Harbor Lights

by Sherryl Woods

  “You can come back out now,” Laurie called a few minutes later. “The coffee’s made.”

  Shanna dared returning to the front of the store. She found Laurie perched behind the register.

  “It could be fun sitting here all day watching people walk by,” she told Shanna.

  “Sometimes I do have to move around, even help an actual customer,” Shanna told her dryly.

  “I know that,” Laurie said with exasperation. “I’m just saying I kind of get why you enjoy being here.” Her eyes lit with mischief. “And then there’s long, tall and dreamy.”

  “Kevin?”

  “Who else? Are there more like him roaming around town?”

  “Quite a few, as a matter of fact, though as you’re a soon-to-be-married woman, I’m not sure why you care.”

  “You’re the one who should be taking note of those other available men,” Laurie told her. “I won’t go into all the reasons why. We’ve discussed them before.”

  “Yes, we have,” Shanna said.

  “And you’re obviously ignoring common sense.”

  “No, I’m not,” she said with exasperation. “I get why Kevin and I would be…” She tried to think of a word to describe just how risky their relationship could prove to be.

  “A disaster,” Laurie supplied.

  “No, complicated,” Shanna insisted.

  “Have you spoken to Henry lately?” Laurie asked abruptly.

  “Cut to the chase, why don’t you?” Shanna muttered at the mention of her former stepson.

  “I’m trying to. What I don’t get is why the parallels don’t scare you to death. Wounded man, lonely kid. It’s a pattern for you, sweetie, and it’s not a good one.”

  “Kevin is nothing like Greg,” she said with absolute certainty for what seemed like the hundredth time. Her ex-husband had serious problems with alcohol. Kevin was merely lost in his grief, not in a bottle. “And Davy isn’t in the same situation. He’s not in danger. He’s surrounded by a huge family, not a couple of stiff-necked grandparents like the Hamiltons.”

  “But every instinct you possess is telling you that Kevin and his boy need you, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” she admitted. “But I’m not rushing into anything with Kevin, not the way I did with Greg. He and I were emotionally involved almost immediately, even though we did wait quite a while before marrying. Kevin and I aren’t even dating. We’re just hanging out from time to time. He isn’t remotely ready for a new relationship, either.”

  “Then I must have imagined that kiss I walked in on,” Laurie said.

  “That was a…surprise, an anomaly,” Shanna retorted. “We’re not in the habit of kissing.”

  “And you don’t think that now that the ice has been broken, so to speak, it will happen again?”

  “No, I don’t,” she lied. If she had her way, it most definitely would happen again. Kevin, she suspected, would see that it didn’t.

  “Because it was so awful?” Laurie inquired, leveling a look into her eyes.

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then it will happen again,” her friend said decisively. “And you’d better figure out how to handle that before you’re in so deep with this man, you wind up drowning.”

  “We’re just friends,” Shanna insisted, realizing even as she uttered the words that she sounded as delusional as Susie about Mack. “How’s Drew, by the way? How are the wedding plans coming?”

  “Drew’s fine. The wedding plans are right on track. Jess has been amazing.” She frowned at Shanna. “Stop trying to change the subject.”

  “I was trying to show an interest in you. You’re usually only too eager to leap right into your favorite topic.”

  “Well, today I’m being selfless. I’m more concerned about you.”

  “You don’t need to be,” Shanna said emphatically. “As you can see, the store is in good shape again, and my personal life is just fine. Your job here is done.”

  Laurie looked startled by the dismissal. “You want me to go home?”

  Shanna nodded. “I love seeing you and I really appreciate the fact that you dropped everything to come down here, but everything here is good and I have a ton of work to do dealing with insurance forms and reordering stock.”

  “You can’t even go to the inn for lunch, can you?” Laurie said. “As long as I’m here, I thought we could go over a few wedding details with Jess.”

  Shanna heard the disappointment in her friend’s voice and realized how unfair she was being. Laurie had dropped everything to check on her, and now she was sending her right back home as if the visit had been an annoyance rather than a sweet gesture.

