Her Lakeside Family

Two very different women and both of them trying to help him. He wondered what they’d thought, what they’d talked about once he’d left the house that first day. Still surprised at how attractive Davina Connell had turned out to be, he had to smile.

Rory picked up on that. “Well, you’re looking more rested and it’s good to see you smiling. I know Davina is not what you expected, but that could be a good thing.”

Santo didn’t comment. He wasn’t ready to delve into his mixed feelings regarding his pretty contractor.

After Rory said a prayer with him and left to go back to town, Santo sat and stared out at the river beyond the docks, wondering how he’d ever get over the horror of what had happened in his family.

The tall pines and old twisted oaks swayed in the spring breeze and the brownish-green water, filled with tannins and covered with a brackish sheen, moved in a steady flow to meet up with the bay. Everything moved, except him.

Once they were over the initial shock of Althea and Victor’s betrayal and the scandal had died down, his parents had become even closer and surprisingly, more faithful to God. Rikki and Blain had gotten married just a few months after they’d confronted Althea in a cold, dank warehouse not far from here but they still had bad days, too. His brother, Victor, was sitting in prison, waiting for his sentence to be up so he could get back to gallivanting and spending more of the family funds. But Victor kept telling Santo he’d changed. He wanted to help out now.

Santo couldn’t trust his brother on that yet. Victor would have to prove that he’d truly become a new man.

But Santo was here, unable to move. Paralyzed by a grief that he found both revolting and necessary. He grieved a woman he’d stopped loving long before she’d died and the guilt of that admission floored him and held him captive. His children deserved better and he needed to give everything he had to them. Not every material thing, but everything of himself.

How did he reconcile all the anger and bitterness inside his soul and go on with life even while he tried to raise his children shielded from the awful truth?

Santo sat there in the quiet of his office listening to the hum and flow coming from the warehouse. Shipments moved, employees went about their business and things got done.

He prayed for God to show him a way to make it all work together. A way to show his children that he loved them and would always protect them.

Preacher Rory had suggested he needed to be patient and he also needed to spend more time with his children. Thinking about Davina Connell and their meeting tonight, Santo decided it might time for him to make some changes, too.

Chapter Four (#u31c29930-f7ee-52a7-a161-b38f4bd0531b)

Davina eyed the I-Need-Chocolate-STAT cupcake she’d picked up at Marla’s Marvelous Desserts and thought about how she was going to eat it while watching a movie she’d recorded two nights ago. One of the many nights she’d spent alone since she’d arrived here, which was perfectly fine with her. She loved to sketch ideas and jot down notes during her quiet time. She also loved to eat decadent chocolate desserts for dinner.

But her cell buzzed before she could make it across the space from the tiny den to the rectangular galley-style kitchen, where her prized cupcake set on the counter.

The caller ID lit up. Santo Alvanetti.

“Seriously,” she said, glaring at the name and number. Now he was calling her at night?

Davina hit Accept on her cell and reminded herself she was doing this to increase exposure for her fledgling construction company. And because she loved the old lake house Santo had purchased. Not quite Victorian and not quite Craftsman, the rambling white house with its deep porches and sturdy staircases begged for a new life and a good family. She’d be the one to give it new life and Santo could supply the family, but she planned to showcase this project big-time to increase awareness of the skills she and her employees could provide.

“Hello,” she said into the phone, her eyes on that tempting cupcake with the marshmallow icing.

“Uh, hi. It’s Santo. Did you still want to meet to go over the details of the renovations for the lake house?”

Davina groaned and glanced at the clock. “Uh...yes. I am so sorry. I forgot we agreed to meet tonight.”

How could she have missed that important detail? Maybe because she’d been so busy all day, she’d agreed to this meeting in passing and didn’t type it into her phone’s calendar with a reminder.

She heard him inhale. “You weren’t there when I got home, so we didn’t verify.”

Had he missed her?

Smiling, she said, “No, I left early to meet Rikki at the lake house. We went over the whole house and I think we have a good plan. I just forgot about you coming here. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, but I’d love to hear all about it,” he said. “Mrs. Brownlee is available to stay with the children.” He took a long breath. “And she made this amazing shrimp dish. I could bring some over.”

