Found by Love (Falling for Him Book 8)

by Jessica Gray

  Found by Love

  Falling for Him Series

  Book 8

  Jessica Gray

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.

  Found By Love, Falling For Him Series Book 8

  (Previously called Destroyed Dreams)

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2015 Jessica Gray

  This book is copyrighted and protected by copyright laws.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author.

  All characters, names, and places in this book exist only within the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or locations is purely coincidental.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Preview Power of Love

  More Books by Jessica

  Chapter 1

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeee.

  Marilee “Lee” Taylor rolled over in the bed, raised her hand up to her forehead, and pushed her tangled hair up and off her face.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

  “What in the world?” she groused.

  She sat up a little farther in the bed, glanced over at the side table, and located the alarm clock. “6:30 in the frickin’ morning – someone had better be dying or they’re dead.”

  The noise stopped momentarily. She listened for a few seconds, released a huge sigh, and had just scooted back down in bed when…

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzEeeeeeeee. ZzzzzEeeeeeeeeeee.

  Lee rushed from the bed and ran through the bedroom door, frantically looking around for the source of the sound. She had to make it stop. Now.

  Looking back and forth through the wall of windows, which occupied most of the ground floor, she located the perpetrator of her disrupted sleep. Ugh! It was wearing jeans that had seen better days, a worn flannel shirt, and was holding some sort of electric tool. The offending item appeared to be a drill and was responsible for the awful noise that had awakened her.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzz. ZzzzzzzzzEeeeeeee. ZzzzzzzzzzzzzEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

  She ran out onto the deck of her uncle’s cabin and shouted at the offending man with the power tool.

  “Stop! Stop!”

  He didn’t even lift his head, but kept doing whatever he was doing. Looking around, she located the electrical outlet with a large orange extension cord plugged into it.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

  Quickly moving in that direction, she grabbed the cord and yanked it from the socket.

  Zzzzzz..........

  Lee smiled smugly as the man slowly stood up and looked at the tool in his hands. He turned it in different directions, and even tried unplugging the cord several times. When it didn’t switch back on, he reached behind him and gave the extension cord a tug. Not prepared for a slack cord, he lost his balance, going down to one knee with a curse.

  She edged her way back towards the door of the house as the man picked himself up off the deck, setting the drill down in the process, and turned towards the outlet. She had almost reached the safety of the doorway when he caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped around, pinning her in place with his stare.

  He took in her appearance from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. His perusal caused an unfamiliar heat to travel through her body, but she was used to men’s stares and gave as good as she got.

  She took in the tousled hair, the several days’ stubble along his chiseled jawline, the aviator sunglasses, and the strong chin. Moving her eyes downward, she acknowledged that the worn flannel shirt covered an impressive, broad chest, and where his shirtsleeves were rolled up his arms, she could see a sprinkling of golden hair covering tan and strong arms. His hips were trim and his jeans fitted him like a glove – everywhere.

  As her eyes reached below his hips, he shifted his weight, making her aware of her stare. Quickly raising her eyes, she watched as he removed his sunglasses and a smirk took over his very kissable lips.

  A smirk? Who was he smirking at? That guy had some nerve. Opening her mouth to tell him off and get him off her uncle’s porch, his grin intensified and he shook his head before gesturing back to her.

  “I don’t know who you think you are, but get…” She paused as his grin grew even bigger. Not sure what he was finding so amusing, she placed her hands on her hips – her very naked hips.

  Glancing down she realized why the stranger was openly grinning at her. She was stark naked, and to make matters worse, Lee had always had the habit of talking with her hands. He’d gotten a good glimpse of her everything.

  Quickly covering her breasts with one arm and shielding her crotch with the other, she took refuge behind one of the deck chairs. She could feel the blush rising in her cheeks and chest, and her breathing had become quick and shallow. He had to leave. Now.

  The man’s grin returned at her attempt to cover her body. He grinned even more when she finally became aware he was getting a perfect view of her backside thanks to the reflection from all of the windows. His eyes traveled up and down her body, leaving hot trails of fire behind him. Lee felt the flush spreading from her cheeks and chest all over her body. By now she probably was a flashing red signpost.

  He crossed his arms over his chest, waiting her out. She couldn’t believe this arrogant man had seen her naked. And now, he just stood there, as if he was waiting on her to invite him in to tea. Brazen.

  “Don’t just stand there. Pack your stuff up and leave these premises immediately.” She so wanted to stomp her foot at him. But barefooted this wouldn’t make an impression on him, and she could do without a splinter from the deck’s weathered wood in her foot. A splinter would just make the morning all the better!

  It was taking her a lot of effort to maintain her self-control. And that bullhead across the porch had to stoke the fire – he shook his head without saying a word. Double brazen.