  “How about this? We’ll call Jess and see if she can come here, maybe even bring lunch.”

  Laurie’s expression brightened. “Really? You’ll have time?”

  “As long as we stay right here, yes. I’ll make the time.”

  “And I won’t be in the way until then?”

  Shanna tried to find a diplomatic reply. “Maybe you could check out the rest of the shops on Main Street and the restaurants on Shore Road. You’ll want to be able to tell your wedding guests the best places to go when they’re here. This is the perfect chance for you to familiarize yourself with the town. The kitchen shop might even be someplace to find some of those accessories you’re addicted to.” Laurie’s kitchen was a gourmet cook’s dream already, but that didn’t mean there weren’t new gadgets to be found.

  Though Laurie gave her a knowing look, she nodded. “Great idea. I’ll be back here at noon, okay?”

  “That’s perfect. I’ll give Jess a call and make the arrangements.” She crossed the room and gave Laurie a fierce hug. “Thank you for coming down here. It wasn’t necessary, but I’m so glad you did.”

  “Even if I did butt into your personal life?”

  “That’s what best friends are supposed to do,” Shanna told her, then grinned. “Doesn’t mean I have to take your advice, though.”

  Laurie gave an exaggerated sigh. “In that case, I’m claiming the right here and now to say I told you so.”

  “Duly noted.”

  It wasn’t until Laurie was out the door that Shanna finally released a sigh and reached for her phone. She called Kevin’s cell.

  “Whatever you do, do not come back here with the kids later,” she told him.

  “Laurie,” he guessed at once. “She’s still here.”

  “Right now she’s out exploring, but she’ll be back here at noon to go over wedding details with Jess.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” he said. “She’s a little too intense with her cross-examinations.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I’ll call you tonight, okay? Will she be gone then?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shanna?” He sounded suddenly hesitant.

  “What?”

  “The kiss…” His voice trailed off as if he’d grown uncomfortable with the subject as soon as he’d introduced it.

  “It was an excellent kiss,” she said, a hitch in her voice.

  “It was,” he agreed. “But—”

  “But we probably shouldn’t repeat it,” she supplied before he could. Hadn’t she just told herself this would be his reaction? His deep sigh of relief at her words told her she’d been right.

  “It’s just that my life right now is a mess,” he explained. “I have a lot of things to figure out.”

  “Believe me, I get that,” she said. “Mine’s not exactly on an even keel, either.”

  “Then this was a onetime aberration,” he said.

  “Agreed.”

  Even as she said the word, disappointment spread through her. She’d have to worry about that another time, though. Right now, she had way too much on her plate, including trying to find a way to get Laurie out of town before she crossed paths with Kevin again.

  As soon as he’d hung up after his conversation with Shanna, Kevin went inside the house and rounded up Davy and the twins.

&
nbsp; “Put on your bathing suits,” he told them.

  “We’re having a picnic on the beach,” Caitlyn guessed, already stripping off clothes as she went in search of her bright blue ruffled one-piece bathing suit.

  “Yes,” Kevin told them. He scooped Davy into his arms and took him into his room to change him into his bathing suit, then donned his own.

  Then he gathered up all of the paraphernalia they’d need—sunblock, a blanket, beach towels, sand pails, swim rings. Gram walked into the foyer as he was eyeing the mounting pile of necessities with a frown.

  “How on earth did you ever manage to take us all to the beach?” he asked.

  “Each of you carried your own toys and towel,” she reminded him. “I took the blanket and picnic basket. Let the girls help.”

  When Carrie and Caitlyn raced down the stairs, Kevin gestured to the assembled beach supplies. “Pick what you want to play with,” he instructed. “And grab a towel.”

  That still left him with the picnic basket Gram had packed, the blanket and Davy, who was too little to tackle the steps down to the beach on his own. Gram grinned, clearly seeing the dilemma.

  “Why don’t I come down in an hour with the picnic?” she suggested.

  “Would you mind?”

