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“Probably not, but I have a lot of other things to do before then,” she responded, grabbing a bag filled with her clothes and holding it up triumphantly. “Can you wait in the hall while I put these on?”

“Even if you get dressed, you can’t leave the hospital,” he said, but he figured he was wrong. He was pretty sure Quinn could do just about anything she set her mind to. “The doctor hasn’t cleared you yet.”

“No?” She smiled, rang for the nurse. “You should probably go warm up the car.”

“We don’t have a car. Stella drove it to the airport to drop Chance off, and she hasn’t returned yet.”

“Call a taxi, then,” she suggested, nudging him toward the door. “The sooner I get back to my place, the sooner I can start making plans for the trip. I want to fix up the photo album, make it a little prettier. Possibly take the photos of Jarrod—”

“I have a better idea.” He stopped short of the threshold, turning to pull her close. “How about we just take it slow, Quinn? You get dressed, maybe we go get something to eat in the cafeteria. We can talk about everything and nothing and all the stuff in between while we wait for Stella, okay? There will be time enough for everything else after that, and if there isn’t? I guess we’ll just say everything else wasn’t all that important.”

She blinked, a slow soft smile curving her lips. “Our first official date?”

“We have to have one sometime, don’t we?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, a hint of sadness in her eyes, the shadow of it mixed with joy, excitement, happiness. “We do, but not until I get dressed.”

She shoved him out the door, and he went, because they had all the time in the world to find their way to the cafeteria, all the time in the world to have their first date, all the time in the world to figure out what it meant to dream together.

Together.

Yeah. He liked the sound of that.

He liked it a lot.

FIFTEEN

S
pending twelve hours in the car with her siblings?

Not something Quinn had been looking forward to. Seeing Malone at the end of the journey? That was a different story. She’d been anticipating it since he’d flown home three days ago—planning her outfit, her hair, her smile.

She’d found herself practicing
that
in front of her mirror. That’s when she’d realized just how far gone she was.

Very, very far.

Very, very fast.

And that scared her.

She smoothed the pretty cotton skirt Tabitha had helped her pick—light blue with tiny flowers dotting the fabric—and tried to tell herself to breathe. A few more minutes and they’d be at their destination. The Andersons’ house. They’d already entered the neighborhood, the houses old and stately, the yards well-kept and mature.

“You’re sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Quinn asked, and August sighed.

“I was sure the last time you asked me. I’m still sure.”

“I’ve only asked—”

“Five times,” Tabitha cut in. “Not that I’m counting or anything.”

“I just wanted to make certain. It’s easy to get turned around in areas like this.”

“Like what?” August asked. “A nice neighborhood?”

“There are a lot of roads,” she said, and Tabitha smirked.

“Right. Roads.”

“All I’m saying is that it would be a shame to be late. The caseworker already told Jubilee that we’d be there.”

Neither of her siblings responded.

Probably because they’d already discussed things. Malone had sent Quinn the address as soon as he’d returned home, and Quinn and Tabitha had programed it into the GPS system in Quinn’s new Jeep. Seemed like a pretty foolproof method. It also seemed pretty silly that Quinn was worried about finding the way.

She was worried about way more than that, though.

Malone had asked three times if she wanted him to fly up to Maine and drive back with her.

Three times, she’d said no.

Which seemed silly.

The fact was, she missed him.

The other fact was, she wondered if what she’d felt for him had just been a product of stress, fear, adrenaline. Had she conjured up feelings out of the depth of her desperation? Was it really possible that God was giving her a second shot at forever? That He’d brought a wonderful man into Quinn’s life at the perfect time for her to be open to a new relationship?

Or was this just something Quinn had reached for because she was lonely, tired, ready for something different than the everyday workload she’d been carrying for so long?

“Stop worrying,” Tabitha said, patting her shoulder. “It’s going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah. I do. He’s a keeper.”

“You know this because?” Quinn asked.

Tabitha touched the back of her head, wincing as she ran her fingers over the stitches that were hidden by her hair. “Getting my head bashed in gave me special powers.”

