#1 New York Times bestselling author Sherryl Woods reveals that the most delightful surprises may await right in your own backyard!

Falling for a handsome stranger on the very morning they meet is hardly what recently divorced Abby Miller planned for her return to Seaview Key. Hoping to mend an old friendship and to give back to the community she loves, Abby’s definitely not looking for love.

For ex-soldier Seth Landry, Seaview Key seems like the perfect place to heal a broken heart...eventually. And when he rescues a beautiful woman on the beach, his nightmares about the past are eclipsed by daydreams about the future. Neither Abby nor Seth is looking for forever, but powerful love has its own timetable. And taking a chance on the future will test their courage in ways neither of them could possibly have anticipated.

Praise for the novels of

#1 New York Times bestselling author

SHERRYL

WOODS

“Sherryl Woods writes emotionally satisfying novels about family, friendship and home. Truly feel-great reads!”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber

“Woods is a master heartstring puller…”

—Publishers Weekly on Seaview Inn

“Woods…is noted for appealing character-driven stories that are often infused with the flavor and fragrance of the South.”

—Library Journal

“A reunion story punctuated by family drama, Woods’ first novel in her new Ocean Breeze series is touching, tense and tantalizing.”

—RT Book Reviews on Sand Castle Bay

“A whimsical, sweet scenario…the digressions have their own charm, and Woods never fails to come back to the romantic point.”

—Publishers Weekly on Sweet Tea at Sunrise

“Woods’ readers will eagerly anticipate her trademark small-town setting, loyal friendships, and honorable mentors as they meet new characters and reconnect with familiar ones in this heartwarming tale.”

—Booklist on Home in Carolina

Home to Seaview Key

Sherryl Woods

www.mirabooks.co.uk

Dear Friends,

Though I have written many series and connected books over the years, when I wrote Seaview Inn, I never intended to go back to Seaview Key and that cast of characters. Once again, though, readers had other ideas and made some convincing arguments for a sequel. So, for all of you who begged for more about Hannah, Luke and their families, welcome Home to Seaview Key.

This story focuses on Abby, once Hannah’s best friend and Luke’s teen love. Her return to Seaview Key just as Luke and Hannah are starting their life together and during a time when Hannah continues to be filled with doubts related to her breast cancer recovery is bound to cause complications. Add in Abby’s plan to develop family property on the small island and you can be sure not everyone is ready to greet her with open arms.

Abby, however, is a very determined woman, one who is eager to make a difference in her old hometown and to make peace with her childhood friend. And after a marriage that sapped the life out of her, she’s also hoping to rediscover the joyful woman she once was. Falling for Luke’s friend, Seth, promises to put both laughter and passion back into her life.

I hope you’ll be able to relate to Abby’s desire to recapture all that she’s lost over the years—friendship, respect, joy and, of course, love. And I wish you all of those things for your life.

All best,

Sherryl

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Epilogue

Excerpt

1

Abby stirred at the unmistakable pressure of a man’s mouth on hers, coaxing, tantalizing. The kind of yearning she’d buried for years awakened with a vengeance. Whether this was a dream or reality hardly seemed to matter as her breath caught and her pulse raced. It had been so long since she’d felt like this.

She sighed when the man drew back, then slowly opened her eyes to find a soaking wet, bare-chested, incredibly gorgeous stranger kneeling in the sand beside her, his expression every bit as startled as her own must have been.

“Looks like you’re going to be okay,” he said, a hitch in his voice and a surprising hint of color in his sexily stubbled cheeks.

“Okay?” she echoed, bemused. There had been nothing wrong about the past couple of minutes. They’d been enchanted, in fact. Spectacular, even. Definitely well beyond okay.

“I pulled you out of the water just now,” he reminded her, worry darkening his blue eyes. “You don’t remember going under? Calling out for help?”

Suddenly the panic came rushing back, the sensation of water closing over her head, her feet unable to touch the sandy bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. One second she’d been standing in waist-deep water, the next a wave had caught her and the floor of the Gulf had fallen away.

Memories of another near drowning right here in these waters years ago had arisen, right along with a bubble of hysteria. Then the memories had faded and a harsh present-day reality had set in. She’d been fighting her way to the surface, gasping for air, screaming for help. She’d choked on water before going under again and again.

“I was drowning, just like before,” she whispered, shaking, the potent effect of what she’d thought to be a kiss vanishing. He’d been doing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, she realized, embarrassed that she’d thought otherwise, wondering if she had, in fact, tried to kiss him. She had an awful feeling that she had. A very powerful memory of tongues tangling in a shockingly sensual way tugged at her. Humiliated, she knew her cheeks must be flaming.

Years ago in a similar situation, Luke Stevens had been close by. He’d saved her, become her hero. They’d been inseparable after that along with her best friend, Hannah, but she and Luke had been a couple, right up until the day they’d left for college and gone their separate ways. Though they’d both claimed to be brokenhearted, they’d been resolute about not standing in the way of each other’s hopes and dreams—his to be a doctor, hers to be something. She’d wanted to excel at anything that would get her away from this dead-end island life.

As immature as they’d been, somehow they’d known they weren’t meant to last forever. And while she and Luke had deliberately separated, she and Hannah had simply drifted apart.

It was ironic really that now, after so much time had passed, all three of them were back on Seaview Key. Now, though, Luke and Hannah were married and Abby was the third wheel...or would be if she reached out to them. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be cast in the role that she’d forced Hannah into back then. Life had taught her that being witness to someone else’s happiness could be incredibly painful.

Besides, for the moment she was content just to be on her own, getting her feet back under her. Not that this morning had turned out to be a very good start on that front, she thought with a touch of the wry humor she counted on to get her through tough times. For a woman who’d been swimming since before she could walk, she was surprisingly inept in the water, apparently.

The man kneeling next to her was still studying her with concern. “Maybe we should get you over to the clinic, have you checked out,” he said. “You seem to be a little fuzzy about what happened.”

Abby shook her head, fully aware that going to the clinic meant seeing Luke again under awkward circumstances. “No, really. I’m fine. Just a little dazed, I think. That will pass.”

“You swallowed a lot of water.”

“And surely coughed up most of it,” she recalled, embarrassed yet again by the pitiful spectacle she must have made of herself.

“I’d feel better if Doc Stevens took a look at you. My car’s right up there on the road. I can have you there in a couple of minutes.”

“Seriously, no,” she said more forcefully. This wasn’t the way she wanted to see Luke again, bedraggled and half-drowned. Maybe he hadn’t been put off by that twenty-some years ago, but she still had a little pride left. She wanted to look her best when she finally crossed paths with Luke and Hannah. She needed them to know that coming home had been a choice, not a necessity.

“I live right over there,” she said, gesturing toward the house where she’d grown up.

The sad sight was almost as much of a mess as she was—the yard overgrown with weeds and the house itself in desperate need of a lot of tender loving care. While she’d been planning her return for a while and had made several quick trips to the island, she’d only been physically back to stay in Seaview Key for a few days. So far she’d tackled the dust and cleaning inside to make the house habitable again. She’d get to the rest eventually. For reasons not entirely clear to her, she was determined to do the work herself. Maybe she simply needed to get back to basics, remind herself of how little some of the luxuries she’d gotten used to really mattered.

The man stood up and held out his hand to help her up. “Then I’ll make sure you get to the house okay. I can check you out myself, take your pulse, listen to your lungs. I have a medical kit in my car.”

Abby regarded him skeptically. Since when had Seaview Key required two physicians to keep up with the small population of locals? “You’re a doctor, too?” she inquired doubtfully.

“Paramedic,” he corrected. “I’m Seth Landry. I worked with Doc Stevens in Iraq. After my discharge, I came here for a visit. He told me the town could use a volunteer rescue squad. He got me hired to organize it.” He grinned at her. “See, I’m totally respectable. I’m not just trying to get my hands on you.”

Too bad, Abby thought to herself. For a few minutes there, she’d actually felt desirable again, not like the pale shadow of the woman she’d once been before her marriage had sucked the life out of her.

Seth slowed his steps to match hers as they walked across the sand and up the path to her house. At the bottom of the porch steps, worn smooth by decades of sandy feet, she stopped and lifted her gaze to his, noting with delight that though she was tall at five-ten, he was taller, at least six-one or -two.

“See?” she said lightly. “Perfectly steady. Thanks for rescuing me.”

“All in a day’s work,” he told her. “But if you’re from around here, you should already know how the bottom out there drops away unexpectedly. If you’re not a strong swimmer, stay closer to shore. Stick to wading, even.”

“You’re absolutely right. It won’t happen again,” she assured him. In fact, she shuddered just thinking about how differently her morning and that innocent dip she’d taken in the Gulf could have turned out.

“I’ll see you around, then,” he said, giving her a casual wave before jogging off down the beach.

Abby watched him go, admiring the well-muscled shoulders, the narrow hips, the long legs. He was younger, too, if she was any judge of age. That made that flicker of awareness that had passed between them just a little more alluring. Maybe she still had it, after all, whatever that it was that could catch a man’s eye.

Too bad that kiss hadn’t been real, she thought with genuine regret. Seth was definitely the kind of hunk who’d been made to awaken any sleeping beauty’s senses, hers included.

* * *

Hannah sat on the porch facing the gently lapping water, a cup of coffee in hand. She smiled when her husband slipped up behind her, kissed the back of her neck, then sat down in the chair beside her. The few minutes they had together like this each morning set the tone for their days. She reached for Luke’s hand, twined her fingers with his.

“What’s on your schedule for today?” she asked.

“I need to track down Seth to talk about a possible rescue boat I’ve found. I thought I’d stop by Seaview Inn to try to catch him before I open the clinic.”

She gave him a long look, amused by his attempt at innocence. “Nice try. We both know you’re dropping by because Grandma Jenny bakes every Wednesday. She’ll have the treats that are never on the menu here.”

He grinned, his expression boyish and unrepentant. “You caught me. I’m hoping for blueberry muffins. How about you? How’s the new book coming?”

Hannah felt a little shiver of excitement at the question. Little more than a year ago she’d been an ambitious, driven public-relations executive in New York. Now she was not only surrounded by the tranquility of Seaview Key and married, but she was writing children’s books. The first was due for publication in a few months, the second six months later. She’d been working on the third for a couple of months now.

She grinned at Luke. “I’m putting the finishing touches on it today,” she told him, then frowned. “At least I think I am. I can’t wait till Kelsey and Jeff get back to town, so I can read it to the baby. Isabella’s my favorite test audience.”

“You do realize she’s not even a year old,” Luke said. “Maybe you should call my kids. They always have uncensored advice for you. And my daughter was the first to recognize your talent. You captivated her with your story when she was injured on our boating trip. She was so caught up in it, she forgot all about being in pain from a broken arm. You provided the best medicine she could have had before we got back to shore.”

She laughed. “I don’t know about that, but your kids can be a little too uncensored at times,” she admitted. “I like the gurgles of delight. After that, I can take whatever your kids have to say.”

Her stepchildren, who lived in Atlanta with their mother and her new husband, were regular visitors to Seaview Key. After a rocky beginning, they’d accepted Hannah into their lives...and forgiven their father for moving so far away. They’d even accepted the fact that he wasn’t the one who’d caused the divorce, that it was their mom who’d moved on while their father was serving overseas in a war zone.

Even at their young ages, they’d learned that assigning blame was a waste of energy. They could all thank Grandma Jenny for imparting that lesson, Hannah thought, grateful to her grandmother for smoothing out the rough spots in the relationship. That had allowed Luke to remain in Seaview Key with a clear conscience. He traveled to Atlanta at least once a month to see them and was always available for special events like class plays or soccer championships. They’d made it work.

Hannah gazed at the early morning sunlight filtering through the trees and sparkling on the water, then drew in a deep breath of the cool morning air. “Luke, do you realize how lucky we are?”

“Every minute,” he said, his gaze on hers. “Being here, with you, is exactly what I needed.”

“No regrets?”

“Not a one. You?”

She thought about the life she’d left behind to come home, the life she’d been so certain was exactly the one she was meant to live. There were things she missed about New York. Being able to order any food imaginable at midnight was one of them. Her best friend. Beyond that, though? This house already felt more like a home than her apartment in New York ever had, even when Kelsey had been filling it with clutter and noise. And her marriage? Being with Luke on an ordinary day surpassed anything she’d had with Kelsey’s father, a perfectly nice man who’d been totally unsuitable for her, for marriage and for parenthood.

“I’m happier than I ever dreamed possible,” she told him honestly.

Luke studied her, his expression filled with concern. “Then why that frown?”

“I wasn’t frowning,” she insisted. Surely she was better at disguising her feelings than that.

