The Promise of Home (Love Inspired) (6 page)

“She was our foster mom. Me an’ Tori lived with her until Miss Eversea called Aunt Jenna.” The matter-of-fact statement told Dev that foster parents and social workers weren’t uncommon in Logan’s world.

But where did Jenna fit? That’s what he didn’t know.

And if she has her way, you won’t get the chance to find out,
he reminded himself.

Dev handed the cap back to Logan. “Don’t let Violet get hold of it,” he warned. “I’m still missing a leather glove and one sheepskin slipper.”

Logan plunked it back on his head. “Aunt Jenna wanted to throw it away.”

“No way.” Dev pretended to be shocked.

“She said it wasn’t sanitary, but Kate told her that every explorer should have a hat like this.”

“I agree.” Dev matched his tone to the solemn look on Logan’s face.

Violet rolled to her feet, bumping up against the boy in a blatant bid for attention. Logan complied and Dev saw the dog’s back foot begin to pedal.

“Keep that up and you’ll have a friend for life.”

Logan’s shoulders wilted and Dev mentally kicked himself. Jenna had said the children’s mother had only rented the cabin for the summer. And something in Jenna’s expression had told Dev that she hoped it wouldn’t be that long.

“I heard Aunt Jenna tell Miss Eversea that she wants us to move in with her when Mom gets out of the hospital.” Logan’s voice dropped to a whisper, as if he were afraid someone might hear him. “I don’t want to leave again. I like it here.”

“Maybe your mom will want to stay.”

Dev had meant the words to be an encouragement, but Logan seemed to deflate even more. “I should probably go. Now that I know you’re okay and everything.”

Violet nudged his hand, sensing the change in her friend’s mood. Logan sneaked one last, longing glance at the campfire before he trudged away.

You’re a marshmallow, Dev. A marsh. Mallow.

Jenna had made it clear she didn’t want her nephew to get attached to Violet, but at the moment Dev went with his gut. And his gut said the kid could use a friend.

“Have you eaten supper yet?”

Logan paused. Cast a quick, hopeful look over one shoulder. “No.”

“Well, Violet and I can’t eat all these hamburgers by ourselves.” Not entirely true, but it wouldn’t hurt them to share. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“Really?” Logan perked up like a dandelion after a summer shower.

“Really. But you have to—”

“Ask Aunt Jenna.” Logan was already halfway to the woods. “I will. I’ll be right back.”

Violet’s tail began to beat the ground as her friend disappeared.

Dev glanced down at her, already regretting the impulsive invitation.

Not because he’d changed
his
mind, but because Jenna wouldn’t.

Chapter Six

S
omeone needed to be confined to the cabin.

At the moment, Jenna wasn’t sure whether it should be her nephew or her neighbor’s dog!

She’d had a long talk with Logan about staying in the yard where she could see him, but several times over the past few days she’d caught him following Violet down the shoreline or into the woods.

Ever since Kate had given Logan the hat she’d found on a shelf in the utility closet and nicknamed him Daniel Boone, Logan had spent the better part of the day pretending to be the famous explorer.

Jenna took one more lap around the yard in case she’d missed him. There was no sign of her nephew—or the furry Pied Piper who’d led him astray.

“Let’s take a walk and find Logan,” Jenna told Tori, trying not to let her anxiety show.

“Okay.” Tori didn’t seem the least bit concerned about her brother’s absence.

As they started down the overgrown path between the two cabins, a sudden, unwelcome thought traced a cold finger down Jenna’s spine. What if Logan hadn’t followed Violet home? What if he’d gone exploring on his own and somehow gotten lost?

She quickened her pace, dodging the roots that protruded from the ground and the branches that reached out to snag her clothing.

“There he is!” Tori pointed down the trail.

Relief washed through Jenna when she saw a small boy chugging toward them.

Logan’s face lit with a smile as they approached. Until Tori planted both hands on her hips and thrust out her chin.

“Where’ve you been? Aunt Jenna was worried about you.”

Logan peeked up at Jenna. What he saw on her face must have confirmed that his sister spoke the truth because the smile disappeared.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Jenna drew in a slow breath and held it for several seconds until her pulse evened out. “Logan, you promised you wouldn’t leave the yard, remember?”

“I know, but I smelled smoke. I had to make sure Violet was okay.” Logan bit his lip and Jenna felt a corresponding tug on her heart.

She might have understood his reason for disobeying one of the rules, but that didn’t mean she could ignore it.

