“Fa you,” Chloe says, handing me a flower before giving one to Wyatt. She looks back and forth between the two of us, her cheeks pink with excitement. Her blonde curls bounce as she spins on her heel and takes off back over toward the willow tree.
“She’s like a little fairy,” Wyatt chuckles, shaking his head as he looks down at the flower she gave him. “I hope she holds on tight to the magic in life.”
“Me too.” I look over at my brother as he rests his hands in his lap, his back pressed against the bench. He’s heading back to Cheyenne in a few hours and sadness presses against my chest at the thought. I know Wyatt has his own life there, but sometimes I just wish he would move home.
“Guess who I talked to last week?
My eyebrows cinch closer. “Who?”
“Cole.” He pauses. “You remember him, right?”
My breath catches and my heart skips a beat at the mention of his name. “Cole Wild?”
The cobwebs sway around my heart, a few breaking away as it begins to beat a little wilder. Cole Wild—the middle Wild child—was a pillar from my childhood. He was my brother’s best friend and was everywhere I turned.
“The one and only.”
As if I could ever forget him.
A girl never forgets the first boy who brought life to the butterflies inside her stomach.
“I do. How is he doing?”
“He’s okay, I think,” Wyatt says with a shrug. “It was the first I’ve heard from him in months, but we’ve both been so busy.He said he was thinking about hanging up his glove and cleats. He’s been having a lot of problems with his shoulder and it’s beginning to affect his ability to pitch.”
“Oh no,” I murmur, glancing down at the flower in my hands, unaware until now that I had been absentmindedly picking the petals off one by one. Cole left Silverspur Springs eight years ago after he was drafted to a professional baseball team in Texas fresh out of high school.
I last saw him three years ago, when he came back for our parents’ funeral. That was the day my entire life changed–the day that propelled my life into a completely different direction. I spent that day in a daze, trying to hold myself together for the sake of my brother, but I’ll never forget the kindness he showed me that day—even though I ended up completely embarrassing myself.
“El, did you hear me?”
I blink rapidly, forcing away the memory as my vision focuses back on my brother. “No, I’m sorry.” I shake my head. “I got a little lost in my head for a second.”
Wyatt nods in understanding. “I was just saying that he didn’t seem upset like I thought he would be, but I think it’s been a long time coming. He’s been having issues for a few years now.”
“Do you know what he’s going to do after he retires?”
Wyatt shrugs. “I don’t know. He didn’t really say.” He lets out a sigh. “I just hope everything ends up working out for him.”
Even though I embarrassed the hell out of myself that day, I still have a soft spot for Cole Wild. He is a good guy and I’ll always hold onto the good parts of that last memory I have with him. The day he was there for me in a way no one else could be. The day he watched me fall apart and refused to leave my side.
I swallow hard, looking back out at Chloe as she comes running over.
“Me too.”
CHAPTER TWO
COLE
“Your new tenants are planning on moving in on the first. Does that date still work for you?”
Balancing my phone on my shoulder, I scroll through the available flights, finding one for the thirtieth. Tomorrow. “That works.” I select the earliest flight I can find, not minding that it has a three-hour layover in Chicago.
“Okay,” Missy, the woman from the property management company says. “If you can drop off the keys and garage door opener along with any pertinent information, we will make sure it gets to the tenants.”
“I’ll drop it off tomorrow on my way to the airport.”
“That’s perfect. Save travels, Mr. Wild. I’ll be in touch if needed.”