“It’s because you have another cancer screening coming up, isn’t it?” he said, not letting her off the hook. “You’re going to be fine, Hannah. I know it. You’re religious about the self-exams. I’ve backed you up. Your report is going to be clean.”

“I want to believe that, too, but sometimes I panic.”

“Because?”

She gestured to him, then to the serene setting around them. “All of this,” she said. “You, Kelsey, Jeff and my granddaughter. Grandma Jenny’s in good health for someone her age. It’s all so amazing, more than I ever expected.”

He regarded her with understanding. “And you’re afraid it’s too good to be true, that it’s going to be snatched away?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Luke squeezed her hand. “No way, sweetheart. You and me, all of this? It’s forever.”

“You sound so sure,” she said, envying him.

“I am,” he said with unwavering confidence. “One of these days, you’re going to believe that, too.”

Hannah truly hoped so. She wanted to live the kind of optimistic life her husband lived, but doubts crept up on her. She’d spent too many years facing challenges, rather than counting blessings. She couldn’t seem to stop the doubts, not since her mother had died of breast cancer just months after she’d been diagnosed herself. Sure, she was in remission now, but who knew better than she that things could change in an instant? The very minute she started taking this wonderful life for granted, who knew what perverse twist of fate could take it from her?

* * *

After his run and a hot shower, Seth wandered into the kitchen at Seaview Inn and found the owner at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee and a batch of stained recipe cards in front of her. The aroma of blueberry muffins came from the oven. Another batch was cooling on a rack on top of the stove. He noted that one was missing and barely contained a grin. Luke had been by. He’d bet money on it.

“What sort of feast are you thinking of preparing for tonight?” he asked, gesturing to the well-worn cards in her hand.

Grandma Jenny glanced up, laughing. “I’m not sure yet. Whenever I get tired of fixing the same old things, I drag out my mother’s recipe cards and look for inspiration.” She gave him a chiding look. “I was wondering when you were going to turn up. We stopped serving breakfast an hour ago.”

Seth leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Could I have one of those muffins and a couple of eggs, if I fix them myself?”

“And mess this place up when I finally have it all tidied up?” she asked. “I don’t think so. I’ll make an exception this morning and get those eggs for you. Scrambled, maybe with a little cheese thrown in?”

It was their morning ritual. Grandma Jenny, who was actually Doc Stevens’s grandmother-in-law, feigned annoyance at Seth’s failure to observe the inn’s schedule, then made sure he left with a full stomach. He’d noticed that she thrived on mothering anyone who crossed her path, family or not.

“Luke was over here looking for you earlier,” she reported.

Seth chuckled. “You sure he wasn’t here for the muffins? I’ve noticed he shows up a lot on Wednesday mornings.”

“Well, of course he was, but he made a convincing show of needing to speak to you right away. He wants you to stop by the clinic, says he has a lead on a rescue boat that might do for getting folks over to the mainland to a hospital.”

That was good news, and worthy of an early morning visit, Seth thought.

“A rescue boat is just what we need,” Seth said as Grandma Jenny placed a plate of steaming eggs in front of him along with one of those still-warm muffins. “I’ll head over to the clinic as soon as I’ve eaten. After that, I’m going to start looking for a place of my own. I can’t keep occupying one of your guest rooms, especially since you refuse to let me pay for it.”

Disappointment flashed in her eyes. “There’s no rush to do that,” she said, clearly trying to discourage him. “It’s the off-season. We’re not booked solid, so it’s not costing me a dime to have you here. And with my great-granddaughter, her husband and the baby off on a little vacation, I’m glad of the company, to tell you the truth.”

As soon as the admission crossed her lips, though, she scowled at him. “Don’t be telling Hannah that or she’ll be over here pestering me about going into some assisted-living place over on the mainland, even though I’ve told her that subject is dead and should be buried.”

“This inn wouldn’t be the same without you,” Seth said honestly.

Her eyes sparkled at that. “Nonsense, but thank you for saying it. My great-granddaughter has this place running more efficiently than I ever did. Kelsey and Jeff are doing ninety percent of the work these days. We even have a website, for goodness’ sake. I’m just around for window dressing. It makes some of our old regulars feel more comfortable to see I’m still alive and kicking.”

Seth laughed. He knew better. Grandma Jenny was the heart of Seaview Inn. Kelsey might have inherited her love of the crazy, haphazardly put together beachfront inn, but Grandma Jenny knew what it took to make people feel welcome. She’d certainly done that with him once he’d been hired and had insisted on moving out of Luke and Hannah’s guest room.

From the moment Luke had brought him here two months ago and introduced him, Grandma Jenny had made him a part of the family, the same way she did all of their guests. For a man with little family of his own remaining, it had been a wonder to find himself surrounded by people who treated him as if he belonged. Given the contentious nature of his relationship with his siblings, who’d been battling over their inheritance ever since their parents had died, it was a welcome and eye-opening change.

“You were even later than usual this morning,” Grandma Jenny said, regarding him curiously. “Something come up while you were on your run?”

Since he knew she was always eager for news, he filled her in. “As a matter of fact, I ran into a woman on the beach.”

Her eyes lit up. “Is that so? Sounds like just what you need.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he insisted, though the way her mouth had felt under his had been exactly like that. The unprofessional thought and the memory of her sensual responsiveness had his face flaming.

“Don’t try telling me that,” she scolded. “That blush says otherwise.”

“The woman was floundering in the water, in real trouble,” he corrected. “She’d lost her footing and was going under. I just got her back to shore. That’s it. A routine rescue.”

Worry immediately replaced the teasing glint in her eyes. “She was okay?”

“Seemed to be. She refused to let me take her to the clinic and didn’t want me to check her out. Looked embarrassed, to tell you the truth. I walked her home. She seemed fine by then.”

“Who was she?”

“I didn’t get her name.”

Grandma Jenny regarded him with feigned disgust. “You let an attractive woman get away without getting her name? What am I going to do with you?”

Seth laughed. “I never said she was attractive.”

“You might not have said the words, but I know better. Where does she live?”

“Back in that Blue Heron Cove gated community, though her house doesn’t look like any of those big new places they’re supposed to be putting up in there in the next few months. Looks as if it’s been around for years.”

“Abby Dawson,” Grandma Jenny said at once, looking startled. “Dark hair? Green eyes?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” Seth said, recalling the way her eyes had sparkled like bits of jade-colored sea glass.

“What’s she doing back, I wonder? Last I heard she was living up in Pensacola or some small town thereabouts. I’ve forgotten her married name. Miller, perhaps.”

“Maybe she’s just in town for a visit,” Seth suggested, surprised by her reaction and even more startled by the mention of marriage. He hadn’t noticed a ring, but then he hadn’t been looking. He’d been a little too focused on her lips. All in the line of duty, he assured himself, even though the scrambling of his pulse said otherwise.

“Is there something upsetting about her being back?” he asked, finishing the last of the muffin and pushing aside his plate to concentrate on what Grandma Jenny had to say.

“No, I suppose not,” she said, though the worry didn’t fade from her expression.

“You’re not a very good liar,” he said. “You listen to me go on and on about my troubles. It’s my turn to return the favor. What worries you about Abby Dawson being back?”

“It’s just that once upon a time she and Luke, well, they were like two peas in a pod. That girl had a real hold on him.” She met his gaze. “Luke saved her from drowning. Did she mention that?”

“No, but she did say something about it not being the first time she’d gotten in trouble in the water,” he recalled. “Luke rescued her?”

“He did, and fell for her on the spot,” Grandma Jenny confirmed.

“I thought he hung out with Hannah back then,” Seth said, beginning to understand her concern.

“He did. It was the three of them, day and night, but there was no question that Hannah was just tagging along. To give Abby credit, she wasn’t one of those girls who ditched her best friend when she got involved with a boy, though it might have been easier on Hannah if she had been.”

“Because?”

“Hannah had had a crush on that boy for years.”

Oh, brother, Seth thought, envisioning a bitter teen rivalry. “Did Abby know that?” he asked, his attraction to the woman he’d met dimming just a little at the thought that she’d deliberately set out to steal the affections of Hannah’s guy.

“I can’t say for sure, but they were best friends. Don’t girls that age tell each other everything?”

Seth shook his head. “I have a couple of sisters, but the workings of their minds are way beyond my pay grade.”

“Well, it was a difficult time around here watching Hannah on the sidelines, her heart obviously aching, but trying so hard to act like it didn’t matter that Luke was dating Abby. As bad as I felt for Hannah, it was hard to blame Abby and Luke. They were good kids and it wasn’t as if Luke and Hannah had been a couple. I doubt he’d noticed she was alive before he got involved with Abby. Then the three of them were underfoot around here all the time. I sometimes wondered if Abby didn’t even go a little overboard to be extra nice out of guilt because she knew Hannah was hurting.”

“In that case, surely you don’t think that after all this time, Abby might want to rekindle things with Luke,” Seth said. “Would she come back just to stir up trouble for them?”

“I have no idea why she’s come back,” Grandma Jenny said with a touch of impatience, then sighed. “Hopefully it’s just for a visit, but if not...” Her voice trailed off.

“Come on,” Seth protested. “Luke and Hannah are solid. I’ve never seen two people more in love. And you said this Abby is married.”

“That’s what I’d heard. I’m just saying her being back could stir up some old memories, good and bad.” Her jaw set with determination as she stood up. “I’d better warn Hannah.”

“Or maybe you should leave it alone,” Seth suggested mildly, even though he was out of his depth when it came to marital relationships. His one serious relationship had ended tragically. Before that it had been all heat and intensity. There hadn’t been a lot of complex issues to resolve.

“For all we know this woman could be gone by morning,” he said. “You’d have upset Hannah for no reason.”

“Spoken exactly like a man,” she muttered.

“Which I am,” Seth replied, amused.

“Which just means you don’t know how women’s minds work. You admitted that yourself, not more than a minute ago,” she reminded him. “Wash up those dishes when you’re done. I’m going to see my granddaughter.”

“But we don’t even know for sure if Abby Dawson was the woman I met this morning,” he argued, hating that he seemed to have set off alarms.

“Oh, it was Abby,” Grandma Jenny said with conviction. “I can feel it in my bones. Trouble’s coming.”

Before he could think of a thing to keep her from leaving, she was gone, and Seth was left to wonder whether Seaview Key was quite the tranquil, boring little town he’d thought it to be. It sounded almost as if the return of Abby Dawson—if that’s who she was—could stir up a whole boatload of pain for his friends. Which, come to think of it, was too darn bad given the feelings she’d stirred up in him.

2

Hannah finished the latest draft of the story about a puppy named Jasper who’d befriended a lonely little boy, typed The End on the last page and shut off the computer just as she heard the front door downstairs open and then close.

“Hannah?” her grandmother called out. “You up there?”

“On my way down,” she responded at once, startled by her grandmother’s midmorning visit. She was usually rigidly respectful of Hannah’s writing schedule, never dropping in before afternoon. Something serious must be going on for her to violate her self-imposed rule.

Hannah found Grandma Jenny in the kitchen placing several freshly baked blueberry muffins on a plate. “I was sure my husband already ate his share of those today,” she commented.

“Nothing makes me happier than a man who appreciates my baking,” Grandma Jenny replied. “Luke knows that, bless his heart. I thought you might want one, too, or are you dieting?”

Hannah smiled. “I could eat one. I’ll make tea.”

“Iced tea, please. It’s hotter than blazes out there already. You’d think it would be cooling off by now. It’s almost Thanksgiving, for goodness’ sake.”

Hannah poured two tall glasses of iced tea, then sat down at the kitchen table and regarded her grandmother expectantly. “What’s on your mind?”

“Do I have to have something on my mind? Can’t I just drop by for a visit?”

“Of course you can,” Hannah responded patiently, “but you usually wait until afternoon in case I’m working. I figure something must be important for you to show up at this hour.”

“Obviously I need to start being more unpredictable.”

Hannah merely lifted a brow at her irritated tone. “Are you lonely with Kelsey and Jeff away? Heaven knows, I’m missing my daily fix of seeing Isabella. It must be even harder for you, though I thought having Seth underfoot would help.”

“I’m not lonely. I’m worried,” Grandma Jenny said candidly, startling Hannah.

“Worried? Why?”

“Seth met a woman this morning.”

Hannah regarded her blankly. “Why is that worrisome? Given your matchmaking tendencies, I would have thought you’d be thrilled. You’ve been muttering that he needs a woman ever since he got to town.”

“Well, I may have been thrilled, but if this is who I think it is, it might be for the best if she just went back to wherever she came from.”

Since Hannah had never before heard her grandmother use that disparaging tone about anyone, she stared at her with shock. “How so? Who on earth is she? I didn’t think there was anyone in Seaview Key, past or present, with whom you had any issues.”

