With This Promise (Windswept Bay Book 7)

by Debra Clopton

  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

  Chapter Fourteen

  More Books in the Windswept Bay Series

  About the Author

  Copyright

  WITH THIS PROMISE

  Windswept Bay Book Seven

  DEBRA CLOPTON

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  With This Promise:

  School teacher Lana Presley has sworn off cowboys. Which should work fine since she’s relocated from Texas and is happily adjusting to her new life in Windswept Bay. After a bad breakup-that involved her using her cheating ex as target practice for hurling chocolate covered cherries at…she’s happy to be single. And happy not to have her protective brothers and dad meddling in her business. Settling down on the coast permanently, miles away from Texas, is looking perfect.

  Then the drop-dead gorgeous cowboy, Cam Sinclair, comes to her rescue…several times and sets all of her carefully made plans into chaos.

  Rancher Cam Sinclair is just in town for a few days on business then heading home to his ranch in Texas. He’s got finding the right woman and settling down on his mind. And from the moment he meets spitfire Lana Presley she has his attention. But she’s made it clear that Texas and cowboys are not in her plans for the future. Can a road trip and Cam...and love change her mind?

  Things are getting a bit complicated on the shores of Windswept Bay! Come join the fun in With This Promise book 7 of this captivating series. You’ve watched the four Sinclair sisters fall in love now it’s time to watch the five Sinclair brothers find the women of their dreams.

  Chapter One

  Cam Sinclair pulled into the parking lot of his family’s resort, now run by his sisters. He was running late…but it couldn’t be helped. He turned the engine off and as he started to get out of the truck, he spotted his brother Max jogging across the parking lot. Cam hopped from his own truck. “Hey, Max, what’s your hurry?”

  His younger brother saw him and altered his course toward him. “Cam, you made it. Slick move to be late for the auction.”

  Cam shrugged. “I couldn’t help it. What are you doing—dodging a date?”

  “Nah, I got called out. The auction was almost over but I need to report for duty immediately. If you hurry, maybe you can take my place.”

  “I think I’m fine.” He knew Max couldn’t say a word about where he was going and might not even know at this moment where he was heading off to. He was proud of Max and worried for him at the same time, but Max loved what he did.

  “Look, I hate to run, but I need to get there. As usual, I’ll let all of you know when I’m back stateside.” They hugged.

  “You watch yourself, little brother.”Cam didn’t bother to tell him to be safe. That wasn’t always a possibility, he had a feeling, with the top secret missions Max was involved in.

  “I always do. Tell Levi to watch out for my pig while I’m gone.” He grinned.

  Cam watched him jog a few steps. “You and your pig. That’s just not right. You need a wife to come home to, not a guard pig.”

  Max grinned. “Not the right time. But you, on the other hand, are all set up for a wife, with your ranch in Texas and your advancing age.”Max—being the youngest Sinclair brother at twenty-nine and Cam being the eldest at thirty-three—liked to rub in the four-year age difference.

  “Who knows. Maybe I’ll be married by the time you get home.”

  “Then you better hurry. This is supposed to be a short mission. In and out. Gotta go. I’ll meet the new missus when I get back.” He laughed over his shoulder and jogged off. Then he stopped and turned back. “Hey, Cam,” he called, serious now. “Really, take care of yourself. Glad I got to see you before I left.”

  And then he jogged the rest of the way to his truck and was gone.

  Cam watched him leave and fought to ignore the unease that churned in his stomach. Max would be back. Turning, he moved back to his truck and climbed back in to grab his keys and lock the doors. His brother had great instincts, a plus in his line of work, and in the short moments they’d talked Max had hit the target that had been nagging at Cam for the last few months.

  He was ready to settle down.

  But the last time he’d checked, it took the right woman to settle down with to make the equation work out right. As of yet, he hadn’t found her. The right woman.

  But he was open to meeting her any time she decided to show up. Though he doubted it would be before Max got home.

  Lana Presley left the Valentine Bachelor Auction at the Windswept Bay Resort dateless, but smiling. She hadn’t gone to find a date. She’d gone to see whether her friend, Jessica, would get one. And thankfully she had. Love was a wondrous thing…not that she was looking for it. But she still enjoyed the romance of it all when it worked out.

  It was the crashing and burning that went along the way to finding love that she herself was weary of.

  Still, the Sinclair sisters should be excited for themselves because their bachelor auction had been a huge hit. Especially for her friend Jessica and Levi Sinclair. Her friend had been worrying her lately. Lana knew that Levi was good for her, so Lana had been rooting for the two to get together.

  The fact that Jessica had come out of her shell and taken a chance on loving again was wonderful. Lana didn’t know what went on after they left the auction together but she was excited to hear all about it. And she hoped they were now officially an item.

