With This Promise (Windswept Bay Book 7)

by Debra Clopton

  Cam could not help himself and grinned. “I have to tell you, this has been one interesting ride. You’re welcome to come out here and ride anytime you want to.”

  She winked at him. “Why, thank you, sir. I just might. But this is the last time I’m going to mention my past. I came out here to ride, to get my head on straight. Not to relive my sordid history.”

  “I won’t be prying, so no worries about that.”

  “So how about you? You’re what, thirty-two or thirty-three? Single and you seem to have recognized my bad relationship history like a man who knows something about it from up close and personal. What gives?”

  “Not what you think. I’ve had my share of horrible relationships but I haven’t had a serious relationship. You forget, I have four sisters. And four brothers. I’ve lived through this numerous times.”

  “Oh, right. I’m sure you did.” She smiled, wincing. “Four sisters.”

  He smiled. She was the tell-it-like-it-was kind of woman. And he had a feeling that when she did fall in love that the poor sucker was going to have his hands full.

  Chapter Three

  Lana could not believe she’d told Cam about her ridiculous, pathetic love life. She hadn’t even told Jessica that she had come here partly because of a failed relationship. It was embarrassing and for some odd and crazy reason, she had just told him—practically a stranger—her business.

  It was time to change the subject. “This place is really lovely. I mean it. I can totally understand why you bought it.”

  He stared toward the trees and the paths that she could see weaving through them in this tropical setting. It was not your common Texas landscape, with oak trees and mesquite but instead, it was colorful flowering trees and palms and there was the ever-growing groundcover beach morning glory with its lavender flowers still open.

  “We’ll need to turn and head up through there and follow the boundary line. I’ll lead; it’s a single file path. This place meant a lot to me when I was a kid.” He pulled on the reins so that his horse slowed. She did the same just as a wave hit a rock in the water beside her and the sea spray suddenly splashed over them.

  She laughed. “Now that is different from riding horses in Texas.”

  Cam laughed too. “Do you need a towel?”

  Pushing her damp hair from her face, she laughed again. “No, it’s great. I love it. Thank you for letting me come along.”

  He got a speculative look on his face. “Come on,” he said, and then before she knew what he was doing, he had his horse loping along the beach.

  “Yes!”Lana exclaimed and set her horse loping after him. He glanced over his shoulder; his expression radiated happiness and she felt exactly that—the salt air, the warmth of the rising sun, and the feel of the horse loping over the firm, wet sand. And a fine-looking cowboy smiling at her as he challenged her to catch him.

  She urged the mare into a gallop and leaned forward as she caught him. “This is awesome.”

  “I thought you’d like it.”

  “Yes, I do.” He rode beside her along the pristine coastline and then they slowed back to a lope and then a walk. Both were smiling from the joy of the ride.

  “That was amazing.”

  “Agreed. I had forgotten how fun riding on the beach is.”

  “And you didn’t have a cow to rope.” She chuckled, enjoying his reactions.

  More than she wanted to.

  Moments later, they entered the trees to check out the interior of the property.

  “You said you got lessons from Bess early on. How did that happen? Did you drive your parents crazy trying to get them to move to Texas?”

  “I did. I was only five. Finally, my mom learned of the stables and signed me up for lessons for my sixth birthday. I took to it like a duck to water. My mom and dad just kept signing me up for lessons. When I was old enough, I came out and started helping Bess. I was her stable boy first. I mucked out the stalls and fed the horses and saddled them up for tourists to ride. Then I moved up to leading the rides. I also worked at the resort like the rest of my family. But they knew I wasn’t going to go into the resort business. None of the boys did. I’m glad my sisters wanted to carry on when Mom and Dad retired.”

  He led the way into the trees. As she followed, she found herself watching the strong, straight back of a man who knew how to ride. He carried himself well on the horse and she was intrigued by him. She wasn’t sure how he was going to manage this place and his Texas ranch unless he found a manager for it.

  “How many acres does this property have?” she asked.

  “There’s sixty. Not many according to Texas standards, but for beach property, it costs almost as much.”

  “I bet it does.” There were trails all through the palm trees and green foliage. It was still untouched and rustic.

  “Will you eventually sell the place?” she asked.

  “This land won’t be for sale. I have history here that I want to preserve for my kids one day.”

  Lana liked that. Her history ran deep in Texas and her dad had worked to preserve their heritage there. Her ancestor had first staked his claim on five thousand acres and that had grown through the years. Her dad planned on the land never being sold. It was still a working cattle ranch that had managed to survive. Oil had helped the ranch succeed when others struggled. And her dad had worked hard, as had his dad and granddad.

  “You sure are quiet back there,” Cam observed, shooting her a glance.

  “Just thinking about roots. I’ve got them in Texas and though I’m here, I like knowing where I came from. I understand how you feel about this place.”

  “I thought you would.”

  When they reached the barns again, she dismounted and led her horse back to her stall. “I’ll brush my horse down.”

  “You don’t have to. I can do that for you.”

  She balked. “My dad would have my hide if I didn’t. Besides, brushing down the horse is part of the experience.”

