An Unexpected Groom

Drew’s pulse ramped, but this was Dave’s sister. Old angst and harsh feelings lay solidly between them. Ogling her beautiful mouth and her pretty smile didn’t make the short list.

“You knew he’d cave.”

“I knew he’d see the common sense of the situation,” she corrected him as she put the lipstick away. “Uncle Steve’s ministries are very important to their congregation, and money is crucial to aid. He knows my parents are in a rough spot with a lot of unexpected out-of-pocket expenses, so making one exception to help Mom’s business, the next president’s daughter and the bottom line of the mission collections was a no-brainer. While he’s a great preacher—”

“Always was,” Drew noted.

Her smile said she agreed. “He comprehends that little gets done in Indonesia without funds, and the price tag on Shelby’s wedding will keep those three churches and a clinic running for a year.”

Drew whistled, then he stopped the car. “Look.” He waited while she lifted her gaze, and the smile he’d hoped to inspire said she remembered this location from two decades before.

“We spent a lot of time racing up and down those hills,” he reminded her.

“That old toboggan was a death trap,” she remembered. “But not nearly as crazy as those circular sleds that went like lightning. How did we survive?”

“The way most kids do, I suppose.” He studied the long sloping hill and pointed left. “Do you think Harv still makes the best hot chocolate?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t gone sledding since...” Her voice tapered off. Her smile diminished.

Drew read the timeline. She hadn’t gone sledding since Dave died. Neither had he. He’d gone off, striving to fill his life with all kinds of things, but in the end he realized he’d totally become a mess-up and that was that.

And then Rick Vandeveld hired him to do security for his online trading facility downstate. Rick had believed in Drew long before Drew believed in himself again. “Amy would love this.”

“What kid wouldn’t?” She turned and asked the question he knew was coming. “When did you get married, Drew? Because I never heard a word about it.”

It was time to come clean on an old indiscretion. “I didn’t.”

“Oh.” She stared at the old sledding hill. “Well, Amy’s beautiful and smart and so much like you that it’s like having a feminine version. She looks like a princess, but she’s got a warrior mentality.”

“She does.” He gazed at the sledding hill, too. He started to speak, then paused. Kimberly didn’t need to hear his tale of woe. She had her own worries. Life had dealt her a rough couple of months. He was pretty sure she could use a break. He knew he could. “And I have no idea what I’m going to do with her while we’re here. She was supposed to be at camp and then back at school.”

“She didn’t sound all too thrilled about the idea of boarding school.”

“That was just for this term, while Rick gets situated in Washington, but obviously that plan’s been tossed. I’m due back at V-Trade the first of the year, running security.”

“And V-Trade is?”

He couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard of them, which meant he’d talk to Rick about targeting investment-minded women with better-placed advertising. “Online trading corporation. We specialize in cutting out the middle man by using low-priced trading software. We’ve got offices in Manhattan and just outside of Newark.”

“Crazy population density.” She lifted her eyes from the sprawling hill to his. “Doesn’t that feel weird after growing up here?”

He couldn’t deny it, but the frenetic pace of Manhattan had helped heal old wounds. He hadn’t had time to think about them, much less let them fester. “It was a gradual upward climb. That helped. And maybe being so different was good therapy. Rick started small, the business mushroomed and I was along for the ride. Then he became the state senator. And now?” He tightened his jaw. “Rick’s been on a fast track for years, but there’s a part of me that’s ready to slow things down.”

“For Amy’s sake.”

He eased the car back onto the road. “For both of us. It’s time for Team Slade to plant some roots. I don’t want her entire childhood messed up by my constant comings and goings.”

“Who watches her when you’re home?”

“My neighbor. She’s a nice woman—bakes cookies. And she loves Amy. But she and her husband are relocating to Florida this year.”

“Making it the perfect time to make a change.”

He’d thought the exact same thing. “Yes. Moving is hard on kids, but Amy’s resilient. And as you noticed earlier, she’s not exactly feeling the whole ‘in crowd’ thing when she’s farmed out to upscale venues.”

“I got that. So let me make you an offer.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let Amy hang out with Emily or Rory or Allison at the office when you and I are working on something where she can’t tag along.”

“That’s—”

She must have sensed his quick refusal because one hand—one soft, sweet hand—touched his mouth and he quieted down right quick as she spoke for him. “That’s a great idea, Kimberly. Amy will love learning about bridal parties and planning, and I won’t have to worry about her.”

She moved her hand, but the summer scent lingered, making him think of sandy beaches, bonfires and coconut-scented sunscreen. And Kimberly. “You really think that would be okay?”

“I know it would be okay or I wouldn’t have offered,” she replied sensibly. “Rory’s doing volunteer work for migrants when she’s not helping us. She’s running a summer pre-K program over in the elementary school.”

“A missionary at heart, like your uncle Steve.”

“Yes. I’m sure Amy would enjoy helping with the little kids each morning. It’s only got a couple more weeks, but that would keep Amy busy half the day, and the other half could be at the office. Problem solved.”

“You’ve gotten bossier as you’ve matured.” He liked that about her. Kimberly had always been the go-to Gallagher, the one who planned her work, then worked her plan. “No wonder you’re so good at what you do.”

* * *

Drew’s words hit two distinct notes. She was good at her job, and she had gotten bossy. She didn’t always like that side of herself, but quick decision making had been a mainstay for years. “A necessity when making quick assessments.”

“Amen to that.”

“Where are you and Daryl staying?”

“The Country Inn.”

“Might I suggest moving to the B and B on Iroquois Avenue?” She turned to face him. His profile, older, more mature, more focused than she remembered, but dear in its familiarity even when she didn’t want it to be. “You’d be right in town with a great view of The Square and the water. Everything is within walking distance. And that way Amy can duck back to her room now and again if she needs a break.”

“Alone?” He pulled the car into the Abbey’s empty parking lot and turned. “Not gonna happen.”

“How old is Amy?”

“Eleven.”

“What were you doing in Grace Haven at age eleven, Drew?” She knew the answer, and his grimace said he got her drift. At age eleven he and Dave had had village paper routes, they’d drummed up quick baseball and soccer games at the town park and had ridden their bikes wherever two boys wanted to go. “I rest my case.”

“Amy wasn’t raised here. Her environment’s been more protected.”

“By necessity.” Kimberly slung her purse over her shoulder once she stepped out. “Life’s different in Grace Haven. Let her get a taste of that while she’s here.”