Seaview Inn

He retrieved the ice cream from the freezer, lingering with the door open in an attempt to cool down his overheated libido.

While he had his back to Hannah, he told himself he was an idiot. He was here to get his priorities in order. And her life appeared to be even more of a mess than his own. As much fun as flirting with Hannah—or a fling—might turn out to be, neither of them needed the potential heartache. He’d do well to remember that.

Besides, it had been years since he’d had a friend to confide in. That was the role he needed Hannah to play. This little zing he’d felt was an aberration. Tomorrow they’d go back to being pals the way they’d been years ago.

He was so busy formulating his plan that he didn’t notice right away that Hannah was staring at him with amusement. When he did, he muttered, “What?”

“That’s a lot of ice cream, even for you,” she said, gesturing toward the bowl, which must have had a whole pint scooped into it.

He grinned and shoved the bowl in her direction. “Actually that one’s for you. I recognize a woman in need of a chocolate fix when I see one.” He doled out a huge dollop of hot fudge sauce to prove it.

She eyed the bowl skeptically, then picked it up. “You could be right. Come on out to the porch when you’re finished.”

Luke told himself he ought to be anywhere except on the porch tonight, but when he had his own bowl filled with ice cream, he couldn’t seem to make himself climb the stairs to his room. Instead, he headed for the front door...and most likely straight for trouble.

* * *

“Why didn’t you tell me your daughter is pregnant?” Grandma Jenny demanded the second Hannah wandered into the kitchen in the morning following the aroma of coffee brewing.

Hannah wasn’t ready to have this conversation before she’d had caffeine. A lot of caffeine, in fact. She and Luke had been up way too late talking. They’d carefully avoided any repeat of the flirting that had gone on earlier, sticking to memories of old times, catching up on news of friends they’d each kept in touch with. He’d done a better job of that than she had. After a couple of hours of talking about old times and old friends—yet somehow avoiding any mention of Abby, who’d been so integral to both their pasts—they’d said a casual good-night and gone their separate ways. As they’d climbed the stairs, they’d kept a careful distance apart, pretending that the spark they’d both felt earlier had never happened.

Now Hannah deliberately ignored her grandmother, grabbed the biggest mug she could find and filled it to the brim with strong, fragrant coffee. Only when she’d had several sips did she dare to meet Grandma Jenny’s expectant gaze.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Luke staying here?” Hannah retorted, hoping to buy herself a couple of minutes, since she didn’t have any real answers about the whole lousy situation.

“Don’t try that with me,” Grandma Jenny said. “I told you yesterday why Luke’s here. Now I want to know why my great-granddaughter has shown up here with a baby on the way. And don’t deny it. I’m not so old that I can’t recognize the symptoms.”

“I wasn’t going to deny it,” Hannah said. “But to be honest, I haven’t asked her a lot of questions yet.”

“I left the two of you alone last night precisely so you could talk.”

“Never happened. She went to bed. Luke stayed.” She gave her grandmother a defiant look. “I asked him to.”

“I see.”

“I doubt it,” Hannah replied. “I was so thrown when Kelsey told me about the pregnancy the other night, I couldn’t think of anything to do except get her here so we could talk about it. Now that she’s here, I don’t know where to start.”

“The father seems like a good place to me. Where’s he in all this?”

Hannah shrugged. “Not a clue.”

“Don’t you think maybe you should ask?”

“I’ll get around to it. With Kelsey, it’s better to let things unfold at their own pace.”

Her grandmother rolled her eyes. “Up to you, but I’d recommend you get answers before that child’s due date.”

“Grandma Jenny?” Hannah was surprisingly hesitant. This whole disaster was so far beyond her ability to control or fix, she honestly didn’t know what to do next. “What on earth am I supposed to do?”

To her surprise, her grandmother pulled a chair up next to her and took her hand. “You keep on doing just what you’re doing. You’re here for her. So am I. Together, we’ll figure out what comes next,” she said matter-of-factly. “To do that, though, we need to get all the cards on the table.”

“You’re not upset that I told her to come?”

