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“I’d heard.”
“I hope we can be again,” she said, a wistful note in her voice.
“Really?” he asked, unable to hide his skepticism.
Her gaze narrowed. “Did you hear that Luke and I were involved at one time? Is that why you felt the need to tell me how good they are together? And why you sounded just now as if us being friends would be impossible?”
“Grandma Jenny mentioned something about you and Luke being a couple,” he said. “As for me, I was just making conversation.”
“Really?” she replied doubtfully, then added, “It was a long time ago, Seth. Believe me, I didn’t come back to town with ulterior motives where Luke’s concerned.”
“Glad to hear it,” he said solemnly.
“I meant what I said, though. I do hope we can all be friends again. Seaview Key is a small town. I certainly don’t want things to be awkward for any of us.”
Since that decision certainly wasn’t up to him, Seth changed the subject. “You mentioned your name is Miller now. You’re married?”
“Divorced, actually. For about a year now, so well past the stage of crying myself to sleep.”
He was startled by her candor. “But earlier I got the sense that you were running away from the past.”
The baby whimpered in her arms. She instinctively rocked A.J. until he fell back to sleep, then met Seth’s gaze. “I prefer to think that I’m running toward something,” she countered. “Without boring you with the details, my marriage changed me. I came back here to see if there was any of the old me left.” She gave him a wry look. “It’s ironic, really, since I couldn’t wait to get away from Seaview Key and the old me and become a totally new person.”
“That didn’t turn out as well as you’d expected?”
“In many ways it did,” she contradicted. “In others, not so much.”
Just then Lesley Ann rushed over to the table with a glass of iced tea and a large soda for Seth.
“Sorry about the wait,” she apologized to Abby. “We had a tiny crisis in the kitchen.” She grinned at Seth. “I saw you come in and brought your usual. You work fast. How do you know Abby already? I know for a fact she just got back to town.”
He winked at Abby. “We met on the beach this morning. I was trespassing.”
“But I imagine you sweet-talked her into not calling the cops,” Lesley Ann said. She grinned at Abby. “Watch him. He’s a very smooth talker.”
Abby laughed. “I’ve already figured out that much.”
“So, two fish sandwiches?” Lesley Ann asked.
“Sure,” Seth said, then met Abby’s gaze. “If you don’t mind the company.”
“I’d love it,” Abby said.
“And I’ll take A.J. now, so you can relax,” Lesley Ann said, sweeping the baby into her arms. “Back in a flash with your food.”
“Did she always have that kind of energy?” Seth asked when she was gone.
“Head cheerleader, student council president and homecoming queen,” Abby said. “Lesley Ann was always a dynamo. Of course, I would have predicted she’d take on running the entire state of Florida, not become a mother of four.”
Seth laughed. “Who knows? Maybe one of these days she’ll do both. How about you? What did you do after you left Seaview Key?”
“College, then marriage,” she said. “I had a business in a small town outside of Pensacola.”
“What kind of business?”
“A restaurant,” she said, “which is why I know just how talented Lesley Ann and her father are. A lot of the things that made my restaurant successful I learned from watching them. It takes more than good food to become an indispensable part of the community the way this place is.”
“Do you still have the restaurant?”
She shook her head. “I sold it a few months ago, right after the divorce.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of life changes all at once.”
She shrugged. “It was time. I needed a clean break. What about you, though? Seaview Key must be quite a change from being on the front lines in Iraq.”
“And then Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s a welcome change. Just what I needed. I imagine Luke would tell you the same thing.”
“Is this permanent or just a stopover?” she asked.
Seth had asked himself the same thing. When he’d first arrived in Seaview Key and Luke had offered him the opportunity, he’d seen it as a transition to something else. Lately, though, he realized the community and the people were growing on him. He liked the pace of life here. The only thing missing was someone with whom he could share his life.
He’d been telling himself he was in no hurry, that he could wait for the right relationship to come along, but every time he was with Luke and Hannah he felt envy stirring. Trips to the mainland, hanging out in bars, hooking up on occasion, it wasn’t the answer, not for the short term and certainly not for finding the kind of woman he wanted forever.
