Accidentally Family (Pecan Valley 1)

It was unspoken but there—Nick, trusting him to love his mother and take care of his family. Graham’s heart thumped heavily, humbled beyond words. “I promise.”

“Nick,” Honor yelled. “We’re going to get Jack’s face painted.”

“And ice cream,” Diana sounded off.

“Coming.” Nick handed him a paper ticket. “Here, I got the six thirty time slot. Girls like that sort of thing, right?”

Graham glanced at the ticket. “Paddleboats?”

“It’s a start, Doc—Graham.” He winked and ran back to the canopy. “Hey, Aunt Charity, bring the graham crackers?”

“Yes. They were the only reason you invited me, weren’t they?” Charity teased, hugging Nick.

From here, he could see the slight swell of Charity’s stomach. Once her family wrapped their head around it, she’d have more support than she knew what to do with. Knowing Charity, she’d rely on Felicity. She was everyone’s rock. He knew that loving her meant loving them all. But loving him meant taking on Diana. No denying it—he was getting the easier deal.

“Graham.” Charity waved, heading his way. “Are you the keeper of the fire?”

He glanced at his watch. “I got it started. Can you keep it going?”

“Me?” She eyed the small blaze. “Um…”

“Please?” he asked, glancing Felicity’s way.

Her eyes went wide, and she smiled. “Does your request have anything to do with publicly wooing my sister?”

“It might.”

She took the long stick he’d been using to stir the flames and crouched on the sand. “Off you go. Make me proud, Graham.”

He winked at her. “Thanks.”

Felicity sat, staring out over the lake. The breeze lifted her strawberry-blond curls, making them dance around her neck and shoulders. But the tension in her posture had him suspecting she was just as aware of him as he was of her. With any luck, that meant she loved him the way he loved her.

…

She was too old to feel this way. Nervous. Excited. Achingly aware of the man talking to her sister. Apparently, all that was required to send her heart thumping was his presence. His dark-haired, broad-shouldered, warm-smiling presence. And when he laughed, it warmed her from the inside.

She missed his laugh. She missed talking to him. She dreamed of being in his arms with the beat of his heart beneath her ear.

“Felicity?” Owen offered her an ice cream. “Honor said it’s your favorite.”

“Thanks.” She took the cone, the scoop of mint chocolate chip already dripping along the waffle crust.

“No prob.” He flopped onto the blanket.

She smiled at the boy. He was a man, really. A man who made her daughter happy. “When do you ship out?” she asked.

“One week.” He swallowed hard, the muscles in his throat working. “I was all fired up and ready.”

“Not anymore?” she asked.

He looked at Honor. “I don’t want to leave her.”

She still wasn’t used to his honesty. “She’s leaving, too, you know.”

He rested his arms on his knees. “Not for another three weeks. That’s fourteen more days than what we’ve got now.”

“Then it sounds like these seven days need to count triple.” Her brows rose. “You better write to us. And when you get back, I expect us to be the second stop you make.”