Seaview Inn (15 page)

Not that he had much time to wonder about what those two talked about. Grandma Jenny had him so busy he didn’t have a lot of time to sit and ponder his own life or anyone else’s. He’d taken some rare time off this afternoon and he intended to enjoy it. He’d leave his future on the back burner for another hour. Or maybe another day. Who knew, as contented as he was feeling right now, maybe even longer.

He closed his eyes and let the sun soak in. The warmth made his bad leg feel better, especially after he’d put too much stress on it trying to keep up with all the chores Grandma Jenny had for him. He could have told her the truth about his injury and begged off, but he’d liked feeling useful too much to risk having her cut back on the assignments out of pity. If she’d noticed him limping more at the end of the day, she’d never mentioned it, and he’d liked that, too. He appreciated that Hannah apparently hadn’t revealed what he’d told her, either, leaving it to him to decide how much he wanted Grandma Jenny to know. He didn’t want anyone hovering over him.

“You catching a catnap before Gran puts you back to work?”

Hannah’s teasing words snapped him awake. He grinned at her. “Don’t tell, okay? The woman’s wearing me out.”

She perched on the railing opposite him, her slim legs
tanned and fit from the long walks she’d been taking, the color high in her cheeks, her hair streaked with blond highlights. She looked younger and more relaxed than when he’d first arrived.

“Me, too,” she confided.

He asked a question that had been on his mind for a couple of days now. “Aren’t your two weeks up now? You going back to New York?”

“I should be,” she said, sounding resigned. “But you know I can’t. Gran has her heart set on reopening the inn. I can’t bear to disappoint her. And then there’s Kelsey. Her life’s in chaos at the moment. I told my boss this morning that I was going on an indefinite leave of absence.”

He regarded her with surprise. “You’re staying indefinitely?”

“That’s the plan,” she said, then added, “Not forever, though.”

He smiled. “Just so I’m clear about it, huh? Or are you saying that for your own benefit?”

“Okay, sure. I do have to keep reminding myself that this is just temporary. It makes it bearable.”

“You know what I think? I think you like being here more than you expected to. It works that way sometimes. When we’re young, all we care about is growing up, being independent and moving on. Then we discover that being out there in the cold, cruel world is not all it’s cracked up to be, and home doesn’t look so bad, after all. Admit it, Hannah, Seaview is starting to grow on you again.”

She shrugged. “Maybe a little,” she conceded. “And right now, being here is good for Kelsey, too. I’ve managed to buy myself a few weeks of unpaid leave, but then I absolutely have to go back or I can kiss my career goodbye.”

“You said that being here is good for Kelsey. What
about you? Why won’t you admit that it’s been good for you, that staying is about more than obligation? You look a lot more relaxed than you did when I first got here.”

Her expression turned thoughtful. “I’m annoyed at being conned into staying.”

“Conned?” he inquired.

“Okay, it was my decision,” she admitted. “But I am frustrated that I can’t get Gran to see my point of view. I still hate Seaview.” Her eyes sparkled, despite the litany. “But, yeah, it’s been good for me, too,” she said, the concession grudging. “How about you? You making any progress on all those heavy decisions you need to make?”

“Your grandmother’s kept me so busy, I haven’t had much time to think. You know what, though? That’s okay. I thought I needed to think things through, force myself to make some decisions, but I think I’d been doing way too much of that during all those months of rehab. I was just going around in circles. I needed to just be for a while, get in touch with myself again.” He smiled. “I know it all sounds a little touchy-feely, but you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I think I do,” she said.

Just then his cell phone, which he’d stuck in his pocket out of habit, rang, something it hadn’t done for days. He pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID and winced. “I have to take this.”

Hannah started to move away. He put his hand on her bare thigh, then yanked it back.

“You don’t have to leave. I’ll only be a minute. Stay, okay?”

He held her gaze until she turned and sat down in the rocker next to his and closed her eyes, soaking in the sun as he had been moments earlier. He wasn’t sure why he
wanted her there, maybe because her presence helped to ground him.

“Hello,” he said curtly when he finally took the call.

“You haven’t called the kids for weeks,” Lisa announced, dispensing with any pleasantries.

“You’re exaggerating, as usual. It’s been less than two weeks,” he said, immediately on the defensive. “Besides, my impression was that you thought that would be for the best. You said when I called, it only upset them, and you wanted them to adjust to having Brad in their lives.”

“Well, I was wrong. This is upsetting them more.”

“Then I’ll call tonight,” he promised. “I never intended to stay out of their lives forever, Lisa. You know that. This was just a break until I could make some decisions and things started to get back to normal.”

