Coast Guard Sweetheart by Lisa Carter Page A

throat. She staggered upright.
    Her expression haughty—as haughty as she could be with her hair plastered to her head and water running in rivulets down her ruined clothing—she sloshed toward the bank. After retrieving the canoe, paddles and noodles, he towed the canoe in her wake.
    And his gut sank further when he spotted Seth Duer and Braeden Scott waiting for them. Both men’s arms crossed, eyes flaming and brows lowered. He plodded toward his doom.
    In hindsight, maybe this wasn’t the sort of creative wooing Braeden had envisioned. Sawyer had gotten Honey’s attention all right. But he reckoned in the long run no attention might prove superior to the wrong kind of attention. Especially when it involved the wrath of Honey’s father and brother-in-law.

Chapter Seven
    â€œY ou either get that girl of your’n under control or...”
    Honey’s father jerked his chin at his fellow ROMEOs. “Or what?”
    The grizzled watermen and retired Coastie auxiliaries lowered their gazes.
    Honey darted an angry glance at Sawyer’s retreating back. Conveniently for him, he and Braeden had been called to the station with an update on Hurricane Zelda.
    Leaving her in the lurch—once again—to face the wrath of the Kiptohanock citizens. How did she get herself into these embarrassing situations with Sawyer?
    â€œThanks to her,” a crusty boat captain jabbed his gnarled thumb in Honey’s direction. “First time in the history of the Decoy Festival, a come-here has won the rubber duck race.”
    She hung her head. A come-here vacationing at one of the resorts near Cape Charles had won. The title lost for Kiptohanock residents till next year. The Duer family’s winning streak broken. Surrounded by irate Kiptohanockians, she shifted on the weathered gray planks of the dock.
    â€œThat Coastie boy was simply defending himself, the way I see it,” Dixie at the diner threw in for good measure.
    Honey glared at her former—emphasis on the former—waitress friend.
    If it wasn’t for the Long Johns, Honey vowed, she’d get the Corner Bakery in Onancock to supply the lodge’s pastries from here on out. She sighed. Those Long Johns had been the start of the trouble with her and Sawyer.
    Why, oh why, every time she saw him did she feel an overwhelming urge to whack him? It was either that or... She swallowed.
    Her father ground his teeth. “I’m well aware who’s to blame for this latest fiasco.” He cleared his gravelly throat. “And I promise you, it will be dealt with.”
    â€œTalk about cowboy Coasties?” He snagged hold of her sleeve. “Somebody’s been needing to knock you off your proverbial high horse of haughty for a while now.” He tugged her toward his waiting Silverado.
    â€œAfter the way that Coastie acted—”
    â€œThe boy was doing the best he knew how at the time to protect you from himself.”
    She stopped in her tracks. “What does that mean?”
    â€œWhy don’t you ask him?” Her father propelled her toward the parking lot. “Though first, I suggest you have a soul-searching chat with your Creator.”
    Their antics had resulted in disqualifying the Coastie and Duer ducks for behavior unbecoming to waterfowl.
    â€œAnd you will personally apologize to every member of the Coast Guard station once this weather crisis is over. Then—”
    â€œIsn’t that enough?”
    Her father flung open the passenger door. “Since Sawyer’s personal duck bested yours by a beak, you will honor your commitment to supply pastries to the station house and...”
    She threw herself into the suede-upholstered seat.
    â€œAnd fulfill the terms of your agreement with Sawyer.”
    Her eyes widened. “You want me to go out with that guy?”
    Slamming the door closed, her father glowered through the open window. “I warned you, Honey. If you’d