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.”

“I aspire to be just like her, but I’m not there yet. I am pretty good at the multitasking, though. This little angel is number four and the very last one,” she said emphatically. “If another baby sneaks up on us, I swear I’m suing our doctors for malpractice. I made Bobby get a vasectomy. I’ve had my tubes tied for good measure. I’m thinking I should probably stock up on condoms while I’m at it.”

“That surely ought to do it,” Abby said, laughing.

“Hey, would you mind holding the baby for just a minute while I get your drink and place this other order? Little Adam Jackson here—we call him A.J.—is getting fussy. It’s almost time for his bottle. Dad’s good with him as long as he’s on his best behavior, but tears shake him up. And I don’t entirely trust him not to grab the nearest bottle to try to calm him down. Since there are a few too many beers behind the bar, that’s a potential problem.”

Without waiting for a reply, she placed the baby in Abby’s arms. “Iced tea, right? Unsweetened, no lemon?”

Abby was impressed. “Good memory.”

“Not that difficult. We used to drink the stuff by the gallon all year long. That sort of habit doesn’t wear off. Back in a sec.”

She dashed off, leaving Abby to gaze down into the wide blue-gray eyes staring back at her. The weight of the baby in her arms set off a maternal tug that she’d assured herself was long-since dead and buried now that she’d passed forty. She’d wanted children so badly, but it simply wasn’t meant to be. That’s what her husband had told her, his tone so blasted accepting.

Sure, it made sense that her minister husband had taken God’s will at face value, but she’d desperately wanted answers, real, scientific proof that there was a physical reason why they’d had no babies after so many years of trying. Marshall had refused to consider testing, and that had been that. For a man who’d preached about tolerance, commitment and compromise in a healthy marriage, he’d been surprisingly rigid about getting his own way.

Not that their marriage had been loveless or abusive. They’d had a lot of good times, moments of real tenderness. She’d been a better person for having known him, for trying to live up to his ideals. In the end, though, trying to be good, to be the perfect role model and mentor for their parishioners, to do everything in her power to keep from seeing that flash of disappointment in his eyes when she failed, all of it had worn her out. It had sapped the life right out of her.

So, here she was, back in Seaview Key, hoping to find the other Abby, the one who’d laughed freely, who’d dreamed, who’d known passion and embraced life.

She just prayed that it wasn’t too late.

* * *

Seth had responded to two emergency calls in a row, something that rarely happened on Seaview Key.

The first had been an amateur fisherman who’d gotten tangled up with a hook. It had taken only a few minutes to remove the hook and treat the man. It had taken longer to calm his hysterical wife who was sure they needed to be seen by a “real” doctor on the mainland.

The second call had taken both time and patience. Eighty-two-year-old Ella Mae Monroe had called in complaining of chest pains. Since this happened at least once a week, Seth had known she was more in need of calming and companionship than medical treatment. Luke had filled him in on the pattern his first week on the job.

This morning he’d spent over an hour with her, assuring her that her vital signs were strong, that her symptoms were related to anxiety, not a heart attack.

What Ella Mae really needed were friends who’d stop by or activities she could enjoy. He reminded himself to speak to Grandma Jenny about dropping in to visit and maybe inviting her to join some of the other older women in their church groups.

By the time he left Ella Mae’s, it was after noon. Since The Fish Tale was on his way to see Luke, he decided to grab a couple of their excellent grilled grouper sandwiches and take them to the clinic.

He was halfway to the bar to order, when he spotted the woman from the beach sitting in a booth, holding a baby and looking a little shell-shocked. Drawn by some force he didn’t entirely understand after Grandma Jenny’s earlier revelations, he crossed the room.

“Yours?” he asked, earning a startled look.

When she recognized him, her expression brightened. “Hardly. This is Lesley Ann’s little boy, A.J.”

“Ah,” he said, recognizing the baby then. “You were drafted into duty. Lesley Ann’s very clever. Be careful. If you’re good at keeping A.J. calm, you’ll have him for hours.”

She laughed. “Voice of experience?”

“I’ve put in my share of time as impromptu babysitter,” he admitted. “A.J. and I have a deal, though, a pact between guys, so to speak. Twenty minutes and he lets out a scream of disapproval that has his mama flying across the restaurant. He looks pretty content with you. You could be in for a long haul.”

He studied her intently. “You don’t look as if you’d mind that.”

“Not entirely,” she admitted.

“You have kids of your own?”

She shook her head and there was no mistaking the hint of sorrow in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said at once.

“So am I,” she said quietly. “How about you? Do you have children?”

“Never married,” he said, then realized that wasn’t necessarily an answer. “And no children out there, either.”

A smile played on her lips. “I’m glad you clarified.”

“Well, it’s not always the case,” he admitted. “I’ve known plenty of men who are a lot more reckless and casual than I am. By the way, I didn’t get your name this morning.”

“Abby,” she told him.

Despite his certainty that Grandma Jenny had gotten it right, he had to admit he was a little disappointed. Abby Dawson obviously brought a lot of baggage with her. “Dawson?” he asked to be sure.

She regarded him with puzzlement. “Actually it’s Miller now, but yes. How did you know that?”

“I’m staying at Seaview Inn. When I mentioned to the owner that I’d run into a woman on the beach, she thought it might have been you.”

Her expression brightened. “Grandma Jenny’s still alive?”

“And going strong,” he confirmed.

“I thought I’d heard something about her great-granddaughter running the inn these days.”

“Kelsey and her husband have taken over the day-to-day operation, but make no mistake, Grandma Jenny is still in charge of the place,” he told her.

She smiled. “I’m so glad. I must have eaten about a million of her cookies over the years.”

“I’m closing in on that many and I’ve only been here a couple of months,” Seth confided. “That’s why I swim and run and go to the gym every day.”

“You told me this morning that you ended up here because of Luke. So you must know Hannah, too.”

“I do. She’s incredible.” Recalling his earlier conversation with Grandma Jenny, he felt compelled to add, “Luke and Hannah are amazing together.”

“I can imagine,” Abby said. “Nobody is more deserving of happiness than those two.” Her expression turned nostalgic. “We were all good friends once. Did you know that?”

“I’d heard.”

“I hope we can be again,” she said, a wistful note in her voice.

“Really?” he asked, unable to hide his skepticism.

Her gaze narrowed. “Did you hear that Luke and I were involved at one time? Is that why you felt the need to tell me how good they are together? And why you sounded just now as if us being friends would be impossible?”

“Grandma Jenny mentioned something about you and Luke being a couple,” he said. “As for me, I was just making conversation.”

“Really?” she replied doubtfully, then added, “It was a long time ago, Seth. Believe me, I didn’t come back to town with ulterior motives where Luke’s concerned.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said solemnly.

“I meant what I said, though. I do hope we can all be friends again. Seaview Key is a small town. I certainly don’t want things to be awkward for any of us.”

Since that decision certainly wasn’t up to him, Seth changed the subject. “You mentioned your name is Miller now. You’re married?”

“Divorced, actually. For about a year now, so well past the stage of crying myself to sleep.”

He was startled by her candor. “But earlier I got the sense that you were running away from the past.”

The baby whimpered in her arms. She instinctively rocked A.J. until he fell back to sleep, then met Seth’s gaze. “I prefer to think that I’m running toward something,” she countered. “Without boring you with the details, my marriage changed me. I came back here to see if there was any of the old me left.” She gave him a wry look. “It’s ironic, really, since I couldn’t wait to get away from Seaview Key and the old me and become a totally new person.”

“That didn’t turn out as well as you’d expected?”

“In many ways it did,” she contradicted. “In others, not so much.”

Just then Lesley Ann rushed over to the table with a glass of iced tea and a large soda for Seth.

“Sorry about the wait,” she apologized to Abby. “We had a tiny crisis in the kitchen.” She grinned at Seth. “I saw you come in and brought your usual. You work fast. How do you know Abby already? I know for a fact she just got back to town.”

He winked at Abby. “We met on the beach this morning. I was trespassing.”

“But I imagine you sweet-talked her into not calling the cops,” Lesley Ann said. She grinned at Abby. “Watch him. He’s a very smooth talker.”

Abby laughed. “I’ve already figured out that much.”

“So, two fish sandwiches?” Lesley Ann asked.

“Sure,” Seth said, then met Abby’s gaze. “If you don’t mind the company.”

“I’d love it,” Abby said.

“And I’ll take A.J. now, so you can relax,” Lesley Ann said, sweeping the baby into her arms. “Back in a flash with your food.”

“Did she always have that kind of energy?” Seth asked when she was gone.

“Head cheerleader, student council president and homecoming queen,” Abby said. “Lesley Ann was always a dynamo. Of course, I would have predicted she’d take on running the entire state of Florida, not become a mother of four.”

Seth laughed. “Who knows? Maybe one of these days she’ll do both. How about you? What did you do after you left Seaview Key?”

“College, then marriage,” she said. “I had a business in a small town outside of Pensacola.”

“What kind of business?”

“A restaurant,” she said, “which is why I know just how talented Lesley Ann and her father are. A lot of the things that made my restaurant successful I learned from watching them. It takes more than good food to become an indispensable part of the community the way this place is.”

“Do you still have the restaurant?”

She shook her head. “I sold it a few months ago, right after the divorce.”

“Wow! That’s a lot of life changes all at once.”

She shrugged. “It was time. I needed a clean break. What about you, though? Seaview Key must be quite a change from being on the front lines in Iraq.”

“And then Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s a welcome change. Just what I needed. I imagine Luke would tell you the same thing.”

“Is this permanent or just a stopover?” she asked.

Seth had asked himself the same thing. When he’d first arrived in Seaview Key and Luke had offered him the opportunity, he’d seen it as a transition to something else. Lately, though, he realized the community and the people were growing on him. He liked the pace of life here. The only thing missing was someone with whom he could share his life.

He’d been telling himself he was in no hurry, that he could wait for the right relationship to come along, but every time he was with Luke and Hannah he felt envy stirring. Trips to the mainland, hanging out in bars, hooking up on occasion, it wasn’t the answer, not for the short term and certainly not for finding the kind of woman he wanted forever.

He met Abby’s interested gaze. “I’m not sure,” he said honestly. “I’ve fallen in love with Seaview Key, but I don’t know if that’s enough.”

“Are you feeling restless already?” she asked.

He thought he read worry in her eyes. Since he doubted it was meant for him, he asked. “You worried it won’t be enough for you?”

“It wasn’t before,” she said.

“But you’re not the same person you were back then,” he reminded her. “That is what you said. You want different things now.”

“That’s what brought me back here,” she agreed. “I guess we’ll see if I’ve gotten it right.”

“Isn’t that life?” he asked. “Taking it day by day, seeing how things go? Last I heard planning only gives God a good laugh.”

Lesley Ann set their sandwiches and fries on the table just then. Abby’s eyes widened.

“Now this is exactly the way I remember it,” she said before taking a bite, then sighing. “Heavenly.”

Watching her, Seth covered a sigh. Despite all the potential complications Abby represented, he couldn’t help thinking that heavenly just about nailed it. For the first time since he’d arrived in Seaview Key, he thought he might have found more than a job to keep him here.

3

Even after the lunch crowd at The Fish Tale had drifted away and Seth had left for an appointment, Abby stayed where she was, sipping iced tea and thinking about the way Seth had reacted to the prospect of her being back in Hannah and Luke’s lives. There’d been a hint of worry there, no question about it. How was she supposed to prove that the last thing she wanted was to cause trouble for them?

Even as she pondered that, Jack Ferguson slid into the booth opposite her.

“What happened to the girl I remember coming in here in pigtails with her mama and daddy?” he asked, a grin spreading across his weather-beaten face. “It’s been way too long, Abby. You’re all grown up.”

Abby laughed. “That’s what happens when more than twenty years go by. And believe me, the pigtails are in the distant past, thank goodness.”

He shook his head. “Hard to believe it’s been that long, even though I have Lesley Ann and her passel of youngsters to prove that time has marched on.”

“She seems happy,” Abby said.

“Bobby’s been good to her. I think she really lucked out in that department. Of course, I’m the really lucky one. Unlike my son, Lesley Ann wanted to stick around and help out here.” His expression turned wry. “Well, what she really enjoys is bossing me around, but I’m willing to go along with that to keep this place in the hands of family.”

“I’m sorry about Mrs. Ferguson,” Abby told him.

He nodded. “Me, too.”

Silence fell for a minute, but then he leaned forward. “Okay, I’m going to get into something, even though Lesley Ann told me I should stay out of it. She reminded me we’re supposed to make a practice of not deliberately riling up our customers.”

Abby braced herself. She had a hunch she knew what was coming. “And you think whatever you have to say will rile me up?”

