Saving Shay: Florida Veterans, #4

By Tiffani Lynn

Delicate and reclusive Shay Baird had a charmed childhood on a rural Florida farm complete with a picture-perfect family. Her youth was spent adventuring with the boy next door. Life was sweet and simple until Pax was removed from his home and her own life turned inside out. Shay now lives a solitary existence, with only her memories to keep her company.

Navy SEAL Paxton Pearsal is no longer the little boy who barely survived his abusive parents. He's a defender and protector, no trace of the victim he once was. When Pax returns home to claim his family's land, he's shocked to find a beautiful woman in the place of his childhood friend. Shay is in trouble and as much as he wants to be the one to save her, he enlists help from his friends at Sunset Security to keep her safe while he's deployed. The illusion of living a sheltered and quiet life is shattered by secrets from the past, leaving her vulnerable.

When Pax returns from his final mission, he finds that everything has changed... except the way he feels for Shay.

**Please note this story was previously released in the anthology The Hero's Journey Home in 2018. This version has new content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiffani Lynn
• Release date: Jan 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393621874

Tiffani Lynn

Tiffani is a music loving, baseball adoring, crazed hockey fan. She lives in Florida with her family. Writing romance is a passion for her as well as reading and spending time with friends. 

Book preview

One

Shay

Boom! I can still hear her little voice in my ear, saying that word with all the theatrics of a six-year-old looking for attention. "Shay, did you see that? I

nailed

it

!" 

I wish I could turn back time and answer, Yeah, Munchkin, I saw it. You did great! Instead I can only have the memories of that day, and today, instead of bringing me comfort, they are irritating me, making me feel uncomfortable in my own skin and in the quiet of my solitude. 

Her voice rings out in my head again. Come on, Shay! It’s too hot to work on the garden. Let’s go swimming! I smile a little because she said that every day during summer break, and since it's hot enough to be considered summer I think I might listen. 

I set the rake against the fence and lift the hem of my ill-fitting sundress to wipe the sweat off my brow. Then I turn and head for the creek. The crickets silence as I walk past them but start back up once I’m farther down the path. The squirrels and birds are noisier than usual for some reason and I hope they quiet down closer to the creek. Peace is harder to find today than most days and I need a few minutes of it. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, all the birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Fourth of July… They all suck. Unfortunately, today is Mother’s Day and the ghosts seem to be close. Maybe it would be better if my family disappeared from memory. Of course, I’d be lonelier than I am now because my memories seem to keep me company as much as they haunt me, but it wouldn’t be as painful.

I go right over to the big old oak that's been on the bank of the creek for as long as I can remember and strip down to my birthday suit, leaving my clothes folded neatly against the trunk. There hasn’t been anyone other than me on this land in the five years since my grandma died, so there’s no need to wear anything. The sand on the creek bottom is soft as I wade out to the one spot deep enough to dunk under the cool water. Relishing the relief it brings, I spend several minutes just floating and relaxing, trying to clear the thoughts of my sister, Morgan, and her sweet little-girl voice forever stuck

at

six

. 

With one last dip under the water I’m ready to get out and go back to work, but when I surface, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Something is off. I turn around in the waist-deep water, toward the path I used to get here, straining to hear if something sounds different, and just as I'm coming full circle I spot him. After a loud shriek, I drop back into the water and do my best to cover myself.

The man startles and steps back. Holy shit! he barks and turns around, away from me. His hands go up above his head like the police are commanding it. "I’m sorry. I didn't know anyone was here. I won’t

hurt

you

."

You’re trespassing! I yell. My clothes are all the way over by his feet so I'm completely naked and vulnerable. 

Not really. Well kinda. He glances back toward me until he catches my glare, and then he turns away again. 

This is my land and I'm the only one who lives here so there is no way you aren't trespassing.

You're right. I own the land next door and we don’t have creek access so the family that used to live here would let me come through to use it. I haven’t been here in years. I should have asked if it was still okay. I’m sorry.

What land is yours? I ask, not understanding. The people who owned the property next to us went to jail years ago and I assumed the state took possession of the property. There aren’t any other plots close to here since our two farms took up all the nearby acreage. 

He looks back to me again and I try to duck lower to hide myself. Don’t turn around!

"Okay, how about you get dressed and then we can talk. It’s hard to concentrate with you naked only a few

feet

away

."

Well, that would be nice, but you’re practically standing on my clothes! I snip at him. I’m completely freaked that I’m naked and a strange man is only a few feet away. Who the hell is

this

guy

?

It’s not that I haven’t seen anyone in the last five years. I have, but it’s usually delivery people or the night clerks and stock guys at the grocery store. No one hangs out here and no one my age has been here since I was a kid. A few times as a teenager, but not since.

I’m going to lower my hands and move forward a few feet to give you room. You can get dressed.

How can I trust you? I ask, my voice thick with suspicion.

Well you don't have to. I don’t mind having this conversation with you naked. He kind of chuckles and glances back. I catch sight of a dimple before he turns back around, and that damn cheek indent rustles something deep in my memory, giving me the distinct impression I know the owner of that dimple.

You stay where you are. Don’t turn around! I will freak out on you if you do, I

boss

him

.

His hands go back in the air as his body shakes with humor. Don’t worry, I don't have a death wish so I’ll keep staring at this nice oak tree over here. The little chuckle that follows irritates me. I’m naked and he’s laughing.

I hurry out of the water, tug my clothes on uncomfortably over my wet skin, and squeeze the water out of my hair. I should have brought a towel. 

You can turn around, I tell him as I place my hands on my hips, annoyed by this whole thing.

His close-cropped, light brown hair is a little messy and damp with sweat. Little crinkles flank his brown eyes, giving the impression that he smiles a lot. This guy has shoulders so broad that they pull his T-shirt tight across his chest. His shorts hang low in the front and brown deck shoes cover his feet. I mean for my eyes to give him a quick once-over, but I must linger a little too long because when I turn my gaze back to his face his dimple is deeper and his smile is wider than the one I saw a minute ago. My gut churns a little as my mind fights to reveal something buried within. 

When our eyes lock for the first time, his smile falls and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. Shay? he whispers. Something about the way he says it makes my gut clench tighter. There’s a familiarity in his voice that I can’t place and it's unsettling. 

Shay Baird. He says it with a bit of reverence and the dimple returns. Damn, it’s frustrating knowing I should know that dimple and not being able