  Lana had to admit that the auction had been an eye-opener. All the guys had been really having a great time and the Sinclair brothers had been so good-natured about the whole thing that just watching them had been entertaining. But one brother had been missing—the one she was curious about, Cameron—or Cam as they called him. He lived in Texas and owned a ranch. He was a cowboy rather than a beach boy. Not that any of the Sinclair men looked like boys but they had all settled in their hometown on the shores of gorgeous Windswept Bay.

  Lana had heard some of the teachers talking about the brothers in the teacher’s lounge at school. And she’d heard his name come up a few times. And because she was from Texas herself and she and her five brothers had been raised on a ranch, she had been curious about the brother who’d moved to Texas to become a rancher. Not that she was interested in any way, just curious about him. She’d had one too many dead-end relationships with cowboys to be thinking anything other than just plain curiosity about the man.

  She’d actually moved to Windswept Bay to get away from cowboys—including her brothers and her dad. She needed space. She had begun to build her own life here and she really liked it. Though she did miss riding her horses. She had heard there was a small stable in town on the island; she planned to check it out tomorrow and was excited about the prospect of riding again.

  She’d parked her truck at the back of the parking lot and finally reached it. Climbing inside the cab, she inserted the key and turned it. Instead of the engine firing up, all she heard was a dull clicking noise of a dead battery.

  “No, come on.” She groaned and tried again—as if that would change the fact that she had a dead battery. She’d known her battery needed replacing and she hadn’t stopped and changed it out. She
was giving herself a good scolding when she noticed the truck lights go out not too far away from her. Only then did she realize that the truck parked across several parking spaces was pulling a horse trailer.

  In between scolding herself, she wondered who was driving the rig. If there was one thing this Texas girl knew, it was to take care of her business. She should have stopped by the auto-parts store and picked up a battery right after this had happened the first time. Certainly the second time she’d had to get a jump from someone. But she hadn’t and now she was serving the consequences, as her dad would say.

  She shot a glance over at the truck but the parking lot lighting made it hard to make out who was driving.

  The big rig made her think of her brothers and her dad—ranching and hauling horses or cattle was part of the job. Taking care of your business and equipment was also part of the job. They’d be giving her the dickens right now for letting this happen and stranding herself.

  She leaned forward, popped the hood release and then exited the cab. She glanced over at the truck once more, curious who was driving it and staying at the resort. She strode to the front of the truck—which had also been used for hauling animals. She reached for the release lever and then pushed the hood up. She pulled out her phone, found the flashlight button and then grabbed the grill with one hand and placed her boot on the front fender. She was too short to do anything standing on the ground. She pulled herself up, leaned under the hood to peer into the dark cavity as she aimed her light on the engine.

  “Do you need some light?”

  “What?”Lana yelped, jumped and slammed her head into the hood before she lost her balance and slipped from the bumper. She would have fallen if strong arms hadn’t caught her.

  “Are you okay?” the man asked, holding her securely against his hard chest.

  “Am I okay,” she muttered, rubbed her head and glared at the man.“Don’t you know to warn a gal? You don’t just walk up and scare a person.” She struggled to get out of his arms. Her head throbbed, she probably had a goose egg the size of Texas on her forehead thanks to him.

  “You’re sure,” he asked, sounding skeptical but setting her on her feet.

  “Positive,” she grunted and immediately backed away from him while still massaging her throbbing forehead.

  “I apologize,” he drawled, sounding truly concerned.

  His tone wasn’t completely Texan but sounded totally cowboy. She inhaled and tried to calm down as she focused on him. He tugged his hat off and it gave her a better view of his shadowed face. Whoa…she sucked in a breath. The resemblance to all the other Sinclair brothers was unmistakable so she knew instantly who she was looking at.

  Cam Sinclair.

  Oh, my…her thoughts stalled, her gaze caught by penetrating eyes glinting in the low light.

  “Are you okay? I was trying to help. Not injure you.”

  He was tall, with striking features—even in the shadowy lights she could more than tell the man could cause traffic jams and break hearts too. Which she knew more than enough about.

  She got a grip on her imagination. “I’m fine. And I’m sorry I got so upset. But just so you know, next time you come up on a woman in the darkness, give her little warning.” She scowled, completely unsure why she was so irritated.

  He flicked on his phone light and held out his hand.“Let’s start over. I’m Cam Sinclair. And I’d like to take a look under your hood if you’ll let me.”

  Lana lost her voice.

  “Are you okay?” he asked again. “You look pale in the light.”

  “Um, yes, I’m fine. Sorry.”What was wrong with her? She’d seen plenty of good-looking cowboys in her day.

  “So can I?”

  “Can you what?”

  “Look at the truck?”

  She blinked and gave herself an imaginary kick in the jeans. “Yes, sure.”

  “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? You really do look a bit strained.”

  She nodded, feeling quite silly actually.

  He moved to the truck and leaned under the hood, shining his light into the engine compartment.“This is a mighty big truck for a small woman.”

  She stood on her tiptoes. Yes, she had big tires that hiked the truck up higher than a regular truck. “It’s no bigger than yours over there.”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “Do you haul with this truck?”