  Lee’s mouth dropped open. She had just given him a direct order to leave the premises and he looked like he was getting ready to laugh at her. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she tried again: “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but my uncle owns this cabin and I want you to leave. I won’t tell him you were here, doing whatever you were doing, but if you don’t leave immediately, I’m going to call the police and have you arrested for trespassing.”

  Not able to hold back this time, she stamped her foot, only to cringe when she felt a small piece of wood pierce her tender arch. Great!

  When the man continued to grin at her, she quickly whirled around and hobbled into the cabin. She grabbed the first piece of clothing she could find, an old rain jacket hanging on the coat rack, and quickly donned it while shutting and locking the door.

  After ascertaining sh
e was safe for the moment, she grabbed the cordless phone and quickly dialed 911.

  “911; please state the nature of your emergency,” a calm voice on the other end of the line said.

  “There’s a strange man doing some sort of work on my uncle’s cabin. He’s not supposed to be here and he won’t leave.”

  “Ma’am, could you please give me your address and name? “

  “My name’s Marilee Taylor, and I don’t know the exact address. It’s a cabin up the road from the town a little ways. Green metal roof and wrap-around porch.” She couldn’t believe she had forgotten the address; of all the stupid things to do! “There’s a lake not far from here, if that helps?”

  “Ma’am, are you by any chance Charlie Taylor’s niece?”

  “Yes, I am. Thank God – can you please send someone to make this man leave?”

  Lee had wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the man outside return to his task.

  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Zzzzzz.

  Turning her back on the sight, she continued, “He’s at it again.”

  “Who’s at what again?”

  “The stranger on the porch. Haven’t you been listening? He’s using some sort of drill out there. I told him to stop, but he’s at it again.” She took another deep, slow breath. She was sounding hysterical even to her own ears. How must the person on the other end of the phone be interpreting her anxiety?

  “Ma’am, Sheriff Brown is right here and would like to talk to you. Okay?”

  Lee felt a sense of relief to hear that an officer of the law was already aware of her predicament. “Sure, that’s fine. Please put him on.”

  “Miss Taylor? Or is it Missus?”

  “Miss Taylor is fine. Officer, there’s this strange man on my uncle’s porch. He woke me up with these loud drilling noises and…”

  The sheriff’s throaty voice said, “Miss Taylor, calm down please. The man’s name is Rocco Cooper, and believe it or not, it’s common for handymen around these parts to get started early in the morning.”

  “I don’t care what’s common, or what his name is for that matter, I just want him gone. I want to press trespassing charges. Now, come arrest him.”

  “Well, ma’am, there might be a slight problem with your request.”

  “Look here, I’m an attorney, and I know my rights.” She didn’t bother to mention she was a divorce attorney. “This man is trespassing and I want him arrested.” Lee couldn’t believe the sheriff was arguing with her over doing his sworn duty. The man was evidently lazy.

  “Ma’am? Do you own the cabin? I was under the impression your Uncle Charlie was the property owner.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything? I want this Rocco person gone. Now.”

  “Ma’am, according to a conversation I had with your uncle a few days ago, he hired Rocco to do some repairs on the deck and cabin. He has every right to be there. I’m not going to waste my time arresting a man for doing what he was hired to do.”

  “My uncle didn’t say anything about work being done on the cabin.” Why hadn’t her uncle warned her there would be some stranger lurking around the cabin while she was staying here?

  “You’ll have to take that up with your uncle, miss. Now, if that was everything, I’ll welcome you to town and bid you a good day.” After a lack of response from her, Sheriff Brown disconnected the call.

  Lee heard the phone disconnect, and looked at it for a moment. Rocco Cooper had a right to be here. No way was this going to work. She’d have to call her uncle and get things straightened out. Glancing at the clock as she began to dial her uncle’s number, she saw that it was only 6:55 a.m., way too early to wake him up.

  She’d call him later, but looking at the situation rationally, there wasn’t much she could do. Knowing her Uncle Charlie, he probably didn’t even remember the handyman was going to be working on the cabin during her stay.

  He’d insisted she spend the last few weeks of her sabbatical up here, relaxing and recuperating, before she had to go back to work. Her stomach clenched at the thought of work. Lee worked for the high-powered family law firm Parker & Armstrong, and two months previously she’d made a slight error in dealing with a client. Well, she considered it slight.

  However, her bosses, Blaine Parker and Trevor Armstrong, as well as the judge in whose court the episode had occurred, had been less than pleased with her complete meltdown during the final proceedings of a particularly nasty divorce case.

