With This Pledge (Windswept Bay Book 8) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  More Books in the Windswept Bay Series

  About the Author

  With This Pledge

  WITH THIS PLEDGE

  Windswept Bay Book Eight

  DEBRA CLOPTON

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  With This Pledge:

  After a special ops mission gone terribly wrong, Max Sinclair is home and facing the possibility of losing the career he loves serving his country. When he meets his brother’s new stable manager he is drawn to her and feeling more alive.

  After a bad situation with her ex-boss, horse trainer Kelsey Malone accepted the job of running the Windswept Bay side stables for Cam Sinclair. She’s attracted to his brother Max the moment she sees him at Cam and Lana’s engagement party. But her dad was career military and gave his life for his country-Kelsey’s vowed she’ll never go through that again and doesn’t date military men. But things get complicated when her ex-boss shows up and Max steps in to protect her.

  Can love heal these two wounded soul’s hearts? Welcome back to the beautiful sunset shores of Windswept Bay where the romance continues...

  Chapter One

  Kelsey Malone followed the hostess through the packed dining room to the back deck of the Paradise Grill. The beachside restaurant was, from what she’d been told, a favorite gathering spot of Windswept Bay residents and tourists. Tonight was an engagement party for her boss, Cam Sinclair and his bride-to-be, Lana Presley. His family was holding it for him and though the family owned the Windswept Bay Resort, Cam had told Kelsey that they often held family gatherings like this away from the resort.

  “Here you go.” The hostess pushed open the door. “The party is on the left side.”

  “Thank you.” Kelsey took a deep breath and stepped out onto the deck. She hadn’t been in town that long and she really didn’t know anyone well. She knew Cam and Lana and then Levi Sinclair—the chief of police—and his wife, Jessica. She’d been invited to their wedding but in the big picture, she hadn’t really been around any of them long enough to actually know them.

  But tonight was a chance to start building relationships. That was one of Kelsey’s goals when she’d taken this job running the stables for Cam…to start a new life and to basically build a life and settle down. Kelsey had never really had roots anywhere and that was about to change.

  Party lights were strung up everywhere and the live band was playing fun, beach, and wedding song inspired music. The moon glistened on the water that could be seen from the deck and she breathed in the salty air. She had quickly fallen in love with the town and the area. Kelsey was a horse trainer and not many ranches were near the beach, so she’d never spent much time in areas such as this. Which meant running a horse riding stable on the beach was a unique opportunity for her and had come at the most perfect and heaven-sent way.

  Her gaze found the handsome Cam Sinclair. She felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the man who had not listened to gossip and had hired her anyway on her merit and training reputation.

  Her gaze shifted to Cam’s brother Levi. He and his wife Jessica had been welcoming and wonderful to her. Her gaze was drawn almost immediately to the handsome man beside Levi— There was a seriousness to his look, a solemnness to him. His stance was different; his chest was broader and his biceps thicker with hard, corded muscle. His gaze shifted suddenly and met hers. Instantly, butterflies erupted through her chest. Goodness.

  “Kelsey.”

  At the sound of her name, Kelsey yanked her gaze from the man’s and found Jessica coming toward her.

  “I’m so happy you were able to make it.” Jessica hugged her.

  “I’m glad to be here,” she said, feeling welcomed. “It looks like the party is in full swing. I’m sorry I’m running late. I had a group ride that took longer than expected.”

  “No worries. Come on, let’s move over to the others.”

  Lana waved to her and motioned for them to head her way. “I’m thrilled that you came. Cam said he thought you were coming.”

  She told her about the late ride. “It was a great group, though. There was a mixture of adults and children and the kids were adorable. Reminded me of Kevin and Jessica.”

  Kevin was Jessica’s little boy, a first-grader whom she was now giving riding lessons. Kelsey really enjoyed teaching the kids to ride and seeing the excitement in their little faces as they learned the joy of horsemanship.

  “You’re so good with them,” Jessica said.

  “Yes, you are and that’s why we are so lucky to have you running the stables. It really gives Cam peace of mind when he’s in Texas.”

  No one was happier about her having this job than Kelsey. She was so grateful for it…for Cam and for Lana, Kelsey thought once again. She repeated the mantra several times a day.

  “Kevin sings your praises all the time. You should hear what he says at school. You’ll probably be having some of his classmate’s parents calling about lessons.”

  Kelsey chuckled. “I adore teaching that age. They are a hoot.”

  “They are a handful.” Jessica laughed. “I keep thinking about Levi’s mom and dad raising five boys. How did they survive?”

  Lana made a humorous face. “Believe me, it probably wasn’t easy. I have five brothers myself and I love them but goodness gracious boys are active.”

  The three of them automatically looked over at the three men talking together.

  Kelsey couldn’t help but ask, “Who is that talking to Cam and Levi?”

  “Oh, you didn’t know? That’s Max.,” Jessica said.

