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driver and climbed out, tipping his hat down a bit more to shield his eyes from the
slowly setting sun. Riley smiled when Trace took his hand.
 Too bad we don t have a blanket or something, we could just sit and watch the sun
set. That d be nice, Trace said. And romantic too, something Riley had come to expect
from Trace.  This is perfect though. I sat around waiting all day, which was the worst
kind of torture, believe me.
They walked down the beach, idly watching a couple of kids winging a Frisbee
back and forth until their mother called for them.  I always wanted a brother or sister.
Being an only child wasn t much fun. Was it just me, or& nah, I bet you weren t lonely
like I was. Your family didn t move around like me and my mom did, Riley said,
glancing up at Trace.
Trace smiled and gave a light tug on Riley s hand to stop them walking. He glanced
around, then sat, tugging off his boots and socks and wiggling his toes in the sand
before reaching a hand up to Riley, who was smiling amusedly at him.
 Who needs a blanket? You afraid of a little sand? Trace teased, pulling him down
to sit back against his chest, arms around his shoulders. This is nice, Riley thought. It
was warm but not uncomfortably so now with the sun sinking.  As for your question
I don t know if lonely is the right word. I always felt a little& out of place. My folks
weren t the country, ranch-living, nature types. They wanted me to be a doctor or a
lawyer or something nice and conservative and make lots of money. It was my
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His Every Breath
grandmother who really inspired my love for the outdoors. I loved visiting her at the
ranch because it was so different from my parents world. I always knew that s what I
wanted to do work outside with animals.
Trace shrugged and sighed.  They loved me and I loved them but they never really
understood me. All I wanted was to ride horses and raise cattle and be outside. The
thought of being chained in some office was enough to make me break out in hives.
Riley nodded in agreement, balancing part of his weight on his hands as he leaned
back in Trace s arms.  Yeah, I know that feeling. Luckily my mom never questioned my
decisions about what I wanted to do, at least not to me. Granted, I didn t tell her that I
was working at the club until a year after I actually started. I don t know what my dad
would think don t much care either. He dropped out of my life a long time ago. But I
always kind of hoped that my mom would find someone else and have another kid so I
wouldn t be so lonely. It never occurred to me that it d be a good long while before I
could actually play with a younger brother or sister. But we moved around so much
and even though I made friends easily, I couldn t ever keep them.
Riley kicked off his sandals, watching as they landed at crazy angles a few feet
away, sighing in contentment. Tipping back his head to meet Trace s eyes upside down,
he smiled.  But I m not lonely now. Jenna s been there for me for the past few years and
I don t know what I d have done without her but there was always this empty spot in
my life. Now there s not because you re here. And it feels really good.
Trace didn t say anything but Riley didn t mind, straightening to gaze out at the
ocean and the sun setting against it. Trace turned his face into Riley s hair, silent for a
long moment before he gave Riley a tight squeeze and pressed a kiss behind his ear.  It
feels perfect.
That it did.
* * * * *
I m sorry, you re just not what I m looking for.
The words echoed in Riley s head with every step as he drew closer to the hotel
doors, his stomach tied in knots. Trace would to be nearly as upset as he. He d been so
happy last night, so proud and Riley hated knowing that he was going to spoil that,
hated the knowledge that now Trace was going to be disappointed.
Even a week ago, Riley knew he d have hidden the news from Trace, would have
evaded and talked around things and done everything in his power not to let Trace
know what had happened and how upset he was but he couldn t even consider it now. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]