Free Beyond the Waves (Pacific Shores Book 1) by Lynnette Bonner Page B

what could he say?
    He had walked to his window, watching as she darted across the lawn and eased through her back door.
    If things had been strained between them before, they were even more so after that day. He remembered making snide comments about her as she passed him in the halls, loud enough for her to hear. He remembered the hurt acceptance that always haunted her eyes whenever he dared to actually look at her. There hadn’t been much of the year left, but he remembered he’d been cold and demeaning.
    He had been a sophomore in college, and hadn’t seen Taysia for two years, when he had attended church with his roommate and his eyes had been opened to his need of a Savior. His hunger for the Word had been voracious, and he had submersed himself into it, reading and studying it avidly.
    By the time summer break rolled around, he had known he needed to make things right with Taysia.
    As he drove the road home that year, he had prayed God would give him the words to express his heartfelt regret. That opportunity came when he saw Taysia heading out for her jog one day. He followed.
    They jogged quite a ways down the beach to a lonely stretch not often accessed by tourists. She had to know he was jogging behind her by now. “Taysia!” he called.
    She thought about simply ignoring him—he knew because she kept jogging for about ten feet before she stopped and spun toward him. She glanced around at the empty beach with a telling glance and arched a slender brow in his direction. “Afraid someone might see you talking to me?” She hauled in a breath of the fragrant, salty air, looking out over the ocean to the flat horizon beyond. “What do you want, Kylen?”
    “I want to apologize.”
    She cast him a swift glance, surprise evident on her face.
    He went on, undaunted. “I’ve become a Christian, Taysia, and I know the things I’ve done to you must have hurt you terribly. I should never have thrown away our friendship like I did in the first place. You meant more to me than that; mean more to me than that. The night of the prom—we should never have— I should never have—well, I’m sorry. I stole something from you that night, and I know it doesn’t change the past, but for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
    Taysia laughed derisively and stepped right up to him. “You know what you can do with your apology, Kylen Sumner?” Quick as lightning she looped one leg behind him and shoved his chest hard. “You can eat it!”
    He staggered backward trying to catch his balance, but there was a piece of driftwood just behind him. He went down hard. His head cracked against a rock beneath the surface of the sand, and blackness skittered across his vision.
    Squinting, he looked up to see Taysia leaning over him. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it! Kylen, are you alright?” Her hands fluttered around his face in agitation. “Kylen?”
    He groaned and rolled his head from side to side, determining the extent of the damage.
    “Lie still! Kylen, lie still.” She adjusted his head to an angle and peered at the cut behind his ear. “Don’t move.” He heard her splash into the waves, then felt her kneel beside him again.
    He grimaced and sucked in a breath as salt water hit the wound.
    “Hold still!” She bent closer, examining his head. “You’re going to need stitches.”
    He moaned. He couldn’t help it; no other words would form.
    She grabbed his T-shirt and ripped a piece of cloth from it, pressing it against the flow of blood.
    He opened one eye and raised an eyebrow, forcing words past the throb. “May I move now, Nurse?”
    She rolled her eyes. He grinned, sat up, and reached to take over pressing the material to his head. When she began to pull away, he captured her hand.
    “Taysia, please forgive me.” All levity gone, he implored her with his eyes. “The way I treated you was so wrong. I’ve asked God to forgive me, but I would really like it if you would forgive me too.”
    Her expression