  “Go at it then.” He narrowed his gaze. “So you really don’t have a date for tonight?”

  It made her feel better that his expression was one of disbelief.

  “Yes, I do.” She was unclenching the saddle as she spoke, and then tugged it from the horse and carried it over to the saddle rack.

  “But you said you didn’t get your date last night.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “I could have gotten one through other means and not just buying a date at a bachelor auction.”

  He looked embarrassed. “Yes, you definitely could have done that.”

  “But I didn’t. I have a date with a big box of Godiva and a movie to celebrate my single status. This time last year, I was mad as a hornet and using a certain cowboy as a target for hurling chocolate bon-bons at—even hit the bulls eye a few times... This year, I’m going to eat them and enjoy them.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “I would’ve paid to see that.”

  “Well, let’s just say I wish I had charged admission to it when he dared to set foot on my porch after I caught him at his cheating game. Chocolate-covered cherries work great for target practice. They make a lovely splatting sound on impact and the brown and red spots on a white dress shirt is art at its finest.”

  His eyes grew as wide as his grin. “I thought you said you didn’t want to do anything like that.”

  “Sadly, that was what I did the night I discovered the truth. That was embarrassing enough and hard to live down. I didn’t want to do anything more.”

  “He deserved it and it was cherries, not rocks.”

  “Yes, but would you want your child being taught at school by the teacher who lost control and did that? Word got out and spread like wildfire. Social media is awful. I was blessed that it didn’t go viral.” And that was the truth.

  “I get it. And I think you did good by refraining from any other retaliations. But still, he cheated on you with your best friend. Chocolate-covered cherries were a mild retribution,
if you ask me. What did your dad and brothers do?”

  “Oh, they wanted to do plenty, but it wasn’t worth it. I suspect they warned him away from trying to get back at me because he didn’t file charges.”

  “That’s good at least.” He scowled and then went to unsaddle his horse.

  A few minutes later, he walked her to her truck. They’d struck up a friendship of sorts that was both unsettling for her and good for her. She had missed having conversations with a man. There was just something different about it than talking to girlfriends. And yet there was no denying the attraction she felt toward him and on that note, she was playing with fire. Because she was not going to date a cowboy.

  “I’ll see you later. This was great.” She climbed into her truck. Her heart thundered dangerously as she looked at him through the open window.

  “Come back out later in the week,” he invited as she cranked the truck.

  “I might—”Her words halted when the battery just clicked.

  He studied her skeptically. “You didn’t get a new battery?”

  She slapped the steering wheel. “No. I came to ride first and then was going to get one,” she said, embarrassed by the ordeal.

  “Come on, let’s go.”He strode away.

  She climbed out of her truck. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m taking you to town to get a battery and then I’ll put it in.”

  She stopped following him. “No way. I’m not going to have you wasting your time doing that. If you’ll just give me a jump…”

  “Nope. We’re getting a battery.”

  “Look, stop. I am not going to waste your time—”

  He looked unfazed. “Stop arguing. I’d be wasting my time charging this battery. Besides, I’m hungry and I don’t have anything here to eat. I’ll buy you lunch.”

  She frowned, and then her stomach growled loudly as if to give her incentive to agree. “Okay, let’s do this then. But this is not your responsibility.”

  He strode toward his truck and she followed. They climbed inside the cab.

  “I understand that. You’ve made that clear. We are just going to get you a battery and you’re going to come along while I grab something to eat and so you might as well get something too. And then we’ll quickly slip that battery into your truck and you can go home. Have your chocolate and enjoy your evening all by yourself.”

  The man was funny. He was making fun of her in a teasing way. “Thanks,” she muttered. “You make it sound awful.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, well. I’ll be here, having coffee and going over my boundary lines. I might have to get me some of that chocolate you were talking about and then I’ll be having just as much fun as you are.” He smiled. “But we are free.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “Yes, we are.”

  This had definitely not been the morning she had expected when she’d come to ride today. She was having a good time with him, like it or not it was a fact. But tonight she’d be doing exactly what she wanted and had planned for, eating chocolate and celebrating her single status. And forgetting last Valentine’s Day fiasco. She smiled and rolled her window down to let the salty air inside.

  “Yep, if your ex could see that twinkle in your eyes right now, I can guarantee you he’d be sorry.”

  “But I’m not. So all is good.”And you’re having lunch with a very handsome cowboy. Once more she reminded the irritating voice in her head that she wasn’t ready for dating and never would be with a cowboy.

  Chapter Four

  Thirty minutes later, Cam placed the battery into the back of the truck and they climbed back into the cab.“See, that wasn’t so painful.”

  “Don’t rub it in. I know I should have already done that.”

  “I can’t help myself.”

  She just shook her head. The man was fun. And he had a sense of dry humor that she found somewhat similar to her brothers’ and yet where they really got to her sometimes, she found Cam’s dry humor fun. It was somewhat odd that she thought that way.

  “There’s a little beach restaurant down the road from here that serves up a great fish taco. Among other things, even a great burger. How does that sound for lunch?”