“Don’t be mad at Logan. He likes to es’plore.” Loyalty to her big brother prompted Tori to come to his defense. “Mom wouldn’t let us play outside until she woke up and sometimes she slept
all
day.”

A knot formed in Jenna’s stomach. Even if it were a slight exaggeration, she tried to imagine two active children confined to a small cabin for hours on end. The more she learned about Logan and Tori’s past, the more concerned she became for their future.

When Shelly returned, would their lives be different?

Jenna was beginning to think she’d been naive to assume that life would go on as usual once she returned to Minneapolis. In just a few short days, the children had not only become part of her life, they were working their way into her heart.

No matter what happened, she was determined not to let Shelly disappear again, the way she had seven years ago.

“You have to let me know your plans. I would have gone with you.” Even though her heart, which held firm under the pressure of weekly deadlines and changing marketing stats, buckled at the thought of seeing Dev again.

Logan looked down at his feet and the hat slid down his forehead. “I’m sorry.”

Jenna took her nephew’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “We can talk about it when we get back to the cabin. I thought I’d make spaghetti for supper. How does that sound?”

“But Dev wants us to eat with him.”

Jenna stared down at him. “Dev wants…he invited us over for supper?”

“He’s making hamburgers.”

“I like hamburgers way better than s’getti,” Tori said. “I like Violet and Dev, too. Don’t you, Aunt Jenna?”

Jenna rubbed her bare arms, feeling the slight chill in the air that accompanied the setting sun. A sharp contrast to the heat that flared in her cheeks in the aftermath of Tori’s innocent question.

She didn’t
want
to like Dev.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie.”

A frown puckered Logan’s forehead. “Why not?”

Why not?

Looking at their expectant faces, Jenna tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy them. It was difficult, considering she couldn’t think of one fast enough.

Logan took advantage of the silence to press his advantage. “Dev cooks over the campfire every night. I think he’s a real explorer.”

Or a man who didn’t own a cookbook.

Jenna wavered. She hadn’t seen Dev for several days, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, either. What did he do for a living? Where did he live? Given the fact that Logan and Violet were fast becoming inseparable, in spite of her best effort to keep them apart, it wouldn’t hurt to know a little bit more about the man who lived next door.

She could get to know him…without getting to know him.

“Come on, Aunt Jenna.” Tori tugged on her arm. “We can have s’getti tomorrow night.”

“All right.” Jenna said the words before she could change her mind. “We can’t stay long, though—” She found herself talking to the trees.

“It’s not far,” Logan called over his shoulder as he and Tori disappeared around a bend in the trail.

Jenna followed at a slower pace, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.

Why had Dev invited them for a meal? Especially after she’d rebuffed his offer to let Logan fish off his dock the last time they’d spoken.

Jenna had told Dev a half-truth when she’d claimed that she didn’t want Logan to get attached to the place. She was more worried that her nephew would get attached to Dev.

Jenna had been absent from Logan and Tori’s life for the last seven years, but she was determined to do everything she could to protect them from disappointment.

Logan was lonely. It would be all too easy for him to begin to rely on Dev and then have to face the pain of another goodbye.

Too easy for her, too.

The trees thinned out and opened to a clearing. Jenna caught up to the children, who’d stopped to wait for her.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to find on the other side of the woods. Maybe something as old and dilapidated as the cabin they were living in.

“Pretty.” Tori summed it up in one word and Jenna couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

A log home with a wraparound deck overlooking the lake and a fieldstone chimney blended seamlessly into its surroundings. A flagstone path wound down to the water. There was no formal landscaping, only a colorful patchwork quilt of wildflowers and grasses native to the area.

Dev had his back to them as he knelt beside a stone fire pit. Curls of gray smoke drifted into the air and hung low in the branches of the trees like Spanish moss.

“I’m back!” Logan shouted.

Dev turned around and the stunned look on his face made Jenna wonder if Logan had made a mistake.

“Logan, are you sure Dev invited all three of us over for supper?” she said in a terse whisper.

“He has lots of hamburgers. He said so.”

But that didn’t answer her question.

Jenna’s heart flipped over as Dev rose fluidly to his feet. How was it possible for a man to look so good in a pair of faded jeans, a plain cotton T-shirt and hiking boots?

“I think there’s been—”
Another opportunity to embarrass herself!
“—a misunderstanding.” Jenna realized she was stammering. She
never
stammered.

Dev didn’t answer.

Jenna tried again. “Logan said you invited us over for supper.”

“I did.”

“Oh.” Jenna felt her pulse even out. “It’s just that you looked…surprised…to see us.”

