Read my signals, Luke. Back off. I do not want to talk about this today.
Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up her silent message.
“Listen…I don’t want to pry, but we’re neighbors. Temporarily, anyway. And I know you’re alone. Hannah told me you’re not married, and that the baby’s father is out of the picture.” He lifted his hand to his glasses. Hesitated. Then he took them off—to reveal warm, brown eyes awash with empathy and caring. “So I wanted to tell you that if you need anything while I’m here, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Pressure built in her throat, and she gritted her teeth. She was not going to cry! She was not going to fall apart just because a kind man had made a charitable offer.
But much to her dismay, a tear leaked out and trickled down her cheek.
Before she could swipe it away, Luke reached over and did it for her with a lean finger, his tender touch melting her heart.
“You want to tell me what’s wrong?”
“No.” Choking back a sob, she stood. Fought for balance. But the shifting sand beneath her feet was only partly to blame for her unsteadiness. Without bothering to fold up her chair, she stumbled toward the path in the tall grass.
“Kelsey! Wait!”
She ignored his call and plunged into the grass.
Please don’t follow! Please don’t follow!
Apparently he got that message. When she paused at the landing halfway up to catch her breath, he was standing by his chair, face bronzed by the morning, looking for all the world like one of the tall, handsome princes who’d peopled the fairy tales she’d devoured as a child.
But that’s all they were. Fairy tales.
In real life, it was smarter not to rely on a handsome man to save you. It was far better to be strong. In control of your own life. Successful in your own right.
Besides, knights on white horses were in short supply in today’s world—and happy endings were even more rare, as divorce statistics proved.
She turned away from Luke and continued up the steps—a trek that was becoming more difficult with each passing day. But she could deal with it…or any other challenge that came her way.
Yet for one fleeting moment, she let herself wonder what it would be like to have a man like Luke by her side. Not to hold her up, but to hold her hand.
In the next instant, though, she ruthlessly quashed that thought.
For given her situation, it too was the stuff of fairy tales.
* * *
As Kelsey disappeared from view, Luke raked his fingers through his hair.
That had gone well.
Heaving a sigh, he sank back into his beach chair and folded his hands on his stomach. So much for following Hannah’s advice about letting Kelsey know he was interested in her life. Instead of walking through the door he’d tried to open, she’d slammed it in his face—and bolted as fast as a startled deer.
Now he was back to square one—or worse. Her original wariness could return tenfold.
That prospect left a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“You blew it, didn’t you?”
At Hannah’s comment, Luke stifled a groan and angled his head.
She stood beside him, hands on hips, making no attempt to hide her disgust. “I set you up perfectly. All you had to do was ask a few discreet, caring questions about the baby.” She crossed her arms. “So what did you say? I saw her take off like a bat out of…you know where.”
“Since when did you become Dr. Phil?”
She wrinkled her brow. “Who?”
Wrong demographic. Kids her age probably had their own relationship guru. He waved her into her seat. “Let it go, Hannah. I don’t need advice about my love life.”
“Ah-ha! You admit you’re falling in love. Now we’re getting somewhere.” She dropped down onto the side of her chair, putting them at the same level.
“I’m not admitting anything.”
“Fine. Whatever. So what did you say to her?” She leaned toward him.
Luke shifted in his chair. Since she wasn’t going to let him off the hook, he’d have to throw her a few crumbs.
“I followed your advice about letting her know I cared. I told her I knew she wasn’t married, and that if she needed anything while I was here, all she had to do was ask.”
A few silent beats ticked by while Hannah stared at him. “That’s it?”
He replayed the conversation in his mind. “I said she seemed tired, and I asked if everything was okay.”
She waited—but when he didn’t say anything else, she exhaled and flopped back in her chair. As if he were a hopeless case.
“Did you tell her anything about yourself, Luke?”
“Like what?”
“Like anything that would give her a glimpse into who you are. Into what makes you tick.”
“You didn’t mention that yesterday.”
“I didn’t think I had to. It’s Relationships 101. If you don’t share with another person and show you trust them with your secrets, how do you expect them to trust you with theirs?”
She had a point. But being tutored on romance by a seventeen-year-old was bruising his ego.
“You know, I’ve gotten along fine without your advice for the twenty-plus years I’ve been dating. I’ve never had any trouble relating to the women I went out with.”
“Yeah? Then how come you’re still single?”
Checkmate.
He grasped at the excuse he’d always given. “I was too busy for romance in medical school, and my army career didn’t lend itself to commitments.”
“The right woman would have changed your mind about that—if you’d ever let anyone get close enough to see into your heart. You can’t fall in love or develop a real friendship if you keep all your emotions locked up tight.”
A muscle clenched in Luke’s jaw, and he looked out over the water, now sparkling in the morning sun as if sprinkled with diamonds. “Maybe not. But it’s the only way to survive when you witness death and destruction every day. When you deal with young men and women whose lives are snuffed out or forever changed in an instant by a bullet or fire from an explosion or a roadside bomb. You learn not to feel too deeply. Not to invest too much of yourself. Because if you do, you die too. Little by little, day by day, until the heart that once beat with passion is an empty shell. So you lock it up to protect it. And it’s hard to unlock once it’s been sealed.” His voice hoarsened, and he swallowed.