“Where are you, anyway? I called the hospital and they told me you’d been discharged two weeks ago. Are you back in Atlanta?”

“No.”

“Then where are you?”

He didn’t want to listen to the sarcastic comments she’d make if she knew he’d gone running back to Seaview, so he avoided telling her. “It doesn’t really matter. You have my cell phone number. You can reach me if you need to.”

“Are you coming back eventually? What should I tell Brad? He’s wondering what to do about the practice.”

Luke could think of a few choice things she could tell his one-time best friend, but he refrained. Words couldn’t change the fact that Brad and his wife had hooked up while he was in Iraq. Well, God bless ’em. They deserved each other. His kids, however, deserved better.

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind, Lisa. I’m not going
to call the kids tonight. I’m going to drive up tonight and get them first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Get them? What do you mean? I have custody. That was settled when the divorce went through.”

“Actually, we have joint custody and I have visitation privileges even when they’re with you,” he reminded her. “Quite a liberal amount of it, in fact. Let their school know that they’ll be spending the next week with their dad, who’s just home from Iraq and out of rehab. I don’t think anyone will have a problem with that, you included, am I right?” He didn’t even try to keep the challenging note out of his voice. He was spoiling for a fight and he wanted her to know it.

“But you said you’re not in Atlanta. You don’t even have a place to stay here, do you?”

“We won’t be staying there. We’re going on a long-overdue vacation.”

“Luke, I don’t like this. I don’t like it one bit.”

“There are plenty of things lately that I haven’t much liked, either, but I had to deal. You’ll get over it. I’ll see you tomorrow. And don’t even think about trying to fight me on this.”

“Come on, Luke, be reasonable. Nate’s playing ball. He has games scheduled.”

“He’s not in the pros, Lisa. He can miss a couple of games. Any other excuses?”

“Not right now, but we will discuss this further when you get here,” she said icily.

He ignored her tone. “Okay, then,” he said. “That’s settled.”

“It is
not
settled,” she countered.

He pretended she hadn’t even spoken. “Oh, there is one more thing, Lisa. Make sure Brad is nowhere near the house
tomorrow when I get there. The first time he and I cross paths, it will not be in front of the kids.” He hung up without waiting for a reply, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached.

“Luke?”

His head snapped around. He’d forgotten all about telling Hannah to wait. Now she’d heard firsthand just how bad his relationship with his ex-wife was.

“I need to get inside to pack an overnight bag and then I should probably hit the road,” he said without meeting her gaze. “I should get in a couple of hundred miles today, so I can be in Atlanta first thing tomorrow.”

“Are you planning to bring your children here?” she asked.

He realized then that he’d made a huge assumption, when he should have at least had the courtesy to ask first. He wasn’t even sure if the inn was fully booked. He raked a hand over his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I should have spoken to you and your grandmother before I made these plans. Will there be room for the kids?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s fine. I’m glad you’re bringing the kids here. And if the guest rooms are taken, we have room on our side of the house. I just wondered how many rooms we should get ready.”

Relief flooded through him. “You’re sure it’s okay? They’re eight and ten, a boy and a girl. They’re used to having their own space, so it’s probably best if they have that here, too. Their lives have been in turmoil for a while now, so there’s no telling what kind of acting out we might be in for.”

“Hey, do you see anyone who passes for normal around here? They’ll fit right in. They need to be with their dad. That’s the only thing that matters.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. I think I’ll sit right here, though, while you go inside and tell Gran that we’re about to have our first official guests before she’s finished dusting everything for the thousandth time.”

“What about me? Don’t I count as an official guest?”

“Anybody who paints, fixes leaky faucets and unclogs the bathroom drain qualifies as family in my book. I don’t know why Gran wants me around. You’re the one who’s qualified to run this place.” She gave him a knowing look. “Of course, it would be quite a come-down from surgery. Or are you planning to change careers in mid-life?”

He shrugged. “You never know.” One of these days he was going to have to take a hard look at the future and what he wanted from it. Right now, all he knew for sure was that he wanted to spend some time with his kids and maybe some intimate time with Hannah one of these days. Maybe that would be the first step on his path to a new life.

And he wanted Hannah, Grandma Jenny and Kelsey to share in this reunion with his children. Maybe it was as simple as wanting a buffer, just as they had when he’d arrived in their midst. Maybe it was a whole lot more. One of these days he’d have to figure that out, too.

“Luke,” Hannah prodded. “Forget what I said before. Just go. I’ll talk to Gran about your plans. You need to get on the road. Something tells me your kids have waited long enough to see their dad.”

