Chapter 36 #2
Their hands remained linked as he led her toward the stream, his thumb resting lightly against the back of hers as though it belonged there. Neither of them acknowledged it or seemed in any hurry to break the contact.
Shylo certainly wasn't.
The gentle rush of water grew louder with every step, blending with birdsong drifting through the trees and the lazy chirp of cicadas farther out in the summer heat. Beneath the canopy, the air remained comfortably cool while bright July sunlight poured into the glade beyond the stream.
Seth guided her to a broad, weathered boulder beside the stream. Its flat surface was large enough for them both to sit. Moss clung to one side, and generations of flowing water had rounded its edges smooth.
Only after they sat did he let go of her hand.
She missed the contact immediately.
He removed his cowboy hat and set it beside him before running a hand through his hair. A few tousled strands fell back across his forehead. She longed to reach out and smooth them into place, but kept her hands to herself.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The stream gurgled over smooth stones, carrying tiny ripples downstream while a dragonfly skimmed across the surface before disappearing into the trees.
Shylo shifted her gaze toward him. “What are we doing here?”
He kept his eyes on the water for another second before answering. “I wanted to apologize.”
She gaped, then shook her head. “For what? If anyone needs to apologize, it's me.”
He turned to face her. “No. You already did. I just refused to listen.”
Another protest was on the tip of her tongue, but he lifted a hand, silently asking for a chance to finish.
“I've spent the last two weeks thinking about everything.” He let out a slow breath. “At first, all I could think about was that you'd lied to me. That's all I focused on.”
She swallowed hard, but let him continue.
“But after Shane...” He huffed out a small laugh. “Well, after Shane got my head out of my ass last night, I finally stopped thinking about how it affected me and started thinking about what it must've been like for you.”
She listened without moving.
“You came to Hazard without knowing a soul.” His gaze drifted toward the stream.
“You were carrying a secret that would change your life forever, one way or another, once Shane learned the truth.
And in a town full of strangers... who could you trust?
I keep asking myself what I'd have done if I were in the same situation.”
He met her gaze again. “I don't think I'd have had the courage to do what you did.”
Confusion flickered across her face. “What do you mean?”
He gave a slight shrug. “After thirty years, if I'd found out I had a brother or sister I never knew existed, I don't think I could've climbed into my truck, driven halfway across the country to some little town, knocked on a stranger's door, and said...” A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “'Hi. Surprise. We're related.'”
Despite herself, she laughed softly. “That's not exactly how it happened. Once I got here, I couldn't bring myself to do that.”
“But you still got here. I'd probably have turned around halfway there... assuming I'd even made it that far.”
The smile faded from his face. “You did the hard part by showing up and taking a chance on people who could've rejected you.” He held her gaze. “I should've remembered that before I got so wrapped up in feeling sorry for myself.”
Tears stung her eyes. “Seth...”
“Shh.” He reached for her hand again. “I'm not saying it didn't hurt finding out the way I did.” His fingers closed gently around hers. “But I understand now why it happened that way.”
A lump rose in her throat. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“I know.”
The words were simple. They were also everything she'd been hoping to hear.
Tears blurred her vision before she could stop them. She blinked them away, but one escaped anyway, tracing a warm path down her cheek. Seth lifted his free hand and brushed it away with the pad of his thumb.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “For all of it.”
“You don't have to keep apologizing.”
“But I do.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “No.” His thumb lingered against her cheek. “You already have. Let’s leave it all in the past and start fresh.”
The stream burbled softly beside them while birds chirped in the trees overhead and insects droned lazily in the summer heat. Time seemed to slow until the rest of the world simply faded away.
She searched his face, looking for the hurt that had haunted his eyes these past two weeks.
Instead, she found...
Understanding.
Hope.
Love.
His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth before returning to her eyes, silently asking what neither of them seemed able to put into words.
When he leaned over, she met him halfway and closed her eyes as their lips brushed together.
The kiss was tentative at first, almost hesitant, as though they were both afraid the moment might shatter if either of them moved too quickly. Then Seth's fingers tightened around hers, and the last of the distance between them melted away.
She leaned closer, her free hand rising to rest against his jaw. The rough scrape of his beard beneath her fingertips grounded her in the moment as he deepened the kiss, slow and unhurried, pouring into it everything they hadn't known how to say over the past two weeks.
Regret.
Forgiveness.
Relief.
The certainty that what they'd found together was worth fighting for.
When they finally drew apart, neither of them moved very far. Their foreheads rested together, their breathing uneven, his thumb still stroking the back of her hand.
“I missed you,” he murmured.
She sniffled and laughed. “I missed you too.”
More than she'd thought it was possible to miss another person.
He smiled—the genuine smile she'd fallen in love with—and her heart felt lighter than it had since the night everything had unraveled.
“I love you,” he said. “I think I fell in love with you the moment we met. It just took me a while to figure that out.”
Fresh tears filled her eyes, but they came with a smile. “I love you too.”
He brushed a kiss across her lips.
“No more secrets.”
“Never again.”
He kissed her again, and this time there were no walls between them.
Only a future waiting to be written.