by Skye Taylor
Table of Contents
Other Titles by Skye Taylor from Bell Bridge Books
Trusting Will
Copyright
Dedication
To My Readers
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
Please visit these websites for more information about Skye Taylor
Acknowledgements
One of Will Cameron’s favorite recipes—from his Mom’s kitchen
About the Author
“Trusting Will is surprising, sensual and deeply satisfying.”
—Deborah Grace Staley, author of The Angel Ridge Series
———
Bree Reagan’s life fell apart when her husband, an Army Ranger, was killed in combat. Now, three years later, she and her young son Sam have started a new life in Tide’s Way. She’s determined to protect herself from more heartache.
But then she meets Sam’s Cub Scout leader, tall, sexy Will Cameron. Will takes one look at the gorgeous blond and decides his hunt for a temporary apartment is over. There’s a space available in Brianna’s building.
Sam adores Will and has become best pals with Will’s nephew Rick. Bree quickly learns that Will is a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, excelling on and off the job in activities that challenge him mentally and physically. He relishes living life on the edge: rock-climbing, sky-diving, riding motorcycles, and pushing himself to be the best at whatever he does.
He’s putting himself in the line of danger, just as her late husband did. And he’s hoping for a promotion that would transfer him to a statewide task force, meaning he’ll say goodbye to her, Sam, and Tide’s Way.
As she struggles to remain “just a friend,” Will brings tender, patient romance into her life—with the promise of hot passion, when she’s ready.
Can she resist? And what happens if her worst fears come true?
Other Titles by Skye Taylor
from Bell Bridge Books
The Camerons of Tide’s Way Series
Book 1: Falling for Zoe
Book 2: Loving Meg
Book 3: Trusting Will
Tide’s Way Short Stories
Loving Ben
Mike’s Wager
Trusting Will
by
Skye Taylor
Bell Bridge Books
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental.
Bell Bridge Books
PO BOX 300921
Memphis, TN 38130
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61194-652-9
Print ISBN: 978-1-61194-631-4
Bell Bridge Books is an Imprint of BelleBooks, Inc.
Copyright © 2015 by Skye Taylor
Published in the United States of America.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
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Cover design: Deborah Smith
Interior design: Hank Smith
Photo/Art credits:
Falling in love © Yonathan Shusterman | Dreamstime.com
:Mwtj:01:
Dedication
In memory of my Grandson, Samuel John Taylor
Sammy’s life was brief, but he left his footprints on our hearts forever.
To My Readers
The Camerons are a big, close-knit, loving family, descendants of hard-working folk who came from Scotland with little more than the clothes on their back and a steadfast faith in God. They are a patriotic, enterprising clan more apt to spend their spare time volunteering in the service of others than playing golf or checking their investment accounts. They’ve settled in Tide’s Way, a little town that grew up around the old Jolee Plantation in Coastal North Carolina, and planted their roots deep.
Sandy Marshall Cameron always dreamed of having a big family and when she married Cam, her dream came true. She loves every moment of it, especially worrying about her grown children when they let her and fussing over a growing brood of grandchildren. Will is her third son, younger than his twin Ben by just minutes. He has always been the most outgoing of her boys, but in spite of being a daredevil and the ringleader in the most daring of escapades, he also loved helping in the kitchen where he learned how to make all his favorites from her box of recipes. He’s not married yet and she’s hopeful he will find a woman he can give his heart to and be loved in return. I hope you will enjoy Trusting Will as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Prologue
Fort Benning, Georgia, three years earlier
BRIANNA REAGAN woke with a start. Her heart raced as she sat up, her chest tight with apprehension. She listened for something unusual. Something unexpected. But there was nothing.
Nothing but the sound of her heart thrumming in her ears and her son playing in the next room. And morning sunlight slanting in across her bedroom floor.
Sam’s piping five-year-old voice issued orders to his army of tiny soldiers. He had always loved the little figures his father had given him, but since the day they’d taken Ed to the airport at the start of his most recent deployment, the little green men had become an obsession.
“Guess what, Daddy? I’m going to be a general when I grow up,” Sam announced, nodding his head in determination. “And you’re going to be really proud of me.”
“I’m real proud of you already,” Ed replied with a sheen in his bright blue eyes. He stiffened into a formal salute, then, unable to maintain the distance, scooped Sam into his arms and hugged him hard before putting him back on his feet and turning to Bree.