Luke was about to walk away, but before he could, he was drawn back. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Hannah’s. He’d meant the kiss to be nothing more than a quick thank-you, but it turned into something else entirely. Cupping her face in his hands, he stayed to plunder, tasting her, letting the heat that had simmered for days stir to a boil.

Finally, reluctantly, he drew away, more shaken than he cared to admit. His gaze met Hannah’s. She gave him a wobbly smile, her eyes dazed.

“That was…interesting,” she said, sounding breathless.

“If I had more time, I imagine I could improve on it,” he taunted.

“Any improvement, you’d have to scrape me up off the floor,” she said.

Luke grinned. “I’ll see you in a couple of days,” he promised.

Again, he started away, then turned back. “Hannah, don’t spend all that time reminding yourself why this thing between you and me is a bad idea, okay?”

“I won’t, if you won’t,” she said.

He nodded. “Then we have a deal.”

Of course, with his two kids underfoot, he had a hunch their opportunities for pursuing anything were going to be extremely limited. Then, again, he’d always enjoyed a challenge and that’s exactly what finding time to be alone would be—an incredibly tempting challenge.

He grinned. Just thinking about that ought to give him the incentive and strength to face whatever lay ahead in Atlanta.

G
ran was amazingly upbeat about the prospect of having Luke’s children underfoot for a week. “It’ll do ’em good to spend some time in the sunshine just being kids,” she declared at breakfast the morning after Luke had left for Atlanta. “And if you ask me, Luke needs them more than he’s been letting on.”

“Gran, how much do you know about Luke’s situation?” Hannah asked.

“About the same as you, I guess. He’s divorced. It was an ugly situation.”

“Do you know he was injured in Iraq?”

Gran looked taken aback. “I knew there’d been an accident of some kind. His leg still bothers him. That’s obvious. That’s probably why he’s not doing surgery.”

“Do you really think he’s not well enough?” Hannah asked. “Look at everything you’ve had him doing. Surely surgery can’t be any more physically demanding than that. I think he’s hiding out here because he can’t face going back home.”

Grandma Jenny shrugged. “So what if he is? Can you blame him? Seems to me he has a right to take some time to get back on his feet, literally and figuratively. And it’s
perfectly natural that he wouldn’t want to work with that awful man who stole his wife.” She gave Hannah a speculative look. “You’re not suddenly unhappy about having him around, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m just concerned that he’s not really accepting what’s ahead for him. The life he’s come home to is a far cry from the one he left. Do you really think it’s okay that he’s down here painting and doing other odd jobs, instead of facing reality? Isn’t this some kind of extended denial? What if he just goes on drifting?”

“What if he does?” Gran said.

“He’s a surgeon. That takes years of training. It’s a skill that shouldn’t just be tossed aside in favor of lazing around on the beach, especially at his age. He’ll never be satisfied with that kind of life.”

“Have you seen Luke lazing around for more than a minute or two since he’s been here?” her grandmother demanded, clearly indignant on Luke’s behalf. “That man’s worked as hard as anyone in this house and he’s done it without complaining or using his injuries as an excuse to slack off.”

“I know,” Hannah said, feeling duly chastised. “I wasn’t being critical. I’m just concerned that the longer he hides out down here, the harder it will be for him to pick up whatever pieces are left of his life.”

“Just because you can’t imagine a life without some high-powered career doesn’t mean everyone feels that way,” Gran suggested. “Maybe he doesn’t want to go back to that life. Maybe he wants a fresh start. He wouldn’t be the first person to make a change after a tragedy.”

“He has two children. He has to take that into consideration,” Hannah argued.

“He’s gone to get them now, hasn’t he? What’s this
really about, Hannah? Are you afraid Luke might decide to make a life for himself here, and then, because you’ve fallen for him, you’ll once again be forced to choose between this place and your life in New York?”

“It has nothing to do with me,” she insisted, but her grandmother had hit on the truth. There was something between her and Luke, no matter how often they’d warned themselves not to get too involved. That kiss had been proof enough of that. It would be one thing to pursue that if he was back in Atlanta and another thing entirely if he chose to remain right here in Seaview Key. She had too many unresolved issues from the past to ever come back here for the long-term.

“It does if you’re in love with him,” Gran said. “The same way it’s going to be a problem for Kelsey if she really does love this young man and he insists on going back to California and starting their family there.”

“How is that the same?” Hannah asked. “Kelsey loves California.”

