Longing for Forever (Sunset Bay Romance Book 1)

by Debra Clopton

  “We have confidence in you two. I can’t be there either.” Lila nibbled on her raspberry muffin. “You better wear your dancing shoes, those fellas at the Sandy Shores love to dance.”

  Mami grinned wide. “I do too, so I’m all set. How about you, Rosie? Do you like to dance?”

  “Well, I haven’t done that much of it lately, but I’m sure I can follow along.” Her gaze went to the throng of people wandering about the street, and this time she saw Adam in the distance. She wondered if he liked to dance. He was probably a great dancer since he was very athletic. Maybe she should ask him…then again, maybe not. He had already spent one of his days here and she knew he had plans of his own. No, she couldn’t bother him with that.

  But still, the thought of dancing with him was a nice idea.

  An idea that she would keep to herself for now.

  Chapter Eight

  On Tuesday after the festival, Adam was at his parents’ home for dinner with the family. He had come prepared to avoid all questions about why he’d given up his career. He knew his parents were more than curious, but so far had held back and not badgered him for why he would suddenly drop the career he’d worked his life off for. They deserved answers, but he simply hadn’t been ready to talk about it with anyone.

  The moment he walked into the house, his mother threw her arms around him and hugged him as if he were going to disappear at any moment. When she finally let him loose, she cupped his cheeks between her hands and studied his face as if she hadn’t already seen him a couple of times since he’d moved back to town.

  “Mom?” he said, smiling.

  “It’s just so good to see your face again.” She patted his cheek affectionately, then let him go. “I just can’t tell you how happy I am you are home. I know I’m driving you crazy, but you were so busy with your career and never came home.” Her words trailed off and then she took a breath. “I’m going to stop now. I am just so glad to have you so close. How are you doing? Did you enjoy the festival?” She picked up her knife and went back to chopping tomatoes.

  “I’m fine. And I enjoyed the festival.” He was glad they hadn’t been there because he could only imagine the questions they would be asking if they’d caught him working the muffin stand with Rosie. He had no hope, though, because he knew Brad would tell them eventually. But for now, maybe he could relax and not have to explain himself right from the start. Though he’d just been helping out like a good neighbor, they might get ideas. And that was the last thing he needed right now.

  He moved around the kitchen counter that was also an island in the big kitchen. His dad was already sitting on one of the barstools.

  He clamped him on the back and rolled his eyes while grinning. “Forgive her—she can’t help herself.”

  They all knew that Maryetta Sinclair had the heart of a mother hen and the tenacity of a bulldog. She loved her babies like newborns, despite them all being somewhere in the vicinity of the thirty mark.

  “I know,” he said, shooting his mom a smile when she looked up from slicing the tomatoes.

  “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. And your dad is right, I can’t help myself,” she said. “I’ve been worried that it was all a dream and that you might come over tonight and tell me you were leaving again. And, I have to say, it’s been a comfort knowing you’re so near. Now tell me, what have you been up to? We haven’t seen you as much as I thought we would once you were back in town.”

  “I’ve been getting settled, Mom, and working on the cottage, and I started at the clinic too.” He had missed seeing his parents, but couldn’t let them think he’d moved home to spend every moment at their home.

  She waved a hand. “I’m glad you’re settling in and, really, I don’t see your brothers all that much either. Just when I cook dinner and you all come over.” There was a teasing lilt to her voice. “Dinner, my secret weapon.”

  “Always has been,” he said, chuckling.

  Growing up, they’d always joked that her boys were never going to leave home because she took too good care of them. But of course, they all left home and always came over once a week or every two weeks when she had dinner. At least, everybody who was in town did. This was only his second time coming over since arriving back in town. He felt guilty, but he didn’t want her to start thinking that he was going to be living at her place and eating her food all the time. He had his own life and had been independent for too long.

  Still, it was great to be back.

