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."
Wyatt leans back in the sand, punching his elbows down deep and then bending his legs.
"Let me ask you something," he starts out. "Could you have fixed it? Were you ever going to pull that application? Were you going to stunt your FBI career and agree to live out said career in Pittsburgh?"
I don't even have to give serious thought to those questions. "No. I was not going to pull that application. It's been my dream to work in the BRIU since I was a little girl."
Wyatt jerks up from his position and turns to me with a shocked look. "Really? I don't know many little girls that aspire to be in a particular unit of the FBI."
I smile at him and push up from the sand until I'm standing. As I look down at him, I say, "Well, my dad was a member of the BRIU. He was killed in the line of duty when I was six months old, so I didn't even remember him, but I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Became obsessed with it actually."
Wyatt stands up from the sand, brushing his jeans off. He holds his hand out to me, and I take it.
As we stroll down toward the water, and then angle south, he says, "That's tough about losing your dad so young. At any age really. But I can see how that would totally drive your goals."
"Or maybe it was a silly pipe dream for me to be chasing after a career my father had. I mean … he's virtually unknown to me. Maybe I sacrificed a relationship over something that shouldn't have been important to me to begin with."
Wyatt squeezes my hand. "And yet … it seems to me that the fact you didn't know your father at all makes you getting in with the BRIU all that more important. It's the only way you can connect with him."
I turn to look at him … surprised that he would make that leap. I mean … I know deep down inside that's what's driving me, but I didn't expect Wyatt to get it because David clearly didn't. I had started doubting myself, figuring my reasoning was stupid.
"Thank you," I say as I stop our walk and turn to him. "For validating my feelings."