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“It still affects us, unfortunately.”
“Well, I can’t do that to Chris. I need to work on myself before I get married. It’s too soon.”
“It might be,” Katrina said. “You’ve only been in Cypress Cove for two years and in that time, you got married, had a kid, and got a divorce. Take a breath.”
“It’s not his fault, it’s not that his sons want to move in or that his ex is sick. It’s me. Boy, you’d think I’d have a better handle on things like this if I’m going to counsel people.”
“You’re doing great, sweetheart,” Katrina said.
“She’s right, you are,” Maggie agreed. “All of this just happened today. You don’t know what the next days will bring with this crap regarding your former mother-in-law. It might be messy.”
“Yes, I’m sure it will be awful.”
The dock vibrated and they looked up to see three gorgeous men approaching.
“Oh my God, look at them,” Katrina said, giggling. “Hot.”
“And they’re ours,” Maggie said.
“Well, maybe two of them,” Annie replied.
“Don’t be hasty,” Katrina whispered. “You don’t have to break up with the guy to avoid marrying him.”
She nodded, flicking a tear off her cheek. “I won’t be hasty.”
“Are you three beauties ready to eat?” Justin asked. “I’ve got the grill fired up and the meat is ready to go.”
Each man went to his respective woman. Chris hugged Annie and they turned to walk off the dock. “Your hair is wet,” he said, laughing. “We enjoyed the show, too.”
“Yeah, sorry. Not using the best judgment as usual.”
“You’ve had a rough day.”
“I just got a message from CPS. They want to interview Stevie,” Dave said, waiting for Annie and Chris at the end of the dock as he glanced at his phone.
“Where should we go?” Chris asked.
“They’ll come out here. It’s fine. I’m glad they’re moving fast, too. It’s too easy for the urgency to be reduced the longer you wait. And the incident is fresh in everyone’s mind.”
“I think I’m going to throw up,” Annie said.
“Take a deep breath,” Maggie said. “They would come right when we’re ready to eat and Annie said she was hungry.”
“There’s food here for an army,” Justin said. “You’ll eat when you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Justy. You’re a sweetheart,” Annie said.
They got the babysitters and the little kids to the picnic tables and fed them first, and then the adults joined them. The pall cast by a visit from Child Protective Services was present in spite of the beautiful meal and setting.
At two, a small white sedan pulled up to the gate and Justin pointed the remote at it.
“I bet they’re uncomfortable, driving up with a dozen people staring at them,” Chris said, grimacing.
“They’re used to it,” Dave said, waving. “I know them. They’re honest, helpful. You’ll see.”
“Honest? Why did he use that particular word to describe them?” Annie asked.
“I guess they can be trusted to do what’s right. If you tell them something happened, they take it at face value that it’s true until proven otherwise,” Katrina said. “Just trust Dave.”
