With This Pledge (Windswept Bay Book 8) Read online

“Oh,” she said, startled by the dimpled smile that appeared in one cheek. It was dazzling. “Well, maybe we’ll get you on a horse.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. But not right now.”

  “Oh no, not now. I noticed you were limping slightly.”

  “Yeah, my knee’s a little stiff at the moment.”

  “There are ways around that if you were to really want to ride. Just let me know.”

  “I sure will. So who is this?” He moved toward a stall. The horse was watching him and he stroked its neck.

  She strode across the distance between them and found herself smiling as she watched him with the mare. The poor horse looked a little starry-eyed.

  “Well, these are the horses. This pretty lady is Sugar Cookie.”

  “Sweet,” he said to the horse.

  Her heart melted watching him. Not good. Not good at all.

  “We have twelve horses in all. She really likes you.” Kelsey laughed softly as Sugar Cookie nudged Max roughly when he stopped petting her.

  “I like her too,” she rubbed the opposite side of her neck, “but it looks like she only has eyes for you.” The words were out before she realized what she’d said.

  His lip hitched upward. “Glad someone’s happy to see me.”

  She wasn’t able to think of a comeback. “Well, uh, I’m sure you have more admirers than just Sugar Cookie,” she said quickly, realizing they stood near each other. “Come this way and I’ll show you where we are thinking about building a training facility.” She moved toward the entrance of the stables. “Where we’ll get to actually gentle them and train them.” She fought to focus as she strode away from Max.

  She hadn’t ever felt such sudden and overwhelming attraction to someone and it was mind muddling. She needed to get a handle on it because there was no way it would ever amount to anything.

  No way would she ever let it go anywhere.

  Max followed Kelsey down the alley of the stable toward the entrance. The place smelled of horses, leather, and fresh hay. Obviously someone had been mucking out the stalls on a regular basis. Was Kelsey the one doing all the mucking? From the look of the large stable, that looked like a big job. Or did the team that she talked about do it?

  His knee was killing him, so he concentrated on Kelsey and ignored the pain that radiated from his knee. Tall and slender, she walked with an energetic spring in her step that set her hips to swaying and her hair kept rhythm. He found himself enjoying following her.

  Just seeing her smiling face when he’d arrived had perked up his mood. He’d been so down—really, he’d been depressed. It was hard to admit but after the loss of his two buddies and his injuries and then the unknown element of what his status would be, it had been bad.

  Last night after the engagement party, he’d known he needed to try to get out of the funk he was in. And he’d decided to come meet Kelsey. She’d stood out in his mind and now he understood why. She had an energy that he was craving right now. That he needed.

  On top of that, she was mesmerizing.

  He shook himself. Santos and Ledger, like him, had known the risk. Their families had known the risk and they still had taken on the job. That didn’t cut out the feelings that ran through him right now. He had lost men before, but somehow this time it hit too close to home. This time he’d been injured; he kept reliving the moment, trying to figure out whether he’d done something wrong. Had he cost them their lives and him his career?

  Everything pointed to it not being his fault and he knew this but that didn’t stop the guilt or the niggling worry that he’d missed something.

  Kelsey suddenly paused, catching him off guard when she pivoted around. He halted and placed his full weight on his bad knee; he pitched sideways at the same time she tried to dodge slamming into him. They ended up plowing into each other. He grabbed her and fought to regain his balance on his good knee. He was mauling her and not meaning to.

  She laughed. “Sorry.” She tried to push away from him but he hung on to get his balance—better that than falling on his face in front of her.

  At last he was steady and let her go. “My fault. I wasn’t paying attention,” he muttered, feeling completely inept and out of his realm. He was agile, quick, and as far from clumsy as anyone could be. Or he used to be. “I didn’t mean to run you down. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She stepped back.

  He was relieved she didn’t run away. “I have to admit I enjoyed catching you.” He smiled, trying to lighten the moment.

  Her smile faltered and her eyes seemed to shadow. “Well, at least you’re honest.”

