Animal Prints: Sweet Small Town Contemporary Romance (Michigan Moonlight Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

assumed warrior pose as the tip of the sun came up over the edge of the lake.
    Holding the pose, Colette spotted Ian crouched below her near the tree line of the beach with his camera slung around his neck. He, too, waited for the sun. When a quarter of the sun cleared the lake, he raised the Canon to his face and began snapping pictures. Some toward the ball of pink fire, others up and down the shoreline.  
    As the light increased, he made adjustments on his camera, but continued to shoot. He moved along the shoreline taking pictures of the glistening rocks and the tips of the pine trees as the sun brightened their branches. He worked quickly and methodically with the ease of a professional. After taking his time on a shot of a birch branch, he turned to walk along the shore.  
    The sharp snap of the dog door made him look up toward the cottage. Romeo charged at him. For a second, Colette couldn’t tell if Romeo was playing or being defensive. Ian grabbed a stick from the beach and hurled it toward the water. Romeo diverted his attention to the stick, chased it down, and returned it to Ian. In a move that shocked her, Romeo nuzzled Ian’s hand. The greyhound rarely warmed up to anyone, but here he was, seeking attention from a near stranger despite his interference in their kiss last night.
    She couldn’t blame the dog; getting attention from Ian seemed like a fine idea. Last night, it wouldn’t have taken much to get more, but common sense and self-preservation had stopped her. She’d quickly backed away when she thought she couldn’t trust herself to keep a safe distance anymore.  
    “Good morning,” he called when he spotted her watching him, his deep voice cutting through the still air. “I didn’t know you were up.”
    “Hi.” She pushed open one of the hinged screens and leaned over where he stood on the beach below her porch. “Did you get some nice pictures?”  
    “I think so.” He switched the camera off and then met her eyes, flashing her a genuine smile. “Did you sleep well?”
    “Fantastic. I always do up here.” There was something about the intimate way he asked that made her squirm inside.
    “I can see why. It’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I’ve never known such quiet.”
    She controlled the gasp threatening to escape her when his words echoed her thoughts from earlier. Clearing her throat, she asked, “What can I get you for breakfast?”
    “Whatever you’re having. I’ll come help. I was going to make some coffee earlier, but I couldn’t figure out the….” He gestured with his hands to show the shape of the machine.
    “Percolator,” she said.
    “Yeah, I’m only familiar with the Mr. Coffee variety.”  
    “Meet me in the kitchen. I’ll teach you the fine art of the percolator.” She pulled the screen shut and slipped back into her room. After dressing, she ran a brush through her hair, braided it rapidly, and secured the end with a red band to keep it back for kayaking later.  
    Maybe she could convince Ian to go with her; he hadn’t seemed totally averse to the idea last night. He could take more photographs while they paddled the circumference of the island. That might be a way to sell the idea to him without just saying she wanted his company.
    When she entered the kitchen a few minutes later, the percolator lay in pieces on the kitchen table. Ian had the coffee in his hands, but stood there mystified by the machine.
    “I don’t get it. Does the coffee go in here?” He pointed to the perforated lid of the coffee chamber.
    “Uh-huh.” Colette filled the urn with water at the sink and returned to the table.
    “How does the water go through the coffee?”
    “The water boils in the pot, rises through this tube,” she held out part of the machine toward him, “goes over the ground coffee, and filters back into the pot. It’s very simple.”
    “Right.” He nodded slowly as she assembled the percolator and set it over a burner on the large