He met Abby’s interested gaze. “I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “I’ve fallen in love with Seaview Key, but I don’t know if that’s enough.”
“Are you feeling restless already?” she asked.
He thought he read worry in her eyes. Since he doubted it was meant for him, he asked. “You worried it won’t be enough for you?”
“It wasn’t before,” she said.
“But you’re not the same person you were back then,” he reminded her. “That is what you said. You want different things now.”
“That’s what brought me back here,” she agreed. “I guess we’ll see if I’ve gotten it right.”
“Isn’t that life?” he asked. “Taking it day by day, seeing how things go? Last I heard planning only gives God a good laugh.”
Lesley Ann set their sandwiches and fries on the table just then. Abby’s eyes widened.
“Now this is exactly the way I remember it,” she said before taking a bite, then sighing. “Heavenly.”
Watching her, Seth covered a sigh. Despite all the potential complications Abby represented, he couldn’t help thinking that heavenly just about nailed it. For the first time since he’d arrived in Seaview Key, he thought he might have found more than a job to keep him here.
3
Even after the lunch crowd at The Fish Tale had drifted away and Seth had left for an appointment, Abby stayed where she was, sipping iced tea and thinking about the way Seth had reacted to the prospect of her being back in Hannah and Luke’s lives. There’d been a hint of worry there, no question about it. How was she supposed to prove that the last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for them?
Even as she pondered that, Jack Ferguson slid into the booth opposite her.
“What happened to the girl I remember coming in here in pigtails with her mama and daddy?” he asked, a grin spreading across his weather-beaten face. “It’s been way too long, Abby. You’re all grown up.”
Abby laughed. “That’s what happens when more than twenty years go by. And believe me, the pigtails are in the distant past, thank goodness.”
He shook his head. “Hard to believe it’s been that long, even though I have Lesley Ann and her passel of youngsters to prove that time has marched on.”
“She seems happy,” Abby said.
“Bobby’s been good to her. I think she really lucked out in that department. Of course, I’m the really lucky one. Unlike my son, Lesley Ann wanted to stick around and help out here.” His expression turned wry. “Well, what she really enjoys is bossing me around, but I’m willing to go along with that to keep this place in the hands of family.”
“I’m sorry about Mrs. Ferguson,” Abby told him.
He nodded. “Me, too.”
Silence fell for a minute, but then he leaned forward. “Okay, I’m going to get into something, even though Lesley Ann told me I should stay out of it. She reminded me we’re supposed to make a practice of not deliberately riling up our customers.”
Abby braced herself. She had a hunch she knew what was coming. “And you think whatever you have to say will rile me up?”
“It’s a possibility,” he replied.
“Go ahead. Questions from old friends are never out of line.”
He nodded. “Okay, then. What’s this I hear about you selling out to some developer who’s going to destroy Blue Heron Cove?” he asked. “Is that true? If it is, your mama and daddy must be turning over in their graves, if you don’t mind me being blunt.”
Abby wasn’t surprised by the direct question or by the implied criticism. “I haven’t sold out,” she said quietly.
He was clearly taken aback. “You haven’t?”
“No, but I am developing Blue Heron Cove myself.”
Jack sat back, his expression shocked. “I can’t believe it. You’re the one who’s going to ruin our tranquility? What would your parents think? You must know how they felt about this island.”
“I hope they’d think that I’m a smart businesswoman who loves this island as much as they did,” she said, refusing to take offense. She’d expected precisely this reaction before people heard all the facts. “I’m not going to ruin anything, Jack. I give you my word.”
He didn’t look as if he thought that was good enough.
“What exactly have you heard?” she asked. “Maybe I can put your mind at ease.”
“Not an hour ago I heard that you’ll be starting to clear-cut that land any day now, as soon as the town signs off on the permits,” he said accusingly. “Then you plan to put up a bunch of fancy houses that will be making all sorts of demands on our resources out here. I’ve seen the signs and ads for Blue Heron Cove myself. No question those places are going to be big, too big for a town this size. You denying that, too? Seems to me a picture is worth a thousand words.”
