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Antonio smiled. “We both know him well enough to know which it is.”
“Yeah.” She knew Marcos wouldn’t have gotten himself involved if he didn’t know he could master it.
“He thought it might take him a few years before he could forgive himself for screwing up so badly. He’s turned himself around much sooner than he thought.”
Molly nodded, not daring to ask if that meant he was going to come back to Napa.
“You know him as well as I do. He wanted to make amends for screwing up in business—and in love. He’s taken care of business.”
Molly’s heart raced. Did he really want to make amends with her—and would they be able to make it work again, even if they both wanted to?
Antonio held her gaze for a moment. “He went to Summer Lake because that’s being around old friends again without coming back here—yet.”
“He doesn’t want to come yet?”
“He wants to see how you feel about it first. I guess you can figure that out at the wedding.”
“I guess we will.”
~ ~ ~
Marcos threw a pebble and watched it skip across the smooth surface of the lake. Skipping stones had become one of his favorite pastimes in the last few weeks. He hadn’t done it since he was a kid. Six months ago, he wouldn’t have seen the point. Since he’d been in Summer Lake, he’d spent countless hours down here on the beach enjoying the peace, the sounds of the lake, the beauty of the sunrise or the sunset. He blew out a sigh and turned to walk back up to the parking lot where he’d left his bicycle.
He stopped when he saw a gray and black bundle of fur coming hurtling down the beach toward him.
“Hey, Ollie.” He reached down to scratch the dog’s ears as he waggled around his legs.
“Ollie!”
Marcos smiled at the sight of Megan hurrying down the beach toward them.
“I’m sorry! He won’t listen to me when we get here.”
“It’s okay. We’ve become friends. I’m pleased he wanted to come say hello.”
“He’s a bad boy,” said Megan, giving Ollie a stern look.
The dog gave one short, sharp bark and sat down, offering Marcos his paw to shake.
“I think he disagrees,” said Marcos. “Is it okay?”
“If you want to,” said Megan with a rueful smile. “But he really doesn’t deserve it.”
Marcos asked Ollie to shake again before rewarding him with one of the bacon treats he’d started carrying in his pocket whenever he came down here. He’d made Ollie and Megan’s acquaintance on his first pebble skipping expedition and soon discovered that she was one of the large group of friends of his old college buddies. He’d gotten to know her husband Michael and their kids, too.
“Where’s Ethan today?”
“He’s gone to play at his friend’s house after school, and Billy’s with Michael’s mom.”
Marcos nodded. He wondered what it might be like to have a young boy and a baby and a dog to take care of. He’d been married for almost ten years, but he hadn’t experienced the kind of life that he thought of as family life—the kind of life Megan and Michael had.
“Are you okay?”
He looked at Megan. He hadn’t quite figured her out yet. When he’d first met her, he’d thought she was a timid little thing, but seeing her in the group of friends, he knew she wasn’t afraid to speak up when she thought something was important. It seemed the well-being of the people around her was always important to her.
“I am. Thank you.”
“I don’t mean to be nosey. I know what it’s like to come here thinking you can just hide away from the world and not have to face it.”
