Chapter 1
High-pitched screaming had Colton’s undivided attention instantly. A brief stall allowed him to determine that it was coming from behind his home. Colton rushed through the back door, quickly making his way to the slight embankment that drifted down to the lakeshore, which rested just beyond his property. It was a woman screaming, and he only knew of one woman who would have access to the semi-private beach.
Worry and an anxious vibe rolled through him while he prepared for the worst. Something must have happened to her,
and he was prepared to rescue her from her desperate cries. Wild thoughts of coyotes and wolves, or perhaps an ill-tempered bear, crossed his mind. Pulse racing, he made it to the edge of the beach where he quickly halted at the sight before him.
Laughter overcame him with such dramatic force that he bent at the waist, resting his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. Megan Johnson was dancing and jumping around in the midst of a flock of rowdy…geese. She ran in a small circle, spinning around, trying to escape her attackers, all while holding a toddler over her head and out of reach from the vicious beasts. It looked like an awkward, spiritual, tribal dance with the baby as her offering to the Gods. The toddler giggled his way through the fearful event while yelling “duck” and clapping his hands.
Graceful wasn’t a word he would use to describe Megan’s dance of shame with the animals. She was awkward and clumsy, tripping and stumbling backwards, ready to fall to her brutal demise, taking the boy with her – but not before Colton swooped in to save the boy from falling, too. He also managed to grab the bag of day old bread that was dangling from Megan’s pocket, right before she fell flat on her ass…in the chilly lake.
Colton was an animal lover, had many pets of his own and was known to care for the geese and lone duck that lived in their lake. The ferocious beasts were all too familiar with the old plastic-bag-full-of-bread and were after a treat, not so much the beautiful woman. They were easily corralled away from a dripping wet Megan, still sitting in the lake.
He noticed the two of them many times down the beach, feeding the geese and duck. He hoped his feathery friends would lure her closer, and it seemed today was his lucky day. She was a mess. He would be right here when she was ready to get cleaned up. If today worked out in his favor, he would bring his fowl friends a nice treat tomorrow.
Still flailing her arms about, she finally realized the angry birds had moved on and were no longer out for blood. She watched as the “goose whisperer” himself, handsome fire fighter, Colton Sparks, rallied the fowl around him while he sat perched on an old weathered log…feeding them. She had been certain that this was a scene straight out of the Hitchcock movie, The Birds,
so she knew what those monsters were capable of. But, there they sat, perfectly calm and patient, waiting for their turn to get a treat. They even took gentle bites from her nephew’s hand.
How the hell did he do that? She answered her own question when she recalled their first meeting, just months prior at Dawson and Sam Tayler’s wedding. She was the florist and new friend of the bride – he was one of the best men to the groom. They had spent that evening dancing close and sharing stories. Colton Sparks was easy on the eyes—
tall, well-built, blonde hair, who had that sexy almost unkempt thing working and beautiful golden eyes. He was a hunky firefighter, who was a true, chivalrous, gentleman at heart. She didn’t think they made men like him anymore.
His genuine heart and kind soul left her feeling like Cinderella. So, in true Cinderella fashion, she took off at midnight and didn’t turn back. She knew better than to pursue a relationship – it was just better for everyone if she kept her distance. He was the kind of guy who wanted a white picket fence and a relationship, full of forevers. He already had the white picket fence, but she couldn’t be his forever, no matter how tempting he was.
As luck would have it, she bought a house right next door to him. Fortunately, with his work hours and the acre or two between them, he had been pretty easy to avoid…until today when she and her nephew wandered a little farther than she would have liked. Damn birds.
A chilling shiver traced her spine, reminding her that she was still ass flat in the cold lake. Mortified by the show she must have provided, and the fact that she was still resting in the ice-cold water, she quickly found her feet and made her way out of the water to reclaim what was left of her dignity. A stinging sensation drew her attention to a nicely carved gap in her forearm, compliments of an embedded branch of sorts with a knife-sharp end. Of course, she was bleeding everywhere because dripping in muddy, cold water wasn’t humiliating enough.
She made her way up the beach to where Colton and Jax, her nephew, were sharing a story, clean out of bread, and what appeared to be completely entranced sleeping geese snuggling in for affection. She rolled her eyes and shook her head ever so slightly, wondering again how he did it. Only moments ago, they were blood thirsty maniacs. Apparently, he had the same effect on birds as he did women.
Calm as they were, she still stood a safe distance so as to not ruffle any feathers
. She did have a subtle sense of guilt over abandoning a two-year-old in the middle of those blood sucking animals. She watched as Colton stood and made his way to her. She kept a watchful eye on the geese, taking a step back when they began to get up and move. They waddled their way back down to the water and drifted off across the lake on their way to terrorize someone else, she thought.
“Hey, thanks for…uh…well, saving us. They’ve never done that before,” she said with a sheepish smile, her embarrassment still evident by her rosy cheeks, while reaching for Jax.
Colton lifted the tot from his hip to hand him over. “You’ve probably never had a bag of bread dangling from your backside then…” He quickly pulled the little guy back noticing her bloody arm. “Whoa, that’s a nasty cut. Why don’t you come up to the house? I’ll fix it up.”
“It’s okay, really. I have some Band-Aids and ointment. I’ll be fine.” She shrugged. She knew going into his house was the beginning of the end, and she wasn’t one to tempt fate.
“What’s with the just the one duck in a flock of geese?” she asked, trying to distract him from her gaping wound.
He playfully rolled his eyes at her and said, “Band-Aids, really? This is more than a Band-Aid job. I’ve got a first aid kit up at the house. C’mon.”
He turned to walk up the path to his house and noticed she wasn’t following. She stood with a bewildered look on her face as if she was debating whether or not this was a safe idea. “I’m a fire fighter, remember? I’m trained in this stuff. Helping people is my job. And the duck – her name is Ruthie – the geese took her in when the ducks wouldn’t…strangest thing.”
She took a moment, looked at her dripping arm, then took in the greater distance to her own house and gave in. “Okay, you’re probably right. It’s pretty gross.”
He smiled at her with a wink and reached a hand out to her. She accepted it, and he pulled her up the small trail so she could walk in front of him. Again, the gentleman. He put Jax up on his shoulders and made a ride of it, earning himself giggles from the little guy and an endearing smile from the lady.
Smiling at the memory of their last meeting, he couldn’t help the sense of optimism that consumed him. She may not think they were a good idea, but he thought otherwise. An odd circumstance to earn a second chance, but beggars can’t be choosers.
He recalled how intrigued he was by her when they first met. He still was, and he wanted to get to know her better. There was something about her that had his attention from hello, something other than her beauty and the genuine nature about her that made his heart palpitate and his breaths catch. Despite their hours together, talking and dancing like old friends, he knew little about her, and he knew she wanted it that way. What was the mystery surrounding Megan Johnson? He couldn’t wait to solve it.