“Haven’t you been paying attention at all?” Gran asked. “Your daughter is crazy about this place. She wants the inn to be hers one day. I know it’s impossible for you to understand how that could be, but it’s true. Kelsey feels a real connection to the inn. She loves everything it stands for—family history, relaxation, meeting interesting people.”

“She’s just staying here to avoid the baby’s father,” Hannah said.

“I can’t deny that’s part of it, but there’s more. Open your eyes, Hannah. Watch the way her face lights up when she talks about the inn and the improvements she wants to make. Her future is here. I think I knew that the first time she spent any time here. She asked enough
questions about what your mom and I were doing to fill a textbook on managing an inn. She loved sitting on the porch and chatting with the guests as much as your mother and I did.”

Hannah knew her own view of the inn was colored by her desperate desire to get away from it when she was Kelsey’s age, so she couldn’t imagine that Kelsey saw it differently.

“She’s just excited because this is new and different,” she said defensively.

“No, she’s excited because this is a part of her history,” her grandmother countered. “I think she’s found what she was meant to do.” She frowned. “If I’m right about this, I hope you won’t try to dissuade her just because the decision doesn’t suit you.”

“I would never do that,” Hannah said. “There’s nothing I want more than for Kelsey to be happy.”

Just then an unfamiliar car turned into the driveway, and a young man with long hair pulled back into a ponytail, jeans and a T-shirt for some heavy metal band climbed out from behind the wheel. Hannah swallowed hard and turned to her grandmother. “You don’t think…?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Grandma Jenny said with a shake of her head. “You deal with him. I’ll go inside and get the phone so I’m ready to punch in 911 at the first sign of trouble.”

As the young man approached, rolling a suitcase along behind him, Hannah’s tension evaporated. Despite the black shirt and long hair, he looked more like a scared kid than any kind of troublemaker.

“You’re Kelsey’s mother?” he asked.

Hannah nodded.

“I’m Jeff Hampton,” he said, swallowing hard. “You
probably hate me and I know Kelsey doesn’t want to see me, but I came, anyway.” He lifted his chin with a touch of defiance. “How are we supposed to work this out if she’s all the way across the country?”

Hannah had to admire his determination, if not his unscheduled arrival. “Tell me something, Jeff. Do you love my daughter?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitation, his gaze holding hers. His nervousness seemed to evaporate. Now he was all earnest conviction. “I love her and I want to marry her and I want us to have this baby. But even if she says no, even if she wants to give up the baby, I’ll take him because he’s ours, you know what I mean? A baby deserves to know that at least one of his parents really, really wanted him.”

“Sometimes giving a child up for adoption is the mature, caring thing to do,” Hannah said before she could stop herself. She’d vowed to leave this decision to Kelsey and Jeff. It was theirs to make, but maybe she could at least make him view Kelsey’s viewpoint from a different perspective.

He stared at her with shock. “You think I’m being selfish? That I’m just some idealistic kid who has no idea how hard this will be? I’m not. I can give this baby a good home. Heck, my family has more money than some small countries, not that I intend to take anything from them. I sold a software program last year and I’m doing okay all on my own. It’s not like we’d have to struggle. Kelsey has this crazy idea that she’d be giving up on her entire future, but she wouldn’t. She could do anything she wants to do. The baby and I wouldn’t hold her back.”

“Maybe she just doesn’t love you enough,” Hannah suggested gently, though given some of the things Kelsey had said, she had to wonder if that was entirely true.

“I think she does,” Jeff insisted, not backing down. “I just think she’s scared. Heck, so am I. Having a baby is a big deal. Getting married is a huge commitment. But I want all that, you know? And I want it with Kelsey. I knew it the first time I saw her.”

Despite her prior inclination to hate the young man who’d thrown her daughter’s life into turmoil, she liked Jeff Hampton. She liked that he’d come here to fight for what he wanted. She liked that he was eager to take on the responsibility of a wife and a baby. She liked that he’d looked her straight in the eye when he’d declared that he loved her daughter, that he wouldn’t back down in the face of her skepticism.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the one he had to impress. And Kelsey, she knew from years of experience, was going to be a much tougher sell.

“She’s taking a walk on the beach,” she told him, reaching for his suitcase. “I’ll take this inside for you. If you head north, you’ll probably run into her, though she said something about stopping off in town before she came back. If you don’t see her on the beach, check the frozen-custard stand.”

A boyish grin spread across his face. “Thanks.”

“Don’t expect this to be easy,” she warned.

“Hey, I’m a complicated guy. Easy would bore me.”