  “Of course not. I’ll drop it off before I drive over to the church.” She gave him a considering look. “Are you sure you can manage all three of them? You won’t have a minute’s peace trying to keep your eye on them every second.”

  “You handled five of us,” he reminded her.

  “And you were all older than these three,” she said. “Except for Jess, and even she was Carrie and Caitlyn’s age by then. You all helped by looking out for her.”

  “We’ll be fine,” he said with confidence. It was a couple of hours on the beach. No big deal. Then there’d be naps, and after that his sister and Trace would return and this nightmare of babysitting would be over. Not that he didn’t love Caitlyn and Carrie, he adored them. But despite what he’d said to Shanna, he’d been in over his head from the beginning of their visit.

  An hour later, he had more proof that he was out of his depth. He was more than half-buried under sand and nearly immobilized, thanks to an idiotic scheme he’d devised to keep the three kids occupied until Gram brought lunch. Carrie and Caitlyn had loved the idea of pouring bucket after bucket of sand over him. Davy’s buckets were barely half-filled, but he followed suit.

  “Now it’s time to dig me out,” he told them.

  Carrie and Caitlyn merely giggled and dumped more sand on top of him.

  “This is too much fun, Uncle Kevin,” Carrie said. “When we get enough sand, we can build a castle on top of you. It’ll be the biggest one ever.”

  “Not a good idea,” he said, trying to kick the sand off his legs. It was too heavy. He tried lifting his arms, to no avail. Next time, if he was ever stupid enough to suggest this again, he’d know to keep his hands free.

  Just then he heard laughter behind him and turned his head to find Abby regarding him with barely suppressed amusement. Trace, holding the picnic basket, was behind her, not even trying to hide his grin at Kevin’s situation.

  “Quite a predicament you’re in,” Abby commented, her eyes sparkling.

  “Mommy,” Caitlyn screamed and ran for Abby, immediately followed by Carrie. Davy tottered along behind the two of them and held out his arms to Trace, who set down the picnic basket in order to pick him up.

  “Do you think one of you could get me out of here?” Kevin inquired testily. “Or are you enjoying this too much?”

  “The enjoyment factor is pretty overwhelming,” Abby said.

  Kevin scowled at Trace. “I do you a favor and this is the thanks I get?”

  “Hey, I’m not the one who buried you,” Trace said. “And don’t tell me these kids came up with the idea all on their own.”

  “It was my idea, okay?” he admitted.

  “What would you have done if we hadn’t come along?” Abby inquired curiously. “Say, if one of them decided to take off and go for an unauthorized swim?”

  “I was just working on that,” he insisted. “They were going to dig me out. And they know the rules about going in the water, right, girls? Not unless you’re with an adult.”

  Caitlyn, the little traitor, said, “But you are here, Uncle Kevin.”

  “I rest my case,” Abby said. “Besides, it sounded to me as if they had big plans to construct a castle on top of you. Dad would be proud.”

  The weight of all that sand was beginning to make him feel a little claustrophobic. He fixed a hard look on his soon-to-be brother-in-law, since his sister clearly wasn’t interested in coming to his rescue.

  “I’d appreciate a little help now,” he said.

  Trace grinned and set Davy down on the sand. “Okay, kids, let’s dig Uncle Kevin out of the sand. Then we can have a picnic.”

  “Picnic now!” Carrie said, jumping up and down in excitement.

  “Nope, not till Uncle Kevin can join us,” Trace said firmly.

  “We could feed him,” Caitlyn suggested, her expression thoughtful.

  “Dig, now!” Trace said more firmly.

  All three kids started removing the sand, tossing it aside by the bucketful. It seemed to take a lot longer to remove than it had to cover him. Kevin finally kicked off the last of it and stood.

  “Since reinforcements are here, I’m going for a swim to get the rest of this stuff off,” he told his sister.

  “Maybe leaving him in charge of our children wasn’t such a great idea,” Abby said, a hint of worry in her eyes.

  He caught the glint in Trace’s eyes as he met Abby’s gaze. “Really? Are you regretting the past couple of days we’ve had to ourselves?”

