A Tender Touch. Lenora Worth

      “Whoa, there! Samson, heel.”

      The German shepherd came to a skidding halt right in front of Frederica. Then he glanced back at the man in the tuxedo giving the command, a soft whine escaping from his mouth. “Well, hello there,” Freddie said, her gaze moving from the hassling dog to the out-of-breath man hurrying toward them. “May I pet him?” she asked, reaching a hand toward the waiting animal.

      “Samson, what’s got into you, boy?” the man said, his frown aimed at the dog while he ignored Freddie’s question. Then the man gave Freddie an appreciative sweep. “Okay, in this case, I guess I understand. He never could resist a pretty woman.”

      “Neither could you, if memory serves me correctly,” Stone said from behind the man. Then he turned to Freddie. “Frederica Hayes, meet my younger brother, Clay Dempsey.”

      Clay. The one Dempsey brother she hadn’t met yet. And he was well worth the wait.

      LENORA WORTH

      grew up in a small Georgia town and decided in the fourth grade that she wanted to be a writer. But first, she married her high school sweetheart, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Taking care of their baby daughter at home while her husband worked at night, Lenora discovered the world of romance novels and knew that’s what she wanted to write. And so she began.

      A few years later, the family settled in Shreveport, Louisiana, where Lenora continued to write while working as a marketing assistant. After the birth of her second child, a boy, she decided to pursue her dream full-time. In 1993, Lenora’s hard work and determination finally paid off with that first sale.

      “I never gave up, and I believe my faith in God helped get me through the rough times when I doubted myself,” Lenora says. “Each time I start a new book, I say a prayer, asking God to give me the strength and direction to put the words to paper. That’s why I’m so thrilled to be a part of Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired line, where I can combine my faith in God with my love of romance. It’s the best combination.”

      A Tender Touch

      Lenora Worth

      But now, O Lord, you are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter: And all we are the work of Your hand.

      —Isaiah 64:8

      To my nephews Jeremy Smith and Larry Itson, with love

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Epilogue

      Letter to Reader

      Chapter One

      “Sit.”

      Clay Dempsey patted the big German shepherd on the head, then grinned down at him. “Good boy, Samson.” Leaning close, he whispered, “We have to behave ourselves today. My brother is getting married. I’ll take you out on the beach for some tug-of-war later, I promise.”

      Samson’s ears perked up with interest, but the dog remained in a sitting position.

      Clay glanced around. It was a crisp early September afternoon and they were standing in what looked like a marsh. Why Stone of all people had chosen to get married in this mosquito-infested Georgia swamp was beyond Clay’s comprehension. Stone was more the country-club-wedding and extravagant-reception type. But then, his brother had changed. A lot apparently, from everything Clay had heard and seen since coming back to Sunset Island a couple of days ago. But then, everything in his own life seemed to be changing, too, Clay reasoned as he patted Samson’s head and waited nervously for the wedding to begin.

      Now he was about to be part of Stone’s wedding to Tara Parnell. Clay was the best man and their older brother, Rock, who happened to be a minister and married to Tara’s sister, Ana, was going to perform the ceremony.

      “What a strange and wonderful world we live in, Samson,” Clay said to the big dog sitting faithfully but alert at his feet. “I mean, here I am in a tuxedo, standing in a marsh, waiting for my brother to get married. This is the second wedding in our family this summer.” First Rock and now Stone. Clay felt downright betrayed and bewildered.

      He never would have believed either of his ornery brothers would get married and settle down. Especially Stone.

      He stared down at Samson, wondering if the animal knew what Clay was trying to say. Things change, life goes on. But lately, things had been changing too much for Clay. Lately, he’d become restless and edgy. He needed this vacation, or at least according to his captain back at the police department in Atlanta, Clay needed some time away from the force. And both he and Samson needed some time to heal.

      “I won’t let you down, buddy,” Clay said to the dog. Samson did seem to understand that particular promise. He stared up at Clay with big, dark, doleful eyes, as if to say “I know you won’t, partner.”

      Clay and Samson had been together for two years. They worked the K-9 Unit in one of Atlanta’s worst areas. Searching out drugs and criminals mostly. Sometimes just search and find. Clay had seen too much death and destruction lately. And the last round had almost caused both Clay and Samson to become statistics. Nothing like a near-death experience to make a person stop and think about living. Really living.

      “Hey, brother, you about ready?”

      Clay turned to find Rock headed his way with a grin on his face. “Is it time?”

      “It’s time. And don’t look so panicked. You’re not the one getting hitched.”

      “Thank goodness.” Clay relaxed, then gave Samson the signal to do the same. The dog plopped down, his big eyes looking disappointed, his big tongue hanging out. There was so much action out in that marsh, after all.

      And a lot of human action around the quaint little chapel sitting by the still waters that came from the nearby Savannah River. Clay looked toward the chapel. “Is the bride ready?”

      “Very ready,” Rock said, slapping Clay on the back. “She’s hiding out in the tent Ana set up near Josiah’s house. Between the bugs, the humidity and her nerves, however, I think the bride’s going to be as wilted as a thirsty water lily.”

      “I bet Stone won’t notice,” Clay replied, thinking Tara Parnell was sure a pretty woman. And his brother seemed to really love her. “Explain it to me one more time, Rock. How exactly did Stone become a human being?”

      Rock laughed, his Bible in one hand as they walked toward the chapel where both family and friends were crowded into the pews, waiting. The sound of the classic and romantic “Pachelbel Canon” filled the air as several white birds, startled from their nests in the cypress trees, lifted out over the water. Clay saw the bride coming out of her tent, her eyes wide and misty, her steps almost in perfect symmetry with the flight of the beautiful, graceful birds as she lifted her full-skirted creamy satin gown off the ground. They were about to have a wedding.

      The rest of the Sunset Island inhabitants were patiently waiting back at Stone’s