Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) Read Online Free

There was face-painting and games.  She looked at her watch.
    “Do you really want to go?” she asked, noting the time.
    Crosby and Cadee nodded vigorously.  “Please,  Mama?” Cadee begged.
    Blakesley sighed, nodding her head. It would be something fun for the girls to do, and Lord knew they needed it.  So much of their young lives, as of late, had been serious and depressing. So she woke Charlotte up, who very much wanted to see the Princess movie again, and told the waiter she would return.  Blakesley walked the girls through the sumptuous hotel lobby and over to the KidTopia recreation center where other kids were gathering, signing them in for the movie night. 
    Leaving the girls hadn’t been particularly easy. She stood there and watched them integrate with the other children that were running around, feeling some separation anxiety but fighting it.  The girls were already having a good time so she wandered back out to the patio restaurant and sat by the fireplace, feeling the heat from the golden flames lick at her as she gazed up at the darkening sky.  She’d never felt more alone in her life.
    “At the risk of using an over-used line, is this seat taken?”
    The voice came from behind her.  Blakesley wasn’t even sure the question was meant for her until she realized there was no one else within ten feet of her.  Startled, she looked over her left shoulder to see who had asked the question.
    Beck stood about five feet away, smiling at her, and Blakesley’s jaw dropped with surprise.  He was in street clothes, jeans and a white collared shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and looking completely different from when they had met earlier in the day.  The truth was that she probably wouldn’t have recognized him on the street, except he had a smile that lit up the room.  It was all teeth and brilliance - she definitely recognized the smile.  Closing her agape mouth, she looked around just to make sure there wasn’t someone else he was speaking to.
    “Are you talking to me?” she asked, grinning.
    His smile grew. “I am,” he made his way towards her, looking somewhat timid. “I was driving by the hotel and thought I’d stop to see how your daughter was doing after her brush with death.”
    Blakesley realized she was feeling giddy again at the sight of him. She was so shocked and pleased that she almost didn’t know what to say.
    “She’s fine,” she assured him, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity, suspicion and pleasure. “How in the world did you find me?”
    He threw a thumb back in the direction of the hotel entry. “I was at the front desk about to ask them if they could call your room for me when I saw you walk through the lobby.  I followed you out here.”
    “Oh,” she accepted his explanation.  “I just dropped the girls off at a movie night gig.  The hotel has activities and face painting for the kids.”
    “Sounds like fun.”
    “Want to get your face painted? You’d look great with a big butterfly on your nose.”
    He laughed. “I’ll have to pass, but thanks.”
    She laughed because he was, her gaze lingering on him. “It’s really sweet of you to check on Cadee. You didn’t have to.”
    He shrugged. “No problem,” he said. “No ill effects?”
    “None that I can see,” Blakesley shook her head. “She was eating like a pig earlier. Do you want to see her for yourself?”
    He shook his head, waving her off. “No, that’s not necessary,” he said. “If you say she’s fine, I believe you.  Let her watch her movie.”
    Blakesley nodded, smiling as they slipped into awkward silence now that the surprise of his appearance had faded.
     “Uh… well, it was really sweet of you to check in on her,” she said again. “She’ll be sorry she missed you.”
    His green eyes glimmered at her, reflecting the light from the patio fire pit. “I’m just glad she’s okay,” he said, feeling the same awkwardness that she was but he had no intention of