Hometown Reunion. Lisa Carter

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СКАЧАТЬ She and Anna had been BFFs. Him? Not so much.

      A muscle ticked in his jaw. “We weren’t enemies, were we?”

      No, they hadn’t been enemies.

      Taking his thumb out of his mouth, Brody made a V with two fingers. “Me two.” He uncurled another finger. “Thwee.”

      She turned to Jax for a translation.

      “Brody will be three years old in September.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “We’re working on his r’s.”

      The child jabbed his thumb into his chest. “Me big.”

      “You are a big boy.” She gave Brody an approving look. “A very big, strong boy.”

      He nodded, as somber as an undertaker. “Me Bwody Pwoo-it.”

      Darcy’s heart turned over in her chest. “Hello, Brody Pruitt.” She smiled at him.

      Catching her by surprise, Brody touched a strand of her hair. “Pwetty.”

      She blushed. “Thank you, Brody.”

      Jax broadened his chest. “Good taste runs in his genes.”

      “Loves the ladies, does he?” She sneered at Jax. “Apples never fall far.”

      With his long legs extended and crossed at his booted ankles, Jax leaned his elbow on the counter. “I’ve always had a particular affection for trees.”

      Flushing, she shot to her feet so fast the room went cattywampus.

      Instantly upright, Jax reached for her arm. “Darce?”

      Anger—swift and hot—churned her gut. At his easy familiarity with her name. At...everything. She shook off his hand.

      His face fell. “I didn’t mean—”

      “You never mean to do anything, do you, Jaxon?” She clenched her teeth.

      “The two of you need to get it together.” Shirley’s forehead creased. “There’s an excursion booked for Tuesday.”

      Darcy folded her arms. “I’m sure Jaxon can figure out whatever he needs to know.”

      His face pinched and sad, Brody stood knee-high between Shirley and Jax. And Darcy almost weakened. But Jaxon Pruitt and his son weren’t her problem.

      “I—I have to go.” She rushed through the door as if her sanity depended on it. Where Jaxon Pruitt was concerned, it was not beyond the realm of possibility.

      Stumbling outside, she stared at the gazebo on the village square. This couldn’t be happening to her. There had to be some mistake.

      But there was no mistake. Knuckle under to working with Jaxon Pruitt or find herself unemployed. Her choice.

      Shirley stepped onto the porch. “Darcy... Please try to understand.”

      Darcy wheeled around. “You said whenever you decided to retire, you’d give me first dibs on buying the business.”

      She raised her eyebrow. “Did I say that?”

      “You certainly led me to believe that. I believed we were friends.”

      Shirley had never fit into what most of her generation considered a proper role for a Southern woman. Instead of marriage and motherhood, she operated a successful water sports business. She was one of the first people to grasp the importance of ecotourism. She was also an environmental advocate in preserving the pristine beauty of the Delmarva Peninsula, bordered by the Atlantic on the east and the Chesapeake Bay on the west.

      “We are friends, Darcy.” Shirley’s trim, athletic figure belied her sixty-plus years. “I need you to trust me when I tell you this arrangement is going to work out best for all of us.”

      Feeling the cool wind off the harbor, Darcy wrapped her bare arms around herself. “I’m sorry, but I don’t see how any of this is in my best interest.”

      “Jaxon needs the shop more than you do.”

      This was so unfair. She’d spent years working her way to becoming Shirley’s manager. She’d saved her money in preparation for one day assuming ownership.

      “What about my ecotour certification? He doesn’t have that.” Darcy set her jaw. “Nor any experience in this business.”

      “He worked here in high school, like you.”

      Until Jax had graduated, joined the army and married overseas. She could feel pink breaching the collar of her cotton shirt. One of the downsides to being a strawberry blonde. Her every emotion was always on display.

      But of all the people in the world, why did the new owner have to be him?

      “Jaxon is struggling to readjust to civilian life, Darcy.”

      She threw out her hands. “So give him a job, Shirley. We hire extra people over the summer.”

      “Jaxon needs more than a part-time job. He needs a purpose. And a steady income to support his child. They need a home.”

      Darcy had a hard time envisioning Anna’s footloose, marginally reckless, ever charming brother with a child. Or married. Except now he was a widower.

      Her mouth thinned. “So you’re saying this is my patriotic duty?”

      “I’m only asking you to stay till summer’s end. Help Jaxon learn the ropes.”

      Darcy shook her head. “He’s your nephew. And I don’t get your sudden need to retire.”

      “The timing of his return is a godsend.” Shirley’s eyes danced. “I’ve met someone.”

      Darcy blinked. “Who? When?”

      “In January, during the winter kayaking season. He lives next door to my condo in the Keys.” Shirley’s no-nonsense face glowed. “He’s retired Coast Guard. Like me, he loves to feel the sand between his toes.”

      This was so unlike the Shirley she’d always known, she was almost speechless. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

      Shirley shook her head. “You know how it is in Kiptohanock. Everybody in everybody else’s business. I didn’t want my family knowing until I was sure about the next step with Frank.”

      “But to leave everything? For a man you barely know?”

      “Frank’s a widower. His children and grandchildren are settled in Florida.” Shirley sighed. “I’m willing to relocate for the sake of our relationship.”

      “Have you at least talked to my dad?”

      “Your father, my pastor, gave me some good advice, which I intend to follow. It’s time for a change in my life.” Acquired after a lifetime of gauging sea horizons, Shirley’s СКАЧАТЬ