Lakeside Hero (Men Of Millbrook Lake Book 1) by Lenora Worth

maybe, tired of my hang-ups.”
    Alec turned to face her, his hands on her arms. “If things were different, if Gabby wasn’t so scared and if I wasn’t so scarred, what would be next for us?”
    Not ready to face that, she looked out at the water and listened to the sound of a couple laughing as their sailboat glided by. “I don’t know. I can’t be sure.” And then she looked up at him, her heart coming to the surface. “I’m afraid I might not ever get over my scars, either.”
    He backed up to stare down at her. “Then maybe Gabby’s issues aren’t the real problem between us. Maybe it’s more about your problems and how you need to deal with them.”
    His words stung Marla with the intensity of a bee’s bite. “You could be right. But I’ll have to decide how to deal with that all on my own.”
    Then she saw a spark of anger in his eyes, right before he tugged her close. “Think about this while you’re trying to figure things out.” He leaned down and gave her a quick but gentle kiss that left her wanting more. Wanting to know him more.
    “Alec...”
    “Not a word,” he said. “Not tonight. It’s time for me to take you home. We’ll talk again soon.”
    But she knew they were done for now. He was hurt and angry and still as scared as her little girl. So they walked back to his house and he drove her the short distance to her apartment over the shop.
    “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
    He nodded. “It was nice. A nice day. One I’ll remember for a while to come.”
    Marla watched as he got back in his car and headed back to the big, lonely house and returned to the solitude that kept him so isolated. She decided that he needed to take a good long look at himself, too.
    She might have problems and issues stemming from how her husband had died, but Alec was the one who was still afraid to come out of the darkness.

Chapter Ten
    A lec stood on the weathered deck of AWOL, the bayside camp house he and his three friends had bought as a getaway once they were all back stateside. The four-bedroom house with the long living/kitchen combination up front was really a glorified man cave and fishing camp, but it served another purpose for all of them. It was completely private and off the beaten path, tucked back in the dense woods where the East River met Millbrook Bay. Here they could go hunting and fishing, grill food and swap war stories by a campfire.
    Alec grinned, thinking they should just put up a big sign that stated No Girls Allowed. None of them ever brought a woman here. That was the only unwritten rule. That and the sign Preacher had put over the porch door: “And he said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’”
    Preacher expected the best of his buddies. He not only wanted them to catch fish and share with the masses, but he also wanted them to teach others how to function in life.
    Alec was trying to abide by that rule with the Caldwell Canines Service Dog Association. He’d put in a bid on the old car lot his overly eager Realtor had found. With a little elbow grease and some remodeling, the building would make a great kennel and training facility. So he hoped to rally his friends into helping with the renovations, to save some funding for the participants and to have some downtime doing some hard work.
    Work that would make him so tired, he’d be able to sleep instead of thinking about a certain Cupcake Girl.
    He heard a car pulling up underneath the massive wooden pilings that held the rickety old cottage up and served as a great covered parking area. About fifteen feet above the sand and surf to avoid flooding during the frequent storm surges brought on by hurricanes, the pilings had withstood all kinds of weather and all types of previous owners.
    Alec didn’t bother seeing who was down below. The old, stripped-down black Jeep was his first clue. When he heard laughter and snorts, he knew it had to be Blain and Rory. Hunter might show up late or