reassuring squeeze. “We can talk about it when we get back to the cabin. I thought I’d make spaghetti for supper. How does that sound?”
“But Dev wants us to eat with him.”
Jenna stared down at him. “Dev wants…he invited us over for supper?”
“He’s making hamburgers.”
“I like hamburgers way better than s’getti,” Tori said. “I like Violet and Dev, too. Don’t you, Aunt Jenna?”
Jenna rubbed her bare arms, feeling the slight chill in the air that accompanied the setting sun. A sharp contrast to the heat that flared in her cheeks in the aftermath of Tori’s innocent question.
She didn’t want to like Dev.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie.”
A frown puckered Logan’s forehead. “Why not?”
Why not?
Looking at their expectant faces, Jenna tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy them. It was difficult, considering she couldn’t think of one fast enough.
Logan took advantage of the silence to press his advantage. “Dev cooks over the campfire every night. I think he’s a real explorer.”
Or a man who didn’t own a cookbook.
Jenna wavered. She hadn’t seen Dev for several days, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, either. What did he do for a living? Where did he live? Given the fact that Logan and Violet were fast becoming inseparable, in spite of her best effort to keep them apart, it wouldn’t hurt to know a little bit more about the man who lived next door.
She could get to know him…without getting to know him.
“Come on, Aunt Jenna.” Tori tugged on her arm. “We can have s’getti tomorrow night.”
“All right.” Jenna said the words before she could change her mind. “We can’t stay long, though—” She found herself talking to the trees.
“It’s not far,” Logan called over his shoulder as he and Tori disappeared around a bend in the trail.
Jenna followed at a slower pace, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
Why had Dev invited them for a meal? Especially after she’d rebuffed his offer to let Logan fish off his dock the last time they’d spoken.
Jenna had told Dev a half-truth when she’d claimed that she didn’t want Logan to get attached to the place. She was more worried that her nephew would get attached to Dev.
Jenna had been absent from Logan and Tori’s life for the last seven years, but she was determined to do everything she could to protect them from disappointment.
Logan was lonely. It would be all too easy for him to begin to rely on Dev and then have to face the pain of another goodbye.
Too easy for her, too.
The trees thinned out and opened to a clearing. Jenna caught up to the children, who’d stopped to wait for her.
She wasn’t sure what she expected to find on the other side of the woods. Maybe something as old and dilapidated as the cabin they were living in.
“Pretty.” Tori summed it up in one word and Jenna couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
A log home with a wraparound deck overlooking the lake and a fieldstone chimney blended seamlessly into its surroundings. A flagstone path wound down to the water. There was no formal landscaping, only a colorful patchwork quilt of wildflowers and grasses native to the area.
Dev had his back to them as he knelt beside a stone fire pit. Curls of gray smoke drifted into the air and hung low in the branches of the trees like Spanish moss.
“I’m back!” Logan shouted.
Dev turned around and the stunned look on his face made Jenna wonder if Logan had made a mistake.
“Logan, are you sure Dev invited all three of us over for supper?” she said in a terse whisper.
“He has lots of hamburgers. He said so.”
But that didn’t answer her question.
Jenna’s heart flipped over as Dev rose fluidly to his feet. How was it possible for a man to look so good in a pair of faded jeans, a plain cotton T-shirt and hiking boots?
“I think there’s been—” Another opportunity to embarrass herself! “—a
“But Dev wants us to eat with him.”
Jenna stared down at him. “Dev wants…he invited us over for supper?”
“He’s making hamburgers.”
“I like hamburgers way better than s’getti,” Tori said. “I like Violet and Dev, too. Don’t you, Aunt Jenna?”
Jenna rubbed her bare arms, feeling the slight chill in the air that accompanied the setting sun. A sharp contrast to the heat that flared in her cheeks in the aftermath of Tori’s innocent question.
She didn’t want to like Dev.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie.”
A frown puckered Logan’s forehead. “Why not?”
Why not?
Looking at their expectant faces, Jenna tried to come up with an answer that would satisfy them. It was difficult, considering she couldn’t think of one fast enough.
Logan took advantage of the silence to press his advantage. “Dev cooks over the campfire every night. I think he’s a real explorer.”
Or a man who didn’t own a cookbook.
Jenna wavered. She hadn’t seen Dev for several days, but she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, either. What did he do for a living? Where did he live? Given the fact that Logan and Violet were fast becoming inseparable, in spite of her best effort to keep them apart, it wouldn’t hurt to know a little bit more about the man who lived next door.
She could get to know him…without getting to know him.
“Come on, Aunt Jenna.” Tori tugged on her arm. “We can have s’getti tomorrow night.”
“All right.” Jenna said the words before she could change her mind. “We can’t stay long, though—” She found herself talking to the trees.
“It’s not far,” Logan called over his shoulder as he and Tori disappeared around a bend in the trail.
Jenna followed at a slower pace, wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
Why had Dev invited them for a meal? Especially after she’d rebuffed his offer to let Logan fish off his dock the last time they’d spoken.
Jenna had told Dev a half-truth when she’d claimed that she didn’t want Logan to get attached to the place. She was more worried that her nephew would get attached to Dev.
Jenna had been absent from Logan and Tori’s life for the last seven years, but she was determined to do everything she could to protect them from disappointment.
Logan was lonely. It would be all too easy for him to begin to rely on Dev and then have to face the pain of another goodbye.
Too easy for her, too.
The trees thinned out and opened to a clearing. Jenna caught up to the children, who’d stopped to wait for her.
She wasn’t sure what she expected to find on the other side of the woods. Maybe something as old and dilapidated as the cabin they were living in.
“Pretty.” Tori summed it up in one word and Jenna couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
A log home with a wraparound deck overlooking the lake and a fieldstone chimney blended seamlessly into its surroundings. A flagstone path wound down to the water. There was no formal landscaping, only a colorful patchwork quilt of wildflowers and grasses native to the area.
Dev had his back to them as he knelt beside a stone fire pit. Curls of gray smoke drifted into the air and hung low in the branches of the trees like Spanish moss.
“I’m back!” Logan shouted.
Dev turned around and the stunned look on his face made Jenna wonder if Logan had made a mistake.
“Logan, are you sure Dev invited all three of us over for supper?” she said in a terse whisper.
“He has lots of hamburgers. He said so.”
But that didn’t answer her question.
Jenna’s heart flipped over as Dev rose fluidly to his feet. How was it possible for a man to look so good in a pair of faded jeans, a plain cotton T-shirt and hiking boots?
“I think there’s been—” Another opportunity to embarrass herself! “—a
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