Bree dismissed the vivid memory and swung her feet over the side of the bed. As she reached to shut off the alarm she hadn’t needed, she stopped a moment to gaze at Ed’s photo next to the clock. It was his formal military portrait, but even in that solemn pose, Ed hadn’t been able to keep the merry twinkle out of his eyes. Sam was a miniature of his dad. Same dark hair, same blue eyes. Same mischievous sparkle. Bree blew the portrait a kiss and slid to her feet. It was time to get Sam moving, get some breakfast into him and head off to work.
At her dresser, Bree dragged a brush through her tangled blond hair and considered the possibility of cutting it. Except that Ed loved it long. She pulled it into a ponytail, worked an elastic band around its thick bulk, an
d leaned forward to check for new wrinkles. Twenty-seven wasn’t old, but already little lines fanned out from the corners of her dark eyes. Too much worry and stress, she thought as she reached for her robe and headed for the hall.
The solid thunk of a car door shutting out in front of their base-housing duplex made her pause. Who would be coming here this early? She hesitated a moment longer before moving toward the glitter of sunlight streaming in the window.
She squinted against the glare, and her heart froze in horrified denial.
Bree’s world telescoped into a narrow tunnel focused on the flat gray-blue tops of the dress uniform caps moving purposefully up her front walk. Desperately, she tried to think of any other reason two officers in dress uniforms would be coming to her door so early on a Monday morning.
But her heart already knew. There could be only one reason these men had come.
Her chest constricted in pain. Her eyes ached, but there were no tears. Not now. Not yet. She raised a clenched fist to her mouth, knuckles white with strain as her heart plunged into the unavoidable knowledge that her life would never be the same again.
Chapter 1
Tide’s Way, North Carolina, today
WILL CAMERON turned onto Carlisle Place, a big looping drive lined with townhouses and condos built with the southern charm of Tide’s Way and coastal North Carolina in mind. Even at this time of year, the tunnel of live oaks dripping with moss created a shady retreat from the glare of the Carolina sun as Will slowed to go over the speed bump and continue on around the drive.
A couple months back when he’d followed a suspected stolen car into the development, it had occurred to him that if you couldn’t afford to live on the beach in Tide’s Way, this would be a pretty sweet second choice. In the center of the loop, beyond the tennis and basketball courts and half-hidden behind a thick stand of pampas grass, were two pools, one built for toddlers, the other with diving boards and slides. At the moment, both were covered with canvas tarps, but that would change soon, and the sounds of splashing and giggling would be added to the dribbling thunk of basketballs and the sharp pop of yellow tennis balls. Kids at play always made Will smile. Probably because his mother was right, and he was just a big kid himself.
“There’s where Sam lives,” Will’s eight-year-old nephew Rick spoke up, pointing to a shallow set of stairs leading up to a small porch at the far end of the condo complex.
Will pulled into a slot and turned off the engine in his rugged all-terrain four-by-four. He rode a motorcycle for work, but with two small boys to drive to their Cub Scout meeting, he’d taken his Jeep instead.
“Will Sam be watching for us and come on out?” Will hooked an arm over the back of the seat to speak to his nephew.
Rick made a face.
“What’s that for?” Will chuckled at the look of disgust.
“We gotta go in and get him. Sam’s mother worries a lot. Like she says she’s gotta be sure who he’s going off with. Even my dad has to go in, and he’s been here a bunch of times.”
Poor Sam, Will thought. “Even though she knows we’re picking him up?”
“Yup.” Rick unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door.
Will hurried to join Rick as he dashed up the short flight of stairs and into the entryway of the building. It was a double-door entry. The kind you have to call up and wait for someone to buzz you in if you don’t have a key to the inside door. Another nice feature, the cop in him noted, even in a place like Tide’s Way where crime was pretty rare.
Rick pressed the bell and hopped impatiently from foot to foot. While they waited, Will surveyed the patchwork of notices posted on a corkboard next to the bank of mailboxes. One, he noted, advertised one of the units in the building was available for short-term lease.
Maybe he should grab one of the tear-off tabs. His current and very ideal dwelling was being sold out from under him, and he was going to have to find at least temporary digs until he figured out where he was going next. At the age of thirty-four, maybe he should have been thinking about buying instead of just renting. But if he landed a spot on the new Rapid Response Team that the North Carolina State Highway Patrol was putting together, it might require a move away from his hometown. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but the details weren’t set yet, and he couldn’t be sure. One advantage of renting in this building would be that he could walk across the street to the best little diner in Tide’s Way when he got sick of his own cooking or hop on his bike and be at the beach in less than ten minutes.
“Yes?” a delightfully musical voice came over the speaker. How could anyone make a single word sound like an invitation to something fun or maybe even naughty?