  His dad picked up his coffee mug and paused midway to his lips. “I heard Doc say he was pleased with how you’ve been helping out at the clinic. What do you think about that—are you liking it?” He took a sip of coffee after asking the question, as if it wasn’t something he just needed to know.

  Adam knew differently. Adam knew that they had always hoped he would move back here and take over the practice. He hadn’t wanted to be a small-town doctor. He’d had his sights set on something more challenging and now he was home, with no idea what he wanted out of the rest of his life.

  His parents, though, knew exactly what they wanted. Grandchildren. But so far, none of their children had married and given them babies to fawn over.

  He hoped they weren’t counting on him to fulfill that need for them anytime in the near future. Not while he was in the midst of coming out of the tunnel he seemed trapped in. Maybe one of his brothers or sisters would suddenly fall in love and marry the partner of their dreams and have a baby soon. His parents were very nurturing and it was only natural they were eager to have grandkids to play with and love. But his brothers and sisters were all building careers, so he didn’t see it happening anytime soon.

  “I’ve enjoyed it, actually. Still, don’t get your hopes up too much. I haven’t promised to take that on full-time and I’m pretty sure that I’m probably not going to.” He paused, then thought he needed to make it even more clear. “It’s been good, but I’m not ready to commit to anything right now. I’m up for helping out and it’s helping me by letting me see another way to practice medicine. But all I can say right now is that I’m not sure.”

  His thoughts went to the kid. The kid he’d lost on the operating table. The kid in his heart of hearts he knew he should have been able to save. But he hadn’t been able to get the fragments out and the bleeding stopped in time… Questions ate at him. Mainly, if Adam hadn’t been so burned out and tired, would he have worked faster and would the boy have lived? Had he missed something that could have saved Mikie? Thinking he might have been so tired and burned out that he’d missed something ate Adam alive whenever he let his defenses down…usually late at night. He was able to cope during the day, staying busy, but at night it drove him from bed.

  Not wanting to let his mood slip into deep waters while visiting his parents, he picked up a tortilla chip and dipped it into his mother’s special cheese dip. “How have you been doing?”

  His dad grabbed a chip and dipped it into the dip. “Great. You know we’re getting older, though, and all of our children are too. So, we are figuring someone is going to get married soon.”

  “I’m not convinced,” his mother said. “I’m starting to lose hope. I know, I know—you’ve got to get married before you have your babies, so if there are no girlfriends or boyfriends on the horizon, then babies aren’t either. It’s not like I’m sitting at home in a rocking chair just waiting to hold a baby, but…”

  His dad looked at him and raised his eyebrow. “The day your mother sits down in the rocking chair, I’m going to start bringing her to the doctor. She’s always been too active to sit and rock. She might need to sometimes—however, she doesn’t, so when she does start I’ll be suspicious that something is wrong.”

  His mom had always been active. A take-charge kind of woman who’d wrangled six kids with a lot of laughter. She would enjoy being a grandmother. But she could continue to count him out on being helpful on the subject. He was not ready.

  Instead of saying so, he agreed with his dad. “I woul
d be worried too. You still doing your yoga, Mom?”

  She laid the knife down and scooped the tomatoes into the salad bowl. “Yes, I am. But if I want to get a rocking chair, I will.” A mischievous glint sparked in her eyes. “Speaking of yoga,” she drew the word out, “Lila Peabody was in my class this morning and she said that they had a really good time when you showed up at the new bakery and helped them prepare muffins for the festival, and then helped sell them the next day. I wasn’t going to ask about it… okay, yes I was. But I was waiting for you to bring it up. But now that you’ve brought up yoga, I just can’t help myself.”

  He should’ve known she would know. Gossip traveled fast in a small town, even a beach town like Sunset Bay.

  “And back to the subject of grandchildren, I am beginning to think all of my children are conspiring together to never give me any.”

  “Now, Mom, don’t get any ideas. I’m not dating and have no immediate plans in my future to do so anytime soon.”