* * *

Surprised wasn’t quite the word Dev would have chosen to describe his reaction when Jenna stepped into the clearing, wearing a filmy blue dress that hugged her slender curves and showed off her tanned limbs to perfection.

Shocked was more like it.

When a few minutes had ticked by and Logan hadn’t returned, Dev figured it would be dinner for one again. He’d shaken off an annoying pinch of disappointment and told himself that it was probably for the best. No doubt Jenna had already labeled him a hick, complete with an unruly dog and a cabin in the woods. No sense adding to the stereotype by cooking her supper over an open fire.

If he and Jenna had met a few years ago, he would have reserved the best table at an exclusive restaurant. Dropped the names of a few important people over a gourmet meal. Charmed his way through her defenses.

Dev wondered what Jenna would say if he told her that his family owned one of the most successful companies in the Midwest and that he’d been second in the line of succession?

You’re wasting your life here.

That’s what Elaina had said. She’d never understood that he’d
found
his life when he moved to Mirror Lake.

Dev tore his gaze away from Jenna. He wasn’t out to impress his neighbor or anyone else. Not anymore.

“Have a seat.” Dev offered her the only chair in front of the fire.

Jenna flicked a dubious glance at the strip of canvas stretched over a rickety metal skeleton and remained standing. Just in case he’d forgotten why he didn’t entertain.

“The other option is one of those.” Dev pointed to one of the oak logs that doubled as seating until they became firewood.

Jenna chose the chair, her stiff posture and serious expression more suited for a board meeting than an informal barbecue.

The breeze sifted through her hair, teasing the silken strands. Coaxing her to lighten up and enjoy the beauty of a summer evening.

Suddenly tempted with the same thought, Dev shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

Eyes on the fire, McGuire.

At least the children had made themselves at home. Tori hopscotched her way down the crooked path from stone to stone while Logan chased Violet around the yard.

Leaving the adults stranded in an uncomfortable silence.

Jenna looked him straight in the eye. “You can tell me the truth now. Was this your idea? Or Logan’s?”

“I’m the guilty one.”

“No hints?”

“No hints.” Dev didn’t count the longing look Logan had cast at the campfire.

“I don’t know what to do.” Jenna sighed. “Logan promised he wouldn’t leave the yard, but I’m afraid nothing can compete with dogs and campfires.”

“I’ve been trying to keep Violet close to home, but because no one has lived in your cabin for years, she considers it part of her territory.” Dev swung the metal grate on the tripod over the fire and adjusted the height for cooking. It was easier to concentrate when he kept his hands busy and his eyes off the beautiful woman sitting beside him.

“It isn’t safe for Logan to keep wandering off.” Frustration stitched the words together.

“He came over because he smelled the smoke.”

“I know.” Jenna shook her head. “I’m not sure how I can scold him for caring about someone.”

“It must be difficult to lay down the law when you’re used to being the cool aunt, not the parent.”

Jenna didn’t comment. So much for his amateur psychology skills.

Dev was about to put her mind at ease and tell her that he’d be leaving for a few days—and taking Violet with him—when a high-pitched scream drowned out the crackle of the fire.

Dev’s head whipped around. Both children were barreling toward them, short legs pumping, arms outstretched, ready to grab on to the closest port in the storm.

Which happened to be the two adults standing by the campfire.

Dev didn’t hesitate. He scooped Tori up in his arms while Logan clung to Jenna, his face bleached of color.

The little girl was trembling so violently, Dev could feel the vibrations down to his toes. “Hey now,” he murmured. “What happened?”

“A bee!” Tori wailed.

“Did it sting you?” Dev was already searching for any telltale welts rising on her bare arms.

“It
looked
at me!” Tori buried her face against his shoulder.

Dev’s eyes met Jenna’s over the little girl’s head and something in her expression warned him not to smile.

“I don’t see the bee anymore.” He kept his voice calm. “It must have flown away.”

“Did Violet get stinged?” Tori whispered.

Since the dog was stretched out in the grass, dismantling another tennis ball, Dev could only guess she was fine.

“See for yourself.”

Tori peered over his shoulder and her grip around his neck relaxed, allowing Dev to breathe again. Until he tried to set her down.

“I don’t like bees.” Unshed tears spiked the golden lashes.

Dev glanced at Jenna, who looked almost as pale as Logan.

“I was just about to put the burgers on,” he said slowly. “But I need a helper to put the cheese on top. It’s a very special job.” Dev tipped his head and gave Tori a thoughtful look. “What do you think? Can you help me out?”