Page 7 of Finding Love

Her dad was her hero.

He’d moved to Pride to teach at the coast guard training facility. He still did. But now, instead of being just an instructor, he was one of the men who ran the entire facility. Which is why Brook had grown up loving the water.

Even though she’d been stuck helping her mother in the bakery most of her life, she dreamed of being on the open water. That thought filled her as she drifted off to sleep.

“Hey?” A deep voice shook her mind clear from a dream of a sexy green-eyed merman who was saving her from the storm in her dreams. “You awake?”

She blinked a few times and nodded. Her eyes focused on Ryder, who was standing over her.

“Hey,” she said, clearing her throat and sitting up. She didn’t know how many times she’d fallen asleep in that chair over the past few years. It was one of the reasons she’d splurged on the nice furniture out there. She ran her hands over her face and then glanced up to see Willy rushing back onto the porch. He jumped up on the sofa as Ryder sat down.

“Thanks for letting us crash here last night.” Ryder’s eyes moved over her.

“How’s the head?” she asked as he rubbed the spot above his ear.

“Sore, but I can still remember my name,” he said with a smile. Her heart kicked in her chest at seeing his grin. God, he was sexy. Where had he come from? More important, why the hell did she always fall for the stupid surfer guys?

“That’s good. Ryder and Willy.” She motioned between the man and dog.

What she needed was to send them on their way and get into town. No doubt her mother would need her help at the bakery today.

She’d made it very clear to her mother a while back that she didn’t do early mornings. Her mother and aunt were notoriously early risers.

“Yes.” His eyes traveled over her face. “We didn’t get your name last night.”

“Brook.” She stood up and saw his eyebrows shoot up.

“Brook…” He waited.

“Masters.” She sighed. “And…” She glanced at her watch and winced. “I’m late for work.” She walked inside to shower and change.

When she came back outside, she wasn’t surprised that the man, the dog, and the surfboard were gone. What did surprise her was the note attached to a small wooden carving of what was very obviously Willy.

“Brook, thanks again for letting us crash here. You have a really great beach and surf spot. I hope we didn’t put you out too much. Willy wanted me to leave you some cash for your trouble, but he’s broke and a dog. So I hope you’ll accept this little token instead. See you around, Ryder & Willy.”

Smiling, she put the small figure in her pocket, then locked up her house and rushed to work.

When she walked into the bakery almost half an hour late, her mother smiled and asked, “Did you sleep on your porch again?”

“There was a storm.” She pulled on her apron and walked over to make herself a cup of coffee.

“Morning,” her aunt Becca said as she came out of the back carrying a large tray of maple eclairs.

Brook took one and shoved it in her mouth.

“Wasn’t that a great storm last night?” her aunt asked her.

“The best,” Brook answered. “Where do you want me?” she asked her mother.

“You can work the register. Rush hour should start…” Just then the door opened, and her mother smiled. “Right about now.”

She loved her job at her mother’s bakery. The hours were really flexible, her mother and aunt were great to work with, and she loved chatting with everyone who came in daily.

Still, her mind kept playing over the sexy dream she’d had about Ryder and, well, the man himself.

It wasn’t often that Pride got visits from sexy strangers. A lot of people came and went, but none had slept on her porch or called her a mermaid before. And none had sparked her interest like Ryder had.

An hour later, just when things were starting to slow down, she looked up to see Ryder stroll into the bakery. The moment he saw her, surprise and desire flashed behind those sexy green eyes she’d dreamed about all night long.