Seaview Inn

“I’d best get your order in so you can finish it before she turns up. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a lecture on what it’s doing to your arteries.”

Luke didn’t waste time telling him he already knew—probably better than Lesley Ann—the dangers of fried foods. But some food was meant to be cooked that way and he figured he’d survive anything in moderation.

Once he was alone with his cold beer and his thoughts, he tried to make himself focus on the future, but all that came to him was an image of going back to Atlanta to a life nothing like the one he’d left behind. Atlanta was big enough that he and Lisa could probably co-exist and maybe even manage to be civil to each other for the sake of his kids, but going back to his medical practice was out of the question. The man who’d once been his best friend and business partner had moved in on his wife the minute his back was turned. Luke doubted he’d ever be able to see Brad Reilly without wanting to punch his face in. He could hardly practice medicine with him.

Just thinking about Brad with Lisa stirred his temper. He couldn’t decide which of them he hated more. Betrayal, no matter how it happened, was devastating, but his best friend—the man he’d trusted to look out for his family while he was in Iraq—and his wife? He could still recall exactly how he’d felt when Lisa had told him in an e-mail. He could still feel the sense of shock as he read the words, the twisting pain in his gut as they sank in, and then the numbness that had followed.

What kind of woman told a man something like that when he was far from home, facing danger every single minute of every day? What kind of man blindsided a trusted friend by taking advantage of such a situation?

He knew the answer, of course. They were both self-absorbed. He’d known that about Brad since the day they’d met. Of every intern and resident he’d worked with, Brad’s vanity had been legendary. Luke had looked past that and seen that he was a damn fine surgeon. Their partnership had been based on mutual respect of their abilities. Their friendship, apparently, had been built on quicksand.

As for Lisa, on some level he’d probably recognized the same trait in her, though it hadn’t been exposed until the moment he’d told her about doing a tour of duty in Iraq. She’d made it plain just how unhappy she was, but he hadn’t expected her to repay him by going out and having an affair with someone. He wondered if she’d gotten involved with Brad specifically because she knew that would cut out his heart.

Before he could sink all the way into a really good depression, Jack was back with his meal and another beer. He studied Luke intently for a minute.

“You need a side of conversation with that?” he asked, his expression concerned.

Luke forced a smile. “Not tonight, thanks.”

“You change your mind, I’m always around,” Jack said. “This job should earn me a degree in psychology. I’ve heard just about everything at one time or another.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Luke promised.

“You going to stick around Seaview for a while?”

Luke nodded. “For a while.”

“Okay, then, I’ll let you get to your dinner before it gets cold. Holler if you need anything.”

Unfortunately, Luke figured what he needed wasn’t served in The Fish Tale, not unless Jack had a fortune-teller on staff that could offer him a clearer picture of the future than he’d seen for himself. The one he envisioned seemed pretty darn bleak.

* * *

After her walk with Kelsey, Hannah returned to the inn determined to take advantage of the afternoon and evening to get a start on some of the cleaning and paperwork that had to be done. Kelsey might be here to sort through the decisions she was facing, but Hannah had flown down here to get this place ready to sell. Despite Grandma Jenny’s strong objections, that was still the plan.

Dragging a vacuum cleaner, dust rags and furniture polish with her, she went from room to room in the guest wing, only to find that the rooms were already in good shape. Apparently her grandmother had gotten there ahead of her, either to prove she was still capable of running the place or in anticipation of reopening.

She approached Luke’s room last, but couldn’t seem to make herself open the door with her passkey. It felt too much like an invasion of his privacy. Or maybe she feared learning something about him she didn’t want to know...such as whether or not there was a woman waiting for him back home.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she muttered under her breath, and forced herself to go inside.

To her surprise the large room was neat as a pin. The few clothes Luke had brought with him hung in the closet. Towels had been placed on the racks in the bathroom, rather than tossed in a damp heap on the floor. The bed had been made with an almost military precision, sheets tucked in tight, the spread smoothed. If there was a speck of dust anywhere, she couldn’t find it. Nor did she see anything personal beyond a snapshot of two kids—a gap-toothed boy and a girl—stuck into the frame of the mirror above the dresser.

Drawn to the view from the spacious room, she stood by the window and saw Luke’s car turn into the driveway. Her grandmother emerged with several packages as Luke unloaded cans of exterior paint and set them on the porch. Hannah shook her head when she saw a sample streak of the bright turquoise color dabbed on the side of one can. Apparently Luke had approved of Grandma Jenny’s choice.

Expecting to hear the sound of voices when they came inside, she slipped hurriedly from Luke’s room and shut the door securely. To her surprise, she was greeted with silence following the familiar slap of the screen door swinging closed.

As she descended the steps, her grandmother glanced up with a startled expression.

“Hannah, what on earth are you doing?”

“I was going to clean the guest rooms, but they didn’t need it.”

“Well, of course not. I cleaned them just a few days ago myself.”

“Gran, that’s too much for you,” Hannah protested.

“Don’t be silly. Besides, Jolene Walker’s girl, Macey, comes over once a week to help me. She scrubs the bathrooms and gets down on her hands and knees to dust around the baseboards.”

“She does a good job,” Hannah conceded reluctantly.

“Do you think I’d keep her on if she didn’t?”

Hannah bit back a sigh. “How did your shopping trip go? I see you got the color paint you wanted.”

Grandma Jenny’s expression brightened. “Luke agreed with me that a little color was just what this place needed.”

“Did he really? Or did you bully him into saying what you wanted to hear?”

“He’s a man who knows his own mind. Besides, I was asking his opinion. Why would I bully him into anything?”

Hannah dropped the no-win subject. “Where’s Luke now?”

“He went for a walk. He told me he’d get supper in town.” She gave Hannah a sly look. “He mentioned something about The Fish Tale. You could join him if you wanted to. I can fix something for Kelsey. It’ll give us a chance to talk. Maybe I can get to the bottom of what’s going on with her.” She paused. “Unless you managed to do that.”

“We talked. She told me the baby’s father wants to marry her, but she’s not ready for that. Then she changed the subject.”

“And you didn’t push?”

“I thought it would be counterproductive,” Hannah admitted.

“Well, I’m not so timid.” She waved Hannah toward the door. “Go on now. Take a walk and see if you can find Luke. Maybe you’ll have better luck figuring out what’s going on with him than you had with Kelsey.”

“What makes you think there’s something going on with Luke?”

“He appears back here after all these years without any explanation. He’s all alone. A man who looks as good as he does ought to have a woman in his life, a family.”

“He has children, so there must be a woman.”

“Well, she’s not with him, is she?” Grandma Jenny said. “Don’t even try to tell me you’re not curious. I saw you studying him the other night. And I remember the look in your eyes when he and Abby used to be over here every single day. You had a crush on that boy then, and something tells me it wouldn’t take much to spark it again.”

“You see entirely too much,” Hannah muttered.

“And I can hear, too, so don’t be making comments under your breath,” her grandmother retorted.

Hannah chuckled, despite her annoyance. “Just stop matchmaking, okay? Promise me.”

Her grandmother gave her a guileless look. “What can I say? It’s second nature. Besides, you need a man in your life. A real man and not some ne’er-do-well who’ll take off, rather than face his responsibilities.”