“One thing at a time. We won’t be clear-cutting,” she assured him. “That’s the truth. As many trees and shrubs as possible will remain in place. Others will be salvaged and replanted once the houses are built. There wouldn’t be much point in enticing people to live in a serene seaside setting like this and then destroying it.”
Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Gospel truth?”
“Gospel truth,” she confirmed. “It’s also true that the houses will be larger than some out here, but there won’t be that many of them. There will be one-acre lots, so only ten houses, maximum. A couple of people have even inquired about larger lots, so that would mean even fewer houses. They’ll be very high-end, so the people who buy them will contribute to the economy here. They won’t be a drain on it. Blue Heron Cove isn’t going to damage this island, Jack. I’ll make sure of it. That’s why I made the decision to oversee this myself, start to finish. I may not wield a hammer or put in the electrical wiring, but I’ll see to it that every detail is done right. So will the contractor I’ve been talking to. His reputation is sterling. He won’t mess this up.”
There was no mistaking the relief in Jack’s eyes. “How’d this get so twisted around?” he asked, then shook his head. “Never mind. Gossip usually spreads fastest when it’s negative.”
“Do you suppose you could help me get the truth out there?” she appealed. “There’s a council meeting coming up for the final approvals. I could use some backing. People may not remember me or trust me, but they know and respect you.”
He nodded. “I’ll do my best. You bring your plans by and show them to me. You do that and if everything looks like you’ve described it, I’ll be right there at that meeting to back you up.”
“That would mean a lot to me.”
“Just don’t make a liar out of me, you hear,” he said.
“Not a chance,” she promised. “I always keep my word.”
It had always been true, but being married to a minister had reinforced for her that honesty and integrity were traits never to be compromised. She certainly didn’t intend to start messing with them now. If she was going to stay in Seaview Key and make it home, she needed to start out on the right foot, not with lies and deceptions. And if an old-timer like Jack Ferguson put his faith in her, there was no way she’d let him down.
* * *
Seth caught up with Luke between patients, which wasn’t all that difficult to do. Seaview Key had a tiny, exceptionally healthy year-round population, which grew in winter with a lot of senior snowbirds. This time of year, though, there were mostly locals around and the occasional day-trippers from the mainland enjoying the shops and galleries that had sprung up in what had once been little more than a fishing village. Come January, according to Luke, that would all change and the town would be packed with strangers.
“Hannah’s grandmother told me you have a lead on a boat we might be able to outfit for emergency runs to the mainland,” Seth said, settling into a chair in Luke’s office and propping his feet up on one of the boxes of medical books that Luke had yet to unpack. For a man who practiced medicine with demanding precision, he didn’t seem to mind doing it amid chaos. That had served him well in Iraq.
Luke dug through the piles of paper on his desk, his expression triumphant when he finally found what he’d been looking for. He handed the fancy color flyer from a nearby seaside community to Seth.
He gave Seth a couple of minutes to look it over, then asked, “What do you think? I made a couple of calls. It’s got a few years on it, but the rescue squad chief says it runs well. He had a mechanic call me to confirm that. Best of all, it’s already outfitted for what we want.”
“If it’s so great, why are they getting rid of it?” Seth asked, glancing over the specifications, then whistling when he saw the asking price. “And why is it priced so high?”
“They’re selling it because a grateful patient is underwriting a new boat. They have another backup, newer than this one. And the price is that high because that’s what this sort of specially equipped boat can command. If we had to start from scratch to outfit a boat with all that emergency medical equipment at today’s prices, it would cost even more.”
“Can we afford it?” Seth asked doubtfully.
“The bigger question is can we afford not to buy it?” Luke responded. “We can’t keep relying on finding a volunteer to take our emergencies to the mainland. I’m equipped to handle a lot of minor things right here, but some people need to be in a major ICU and they need to get there in a hurry.”
Seth nodded. “Agreed. And the cost for using a medical evacuation helicopter is prohibitive.”
“To say nothing of the fact that there’s no really good place to land it other than the school ball field, which seems to be swarming with kids even when there are no games going on.”
“You do know the budget can barely squeeze out enough for my salary, bandages and emergency supplies, right?” Seth said, though he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the boat pictured on the flyer.
