The Quiet Storm. RaeAnne Thayne

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      Maddie bounded out of the water and shook to dry herself, sending a flurry of water droplets flying onto both of them. Beau laughed, deep and rich, and Alex joined him with his sweet little giggle.

      Her heart twisted with love for him. Tina’s son was such a sweet, happy boy, despite his challenges. The two of them made quite a picture in the golden light of the setting sun—the big, gorgeous detective and the dark-eyed little boy.

      Seeing Beau interact with Alex was a revelation. She wouldn’t have expected Beau to be so good with small children. The day before at his desk he had struck her as someone too impatient, too forceful to have much time for the pesky questions and inevitable dawdling that come with children.

      That impression had probably been created out of her own nervousness, she acknowledged, and her embarrassment at finding out he was the same man she had treated so rudely at Grace Dugan’s party.

      Whatever the reason for her misperception, he and Alex seemed to be dealing together famously.

      This was so good for Alex. With no father in his life, he had spent nearly his entire five years surrounded by women. His mother, Luisa, herself, his schoolteachers and speech-language pathologists. All women.

      Even though men had certainly come and gone through Tina’s life, Elizabeth knew she’d worked hard to keep that part of her world separate from her son.

      Heaven knows, the times he spent here at Harbor View with her and Luisa had been virtually male free, except for the gardener and occasional visits by old friends of her father.

      Although he hadn’t objected to the child’s presence at Harbor View, her father had shown no interest in him, even though Alex had stayed frequently at the house in the months before Jonathan’s death. As long as the child stayed out of his way, Jonathan hadn’t minded his presence.