Page 23 of Second Chance Saloon

HUNTER: Fine. I guess you might be asleep. But if I don’t hear from you tomorrow, I’m going to embarrass the fuck out of you and call the hotel reception to ask if you’ve checked in.

Mitch rolled his eyes at the screen. He knew Hunter well enough to know he wasn’t joking.

MITCH: Thanks Hunt, nice knowing that someone gives a crap whether I live or die. I’m fine. Checked in, not had a drink since the plane. Don’t you dare call the hotel. I’ll talk to you later.

He hit the “send” button with more force than was necessary and let his finger hover over his father’s name. He didn’t need to open the message to know what Tanner had to say. A paragraph of all the reasons he was disappointed by him, again.

TANNER CRAIGTON: Son, I’m sure you’re aware but this whole shamble wedding affair was hugely embarrassing to our family. Your mother is devastated. I’m glad Hunter was there to help us sort everything out. At least someone knows how to conduct themselves. He told me you went on the honeymoon, alone? What on earth will you do with yourself in Mexico?

Mitch breathed out through gritted teeth, choosing to ignore the text for now.

What was he going to do today? Time was dragging mercilessly, even in his sleep. He had made plenty of plans for him and Eve during their stay, of course. But most of those activities were couple’s things. He felt a bit like Amanda in The Holiday, deciding a kayak for one would be a pathetic idea.

Hunter’s voice rang in his ears. Have fun. Relax. You might as well enjoy the vacation. You deserve it.

He checked his phone and, seeing that it was still only six o’clock, Mitch decided he might as well get up and clear his head the only way that had worked for him every time: swimming.

CHAPTER TEN

Jackie

Jackie rolled over on her front, pulling one of the pillows to her and scrunching it up under her chin. Her feet dangled over the side of the bed as she tried to beat insomnia with every sleeping position she knew, including lying sideways on the bed and facing the open balcony door. Not even the first rays of the sun peeking over the horizon were enough to soothe her tangled emotions.

There was no use pretending she didn’t know why she’d been unable to sleep a wink.

Of all the hotels in Cancún, why did he have to choose this one? Why did it have to be right now, when she was here? If it had been last year, or even six months ago, she wouldn’t have been here. But no. He had to turn up right now.

Twelve doors down the corridor.

Twelve rooms.

Twelve balconies.

She knew exactly how far his suite was from her room, and it was eating her up.

Jackie pushed her face into the soft pillow. She could lie to herself and pretend she wasn’t affected, that everything between them was in the past. But it seemed that her brain and heart couldn’t communicate and agree on the same course of action, because even though logically she knew it’d been ten years, he’d moved on and she’d hurt him in the worst way she could’ve, her traitorous heart recognized its dusty missing piece yesterday, longing to connect with it and become whole again.

Something that could never happen.

Her unblinking eyes stared at the thin, zigzag line across the ceiling.

She could do it, right? Spend the next two weeks avoiding him, busy herself with work and, under no circumstances, tell him why she left. There was no way she was diving back into all that, not after ten years of navigating the heartbreak.

Pleased with herself for opting for a solid plan of letting cowardice take the wheel, Jackie stumbled out of bed.

Growing up, she hated early mornings. She’d often grumble when she had to get up in the pitch-dark at dawn to help with ranch chores, but the older she got, the more she appreciated it. The special kind of quiet before everyone else woke up. When she was at the Brooke’s Plains, she’d saddle up a horse and go on a sunrise ride. Away from home, she got into running and, sometimes, she cleared her head by immersing herself in a spa pool. At Mexican Jewel, the indoor ones in the hotel’s lower ground floor were her favorite. Not many guests frequented them, preferring to hang around the outdoor pools, and that suited Jackie.

She pulled out a black one-piece swimsuit from her dresser, smiling at the thought of some peace and quiet.

Stone walls glistened with droplets of water and swelled with soaked up melody of conversations they witnessed. The crystal-clear pool surface shimmered in the atmospheric lighting, showcasing the gorgeous spa area designed to look like the inside of a covered cenote.

For Jackie, cenotes were the absolute highlight in the Yucatán Peninsula. Natural sinkholes created by a collapse of limestone bedrock to expose stunning blue water.

She smiled at the fake stalactites edging down from the ceiling as she walked down the stone steps. Before she reached the bottom, her heels dug into the floor.

Someone was swimming in the pool.

In all the time Jackie had been here, she’d never seen anyone use the gorgeous pool for serious swimming.