Warm Nights in Magnolia Bay, Babette Jongh [book club books txt] 📗

His slow, even breathing didn’t change. She could feel his mind turning her words over in his head. “I understand. I feel the same way myself sometimes.” His fingers idly stroked her shoulder, a subconsciously self-soothing motion that soothed her, too. “I wasn’t looking to fall in love, either. In fact…” He gave a little huff of laughter. “The timing couldn’t be worse. I mean, shit; I have nothing to offer you. If you had any sense, you’d run screaming.”

“Not running.” She patted his chest—his gloriously hard-muscled chest—then hugged him tight. “I’m worried about losing my heart, but I’m still right here.”

He snorted. “Yeah, maybe you’re not running now because the doctor said to take it easy on that foot. But what about two weeks from now?”

“I don’t see how you can say that you have nothing to offer. You’re a wonderful person, an amazing lover, an exceptional father… You’re even a decent ex-husband, which says a lot to me about your character. And, you’re a hard worker. What else is there that you think would make me run screaming?”

“I can think of three things offhand.” He tapped a finger on her shoulder. “One: I’m broke as a haint because I’ve spent all my money to buy and renovate that estate.” He tapped another finger. “Two: I’m in financial limbo because I lost my job and my reputation as a contractor when I trusted my business partner and got sold down the river.”

“It’s not wrong to trust people, Quinn.”

He looked away from her and gazed out over the Mississippi. “Even if the person I trusted was JP?”Abby gasped.

“JP?” He was Quinn’s ex-friend and business partner? Quinn had said they’d worked together, but Abby hadn’t snapped to the connection. Of course, it seemed so obvious now. Why had she only just now put all this together? “JP is the ex-business partner who sold you down the river?”

He closed his eyes. “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. There just wasn’t a good time to do it.”

She scooted closer. “It’s okay; I understand. Tell me the third thing.”

He tapped a third finger. “And three—something I haven’t told you yet, but I think I need to—I had planned to sell the estate to raise enough money to build my own construction business, but this stupid fantasy keeps running through my head, even though it’s the worst possible financial decision I could make.”

“Yeah?” She snuggled close and ran a hand down his arm. “Tell me about this fantasy.”

“I can’t stop thinking of keeping the estate and living there—with you, if you’ll have me.”

“Quinn, I—” The thought of moving in with Quinn took her breath, like jumping from the high dive into cool, deep water on a hot summer’s day. To live with him, and to be living next door to her aunt Reva, made a blossom of hope bloom inside her heart. To have a place, a home, a man to love, and an extended family to depend on… “I don’t know what to say.”

The seductive pull of that dream made her even more afraid. The bigger the potential prize, the harder the fall when it didn’t happen—or worse, when it happened but then got snatched away.

“Calm down.” Quinn soothed her by stroking her shoulder again. “I’m not asking—not yet—because unless I can figure out another way to more than recoup my investment, I do need to sell that place, no matter how much I’d like to stay. And I have a lot of shit to work through before I’d ask you to start thinking about forever. I know I said making love would mean the start of something—and it did.” He stroked her shoulder again. “It does. But I have to get right with my past before I can plan my future. Does that make sense?”

Abby nodded. She felt the same way. She had to let go of past hurts before she could put her heart on the chopping block again.

* * *

BAYSIDE BARN OPEN HOUSE TODAY!

11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Welcome, welcome. Come on in!

Abby zip-tied the brightly colored hand-painted sign to the open gate, along with a half-dozen helium-filled balloons that bopped together and bounced in the hot breeze.

Quinn and Edna were out right now, putting more signs and balloons in strategic locations to draw in random Sunday drivers and to point the way for people who may have seen the announcement in the Magnolia Bay flyer but weren’t sure of the location. (Out here in the boondocks, some GPS guidance systems tended to fall short.)

Georgia danced excitedly at Abby’s feet all the way back to the house. She’d been all up in everybody’s business all morning while they were setting up the bouncy house, the popcorn machine, the iced tea and lemonade and water dispensers, and everything else. Crepe paper streamers draped every reachable eave and limb and handrail on the farm, except of course the goat yard fencing, on which anything made of paper would be considered a food item.

It seemed to Abby that everyone, animals and humans alike, was feeling excitement and anticipation for the day’s fun.

All except Wolf, poor guy, who was hiding out under the porch. Hopefully, he felt safe there from all the commotion that had been going on since just after dawn. Abby sat in one of the folding chairs that were scattered randomly around the yard and tried to connect with Wolf telepathically. She wasn’t sure she was getting through, but as Reva kept telling her, it didn’t hurt to try. She got the sense that he knew what to expect and planned to stay hidden until the place quieted down, though maybe she was just kidding herself in an effort to feel better about his obvious distress. In case he could hear her, Abby promised that it would all be over before dinnertime, and that she’d save a hamburger patty for him to have as a treat.

“Abby, hey!” She opened her eyes and saw Sean coming toward her