The Lure of Love Read Online Free PDF

of
families. I have a couple of extra maids lined up and I thought I’d hire that
young fellow to help with the campsite and the boat rentals.”
    “Good idea.
Too bad we can’t keep it full like this all the time.” Jamie stood up abruptly.
“If everything’s okay here I think I’ll go to my cabin.” She paused and looked
at her manager. “Are you going to take some time off? I know you said you don’t
mind working extra hours, but you seem to be here a lot.”
    Brooke
smiled. “I like being busy. There’ll be plenty of time to slow down in the
winter.” She glanced at her watch. “You go ahead. I’m going to take my evening
walk.”

Chapter Four
    The sky was
faintly tinged with purple by the time Brooke went outside. It didn’t get
completely dark until ten or eleven this far north, but shapes were becoming indistinct
in the gathering dusk. She took her usual route, wandering slowly through the
RV Park and exchanging greetings with the people who recognized her from the
lodge. Families sat around campfires that were allowed in designated areas and
the occasional burst of laughter was music to her ears. At one campsite she
noticed a mother sitting at the sturdy picnic table, cradling a young boy of
around eight. He was flushed, and his sweaty hair was matted against his head.
    She took a
few steps into the site. “Is there anything I can do?”
    The woman
smiled. “Thanks, but I think he’s over the worst of it. He picked up a flu bug
somewhere.” She placed a hand on the child’s forehead. “You’re feeling better
already, aren’t you Sweetie?”
    The child
nodded and Brooke moved on. It was at times like this that she missed being
part of a family. She picked up her pace, determined not to let thoughts of the
past ruin her evening.
    She always
saved the best for the last. On the farthest arm of the main boat dock a small
shed held the gasoline pump for boat fuel and the collection of tools that had
been amassed over the years. This was Howie Bennett’s territory in the daytime.
The pensioner had worked for the lodge since the time of Jamie’s parents and
guarded his territory fiercely, not allowing the children to venture anywhere
near the fuel. But he’d locked up and gone home hours ago, and at the end of
her busy days it was Brooke’s gift to herself to come out here and sit on the
old plastic chair Howie kept on the dock. Shielded from the lodge by the shed,
it was a quiet place to think, to make plans, and to dream.
    She stepped
onto the dock and waited while it adjusted to her weight. Mooring cleats
gleamed dully in the pale light, and boats bumped softly against the flattened
tires that had been hammered into the wood of the dock. She started to hum,
savouring the thought of a few moments alone.
    She turned
left toward the shed and a figure moved in the gloom. She stepped back,
startled.
    “Sorry. I
didn’t mean to frighten you.”
    She’d heard
the voice before but couldn’t quite place it.
    “It’s Billy.”
He took a few steps toward her. “Billy Talbot. We met earlier today when I
checked in.” He extended a hand. “It’s Brooke, isn’t it?”
    She
hesitated, then shook his hand. There was something intimate about shaking
hands with someone when their eyes were scarcely visible. He held her hand a
moment longer than necessary and then let it go, as though embarrassed by his
action. If this was the famous love ’em and leave ’em Billy Talbot, then he
wasn’t at all what she’d been led to believe.
    “Yes, I’m
Brooke Stephens.” Why was she breathless?  Was it the unmistakable sizzle that
had passed between them when they shook hands?
    “Have I
invaded your space?” He sounded genuinely apologetic.
    “Not at all.”
She turned to leave.
    “Please,
don’t go.” He reached out, touched her arm and then withdrew his hand. “I’d
really like you to stay.” He gestured to the chair. “You sit there. I’ll grab
another chair.” He moved past her and walked