Luke nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that.”
“Have you come up with anything? A fairy godmother, for instance?”
“Nope. I’m thinking we ought to start organizing some fund-raisers, make this a real community effort. I can put Hannah and Grandma Jenny on that, maybe get Lesley Ann over at The Fish Tale involved. She could sweet-talk a saint into donating a halo. I’ll kick-start the drive with enough to get them to hold the boat for us. The community can do the rest.”
“That could work,” Seth said thoughtfully. Unfortunately Seaview Key was small and filled with hardworking middle-class families who didn’t have a lot of spare cash. He couldn’t begin to imagine how many bingo games or spaghetti dinners it would take to raise enough.
“It could take a while,” he told Luke realistically. “What about going to the developer who’s building those houses at Blue Heron Cove? I imagine the folks who buy those pricey houses are going to want ready access to top-notch medical care before they buy on an island that relies on ferry service to the mainland.”
Luke’s eyes lit up at once. “Great idea. The final vote on that deal is coming up in the next week. Maybe we could get the donation worked into the approval.”
“Or maybe we could just ask the developer,” Seth said. “It would be a terrific public-relations gesture.”
Luke nodded. “Good point.”
Seth drew in a deep breath, still weighing whether he should mention anything about his encounter with Abby Dawson. He opted to put the news out there. “And since we’re talking about Blue Heron Cove, that brings up something else I need to mention.”
“Oh?” Luke said.
“I fished a woman from that area out of the water this morning.”
“But there aren’t any houses in there yet,” Luke said, his expression perplexed. “The beach along there is posted with No Trespassing signs.”
Seth grinned. “Which I’ve been ignoring. The point is that the original house is still in there.” He watched Luke’s face closely and saw the instant when understanding dawned.
“Abby Dawson?”
“Grandma Jenny seemed to think so. I ran into the woman again at The Fish Tale just now and she confirmed it. Her married name’s Miller.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Luke said. “Abby couldn’t wait to put Seaview Key behind her. I’m surprised she’s back.”
“Grandma Jenny mentioned that the two of you used to be pretty tight,” he said casually, watching closely for a reaction.
“Ancient history,” Luke said a little too quickly.
“You sure about that?” Seth asked. “You look almost as worried as Grandma Jenny did. Is this woman being back going to cause problems for you and Hannah?”
“Absolutely not,” Luke said firmly, then sighed. “I’m not sure Hannah will see it that way, though. Back then, Abby and I were...”
“Let’s just leave it at ‘close,’” Seth suggested.
“Oh, yeah,” Luke said. “And then some. But we were over a long time ago.”
“But that’s not going to stop all of Hannah’s old insecurities from rising to the surface,” Seth guessed.
“Under normal conditions, she probably wouldn’t give it a second thought,” Luke replied. “But now? She might be in remission from her breast cancer, but it’s always in the back of her mind. And the scar is a constant reminder. No matter how many times I tell her it doesn’t matter, that she’s a beautiful woman, on some level she doesn’t buy it. And just today I realized that she’s already worrying about the next screening. This is a stress she doesn’t need right now.”
He gave Seth a hopeful look. “I don’t suppose Abby has aged badly, maybe gained, like, a hundred pounds or something?”
Seth laughed, thinking of the slender woman he’d held in his arms, the woman with curves in all the right place. “Afraid not.”
Luke sighed, his expression troubled. “Maybe Abby’s just passing through. Last I heard she was settled up in north Florida and happily married. She probably just came down to take care of some paperwork with the developer or something. All that land back in there belonged to her family.”
“I don’t think so,” Seth said. “I mean, she told me herself that she’s divorced and that she’s back to stay.”
Luke studied him curiously. “You sound surprisingly happy about that. What happened on that beach this morning?”
“I hauled her out of the water. That’s it,” Seth said, downplaying the effect the rescue had had on his libido.
“Which makes you her hero,” Luke commented, then added wryly, “I recall what that was like.”
Seth avoided Luke’s knowing gaze. It was ironic really that she and Luke had apparently fallen for each other all those years ago after Luke had rescued her from the waters off Seaview Key. Was it possible that the same sort of connection would happen between himself and Abby? Was she the kind of woman who made a habit of falling for men who bailed her out of jams?
