Pinky Promise (Riverbend Romance 2) by Valerie Comer Page A
Authors: Valerie Comer
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Family Life, series, Spirituality, Religious, Christian, Inspirational, best friends, Daughter, Bachelor, Novella, Faith, Single Parents, Matchmakers, Forever Love, Single Woman, Spring break, Single Father, Riverbend, Canadian Town, Little Girls, Six-Year-Old, Pinky Promise, Stop Proposing, Springtime
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little crease on his forehead. She leaned back a centimeter until she touched his chest.
He massaged her shoulder — the one furthest from Sophie — and gave her a little smile.
“I did it!” announced Elena.
Kelly turned her focus back to the pancake-making operation. “Good job, baby girl. I’ll get a plate you can put those on, and you can start the next pan-full. Want to try this time, Sophie?”
Ian’s hand stopped rubbing.
Whatever. She stretched to reach a plate from the cupboard above the frying pan then set it on the counter.
Elena transferred the pancakes to the plate with a satisfied glint in her eye.
Kelly’s back chilled. Ian had returned to his spot by the stove. “Okay, now more batter. Can you get them closer to the corners this time?”
Her daughter set her jaw and nodded. Blobs of batter landed more-or-less in the pan’s four quadrants.
“Good job!” Kelly raised her hand and high-fived Elena.
~*~
Ian cycled at the back of the parade. He tried to focus on the two wobbly little bikes single-file in front of him, but it was hard not to stare at Kelly’s trim backside as she leaned over her handlebars and led the pack.
He liked his life orderly. The most spontaneous thing he’d ever done was move to Riverbend, and that hardly counted because he’d been looking for an opportunity like this one for a couple of years. Especially recently.
Kelly was not orderly, but she was a lot of fun. Oh, it wasn’t that her place was dirty, but it certainly looked lived in. Maybe that’s because it was, compared to his. Ian suspected it wasn’t just that she’d been home over spring break and that he’d barely moved in. It had that lived-in look the first time she’d invited them over.
She was so good with little girls. Sophie had even gotten up the nerve to flip the last pan of pancakes with Kelly’s hand guiding hers. Not a single one of them were close to a circle. That hadn’t affected the flavor. Why had he kept thinking Sophie was too young to help? Maybe perfection wasn’t as necessary as he’d always thought.
His mind veered from that thought. Not perfection, exactly. But talent for detail and order were necessary for his job.
Kelly made free-form look appealing, but how would he feel about it in a year or two? A sudden shot of insight rocked him. Would he squelch spontaneity in Kelly as he had in Maria? He’d known the kind of mother, housekeeper, and cook Maria should be — which hadn’t matched up to her own vision of herself.
No wonder she’d left him.
Chapter 8
The girls ran from the swings to the monkey bars to the slide.
Kelly glanced over at Ian. He seemed to be keeping a bit more distance than he had all week, but that was likely because they were in full public view. She was just as glad. A person never knew whom they’d run into at Riverside Park on such a beautiful late-March day. While she was fine with introducing him to people, she didn’t want anyone she knew jumping to conclusions.
Elena and Sophie had done all the jumping anyone needed to. Okay, maybe she’d been guilty of it herself, even while trying to hold Ian off a little. Or was it their daughters making everything feel claustrophobic? Did she and Ian even have a choice, or were the two little matchmakers so bent on success true romance wasn’t an option?
There was always a choice. Heartbreak for Elena now was better than heartbreak for both of them later. Kelly had to be sure. The merry-go-round the girls now rode pushed bodies outward with centrifugal force. The merry-go-round her life had become shoved her closer to the center with similar unrelenting power. Closer to Ian.
She stole another peek. He sat with arms looped loosely around pulled-up knees, watching their daughters. He had thick biceps for a guy with an office job. Brown hair curled close to his T-shirt’s ribbed neck and around his ears. Was it soft or wiry? She didn’t even know. She’d never touched it.
He
He massaged her shoulder — the one furthest from Sophie — and gave her a little smile.
“I did it!” announced Elena.
Kelly turned her focus back to the pancake-making operation. “Good job, baby girl. I’ll get a plate you can put those on, and you can start the next pan-full. Want to try this time, Sophie?”
Ian’s hand stopped rubbing.
Whatever. She stretched to reach a plate from the cupboard above the frying pan then set it on the counter.
Elena transferred the pancakes to the plate with a satisfied glint in her eye.
Kelly’s back chilled. Ian had returned to his spot by the stove. “Okay, now more batter. Can you get them closer to the corners this time?”
Her daughter set her jaw and nodded. Blobs of batter landed more-or-less in the pan’s four quadrants.
“Good job!” Kelly raised her hand and high-fived Elena.
~*~
Ian cycled at the back of the parade. He tried to focus on the two wobbly little bikes single-file in front of him, but it was hard not to stare at Kelly’s trim backside as she leaned over her handlebars and led the pack.
He liked his life orderly. The most spontaneous thing he’d ever done was move to Riverbend, and that hardly counted because he’d been looking for an opportunity like this one for a couple of years. Especially recently.
Kelly was not orderly, but she was a lot of fun. Oh, it wasn’t that her place was dirty, but it certainly looked lived in. Maybe that’s because it was, compared to his. Ian suspected it wasn’t just that she’d been home over spring break and that he’d barely moved in. It had that lived-in look the first time she’d invited them over.
She was so good with little girls. Sophie had even gotten up the nerve to flip the last pan of pancakes with Kelly’s hand guiding hers. Not a single one of them were close to a circle. That hadn’t affected the flavor. Why had he kept thinking Sophie was too young to help? Maybe perfection wasn’t as necessary as he’d always thought.
His mind veered from that thought. Not perfection, exactly. But talent for detail and order were necessary for his job.
Kelly made free-form look appealing, but how would he feel about it in a year or two? A sudden shot of insight rocked him. Would he squelch spontaneity in Kelly as he had in Maria? He’d known the kind of mother, housekeeper, and cook Maria should be — which hadn’t matched up to her own vision of herself.
No wonder she’d left him.
Chapter 8
The girls ran from the swings to the monkey bars to the slide.
Kelly glanced over at Ian. He seemed to be keeping a bit more distance than he had all week, but that was likely because they were in full public view. She was just as glad. A person never knew whom they’d run into at Riverside Park on such a beautiful late-March day. While she was fine with introducing him to people, she didn’t want anyone she knew jumping to conclusions.
Elena and Sophie had done all the jumping anyone needed to. Okay, maybe she’d been guilty of it herself, even while trying to hold Ian off a little. Or was it their daughters making everything feel claustrophobic? Did she and Ian even have a choice, or were the two little matchmakers so bent on success true romance wasn’t an option?
There was always a choice. Heartbreak for Elena now was better than heartbreak for both of them later. Kelly had to be sure. The merry-go-round the girls now rode pushed bodies outward with centrifugal force. The merry-go-round her life had become shoved her closer to the center with similar unrelenting power. Closer to Ian.
She stole another peek. He sat with arms looped loosely around pulled-up knees, watching their daughters. He had thick biceps for a guy with an office job. Brown hair curled close to his T-shirt’s ribbed neck and around his ears. Was it soft or wiry? She didn’t even know. She’d never touched it.
He
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