A Man to Believe In. Kathleen Pickering

a few days.”

      * * *

      HE WATCHED HER walk away, hypnotized by the easy sway of her hips. Cassie was one beautiful woman. He blew out a soft breath. He’d come on too strong. Even after chiding himself against doing so. His heart pounded at the thought of seeing her again. Not good. He needed to tone it down. He hadn’t changed his life and driven all this way to become entangled with the first gorgeous woman he met. His new coworker. What a huge disaster that could make. But something coaxed him to ignore his better judgment. A sixth sense? Kismet?

      Nah. Cassie was right. He was thoroughly exhausted. Now that she’d gone, the weight of the day hit. He never would have flirted like that under other circumstances...or would he? Yes. Definitely. Cassie Michaels proved to be even more perfect up close and personal than he could have imagined when passing her on the road. Now he’d be working with her every day. He was going to love his new job.

      He wanted to do one more thing before grabbing a nap. He pulled his phone from his pocket and speed-dialed Gil’s number. His brother answered on the second ring.

      “So, does she love you?”

      He laughed. “You’re not going to believe what happened.”

      “Wait. I’m putting you on speakerphone. We’re all ears.” In the background Rudy broke into a rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender.”

      Peter shook his head. Rudy was such a cutup. “It’s not what you think, Rudy. Oh, wait. Maybe it is. I got so distracted watching the woman on the bike that I had an accident. I just got out of the hospital.”

      Rudy yelled in the background, “What?”

      Gil said, “Are you all right?”

      “Yeah. But the upside? The bike girl is one of my coworkers at Mercy. She was standing over me looking gorgeous when I came to.”

      “Came to? You were unconscious? Do you have a concussion?”

      “No, Gil. I’m okay. Just some stitches.”

      “See? I shouldn’t have hung up. I can’t believe you drove all that way and crashed on arrival.”

      Peter laughed. “No joke. At least it became a novel way to meet my boss, who seems like a great guy, by the way.”

      “Well, stay out of any more trouble or we’ll have to come over there and take care of you.”

      “I’d like that. Well, not you taking care of me but having you two out here. Montauk is looking pretty cool. I think I’m going to like it here...so far.”

      “Peter, are you really okay or just lying so I won’t worry?”

      “No, I’m good.”

      “Okay. So what happened with the girl?”

      Peter hesitated. “Guys, I could fall in love.”

      “You haven’t had a girlfriend in two years. Maybe you caught a healthy case of lust?”

      He shook his head. Granted, he didn’t know Cassie Michaels except for this first encounter, but every signal in his gut was going off with bells and whistles. He wasn’t going to stop checking her out until she proved him wrong. If there were a God in heaven, she wouldn’t.

      “No, fellas. I’m taking the chance and riding this wave to see where it takes me.”

      “Keep an eye out for reefs...or hidden boyfriends.”

      “Ha! She’s single. And beautiful. And funny. And I’m going to talk her into showing me around Montauk.”

      Rudy whistled. “No dust on you, Petie.”

      “Hey, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me ‘Petie’?”

      Gil and Rudy laughed, and the sound warmed his heart. “I miss you guys.”

      “Miss you, too, bro. No more accidents. Okay?”

      “Deal.”

      “Oh, and what’s her name?”

      “Cassie Michaels. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll also let you know my new address as soon as I get it.”

      Peter stared at his phone for a moment after disconnecting. He had to see Cassie again. His best bet? The hospital. Only this time he’d arrive on his own two feet as a coworker, and not an accident victim.

      CHAPTER THREE

      A FRIENDLY TAP on the car horn behind Cassie had her looking in the rearview mirror. Ellen Bailey waved from her SUV. She gestured to her watch and pointed to each of them.

      Cassie dialed Ellen on her cell phone. “I’m not good at charades but are you inviting me to spend time with you?”

      Ellen’s laughter through the phone made her smile. “Sorry I missed our bike ride this morning. I’m just getting back from up-island now. Want to come over for a latte?”

      “Absolutely. A lot has happened since you were gone.”

      “Oh! I want to hear. Follow me home.”

      Ellen and Doc’s open sunny kitchen was familiar ground for Cassie. She had spent many hours at the table finger-painting, coloring, eating Oreos and drinking milk with Ellen’s twin girls while their mother had tutored kids in geometry and algebra over at the high school.

      Now the girls were in second grade. Cassie pulled them both into her lap while Ellen steamed up their lattes.

      “So, which one of you is Amanda? Marrianna?”

      The girls giggled at Cassie’s familiar tease. They had tried unsuccessfully to fool her when they first realized people couldn’t tell them apart. Cassie was one person they couldn’t deceive, though. She knew who each girl was because Marrianna had a cute little spray of freckles on her nose, but she wouldn’t tell the girls her secret. “Our teacher still doesn’t know,” Amanda said.

      “Yeah,” Marrianna chimed in. “When we come into class she waits until we’re not paying attention then calls one of our names to see who looks up. That’s how she can tell.”

      Cassie hugged the girls. “Your teacher sounds pretty clever.”

      “We saw a buffalo in East Hampton,” Marrianna said.

      “But he stayed way on the other side of the field and wouldn’t come to the fence.” Amanda’s disappointment was reflected in her words.

      “Maybe he was afraid of you two.”

      Marrianna looked shocked. “Oh, no, Cassie. He was just mad. He didn’t want to be stuck inside that fence.”

      Cassie glanced at Ellen, looking for support. What could she say to that? Kids these days were so astute. But she didn’t want them fretting over the animal. Ellen had her back to the counter as she watched with amusement. She shook her head, smiling. “You’ll make a great mother.”

      Her compliment warmed Cassie. “Always wanted kids. If I’m lucky enough to have daughters like these, my life will be perfect.” She shrugged. “In the meantime, I have these two darlings to make my world complete.”

      Marrianna perked up. “You gonna come to the beach with us to practice for the sand-castle contest?”

      Cassie pretended to think. “We planned for Friday, right?”

      Both girls nodded. Funny how twins tended to have the same body language. Made them so adorable to watch.

      “I’ll make sure I’m on the late shift so we can get some good morning time in. Deal?”

      The girls each gave her a high five. God, Cassie loved these kids. Personable. Affectionate. Smart. Sassy. It was so cool to see their parents reflected in their faces. Their hair, the same auburn as their Dad’s, fell in waves from their hair clips,