  “He looks so serious…or something.” She felt instantly embarrassed to let them know she’d looked at Max that closely.

  Lana nodded. Yes, he’s Special Ops with a very elite, and top secret section of the Marines, its kind of like a Navy SEAL. Very dangerous. And Cam said he had been really quiet since coming home. I’ve not been around him much but I thought the same thing.”

  “Levi said the exact same thing,” Jessica said. “He’s quieter. I think he stays to himself more, even when he’s home from his missions and not at the base. From what Levi says, he can’t talk about his missions even to family. That would be hard, I think.”

  Kelsey nodded. Thoughts of her dad slammed into her. He had been Special Ops and most of her memories of him were of him being gone and her missing him. She shook off the thoughts and her gaze snagged on Max Sinclair. Instantly, his gaze was back to hers, as if he felt her looking at him. Heat rose up in her body and she hoped the dim lighting hid the flush.

  The Sinclair sisters were suddenly there greeting her and she was glad for the distraction.

  Cali, Shar, Olivia, and Jillian Sinclair were friendly and welcoming. They were as nice as they were pretty and Kelsey tried hard to remember who was who. The tall blonde was Cali; she was the oldest and married to a famous artist. The other three were triplets, even though they weren’t identical. Shar was dark-headed and the other two looked almost identical.

  “Look, girls—I think Max is checking Kelsey out.” Shar smiled at her. “Cool.”

  “Really?” Jillian gasped and shot her broth
er a glance.

  Kelsey was embarrassed and automatically looked his way because everyone else was. He was not looking at her but was focused on something Levi was saying. More guys had joined the group.

  “He’s been so quiet since he got back,” Cali offered, thoughtfully.

  “I know. It’s driving me crazy,” Shar said. “I think something bad happened on that mission. That’s why he was gone so long.”

  “I think so too,” Olivia agreed.

  “Trent and Max are our quiet brothers and we’re used to that. But Max, has been even more withdrawn since he came home,” Jillian explained.

  “He can’t talk to anyone about the missions,” Shar said. “It’s just not normal. You need to be able to talk to someone. I know he has his team but still theres something about having family to talk things out with. I worry about him.”

  Kelsey felt ill at ease discussing Max. And she knew all too well what they were talking about. She didn’t want to tell them that if Max was anything like her dad, he was happy with the way his life was. He probably lived every day he was home from a mission ready to go to the next one.

  That was how her dad had seemed. Kelsey had lived that life once and would never live that life again. She had a rule: no matter how nice or appealing a man was, if he was in the military of any sort, it turned her off instantly.

  Max Sinclair was no different. Yes, she’d felt a reaction when their gazes met but that didn’t matter. Nor did it matter whether his sisters thought he might have shown interest in her.

  Kelsey did not date military men. Period.

  And that fact would never change.

  Hours after the party, Max sat in the dark, staring out at the ocean. The white-capped waves rolling in held no candle to the turmoil rolling through him like waves slamming violently against his numb heart.

  He was used to being in control of himself—his emotions, his reactions, his thoughts. But tonight he felt as if he were in control of nothing.

  He couldn’t blank out the loss of his team members. Couldn’t relive every move he had made up to the moment that the explosive had been triggered. Had it been his fault?

  Had two of his friends lost their lives because he’d misread the signs? Because he’d made a mistake?

  He really didn’t think so, but there was that inkling of doubt.

  He rubbed his knee, feeling the swelling and the pain that could at moments rip through him. He fought not to take the painkillers the docs had sent home from the hospital with him. But there had been a few times in the week since he’d arrived home that he’d had to take one. Tonight might end up being one of those nights. He’d had to stand most of the time at his brother’s engagement party—it had been hard on his knee. His ACL was torn and the doctors had said it would be good to give the swelling time to go down before considering surgery. He had appointments set up for reevaluation in two weeks. For that and also the verdict about his hearing.

  His career was riding on the thin blade of a knife, ready to split either way, and he could do nothing but wait.

  He had never been the best at waiting until he’d gone into Special Ops and had to learn patience. But now, this was not about a mission but about him…about whether he would ever be able to go on another mission. He should tell his family. Should let them in on what he was going through. But if any of his family knew that his knee had been torn up on this mission—or that he’d almost been blown up…it was worry and fear that he didn’t want to put them through.

  That was why he’d kept it a secret. Until he couldn’t take the standing any longer and had left early.

  Now, he closed his eyes. He lived to protect his country. He had been willing to die to protect his country but it hadn’t been him who had died; it had been his team members who had paid the ultimate price. He’d almost missed their funerals and would have if their bodies had made it back sooner. He’d been in the hospital and only released the day before the scheduled funerals.

