Song of the Surf (Pacific Shores Book 3) (22 page)

Picking her way toward them from the edge of the field, one small hand shading her eyes, was Riley. Black slacks. A silvery blue blouse. Red hair piled into a messy knot at the back of her head. And – he swallowed – looking even more beautiful than he remembered.

Take a breath, Rivera
. He did that, and then forced one foot in front of the other in what he hoped looked to be a casual stroll across the field and not something similar to the dashing, dancing, and leaping of joy his heart was doing in his chest.

He stopped a few feet before her when he suddenly realized he probably smelled like a field horse after a long day of plowing. He resisted a grimace. Good thing the breeze was brisk so the odors wouldn’t linger around. “Riley.” He offered her a smile.

“J-Jalen.” Her face looked stricken, but she followed up quickly with “It’s so good to see you again!” She stepped toward him, intent on pulling him into a welcoming embrace.

He jumped back. “It’s good to see you too, but I probably smell like the wrong end of a mule right about now.” He nearly clenched his eyes shut.
Talk about smooth, Rivera. Way to leave her with such a charming picture
.

“Of course.” She offered the reassurance, but her tone said she thought she’d somehow offended him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Her gaze dropped to where his left hand still gripped the towel slung over his shoulder and she stuttered to a stop and let the rest of the sentence trail away, then dropped her gaze to the grass at their feet.

His own gaze searched out her left hand where she twirled her car keys nervously. No ring, at least.

A herd of wild mustangs on the run must have taken up residence in his chest cavity. For two years he’d be waiting and praying. Wanting to come back and pursue her, but never feeling it was quite the right time. And then he’d seen the ad for the high school soccer coach – or rather Dakota had sent it to him in an email with a little winking face and no other comments. The email had arrived the day before he and Justus had learned that the funding for their ministry, Deschutes Rejuvenation, had dried up and the church who’d been sponsoring the program was cutting it. He had a feeling that cutback had answered a few of Justus’s prayers as well as his own. They both had been willing to continue serving, but both of them had been serving with divided hearts for the past couple years.

The breeze tugged at the golden-red strands of Riley’s hair and he noticed that the sun had brought out a few light freckles across the bridge of her nose. Seeing her again made him feel like an out-of-oxygen scuba diver breaking through the surface of the ocean and pulling in that first life-giving breath of air.

“So you’re here to pick up Rem—”

“—So you’re the new soccer coach.”

They spoke at the same time, and then smiled at each other sheepishly.

She tilted her head. “I hadn’t heard you were back in town?”

There was something different,
less vulnerable
, about her countenance. “I just got here last night. They interviewed me on Skype since the last term at Deschutes Rejuvenation was still going.”

“Dakota told me your funding was cut. I’m sorry about that.”

He shrugged. His years in that ministry had been good, blessed. But there wasn’t a place he would rather be right now than where he was standing. “Was time to move on, I guess.”

She spun her keys around one finger. “Where are you staying?”

“Reece has given Justus and I a room at a discount out at Serenity Shores Bed and Breakfast, for now. But we’re looking for a place to rent.”

“I see. Well, I can tell you I’m very pleased that you’ll be Rem’s soccer coach.”

She tilted her head and smiled fondly at him, but it was a smile that suddenly had him second-guessing his plan to make his feelings known to her, because the gesture was sisterly. Cordial. Platonic.

She tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear. “I’d better get going. It’s nice to see you again, Jalen.” She looked past him. “Rem, Mom asked me to pick you up. Let’s go, please.”

“Just a sec!” Remington called back, continuing to dribble the ball toward the soccer goal at the far end of the field.

Riley opened her mouth to call him again, but her phone rang and she paused to dig it out of her purse. She glanced at the caller ID, a small frown forming on her brow.

He should go and leave her to her call in private, but after seeing her for the first time in two years, he found he wasn’t quite ready to deprive himself again so soon. Especially since this might be the most interaction he’d ever get with her.

She pressed the green dot on her screen. “Hi, Kylen. What’s up?” Her frown increased as she listened. “I’m at the school picking up Rem from soccer practice. Why?” Her hand went to her forehead. “She what?” Her eyes dropped closed. “Was anyone hurt?” A breath left her in a long slow exhale. “Well, thank God for that. I’ll get Rem and…we’ll be down in a few minutes, I guess.” She blinked hard. Then blinked again. “No, don’t be sorry. This is not your fault. We’ll be there as soon as we can.” She hung up and stood staring at her phone for a long moment as though she wished she could go back a few minutes in time and not answer it.

He shouldn’t intrude, but he went against his better judgment and asked, “Everything alright?”

She looked up as though coming back from someplace far away. “Uh…no, but thanks for asking.” Her lips stretched but it didn’t look like much of a smile.

He reached out and squeezed her shoulder before he thought better of it. Then snatched his hand away. He tipped his head toward the boy still practicing shots into the net. “I’ll get him for you.” Turning he jogged toward Remington wondering what news Kylen would have been calling her about. Jalen knew her father had left the family to move in with his secretary in another city a couple years ago and her mother hadn’t been doing well even before that.
Lord, whatever it is, give her the strength to make it through. Let me help her through it, if I can.