  “Yeah, that I am. You can bank on that. Would you like to go out? You know, on a date, see where it goes.” Real classy, Sinclair. He’d flubbed that, all right.

  She took a deep breath to roll back on the heels of her boots. He could see her thoughts churning in those pretty eyes of hers. She was probably having to think about it so hard because he’d asked in such a clumsy way. Or did she have a boyfriend?

  “I don’t date military men,” she said finally. “I’ll be honest and say that I’m tempted. But, no can do. Sorry. I respect you for what you do. And I’m highly appreciative and grateful that you fight for our freedoms. But I have a policy.”

  Her words slammed into him. Both a challenge and a slap. Of course he should take the slap like a man and understand it. And he did understand it. This was her choice and he should respect it. Should let it go. But he didn’t. “Care to elaborate on that? I’m glad to be of service but I’m curious why you have this policy.”

  Any other time a woman had rejected him this way, he’d let it slide off him and he’d moved on. But Kelsey’s rejection hit harder. It was different to him.

  She put her hand on the arena rung. One ot the horses came up and laid its head over the top of the gate. She automatically lifted her hand and rubbed the white spot between its eyes. Max followed the movement of her hand on the horse. All the more reason he wanted to know more about her “policy.”

  “I have my reasons. I’m…a military brat myself. And I’m not planning on raising my children that way.”

  “I see. Choices. I understand that. Doesn’t mean I like it.” They stared at each other. He watched the way she swallowed hard and those expressive eyes of hers seemed full of thoughts.

  And then she bit her lip…and all he could do was think about kissing those lips and changing her mind about her policy.

  Kelsey had a riot of emotions tangling through her as she looked at Max Sinclair. This was ridiculous. Get a grip, cowgirl.

  She had to tell herself that all day long because of the way he was looking at her. And the way he was looking to her—this was her decision to make. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen good-looking men before. Until now, she had always been fairly immune to the special charm that the handsome cowboys in her professional life and the military men she had seen growing up seemed to have. But something about Max tossed everything to the wayside.

  Her distaste for what had happened to her when she’d lost her dad growing up influenced the policy she had for not dating military men. Upholding her reputation in a man’s world of sorts and the cowboy way helped her limit her encounters with cowboys. But something—something more than what she experienced before—had jumped into the fray where Max was concerned. Those eyes of his were lethal weapons. She had a feeling the only way she was going to get out of this situation was to cut the lines and cut them fast.

  “I have my reasons and they won’t be changed. I’m flattered, really, but I also know that you won’t have any problem getting a date. None at all.”

  She didn’t think turning her boss’s brother down would harm her job; Cam Sinclair wasn’t like that. But still, she’d learned in her last job that not being upfront and getting out when she knew there was trouble in the beginning would have been the best choice she could have made. So if there was going to be a problem with turning down dates from all his brothers—if she got asked by the ot
hers—then now was the time to find out. Although his other brothers, Jake and Trent, sure were also very good-looking men, being around them had not affected her the way being around Max had. Something about Max made it different, tougher to turn down and not take the date.

  He studied her, a little hitch of his lips to the right. Was that regret she saw in his eyes?

  “I guess that says it all,” he said.

  Her chest churned with her own regret.

  He glanced around the stall and then back at her. “Then I guess I’ll head out and let you get back to your business. I won’t lie. There’s no sense me hanging around if you feel that way.”

  She swallowed hard and fought the urge to take back her words. But she didn’t. Nope, she wouldn’t. Instead, she lifted her chin and cocked her head to the side. “I’m sorry. And I’m flattered. But I can’t help it. I’ll tell Cam you came by.”

  He took a step back but and held her gaze, causing all kinds of churning inside her.

  “You take care of yourself, Kelsey Malone. I wish you luck with that…policy. Though I have to tell you, I’m still curious about why it’s in place. But that’s your business. See you later.”

  And then he walked away.

