Home to Seaview Key

Looking thoroughly uncomfortable, Grandma Jenny announced, “I’m pretty sure the woman is Abby Dawson, or whatever her married name is. And it’s not me who has issues with her.”

The news hit Hannah like a blow. It shouldn’t have. Abby’s return shouldn’t matter to her at all. She and Abby had never had a falling-out, not really. They’d just left town and lost touch. Truthfully, though, the friendship had been fractured long before that when Abby and Luke had gotten together. As determinedly as Abby and Hannah had both tried to keep up the pretense that things between them were fine, they’d both known that the relationship had been changed forever.

Working hard to keep her tone neutral, Hannah said, “Abby’s back? Are you sure? No one in town has mentioned it. I might not hear the latest gossip, but Luke hears everything.”

“Would he tell you something like this?” her grandmother asked. “You know how he hates upsetting you.”

“He would have told me,” Hannah insisted, though she wondered if that was true.

“Maybe so.” Grandma Jenny shrugged. “Maybe she’s been keeping a low profile. Maybe she just got to town. I don’t know. I just thought I ought to tell you.” She gave her a pointed look. “You know, because...”

“Because of her past relationship with Luke,” Hannah said flatly. She didn’t want her grandmother to see how shaken she was, so she tried to keep her worry out of her voice. “That was a long time ago.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared.”

Rather than accepting the well-meant concern in the spirit in which it had been intended, Hannah fought annoyance. “Prepared for what? Luke to fall head over heels for her all over again? I can’t start thinking like that. Besides, Abby’s married now. So is he. Life goes on.”

“And every now and then the past rears its head and shakes up the status quo,” Grandma Jenny said direly. “I have a bad feeling about this, Hannah.”

“Thanks for your confidence in my marriage,” Hannah muttered, regretting that she was in her own kitchen and couldn’t just get up and walk away and pretend that this conversation had never happened.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” her grandmother said hurriedly, looking genuinely shocked. “Luke adores you. I believe that with everything in me. The bond between the two of you is strong.”

Hannah responded to the vehemence in Grandma Jenny’s voice, her nerves quieting. “Then what did you mean?” she inquired more calmly.

“I’m not sure you believe it,” her grandmother said gently, her worried gaze holding Hannah’s. “And when you start having those doubts that plague you, things can get twisted around.”

Hannah bit back a sigh. It was true. Hadn’t she admitted the same thing to Luke this morning, that she was prone to doubts about everything good in her life? Who knew that better than this woman who’d helped to raise her, who’d witnessed her devastation when Luke had fallen in love with Abby way back when, who’d seen the impact her mother’s death had had on her own confidence that she could win her battle against breast cancer? It seemed doubts popped up like dandelions, unwelcome but hardy. Even in her early forties, she’d never outgrown that tendency to let doubt overrule logic.

“I don’t want you to go borrowing trouble,” Grandma Jenny told her. “That’s what you do, you know. This happiness you’ve found with Luke is exactly what you deserve. Don’t let anything or anybody make you question that.”

Hannah forced a smile. “So you’re really here to give me a pep talk?”

Her grandmother covered her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Something like that.”

“Okay. I’ll make you a deal. I won’t panic over Abby’s sudden return until and unless there’s a reason to.”

“A real reason,” Grandma Jenny amended. “Not something you start imagining to make yourself crazy.”

“How am I supposed to know the difference?” Hannah inquired curiously.

“I’ll be watching,” her grandmother promised. “I’ll be the first to let you know.”

Hannah laughed. “Then since you’re on the case, I won’t give Abby’s return another thought,” she promised, hoping it was a promise she could keep for her own sake. Some people took comfort from knowing God was looking out for them. Hannah had Grandma Jenny in her corner. God, too, she knew, but her grandmother was a force to be reckoned with in her own right.

Grandma Jenny looked doubtful, but she nodded. “Okay, then. By the way, as unsuitable as I think she might be and as much as I might like her gone, I’m fairly certain that Seth is attracted to her. Could be he’s the answer to our prayers, especially if her marriage is over and she’s on the prowl.”

“On the prowl?” Hannah echoed, laughing.

