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Chapter 1
“Auntie Mack, are we there yet?”
Mack glanced into the rearview mirror and smiled at her six-year-old nephew, Lucas. “No, we’re not there yet. Asking me every two seconds isn’t going to get us there any faster.”
Lucas had asked the same question every ten minutes or so since they’d left Boston. The first time he’d asked had been as soon as she’d turned the corner from her apartment building.
Last night, Lucas’s parents had dropped him off at Mack’s place so she could get an early start in the morning, but Lucas had other ideas! They had both fallen asleep on Mack’s bed watching a movie with a bowl of popcorn between them. When they’d woken up, Mack was thankful that he didn’t have an upset stomach after all the treats he had devoured the night before.
She’d been driving for just over an hour, traveling up the coast to the cottage in Maine she’d rented for the summer. Rose Cottage—a place where she could get a breather from the craziness she called work, and her matchmaking parents. Despite loving them, she was beyond frustrated with them and the endless dates they threw at her. Normally, she wouldn’t mind, but the dates were all the same age as her parents and lived in the same retirement village.
It wasn’t as though she never dated because she did, but for some reason all her dates were horrible. She either ended up going out on a date with someone who didn’t know how to have fun or with someone, like her last date, who spent the whole time eyeing anyone wearing a skirt! How the hell she managed to pick these kinds of guys, she’d never know. After all her failed attempts at romance, her mother had decided to take matters into her own hands, and started to arrange blind dates for her—much to Mack’s dismay.
Mack used to have a great time going out with her sister, Melinda. They used to meet some gorgeous guys, but unfortunately, they were only interested in one thing, and Mack didn’t do one-night stands. That, of course, all stopped when Melinda married Daniel, and that was when girl’s night out started to get few and far between, especially after Lucas came along.
Mack loved Lucas dearly and spent as much time as possible with him. He could be very mischievous if he wasn’t watched all the time, but that made her love him even more. His parents were flying to Europe later in the day, and Lucas had wanted to spend the time with his Auntie Mack, who could never say no. She always told herself to stop spoiling him, but so far, her resolve hadn’t stuck.
As she drove to Cape Elizabeth, she had a car full of clothes, toys, books, and groceries. It was with relief to discover Lucas could do without his pet snake, Archie. Mack didn’t do snakes, spiders, or frogs; they just frightened the life out of her.
She wasn’t quite sure how she would have handled him wanting to bring Archie because there was no way a snake was going on vacation with them. In fact, Melinda had given Lucas the option of no snake and Auntie Mack, or snake and grandparents.
“Are you sure we’re not there yet?” Lucas asked again, fidgeting in the backseat.
She sighed. “Lucas, we’ll be there soon. Why don’t you read one of your books?”
“Auntie Mack, my books are boring. Can I read one of yours?” He bounced up and down in his seat full of excitement.
“My books are for adults, and they have no pictures in them.” She was thankful that her books were packed in the trunk so Lucas couldn’t go rooting around for them.
“But Daddy told Mommy that she would learn a lot if she read the type of books you read, instead of her boring magazines. I like to learn,” Lucas replied with his ‘cute’ face.
Mack smiled at him; he knew that his Auntie Mack had never been able to withhold anything from him when he gave her that look. He obviously hoped she would give in and let him have a look through her books.
She started to laugh, as well as blush, and wondered just what type of books Daniel thought she read. “They’re still adult-only books, Lucas. If you’re bored with yours, why don’t I buy you some new ones when we get there?”
“As soon as we get there? You promise?” Lucas tossed his current books onto the spare seat beside him.
“We’ll check the stores out in a day or two.” With a quick glance at the mirror, she saw Lucas’s face start to fall, so she added, “But if you’re good until then, I’ll buy you one extra book, maybe an atlas, then you can keep track of where your parents are staying in Europe.”
Lucas had a ‘thinking face’ this time. “That would be cool.”
“Okay . . . now that’s the end of that. Why don’t you have a nap? I’ll wake you when we get there. That way, the time will pass very quickly for you.”
Eventually, Mack pulled up outside Rose Cottage and turned the engine off. The quiet and stillness must have woken Lucas because one minute he was asleep, and the next, he shot up in his seat and banged the side of his head against the window. “You all right, Lucas?”
He rubbed his head. “I think so. Are we there yet?”
“Yes, we are, thank goodness! Let’s stretch our legs.” She peered across the yard and spotted a man walking toward them. “In fact, I think I can see Mr. Degan on his way to the cottage.” Mack pointed to the left.
She climbed out of the car and opened the back door for Lucas. He jumped out and ran around her in circles before he ran to meet Mr. Degan.
As she wa
tched him dash toward Mr. Degan, she suddenly thought better of it as there was no telling what would come out of Lucas’s mouth. She jogged over to them before Lucas could even say one word. “Mr. Degan,” Mack said, holding her hand out. “I’m Mackenzie Harper, and this is my nephew, Lucas Cartwright.”
“You like fishing?” Mr. Degan asked as he released her hand.
“Err, not really,” she replied. Her brows came together in confusion at the odd question. No welcome, just fishing. There was no way she was going anywhere near the bait…and pulling the fish from the water wasn’t appealing either.
“I wasn’t talking to you, young woman. I was talking to this here imp.” Mr. Degan pointed at Lucas.
Lucas was jumping up and down like an excited puppy. “I’ve never been fishing, but Daddy says you have to try everything once.”
“Mmm, there are some big suckers in the river. I thought I could use you as bait?”
Lucas looked confused while Mack’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Mr. Degan, I don’t . . .”
