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“Speak to you soon, baby.” He grinned as he ended the call and walked back to his car, sliding in behind the wheel. As the engine sparked to life he had to force himself not to blue tooth dial her again.
The rest of their lives were beginning. He could wait another five minutes to hear her voice again.
Epilogue
Ally walked out onto the beach in her bare feet, smiling as her soles sunk into the warm, dry sand. She closed her eyes to appreciate the moment, though not even her eyelids could block out the brightness of the sun. It was a perfect late fall/early winter day in Angel Sands – the only clouds in the sky were the wispy, barely-there kind that reminded her of a shimmering veil.
“How does it feel?” Nate asked. She opened her eyes to see him watching her, amusement curling up his lips. “You look like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“It’s amazing.” She wriggled her toes. “No itching, no crutches. Just me and the sand. I can’t wait to run again.”
“Hey, don’t run before you can walk,” Ember joked. Ally grinned at her. It was late afternoon and they were all gathered on the boardwalk next to the coffee shop, as though there was some kind of minor miracle going on instead of an ankle cast being removed. Her friends had all been waiting here for her when she and Nate had gotten back from the hospital. Ember and Brooke, Ally’s dad and Lorne. And Riley of course. Even Frank Megassey had snuck out of the hardware store to make sure everything had gone okay with the removal.
“Did they use a circular saw?” he’d asked her.
“Just a little hand held one.”
“Did you get a look at what make it was?”
She’d laughed and shook her head. It was such a typical Frank thing to ask. You could take the man out of the hardware store, but you couldn’t take the hardware store out of the man.
“You want to go paddle in the ocean?” Riley asked her, slipping her hand into Ally’s. In the few weeks since she’d come back from Boston – and Nate and Ally had begun dating in earnest – Riley had welcomed Ally in with open arms. According to her, Nate was so much easier to deal with when Ally was around.
“I can actually leave the house without worrying about him anymore,” Riley had confessed one evening as she was getting ready for a study session at Laura’s. “Tell me you’re going to stick around.”
“You can bank on it,” Ally had promised her.
Riley and Nate were beside her as Ally walked down to where the ocean was lapping at the sand, rushing up then slowly receding, leaving the yellow grains wet and glistening. She leaned down to roll up her jeans, and wobbled for a second.
The next moment she felt warm, strong hands curling around her waist. She didn’t have to look behind her to see who they belonged to because she knew. Just as she knew the sound of his breath, the fragrance of his skin. In the past weeks she’d gotten to know every single part of him.
The man never failed to take her breath away.
The water was cool as it lapped over her feet, rising up to her ankles before it pulled away again. “That feels good,” she said, leaning her head back on Nate’s chest. He tightened his hold on her. Riley didn’t seem to mind – maybe she was getting used to their public displays of affection.
Or maybe she’d seen the worst, and anything was better than that.
“I’ve got something for you,” Nate whispered in her ear.
Ally turned her head, angling to look up at him. She raised a single eyebrow.
“Not that,” he said, laughing. “Though now that you’ve mentioned it…”
“Enough! Seriously, you guys. I’m going to get a smoothie.” Riley mock-stomped off, her eyes rolling at them, though Ally could tell she wasn’t really angry.
When she was out of earshot, Ally grinned lasciviously at him. “You know, I was just thinking about all the possibilities now that the cast is off.”
“It’ll be like starting all over again.”
“Are you free tonight?” she asked him.
“Always.” He dropped his head to kiss her, his lips lingering on hers. “Or at least for a couple of hours before bedtime.”
“That’s all it takes.”
It was his turn to raise his eyebrows. “With what I’ve got in mind, it’ll take a damn bit longer than that.”
“Promises, promises.” The grin was still on her face. “Anyway, stop changing the subject. What have you got for me, other than… you know?”
