Free The Summer He Came Home by Juliana Stone Page A

was approaching noon and already hot as sin. Sweat pooled between her breasts, and the breeze that rushed along the water whispered across her skin.
    She applied a generous amount of the coconut-scented lotion and tossed it back into the bag. Michael had been greased up as soon as they arrived.
    “Raine, glad you came for the day.”
    Maggie froze. Cain. His voice was low, the timbre electric, and her stomach lurched at the sound of it.
    Raine smiled and glanced behind her. “I see you decided to stick around for a few days. Your mom must be thrilled.”
    He chuckled. “I don’t know about thrilled, but it sure as hell feels good to be home. Been way too long.”
    “Ya think?” Raine answered drily.
    Maggie felt his attention like a stroke of heat across her flesh. Goose bumps spread along her arms. “How’s the head, Maggie? Your stitches giving you any problems?”
    She ignored Raine’s arched brow and slowly turned around. Cain stood a few feet away, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses.
    The man sported a pair of black swim trunks that hung way too low on his hips. Did he do that on purpose? His chest and abs were perfection—this she already knew. She might have suffered one hell of a knock to the head, but the one clear image she remembered was of Cain. Her eyes wandered lower, to the “cut,” that indent low on the hips that makes a woman’s mouth water.
    Wrong thing to do. Heat pooled in her belly again, this time accompanied by a sharp stab of something she didn’t want to analyze. It left her flustered, and she was getting pretty damn sick of feeling off-kilter whenever Cain Black was around.
    Stay above the neck.
    Her face froze into a smile, or at least what was supposed to pass for a smile, and she shrugged. “I’m fine. Uh, everything is good…I…you know, slept and then my alarm…went off every couple of hours or so…”
    Her cheeks darkened, and she glanced down at her toes. She sounded like a complete moron. What was it about the man that reduced her to a teenaged mess of awkwardness?
    “Mom! Cain said he’d take me out on the boat later!” Michael’s excited voice broke the spell.
    She cleared her throat and nodded. “That’s nice.”
    Cain removed his glasses and flashed a smile. “We can all go for a ride. The weather’s perfect.”
    “No,” she answered—a little too quickly—and winced at the note of panic in her voice. “I…” She smiled at Michael. “That’s fine. You go, sweetie. Mommy wants to relax today.”
    Jake Edwards joined them, along with a tall, handsome blond man she recognized from the funeral. Jake’s expression was subdued and somewhat aloof. Maggie’s heart broke for the soldier. His loss was tattooed onto his soul, and there was no hiding his pain.
    “Hey.” Jake’s gaze touched Raine before sliding to Maggie. “Glad you two could make it. I know my parents think a lot of you and your son.”
    “Thank you.” She murmured. “It was nice of them to invite us for the day.”
    “Cain, do you want to see my fishing rod? Mom bought it for me for getting six As on my report card! I haven’t tried it out yet.” They all turned to Michael, and he shuffled his feet. “Actually, I’ve never even been fishing before, so I don’t really know what to do.”
    Cain glanced her way, but she kept her eyes focused on Michael.
    “Sure. Why don’t we grab some lunch first. Did you get worms? I think we’re all out.” At Jake’s nod, Michael’s face fell.
    “We didn’t think about worms. Can’t we just pretend?” His open smile tugged at her heartstrings.
    Cain laughed. “There’s no fun in pretending.” He moved closer to her son and rested his hand on Michael’s shoulder. It was a small gesture, but one that twisted her insides something fierce. “We’ll hop in my truck after lunch and drive into town to get some bait. Sound good?”
    They both looked at Maggie—Michael’s face full of hope, Cain’s unreadable.
    “Can I, Mom?” Michael