Free Mistletoe Mine by Emily March Page A

told to protect her precious child’s shoulders from bearing the weight of “Murphy bad blood.”
    Yet Sarah had loved Cam Murphy with every fiber of her foolish, teenaged soul. She’d had to grow up in order to put her love for him behind her. His rejection and the reality of a dependent child had made it easier to accomplish.
    The van braked to a stop in front of them, shaking Sarah from her reverie. The driver’s door opened, and a young man with sun-streaked hair, suntanned skin, and a bruised and swollen black eye exited the shuttle with a spring in his step. “G’day, ladies,” he said in that wonderful Aussie drawl. “Reese, party of two, for Adventures in Paradise Tours?”
    “That’s us,” Lori confirmed. Her eyes widened and she winced when she got a good look at his injury. “Wow. I bet that hurts.”
    The boy flashed a grin. “Not much. I’ve had worse. M’name’s Devin, and I’m your transportation to the marina and the Bliss . Hop on in, and I’ll introduce you to our other guests.”
    The two physicians and their wives were from Minnesota, the men in their mid-forties, the women a decade younger, nearer to her age, she’d guess. The doctors claimed to be experienced scuba divers. One of the wives planned to snorkel, but the other confessed to a fear of sharks that kept her out of the ocean.
    “I’m perfectly happy to sunbathe,” she told Sarah. “Some friends of ours took this tour a year ago and said the scenery of the cay alone is worth the price of the ticket.”
    The other wife leaned toward Sarah and lowered her voice. “She also said the captain and crew weren’t half bad to look at, either.”
    Lori must have overheard that exchange, because she glanced at Sarah and mouthed “No flirting.”
    Sarah smothered a smile, then listened in as her daughter peppered the young driver with questions about the tour.
    “No, I wish I went out on the boat every day,” Devin was saying. “I’m suspended from school this week, and I have some fines I have to pay off, so I’m working with my dad on the tours.”
    “Oh. Well, um … what does your dad do on the tours?” Lori replied, obviously floundering on how to respond to the boy’s revelations.
    Devin shrugged. “He does a little bit of everything, but he’s a water rat at heart. He’d rather be diving the reef than just about anything.”
    “Will he be diving with us today?”
    “Maybe. Don’t know. He had a party that ran pretty late last night, but don’t worry. Our regular crew are great mates. We’re still small—we run only two boats—but we’re the best tour operator in Queensland. You’re gonna have a bonza time today.”
    If the boy’s father had been up late partying, then Sarah hoped he wasn’t part of this trip. She admitted to being somewhat nervous about her baby diving today—she’d seen the movie Jaws way too many times over the years—and she didn’t want the lead diver suffering from a hangover.
    “I’m so excited,” Lori said to Devin. “This is going to be the highlight of our trip.”
    “That’s our goal at Adventures in Paradise. Customer service is king.” He flashed a grin and added, “I sound like a used-car salesman, don’t I?”
    Lori laughed, and Sarah’s attention was pulled away when the sunbather doctor’s wife asked her where she was from. It came as no surprise that the obviously wealthy Minnesotans had been to Telluride, Vail, and Aspen but had never heard of Eternity Springs. “Next time you plan to visit Colorado, you should consider a stay at Angel’s Rest, our new healing center and spa. It’s a heavenly place. You’d love it.”
    “We’ll keep that in mind,” one of the doctors said.
    “I adore spa vacations,” his wife added.
    “Is there golf?” the other doctor asked.
    “No, I’m afraid not. But we do have some of the best trout fishing in the world nearby at the Taylor River.”
    “Taylor River rainbows,” he responded. “I’ve heard of them.