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The job was perfect. It would help him get started reestablishing the money that he just poured out of his account.
And if the person had enough money to pay to have their store fixed up, they might hire him to landscape around it as well. It wouldn’t be much, just the area in front of the sidewalk, and perhaps a little bit along both sides, although there wasn’t much room between the buildings. The souvenir shop was right beside the diner though, and lots of people would see his handiwork, which could lead to more jobs.
He chatted with his mom a bit before he said he would go down and look at the building, and give her a list of the things that he thought needed to be done.
To his surprise, she offered to go with him.
They turned, walking down the sidewalk. He listened to his mother speak but couldn’t quit thinking about the future.
His horse and the foundation of the ranch that he wanted.
But there was something missing. There had always been something missing. And now, going back to the souvenir shop where Dakota had spent a couple of summers as a young girl, and they had played on the beach together, riding horses and running wild, had crystallized the idea that maybe he had made a mistake all those years ago when he turned her down.
His rodeo career had been huge. He was a name that was recognized everywhere, but...it was all over. The fame was gone, and maybe he would have been better off getting married and coming back home when she’d asked.
If he had done that, he’d probably already own a ranch, Dakota would be beside him, and they’d be training horses together.
He smiled. Life never turned out the way a person thought it would. If he and Dakota had gotten together all those years ago, they probably would be divorced by now.
One dream was nice to think about, and one wasn’t, so he shifted his thoughts and tried to focus on the job at hand. Putting Dakota behind him for good.
After all, the memories were bittersweet.
Chapter 3
Nine years ago...
Dakota looked at the little stick in her hand. It was supposed to be just the one line, but in the last five minutes, a second line had appeared, making a plus sign.
Her heart dropped.
She’d done something she’d never done before. Two things actually. She’d watched her best friend in all the world win his first rodeo world championship in bareback riding.
She’d been pretty much on top of the world for him even though she hadn’t ended up placing at all. Her fault, not Goldie’s. A concentration error, and that half a second had cost her everything.
After she’d taken care of Goldie, she’d gone out with her friend slash boyfriend, Ryan Landry.
