The Promise of Home (Love Inspired) (18 page)

Chapter Nineteen

“C
ome on, Aunt Jenna! We don’t want to be late.” Logan darted past Jenna wearing the orange life jacket he’d had on since breakfast. “We’re supposed meet Dev at the boat landing at eight.”

Just the thought of seeing Dev again kicked Jenna’s pulse into high gear.

She’d been awake half the night, listening to the recording of their interview. Memorized the rise and fall of his voice. The affection when he talked about his younger brother. The grief that still swelled below the surface but no longer had the power to suck him under.

With God’s help, Dev had made peace with his past. Started a new life. Become successful, even though he hadn’t pursued it.

Dev had left Minnesota before Jenna had been hired at
Twin City Trends.
What would have happened if she’d met the
other
Dev McGuire. The wealthy, self-centered bachelor who’d been as comfortable stalking the runway of the magazine’s “Bachelor of the Year” gala as he had the hallways of one of the Midwest’s largest companies?

Caitlin had told her that Elaina Hammond had broken off her engagement to Dev because he wasn’t the man she thought he was. But maybe the socialite had been looking for the wrong things.

It wasn’t comforting to realize that like Elaina, Jenna probably would have considered him a great catch.

She scooped up her purse and saw the recorder on the table next to it. What was she supposed to do? Her plan had been to write a blog about traipsing through the woods with a wildlife photographer. Give the man some exposure, boost his sales.

Two things that Dev had no interest in.

Jenna had no doubt that Marlene would love to give readers an exclusive update on what the former
Twin City Trends
“Bachelor of the Year” was doing now.

The horn beeped once, a gentle reminder that she was taking too long. By the time Jenna reached the car, Tori and Logan were already sitting in the backseat.

Her nerves stretched a little tighter when they drove past Dev’s cabin. There were no lights on…

“Did you hear me, Aunt Jenna?”

Jenna glanced in the rearview mirror and gave Logan an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m a little distracted this morning.”

“I said I packed an extra granola bar for Dev. Just in case he forgot to bring a snack.”

“That was very thoughtful of you.” After what Jenna had learned about Jason McGuire, she knew why Dev looked at Logan and saw his younger brother.

She wished she could have met him.

“Do you think Dev’s there already?”

“We’re about to find out.” Jenna turned at the sign for the bed-and-breakfast. At the mailbox, a man wearing a bright yellow polo shirt and matching ball cap waved a clipboard at her.

Jenna pulled over to the side of the road and rolled down her window. Peering out, she recognized Daniel Redstone, one of Kate’s friends from Church of the Pines.

“’Morning, Jenna,” came the jovial greeting. “Take a few minutes to fill out this emergency contact information and turn it in to Matt before you leave,” he said with a smile. “Park anywhere you see an empty spot and then head down to the lake. Sam Keller will match you up with a canoe.” He turned his attention to Logan. “Do you know what the most important rule is, young man?”

Logan’s eyes widened and he shook his head.

A grin split Daniel’s weathered features. “Have fun.”

“I like that rule.” Logan grinned back.

Jenna pulled forward and scanned the line of cars, looking for an empty spot. And a black SUV.

As soon as she parked, Logan tumbled out of the backseat to greet Mulligan and Lady. Kate broke away from the group of women ladling out cold lemonade and jogged over.

“I can keep an eye on Tori while you check Logan in,” she offered. “Emma and I are helping Abby put together snacks. Once we get that done, I heard we’re invited to a special afternoon tea.” She winked at Jenna.

“Thanks, Kate.”

“No problem. That’s what friends are for.” Kate swung Tori up in her arms. “We’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready.”

“Hey, Jenna. Logan.” Matthew Wilde waved a clipboard at them. “Ready to go?”

“He was ready at five o’clock this morning,” Jenna told the pastor with a smile.

“I like that kind of enthusiasm.” Matt took the information sheet from her and added it to the pile. “Sam? We’ve got another one ready to go.”

To Jenna’s surprise, a young woman broke away from the group and sauntered toward them. Tall and slender, she was dressed with an eye for function rather than fashion in cargo shorts and a khaki T-shirt with the words
Keller Outfitters
on the front. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, accentuating delicate features and wide, chocolate brown eyes.

“This is Logan Gardner and his aunt, Jenna.” Matt turned to Jenna. “Samantha Keller. Our official guide for the day. She learned from the best.”

“My grandpa, Ben Keller.” She winked at Logan. “He made the canoe you’re going to be using today.”

Logan’s eyes lit up. “Sweet!”

Samantha laughed. “I’ll give you and your partner a few pointers before we leave.”

“He’s not here yet.”

Sam didn’t miss a beat. “That gives us time to fit you with a life jacket while we wait. Head over to the boathouse—”

“I’m here.”

Jenna swung around. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how afraid she’d been that Dev had changed his mind about accompanying Logan on the canoe trip.

Maybe he’d regretted telling her about Jason. Maybe he thought his personal business was about to be splashed across the pages of
Twin City Trends
so he’d packed up and moved on.

Men don’t keep their promises, Jenna.

The thought had chewed at the edges of her mind as the minutes ticked by. Nola had repeated those words every time Jenna’s father had walked out the door. Jenna thought she’d stopped listening to the whispers from her past but now she realized that she hadn’t been completely able to silence them.

She also realized something else.

Her mother was wrong. Some men did keep their promises.

And one of those men was striding toward them, a smile on his face.

* * *

Dev saw Jenna and Logan near the waterfront, talking to Samantha Keller. Her grandfather, Ben, an avid outdoorsman and fishing guide, had offered advice when Dev had been a city boy who hadn’t been able to tell the difference between a red fern and poison ivy.

