Scorch (The MacKenzie Family Book 17) Read Online Free Page A

as picturesque as Surrender was, there wasn’t a lot of adventure to be found unless he’d wanted to be a professional outdoorsman and take vacationers on extreme camping trips. Being a SEAL had always been his dream.
    He’d sweated and struggled and bled through BUD/S and the horrendous Hell Week, just like his brothers-in-arms, and he’d worked his way up to command his own team. He’d traveled the world, fought beside his men, and gone on missions that made the adventures he’d once sought seem like child’s play.
    He was also single and free to indulge in the hordes of women who got their own adrenaline rush by taking a SEAL to their bed. The frog hogs were good for a night or two after a long stretch out of country, but a night or two was all they got. He had no intention of settling down like his brothers and sister and cousins. His career as a SEAL had no room for a wife or children—people who would depend on him and then be left alone if he were killed in action. And there was nothing that would keep him from being a SEAL. The only thing he loved more than being a SEAL was his family.
    The Jeep started down the hill into the town and they passed Charlie’s Automotive on the left. It belonged to his cousin Dane’s wife, Charlotte, but everyone called her Charlie. It was a blue metal building with three bays for the cars to be worked on. He didn’t see Charlie anywhere, but he waved at Deacon Thomas, who’d graduated a couple of years behind him.
    Main Street had all the staples. There was a florist, ice cream parlor, mercantile, diner, feed and western store, and a bakery. His brother Grant’s wife, Annabeth, owned a fancy clothing boutique, and Marnie Whitlock, who was practically an adopted MacKenzie owned the photography studio directly across the street from Annabeth. The sheriff’s office was in the corner building, where his cousin Cooper had run things for more than a decade.
    Shane didn’t mind the curious stares from the people who saw him drive through town. He and his brothers and cousins had always gotten stares, usually from the older folks because they’d caused some kind of mischief. But as adults, they got looks from the single women, and a few of the married ones. He had enough of an ego to know that they’d all inherited excellent genes. And he—and his brothers, when they’d been single—had taken full advantage.
    They passed the library and Duffey’s Bar before taking the long road that led to MacKenzie land. And then Shane pressed all the way down on the pedal and Brady let out another whoop beside him.
    Brady Scott was his best friend in the world. He also happened to be family—kind of—because his sister was married to Shane’s brother, Cade. They’d been in the same BUD/S class and had pushed each other when most of their classmates rang the bell and washed out. Brady had moved up the ranks with him and was the other junior officer in their platoon. He was as much his brother as Cade, Declan, and Grant were.
    They were opposites in looks. Shane had inherited the same coloring as his great-grandfather, Cole MacKenzie. Dark hair, olive skin, and cobalt blue eyes. Brady was his exact opposite, though they were almost the same height and weight. Brady was fair-skinned and ruddy-complected. His hair was blond and his eyes an unusual shade of army-green with golden flecks. Where Shane had tattoos that covered both his arms and shoulders, Brady only had one tattoo—the trident insignia of the Navy SEALs. After BUD/S graduation they’d all gotten drunk and got the same tattoo. It was tradition. And tradition meant everything.
    “How much time do we have before the rest of the guys gets here?” Brady asked as they skidded around another corner.
    “A couple of hours,” Shane said. “Declan was pretty insistent we get here as soon as possible. All I know is what I told you on the plane after we got the summons. He said his woman was in danger and if I didn’t get my ass