  And oh, what a walk it was. Tall and straight. Decisive, though she noticed he seemed to favor his left knee but seemed determined not to let it halt his steps. He was a soldier—no, he was a Marine. He was a fighting machine, that’s what they were. Semper Fi…honor, courage, and commitment—she knew their motto well. Her father had also.

  No matter what she was feeling, no matter the regret that washed through her as she watched him disappear into the sunlight, Max Sinclair was off-limits.

  Max got in his truck and forced himself not to glance back at the stable. It was done; he would honor her decision. Everybody was entitled to their opinion. He didn’t know what her reasons were, but it wasn’t his business to try to change them. He didn’t like it, though. Felt downright insulted. And that was wrong; like he said, he didn’t know her reasons. But as he drove back into Windswept Bay, the pretty blue water glistening out his window, his thoughts churned and he could not let it go.

  He drove up to the beachside bungalow that housed his brother Jake’s dive shop. The low-slung building had a host of beach paraphernalia outside, showing what to expect inside. Surfboards, oxygen tanks, nets, and wet suits hung from a rack. It was an unassuming place that stayed really busy.

  Jake loved diving. Loved sometimes looking for treasure off the coast if something interested him. His brother didn’t seem to have a care in the world other than living life to the fullest. Max might need a few pointers on that if he ended up being booted from service.

  He and Jake had been through a lot together. They’d lost both their parents when they were young and had not only grieved, but thanked goodness for their parents’ friendship with Sam and Violet Sinclair and having named them godparents. That had at least relieved him and Jake on what was going to happen to them. But Violet and Sam had taken it a step further and later had adopted them, bringing them fully into the family and giving them their full protection in the courts. But despite that Jake was his blood brother, Max hadn’t been able to talk about his top-secret missions. And that made it hard on them sometimes.

  All of his brothers understood about his career but still, it put distance between them all and right now Max felt isolated.

  He walked into the shop. Several people milled around, checking out different areas of the shop. In the retail area, a lady and her son were checking out the T-shirts. Two divers checked out the diving gear. He continued on to the shop and passed through the bait area, where Jake sold all kinds of fishing tackle and bait to all the fishermen. He moved on into the actual shop at the back and then walked out into the back deck where all the boats were docked. The skies were clear and the water smooth. He spotted Jake on the deck of the dive boat, preparing it for the next dive. Max strode out onto the dock.

  Jake spotted him and lifted his hand. “Hey bro, you coming on? Coming for a dive?”

  Max paused at the boat and squinted in the sun despite his aviators. “Not today. But it looks like you’re getting ready.”

  “Yeah, gotta nice size group coming on in about thirty minutes. We’re going out to the reef. You sure you don’t want to come? I can always use an extra dive master. You know that’s an open-ended invitation. Anytime you decide to become a civilian, I have a job offer for you.”

  Max didn’t even grin. He just acknowledged Jake’s words. It was a discussion they had often.

  “You on for maybe going out when you get back tonight? I’m feeling restless. I don’t think I can spend another night with Charlotte. We’re kind of getting bored with each other since I’ve been back.”

  Jake laughed. “I can understand. That’s some piggy you’ve got there but I can see she might not be the best of company. You know me—I’m always ready.”

  “You know the place.” He called out the local pool hall. “I can pick you up or I can meet you there.”

  Jake grinned. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Good. I’m looking to win a bet.” He hitched a brow.

  Jake hooted. “My recollection is that the last time we played pool that I walked away with a pocket full of quarters.”

  They only played for quarters. But they took it seriously and they had played all night. “Just because you were a sore loser and wouldn’t stop till you were ahead. We’ll put a quarter limit and a time limit on it tonight. At midnight sharp—any competition we have going will be over. Period.”

  “Whatever you say, little brother. I’ve been needing some change anyway. You’ve been home a week now. Do you expect to go on a mission anytime soon?”

  Max shrugged. “You know how it goes—you never know. They call, I go.” No need to say that he wasn’t going till he got the verdict on his knee…and his hearing.

