Accidentally Family (Pecan Valley 1)

“No. But I wish him well,” she added.

“You know…” Widow Rainey leaned closer to her. “I once had high hopes that your sister would wind up with Graham. They’d be a good match, I think.”

Would they? She couldn’t picture it. Probably because she didn’t want to picture Graham with anyone else. Anyone other than her.

Pull it together, Filly. This was not the time to let her emotions get the best of her. Not with the widows watching—and Nick. She forced a smile. “More tea?”

“No, Filly, I think we’re all set.” Her mother smiled. “Can you sit a while?”

“I’m going to check on Jack.” There was no need. He was a champion napper. He napped for two hours every day but still had trouble at night. But she needed a moment to process what she’d just heard and what the hell she was feeling. Because there was a very real possibility that she might want, more than anything, for Graham Murphy to be in love.

With me. And… I love him.

“I’ll go,” her father offered.

Great. She wanted to argue but couldn’t think of a thing. “You sure?”

He nodded. “You sit and enjoy your company.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She sat, smoothing her skirt into place, then fiddling with the end of her apron tie.

Nick was watching her. She knew it.

And if she started acting weird, he’d get suspicious. Sometimes, Nick was too intuitive for his own good. Like now.

She wouldn’t lie to him. She would always pick her son first, always. But that didn’t stop the way her heart reacted. When it came to Graham, there were a lot of reactions. Some of them she wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with yet. Others, she welcomed. With Graham, she was happy. Was it wrong to want happiness?

“Where is Honor?” Grams asked.

They chattered on about Owen Nelson, his impending departure for boot camp, and what solid stock the Nelsons were. Felicity liked Owen well enough but worried a long-term separation would lead to her daughter’s first heartbreak. They were so young. And college and the military were different worlds.

But there was no denying he loved Honor—all she had to do was look at Owen to see it. Her daughter deserved to have someone look at her that way, every day for the rest of her life.

“What about you, Felicity?” one of the women asked. “Wilma’s niece’s cousin works for Mr. Klein. Word has it he’s sweet on you.”

Great. Wonderful. It shouldn’t be a surprise. They’d had dinner in public, after all. Word traveled fast in Pecan Valley.

“A lawyer.” Grams snorted. “Money-grubbers, the lot of them.”

She swallowed a giggle. “No. I mean, Mr. Klein is a very nice man but… No.” She sipped her tea.

Once more, Nick was watching her. She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. He was studying her closely, too intent, too serious for a boy his age. She nudged his knee with her own and winked at him—earning her a reluctant smile.

“Filly, if I could offer you one piece of advice, it would be to grab on to happiness with both hands whenever it comes your way.” Grams took her hand and cradled it in hers. “I know losing Matt took a toll on you. But he’d left you before he was gone. Things are harder now, complications all over the place—I know. Life’s like that, up and down and every which way. But you hang in there, you keep smiling, and when you find something good, you protect it. You hear me?”

“I hear you.” She pressed a kiss to her grandmother’s cheek, squeezing her hand. “Wise words, Grams.”

“Because I’m a wise old crone.” She slapped her thigh and laughed. “I read a lot of fortune cookies.”

Chapter Nineteen

Nick sat on the blanket his mother had spread along the shoreline. Jack was beside him, stacking up cups, knocking them down, and stacking them up again. He was pretty cool that way—low maintenance. Poor kid, sitting in that cast, dripping sweat in triple-digit heat. But his mom, always prepared, had brought a canopy, and that—with the breeze off the water—made it bearable. Sort of.

But being inside on the Fourth of July in Pecan Valley wasn’t an option. Everyone drove up to the lake; hit the marina shops; rented sailboats, paddleboats, and tandem bicycles; then ate Popsicles and ice cream until the sun went do

wn. Once the campfires sprang up and the s’mores and hot dogs came out, everyone was ready for the big finale: fireworks over the water.

Jack knocked the cups over and clapped, looking to Nick for approval. Nick grinned. That kid was too cute to resist.