After a few seconds, she laid her fingers on his arm, her touch gentle.
He swiped the back of his hands across his eyes. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Her tone was sympathetic, and there was a shimmer in her irises. “That’s what I’m talking about, Luke. What you just did. It’s fine to share that with people you care about. More than fine. It’s what helps them feel close to you. And love you. Could you use a hug, maybe?”
Without speaking, he rose and held out his arms. Hannah stepped in, and he folded her close.
And as he clung to her in the quiet morning, the silence broken only by the lap of waves on the shore and the rustle of the tall, swaying grass behind them, he filled his lungs with the fresh morning air. It had been years since anyone had comforted him like this—and it felt good.
“From the day you came home on your first leave when I was eight, über impressive in your uniform, you were my hero.” Hannah’s voice was muffled against his chest. “You still are.”
“I’m no hero, Hannah.”
“Then why did the army give you the Silver Star, among other medals?”
“I just did what I had to do.”
“With honor and courage. And that makes you a hero in my book. Not to mention what you’re doing for Carlos.” She pulled back and searched his face. “Do you remember how in awe of you I was on that first leave?”
A picture of the little blonde pixie who’d followed him everywhere flashed through his mind. “I remember I couldn’t shake you.”
She ma
de a face and nudged him with her shoulder. “I hung on your every word. And I was desperate to impress you. To show you I was courageous too. That’s why I climbed the apple tree out back. Instead, I fell on my face and got a bloody nose. Do you remember that?”
The image of Hannah’s tear-streaked cheeks niggled at the edge of his memory. “Vaguely.”
“It’s a vivid memory for me. And what you said stuck with me all these years too. After you extracted a promise from me never to climb that tree again, you sat me on your knee and said, ‘Being brave isn’t about doing dangerous things, Hannah. It’s about doing the right thing. Even when it’s hard.’”
“I said that?”
“Yeah. I guess it was one of your rare profound moments.” She smirked at him, then grew more serious. “But it was great advice—and maybe it applies to Kelsey.”
The conversation had come full circle.
“I’m not sure what the right thing is with her.”
“My advice? Ask God.” With one final squeeze, she extricated herself from his arms and folded up her chair. “You ready to call it a morning? I told Dorothy I’d be there by noon today to help with the lunch rush.”
“Yeah.” He tucked his chair and Kelsey’s under one arm, then picked up his coffee and his neighbor’s lidded, insulated mug. The white residue around the lip suggested it contained milk.
As he trudged through the tall grass behind Hannah and started up the steps, her advice replayed in his mind. Ask God. It was the same advice Carlos had always dispensed. Except the young medic had used more colloquial language: When in doubt, give God a shout. And it had always been delivered with a grin.
Luke had plenty of doubts when it came to Kelsey.
Should he try again to connect? Make the first move toward sharing confidences? Take the risk of getting involved, knowing he was leaving in four short weeks?
At the top of the steps, he stopped and surveyed her cottage. It showed no signs of life. But she was inside. No way could she have gotten ready for work and left already.
“Hannah, I’m going to drop Kelsey’s stuff off at her house.”
His sister acknowledged his comment with a wave and kept moving toward their deck.
Detouring to his neighbor’s, Luke circled around the small cluster of trees rather than cut through them. If she was outside, he could startle her. Been there, done that.
But the yard and screened porch were deserted. After leaning the chair against the railing beside the two steps, he opened the porch door and set the mug inside, away from the bugs.
As he turned to leave, a curtain at one of the back windows fluttered. Was she watching him? Hoping he’d knock—or praying he’d leave? Hard to know whether loneliness or fear dominated at the moment.
Instead of waiting to find out, Luke retraced his steps across the lawn. Unless Kelsey was receptive to a second overture, it would fail as dismally as his clumsy earlier effort had. And his instincts told him today wasn’t the day to try again.
Nor was he up for the kind of soul-baring Hannah seemed to think it would take to earn Kelsey’s trust. Not yet. He’d have to work himself into that mindset.
But the clock was ticking on his stay here.
Once back on his deck, Luke paused at the railing to scan the horizon where sky and sea met—and to follow the advice Hannah and Carlos agreed upon.
He sent a silent plea heavenward for another opportunity to win Kelsey’s trust—and to be the hero Hannah thought he was, if what he learned was more than he’d bargained for.
10
“Tea break!”
At Dorothy’s announcement, Kelsey straightened up from the quilt rack where she was trying to make some headway on a commission due at the end of August—a short three weeks away.
“You sound especially cheery today. Let’s see…” Kelsey leaned back in her chair and regarded her friend. “Your upbeat mood wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain gentleman who’s been enjoying quite a few solitary lunches in the tearoom, would it?”
Bright pink spots appeared on Dorothy’s cheeks as she deposited a cup of tea and a plate of scones on a small table next to the quilt rack. “I didn’t think you’d noticed.”