  “But you are enjoying working at the clinic and Doc needed help so badly.”

  “Yes, he did, but I haven’t committed to becoming his full-time relief or that settling here in town is what I will ultimately choose to do.”

  Adam had always been a planner. He’d never planned to marry until his life was settled. With his career taking all his time, he’d planned to put it off until his career was on the trajectory he was satisfied with. That hadn’t been as easy as he’d thought because promotion and upward opportunity had come rapidly. He’d thought the sense of growing dissatisfaction was simply because he hadn’t found the hospital trauma unit he felt at home in. Then disaster had struck and everything collapsed. And here he was, back home where he’d started, sitting in his parents’ home and contemplating his future.

  “Your mother just can’t help it. She’s been obsessed with this lately. I’m beginning to think she will hang out her matchmaking sign soon.”

  “It’s not as if that’s all I do.” She laughed and added a stack of bowls beside the cheese dip. “But it is a thought.”

  It was time to change the subject. “I’m glad you’re doing your yoga. It’s good for you.”

  “Yes, it is. Lila says the new baker is lovely and that not only did you help them prepare for the festival, but that you spent all day at the festival helping her sell the muffins and other goodies to the crowd.”

  Rosie filled his mind, as she had every moment he let his guard down. Her smile and sunny disposition warmed him. His mother would love her. And now that she’d heard about her from Lila, it was more than likely that she would be heading over to the bakery to check Rosie out. And he knew there would be no stopping her. His mother was a very determined woman when she set her mind on something. He could not miss the spark of anticipation flaming in her sea-blue eyes. Eyes he inherited from her. She’d been holding back this excitement, he realized, but now that it was out, there would be no stopping her.

  But he hadn’t just inherited her eyes; he’d also inherited her determination. His dad, Leo, was more laid-back, content to watch his wife lead the way. Adam could have used a little of that easy contentment. But that hadn’t been the ultimate plan. Now he steeled himself to go softly.

  “Lila says this bakery owner is your neighbor, too. That she lives in the cottage beside you. Not Lila, but the young woman—Rosie, I believe her name is. Lila says she is lovely. I can’t believe I haven’t met her yet. But then, I haven’t gone into the bakery yet. Though Erin said the muffins are to die for.”

  Lila was right about that. She was lovely. “Mom, yes, Rosie is my neighbor and yes, there is truth in the fact that she is lovely and she can bake muffins so good that once you’ve had one you won’t be able to stop. I can’t deny it. But don’t get any ideas. Again, I am not looking for a wife. It is completely not the time in my life for that. You’ll have to set your sights on one of your other children.”

  Brad walked in at that moment and Adam had never been so grateful in all of his life.

  “Hey, what’s Mom supposed to try out on one of us?” Brad was a big guy, tall at nearly six-four, and powerful. He grinned as he strode past Adam and wrapped his arms around his mother in one of his bear hugs. Then he gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

  She laughed as he released her. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  He leaned against the counter and immediately grabbed a chip. “My favorite mother has made my favorite dip. Now what devious plan do you have for one of your poor children? Do I need to prepare myself in case I’m the poor sucker you choose? Are you returning me to the hospital? I don’t think children are returnable.”

  Adam stared at his brother, who, as always, was never at a loss for words. Brad was about as spontaneous as Adam was reserved and enjoyed getting a laugh out of those around him. It worked well in his line of work as the head of the fire department and a leader in the emergency response team for the National Disaster Response Team. He could put people at ease in just a few words. Where Adam did that in a quieter manner in the trauma unit, Brad did it with good-natured humor. It was a gift Adam both envied and, sometimes, growing up, had made him want to throttle his younger brother. Because once wound up, he could carry things way past welcome.

  “Your mother is just putting out feelers for which of you is going to marry and give her a grandbaby to spoil. She thinks you’ve all gotten together to conspire against her getting any grandbabies.”