That said, he trotted off toward the beach, as eager as a puppy, even in the face of likely rejection. Watching him, Hannah sighed and hoped her daughter wouldn’t break his heart.

Gran emerged from the house as soon as Jeff was out of sight. “Was that him? Was that the boy who got our Kelsey pregnant?”

Hannah nodded. “And you know what? I like him. Despite the awful clothes, there’s something reassuring about him. He’s surprisingly mature and grounded. Best of all, I believe him when he says he loves her.”

Her grandmother regarded her skeptically. “Really?”

“Yes. He said it with real emotion and conviction. And he really, really wants this child.”

“Isn’t it what Kelsey wants that matters? At least to us?”

“Of course,” Hannah said. “But I’m still feeling relieved that he’s not a total jerk.” She stood up. “Now, I think we’d better get inside and decide where we’re going to put all these unexpected guests. For once I’m actually glad to be living in an inn. We can separate the various combatants.”

“It could be that young man will expect to stay with Kelsey,” her grandmother suggested.

Hannah grinned. “Then isn’t it a good thing you and I are here to gang up on him and tell him otherwise? In fact, I think I’ll put him right next door to Luke so we can be sure there will be no shenanigans.”

“Luke won’t be back until tomorrow or the day after,” her grandmother reminded her.

“Which is why I’m going to sleep with my ear pressed against the wall to Kelsey’s room. If Jeff sneaks in or she sneaks out, I’ll know about it.”

Gran shook her head. “Don’t you think you’re worrying about a horse that left the barn some time ago?”

“Probably, but it makes me feel better,” Hannah admitted. She picked up Jeff’s surprisingly light suitcase and carried it inside. When her grandmother didn’t budge, she called back to her. “Aren’t you coming?”

“To do what? Install a dead bolt on your daughter’s door and give you the only key?”

Hannah stopped in her tracks. “Do I sound that ridiculous?”

“No, you sound like a mother who’s trying to protect her child. All I’m saying is that it’s a little late for that kind of protection. What Kelsey needs from both of us now is our unconditional support and whatever words of wisdom she asks us to impart. And, if you ask me, those two need to spend as much time together as possible. If she loved that boy enough to risk getting pregnant, then she probably loves him enough to take the next step. She just has to find her way to that decision on her own.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“Then she’ll have us,” Gran said without hesitation. “I can’t say I’d mind having a baby underfoot again. How about you?”

Hannah hadn’t really allowed herself to think much about the baby—her first grandchild—mostly because Kelsey had been so adamant about giving it up for adoption. She remembered how it had felt to hold Kelsey in her arms in the hospital and realize her part in creating such an amazing tiny human being. It was the first time she’d truly believed in miracles. It would be nice to capture that feeling again.

“No, I wouldn’t mind that, either,” she said softly. “In fact, it would be incredible.” Then she sighed. “But we can never tell Kelsey how we feel. She shouldn’t be influenced by what the two of us want.”

“Of course not,” Gran said, but there was a glint in her eye that suggested she wasn’t above using her powers of persuasion to get exactly what she wanted.

Kelsey had gone for her walk alone today, because her mom had been huddled with Gran talking about Luke’s un
expected decision to go to Atlanta and bring back his kids. Kelsey wasn’t sure why they were making such a big deal about it. She thought it would be kind of cool to have a couple of kids running around. The inn was meant to be filled with families and noise and laughter. This would be the ideal test run. They’d have a few days to make sure everything was working as it was supposed to before the first paying guests arrived.

She was so excited, in fact, that she’d made a stop in town at the discount store and picked up a bunch of plastic beach toys for the kids. It was the kind of stuff they needed to have on hand—beach balls, brightly colored floats, swim rings for the smaller kids and plastic pails. She thought the antique tin sand pails her grandmother had collected were more fun, but these were more durable. She’d also picked up some extra beach towels, bottles of suntan lotion and a big, floppy straw hat, which she was wearing now to keep the sun out of her face. She was beginning to get freckles on her nose, which was kind of cool actually, but probably not too smart.

Her purchases were a lot heavier than she’d anticipated and the sun had gotten hotter than she’d expected. She was walking along the edge of the water lugging everything when she spotted Jeff. He was strolling toward her, looking out of place in his jeans and his favorite black shirt. He thought it made him look dangerous, which was a joke, given what a sweet, quiet nerd he was. Just looking at him, she felt her heart skip a beat.

He picked up his pace the instant he recognized her. “What were you thinking?” he scolded. “You shouldn’t be carrying all this stuff.”

He tried to take some of the bags, but Kelsey held on tight. “I can manage,” she insisted.