A Masterpiece Of Our Love (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 1) by Nikki Lynn Barrett Read Free Book Online Page A

kick out of it.
    Thunder cracked in the sky, signaling a warning. Yes, he knew the storm was on it's way. No denying that. The damn wind blowing water in his face proved that. The smell of rain filled the air. Streaks of rain fell from the sky only miles away. Not too long before it would hit them. He just needed to get this boat secured at the dock, then take Becca and find a safe place to shelter themselves from the storm.
    "What's with storms and trouble lately?" he shouted into the wind. His pulse quickened and his heart raced. Okay, he needed to chill. He felt that same strange sensation, the same one he'd had when he nearly crashed his plane a few months ago.
    What a mess. He loomed closer to the dock. Becca's face was masked into one of worry. She kept glancing at the storm, then back to Hunter.
    He had to keep her safe and shelter her, just as he had the very first time. She'd been so young and fragile. Hurt. Scared out of her mind. The realization that they'd lost all of their family hadn't hit her yet. He'd been the one to explain it all to her, and it tore him up. No twelve year old should ever have to explain to an eight year old little girl that had been a stranger to him that they were the only survivors. That had ripped his young innocence away so fast. Life hadn't been the same since. He'd bonded with that sweet young girl in ways no one else could.
    Like a motion picture, images of that ordeal flashed in his mind.
    "No, I can't go there right now. Focus, focus," he scolded himself. He was losing concentration fast. The boat veered to the left. Too close to the large rocky cliffs. Shit! He pulled the boat the other way and barely missed them. He let out a ragged breath. Another strong gust of wind sent a wave crashing against the boat, pushing it the other way once again. "Damn it!" He had to get control now!
    Focus, mind. Stay on task.
    He shouldn't have to fight with his inner demons to think straight. What was happening to him? These things kept occurring, ever since he'd lost control that night. No wonder he'd been warned to take a break. Something inside had snapped.
    He fought against the storm. The boat tipped and swayed. Hunter attempted to keep his feet planted firmly against the wood, but with the moderately falling rain, it was too slippery. He shouted and gripped the side, but the boat tipped even further. The waves seemed to swallow him as he fell from the boat into the water.

Chapter Four
    Terror seized Becca when the boat tipped over. She watched in horror as Hunter slipped and fell overboard, plummeting down to the water. She left everything on the dock and dove in, swimming as fast as she could through the waves and rain to get to him. This storm came on way too fast! He'd come so close to the rocks a few times that she thought he'd crash, but then he managed to get on track. The look of fear on his face mirrored exactly how she felt just before he went down.
    "Hunter? HUNTER!" she screamed, searching the nearby waters around the boat for him. Where had he gone? Why hadn't he surfaced? "Hunter, where are you?" Please be okay, please be okay.
    She spotted a flash of white behind the boat. Was that him? Why wouldn't he respond? Something was wrong. Becca swam behind the tilting boat. She knew it wouldn't fall over on her, but each time the wind pushed at it, she flinched. Did it get stuck on something? There were a lot of rocks over here and the water wasn't that deep. Oh God, hopefully Hunter wasn't injured from hitting a jagged rock. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She forced herself to keep going, even though she was scared out of her mind. She needed to find Hunter and pull him to shore. Intense lightning bolts struck nearby and often. They were sitting ducks in this water with the storm!
    She found Hunter, his arm draped around a large rock. She sighed in relief that she'd found him. How bad was he hurt? She wrapped her arms around him from behind, crying on his shoulder. She felt his chest