  At his dad’s words, Adam hitched a brow at his brother, who let out a long whistle and held his chip-wielding hands up in a whoa-hold-on-a-minute signal.

  “Do not set those pretty eyes on me, Mother dear. I’m not interested. I’ve been burned and, being a fireman like I am, I know when to stay out of the flames.”

  She looked sternly at him. “You are going to have to move forward, Brad. It’s been two years. Goodness, it’s not like you to just give up after disappointment. You’ve never been a quitter and I don’t expect you to be where love is concerned.”

  “Give the pep talk to someone else.” Brad put a well cheesed-up chip into his mouth and gave her a comical back-off look that Adam and his parents all understood was serious.

  He’d had a really hard time after his childhood sweetheart suddenly broke off their relationship and married someone else. Adam knew his brother had felt heartbroken and devastated at the same time. He would have felt the same way. None of them understood what happened with the woman they’d all assumed would be their sister-in-law. Adam didn’t blame Brad for his wariness to jump back into the dating game, much less a real romance and commitment.

  And opening up his heart to love again was another issue altogether.

  Their mother sighed. “You boys always did have minds of your own. I’m not losing hope, though.”

  “You still have four more kids to pick on. That’s the reason you had so many of us, isn’t it?” Brad said, more of a statement than a question. He laughed, showing that he was okay now that the conversation wasn’t focused on finding his happily-ever-after love. “It really is, isn’t it?”

  That made his parents chuckle and shoot each other conspiratorial looks.

  Leo nodded. “We did discuss that when we were having children.”

  When Brad and Adam looked at their mom, she put her hands on her hips. “Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t been hounding you boys. I’ve been very patient, I believe. But enough is enough. It’s time for all of you to settle down.”

  Brad and Adam locked slightly alarmed gazes. There was no mistaking the determination in his mother’s voice. She was more upset about this than either had assumed. It was clear she wanted grandchildren.

  Brad hitched a brow, the one his mother could not see from her angle beside him. Adam couldn’t do the same since Maryetta Sinclair had a clear view of him from the other side of the counter.

  He sighed and then looked directly at his mother. “Mom, there is no reason to get all worked up over something you really don’t have any control over. You w
ant us all to marry the right person, I know this for a fact, so just let this ease along like it’s supposed to.”

  “Is it safe to come in?” Their sister Erin peeked around the hallway doorframe. “I don’t want to enter while the baby talk is going on. I’m not surrendering, so I am not waving a white flag. You got that, Mom?”

  Adam laughed. Leave it to Erin to state it like it was. “What say you, Mom—is the baby talk over for the time being?”

  His dad was grinning as his mother heaved a frustrated breath. “Oh, for heaven’s sakes, Erin. Come in here and give me a hug. I never expected you to be the first to give me babies anyway. You are just too independent and only now getting settled with your bed-and-breakfast. So, you are off the hook.”

  Erin—all blonde, blue-eyed, five-foot-eight inches of her—bounced into the room, grinning. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’d have come in fifteen minutes ago instead of standing out there in the hall letting you have a go at these two misfits.”

  Erin draped her arms around him from the back and whispered, “Sorry, I just couldn’t come in and save you.”

  He laughed again. “I’ll get you back.”

  “Ha, not if I get you first.” She let him go and moved to give their dad a hug, then scooted around the end of the counter to punch Brad in the ribs before giving their mom a hug.

  Then she looked brightly at them all. “Now, what’s for dinner? I don’t think Tate is showing. Isn’t he in Bali or somewhere? I honestly can’t keep up with him. And Cassie is out of town too. Right? And Jonah will probably be late as usual, since there always seems to be one of his client’s boats breaking down that he has to go tow back to the harbor. I tell you, owning a boat rental business in a busy tourist town is very inconvenient at times like this. I, however, am here and ready to relax. I’ve been buried in business at the B&B and everyone only emptied out this morning, since the festival is over and all. Now I’m ready to chill.”