Second Chance Summer

As he pondered that, Gram appeared in the doorway, crossed the room and set a file beside him. “Here you go. Why don’t you take it down to the beach this afternoon and look through it after your swim? And if you run into Rachel, you might think about apologizing.”

He arched an eyebrow. “For what?”

“You didn’t even say goodbye to her yesterday when we left for church—let alone ‘Nice to meet you.’”

That was true.

But since he didn’t plan to see her again, what did it matter?

Not that Gram would buy that excuse.

“Sorry. My manners must have tarnished while I was overseas.”

“Well, polish them up. You were raised better than that. And you’ll need them if you want to attract a nice girl—like Rachel.”

“I don’t want to attract a nice girl like Rachel.”

She sent him a surprised look. “Why ever not?”

“I prefer to date unmarried women.”

She stared at him. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Your friend’s niece wears a wedding ring. I assume she’s married.”

Gram lifted her good hand to her cheek. “Oh, my. You’re right, she does wear her ring. I’d completely forgotten about that. No wonder...”

When her voice trailed off, he tipped his head. “No wonder what?”

“Nothing.” She fluttered her uninjured hand. “Just to clear things up, she’s not married anymore. Her husband died.”

His blond beach mate was a widow?

Three seconds of silence ticked by as he digested that bombshell.

“I should have told you that upfront, I guess.” Gram patted his shoulder.

It was on the tip of his tongue to probe for details—but he bit back his questions as the light dawned.

The broken wrist might have been Gram’s excuse for pushing him to visit, but she had a second agenda.

She and Eleanor had concocted some sort of plan to match up their two younger relations.

No wonder she’d insisted he visit the off-the-beaten-path beach on Sunday.

He sent her a narrow-eyed look. One fumbled attempt to pair up the two of them he could handle. But if she intended to launch some sort of intensive matchmaking campaign, he was out of there—broken wrist or no broken wrist.

As if sensing she was on thin ice, Gram leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I’ll let you get back to work now...and I’ll pass on Eleanor’s input about your donation offer after I talk with her.”

She opened the sliding glass door, making a production out of the one-handed maneuver—as if to remind him of her temporary disability. Then she carefully picked up her mug and exited. Once she was settled at the patio table, her cast resting on the arm of her chair, she paged through the newspaper on the table in front of her.

The picture of innocence.

Except Fletch wasn’t buying it. He might not be certain who this new version of Gram really was, but he did know one thing.

Louise Fletcher had always been strong willed, albeit in a quieter, more genteel way. When she set her mind on something, she could be as tenacious as a gull following one of the Jekyll Island fishing boats. And while other things about her may have changed since his previous visit, he suspected her determination was as formidable as ever.

On the plus side, at least she was transparent. Whatever plans she and Eleanor had cooked up to throw him and a certain blonde together could be thwarted. He was well versed in evasive maneuvers...and he’d have no qualms about using them.

Because the last thing he wanted to do was spend time with a woman who was fixated on his disability.

No matter how attractive she might be.

* * *

Rachel took a swig from her bottle of water and surveyed the large round table in the hotel conference room, where her eight enthusiastic charges were gluing the shells and other beach flotsam they’d gathered onto sturdy art boards.

This year’s first “Art from the Sea” session was a rousing success.

Almost.

Her gaze shifted to six-year-old Madeleine on the far side of the table. From the get-go, the little girl with the solemn blue eyes and wispy strawberry blond ponytail had seemed indifferent. As the other children giggled and dashed about, collecting their treasures on the beach, Madeleine had trudged through the sand, eyes downcast, empty bucket in hand. If Rachel hadn’t tucked a few shells in the bottom, the child would have had nothing to work with during the second half of the session.

As it was, she’d simply glued one small shell onto a corner of the board—and then, only when prompted.

Nor had she shown any interest in painting. Her watercolor consisted of a black horizon line with a gray sky and grayer water—even though the heavens and the sea had been a brilliant blue today.

“Rachel...shall I start cleaning things up?”

At the prompt from the college-age summer hotel employee who’d been assigned to assist with the session, she nodded. “Yes. Thanks, Lauren.”

Bottle of water in hand, Rachel made one more circuit of the table, offering praise and encouragement. All the children beamed at her—except Madeleine. The little girl just sat quietly, fiddling with one of the unused shells in the small pile beside her.

Twenty minutes later, long after all of the other youngsters had been reclaimed by their parents, she was still sitting there.

Lauren finished clearing off the table, moved beside Rachel and spoke softly. “Would you like me to have the desk call her parents?” She gestured toward Madeleine.

“Yes. I’ll stay with her until someone comes. I know you have other things to do.”

Lauren grinned. “Lunch is first on the agenda.”

“That’s my next stop, too. I’ll see you Thursday.”

As her assistant disappeared out the door, Rachel slid into a seat next to Madeleine. “I’m sure your mommy or daddy will be here any minute, sweetie.”

For a long moment, the child didn’t respond. Then she raised her chin and looked up with sad eyes. “My daddy isn’t here. And sometimes my mommy forgets about me.”

While Rachel struggled to process that poignant comment and come up with a reply, Madeleine spoke again. “You can leave me at the front desk, if you want to. That’s what people usually do. Mommy will look for me there.” She tilted her head. “How come you know so much about painting and stuff?”