Read Catching Serenity for Free Online Page B

spirit in each other and fell in love between sets by Grover Washington, Jr. and Thelonious Monk.”
    He grinned. “I was right. Interesting story and romantic for quasi-hippies. Care to guess how I got my name? It might not be as interesting as yours, but it’s kind of fun.”
    “ Then, by all means,” she said, relaxing a little more. His raised brow invited her to play along. “Okay...your parents are fans of artist Jackson Pollock?” He shook his head. “Andrew Jackson?” Another shake. “Reggie Jackson?”
    “ All very good guesses,” he said. “According to urban legend, Mom and Dad couldn’t agree on my first name. My dad was a golf buddy with one of the surgeons at the hospital where I was born. Dad had stepped out of the room for a couple of minutes. Mom was holding me and she hadn’t met the doctor before. He introduced himself and said, ‘So, this is Jack’s son?’ Mom misunderstood and thought he said ‘Jackson,’ liked it, and the name stuck.”
    S erenity smiled. “I never would have guessed. Cute story.” With his personable manner, Jackson would relate well to children. To anyone, really, although that anecdote was more telling than he probably realized. Words like golf buddy paired with surgeon implied his family was one of means. No big surprise there since she’d thought that very thing when she’d first spied him on the beach.
    “ So, did you grow up here or in New England?” he asked. “Your accent sounds southern.”
    “ My dad took a job with the fire department here three months after my parents met. Croisette Shores reminds him a lot of Newport and Mama was always fascinated with the ocean.” Her gaze traveled upward to meet Jackson’s again. “She said the waves always comforted her and made her feel at one with the earth, at peace with herself and her world. She was a lover of economic awareness and environmental causes. It was her passion, and she poured her heart and soul into it.”
    He smiled. “Trust me, I know all about that. My mom was heavy into Green Peace, the Sierra Club and worked with the Peace Corps for a few years before she married Dad.” Jackson chuckled low in his throat, and it was deep and slightly husky. “In other words, if an organization had the name ‘peace’ in it, Mom was right there on the front lines.”
    Jackson ’s features were strong and well-defined, his cheekbones sculpted to perfection. The blue polo barely contained those impressive muscles. This was one psychologist who took his workouts seriously. Trying not to be obvious, Serenity’s gaze strayed to his left hand. No ring, but he must have left behind a string of broken hearts in Chicago or wherever his life’s path had taken him. A man like this would attract female attention without even trying. He exuded self-confidence and an innate charm without cockiness, an anomaly in itself. Surely all the single women and their mothers in Croisette Shores must be on high alert of Jackson’s arrival in town. He’d be busy enough dodging all the passes being tossed his way. Another reason to steer clear of the man. She hadn’t been interested in dating while she lived in Atlanta and she wasn’t about to start now. Dr. Ross was her client, first and foremost. She might need to repeat that to herself a few hundred times to keep from getting distracted by his gorgeous smile and those muscles, but no way would she jeopardize her professional reputation by dating her client.
    “ Serenity?”
    She prayed she hadn’t ogled the man in full view of the entire patronage of the coffee shop. Hopefully, mind reading wasn’t one of Jackson’s talents. Warmth flooded her cheeks as she slowly crossed and then uncrossed her legs under the table, one of the tricks she’d learned to control nervous mannerisms in subtle ways. In a well-timed moment, Nancy Higdon arrived to take their order.
    Nancy ’s eyes met hers above the order pad poised in one hand. “Serenity McClaren, as I live and