“It’s a possibility,” he replied.

“Go ahead. Questions from old friends are never out of line.”

He nodded. “Okay, then. What’s this I hear about you selling out to some developer who’s going to destroy Blue Heron Cove?” he asked. “Is that true? If it is, your mama and daddy must be turning over in their graves, if you don’t mind me being blunt.”

Abby wasn’t surprised by the direct question or by the implied criticism. “I haven’t sold out,” she said quietly.

He was clearly taken aback. “You haven’t?”

“No, but I am developing Blue Heron Cove myself.”

Jack sat back, his expression shocked. “I can’t believe it. You’re the one who’s going to ruin our tranquility? What would your parents think? You must know how they felt about this island.”

“I hope they’d think that I’m a smart businesswoman who loves this island as much as they did,” she said, refusing to take offense. She’d expected precisely this reaction before people heard all the facts. “I’m not going to ruin anything, Jack. I give you my word.”

He didn’t look as if he thought that was good enough.

“What exactly have you heard?” she asked. “Maybe I can put your mind at ease.”

“Not an hour ago I heard that you’ll be starting to clear-cut that land any day now, as soon as the town signs off on the permits,” he said accusingly. “Then you plan to put up a bunch of fancy houses that will be making all sorts of demands on our resources out here. I’ve seen the signs and ads for Blue Heron Cove myself. No question those places are going to be big, too big for a town this size. You denying that, too? Seems to me a picture is worth a thousand words.”

“One thing at a time. We won’t be clear-cutting,” she assured him. “That’s the truth. As many trees and shrubs as possible will remain in place. Others will be salvaged and replanted once the houses are built. There wouldn’t be much point in enticing people to live in a serene seaside setting like this and then destroying it.”

Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Gospel truth?”

“Gospel truth,” she confirmed. “It’s also true that the houses will be larger than some out here, but there won’t be that many of them. There will be one-acre lots, so only ten houses, maximum. A couple of people have even inquired about larger lots, so that would mean even fewer houses. They’ll be very high-end, so the people who buy them will contribute to the economy here. They won’t be a drain on it. Blue Heron Cove isn’t going to damage this island, Jack. I’ll make sure of it. That’s why I made the decision to oversee this myself, start to finish. I may not wield a hammer or put in the electrical wiring, but I’ll see to it that every detail is done right. So will the contractor I’ve been talking to. His reputation is sterling. He won’t mess this up.”

There was no mistaking the relief in Jack’s eyes. “How’d this get so twisted around?” he asked, then shook his head. “Never mind. Gossip usually spreads fastest when it’s negative.”

“Do you suppose you could help me get the truth out there?” she appealed. “There’s a council meeting coming up for the final approvals. I could use some backing. People may not remember me or trust me, but they know and respect you.”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best. You bring your plans by and show them to me. You do that and if everything looks like you’ve described it, I’ll be right there at that meeting to back you up.”

“That would mean a lot to me.”

“Just don’t make a liar out of me, you hear,” he said.

“Not a chance,” she promised. “I always keep my word.”

It had always been true, but being married to a minister had reinforced for her that honesty and integrity were traits never to be compromised. She certainly didn’t intend to start messing with them now. If she was going to stay in Seaview Key and make it home, she needed to start out on the right foot, not with lies and deceptions. And if an old-timer like Jack Ferguson put his faith in her, there was no way she’d let him down.

* * *

Seth caught up with Luke between patients, which wasn’t all that difficult to do. Seaview Key had a tiny, exceptionally healthy year-round population, which grew in winter with a lot of senior snowbirds. This time of year, though, there were mostly locals around and the occasional day-trippers from the mainland enjoying the shops and galleries that had sprung up in what had once been little more than a fishing village. Come January, according to Luke, that would all change and the town would be packed with strangers.

“Hannah’s grandmother told me you have a lead on a boat we might be able to outfit for emergency runs to the mainland,” Seth said, settling into a chair in Luke’s office and propping his feet up on one of the boxes of medical books that Luke had yet to unpack. For a man who practiced medicine with demanding precision, he didn’t seem to mind doing it amid chaos. That had served him well in Iraq.

Luke dug through the piles of paper on his desk, his expression triumphant when he finally found what he’d been looking for. He handed the fancy color flyer from a nearby seaside community to Seth.

He gave Seth a couple of minutes to look it over, then asked, “What do you think? I made a couple of calls. It’s got a few years on it, but the rescue squad chief says it runs well. He had a mechanic call me to confirm that. Best of all, it’s already outfitted for what we want.”

“If it’s so great, why are they getting rid of it?” Seth asked, glancing over the specifications, then whistling when he saw the asking price. “And why is it priced so high?”

“They’re selling it because a grateful patient is underwriting a new boat. They have another backup, newer than this one. And the price is that high because that’s what this sort of specially equipped boat can command. If we had to start from scratch to outfit a boat with all that emergency medical equipment at today’s prices, it would cost even more.”

“Can we afford it?” Seth asked doubtfully.

“The bigger question is can we afford not to buy it?” Luke responded. “We can’t keep relying on finding a volunteer to take our emergencies to the mainland. I’m equipped to handle a lot of minor things right here, but some people need to be in a major ICU and they need to get there in a hurry.”

Seth nodded. “Agreed. And the cost for using a medical evacuation helicopter is prohibitive.”

“To say nothing of the fact that there’s no really good place to land it other than the school ball field, which seems to be swarming with kids even when there are no games going on.”

“You do know the budget can barely squeeze out enough for my salary, bandages and emergency supplies, right?” Seth said, though he couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away from the boat pictured on the flyer.

Luke nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that.”

“Have you come up with anything? A fairy godmother, for instance?”

“Nope. I’m thinking we ought to start organizing some fund-raisers, make this a real community effort. I can put Hannah and Grandma Jenny on that, maybe get Lesley Ann over at The Fish Tale involved. She could sweet-talk a saint into donating a halo. I’ll kick-start the drive with enough to get them to hold the boat for us. The community can do the rest.”

“That could work,” Seth said thoughtfully. Unfortunately Seaview Key was small and filled with hardworking middle-class families who didn’t have a lot of spare cash. He couldn’t begin to imagine how many bingo games or spaghetti dinners it would take to raise enough.

“It could take a while,” he told Luke realistically. “What about going to the developer who’s building those houses at Blue Heron Cove? I imagine the folks who buy those pricey houses are going to want ready access to top-notch medical care before they buy on an island that relies on ferry service to the mainland.”

Luke’s eyes lit up at once. “Great idea. The final vote on that deal is coming up in the next week. Maybe we could get the donation worked into the approval.”

“Or maybe we could just ask the developer,” Seth said. “It would be a terrific public-relations gesture.”

Luke nodded. “Good point.”

Seth drew in a deep breath, still weighing whether he should mention anything about his encounter with Abby Dawson. He opted to put the news out there. “And since we’re talking about Blue Heron Cove, that brings up something else I need to mention.”

“Oh?” Luke said.

“I fished a woman from that area out of the water this morning.”

“But there aren’t any houses in there yet,” Luke said, his expression perplexed. “The beach along there is posted with No Trespassing signs.”

Seth grinned. “Which I’ve been ignoring. The point is that the original house is still in there.” He watched Luke’s face closely and saw the instant when understanding dawned.

“Abby Dawson?”

“Grandma Jenny seemed to think so. I ran into the woman again at The Fish Tale just now and she confirmed it. Her married name’s Miller.”

“Well, I’ll be,” Luke said. “Abby couldn’t wait to put Seaview Key behind her. I’m surprised she’s back.”

“Grandma Jenny mentioned that the two of you used to be pretty tight,” he said casually, watching closely for a reaction.

“Ancient history,” Luke said a little too quickly.

“You sure about that?” Seth asked. “You look almost as worried as Grandma Jenny did. Is this woman being back going to cause problems for you and Hannah?”

“Absolutely not,” Luke said firmly, then sighed. “I’m not sure Hannah will see it that way, though. Back then, Abby and I were...”

“Let’s just leave it at ‘close,’” Seth suggested.

“Oh, yeah,” Luke said. “And then some. But we were over a long time ago.”

“But that’s not going to stop all of Hannah’s old insecurities from rising to the surface,” Seth guessed.

“Under normal conditions, she probably wouldn’t give it a second thought,” Luke replied. “But now? She might be in remission from her breast cancer, but it’s always in the back of her mind. And the scar is a constant reminder. No matter how many times I tell her it doesn’t matter, that she’s a beautiful woman, on some level she doesn’t buy it. And just today I realized that she’s already worrying about the next screening. This is a stress she doesn’t need right now.”

He gave Seth a hopeful look. “I don’t suppose Abby has aged badly, maybe gained, like, a hundred pounds or something?”

Seth laughed, thinking of the slender woman he’d held in his arms, the woman with curves in all the right place. “Afraid not.”

Luke sighed, his expression troubled. “Maybe Abby’s just passing through. Last I heard she was settled up in north Florida and happily married. She probably just came down to take care of some paperwork with the developer or something. All that land back in there belonged to her family.”

“I don’t think so,” Seth said. “I mean, she told me herself that she’s divorced and that she’s back to stay.”

Luke studied him curiously. “You sound surprisingly happy about that. What happened on that beach this morning?”

“I hauled her out of the water. That’s it,” Seth said, downplaying the effect the rescue had had on his libido.

“Which makes you her hero,” Luke commented, then added wryly, “I recall what that was like.”

Seth avoided Luke’s knowing gaze. It was ironic really that she and Luke had apparently fallen for each other all those years ago after Luke had rescued her from the waters off Seaview Key. Was it possible that the same sort of connection would happen between himself and Abby? Was she the kind of woman who made a habit of falling for men who bailed her out of jams?

Earlier he might have dismissed the possibility of anything happening between them, but after running into Abby at The Fish Tale, he wasn’t so sure. He’d felt another surge of electricity the instant he’d spotted her. The sight of her with a baby in her arms had been a little too appealing, as well, reminding him of the future he’d once envisioned for himself.

That vision had come back to him with increasing frequency since he’d been in Seaview Key. Somehow all of the resolve he’d mustered after the tragic end of his last relationship was fading these days, replaced by a yearning he’d never expected to feel again. It didn’t make the least bit of sense to put a virtual stranger like Abby Miller in the middle of that vision, but she seemed to have landed there just the same.

He could only hope that wouldn’t cause a conflict that could ruin his friendship with Luke.

“Seth? You okay?” Luke asked, concern on his face. “I recognize that shell-shocked look. It worries me.”

“Why is that?” Seth asked defensively. “Because you still have feelings for Abby, after all?”

“Not a one,” Luke insisted. “But the Abby I recall wasn’t interested in a life on Seaview Key. It’s hard to imagine she’s changed that much. She’ll get restless, Seth. Then where will you be? And aside from that, she’s my age, so that makes her several years older than you.”

Seth didn’t even try to hide a smile at that. “And that’s some kind of a crime in your book?”

“Not a crime, a concern. I feel responsible for you.”

Seth laughed. “Last time I checked, I was a grown man, Luke. I’ve even been through the same life-altering situations you have.”

His words didn’t seem to allay Luke’s concerns. If anything, he looked more worried than ever. “And you lost a woman you loved,” Luke said quietly.

“It’s not as if I need to be reminded about what happened,” Seth said angrily.

“Of course not, but you’re vulnerable, Seth.”

“And therefore easy prey for a devious older woman?” Seth asked, getting to his feet. “Thanks for the concern, Luke, but I can handle this. Maybe you should focus on your own problems.”

He headed for the door, then turned back. “Keep me posted on that boat. From now on, why don’t we keep our conversations professional and leave the personal stuff out of it.”

He saw the dismay on Luke’s face just as he closed the door and even managed a moment’s regret for his words. Luke had been a mentor in Iraq, a good friend, almost a big brother. He’d been an even more supportive friend since Seth had mustered out of the military and come home. What Seth had said to him just now shouldn’t have been said between friends.

He stood outside, sucked in a deep breath, then forced himself to open the office door.

“Sorry,” he said quietly. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay,” Luke assured him, looking relieved. “You were right. Your personal life is none of my business.”

“But I made yours my business,” Seth said. “I’m the one who came in here all worked up about the impact Abby’s return might have on your marriage.”

“And, if I’m being entirely honest, I resented it,” Luke said. “I guess we both crossed a line, but we both did it out of concern.”

“No question about it,” Seth said. “Then we’re good?”

“We’re good,” Luke agreed.

But there was little question, Seth thought with regret, that the possibility of Abby coming between them in one way or another already existed.

