Diamonds Are Forever - Brooke St. James Page 0,2

customers, but I was never so happy as when I was in my own head, visiting my characters and exploring their world. I had no lack of inspiration. In fact, it was as if the stories had already happened and I was just in charge of recounting them.

At the moment, I was thinking of a scene that took place in Badger's Bakery, and Mac was sleeping soundly next to me. My eyes were closed but I knew he was there because my hand was on his motionless leg.

I drew in a deep breath, relishing this perfect day and imagining I was Barbara Hedgehog, heading into Badger's bakery to pick up my order of teacakes (which would later be spilled because of an incident with Tommy coming into the bakery on his skateboard). I pictured the scene, and smiled at the sight of teacakes flying through the air like graduation caps.

We were on the bay side of Galveston, so the water was calm, and our surroundings were green with tall grass and cattails at the shore. We were at the state park on a quiet, hardly used dock that extended into a small bay called Oak Bayou.

Mac and I spent a lot of time near water when we were outdoors for our adventures. There was always something for him to do near water—some bug or fish to catch, or sea creature to find.

I was sitting there, imagining Garden City and searching for the set-up scene before Barbara headed into the bakery. I was seeing the scene in my mind's eye when I heard the sound of a boat's engine.

I opened my eyes as the engine sound grew closer. It looked like a man was in the boat. I glanced around, but Mac and I were the only people in sight on the shoreline.

Mac stirred and sat up as the boat got closer. I figured it wouldn't come all the way to the dock because of how shallow the water was, but it kept getting closer and closer.

"Huh, who's that?" Mac asked, instantly sitting up, looking preciously protective.

"It's just a boat," I said. I was calm and assumed the best, but I had two brothers and a father with a military background, so I was always prepared for a fight. I wasn't expecting trouble, but I did have a good-sized knife in my bag, and I knew how to use it.

The boat's engine stopped, but the guy waved at us like he might come over.

"It's too shallow!" I said, yelling at him and waving him off, urging him not to come to us. But he kept coming. It was a large boat and he killed the engine and began using a pole to push himself into the shallows.

I stared at the guy, trying to see if he was someone we recognized. He appeared to have some facial hair—not much but a little. I couldn't tell how old he was. Young, it seemed. I had been so focused on Mac for so long, that I forgot what eligible men my age looked like. I smiled at myself for thinking this guy was eligible. He was handsome, I could see that even beyond the ballcap and the sunglasses.

"What's he doin'?" Mac asked skeptically, standing up as he eyeballed our visitor.

Mac had a fake coonskin cap and a bow and arrow set with suction cups. He put on his hat and stood proudly by my side, puffing out his chest. I was sitting on the dock so we were about the same height. I smiled at his intense expression as he watched the man push his boat through the water. It was low tide and shallow where we were but his boat came closer and closer.

He was someone I did not recognize, but he was extremely handsome.

It wasn't like me to go around noticing men. Considering the fact that I ended up a pregnant teen, I was pretty innocent with men. It wasn't like I went around checking-out guys and trying to date them. I hadn't even been that way when I first got with Bradley. He was the one who had approached me. With him, I had honestly thought I met the guy I'd spend the rest of my life with. I wasn't trying to be promiscuous. In fact, it had taken him a year to convince me that it was okay.

I went into that relationship with an embarrassing amount of naivety. I thought I had found the one. I imagined Bradley and me