“It’s Will Cameron. Here to pick up Sam?” Will’s heart pattered a little faster than it should have.
“Will Cameron?” The voice sounded confused.
“That’s me,” he confirmed. Why should his name invoke confusion? “Rick told me he told Sam we’d pick him up on our way to the Cub Scout meeting.”
The door buzzed, and Will pushed it open. Rick ducked under his arm and moved toward the elevator, one finger poised to punch the up arrow.
“Elevators are for ladies and old men,” Will told him, heading through the door to the stairwell. “They’re only on the second floor, right?”
Rick grinned. “Bet I can beat ya.” Then he scooted past and started up the stairs.
Will let Rick get a head start before taking the stairs two at a time and almost catching up. Rick beat him to the top by a hair and turned to grin triumphantly.
“So, what—do I—win?” Rick gasped.
“We didn’t put any money on it. You don’t win anything. But you did get some great exercise.”
“Dad says I get exercise throwing sticks for Kip.”
“Kip is getting most of that exercise. You’re just building up your throwing arm.”
Rick stopped at a door on the left at the end of the hall, but before he could knock, the door opened, and Rick’s friend Sam Reagan stuck his head out.
Sam opened the door wider and gestured them inside.
The woman, who had to be Sam’s mother, was gorgeous. Stunningly gorgeous. If Will had been wearing his hat, he’d have been inclined to sweep it off his head and offer a totally uncharacteristic bow. As it was, he struggled not to gawk. The long, wavy blond mane and striking whiskey-colored eyes looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t believe he’d have forgotten her if he’d ever met her before. Not a woman this heart-stoppingly beautiful.
“Will Cameron,” he introduced himself and held out his hand.
“Brianna Reagan,” the head-turning stunner reciprocated and placed her hand in his. “But please, call me Bree.”
Her hand was slight and soft. Will felt as if he might crush it if he weren’t careful. When Bree looked down at their clasped hands he realized he’d been holding hers too long for mere politeness. He let go. Mr. Reagan was one lucky son of a gun. A terrific kid like Sam and a wife that must turn heads everywhere she went.
In the few months Will had been den father to a pack of energetic eight-year-old Cub Scouts, he’d tried hard not to let Sam become a favorite. But it wasn’t easy. Sam was bright, eager to learn, full of questions, and always cheerful. He was also quick to notice when other boys less talented than himself were having trouble, and he’d drop his own stuff to help out. Will had never met Sam’s dad and often wondered if the man knew what a genuinely nice son he had.
“I’m sorry for my confusion,” the pretty woman interrupted Will’s vaguely jealous thoughts. “You look just like Rick’s father. I forgot there were two of you. I mean—” She broke off and colored slightly. “Besides, I thought it was Ben that took over the Cub Scout den when Mr. Hudson got transferred so suddenly.”
“Knowing my brother, he probably would have, but w
ith Meg out of the country, he was already pretty stretched, so I stepped up to the plate instead. It’s been fun, and I’ve really enjoyed it. The boys are terrific. I had no idea. Now, of course, Ben’s ragging on me, telling me I need to find a wife and have some kids of my own, but—” Will shut his mouth abruptly. In another minute he’d be telling this woman his life story. Something she definitely didn’t need to hear.
“I must have seen you at Jake’s wedding,” she said, “but I never realized. Zoe said you were twins, but—”
That’s where he’d seen her before! At his brother Jake’s wedding to Zoe Callahan last fall. Must have been the chaos of family and kids, otherwise he’d definitely have remembered this woman.
“You were Zoe’s maid of honor.”
“Matron of honor,” Bree corrected.
“Are we going to get going, or what?” Rick interrupted.
“Yeah, right.” Will shook his head and turned his attention to Rick and Sam, both immaculately attired in their Cub Scout uniforms, standing impatiently by the door.
“It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Reagan.” Will started to tip his hat and remembered he still wasn’t wearing one.
Her pretty face clouded briefly. “Just Bree,” she said after a moment.
“It was nice to meet you, Bree,” he answered dutifully. “Will it be okay if we stop for ice cream on the way home? I promised Rick, and I assure you, I’ll have Sam home by eight.”
“I guess that would be okay.” Bree smiled, and the corners of her eyes crinkled.
Will nodded and followed the boys out into the hall. Rick explained about the elevator being for ladies and old men, and the boys peeled off and started clattering down the stairs. Will followed, his senses still reeling from his reintroduction to Brianna Reagan.
“Mom’s got a date tonight,” Sam said over his shoulder as he beat Rick to the first landing. “He’s such a dork.”