“Don’t be silly. This is your home as much as it is mine,” her grandmother reminded her. For once it seemed as if she was merely stating a fact, not sending a pointed message. “And that makes it Kelsey’s home, too. Where else should she go when there’s a crisis?”

“When she told me, all I could think about was convincing her to stay and finish college. I didn’t think for one second about how hard that would be or what would come later. She’ll have a baby to raise all on her own. She’s not ready for that.”

“None of us are entirely ready for a baby, no matter what we like to think,” Grandma Jenny told her. “Before your mama came along, I read every book. Made your grandfather read ’em, too, but it didn’t do a lick of good. Every baby’s different and every cry seems like a crisis until you get to know your own child. Eventually you just settle in and handle whatever comes along. Kelsey will, too. She’s your daughter, isn’t she? I imagine she has enough organizational skills and strength to get through this, even if the baby’s father isn’t in the picture.”

“Am I wrong to want her to finish her education, no matter what?”

“Getting a good education is never wrong, but you won’t know if now’s the time for it until you sit down and really listen to her, will you? In the end, this has to be her decision.”

“I suppose so.” Hannah leaned over and rested her head on her grandmother’s shoulder, taking comfort in the familiar rose scent of her cologne. “I love you, Gran. I know I came down here to bulldoze you into doing things my way, but I only did that because I love you and worry about you.”

Her grandmother winked. “Then it’s a good thing you’re not the only one in this family with a stubborn streak, isn’t it? I don’t get bulldozed that easily. Now, go upstairs and talk to your daughter. You two need to start figuring things out. And if you run into Luke while you’re up there, tell him he can take me to that hardware store on the mainland for some paint in an hour.”

“Paint? We bought paint,” Hannah protested.

“I’ve decided white’s too boring for the outside of an inn on the beach. Don’t know why I let you talk me into it.”

“Boring?” Hannah repeated nervously. “Meaning what?”

“I’m going with the turquoise, after all. Thank good-ness this isn’t one of those silly towns that go all crazy about permits for this and that. Do you believe some places even have a boring color palette you’re required to choose from? That’s not for me. I want to breathe new life into this place. We should stand out from the crowd.”

Hannah winced. “Are you sure?” She couldn’t imagine a new buyer being drawn to a turquoise structure, but she supposed that was the least of her worries. Grandma Jenny clearly didn’t intend to fall in with her plans for selling right now, anyway.

“I’m sure,” Grandma Jenny insisted. “But I’ll see if Luke agrees before I go wild.” She gave Hannah a sly look. “He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Have you noticed that?”

Hannah regarded her with suspicion. “You don’t have some hidden agenda for Luke and me, do you?”

“I don’t even know if the man’s married,” her grandmother said innocently. “If you want me to, I’ll ask him while we’re out. Get the lay of the land, so to speak.”

Hannah groaned at the glint in her eyes. “Leave it alone, Gran. I’m sure Luke will tell us anything he wants us to know.”

“Some things it’s better to know at the outset,” her grandmother retorted firmly. “You deal with Kelsey. I’ll handle things with Luke.” She stood up. “Now that we have a plan, let’s get going. We can’t waste the whole day lollygagging around here.”

Hannah glanced longingly out the window toward the gentle waves lapping at the shore a few hundred feet away. Lollygagging sounded a whole lot better than going upstairs and facing her daughter. She was tempted to sneak out of the house and head straight for the beach, but a knowing look from Grandma Jenny told her she’d never get away with it. “Okay, okay, I’m going upstairs,” she said defensively.

“Now?”

“Now,” Hannah agreed, though with a hefty amount of reluctance. When had she turned into a woman who hoped that ignoring problems might make them go away? When had she developed this powerful desire to stick her head in the sand and pretend that everything was okay?

It had to be the influence of Seaview Key, she thought as she trudged up the stairs. And that was just one more reason she needed to get back to her busy, organized life. In New York, she was “Go-to-Hannah.” Down here, she was about to turn into someone who lacked motivation or drive or answers. Hannah, the slug. She shuddered at the thought.

* * *

Kelsey heard the tap on her door and knew it was her mom. “I have to go,” she told Jeff. “I’ll call you later.” She turned off her cell phone and jammed it into a bedside drawer before telling her mother to come in.