  He hid his limp pretty good, he thought, but according to doctors, he needed to wait several months before surgery to repair it. Until then, he had to be careful not to damage it worse. Crutches would be good but not necessary if he were careful. The swelling of the initial injury needed to go down and he was doing rehab at home to help the muscles strengthen.

  When could he go on another mission…it was up in the air right now. But the reality was if his hearing test results came back and didn’t meet standards, he was out. It wouldn’t matter whether his knee recovered fully or not.

  If anyone realized he had a limp, they wouldn’t know how serious his problems were. But Max did. He thought about it constantly. He pushed the thoughts away and finished his sentence. “And if they don’t call, I stay till they do.”

  “Yeah—gotcha.”

  “You’re not dating anybody?” he asked Jake, trying to change the subject.

  Jake rolled up lines. He laughed and squinted at Max. “I date. I just don’t, you know, linger long. Not in me. Not right now.”

  That was Jake. Jake never lingered. He played the field as if he were throwing fast pitches.

  “All right, I was just curious. You’re not thinking about your future—home and hearth and family?”

  Jake paused. “Hey, you getting all sentimental on me? I know our sisters have all found marital bliss and all that. Looks like Levi and Cam have too but I’m not ready for that. I’m not exactly what you’d call marriage material.” He shrugged. “I’m just not ready.”

  Max had never really pushed, mostly because he wasn’t ready either. But looking at Jake now, something gleamed in his eyes that Max had never noticed before. Maybe it was because he hadn’t wanted to.

  Maybe he and Jake were both fighting the tides…torn about what they really wanted out of life at this time of their lives. Or maybe it was just Max.

  Chapter Three

  The next day, Kelsey was finishing up the afternoon riding lessons. She had been busy all day. Plenty of people had come out to ride and she had lessons for three now in her after-school gr
oup. Kevin, Max Sinclair’s brother Levi’s fiancée Jessica’s little boy, was the cutest thing. He had gone to school and proclaimed to his classroom that he was having riding lessons. Two of his classmates called and signed up for classes. So now it wasn’t just Kevin in the afternoon but his two friends Alan and Ben also. They kept her laughing during the lessons and she was enjoying herself immensely.

  Their parents had asked her whether she could handle more and she’d told them maybe a couple. But she didn’t want the class too big. It would be a little like herding cats if she let too many that age on horses at one time. She’d keep it small.

  Hank, one of the guys who worked for her, was cleaning the stalls so she headed inside the house, where she was slowly beginning to settle in. Cam had given her the house to live in while she was managing the place. He would stay at the resort when he was here visiting or at his parents’ until he figured out what he was going to do on the place. He and Lana, his fiancée, had talked about building a home on the property that overlooked the ocean. So for now she was very grateful that she had the house and that she felt safe and comfortable there. That had never been the case at her other job.

  At her former job, she had lived on the property and it had been a disaster in the end, especially when it was clear that keeping her boss outside of boundary lines turned out to be a really hard thing to do. It turned out it also was a really hard thing to stop the rumors…untrue rumors…when they started. So she had had to really consider the situation when Cam had told her that she would be in the house. He understood some of her troubles with her last job. Being in the horse industry, it had been hard not to have heard the rumors. He’d hired her anyway and he’d suspected she might have a hard time with the proposition. He’d made it very clear that it was her choice but that she had nothing to fear from him. She was grateful for that.

  Max had been on her mind since he’d been here the day before. The handsome Marine would not go away. No matter how many times she pushed him from her thoughts, he’d persisted and continually shown back up. It was ridiculous and it was only asking for trouble, she told herself as she poured herself a glass of tea. She took it outside onto the back porch. Sitting there gave her a little bit of privacy from the arena and stables on the front of the house but it also gave her a small view of the ocean. She enjoyed sitting here in the evenings and quietly reading over the books and the numbers and doing her paperwork. She had quickly grown to love it and also her life here on the ocean.