Earlier he might have dismissed the possibility of anything happening between them, but after running into Abby at The Fish Tale, he wasn’t so sure. He’d felt another surge of electricity the instant he’d spotted her. The sight of her with a baby in her arms had been a little too appealing, as well, reminding him of the future he’d once envisioned for himself.
That vision had come back to him with increasing frequency since he’d been in Seaview Key. Somehow all of the resolve he’d mustered after the tragic end of his last relationship was fading these days, replaced by a yearning he’d never expected to feel again. It didn’t make the least bit of sense to put a virtual stranger like Abby Miller in the middle of that vision, but she seemed to have landed there just the same.
He could only hope that wouldn’t cause a conflict that could ruin his friendship with Luke.
“Seth? You okay?” Luke asked, concern on his face. “I recognize that shell-shocked look. It worries me.”
“Why is that?” Seth asked defensively. “Because you still have feelings for Abby, after all?”
“Not a one,” Luke insisted. “But the Abby I recall wasn’t interested in a life on Seaview Key. It’s hard to imagine she’s changed that much. She’ll get restless, Seth. Then where will you be? And aside from that, she’s my age, so that makes her several years older than you.”
Seth didn’t even try to hide a smile at that. “And that’s some kind of a crime in your book?”
“Not a crime, a concern. I feel responsible for you.”
Seth laughed. “Last time I checked, I was a grown man, Luke. I’ve even been through the same life-altering situations you have.”
His words didn’t seem to allay Luke’s concerns. If anything, he looked more worried than ever. “And you lost a woman you loved,” Luke said quietly.
“It’s not as if I need to be reminded about what happened,” Seth said angrily.
“Of course not, but you’re vulnerable, Seth.”
“And therefore easy prey for a devious older woman?” Seth asked, getting to his feet. “Thanks for the concern, Luke, but I can handle this. Maybe you should focus on your own problems.”
He headed for the door, then turned back. “Keep me posted on that boat. From now on, why don’t we keep our conversations professional and leave the personal stuff out of it.”
He saw the dismay on Luke’s face just as he closed the door and even managed a moment’s regret for his words. Luke had been a mentor in Iraq, a good friend, almost a big brother. He’d been an even more supportive friend since Seth had mustered out of the military and come home. What Seth had said to him just now shouldn’t have been said between friends.
He stood outside, sucked in a deep breath, then forced himself to open the office door.
“Sorry,” he said quietly. “You didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s okay,” Luke assured him, looking relieved. “You were right. Your personal life is none of my business.”
“But I made yours my business,” Seth said. “I’m the one who came in here all worked up about the impact Abby’s return might have on your marriage.”
“And, if I’m being entirely honest, I resented it,” Luke said. “I guess we both crossed a line, but we both did it out of concern.”
“No question about it,” Seth said. “Then we’re good?”
“We’re good,” Luke agreed.
But there was little question, Seth thought with regret, that the possibility of Abby coming between them in one way or another already existed.
* * *
Luke was more shaken by the entire encounter with Seth than he wanted to admit. It wasn’t just concern for the young man he considered a kid brother. He was more worried than he’d acknowledged about Hannah’s reaction when she found out that Abby was back. He knew it wouldn’t take long before she heard the news, if she hadn’t already. Truthfully, if Grandma Jenny knew, then there was a good chance she’d already told Hannah. He figured he had several choices, none of them pleasant.
He could head home and get into this with Hannah. He could check in with her grandmother and see if she’d broken the news and ask how Hannah had reacted, so he’d be prepared to deal with any fallout. Or he could track down Abby and gather a few facts before going home to see his wife.
He didn’t stop to question why he chose the third option. He just headed to Blue Heron Cove and the house where he’d spent so much of his time back in high school. The Dawson home had never been as welcoming as Seaview Inn, but he’d spent countless hours there with Abby under the watchful gazes of her protective parents. After her near drowning, they’d been worse than ever, rarely wanting her out of their sight unless they knew she was at Seaview Inn with Hannah’s mother and Jenny looking out for her.