Targeted for Revenge by Karen Kirst

Author:Karen Kirst
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-01-08T22:06:17+00:00

TWELVE

After a long, hot shower, Mason was ready to sleep for days. Instead, he donned Silver’s plain polo shirt, too-long pants, which he rolled up at the ankles, and socks, and followed feminine voices to the downstairs pool. Pausing at the glass door, he watched Tessa choose a sandwich and baby carrots from a platter, then place it on Lily’s plate. The patio-style table was framed by a giant window with a view of the mountain ridges marching into the horizon. Lily was wrapped in a neon-pink-and-yellow towel, her curls in disarray and her skin flushed from her recent swim. Tessa wore a demure white wrap of some sort over her swimsuit.

Lily said something, and Tessa smiled in response. That smile was like the one she used to give him, and it made him yearn for those dreamy, uncomplicated days. Things had been easy between them then. Falling for her had been the most natural thing in the world. Who wouldn’t love a woman like her? At first, he’d been attracted by her beauty and the sweetness she radiated, but he’d soon discovered her character was worth pure gold. She stood up for the weak and vulnerable and hated to see anyone suffer. If she could help someone, she did. Plain and simple. He’d been challenged by her generosity and spurred to renew his commitment to his community. Their personalities complemented each other, and it hadn’t taken long for him to start thinking about spending forever with her.

Tessa glanced up, noticed him there on the other side of the door and stilled. Instantly, the strain of the past days had her in its grip. Her worry for him was written in her expressive eyes and her full, trembling mouth. Despise Tessa? Impossible. Exactly what he felt for her, he was afraid to examine. One thing he had to make clear—they were far from enemies.

He pulled open the door and was hit with a wave of humid air, heavy with chlorine. The tickle in his throat thankfully didn’t progress into another coughing fit. Tessa didn’t move as he walked around the pool’s edge and made his way to them.

Lily grinned at him. “I got to swim!”

Mason sat in the chair beside Lily. “Maybe I can swim with you later.”

“Yes, please!” She waved a carrot in the air. “Mommy, can we swim with Mason?”

He hid a grimace. Mason wanted her to know he was her father, but so far, the right opportunity hadn’t presented itself.

Tessa was seated opposite him. Her gaze seeming to absorb him, as if she hadn’t expected him to ever return from the hospital. Was she as tormented by flashbacks as he was? For a while last night, she’d believed him to be stuck inside his burning house, succumbing to the smoke and flames.

“Maybe we can later.” She gestured to the platter. “Are you hungry? Lindsey was here earlier, and she stocked the fridge.”

His stomach growled in response. “I hadn’t realized I was until I sat down.”

He snagged a

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