“Powers to be annoying?” August asked, and Tabitha grinned.

“That, too. Anyway, you need to stop fretting, Quinn. You’re making me nervous.”

“Are you sure you’re not nervous because you’re seeing Jubilee?” Quinn asked, and Tabitha shrugged, her eyes deeply shadowed. She hadn’t been sleeping well. Quinn had heard her pacing the floor in the guest bedroom every night since she’d been released from the hospital.

“It’s been a week since I dropped her off with you, and she probably thinks I abandoned her. Just like everyone else in her life has.”

“Now who’s the one worrying?” August asked gently. “She’s a little kid, Tabitha, and you’ve mothered her for three years. She’s not going to hate you because you were apart for a couple of days.”

August had stayed in Echo Lake to help Quinn find a new vehicle and clean up her house. That’s what he’d said, but there seemed to be something more to his presence. He’d been a lot kinder to Tabitha, a lot more willing to offer her the benefit of the doubt since she’d been out of the hospital.

As a result, Tabitha was more relaxed, more herself. Which had made the trip to Maryland easier than Quinn had anticipated. Good thing, since she really was a nervous wreck.

“She may hate me because I’m not going to be her mother anymore.” Tabitha cleared her throat, brushed a lock of hair off her cheek. “Which is fine. I’m totally cool with that.”

“No,” Quinn said. “You’re not. It would hurt a lot if that happened. Why not just admit it?”

“Why not just go back to discussing you and your boyfriend? I find that to be a lot more fun.”

“Of course you do,” Quinn murmured.

“Because it’s way more exciting than talking about my new job at Betty Sue’s Diner. I seriously can’t believe I’m going to be living in my sister’s apartment and working as a waitress.”

“It’s better than being dead,” August pointed out.

“You’re right about that. But, even better than that would be a boyfriend who sent me flowers every day. That’s what Malone has done, right?”

She knew he had, so Quinn ignored the question.

“Nice flowers, too. Not the cheap kind most men like to give,” Tabitha continued, the anxiety still in her eyes.

“They’d better be nice,” August added. “If they weren’t, he and I would have to have a talk.”

“You’re not going to talk to him about anything, August.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Sorry, sis. You’ve got no control over what I say or don’t.” He pulled into the driveway of a pretty little bungalow. Flower baskets hung from the porch eaves and a tire swing swayed gently from the branch of a giant oak tree. Three cars were parked in the driveway, and August pulled up behind a dark sedan.

He parked the Jeep and jumped out, stretching for a moment before leaning back into the vehicle. “Are you two going to sit there all day?” he asked, when neither Quinn nor Tabitha moved.

“You first,” Tabitha said nervously, gesturing for Quinn to get out.

Quinn figured she needed to set a good example, so she opened her door, smoothing her skirt again as she stepped into watery sunlight.

The front door opened, and a pretty young woman walked out, a baby in her arms and a cute little girl beside her.

“Hello!” she called. “You must be Jubilee’s other family. I’m Scout Anderson. This little girl,” she said, setting her hand on the child’s head, “is our daughter Lucy, and the baby is Ainslie.”

“Nice to meet you,” August said, striding forward with his hand outstretched.

Quinn followed, telling the butterflies in her stomach to settle down. No need to get so excited. Especially when she hadn’t even seen Malone yet.

It was possible he hadn’t arrived, possible that he wouldn’t be able to come. He had a busy schedule, an active life. He’d told her he had a mission scheduled for the following week.

No way could he just drop everything—

The door opened again and Malone stepped out. Chance followed, with a very tall, very muscular redhead right behind him.

Boone Anderson.

It had to be. The eyes were just like Jubilee’s.

Tabitha must have noticed. She gasped, took a step back.

“You look just like her,” she said, and the man smiled.

“Hopefully the poor kid doesn’t look just like me. Boone Anderson. Kend—
Jubilee’s
father.” He offered his hand the same way his wife had, and Quinn took it by rote. Her eyes were on Malone, though—his dark gaze, the sharp angle of his jaw, the familiar tilt of his mouth when he smiled.

