Dream of Me: A Sweet Contemporary Romance by Delaney Cameron Page A

could voice her doubts, the little girl stopped in front of a yellow house perched high on its wooden stilts.
    “This is my house,” Chloe announced proudly.
    The screen door flew open, and a young woman wearing a look of exasperation and anxiety came running down the stairs to meet them.
    “Chloe! Did you sneak off to the beach again?” Her glance went to Aubrey. “Thank you for bringing her back. I just noticed she wasn’t on the deck.”
    “You’re welcome. She’s got a small cut on her head.”
    The woman nodded. “That’s not surprising.” To the little girl, she said, “Go into the bathroom, Chloe, and wash your hands. I’ll be there in a minute.” She turned back to Aubrey. “I’m Tonya Willems, Chloe’s mother.”
    “Aubrey Sommers.”
    “Are you a resident or a tourist? I’m new to Tybee and haven’t sorted everyone out yet.”
    “I live here. I work for Corbin Reeves.”
    “Oh, the cute guy that builds houses.”
    Hiding a smile, Aubrey said, “Yeah, that’s the one.”
    “I better see to Chloe,” Tonya stated with a rueful smile.
    Aubrey glanced into a sky that was darkening rapidly. “And I should get going. It was nice meeting you, Tonya.”
    Deciding it would be quicker to use the road instead of returning to the beach, she set off at a fast pace. The sun was quickly disappearing and the breeze that had been so refreshing earlier was giving way to a cold wind that had her rubbing her arms. Aubrey broke into a run just as the ominous clouds overhead opened and the rain started, going from sporadic fat drops hitting the pavement to sheets of water in a matter of minutes. Why had she walked so far? With a groan, she put up her arm to shield her face from the pelting rain. There was a brief flash of light and then what sounded like a bomb exploded in her ears. Sparks flew from the wires attached to the electric pole on the opposite side of the street.  
    Soaked to the skin and more scared than she could ever remember, she ran to the closest house and scrambled up the short flight of stairs. Over the pounding of her heart, she could hear the storm worsening. What was she going to do? The toot of a horn brought her head up. A car was pulling into the driveway next to the house. In a few minutes, a tall figure appeared carrying a familiar umbrella.
    “Do you always walk during thunderstorms?”
    Aubrey tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “C-can we g-go inside?” she asked through chattering teeth. “I’m fr-freezing.”
    Richard eyed her sodden appearance with concern. “You need to get out of those clothes.” Opening the door, he motioned for her to precede him into the house. “Let me see what I can find for you to put on.”
    “I hate to put you to all this trouble,” she replied as another shiver ran through her.
    Richard led the way down a narrow hallway to a bedroom. “It’s no trouble. I’ll be right back.”
    A quick glance told Aubrey this wasn’t his room and she relaxed.
    He returned carrying a black terry cloth robe. “Here you go. The bathroom is through that door behind you. Take as long as you need. I’m going to make you something hot to drink.”
    Aubrey was surprised by the thoughtfulness displayed by someone she knew from experience to be somewhat self-serving. “Thank you, Richard.”
    “I can be nice enough when I want to.”
    “Let’s don’t get started on that,” she said firmly.
    He grinned as he walked to the door. “Bring out your wet things, and I’ll throw them in the dryer.”
    Aubrey slipped out of her clothes and into the robe Richard provided. It hung past her fingers and dragged the ground when she walked, but she didn’t care. She was warm again. Her hair was another story. The small comb she found in one of the drawers wouldn’t begin to do the job. The best she could do at this point was stop the dripping.
    She tracked Richard down in the kitchen, her clothes rolled into a ball. “If you’ll show me where the