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“That Holly was pregnant?” He grimaced. “She was upset at first, afraid I’d thrown away my future. But when she saw that Holly and I were both determined to finish school and make a good life for our daughter, she decided to be happy about it.”
“And Holly’s parents?”
“Yelled at us both, cried a little, then pitched in to help as much as we’d let them. They’re nice people. Probably handled it all much better than I would have if it had been Cassie in our predicament,” he admitted ruefully.
Bonnie’s phone chirped in her pocket to announce a text and she gave an apologetic murmur as she pulled it out to read the message. Knowing that she was always on call here, he wasn’t bothered by the interruption.
“Odd,” she murmured. “Kinley asked if I was in the inn or at home. Probably has something to ask me and doesn’t want to interrupt if I’m busy.”
She typed a couple of words into her phone, then held it loosely in one hand as she turned her attention back to him. “I know how your parents reacted when they found out Cassie was on the way. What about you? How did you feel when you found out?”
He thought back more than twenty-one years, trying to come up with words to succinctly sum up the emotions he’d felt. “Stupid. Scared. Unprepared. Guilty. I was afraid I’d ruined my life and Holly’s and maybe an innocent child’s. I told her I’d marry her immediately and I meant it, but our parents talked us out of doing anything that rash, thank goodness. So I vowed to stand by her and help her in whatever way she needed, but I was still conflicted about it—until they placed Cassie in my arms. As clichéd as it sounds, I knew right then that my life would never be the same. In a good way.”
She appeared fascinated by the revelations. “You were so young.”
“I guess I grew up fast.”
“You missed out on a lot, I think.”
“I gained more,” he said with a light shrug. “I can play now that my daughter is grown and out of the nest.”
Biting her lower lip, Bonnie looked up at him through her lashes, the early evening shadows gathering on her face and masking the expression in her eyes from him. Before she could speak again, they were interrupted by her sister’s voice.
“Bonnie! There you are.”
Both Paul and Bonnie turned in response to the hail. Kinley rushed toward them along the garden path. She was followed more sedately by Logan, who led a massive black-and-brown dog on a leash—the notorious Ninja, no doubt—and a taller, dark-haired man Paul assumed to be Kinley’s boyfriend, whom he’d never met.
Bonnie looked surprised to see the group bearing down on them. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Kinley said with a broad smile that could almost light the darkening garden. “Just the opposite.”
“Don’t look at me for answers,” Logan said with a shrug, his expression quizzical. “Ninja and I were just taking a walk when Kinley ambushed us and insisted we help her find you.”
Kinley turned her smile to Paul, who was beginning to suspect what was to come. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we—well, I couldn’t wait. Paul Drennan, this is Dan Phelan.”
Paul reached out to shake the other man’s hand, receiving a rather apologetic smile of greeting. “Nice to meet you, Dan.”
“You, too, Paul. And, uh, sorry to crash your walk with Bonnie.”
Kinley shook her head impatiently. “Anyway…”
She held up her left hand, wiggling the ring finger and confirming Paul’s prediction. “Dan brought me a souvenir from his trip to New York. I thought you all might like to see it.”
Bonnie pounced, grabbing her sister’s hand and angling it so that the nearest overhead light made the ring glitter impressively. “You’re engaged?”
“We’re engaged,” Dan confirmed, putting an arm around Kinley’s shoulders. “I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you both!” Bonnie threw her arms around the taller couple in an enthusiastic group hug.
Though he felt a bit awkward at being included in this private family moment, Paul couldn’t help but smile in response to their obvious joy. Even Logan smiled as he kissed Kinley’s cheek and clapped Dan’s shoulder, visibly approving of the union. Oddly enough, though, Logan’s big dog began to make a weird sound that sort of resembled a growl, though his short tail swished the air behind him. Paul took an involuntary step backward, wondering if perhaps the dog was disturbed by the stranger in the midst of the family.
Bonnie noticed his movement, glanced at Ninja, then smiled in sudden understanding. “He isn’t growling,” she assured him. “That’s the sound he makes when he’s happy.”
“I told you,” Logan said, reaching down to give his pet a roughly affectionate ear rub. “He’s a weird dog.”
When Ninja showed interest in him, Paul extended a careful hand to be sniffed and approved, then patted the dog’s back when Ninja wagged and wiggled in an encouraging signal. They took a moment to get to know each other while the Carmichael family continued to celebrate the good news.
“Okay, this calls for toasts,” Bonnie asserted, wiping her eyes with the back of one hand. “I have an apple crumble and ice cream for anyone who wants dessert. I can probably find a doggie biscuit for Ninja, too.”