“Malone,” she said, the name just kind of slipping out.

He didn’t wait for an invitation, just crossed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered in her ear, and her cheeks heated at the compliment, the butterflies she’d been trying to control taking flight.

“So do you.”

“I don’t think that I’ve ever been told that before.” He chuckled, his arm winding through hers as he walked her to the edge of the porch, letting Chance, Boone, Scout and Tabitha talk quietly among themselves.

“What I meant was—”

“You don’t need to explain, Quinn,” he said, all the humor falling away. “You’re nervous. I can understand that.”

“Aren’t you?”

He studied her for a moment, his beautiful dark gaze skimming over her face, dropping to the soft white sweater she’d bought to go with the skirt, settling on the hair she’d curled to within an inch of its life.

That had been hours ago.

It was probably limp and ratty now.

But when Malone looked at her? It felt perfect.

Finally, he touched her cheek, resting his palm against her skin. “I’m not nervous for anyone but you. You’ve been through a lot, you’ve lost a lot. I don’t want to rush you. I don’t want to make you let go of something you’re not ready to release.”

He lifted her right hand, touching the gold band she still wore. “I guess what I’m saying is, we can take our time. All those flowers I sent you—”

“Were beautiful.”

“Boone said they might be overkill.”

“What does Boone know?” she asked, and he laughed.

“That’s what his wife said, but then I started thinking that you might feel overwhelmed, and I thought—”

“You
are
nervous.”

“Because I don’t want to hurt you without meaning to, bring up old feelings that you’re not ready to face,” he admitted, and for the first time since she’d met him, he looked vulnerable and a little unsure.

“I loved Cory with my whole heart. I didn’t think there’d ever be room for someone else. Then I met you, and I realized...” She shook her head, the words so hard to come by, the feelings so difficult to express. “You fit here, Malone.” She touched her chest. “In a way I never expected.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “Because you’re the person I didn’t know I was missing, the piece to the puzzle I didn’t know I was looking for. You fit. Not just in my heart. In my life. I don’t want to mess it up.”

“I don’t think you could, Malone,” she said honestly. “We just kind of...work together. And it’s nice. Better than nice.”

“That’s good to know, because I ordered flowers to be delivered for the entire two weeks I’ll be gone on my next mission. I was trying to figure out a way to cancel them. I guess now, I won’t have to.” He grinned, and she felt her heart melt just a little more for him.

“Two weeks is a long time. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, but I’ll be back. Probably with more flowers in hand. I’m not all that creative when it comes to this kind of stuff.”

That made her laugh.

She was still laughing when he leaned in for a kiss. Sweet and light and undemanding.

She reached up, her cast bumping his shoulder as she pulled him closer.

“Hey, lovebirds!” August called from beneath the old oak. Somehow he had ended up with the little girl named Lucy. She climbed onto the swing, and was shouting for him to push her.

“Jubilee is here.” He gestured to a small SUV that was puttering up the road. It pulled into the driveway, idled there for a moment.

Suddenly, the sweet moment was gone, the peaceful afternoon was filled with tension. Lucy scrambled off the swing and ran to her mother, clutching her hand as the driver’s door opened and Jubilee’s caseworker stepped out.

She smiled, offered a quick wave and walked to the back of the car.

Boone stood in the watery sunlight, his hair burnished fire, his face filled with longing and hope and fear.

Jubilee’s father, but the little girl didn’t know it.

She got out of the car slowly, her scrawny legs appearing first—bruised and battered from whatever games she’d been playing outdoors. Then her head, her long hair the same deep red as her father’s.

She hesitated there, not taking the hand the caseworker offered, just surveying the people waiting for her. Quinn tried to imagine it from her perspective. Seeing the woman holding the baby, tears glistening on her face. The tall man who looked as if he didn’t know if he should move forward or step back. The guy under the tree, pushing the empty swing.

The little girl who smiled shyly.

Tabitha.

Quinn knew the moment Jubilee spotted her.

Her face lit up, the hesitation fading.