ll catch sight of them.”

“I saw them yesterday morning when I got up. They were spectacular.”

“They used to give me the willies when I was younger. I used to surf with Brody and Hunter. Usually, the waves are always better in the early morning. That first flash of fin breaking the water while we were out there made me always first think it was a shark.”

I laugh as he actually shudders when he says the word “shark”. “Do you still surf?”

“No way. Didn’t you just hear me? There are sharks out there. I got older and wiser.”

My belly rumbles with laughter, particularly at the thought of this very brave man being scared to surf because of sharks. “So… what you’re saying, is that if I was out in the water and needed saving, you wouldn’t come in and get me?”

“Not if there was a shark out there I could see,” he says emphatically. “But I’d run up, grab my gun, and then run back and try to shoot it for you.”

“You’re a true hero,” I say drily while I pat him on the leg in acknowledgment.

We sit quietly together, and the sun finally starts to peek up over the horizon. I knew it was coming because over the last few minutes, the lower part of the sky started turning light blue, and the clouds hanging low started glowing with various shades of orange and pink.

When the first rounded edge looked to seemingly break the surface of the water, it was a brilliant neon of yellow glow that was still low enough that I could look straight at it.

Just as Wyatt had predicted, a pod of porpoises came swimming by, and I alternated my gaze going from them to the emerging sun.

The full, spectacular show doesn’t take very long and within moments, it had broken free of its prison and was hanging in the newly minted sky. It was lovely… just sitting here quietly with Wyatt and sharing something so beautiful.

“My ex-fiancé—David—reached out to me through Facebook,” I say suddenly, succumbing to the impulse to share this with Wyatt.

He turns his head to look at me, his eyes wide and curious. “What’s he want?”

“I have no clue. Said he was checking on me to see how I was. Said he wanted to talk… explain a little more about what happened between us.”

Wyatt turns his face back out toward the beach, staring thoughtfully at the water. “I guess I don’t understand what more he needs to explain. I know you only gave me the short version of what happened, but you applied to the BRIU… he said he wouldn’t move, asked you to pull the application, and when you didn’t, he broke things off.”

“That’s the gist of it,” I say quietly.

“Then he has nothing to explain,” Wyatt says as he turns to look back at me. His blue eyes are so light in the morning sun, his dark lashes making them pop even more brilliantly.

Seriously, I could get lost in those eyes.

“Yes, his position was clear,” I admit as I turn to look back out at the water. “I guess… I guess I just wanted to know why he didn’t bother to talk to me about it. Just gave me a unilateral decision without giving me a chance to make things work.”