  “I’m fine with that. Sounds a whole lot better than the ham sandwich I would’ve eaten if I’d gone home.”

  “Then Paradise Grill it is.”

  Two minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot of a faded blue wooden building with a thatch roof and doors that were open. The floors were wooden and ceiling fans overhead stirred the air around. The tables and booths were situated throughout the room, with a bar in the center of the room. It was busy for lunch. The back of the building was open and the beach was the view. Cam led the way out to the deck facing the beach area.

  “Is this okay? We can eat inside if you’d rather.”

  Seagulls squawked in the distance and there were signs that warned to not feed the birds. A good idea to help keep the scavengers at a distance. “Oh, no. I love being on the beach. I can’t seem to get enough of it.”

  She had not been here before but she already knew she’d be back. She’d expected to just grab a burger at a fast-food restaurant, so this was a pleasant surprise. Cam didn’t seem to be in any hurry, though. And that was something she hadn’t expected. He had a lot to do and she knew that. And yet, he’d taken time out to help her and suddenly seemed as if he had all the time in the world for lunch. With her.

  Several tables were filled and Cam glanced around to see whether there was anyone he recognized or whether the owner, Bert Zane, was around. He and Bert had gone to school together and when he’d opened this place several years ago, it had quickly become a great hangout.

  “Hey, Sinclair.”Bert came out from the inside of the grill. He held out his hand and Cam stood then clasped his hand. “Caught sight of you from the kitchen but I was putting out fires so couldn’t get out here sooner. How’s it going? We seem to be seeing a lot of you lately.”

  “Your burgers and fish tacos keep bringing me back, man. I can’t seem to leave them behind.”

  Bert laughed. He was a large guy, at least six foot five, and had been a linebacker through high school and college. He was now his own bouncer when nonsense broke out in the grill. But Cam and all his other friends knew the man had a heart of gold.

  “I’m sure your family thanks me then for bringing you back to town.”

  They laughed and Cam looked at Lana. “This is Lana Presley. She’s fairly new in town and didn’t know about your place.”

  Bert held out a hand. “Welcome. I’ll have to bring you a Hula pie on the house when you finish your meal. My welcome to you.”

  “I love your place. It’s nice to meet you. And Hula pie sounds interesting. What is that?”

  Cam smiled at Lana. “You’ll love it. Lana is a schoolteacher down at the elementary school. First grade, I think, right?” She nodded.“She came out and rode at my new stable today.”

  Bert squinted at him. “Your stable? What did I miss in this conversation?”

  Cam laughed.“I haven’t even told my family, so don’t mention it to anyone. I’ll be telling them this afternoon. But I bought Bess’s place. So you’ll be seeing me often.”

  “Get outta here,” Bert said. “You’re moving back?”

  “No, just bought the place. I’ll have a manager.”

  “That’s great, man. I wondered what was up with that place. I heard Bess had left town to hang with her sister on some cruises or something. But I thought she’d just closed the place up. Now I know. This is good. Your mom is going to be ecstatic.”

  “Yes, she is. But I’ll still be in Texas for the majority of the time.”

  “I’m sure she’ll take whatever she can get. Okay, I’ll let you two get back to it. What can we get you for lunch?”

  “The fish tacos,” Cam said and Lana agreed. After Bert left, Cam focused on Lana. “Sorry about that. Bert’s a great guy.”

  “He seems to be. Y’all go way back?”


  “To high school. We all played football together.”

  She smiled and Cam found himself drawn to everything about Lana. Especially the twinkle in her eyes when she smiled. “I bet y’all had a football team much like my brothers. When there are five brothers close in age, you probably filled the line.”

  “There were several years where that was the case. Bert was a good one to have on the front line. We did pretty good through the years. But for the most part, it was a great bonding experience. The team likes to get together when they can. We have our own reunions. Usually here.”

  “That sounds like fun.”

  “It is.” He wasn’t interested in talking about his past, though. He wanted to know more about her. And it had been a very long time since he’d been so curious about a woman. But Lana Presley had his attention. His full attention.

  Lana studied Cam sitting across from her on the deck. They’d just enjoyed the most delicious fish tacos she’d ever eaten. And now were waiting on the promised Hula pie. Cam looked relaxed, despite the fact that he wore a t-shirt, jeans, and boots rather than shorts and flip-flops like most of the men roaming around the beach bar. She wore boots too, so it wasn’t as if he were dressed any differently than she was. It was…what?

  The fact that he didn’t fit in here. He had been born here and raised here, but he looked as if he belonged on the range. And her pulse did a dangerous quickstep at that thought. His gaze met and held hers; he cocked his head slightly, giving her a sigh-worthy look.

  “What are you so deep in thought about? Should I be worried?” He flashed a charmingly sexy smile at her.

  “Oh, I was thinking that you really don’t fit in with the beach tourist scene. I’d never guess you were raised here.”

  “Believe it or not, but I can fit in. I’m a chameleon.”

  She laughed. “You are a comedian, I think.”

  “So now you know my secret. I do stand up in my spare time.”