Family in His Heart

She turned the paper over to the Help Wanted ads and scanned the page. She didn’t see Nick’s ad for a housekeeper. Why hadn’t he asked her? She’d given him every opportunity. He’d probably found a woman already. The possibility weighted her shoulders. Living on an island would have been wonderful—a beautiful setting, room and board, and a paycheck. What more could she want?

And, best of all, Don would have a difficult time finding her, or at least getting to her. He loved to ride into her life like a knight with all kinds of promises and then leave her eating dust.

Dust. Rona licked her dry lips and realized she needed something to drink. She rose and reached for the cooler, pulled out an orange pop and nabbed the potato chip bag.

When she settled back, she picked up the newspaper again to read the local news. She wanted to become familiar with the town she’d chosen to live in. As she placed her thumb on the edge of the daily paper to turn the page, Nick’s ad lay just below her finger. How had she missed it earlier? Her pulse rose as did her hopes. Maybe Nick thought she wouldn’t be interested so he hadn’t offered her the job. Rather than second-guessing, she could just apply and get it over with. If he said no, she would just have to deal with it.

Then reality smacked her between the eyes. Nick knew she wanted a better job. He knew she needed a place to stay, but he hadn’t offered her the position. He could have asked. Nothing had stopped him, except his own choice.

Nick hadn’t given her a thought.

Chapter Four

Nick closed his car door and stood outside waiting to hit the remote while Gary sulked inside the SUV. Last night Gary had mentioned he might get home late from school again today, and, certain that his son planned to get away with something else, Nick had met him at the end of the school day, and this time insisted he go home with him.

Yesterday, he’d tried to control his frustration and broached the subject about Gary’s overnight stay at Phil’s and set down some rules. Gary only shrugged and blew him off. Rather than fight, Nick decided to give the situation thought and prayer. Today, he hoped to move a mountain.

“You can play the silent game with me,” Nick said when Gary finally dragged himself from the passenger seat, “but we really need to talk.”

With a half glance, Gary slammed the door and strutted past him. “Talk.”

“I have been. Now it’s your turn.”

Gary dug his hands into his pockets and kicked at the tufts of broad-leaved grass as they headed toward the lake. The progress they’d made earlier that morning had faded.

Disappointed, Nick looked at the stretch of water and knew talking was impossible over the roar of the motor, anyway, he needed to focus on steering the boat, not dealing with Gary. He looked down the sidewalk toward Harbor Inn, drawn there by the need for dinner he didn’t want to cook and at the thought of seeing Rona. This would give him a chance to introduce Rona to Gary.

He tilted his head toward the restaurant. “Let’s catch dinner in town.”

Gary stopped on the sidewalk without looking up.

“Aren’t you hungry? I don’t feel like cooking tonight.” He motioned again toward the inn. “Harbor Inn has good food.”

Gary lifted his shoulders in an I-don’t-care attitude and followed.

Nick knew there was little purpose in talking to Gary when he was in a bad mood, but maybe in the quiet atmosphere he could steer the conversation toward something that would relieve the tension. He wished they had someplace neutral where they could relax and be father and son.

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