“Well, isn’t that what those cougars do? You know, the older women who go after younger men? Seth is definitely younger than she is by quite a bit. She’s your age, for goodness’ sake.”

“Ancient, then,” Hannah said wryly.

“Stop putting words in my mouth. I was just commenting that there’s an age difference. That’s a fact, not a judgment.”

“Ah, so you have decided to do a little matchmaking if the circumstances warrant it?” Hannah concluded. “Does Seth know what you’re up to? Has he already figured out how sneaky you can be?”

“I hope not. I won’t be half as successful if he’s already on to me,” Grandma Jenny replied with an unrepentant gleam in her eyes. “Besides, if I was reading the situation correctly—and I usually do—he’s not going to need much encouragement from me. Something happened between them on that beach this morning, and it was a whole lot more than the simple rescue he wanted me to believe it was.”

“Seth rescued Abby?”

Her grandmother nodded. “Said she was close to drowning.”

Unfortunately Hannah recalled all too vividly that a rescue had brought Luke and Abby together, as well. Was history repeating itself? And, if it was, was it good or bad that Seth had been the hero? She tried to assure herself that it was good. She plastered a smile on her face and injected an upbeat note into her voice.

“In that case, it actually might be fun to watch you in action, now that I’m not the one in your crosshairs,” she said. “Maybe Abby’s the one who needs a warning.”

“Take my advice and stay away from her,” her grandmother said flatly.

“It’s Seaview Key. You know that’s not going to be possible. If she’s here to stay, I will run into her. So will Luke.”

“Well, just don’t make her your bosom buddy, not until we know what she’s up to, or until Seth has made his move.”

Hannah shook her head at the hint of drama in Grandma Jenny’s voice. At the same time, it helped to know that her grandmother’s plotting might keep Abby far, far away from Luke. Despite Hannah’s brave talk, she couldn’t seem to ignore the tiny flutter of worry that had come right along with her grandmother’s announcement.

* * *

Abby had kept mostly to herself since moving back to Seaview Key. She’d even loaded her car with groceries and cleaning supplies on the mainland before taking the ferry across to the island, just to cut down on gossip before she was ready to deal with it. After this morning’s incident on the beach, she had a hunch her solitude was likely to be disrupted. She might as well suck it up and head into town.

Lunch at The Fish Tale seemed like the perfect way to let the locals—at least anyone who remembered her—know she was back. It might also be a good way to get some feedback on her plans for Blue Heron Cove. Given the way the locals had responded to the threat of any sort of development over the years, she imagined there would be plenty of opinions about the new houses she was planning for the land her folks had owned and deeded to her.

Though she would have preferred a table in a dark corner in the back where she could observe people without being noticed, it seemed the only available booth in the busy restaurant was right up front by the window. Abby slid in, then pulled a menu from the rack at the edge of the table and hid behind it, hoping for at least a few more minutes of anonymity.

She recognized Jack Ferguson behind the bar, same as always. His daughter, Lesley Ann, who’d been a classmate of hers, was waiting tables, though every so often she paused to pick up a baby from a playpen positioned at the end of the bar and show him off. She still held the baby when she came over to Abby’s table.

“Can I take your drink order?” she asked, bouncing the baby in her arms. “I’ll be right back with that and take the rest of your order.”

Before Abby could respond, Lesley Ann’s eyes widened. “Abby? Is that you? Oh my goodness! It’s been years. You look fantastic!”

Abby grinned at her exuberance, which hadn’t changed a bit since they’d been cheerleaders together. “And you look like you’re very adept at being a mom, bouncing a baby on your hip while waiting tables. You must have learned that from your mom. She could always multitask.”

A shadow passed over Lesley Ann’s expressive face. “She was an expert, that’s for sure.”

“Was?” Abby said softly. “She’s gone?”

Lesley Ann nodded. “For a while now. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss her. Dad’s been lost without her. Thank goodness for this place. It’s kept him going. He knows the locals count on him and he loves meeting the tourists who come to town during the season.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Abby said sincerely. “I always liked your mom. She was unflappable, no matter how rowdy we got.”