Read Online A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8) by Pamela Aares - Free Book Online Page B

close he and the puppy had come to perishing in the surf.
    “I’ve got them,” she said, curving the child into her arms and lifting him. She had trouble herding the puppy with her voice and her feet and finally gave up and grabbed him with her other arm. Balancing the two squirming beings made walking difficult. When she reached the blanket, she sat the boy down beside her and then lowered herself and corralled the puppy between her legs.
    Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jake approach the oblivious couple making out about thirty yards away from where she sat. How could they have ignored the child? Jake’s body language was all she needed to know that he was giving the mother, if it was the mother, a good dressing down. The man with the woman just crossed his arms and nodded. Smart man. No guy in his right mind would take on an enraged six-foot-four man built like Jake.
    The puppy wriggled under her knees, and she shooed the little rascal away from the chicken with her foot.
    “Do you have a ball?” the boy asked.
    Cameron brushed his wet, sandy hair away from his eyes. “No ball, sorry. But I do happen to have a chocolate-chip cookie.”
    Bribing children with sugar might earn her a spot in hell, but she’d have plenty of company if it did.
    “What’s your name?”
    “Brody. But I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers.”
    At least the mother had some sense.
    While Brody focused on the cookie, Cameron lifted the puppy into the crook of her arm and winced when he applied his razor-sharp teeth to her fingers. She shifted him against her waist, balancing him so that she could rise to her knees and put the picnic foods back in the cooler.
    Jake dripped water onto the blanket when he dropped to his knees beside her. “There should be a certification program that everyone has to pass before becoming parents,” he growled.
    “If that were true, I sure wouldn’t be here today,” Cameron said before thinking. It was true; her mother would’ve flunked Parenthood 101. Jake tilted his head, and she wished she hadn’t told such a truth, even in jest.
    “That bad, huh?”
    She nodded toward Brody. “At least his mother told him not to talk to strangers. His name’s Brody.”
    Jake scooped up the puppy and then offered Brody his hand. “I’ll take him back now; I told his mother to stay put until I did. God knows I needed a few minutes to calm down. But you can bet I’ll make sure she got the message.”
    “Can I have another cookie?” Brody held out his free hand. “And one for Taffy. She likes cookies. But she likes balls better.”
    Brody wore the crumbs from the first cookie on his face, but Cameron reached into the package and gave him another. “Just one and only for you. Cookies aren’t good for dogs,” she said in her most mellow, instructive voice.
    Jake reached into the package, took out a cookie, then bit into it and grinned. “But we like them, huh, sport?” He tugged on Brody’s hand. “Let’s get you back to your mom.”
    The mother wasn’t as placid when Jake reached her blanket the second time. She shook her finger at Jake as if accusing him of ruining her day. Cameron’s breath hitched when the guy she was with—was he Brody’s father or just a boyfriend?—sprang to his feet. The woman grabbed Brody by the hand, scooped up the puppy and stormed up toward the boardwalk. The man offered his hand, and Jake shook it, but Cameron saw the tension in Jake’s back. Crisis avoided this time. But what if Jake hadn’t been paying attention?
    The set of Jake’s jaw as he trudged through the sand told her that he was worried for the boy.
    “Want to check out the contest?” The hard edge in his tone didn’t match the tight-lipped smile pasted on his face.
    “Want to talk about that ?”
    Jake shook his head. “Brody’s mother is one of those people who wouldn’t admit fault if Saint Peter rolled video footage and a soundtrack.”
    Water dripped down his forehead, and he wiped