This sounded almost like dinner, together. A date?

Davina didn’t want to panic, but she felt that fluttering in her heart. It wasn’t a good idea to get involved with a client. But then, she’d never had a client like this one. No wonder she’d pushed their meeting out of her head. She had to, to get him out of her head.

When she didn’t answer, he rushed on. “I did come home early but I wanted to visit with the children and help them with their homework.”

Davina had to admit that was sweet and impressive after the confusion and chaos she’d seen at his house a week ago. She was tired and she needed that cupcake. But she’d also agreed to meet him here so they could have some quiet time to discuss the lake house. And she really wanted to discuss that project in full.

“Do we need to reschedule?” he asked, the hesitation showing her a crack in his moody demeanor. At least he was coming around on being involved in the day-to-day decisions of renovating a house.

“Of course not,” she said. “I’m here and I’m ready.”

She ended the call and stared at her chocolate dinner. “You’re going to have to wait,” she decided, not wanting to gulp down her cupcake right before she met with him.

Grabbing a banana instead, she ate it and then fluffed her hair and put on some lip gloss and mascara.

She wouldn’t change out of her leggings and tunic, however.

Davina had an early day tomorrow so she planned on staying casual and comfortable tonight. In spite of her rapidly beating heart.

* * *

She invited him in and plopped a huge chocolate cupcake on the counter. “I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast,” Davina announced. “I’m starving and I’m going to eat this before I go to bed or someone is going to pay.”

Santo actually chuckled and felt something like a jolt of heat moving through his heart. “And hello to you, too.”

“Sorry.” Her green eyes reminded him of a lush tropical forest. “I’ve had a long day and I’m mortified that I completely forgot this meeting. That’s not how I conduct business.”

Santo should have insisted they cancel but he’d been looking forward to this all day long. But obviously, Davina had a lot more on her mind than spending a couple of hours with him. Which should have been okay, only he had to admit he felt a bit disappointed. But he’d get past that because she wasn’t here to sit around with him. She had a lot of work to do yet.

Since he was here now, he carried on. “I’ve had some of the best shrimp fettuccine I’ve ever eaten for dinner,” he said, handing her a warm plate covered with foil. “Miss Virginia is an amazing cook and she insisted I bring this over to you.”

Davina’s eyes lit up, causing yet another aftershock to charge through him. The woman was like an exotic chameleon, ever-changing. Then she said, “Are you going to feed me?”

He liked the way she asked that with a bit of a dare. “Yes, I am,” he said. “Because I’ve had a long day, too, and...I want to make some changes in my life. That’s one reason I wanted to talk to you alone tonight, without any interruptions from my wonderful children or their equally wonderful nanny.”

She eyed him as if he’d turned into a sea monster. “You mean changes such as being on time and being a little more organized? Or maybe being more available?”

“Ouch.” Did he look like a total loser to her? “Yeah, those things and more.” Watching as she sank onto a bar stool and dug into the shrimp dish with gusto, he said, “I guess I need to work on a lot of things.” Then he glanced around the little beach-themed apartment. “At least Miss Virginia got the children to bed on time. She’s a keeper.”

“I’m sorry,” she said between bites. “I shouldn’t have implied you’re not organized and involved with these projects. It’s obvious you’re doing the best you can. And yes, Mrs. Brownlee is a jewel.”

Santo stayed across from her, the kitchen island separating them. He needed a buffer to remind him he’d hired her to help him, not so he could stand here and stare at her. “No, you have every right to be a little put out with me. First, I mistook you for the nanny and shoved one of my screaming children at you and then I left you and the real nanny standing in the middle of my den. And tonight, I didn’t call until it was almost too late to have a business meeting. We could do this some other time.”

“No, no,” she said, waving her hand. “You’re here now and I shouldn’t judge you. I don’t have children but I grew up in a big, crazy family. My mom, bless her, was always running behind. It drove me nuts but now I’m beginning to appreciate her efforts a whole lot more.” She shrugged. “I have four siblings, so growing up, I watched several train wrecks and a whole lot of drama being played out. All my life, I only wanted some peace and quiet and to be my own person. I became a nomad of sorts, just to be by myself.”

“So you don’t get along with your family?”