Page 71 of Love Everlasting

“Two weeks?” Tess whirled to gape at him.

“It does make sense, Mom,” Jack said, “getting married and settled in before the holidays hit, which are always crazy enough without a wedding in the mix.”

Tess’s smile took a left. “Et tu, Brute?”

Jack grinned. “Face it, Mom—we’re all going to feel a whole lot better when you’re happily married and life settles down.”

“Especially me,” Ben murmured against her hair, his gentle massage of her shoulders reminding her of all the benefits in store. “And I’ll even pay Shan the fifty dollars.”

“Well, that settles it, then!” Cat checked her phone calendar. “Saturday, October 1st sound okay?” A grin suddenly slid across her face. “And, hey, guess what? This is a calendar app that lists all the special days of the year, and you’ll never believe what October 1st is!”

Tess glanced at Ben, mouth skewing to the left. “National Arm-twisting Day?”

“Nope.” Cat glanced up, eyes twinkling. “National Homemade Cookies Day.” She put a hand over her heart. “It’s a sign!”

“No kidding?” Ben grinned ear-to-ear, bending to deposit a kiss to Tess’s cheek. “I’d say it’s a done deal, then, Tess, wouldn’t you?”

Tess rolled her eyes, unable to suppress a chuckle. “Do I have a choice?”

“No!” the entire table shouted in unison, including Davey and his Power Rangers.

Tess shook her head, a smile breaking through when she realized this was what she’d wanted all along, if not compelled to give her family time to adjust. Releasing a heady sigh of surrender, she patted Ben’s sandpaper cheek with a tender smile. “I didn’t think so.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

It shouldn’t be this way. Despite a joyous engagement, a heady sea breeze, and a melon moon hovering over a river shimmering with stars, Shannon couldn’t fully enjoy the beauty of the night.

Because of Sam.

Carefully picking her way down the stone pathway to their dock where Ben and her mom had been shooed during dishes and cleanup, Shannon was grateful the newly engaged couple would be by themselves. Lacey and Jack had gone home, and Davey and Cat had long since gone to bed, so Shannon hoped an hour and a half of alone time was enough for the two people whose advice she desperately needed. She hadn’t wanted to discuss Sam with Jack because the two men had become too close as friends, and Shannon wanted more objectivity to the counsel she sought. Right now, she needed wisdom forged through experience, and nobody had dealt with trust issues in a relationship more than her mother and Ben.

Squinting down the moonlit ramp, she was relieved to see two Adirondack chairs facing the water, linked by a single clasp of hands. With a final prayer for wisdom, she made a point of rattling the ramp as she walked, the whisper of swaying marsh grasses urging her on. “Mom?”

Two heads turned, silhouettes of surprise against a harvest moon. “Shan?” A hint of worry threaded her mother’s tone as she pivoted all the way in her chair to watch Shannon’s approach. “Everything all right?”

“Yes,” Shannon whispered, apology lacing her words. “And then again, no.”

Ben immediately rose. “Here, Shannon, take my chair. It’s getting late, and I should head home.”

“No, please, Ben, don’t. I actually would like your opinion on something as well as my mom’s—the male perspective, if you will.” She started to drag another chair over, but he quickly picked it up and set it down next to her mother’s before returning to his own seat.

“What’s this about, sweetheart?” her mother said softly, rubbing Shannon’s arm with a tenderness that never failed to soothe.

Feet tucked beneath her, Shannon slanted back in her chair, arms resting on its sides while she stared at the moon-ribboned river. “It’s about Sam, Mom,” she whispered, giving her mother’s hand a gentle squeeze before facing her with a timid gaze. “I … haven’t mentioned this before, because I didn’t want to worry you, but I have” —a lump bobbed in her throat as she forced the words out on a rasp— “strong feelings for Sam.”

Her mother stared for several seconds while her chest rose and fell in a silent sigh. “I wondered, sweetheart, because Jack warned me that Sam could charm a bird out of a tree.”

A rusty chuckle slipped from Shannon’s lips as she stared out over the water. “Yes, well, he certainly charmed this bird, no matter how hard she clung to that stupid tree.”

“Oh, honey, I am so very sorry.” Her mother leaned in to bundle Shannon in her arms, causing tears to prick at the back of Shannon’s lids. “Does Sam know?”

Shannon nodded. “He does now. I told him last night.” She nibbled the edge of her lip as she pulled away to peek up at her mom. “Right after he told me he broke it off with Jasmine because he has feelings for me.”

Tess’s lips parted in a surprised smile. “Seriously? Well, honey, that’s wonderful news!” She paused, obviously noting the troubled look on Shannon’s face. “Isn’t it?”

“For most women, I suppose,” she whispered, her mouth tipping off-center, “but you and I both know that when it comes to being in love, I’m no longer ‘most women.’”

Tess gently brushed the hair from Shannon’s eyes, ducking to offer a tender smile. “Honey, what happened with Eric is in the past, and God has redeemed both it and you.”