* * *

Luke was more shaken by the entire encounter with Seth than he wanted to admit. It wasn’t just concern for the young man he considered a kid brother. He was more worried than he’d acknowledged about Hannah’s reaction when she found out that Abby was back. He knew it wouldn’t take long before she heard the news, if she hadn’t already. Truthfully, if Grandma Jenny knew, then there was a good chance she’d already told Hannah. He figured he had several choices, none of them pleasant.

He could head home and get into this with Hannah. He could check in with her grandmother and see if she’d broken the news and ask how Hannah had reacted, so he’d be prepared to deal with any fallout. Or he could track down Abby and gather a few facts before going home to see his wife.

He didn’t stop to question why he chose the third option. He just headed to Blue Heron Cove and the house where he’d spent so much of his time back in high school. The Dawson home had never been as welcoming as Seaview Inn, but he’d spent countless hours there with Abby under the watchful gazes of her protective parents. After her near drowning, they’d been worse than ever, rarely wanting her out of their sight unless they knew she was at Seaview Inn with Hannah’s mother and Jenny looking out for her.

Though he’d glimpsed the house during walks on the beach with Hannah, he was still taken aback by its neglect. If Abby was back, the house showed few signs of it. He went around back and approached from the beach. He found Abby sitting on the porch, her feet propped on the railing. She didn’t seem all that surprised to see him.

“I wondered how long it would be before you turned up,” she said, a half smile on her lips.

Luke stopped where he was, studying the woman he hadn’t seen in so long. There were a few lines around her eyes, but otherwise, she looked almost the same with her hair scooped into a ponytail, her long legs bared by a pair of cut-off jeans, her toenails painted the same shade of kick-ass red, if he wasn’t mistaken.

“I heard you were back. I had to see it with my own eyes,” he told her. “You look good, Abby.”

“So do you, though I thought I noticed a limp. I heard you were injured in Iraq.”

He nodded. “I’m almost as good as new. Most of the time I don’t even think about it.”

“Then I’m sorry I brought it up,” she apologized. She drew in a deep breath, then asked, “How’s Hannah?”

“Great,” he said, relaxing now that he knew she was aware that he and Hannah were together. “She’s writing children’s books, you know.”

She laughed. “Seriously? I hadn’t heard that. She was always the best at making up ghost stories when we had bonfires on the beach.”

Luke was startled by that. “I’d forgotten that. She was, wasn’t she? I guess we all should have known she’d wind up writing someday.”

“I’m glad you’re together, Luke. I really am.” She held his gaze. “Can you stay and visit? There’s iced tea. I’m afraid I don’t have anything stronger in the house.”

“Iced tea would be great,” he said. “I can get it, if you want. I think I remember where things are.”

“That’s okay. The inside is still a work in progress. The dishes are all spotless, but I can’t say the same for every other nook and cranny. It might offend your preference for a sterile environment.”

He laughed. “I might like a sterile O.R., but I can tolerate a little mess everywhere else. Otherwise I’d never leave the house.”

“Still, I’ll get the tea,” she said, heading inside.

Luke sat on the top step and awaited her return, thinking how comfortable he felt here—with Abby—despite all the years that had passed. He told himself there was nothing dangerous about that feeling. After all, feeling comfortable wasn’t the same as feeling a spark of the old attraction. He certainly hadn’t felt that. Hannah was it for him. Nothing about that had changed with Abby’s return, he was relieved to say.

Abby came back outside, the screen door slapping shut behind her with a once-familiar creak, and handed him the ice-cold glass. “Does Hannah know you’re here?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I wanted to hear for myself what you’re doing back,” he told her.

“I’m the one who’s planning to develop Blue Heron Cove, and before you get all riled up about that, you need to know I’m doing it responsibly with as little impact on the environment as possible.”

He smiled. “Ah, so you’ve heard all the rumors and have rehearsed that speech?”

“I’ve heard the rumors,” she confirmed. “So, about Hannah, is she going to hate it that I’m in town and intend to stick around?”

“I don’t see why she should,” Luke said, though of course he knew exactly why she might.

Abby smiled. “Then you really are naive, my dear old friend.”

“Okay, she’ll probably be thrown at first,” he conceded. “But you were friends, Abby. Good friends.”

“And I’d like to have that back again,” she admitted. “But I have no illusions about Hannah. She may not feel the same way. She could feel threatened, though I swear to you, Luke, I have no ulterior motives where you’re concerned.” She smiled. “You’re not the first person I’ve had to explain that to today. Your friend Seth was worried, too.”

“So he told me. You still haven’t said why you’re back. You were pretty determined to leave Seaview Key behind forever.”

“I came back here for me, to start over again, just the way you and Hannah did.”

“Where does Seth fit in?”

She laughed at the question. “I met him a few hours ago, papa bear. I have no designs on him, either. What did he tell you?”

Luke winced, unwilling to get into his conversation with Seth. “Never mind. He’s had a tough year. I worry about him, that’s all.”

Her gaze narrowed. “A tough year in what way?”

He shook his head. “His story to tell, not mine.”

“Okay, then, I am duly warned to tread carefully.”

“Sorry. I’ve put my foot into it again. I’m really lousy at the whole advice thing.”

“Ah, so you had this talk with Seth, too?” she asked, clearly amused. “And he’s already told you to butt out?”

Luke nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Then maybe that’s what you should do.”

He stood up and set his glass on the table beside her. “I think you’re right. I’m glad you’re back, Abby. I hope you find what you want here.”

“As long as it’s not you,” she said dryly.

“Goes without saying,” he said, smiling. “Nice to see you’re still smart and direct.”

“Will you tell Hannah you stopped by?”

“Of course.”

“Would you tell her that I’m looking forward to seeing her?” she said. “But I’ll leave that ball in her court.”

Luke nodded. “I’ll tell her.”

As he walked back to his car, he couldn’t help wondering, though, how Hannah would respond. As well as he thought he knew her, they’d never really talked about his old relationship with Abby except in passing. Now, out of the blue, it appeared they might be forced to deal with it. He had to admit he wasn’t looking forward to it.

4

Hannah went through the motions of getting dinner ready, but she was so distracted she burned the chicken and overcooked the pasta. She tossed both in the garbage and started over, this time with baked potatoes and steaks that could be thrown on the grill whenever Luke got home. At least she hadn’t destroyed the salad, too. She put the bowl on the table.

She glanced at the clock and realized Luke was running late. There must have been some sort of emergency that kept him at the clinic. Just as well, since that would give the kitchen time to air out before he got here to ask questions about the ruined meal.

Hannah didn’t want anyone, least of all Luke, to get the idea that she was intimidated by having her childhood best friend—and Luke’s old love—back home again. Yet the instant her grandmother had told her of Abby’s return about a million insecurities had crowded in, followed by a cascade of memories from the summer that Luke and Abby had fallen in love and Hannah had had to sit by on the sidelines while the teen romance flourished right in front of her.

The three of them had spent countless hours on the porch at Seaview Inn, playing games and talking into the night. She’d been forced to turn a blind eye as Abby snuggled against Luke’s side in the old swing. On too many nights, as they walked off hand in hand, tears had leaked from Hannah’s eyes and she’d gone to bed crying. The only thing saving her from complete humiliation was knowing that Luke hadn’t realized just how miserable she was. Abby might have guessed, but she’d pretended otherwise, either to soothe her own conscience or to protect Hannah’s secret.

But they were all grown up now. Hannah was the one who was married to Luke, and she had not a single reason to believe he would ever be unfaithful. Once he made a commitment, he kept it. After he’d come home from Iraq, he would have gone back to his wife, if she hadn’t already started divorce proceedings so she could marry the partner in his medical practice.

That faith in Luke, of course, belonged to the strong, confident Hannah, not the one whose body had been disfigured by breast cancer and ravaged by chemotherapy. That woman had enough self-doubts to keep a psychologist busy for years.

She stiffened her resolve to keep those doubts to herself. She didn’t want her grandmother or Luke watching her constantly to see if she was on edge about Abby’s return. How did the saying go, “Fake it till you make it?” Well, she was going to fake being thrilled about Abby’s return or die trying.

“Sorry I’m late,” Luke called out, startling her as he jogged up the porch steps, then joining her in the kitchen.

“Last-minute emergency?” she asked, turning her face up for his kiss.

“Not exactly. I’ll explain later,” he said, a guilty flush in his cheeks. “I see you have the grill ready to go. Are we having steak?”

She nodded.

He sniffed the air. “Then why do I smell something that reminds me of scorched chicken?”

“Blast,” she murmured. “I thought I’d aired the place out. I need to get some of that stuff that wipes out odors.”

Luke frowned. “Something up? You never ruin a meal.”

She forced a grin. “That’s what you think. Maybe I’m just very good at hiding the evidence. After all, when I lived in New York, I excelled at takeout, not cooking. Ask Kelsey. She’ll testify to that.”

“If you say so. Let me get those steaks on the grill. I’m starving.”

Hannah thought he was awfully eager to escape the kitchen and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because he was hungry. Something was going on. The knot in the pit of her stomach—or maybe sheer paranoia—told her it had something to do with Abby. So did his strained efforts at making small-talk during their meal.

Still she couldn’t seem to bring herself to mention Abby’s return. Once she opened her mouth, she’d have to pull off that pretense that her world hadn’t been turned upside down.

After dinner, when she and Luke sat on the deck, watching the sun set in a blaze of color over the water, a kind of calm settled over them. She finally drew in a deep breath. This conversation couldn’t be put off another second.

“Have you heard that Abby might be back in town?” she asked Luke, keeping a close eye on his face as she spoke.

“Seth mentioned it this morning,” he said, his tone as casual as hers had been. The only thing that betrayed his nervousness was the searching look he gave her. He was obviously worried that she might overreact. “How’d you hear?”

“Grandma Jenny came by.”

“I figured she would.” He held her gaze. “You should know that I paid Abby a visit on my way home.”

Hannah’s heart seemed to stop. He’d heard Abby was back and had immediately gone rushing over to see her? That wasn’t good. “Really? How is she?” Her calm words belied her panic.

“She’s good. She says she’s back here to make a fresh start for herself. Apparently she’s divorced. And she’s the one who’s developing Blue Heron Cove.”

“I see,” Hannah said, a shiver of dismay chilling her. She reminded herself that she couldn’t let Luke see how that news terrified her. She forced herself to look directly into his eyes. “I think we should invite her to dinner. It will be great to catch up.” She managed to get the words out without choking on them.

“If that’s what you want,” he said oh-so-carefully, unmistakable worry in his eyes. “Are you sure, Hannah? It would be understandable if you wanted to keep some distance between you.”

“Understandable, why? Because you two have a history? That’s the very reason we need to reach out to her,” Hannah said. “Seaview Key is too small to start trying to avoid people. And you know how people talk. They’ll be speculating about what’s going on with us. Why give them any reason to gossip?”

Luke looked relieved by her response, which told her she’d managed just the right tone, casual and breezy.

“Okay, then,” he said. “Maybe we should include Seth.”

“Why?” she asked. Recalling what her grandmother had said earlier, a thought occurred to her, one that actually eased her mind just a little. “Luke Stevens, are you playing matchmaker? I thought that was Grandma Jenny’s domain.”

Luke chuckled, clearly more relaxed now that he was convinced that she’d taken the news of Abby’s return in stride. She gave herself a pat on the back for the successful deception.

“Hardly,” he said. “But Seth is the one who rescued Abby from drowning today. Maybe they should cross paths under more favorable circumstances.”

Unsaid, she knew, was that he hoped Seth would provide a buffer if things among the three old friends got awkward. Since she couldn’t deny that a buffer would be good, she nodded.

“Sounds great, but you don’t have to worry. I’m not going to freak out and start imagining things about the two of you,” she told her husband, deciding to be open about the elephant in the room. “We’ll just have a nice evening catching up. Asking Seth to join us makes sense. He needs to do more socializing. I worry sometimes that if he gets too lonely here, he’ll decide to move on.”

“I worry about that, too,” Luke admitted. “As much as I love Seaview Key, it’s not right for everybody. Since I’m the one who encouraged Seth to stick around, I want to do what I can to make sure he made the right decision.”

“You really do think of him as a kid brother, don’t you?”

“Sure. The bond we formed in Iraq will last forever. I’ll always worry about him. Of course, he’d tell you I worry a little too much.”

Hannah chuckled. “Have you been butting into his personal life?”

“Maybe a little. That’s why I think this dinner is a good thing.”

“A win-win all around,” Hannah said.

Luke nodded.

But despite the cheery optimism they were both expressing, Hannah couldn’t help wondering if she wasn’t deluding herself about the wisdom of this dinner party. In her attempt to appear unaffected by Abby’s return, it was entirely possible she’d gone too far. She might well be opening up a can of worms that would have been better left locked tight. Too late now, she thought wearily, pressing forward.

