Free Healing A Hero (The Camerons of Tide’s Way #4) by Skye Taylor Page A

But it had to be her. Elena’s daughter.
    “You must be Julie.” There were hints of her mother about the mouth and in her warm coloring. “Elena Castillo’s daughter?”
    A furrow appeared between the girl’s blue eyes. “You know my mom?”
    “I’ve known your mom since she was your age.” And he’d known her intimately when she’d grown up. “I hung out with your Uncle Andy mostly, but—”
    Julie shut the laptop and folded her arms across it. Her expression was suddenly wary and less friendly.
    “You’re the guy who sent the flowers.” It was an accusation. Laced with hostility.
    The open antipathy surprised him.
    “Why?” she demanded.
    “Why what?”
    “Why did you send my mother flowers?”
    “Because it was her birthday. I thought . . .” At the time, it seemed like a nice gesture to make if they were going to go forward on a friendly note. But for some reason, this girl didn’t appear to agree. “I thought she’d like them.”
    “Well, she did.” Julie’s blue gaze didn’t waver, but she seemed to be waging a war between some unknown reason to resent him and good manners.
    Philip leaned across the narrow space and extended a hand. “I’m Philip Cameron. It’s nice to meet you.”
    The girl hesitated, then manners won out. She placed her hand in his for a brief but surprisingly firm grip. A grip that hurt. He tried not to grimace.
    “I understand you’re a west-coast girl.” He searched for something neutral to say to her. “How do you like Jacksonville?”
    “It’s not San Diego.”
    “Not many places can compete with San Diego,” he agreed pleasantly.
    “You ever been there?” The forbidding stiffness lifted a little as she asked the question.
    “A few times.” A particular training op with a bunch of Navy SEALS came to mind, followed even less pleasantly by the memory of his brief marriage. “The climate is perfect, but the ocean’s something else. Made me wish I owned a wetsuit.”
    “You have to get used to it, I guess.” She shrugged.
    “Do you surf?” She looked fit and athletic. The kind of girl who wouldn’t be happy just decorating the beach in a skimpy bikini.
    “Of course.” Said as if there couldn’t possibly be any other reasonable answer.
    “We’ve got some pretty good places to surf on the east coast, too. Maybe your mom will take you next time you visit Tide’s Way. Or check out the beaches up here.”
    “Tide’s Way is too small. There’s nothing there.”
    This girl was not happy with having left her childhood home and everything she knew behind. So maybe the vibes he was getting from her weren’t about him or the fact that he’d sent her mother flowers.
    “How do you like your new school?” He should just pick the newspaper up and let her go back to her computer, but something made him give friendly interest another try.
    “It’s okay.” Julie shrugged. “I like the tennis coach. And the kids on the team are nice.”
    Well, that explains the none-too-delicate handshake! How old is this girl, anyway? Did they have tennis teams in elementary school? She seems kind of tall, but Jake says girls mature faster than boys .
    He started doing the math in his head. She couldn’t be more than twelve. He thought he recalled Andy saying Elena had married in the summer of oh two. A stab of jealousy hit him hard.
    “I used to play tennis. Back in high school.”
    “My dad taught me how to play,” Julie stated with firmness and some underlying intent he couldn’t fathom. Maybe she was just trying to make it clear to Philip that she thought her parents should still be together and Philip was an interloper. That would explain her attitude toward the flowers.
    But however much she might want it, reconciliation after a divorce was unlikely. Her allegiance to Eli was admirable, though. He was her father, after all. Philip could hate the guy for stealing Elena, but that wasn’t Julie’s fault.
    “How old are you?” he couldn’t stop himself