“I didn’t. Hannah tipped me off. She calls him your beau.”
The woman’s flush deepened. “I’m too old to have a beau. Besides, he’s younger than me.”
“How much younger?” The age of the dapper, white-haired man Hannah had pointed out to her yesterday had to be in the same ballpark as Dorothy’s.
“He’s only seventy-one.”
Kelsey adopted an expression of mock horror. “Goodness! You’d be robbing the cradle!” She picked up a scone and nibbled at it. “When was I going to hear about this new development? I tell you everything.”
“I was going to mention it eventually. If it lasted. We only met two weeks ago. I thought his interest might wane.”
“According to Hannah, he comes for lunch almost every day. I don’t think his interest is waning.” She inspected the scone in her hand. “This is delicious. New recipe?”
Dorothy’s color surged again. “Charles likes chocolate.”
“Ah. That explains it. So tell me all about this mystery man.” Kelsey grinned at her and continued to eat. Never in their acquaintance had the older woman been this flustered. Then again, love—or even mere attraction—could do that to a person.
As she was finding out firsthand.
“His name is Charles Summer. He and his wife used to rent a condo in Holland every August after he retired, but he hasn’t been back since she died three years ago. He doesn’t get into Douglas much, but over the Fourth of July weekend he joined some old friends from out of town for lunch at the tearoom. We chatted that day, and he started coming back. More conversations led to a dinner invitation…and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”
Kelsey finished off her scone and picked up her teacup. “That’s very romantic.”
“I’m too old for romance.”
“No one’s ever too old for romance.”
“We’ll see, I suppose.” The older woman smoothed back a stray strand of hair. “And speaking of romance—I haven’t seen Luke much lately.”
A caution bell rang in Kelsey’s mind. “What does Luke have to do with romance?”
“You tell me. Hannah thinks there are sparks between the two of you.”
“Hannah has an overactive imagination. I’ve hardly seen Luke in the past two weeks. Now that the campaign is beginning to attract national media attention, he’s been on the go every minute.”
“I think there are sparks too.”
“Then your imagination is also working overtime.”
“Hmm.” Dorothy fingered her pearls. “You never did tell me what Dr. Walters had to say about this new man in your life.”
Kelsey set down her teacup and went back to work on the quilt. “He’s not the new man in my life. Not in the way you mean. But he is nice, and I do find him attractive. Dr. Walters thinks that’s a positive sign. I agree. Meeting him has been very therapeutic.”
“Therapeutic.” The older woman burst out laughing. “I wonder what your neighbor would say if he heard you describing him in those terms? But don’t worry, my dear. Your secret is safe with me.”
With that, she retreated to her own side of the shop.
Leaving Kelsey to wonder what secret she’d been referring to—the secret about her baby, or the secret about her growing feelings for the doctor next door.
* * *
Hannah dabbed at her lips and set her white linen napkin on the table. “That was an amazing meal, Luke. Thanks for the great send-off.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He signaled the waiter for a refill of his coffee. There was nothing like an excellent cup of java to finish off a superb meal. “More tea, Kelsey?”
“No, thanks. I’ve reached my limit. And I second Hannah’s comment about the food. I haven’t been here in years, but Clearbrook was always a wo
nderful special occasion place. The food is as delicious as I remember.” She smoothed her fingers over the starched tablecloth. “Gram and Dorothy were born three weeks apart, and they used to come here to celebrate their birthdays every year. Too bad Dorothy couldn’t join us tonight.”
“She offered to back out of her date with Charles, but he had tickets for a play in Grand Rapids she’s been dying to see, so I told her to go for it. We said our goodbyes this afternoon. I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of romance.” Aiming a deliberate look at her brother, Hannah picked up her purse. “Would you two excuse me while I run to the ladies’ room?”
Luke stifled a groan. When Kelsey had gone to the rest room ten minutes ago, Hannah had declined to join her. His sister had apparently been planning all along to give them a few minutes alone in this romantic, candlelit spot.
Not that it mattered. Kelsey was chasing the crumbs from her molten chocolate cake around her plate with her fork—and avoiding eye contact. Just as she’d been avoiding him on the beach for the past ten days. When their paths did cross on the afternoons he picked up Hannah from the tearoom, she steered their conversation toward the youth center project.
How was he supposed to take this relationship to the next level if the woman involved refused to cooperate?
He picked up his coffee. “I want to thank you for taking Hannah under your wing during her visit.”
“I enjoyed getting to know her.” Kelsey set her fork on her plate. “She was a godsend to Dorothy too. Losing a server had her in a tizzy until Hannah stepped forward and volunteered to fill in while she rounded up a replacement.”
“Everything worked out well all around. After her first day on the beach, I was girding for a major battle.”
A glint of amusement sparked in Kelsey’s irises as she lifted her teacup. “You did seem a little panicked when she was flirting with those two college guys.”
“Guilty as charged.” He raised his cup in acknowledgement. “But much to my relief, she told me later that in light of her brief visit, there was no sense starting something that would go nowhere.”
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