“Will Saturday work for you?” she asked her husband.

“Sure.”

“And you’ll talk to Seth or would you prefer it if I invited him?”

“I’ll mention it to him tomorrow. Seven o’clock?”

“Perfect,” she said. “I’ll check in with Abby and make sure she’s available.”

It all sounded so ordinary, just another dinner with friends, something they did on a regular basis. Unfortunately, if Hannah’s already-jittery nerves were anything to go by, this gathering was going to be anything but ordinary.

* * *

The unexpected knock on her door startled Abby so badly she upended the pail of already-filthy, soapy water she’d been using to scrub windowsills throughout the house. When she opened the door and spotted Hannah, she was even more stunned.

“Hannah!” she said, delight warring with caution. “I should have known word would get around that I’m here.”

“Since my husband was one of the people who knew, it was almost a certainty,” Hannah said, an edge to her voice that belied the even expression she managed to keep on her face.

The barbed remark left Abby momentarily speechless. Was Luke’s visit the reason Hannah was here? Abby wondered. Had she come to protect her turf?

Hannah flushed, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry,” she apologized. “What I should have said is that it’s impossible to keep secrets in Seaview Key. Word spreads faster here than weeds.”

Abby accepted the attempt to smooth over the awkwardness. “I remember,” she said. “But I got through the better part of a week before anyone knew. If I hadn’t come close to drowning yesterday, I’m convinced my secret would have been safe a little longer.”

“Any particular reason you didn’t want anyone to know you were around?” Hannah asked.

Abby studied her old friend, regretting all the years they hadn’t been in touch, wishing there weren’t this huge wall between them because of Luke. Hannah had always been the best kind of friend, one who’d listen without passing judgment. It was too soon to test if she could be that kind of friend again.

“No, not really,” Abby said evasively, not wanting to get into all of the reasons she’d wanted privacy. “Come on in. Do you have some time? This place is a mess, but I’m making progress. We can sit in the kitchen. I finished cleaning in there this morning and I have iced tea.”

Hannah laughed then, easing the tension between them. “Of course you do. I’ll bet it’s in your mom’s old pitcher with fruit painted on it.”

“It is,” Abby confirmed. “That pitcher probably qualifies as some sort of antique by now.”

Hannah held up a bag that Abby hadn’t noticed before. She should have, since the aroma of freshly baked cookies was wafting from it. “Grandma Jenny’s chocolate chip cookies,” she guessed eagerly.

“Fresh from the oven not fifteen minutes ago,” Hannah told her.

“Now it does feel like old times,” Abby said, leading the way to the big oak table in the kitchen where they’d spent so many hours doing homework way back when, at least before she’d gotten involved with Luke and Hannah had started making excuses not to join them. The surface of the table gleamed and the wood smelled of lemon polish.

“So how are you?” Hannah asked when they were settled at the table with tea and cookies. “You look good.”

“If you can say that with a straight face when you’ve caught me in ancient cut-offs and a faded tank top with my hair a mess and my nails in desperate need of a manicure, you’re better at spin than anyone I know.”

Hannah laughed. “That’s exactly why they paid me big bucks in New York for a lot of years. But you do look good, Abby. A little tired, maybe, but otherwise not a gray hair or a wrinkle in sight. I wish I could say the same.”

“Don’t go fishing for compliments. You look wonderful, too. Must be that marriage agrees with you. I heard about you and Luke not long after the wedding. I meant to send a note, but I was clearing the decks to move back here myself and time got away from me. I’m so glad that worked out for you, Hannah.”

“Do you really mean that?” Hannah asked, an unmistakable hint of vulnerability in her voice.

“Of course I do,” Abby assured her. “Even though you kept your lips sealed about it, I knew you had a crush on him back in high school. I always felt a little guilty that he chose me.”

Hannah regarded her with a surprisingly direct look. “I tried not to hate you for it,” she said, her tone serious, but a glint of real humor in her eyes.

“Didn’t always succeed, though, did you? I know things weren’t really the same between us after Luke and I hooked up.” She gave Hannah a hesitant smile. “I’m hoping it will be different now. I’d like to have my old friend back in my life again, especially since we’re both living here.”

“Then you really are home to stay? Luke told me you were.”

Abby nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“He also mentioned you’re divorced.”

“For almost a year,” Abby confirmed. “I took some time to reevaluate my life before deciding to come back to Seaview Key. I could have stayed where I was. I had a thriving restaurant just outside of Pensacola.” She shrugged. “It wouldn’t have worked. My ex has a lot of influence in that community and I needed a clean break.”

“You were married to a minister, I heard,” Hannah said, then added dryly, “That was a surprise.”

“To me, too,” Abby acknowledged with a chuckle. “Marshall is a great guy, one of the best, but being married to a paragon of virtue wore me out.”

“Not compatible with your wild streak?” Hannah teased.

“Something like that,” Abby said, her own tone turning serious. “I’ve missed this, Hannah. You and me. Just having someone to talk to who knows everything about me, good and bad. We shared so much history. Back then I felt like we were sisters, not just best friends.”

“Me, too,” Hannah admitted. “But sisters would probably have made more of an effort to get past what happened, instead of drifting apart the way we did.”

“Maybe,” Abby said. “Maybe not. I’ve learned a lot about family dynamics these past couple of decades. Sometimes friends get along better than family, at least it looked that way to me. Sadly, I didn’t have a lot of experience with either one.”

Hannah frowned. “Surely there were friends. You were always so outgoing.”

Abby shook her head. “Not really. I had acquaintances, a ton of them, but I was discouraged from getting too close to the other women in the congregation. Marshall didn’t want anyone knowing our business. And at the restaurant, I was the boss. I had to be careful with everyone there, too. As for the customers, I had to turn on the charm, be immune to the complaints. Turning the other cheek was so not me.”

Hannah couldn’t possibly imagine how isolating that had been, Abby thought, remembering the loneliness, the longing for someone she could open up to.

“I’m sorry,” Hannah said.

“Don’t be,” Abby said, her tone deliberately upbeat. “I’m leaving all that in the past. Somewhere around here there has to be some glimmer of the old me. I intend to find it.”

“Maybe you can start by having dinner with me and Luke,” Hannah said. “That’s why I came by. To see if you’re free on Saturday.”

It wasn’t just the invitation that startled Abby, but the warmth with which it was uttered. Taking it at face value, she said, “I really would love that.”

“Luke wants to include Seth, if that’s okay. He thought maybe you’d want to thank him for dragging you out of the water. Personally I think you need to find a safer way of getting a man’s attention, but what do I know?”

Abby thought of that moment when her senses had stirred in a stranger’s arms. It had been such a long time since she’d reacted to anyone like that. Did that make it something to be pursued or avoided at all costs? Seeing Seth again at The Fish Tale, feeling that same spark of attraction, had only added to her conflicted feelings. Unfortunately, with Hannah regarding her expectantly, she didn’t have a lot of time to decide.

“Sure,” she said finally, avoiding her old friend’s assessing gaze.

Hannah studied her curiously for a moment longer, then grinned. “Oh my God, you’re interested, aren’t you? I recognize the signs. For one thing, you’re blushing like a teenager.”

“Don’t be crazy. I barely know the man.”

“If you say so,” Hannah said. “But dinner’s going to be a lot more interesting than I was anticipating.”

Abby suddenly found herself hoping that Hannah was right.

* * *

Seth, Luke and a few of the other men in Seaview Key had been getting together for a while now to play poker on Friday nights. Seth’s discord with Luke the day before was no reason to stay away, he decided, not when he usually managed to take a few bucks from his friend before most nights were over.

Jack Ferguson was hosting tonight’s game in his apartment above The Fish Tale. He gave Seth an assessing look when he arrived.

“Saw you with Abby Miller yesterday,” Jack said, his knowing gaze shifting from Seth to Luke and back again.

Seth nodded. “Just getting acquainted,” he said, leaving it at that.

“Have you seen her since she’s been back?” Jack asked Luke.

“I stopped by last night,” Luke admitted.

Seth regarded him with surprise. “Really?” he said, not sure what that implied. Had Luke been lying when he’d claimed he was long over the woman? He sure hadn’t wasted any time in going to see her.

“Just a quick stop to say hello and see what brought her back,” Luke said, his gaze steady as if daring Seth or anyone else to question his motives.

“I’ll tell you what brought her back,” Jack said, pouring beers all around. “She’s behind this whole Blue Heron Cove development.”

Luke frowned. “What do you mean, behind it? She sold them the land, right? I thought that’s what she meant when she told me she was developing it.”

Jack shook his head. “No, it’s her deal, start to finish. She brought the plans by today for me to take a look. It’s nothing like the disaster some folks were painting it to be, myself included, I have to admit.”

“You’re backing it now?” Luke said, his surprise plain. “I thought you were dead set against it. You’ve been grumbling to anyone who’d listen since the word first leaked out that the land was going to be developed.”

“Well, I’m over it now,” Jack replied defensively. “I’ve seen for myself what she has in mind. Only a few houses, all high-end. She intends to keep most of the trees, wherever she can.”

“What happens if the builder points out it’s going to cost more to do it that way?” Luke asked. In his experience watching developments take a turn for the worse, money trumped ideals at every turn.

“She’ll stand her ground,” Jack said confidently. “If you’d heard her, you’d believe that.”

“Does Abby have any experience as a developer?” Luke asked, trying to imagine her in that role.

Jack shrugged. “Not that I know of, but I trust her to keep her word. I told her I’d back her up at the council meeting when she goes in for the final approvals.”

Seth was impressed. If she’d convinced Jack, a die-hard opponent of the island being overdeveloped, then Abby must have done quite a sales job. Her involvement might also make it easier for him and Luke to ask for a little backing for that rescue boat, too.

Nate Wilson looked at the three of them impatiently. “Are we here to play poker or are you guys going to chatter like a bunch of women all night?”

Jack gave him an amused look. “Forgive me. I thought you might be interested in the future of our community.”

Nate merely growled. “I’m more interested in winning back that money you stole from me in last week’s game.”

“Then you’ll have to play a whole lot better than you did last week. I’m feeling lucky again,” Jack told him, just as Tom Jenkins, their fifth regular, finally showed up. Jack pushed a beer in Tom’s direction, then nodded toward Seth. “Deal the cards.”

From that point on, they stayed focused on poker, beer and the snacks Jack had put out for them. Seth had the feeling there was something on Luke’s mind, but he kept silent until they were outside at midnight, both of them a little poorer. Jack had had a good night, just as he’d predicted.

“I was hoping to see you today,” Luke told him as they walked toward their cars.

“Something on your mind?”

“Hannah’s planning a dinner party for tomorrow night. She’d like you to be there. Are you free?”

“Sure, I can be there.” His suspicions kicked in. “If you don’t mind me asking, who else is on the guest list?”

“Just one other person, as far as I know,” Luke said. “Abby.”

Seth’s mouth gaped. “Seriously?”

Luke nodded. “Frankly, I thought it was a bad idea, but Hannah insisted. I think she’s trying to prove something.”

“To you?”

“Maybe. More likely, to herself. She wants to believe she’s not the least bit threatened by Abby’s return. I think your presence will help with that. Thanks for agreeing to come, especially after all the things I said to you yesterday.”

Seth considered his assigned role as buffer in a very tricky situation, then shrugged off whatever discomfort he was feeling. “If nothing else, it will give us a chance to talk to Abby about the rescue boat. It sounded to me back at Jack’s as if you didn’t have any idea that she was developing that property herself.”

“Not a clue,” Luke confirmed. “I’m shocked, frankly. Her folks were always the first to speak out against development on the island. They liked that it still felt like a small fishing village. She swears she’ll see that this is done responsibly and Jack’s backing her up, but I’m skeptical.”

“Abby’s been living in a bigger community,” Seth suggested. “She may need this place to change so she can feel better about being back. You certainly seemed to think she wouldn’t be satisfied living here as it is.”

Luke chuckled. “If Jack was right and she’s only planning on a dozen or fewer new houses, Seaview Key still won’t resemble that area around Pensacola. We’d have to grow a lot before we could support a mall or movie theaters or one of those big box stores.”

“Maybe she just needs a project, then,” Seth suggested. “She told me she gave up a business. She’s clearly not used to being idle.”

“And that’s why I have trouble believing she’s back to stay,” Luke responded.

There was no mistaking the hint of warning in his voice. Seth smiled. “Still looking out for me?”

Luke sighed. “I just don’t want you to get blindsided if she ups and leaves in a few months. She told me herself what her intentions were about staying, but that doesn’t mean I buy that she’ll be here for the long haul. What’s she going to do once she’s developed Blue Heron Cove?”