  “No, but…”

  “The kids are in one piece,” Trace reminded her. “Kevin’s still sane, which makes him an excellent babysitter to my way of thinking. In fact, right this second, he qualifies for sainthood in my book.” He gave Abby a lingering look. “Know what I mean?”

  She blushed.

  “I’m thinking we should enlist him again in another couple of weeks,” Trace said, his gaze locked with Abby’s. “What do you say?”

  Abby moved toward him. “Maybe so,” she murmured, lifting her face for a kiss.

  Kevin groaned, not just because the idea of babysitting again made him a little queasy, but because watching the heat between those two reminded him a little too sharply of what he’d felt when he’d kissed Shanna earlier. And then he’d foolishly told her they shouldn’t do it again. What had he been thinking?

  Probably that it had been a mistake, he reminded himself.

  Even worse, she’d agreed with him.

  Right this second, though, he couldn’t imagine why either one of them thought that anything that had felt that good could possibly be a mistake.

  12

  Mick was in the air somewhere over Kansas when he realized that he’d never even tried to reach Megan to tell her he’d been called to Seattle on another emergency. Any other week, it would have been no big deal to let her know when he landed, but at this very moment, she was probably arriving at the airport in Baltimore for a few days in Chesapeake Shores. And there would be no one there to greet her. The situation had disaster written all over it. She’d take the incident and blow it all out of proportion.

  He grabbed the in-flight phone, used his credit card and dialed her cell phone. To his frustration, the call went straight to voice mail.

  “Meggie, it’s me. I got called to Seattle late last night, and I grabbed the first flight I could get out this morning. I know I should have called you right away, but it was late, and then with all the rushing around this morning, I didn’t think of it until just now. I’m so sorry. If you get this message while you’re at the airport, why don’t you see if there’s another available flight to Seattle and join me? You’d love it out there. Let me know if you decide to do that. Otherwise, I’ll give you a call when I get to my
hotel. I should be on the ground in another couple of hours.”

  He winced as he hung up. She was going to be fit to be tied, and he couldn’t say he blamed her. He made his next call to Kevin.

  “Dad, I thought you were on your way to Seattle,” Kevin said.

  “I am, but I just remembered something and I need your help, okay?”

  “Sure, what can I do?”

  “Your mother’s on a flight down from New York. You need to get to the airport to pick her up or to help her switch to a flight out to the West Coast, whichever she wants to do.”

  “You forgot Mom was coming?” He sounded incredulous and maybe even a little amused by Mick’s obvious predicament.

  “I didn’t forget it exactly,” Mick said defensively. “I had a lot of things happening at once.”

  “Oh man, she’s going to be furious,” Kevin murmured.

  “Don’t you think I know that?” he said impatiently. “Which is why you need to step on it and get to the airport.”

  “Why me? Abby’s a lot closer. She could be there from her office in a half hour.”

  “She could be,” Mick acknowledged. “But seeing you just might distract your mother from how mad she is at me.”

  “Dad, you know how I feel about her,” Kevin began.

  Mick cut him off. “I also know you need to get over it. Take Davy with you. Pretend it’s all about him. He’ll love seeing the planes going in and out and being there to greet his grandmother. Come on, son, help me out here.”

  Kevin sighed heavily. “What time is Mom’s flight due in?”

  “The information’s on a pad by the phone in my office, but you don’t have much time. Grab the details I’ve written down and Davy, then hit the road.”

  “You realize there are now two of us annoyed with you, me and Mom?”

  “You’re wasting time. You can yell at me later, okay?”

  “Believe me, I will take you up on that,” Kevin said, hanging up on him.

  Mick sat back and closed his eyes, trying to envision Megan’s reaction to arriving at the airport and not seeing him waiting for her in the terminal. If Kevin wasn’t there in his place, she might turn right around and go back to New York. She might never return to Chesapeake Shores again. Any reaction was possible. Megan’s unpredictability was one of the things he loved about her, but it didn’t always work in his favor.