  She’d become so fed up with the antics of her client and the greediness the woman had shown towards her husband, she had lost it, right there in the courtroom. Lee had begun yelling and lecturing the woman on what a poor excuse for a wife she was, had accused her of manipulating the court and being a money-grabber. She’d been on such a roll, she’d completely ignored the orders from the judge to cease her tirade and retake her seat.

  The judge’s response had been to have the bailiff physically remove her from the courtroom and place her under arrest for contempt. After she’d spent a less-than-comfortable night in jail, the senior partners had sent her secretary to bail her out. They had requested that she immediately meet with them in the office. Shame poured over her at the memory of this miserable moment in her life.

  While understanding, her bosses had made it clear this couldn’t happen ever again. They’d forced her to take a sabbatical, with pay of course, and see if she could find a new perspective for dealing with her cases. They’d allowed her to excuse her behavior away based upon an extremely heavy caseload, and one with many high-dollar clients at that. The stress had become too much for her, as she never quit working. It was not unusual for Lee to put in 70 hours a week at the office, plus time spent in the actual courtroom. She had been allowed – no…ordered was more like it – to get her stuff together before returning. She only had a few weeks left before she was to meet with Trevor Armstrong to discuss her return.

  Unfortunately, she hadn’t found any peace or been able to relax at her apartment. When her uncle had offered her the use of his cabin, she had reluctantly agreed, knowing that if she didn’t relax soon, she wouldn’t have a chance of convincing Trevor she was ready to come back to work. And that meant she more than likely would no longer have a job.

  Glancing out the wall of windows again, she saw that Rocco Cooper had readied himself to continue to work with his power tool on the deck. Turning to hang up the phone, she stepped wrong and was reminded of the splinter lodged in the arch of her foot. Gingerly navigating her way back to the bedroom, she sat down on the corner of the bed to assess the damage.

  She carefully removed the splinter and regretted not having grabbed some tissues or a cloth before doing so. Immediately upon removing the splinter from her flesh, a small drop of blood formed and continued to grow. Not wanting to stain the carpets with drops of blood, Lee hopped into the adjoining bathroom and held a damp washcloth to the area for a minute.

  With the bleeding under control, she glanced up only to take notice of her reflection in the bathroom mirror. No wonder Rocco had smirked at her. She could have been the poster child for a bed-head campaign with her long blond hair sticking straight up in places and plastered to her skull in others. She had been so exhausted upon her arrival the night before, she had gone to bed without bothering to remove her makeup and this morning was sporting two eyes surrounded by black smudges. Her lipstick had not survived the night either; it was mostly off, and smeared across one of her cheeks.

  She decided to use the next hour to her advantage; she turned the water on in the Jacuzzi tub and added some bath salts. She couldn’t contact her uncle for almost an hour, so she would treat herself to a soak in the large bathtub and collect her thoughts for the day to come. One way or another, the handyman had to leave. Hot or not, she didn’t want him here.

  After pulling her hair up into a haphazard ponytail, she let the rain jacket fall to the floor as she stepped into the water. When she sank down into the warm water, a s
igh escaped her throat. With her back leaned against the side of the tub, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander.

  Unfortunately it wandered to places she didn’t want it to be, and the memory of Rocco’s flawless body and his heated eyes on her body sent the bathwater boiling.

  Chapter 2

  Rocco Cooper was a man with many regrets. As he continued to replace loose boards on the deck and tighten those still usable, he thought about the gorgeous woman who had just been screaming at him.

  She was something else; stacked up top and curvy in all the right places. He wasn’t sure about her facial features, as they had been obscured by the remnants of yesterday’s makeup, but he would bet they were perfect. Her hair needed a little help as well, but the golden blond color was beautiful next to her alabaster-colored skin. And she was hot. She hadn’t been aware of her nakedness – at first.

  But he had; oh, had he been aware of it. So much his jeans had grown overly tight encaging his growing erection. He whistled as he continued working. He’d observed her on the phone talking very animatedly to someone; either the cops or Charlie Taylor. It didn’t really matter to him. Charlie and the sheriff both knew he had work to do at the cabin.

  Finished with the boards on the stairs, he grabbed his bucket of screws and his tools and moved toward the back railing. The last few winters had been anything but kind to the wood on the deck, and many of the boards had split and needed to be replaced.

  For someone with the college training Rocco had received, fixing decks, repairing sheetrock, and patching roofs was child’s play. He should be creating buildings that captured people’s attention, not playing general handyman in this little hick town.

  Life sucked. Big time.

  He could live in some big city like New York, Chicago, or even Kuala Lumpur. Any place that featured modern, breathtaking architecture. Right out of college a growing architectural firm had offered him their premier internship spot. But he’d been a dumb fool. A stupid, lovesick sucker.