Free Song of the Surf (Pacific Shores Book 3) by Lynnette Bonner Page A

stomach and took him back to the first night he’d met Dakota and overheard her talking to herself. She’d called him an irresponsible daredevil. And that had been right after she’d reamed Reece out because she’d seen his motorbike in the drive and thought Reece had bought it.
    He’d wondered at the time why she’d pegged him in such a negative light and with such hasty judgment. Now he understood.
    Everything inside him went soft. She’d been carrying a big burden for a lot of years for one so young. “Neither did you make the guy in the truck turn at that exact moment. Nor did you place the entrance to that beach just around a corner. It was an accident.”
    She reached up and touched his face, sending a ping of awareness through him that he knew wasn’t mutual. He forced himself to hold steady.
    “Thank you for being such a caring friend.” She smiled through her tears.
    He suppressed a growl, knowing that she hadn’t taken his admonishment to heart. A world of anguish still inhabited her expression. With his thumbs he gently swiped the tears from beneath her lashes, wishing he could infuse her with the truth and also wishing he had the right to kiss away her concerns.
    He searched her face. Studied the tendrils of hair that caressed her still bruised and stitched temple. The dusting of tiny freckles scattered over her nose that were only visible because he was so close. Her full, slightly parted lips.
    The emotions etching her face changed subtly, and her eyes widened a little. She bit her lip and eased back a step. “We should probably check on the flowers. I’m worried they might be a little banged up. And at the church they are probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”
    He took a breath to dispel the lingering desire to kiss her, then slung her arm around his shoulders and helped her hop back to the car.
    A quick check showed that the bouquets in the trunk had fared better than expected. All but the one which had apparently picked a fight with his tire iron and lost. The bouquet was smashed in one section.
    Dakota gently pushed it back into its proper position and traced a finger over the damage. One of the roses had broken, and some of the foliage was crushed.
    Justus gritted a grimace.
    But Dakota seemed undaunted. “I can fix this, but let’s get to the church first. I’ll need scissors.”

Chapter 7
    The decorations were set. Jalen and Riley had put up all the candelabras. Dakota felt satisfied that she’d fixed the one smashed bouquet so nicely that not even she could tell which one had had the trunk mishap. And the church smelled fragrant and inviting.
    They’d practiced the ceremony twice, and now Marie and Reece had gathered them together in the center of the church’s reception hall. After all her crutching around and trips up and down the stairs throughout the day, Dakota’s good leg was about done for and her arm was aching intensely. But she was doing this for Marie, and she didn’t want to disappoint her. So she leaned heavily against her crutches and hoped no one would notice her discomfort.
    It was only a moment before Justus strode up with a chair and plunked it beside her. “Sit down before you fall down,” he said quietly.
    She wrinkled her nose at him, but did as he’d commanded. Her leg trembled as she lowered herself into the chair. She still couldn’t believe she’d fallen apart like that in front of him. She quite honestly hadn’t broken down over the situation for years. And now, just when she’d like to find a nice dark hole to crawl into so she didn’t have to endure any more of his scrutiny, she had to learn to dance with him. And on one leg that was barely working and another that was strapped into a boot the size of Rhode Island.
    Marie was so excited over the dance, she didn’t seem to notice Dakota’s predicament. Marie rubbed her hands together, and a gleam frolicked in her gaze as she scanned the group. Alyssa skipped over and climbed up onto