Free A Glimmer of Hope: A Novella Prequel to Isle of Hope by Julie Lessman Page A

waiting, each with a twinkle in their eyes.
    Smile flatter than her pride, Lacey pulled her cell phone from her back jean pocket and handed it to Jack before striding over to the infamous rope swing that had settled many a score. She kicked off her shoes and gave Cat a salute, then grabbed the well-worn hemp. With a deep swallow of both pride and air, she backed up as far as she could, then flew across the dock, feet leaving the ground as she sailed over the inky waters. “Catfish is queen!” she bellowed per their ritual, right before she cannonballed into the water in a gush of icy foam.
    Her teeth were chattering when she surfaced and swam for the ladder, climbing up to a chorus of catcalls and shouts. Jack immediately hauled her up and wrapped her in a tattered beach towel while she shivered against his chest. “Come on, Mike, you’re freezing—let’s get you home.”
    “No!” Lacey jerked from his hold, her heart ramming against her ribs. “I don’t want to go home, Jack.”
    He slacked a hip. “You’re soaking wet, Lace, and your teeth are rattling loud enough to scare the fish. I’ll walk you home, you can change, then we’ll come back.”
    “No, Jack, please—I had a fight with Daddy, and I don’t want to go back there now.”
    “Then I’ll run up to get you some dry clothes.” He started for the ramp, but Lacey gripped his T-shirt. “Can’t you just hold me a while in the chair? Please?”
    “ Oooo-kay , that’s our cue.” Cat jumped up from her chair, lips canting as she grabbed her sister’s hand. “There are bowls of ice cream with our names on them, Shan, so let’s leave these lovebirds to shiver on their own.”
    “I’ll bring you some dry clothes,” Shannon offered as Cat dragged her toward the ramp. Her sweet smile warmed Lacey as always, making her grateful that at least one of Jack’s sisters still liked her.
    “No need, Shan.” Lacey hurried over to the storage shed and yanked an old quilt off the shelf. “I’ll just wrap up in this, and Jack can keep me warm.” She batted her eyes. “Won’t you, Jack?”
    His smile sloped sideways. “Do I have a choice?”
    “Yeah, well not too warm,” Cat called, tossing a smirk over her shoulder. “Oh and, Jack, will you clean my fish and bring ’em up?”
    “Sure,” Jack muttered absently, a frown puckering his brow as he inspected Lacey head to toe, taking in her sopping hair and shivering form. “Come on, Lace, let me get some dry clothes for you.”
    She moved in quickly, petrified he would leave. “No, I’m fine, really. Just hold me—please?”
    “You’re shaking and your lips are blue.”
    “Only because the water was cold,” she reasoned, fisting his T-shirt with an innocent pout that usually swayed him her way. “Come on, Jack,” she whispered, lifting on tiptoe to skim her lips against his, “the air is warm, and so are you, so just give me your T-shirt, and I’ll take off these sopping clothes.”
    “Lace, no …” A guarded look entered his eyes, and Lacey’s heart constricted.
    “Wait.” She quickly gathered up the ratty quilt, then peered up with a plea, desperate to be close to the one man who actually cared. “Look, you win—I’ll only ditch the wet jeans and tank, then wrap up in this blanket after you give me your T-shirt, okay?”
    Hands on his hips, he arched a thick brow, lips banking to the right. “ I win?”
    She tilted her head to give him her most adorable smile. “Absolutely, because it’s no worse than me wearing a swimming suit under your T-shirt, right?”
    “Yeah, right.” His lips twitched enough for her to notice, as if a squirm of a smile was making headway despite his gruff stance. Even so, he leveled a stern finger. “If I do give you my T-shirt, Mike, we just sit and talk, got it?”
    “Got it!” She gave a salute. “Uh … with maybe just a teeny-weeny bit of steam?” Chewing her lip, she held two fingers in front of her nose, a bare half-inch apart. “Maybe