Seth gave him a long look. Luke held up his hands.

“Okay, backing off now. You’re a big boy.”

“Thank you. And thanks for the dinner invitation. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I wish I were,” Luke said.

“Are you thinking you could wind up skewered right along with the kabobs?”

“Something like that,” Luke said.

Seth laughed. “Maybe you’re the one who needs protection here, not me.”

“Entirely possible, my friend. Entirely possible.”

5

“Please tell me I did not hear this right,” Grandma Jenny said to Hannah when she marched into the house on Saturday morning. “You’ve invited Abby here for dinner?”

Hannah regarded her with amusement. “Since you obviously heard this from Seth, then you know I have.”

“What happened to keeping some distance between the two of you?”

“It didn’t seem practical,” Hannah said.

Her grandmother regarded her with dismay. “Have you seen her? Is this fiasco a done deal?”

“I went by yesterday to ask her to dinner, if that’s what you’re asking,” Hannah said. “She accepted. So has Seth.” She felt compelled to add, “Abby looks fantastic, by the way.”

“Do you think I give two figs about how she looks?” Grandma Jenny grumbled. “What’s she up to? That’s what I want to know.”

“She came back for a fresh start,” Hannah said, finding herself in the odd position of trying to defend Abby, when she had her own doubts about her motives running through her head. “You were supportive enough of Luke doing that. Me, too, as I recall. In fact, you were downright eager to get me to move back here.”

“That was different,” her grandmother declared.

“How so?”

“I was being selfish. I wanted you close by and I knew Luke would keep you here and make you happy. Abby’s just going to stir up trouble.”

“Not if I don’t let her,” Hannah insisted. “I honestly don’t believe Luke has anything to do with her coming back. I really don’t. And let’s not forget about Seth. You were the first to say there was something there. Luke seems to think so, too. I’m counting on that. A hot and heavy romance between those two is the answer for everyone.”

Grandma Jenny sighed. “I’m a big believer in romance, but I still don’t like this.”

Hannah leaned down and gave her a fierce hug. “Be glad that I’m making the best of the situation. Isn’t that what you wanted? Not a panic attack yet.”

“Okay, then,” her grandmother said, looking relieved. “But I have half a mind to go to the council meeting next week and speak out against that whole Blue Heron Cove thing just to get Abby out of town. If she doesn’t get those permits, trust me, she’ll be gone soon enough.”

“And that would be selfish and spiteful,” Hannah scolded. “The Seaview Key economy needs that development. You’ve said so yourself. There were plenty of people who were skeptical, but you were all for it when you first heard about it.”

“I might have been wrong.”

Hannah laughed. “When were you ever wrong?”

Her grandmother gave her a triumphant look. “Never, and that’s something you might want to remember. I’m probably not wrong about Abby, either.”

Hannah’s expression sobered. “I’m hoping that’s the exception that proves the rule. I want this to be okay,” she said softly. “For all of us. I’ve only had one other friend as close as Abby and I once were. Unfortunately, Susie’s in New York and phone calls aren’t nearly enough. I realized when she came for the wedding just how much I miss that closeness. It would be nice to have a best friend here again.”

Though her grandmother continued to look skeptical, she nodded slowly. “Then I’ll hope it works out that way, but I’m going to keep my eyes wide open. You should, too.”

“Will do,” Hannah promised.

After she’d gone, Hannah spent an hour planning the menu for tonight’s dinner. She wanted everything to be perfect, especially now that she knew Abby had run a successful restaurant. While entertaining on Seaview Key was usually casual, she’d put together her share of fancy dinner parties in New York. Of course, then she’d had the food catered. This dinner was going to be all on her.

After crossing off half a dozen options, none of which seemed appetizing or sophisticated enough, she put her head down and moaned. “What have I done?” she muttered. “This is going to be a disaster.”

Luke walked in just in time to overhear her. He knelt down and put his arms around her. “I figured reality was going to set in sooner or later,” he said, stroking her back. “Grab your purse.”

“Why?”

“We’re going food shopping on the mainland. The way I hear it, there’s a place that sells everything from hors d’oeuvres to decadent desserts already prepared. You can go wild.”

“But it won’t be the same as if I fixed everything myself,” she protested.

He laughed, then sobered. “No, sweetheart, but it will be edible.”

She frowned at him. “I think you just insulted my cooking.”

“Your cooking hasn’t killed me yet, but you told me yourself the night before last that it’s not your strong suit. Since tonight seems to be all about impressing at least one of our guests, I recommend we give this a try.”

She looked into his eyes. A grin spread across her face. “Thank you.”

“For offering to spend a fortune on gourmet food?”

“No, for understanding why this dinner party being perfect matters to me.”

“I’ll always do anything in my power to make you happy,” he promised her.

“I believe that,” Hannah said. And at that moment, with nothing and no one around to challenge her faith in Luke’s love, she believed it with absolute certainty.

* * *

Whether he was merely to serve as a buffer to keep the gathering on an even keel or whether dinner was a setup for him and Abby, Seth was surprisingly eager for Luke and Hannah’s dinner party. It had been a long time since he’d taken such care getting ready for an evening out. Apparently his time had been well spent.

“You look great,” Hannah said, grinning when she greeted him at the door. “I love your aftershave.”

Seth flinched, fighting a desire to run home for a shower. “Too much?”

“Not at all. Come on in. Abby’s already here. She and Luke are on the porch out back. You can grab a beer before you join them. Or would you rather have wine? I opened a bottle of red for Abby.”

“A beer’s good,” he said, following her through the house.

So far, Hannah seemed surprisingly at ease. He hoped that boded well for the evening. He accepted the beer she offered, then went outside with her.

His gaze immediately went to Abby. He was pretty sure his eyes glazed over the instant he saw her. She looked drop-dead gorgeous, nothing at all like the bedraggled woman he’d dragged to shore or even the casually attired woman he’d joined for lunch at The Fish Tale. This woman looked as if she’d just returned from a shopping trip in some exclusive mall in Naples, over on the mainland. She was put together with elegance and care, though he suspected her linen slacks and silk blouse were meant to be beach casual. Every highlighted hair was in place, too. She was a jaw-dropping sight, that’s for sure, just like those images his sisters had envied in their piles of fashion magazines.

Truthfully, though, he’d liked her better half-naked and soaking wet. She’d seemed approachable then.

He felt Hannah nudge him in the side.

“Say hello,” she encouraged, grinning.

“Nice to see you again,” he said, then took a chair as far from Abby as he could get. This Abby was not only intimidating, she was evidently way, way out of his league. Whatever fantasies he’d been spinning suddenly seemed wildly out of reach, the differences between them emphasized by salon styling and designer duds.

Judging by his expression, Luke was almost as amused as Hannah by Seth’s dumbfounded reaction.

“Abby was just telling me about how she ended up starting a restaurant,” Luke said. “She got tired of eating fried fish all the time.”

“You have no idea,” she confirmed, her gaze on Seth. “I mean, I love seafood. How could I not, growing up here? But The Fish Tale doesn’t cook every single thing in a deep fryer.”

“So you went into the restaurant business out of desperation?” Hannah asked.

“Something like that,” Abby said. “I worked in a couple of very nice places in Pensacola to learn how to run a restaurant, took some cooking classes so I’d know more about what really good food could be, then found an inventive chef who was interested in the same sort of restaurant I’d been envisioning. Seemed to us there was no reason a small town couldn’t have excellent food.”

“Were you equal partners?” Seth asked.

She shook her head. “I was able to scrape together the start-up money,” she said modestly. “He had the ideas. We made it a sixty-forty arrangement. We were one of the lucky ones. The restaurant caught on. By the time I left, we were so successful he was able to buy me out.”

“Did you start the restaurant before or after you met your husband?” Hannah asked.

“Before,” Abby said, a frown passing across her face. “Marshall wouldn’t have approved of me opening it after, but he could hardly complain since I was already in business when we met. In fact, we met right there when one of the members of his vestry at the church brought him in for dinner.”

Seth nearly choked on his beer. “You were married to a minister?”

She nodded, clearly amused by his reaction. “That’s been a shocker to a lot of people, me included.”

“Since I have a hunch there’s a long story behind that courtship, maybe we should have dinner before we get into it,” Hannah suggested.

“Great idea,” Abby agreed a little too eagerly. “Let me help get everything on the table.”

As the two women went inside, Luke gestured for Seth to remain behind. “You okay? You look a little dazed.”

“She’s not exactly the woman I thought she was,” he admitted.

“Meaning?”

“Remember she was in a bathing suit when we met. Her house is a mess. Then I find out she’s developing Blue Heron Cove herself and that she was a successful businesswoman, who was married to a minister, for heaven’s sake. Does that sound like anybody who’d ever look twice at a guy like me?”

“Seemed to me she was looking at you with interest,” Luke said. “She directed just about everything she said toward you. Hannah and I might as well not have been here.”

“You’re crazy.”

“I don’t think so,” Luke said. “Settle down. This is just about dinner. Nobody, least of all Abby, is looking for anything more tonight.”

Seth gave him a wry look. “You sure about that? I think there are at least a couple of people around hoping this will turn into something else. Are you denying that you and Hannah have an agenda?”

“Not me. I’ve already told you I have reservations about you jumping into a relationship with Abby. It doesn’t really matter what Hannah or anyone else might be after,” Luke insisted. “You and Abby are the only ones who get to decide what, if anything, comes next.”

“I suppose,” Seth conceded. The problem was, as intimidated as he’d been feeling for the past half hour or so, he was still attracted. And that, given the obstacles he saw ahead, was more disconcerting than all the other expectations combined.

* * *

Over a delicious dinner that Hannah sheepishly admitted she’d bought at a specialty store on the mainland, Seth finally relaxed, especially once the conversation turned to old memories. Shared right along with laughter and plentiful wine—beer for him—the evening ended on an upbeat note.

As things were winding down, he and Abby agreed that neither of them had any business driving home. Once again, he found himself walking her back to her house in Blue Heron Cove.

“You do know those two just hoodwinked us,” Abby said as they strolled along the beachfront.

“You mean naming us co-chairs to raise the money for that rescue boat?” Seth asked, laughing at the very neat trap that had been laid, some of it his own doing since he’d suggested getting Abby involved in the first place.

“Exactly.”

“Well, I hope you know something about fund-raising because it’s a long way out of my area of expertise.”

“But you know why the boat’s a critical necessity for the community,” she countered. “And I can plan bingo nights and bake sales with the best of them. A minister’s wife excels at creative ways to raise money.”

“You do know how much that boat costs, right? It’ll take a lot of bingo and baked goods to raise that much,” he said, his skepticism plain.

She winked at him. “Not the way I do it,” she said.

They walked along in silence for a few minutes before she turned to him again. “Were you the one who came up with the idea for asking the developer of Blue Heron Cove for a major donation?”

He nodded. “At the time I had no idea that might be you.”

“But isn’t it lucky that it is me?” she said. “And all your arguments were completely valid. The people who buy those houses are going to expect reliable access to medical care on the mainland. Plus it will be wonderful PR for me to support this. I’ll need that going for me when those permits come up for review.”

Seth wasn’t sure how he felt about her pragmatic thinking. It seemed a little sneaky to him. At the same time, a donation might mean the difference between getting that boat and not. He had to remember the goal. And he’d been well aware of those benefits to the developer when he’d first suggested the idea to Luke. It hadn’t bothered him until that person turned out to be Abby. Why was that? It was something he needed to think about.

“So you’re in?” he asked now.

“I’ll get you a check by the beginning of the week to kick off the drive to raise the money,” she promised, then held his gaze. “Will it offend you if I do it in a very public way? Maybe hold a little press conference?”

“That is the way the game is played, isn’t it?” he said.

She studied him. “But you don’t like it, do you?”

He sighed. “Actually I totally get it. The community needs that boat. I’m not going to do or say anything that might undermine the prospects for that happening.”

They reached her front porch then.

“Would you like some coffee or a glass of tea before you head home?” she asked.

Seth told himself he ought to leave, ought to avoid anything that might lead to the two of them getting any more involved. Despite the stern mental lecture, though, he said, “I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee, if you’re sure you’re not anxious to get to sleep.”

“I’m a night owl,” she assured him. “That’s what it takes to run a restaurant and I’m still not out of the habit. But I’ll make the coffee decaf, in case you’re not.”

“Decaf’s probably a good idea,” he said, following her inside.

Though she’d made good progress in airing out the house and cleaning it up, there were still enough signs of the years of neglect for him to guess that the task had been monumental. That she’d been tackling it on her own didn’t seem to fit with the woman wearing those expensive linen slacks, a silk blouse and diamond stud earrings, and shoes that no doubt cost as much as his weekly take-home pay.