  “Not these days. But yes, I have.”

  He nodded, his expression thoughtful as he took that info in. She didn’t elaborate. Although she knew who he was, she didn’t feel the need to tell more.

  He focused on the truck, jiggled a few things, took the cap off the radiator and replaced it. Checked the oil and then studied the battery. “I’m thinking it’s the battery, so let’s give it a try.”

  “That would be great. It’s done this before.”

  “You’ll need to get a new one tomorrow.” He cocked his head to the side and met her gaze with serious eyes that she couldn’t make out the color of in the dim light. “Okay. Getting stranded isn’t a good thing. Your husband or boyfriend can fix you up.”

  “Yes. Sure. Thank you.” Her pulse bucked like a rodeo bull and it was irritating as fire. “And, it’s all on me. I’m single and free and I’m the one who didn’t get the battery.”Now why had she let that out? Too much information.

  Reminder to self: Cowboys are off my list of allowable attractions and I’d do well to remember that.

  He didn’t say anything, just tipped his head and strode off.

  Lana watched every step he took.

  Yup. The man looked fine in his jeans and boots. Shoot. This would not do. Not at all.

  Cam moved his truck forward. The lady was irritated and had him wanting to smile. She definitely had a mind of her own. He hadn’t meant to scare her but she’d grabbed his attention the minute she jumped from the seat of the truck. He’d watched her march to the front of her vehicle and push the hood open as if she knew what she was doing. When she’d hoisted her small self up onto the front bumper, he’d started moving as fast as he could toward her. He’d been so intent on offering her help, he hadn’t thought about scaring her. He felt really bad about that—but when she’d fallen into his arms…he’d been glad he’d been there.

  She was a spitfire, it was easy enough to see, and he recognized a Texas twang when he heard one. This was no Floridian. He pulled his truck up close enough to hers so the jumper cables would reach. Then he hopped out and got them out of the steel gear box mounted in the truck bed.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” she said when he walked back to her. “I’m Lana Presley. It’s nice to meet you. I’m acquaintances with your sisters.”

  “Acquaintances?”He studied her.

  “I’m fairly new in town and have just met them briefly.”

  “I see. Well, welcome to Windswept Bay. I can tell by your accent that you’re a Texan. Are you any kin to Marcus Presley of the Presley Ranch?”In the darkness, it was hard to read her expression but he was pretty sure she stiffened.

  “I might be. Is there a problem?”

  The coolness in her tone startled him. He shrugged, curious about her now more than ever.“No, ma’am, no problem.” He applied the cables to each truck. “You can go crank it now.”The lady clearly didn’t want to talk about any relation to the Presleys of Texas.

  She headed away and in a moment, the engine started. He removed the cables from the battery. His work was done. But he wasn’t ready to say good-bye.

  “Thanks.”She came back to the front of the truck.

  He pulled the hood down and closed it. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.”

  She pushed her wavy, dark hair behind her ear. She was pretty in a simple, no-nonsense kind of way. She had a wide mouth, almost too wide for her small face, and a square jaw that lifted in defiance, he’d learned, when she was tense. It had lifted when he’d asked about the Presley relationship. Now it lifted again and he found h
imself wanting to smile. He had a feeling that despite her size or her calm beauty that if she was riled up, she’d have a temper.

  “I didn’t mean to sound rude before. I just don’t really know you.”

  He tipped his hat. “I understand. A lady can’t be too careful. You need to get this battery fixed tomorrow.”

  She cleared her throat; he thought she was going to say more but instead she nodded and turned to go.

  “Maybe I’ll see you around while I’m here in town.” He wasn’t shy and she interested him.

  She paused at the open door of the truck. “Maybe. But probably not. I was just here tonight for the bachelor auction.”

  “Ah, I see. Did you get one?”

  In the shadowed light, he thought she cringed. “No. I didn’t come for one.”

  And with that, she got in her truck and with a slight wave, she backed the truck out of the parking space and drove away.

  Cam watched as Lana Presley pulled out of the parking lot. She had not been exactly rude and not exactly happy to be around him either. All he had done was help her. Despite his interest, there was no denying that she’d been a little prickly—and clearly not interested in anything he had to offer.

  So why was he still mulling over thoughts of her as he entered the front entrance of the resort in search of someone from his family?

  He wasn’t sure whether the Valentine auction was over or whether anybody would still be around but just in case, he headed into the resort. Hauling horses from Texas to here was a long haul and he hadn’t made it in time to help his sisters out. He hated to say it but he wasn’t sorry he’d missed being in the auction. He was here on business, though they didn’t know it, and he really didn’t have time, even for a charity, to go on a date. He also wasn’t real keen on the idea of being bought as a date.

  He spotted his sister Cali entering from the back courtyard entrance of the resort.

  He was the oldest son and she was the oldest daughter, so the two of them had always been close.