  He knew his brothers—his entire family—wondered why this mission took longer than normal but they didn’t know he had spent a week in the hospital recovering. The blast that had killed his two friends had damaged his hearing in his right ear and torn up the interior of his knee on that same side. When that explosive was detonated so close to him, it had sounded as if his head had been inside a steel drum. It had been so loud it was a pure miracle that he had lived—and with almost no visible signs of damage.

  Where did he go from here?

  As if she could hear his thoughts, Charlotte turned her head and looked at him. The pig had been constantly at his side ever since he’d arrived home. It was almost as if she sensed something wasn’t right. Max’s jaw hardened at the thought. No, something wasn’t right. He had never felt this dark before. Never felt this sense of impending doom…

  He scratched Charlotte’s head and the pig nudged his hand when he stopped. A little of his tension eased. “Yeah, Charlotte, I’m going to have to get my act together.”

  What would he do if he got the news he was done?

  He had a house on the hill to build. And he had, in truth, been thinking about a family of his own. Why else had he agreed to be in that Valentine bachelor auction that his sisters had held last month? He had been called to the mission before actually being auctioned but still, he’d let them talk him into it.

  Somebody who looked prettier than Charlotte would be a plus. He wasn’t sure whether he was really ready to start thinking about settling down or whether seeing his sisters so happy was just making him start to think about his future more.

  He knew for certain that he wasn’t ready to back away from duty yet. This gut-twisting feeling that he was having right now told him he wasn’t ready to walk away. And he certainly wasn’t ready to have it ripped away from him like this.

  He did not want a doctor handing him his release papers.

  You’re still alive.

  He shook himself. The thought slammed into him, interrupting his pity party.

  He would take whatever tomorrow threw at him. He hadn’t died in that blast with his comrades.

  Thoughts of the tall horse trainer proved clearly that he had not died. He’d known she was there almost from the moment that she’d walked out onto that deck tonight. He’d shifted to find her studying him and he had hardly been able to look away from her.

  Cam and Levi had noticed too, though they hadn’t said anything. He’d caught both of them watching him whenever he’d tear his gaze away from Kelsey Malone. Maybe he’d go meet her tomorrow. Maybe finding out more about the beautiful horse trainer was exactly the distraction he needed right now.

  Chapter Two

  Kelsey had just carried a child’s saddle into the tack room and set it on the saddle rack when she heard the crunch of boots on gravel. She leaned around the corner, expecting to see one of the college students who worked for her arriving for work. It was Clay’s morning, but instead of him she found Max Sinclair standing in the entrance of the stables. Seeing him there was as unexpected as it got.

  Her pulse sped up instantly. The man had been on her mind ever since the party.

  He stood in the sunlight with his hands on his lean hips and his black T-shirt stretched tightly across his powerful chest. She tried to ignore the attraction that buzzed between them but it was not something she could ignore without effort. She forced the effort.

  Her dad had been a Marine. And she’d lost him to a secret mission. She despised secret missions. Though the country needed them, and she respected the military for what they did and sacrificed for our freedoms, still Kelsey hated them.

  They’d taken from her the father she had adored.

  It was nothing she would ever repeat. Nothing her children would ever experience.

  “Hi,” she managed, trying in earnest to get resentful thoughts of her past to move back into the dark corners of her heart, where she tried to keep them suppressed. “Are you looking for Cam?”

  “Yeah.” He moved tow
ard her, an almost unnoticeable limp to his right leg.

  “He’s not here.”

  “That’s okay.” He held out his hand. “I’m Max Sinclair. We weren’t officially introduced last night.”

  “Kelsey Malone. It’s nice to meet you.” She took his hand and swallowed hard when the rough texture of his callused hand wrapped firmly around hers. Her stomach tilted and she felt breathless.

  I will not be influenced. I will not be influenced.

  She pulled her hand away the moment he released it.

  “I came to check out the place.” He glanced around, smiling at a couple of the horses that were in the stalls instead of out in the arena. “Everything looks great.”

  His gaze met hers and she almost got the feeling that he was including her in that observation. Had he come out here to check her out?

  “Thanks.” She smiled. “Do you want to look around?” She felt obligated to show him around considering Cam wasn’t here to do it.

  “Sure.”

  Oh shoot. She had felt obligated but had hoped he would say no and leave. “Well, this is where we keep the horses. You probably saw most of them out in the arena.”

  “Yeah, I did. Bess kept the place up. There is no telling what Cam will do for future improvements. But it’s nice. Do you give riding lessons?”

  “I do.” She hoped he didn’t ask for one. Though the idea was tempting. That was startling and worrisome to her. “Do you ride?”

  “Some, though I lack my brother’s love of it.”

  She smiled. “You’re not buying a ranch in Texas?”

  “That would be an affirmative.”

  “We better continue the tour now, I have a a class in a few minutes.”

  “Sure,” he said. “I’ve actually only been out here a few times. I was never really interested in horses. But I’m changing my mind.” He smiled and her heart galloped.