“Can I ask you something?” he said when they had their coffee and were back on the porch with a light breeze coming in off the water.

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you hire a cleaning crew to tackle this place? It would have been finished in a day.”

“I needed a project,” she said simply. “More important, I think maybe I needed to remember who I used to be.”

“Since I doubt you were ever a maid, you need to explain that one.”

“You asking for a history lesson?” she quipped.

He nodded. “I’m trying to figure you out,” he admitted.

“Okay, here’s the short version. When I was a kid, my parents owned this land, but we didn’t have a lot of money. My grandfather had settled on Seaview Key when it was still just a mostly inaccessible fishing village. He fished, but he also invested in land, which my parents inherited. They were determined to keep it, to keep the island as unspoiled as it had been. Back then I didn’t fully appreciate that, especially since I had to get a job in high school to help out and needed scholarships for college.”

“If that’s true, where’d you get the money to start that restaurant? Did you sell off an acre or two back then?”

“No way. The land wasn’t mine then and my parents would never have agreed to sell. I’d worked hard and saved every extra penny. It turned out I had a head for business. I made a few investments with my savings and they paid off. It gave me enough of a nest egg to start the restaurant.”

“How old were you then?”

“Twenty-four.”

“Holy mackerel!” he said, impressed.

She smiled at his reaction. “Step one in the evolution of Abby Dawson,” she agreed. “Then I got married. My husband was pastor to a very wealthy congregation. I told you earlier that my restaurant caught on. It catered to a very upscale clientele. I got used to keeping up appearances. That completed the evolution to Abby Miller.” She wrinkled her nose as if she found that Abby distasteful.

“What was so terrible about her?” he asked. He knew that having money could change people and not always for the better, but she still seemed pretty down-to-earth to him. In fact, that’s why he remained so intrigued. If she’d been a rich snob sporting a moneyed, entitled attitude, it would be easier to ignore these sparks that kept flaring between them.

“I don’t want to come off trying to sound like some poor little rich girl, but that wasn’t who I am,” she explained simply. “I had a lot of time on my hands after the divorce to think about that. I realized I’d truly been happier back here with a family that didn’t have much except the land around us.”

“In that case, I’m surprised you want to develop it,” Seth told her.

“Believe me, I gave it a lot of thought. Seaview Key needs something if it’s going to thrive. I’m in a position to make that something happen in a responsible way.” She regarded him earnestly. “I’m going to do this right, Seth. There wouldn’t be much point in coming back for the serenity I remembered and then seeing it ruined.”

“So, scrubbing floors has gotten you back to basics,” he suggested, trying to put what she’d said in perspective.

She nodded. “And I’m hoping that raising the money for this rescue boat will be one way to be part of this community again. A donation might be great public relations, but putting in an effort will probably do more for me in the long haul. I want to be accepted, Seth, not as some benevolent outsider, but as a local who cares about what happens around here.”

He was surprised by the hint of yearning in her voice. “Being accepted really matters to you, then?”

“Sure. Doesn’t it matter to everybody, when you get right down to it? Don’t you care about being a part of the community?”

Seth honestly hadn’t thought about it. He’d come for a visit. Luke had persuaded him to stay. The town had been eager to hire someone with his background as a medic. He’d felt accepted from the beginning.

“I guess I thought if I did my job, that would be enough,” he said.

“That’s because you didn’t burn a lot of bridges when you left,” she said, a rueful expression on her face. “I need to make up for some of the things I said about this town. I couldn’t wait to get away. Other than Luke and my friendship with Hannah, this place held nothing but bad memories for me.”

“And yet you came back.”

“Perspective,” she said. “Maturity. I’m the first to admit I didn’t see the big picture back then.”

He admired her honesty, but he wondered if she wasn’t deluding herself, just as Luke had warned. Had she really changed so much?

“Are you sure Seaview Key is what you’re looking for?” he asked, trying to reconcile it with the sophisticated woman sitting beside him. Was it possible for her to forego the lifestyle she’d obviously had in the Florida Panhandle?

“Can I say it with absolute certainty?” she asked. “No, but I’m hoping I’ve gotten it right this time. I liked the person I was back then a whole lot more than the person I’ve become.”

“You seem just fine to me now,” he told her in all honesty.

She smiled at that. “You’re sweet to say that.”

Sweet? Seth nearly groaned at that. Women didn’t call men they were interested in sweet. Recognizing that made this desire he had to seduce her about as wildly inappropriate as anything that had ever occurred to him before. He really, really needed another one of those annoying lectures from Luke before he did something incredibly stupid.

* * *

Abby saw the expression in Seth’s eyes and immediately regretted her candor. She could practically see the distance growing between them. Maybe it had been a mistake to admit the truth to him. She’d gotten used to having money. Marshall had had oodles of it, thanks to family investments, and she’d made more when she’d sold the successful restaurant she’d started before she’d met him, enough to invest in developing Blue Heron Cove.

In her opinion, money was nice, but she’d realized very recently that other things mattered more. Not everyone saw it that way, though, especially men whose pride kicked in and wouldn’t let them see past the dollar signs that separated them. She’d really hoped that Seth wouldn’t be one of those men. Based on his shocked expression, though, it seemed that he was.

Of course, the alternative, which she’d experienced a time or two, was worse. She’d known men who were interested in her only because of her money. Right after the divorce, a few had hovered, hoping to get her attention. Some had even been audacious enough to mention investment schemes on the first or second date, pretty much giving away the reason for their interest.

“I should be going,” Seth said, getting to his feet.

“Already?” she said, disappointed and not doing a very good job of hiding it.

“I’m on call first thing in the morning.” He gave her a grin that emphasized an appealing dimple. “Never know when someone might take an early morning dip in the water and find herself in over her head.”

“It won’t be me,” Abby assured him. “Lesson learned. Two near drownings in one lifetime have convinced me that my swimming should be confined to a pool.”

“Still, maybe I will see you on the beach. I usually run about the same time every morning. Of course, now that I know the owner’s around, maybe I ought to be avoiding this area. It is posted with No Trespassing signs.”

“Those are meant to keep the kids away, though I doubt they pay much attention. I certainly wouldn’t have, back in the day,” Abby said. “You’re welcome anytime.”

He nodded. “Okay, then. I enjoyed tonight, Abby. Welcome back to Seaview Key.”

She watched him take off, his pace slower than the jog a few days before, but the view every bit as excellent. He was a man who looked as sexy in khakis as he did in swim trunks, a claim too few men could make, in her opinion. She sighed as he disappeared from sight.

“Stop it,” she ordered herself as she went inside to wash their cups and shut off the coffeemaker.

Working with him was going to be incredibly uncomfortable if she kept thinking about hauling him off to her bed. And if there was one thing she knew with absolute certainty about Seaview Key, it was that it was no place to have a careless fling. Gossip was plentiful and the ramifications could last for years.

* * *

“Abby looks great, don’t you think so?” Hannah asked Luke as they cleaned up the kitchen after their dinner party.

“I suppose,” Luke replied distractedly.

“I don’t think she’s aged a bit,” Hannah persisted, determined to press the point, though she wasn’t certain why she felt compelled to get an honest reaction from her husband.

He put the last of the leftovers into the refrigerator, then turned slowly. “Hannah, what’s going on? Are you thinking I’ll say something and give away some secret lust that Abby’s stirred in me?”

She winced at the direct hit. He’d voiced the fear that nagged at her. “Well, it’s always possible,” she said defensively.

Luke stepped closer, put his hands on her shoulders and gazed directly into her eyes. “No, it’s not. You’re the woman I love. Abby’s an old memory.”

“Who’s very much back in our lives.”

“As a friend,” Luke said. “But if even that’s going to worry you, we can keep some distance between us. You’ve done your duty. You’ve had her over. We can let it go at that.”

She frowned at his reasonable, accommodating tone. “And have everyone think I’m an insecure, mean-spirited shrew?”

He had the audacity to laugh at that. “Name one single person who’d ever think that about you. Everyone in this town loves you.”

“I’d think it,” she admitted. “That’s exactly what I’d think of me if I cut Abby out of our lives.” She sighed. “I’m such a mess.”

“But you’re my beautiful mess,” he said, pulling her close. “We’re solid, Hannah. What we’ve found is real and good and lasting, okay?”

She rested her forehead against his chest. “Okay,” she murmured softly, relieved to have it all out in the open, even if her insecurities didn’t speak well of her. “I love you, Luke. And though at times like this I can’t imagine why, I do know you love me.”

“Just hang on to that.”

She really intended to try. She pictured Abby with her perfect body, her stylish clothes and gorgeous hair and regretted that God had given her quite such a test of faith.

6

During the off-season when things were quieter, having Sunday lunch at The Fish Tale after church had gotten to be a habit for Luke, Hannah, Grandma Jenny and Seth. When Kelsey and Jeff were around, they came along with the baby. This week, with the three of them still on vacation, Seth escorted Grandma Jenny to the restaurant.

He’d deliberately skipped his run that morning, though he couldn’t say for sure why. Had he wanted to avoid Abby or had he wanted to see her a little too much? The latter was scary under the circumstances, scary enough to disrupt his routine.

Unfortunately, the first person he saw when he walked into The Fish Tale was Abby, all alone in a booth again. She was making notes on a legal pad, but gave him a distracted smile when she looked up. Beside him, Grandma Jenny frowned.

“We should say hello,” Seth said.

“Probably,” she conceded grudgingly.

“And maybe ask her to join us.”

The suggestion was greeted with a scowl. “Why would we do that?” Jenny asked, then met his gaze. Something she saw there must have given away his feelings, because she gave a curt nod. “Never mind. Ask her, if it’s what you want.”

He thought about why issuing the invitation mattered to him. Was it about the undeniable attraction? Or was it about everything Abby had told him the night before about wanting to be accepted? That was the safe reasoning. Leaving her at that table all alone would be cruel, or at least that’s what he told himself as they walked over to greet her.

Even with the decision made, he kept right on arguing with himself. Avoiding the beach had been one thing, he reasoned. Avoiding her in public would send an entirely different message, one he didn’t intend. Of course he could have left the decision up to Luke and Hannah, but that would have been the cowardly way out.

He led the way to her table, fully aware of his companion’s reluctance. Yet it was Jenny who spoke first, surprisingly without any hint of awkwardness. Whatever her reservations about Abby’s return, she was innately gracious.

“Abby, it’s been a long time,” she said, her tone friendly enough.

Abby’s expression brightened with unmistakable delight. “Grandma Jenny!” She looked hesitant. “Is it still okay if I call you that?”

“Of course,” Jenny said, her expression softening.

“It’s wonderful to see you. I’ve been wanting to drop by, but...” She faltered. “Well, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that. There was the situation with Luke and me, and then Hannah and I lost touch.” She shrugged. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Seth noted that Jenny flushed with guilt, clearly aware that she hadn’t hidden her displeasure over Abby’s return well enough from everyone. Word had apparently gotten around. She straightened her shoulders and managed a smile.

“You’d have been welcome, of course,” she told Abby, her good manners saving the day. “Are you expecting someone? If not, why don’t you join us? Hannah and Luke will be along any minute. Jack holds one of the big tables for us.”

The invitation, coming from her rather than left to him, surprised Seth almost as much as it evidently surprised Abby.

“I’d love to, if you’re sure it would be okay,” she said at once, looking from Jenny to Seth and back again.

“No reason it wouldn’t be,” Jenny said. “I want to hear more about these plans of yours for Blue Heron Cove. I like getting information straight from the horse’s mouth. It’s easier to make up my own mind that way, though I’ll tell you straight out, I think it’s just what Seaview Key needs.”

Abby grinned. “And I’m always eager to talk about Blue Heron Cove, especially to a supporter,” she said, then winked at Seth. “And I’m even more eager to get you involved in this project that Seth and I have been given.”

Jenny looked startled. “What project is that?”

“The rescue boat Luke and I have been talking about,” Seth reminded her. “We need to raise the money for it, and we need to do it quickly. Last night Luke coerced Abby and me into chairing a committee to make it happen.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I imagine what you know about raising money would fit on the head of a pin,” she said to Seth.

“Exactly, which is why Abby needs your help,” he said. “You game?”

“I’m always willing to get involved in a good cause,” Jenny said, regarding Abby with a more favorable expression as they made their way to the table Jack always reserved for them. “Any thoughts about what you want to do?”

“A few,” Abby told her.

Seth sat back and listened with amazement as Abby rattled off half a dozen ideas that she’d apparently come up with overnight. It seemed to him she probably hadn’t slept any better than he had if she’d been busy making all those notes. Even Jenny looked pleasantly surprised.

“You’ve given this some thought,” she said approvingly. “And you were just given this assignment last night? I’m impressed.”