Ben had suffered a mild stroke several months ago, so Sam and her son had moved in with him for the summer. If Sam had taken his place today, Dev could only assume the swift recovery they’d been hoping for hadn’t taken place.

His gaze shifted to Jenna and it felt as if he were coming down with something. Dry mouth. Shortness of breath. Dev knew he had it bad.

She had taken him totally by surprise when she’d hinted that she had become a Christian.

But that didn’t mean Jenna was going to stay in Mirror Lake.

He saw Sam point to the boathouse, where Jake Sutton was handing out life jackets to the boys and their mentors, and quickened his pace.

“Sorry I’m late.” He couldn’t take his eyes off Jenna. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders and the dress she wore accentuated her curves.

“Tori’s tea party.” She’d caught him staring and blushed. “She insisted we get dressed up.”

Dev dragged his gaze away. “Hey, Sam.”

“Dev. I’m…surprised to see you here.”

He guessed that Sam was surprised to see him anywhere. Maybe he did need to get out more. He could feel the covert glances cast his way, as if he were a black bear who’d lumbered out of its cave in the middle of winter.

“I’m Logan’s partner on the canoe trip.”

Sam looked surprised by that, too.

The guy standing next to her stretched out a hand. “Dev McGuire?”

“That’s right.” Did everyone know him?

“Matt Wilde. We’ve talked on the phone a few times.”

The pastor of the little white church in town. Matt had left messages, asking if Dev would be interested in speaking to a group of boys from single parent families. The guy wasn’t nearly as tenacious as Gabby Bunker, but he hadn’t given up until Dev had finally called him back and said that he “needed to keep his schedule flexible” given the nature of his work.

It had sounded good at the time.

“Nice to meet you.”

“I didn’t realize you were going with Logan today.”

“Dev’s our neighbor,” Logan piped up. “He knows lots of cool stuff.”

Matt tucked the clipboard under his arm, a glint in his eyes. “Like what?”

“The word is going to get out, you know,” Jenna murmured. “I have a feeling that your days as Mirror Lake’s favorite recluse are numbered.”

So did Dev. But for once, the thought didn’t send panic shooting through him. He’d been thinking about something Jenna had said. He had kept people at arm’s length because he didn’t think he deserved to be happy. He’d made peace with God, but in some areas, he had never made peace with himself.

Jenna had shown him that.

God puts people in your life for a reason.

All along, Dev had been thinking that God had brought Jenna and the children in his life so he could help them.

It suddenly occurred to him that maybe it was the other way around.

* * *

“That was the best tea party in the whole wide world.” Abby set her empty cup down. “Mulligan and Lady and I thank you for inviting us, Tori.”

Tori giggled. “You’re welcome.”

Lady, who wore a checkered yellow-and-white bandana around her neck, picked up her paw for Tori to shake. Mulligan, not so happy in one of Alex’s ties, cast a longing look at Abby’s red convertible.

“Thank you for coming.” Jenna gave her an impulsive hug, which Abby returned. “It meant a lot to Tori.”

“Well, it’s our turn next time.” Kate reached for her beaded purse. “Lucy and Ethel know how to put on a pretty fancy tea, too. We should make it a monthly event—” Kate caught herself and gave Jenna an apologetic look.

“I want your punch recipe,” Abby said swiftly. “I want to serve it at the inn.”

“We found it in a book.” Tori took Abby’s hand and led her to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, Jenna,” Kate said in a low voice. “I keep forgetting that you’re going back to Minneapolis.”

So did she.

“I’m glad you and Abby could come over while Logan and Dev went on the canoe trip.”

Kate clipped a leash on Mulligan’s collar. “Emma and Zoey would have loved to join us, too, but they’d already volunteered to paddle the canoe with extra supplies.” She tipped her head and a curl sprang free from her up do. “I still can’t believe that Dev agreed to go. We’ve been trying for years to coax him out of his shell.”

“What’s your secret?” Abby, who’d tuned into the conversation, gave Jenna a wide smile.

“Dev likes us,” Tori said.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s true.”

Jenna pretended not to see the way Kate wiggled her eyebrows at Abby. “Dev has been good for Logan.”

“And you’ve been good for Dev.” Abby tucked the recipe card in her purse and gave her a hug. “We’ll see you at the cookout. The boys should be back around six.”

Jenna walked them out to the car and then threw the ball for Violet a few times. The dog had been a perfect lady throughout the party, tolerating the straw hat Tori had tied on her head as she nibbled one of Abby’s homemade dog biscuits.

By the time Jenna returned to the cabin, Tori was sound asleep on the sofa, her pudgy arms wrapped around her stuffed dog, Princess, the tiara set at a crooked angle on her head.

“Shhh.” Jenna put a finger to her lips and Violet flopped onto the rug.

The phone rang while she was washing the dishes and Jenna hurried to answer it before Tori woke up. “Hello?”

“Miss Gardner?”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar. “Yes. This is Jenna Gardner.”

“Dr. O’Neil. I’m one of the counselors at New Day, where your sister, Shelly, had been staying.”

Past tense.

Dread pooled in Jenna’s stomach. “What can I do for you?”

“Your sister listed this number in her emergency contact information and I thought you should know that Shelly checked out of the treatment center early this morning.”

“I talked to her several days ago and she mentioned being there at least another week.”

Jenna’s panic began to swell in the short silence that followed. “Shelly left without the center’s support or consent. We had a session yesterday afternoon and I tried to convince Shelly to stay at least another month.”

“Another
month?
”

“At New Day, we treat the whole person, not just the addiction,” Dr. O’Neil said. “In my opinion, your sister still has some unresolved issues she needs to work through and it’s my job to help with that. In our last session, I got the impression that Shelly was feeling…pressured…to leave.”