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“Ah, Tommy,” an older woman said. “Introduce me to Lauren.”
Tommy turned toward his grandmother, and he said, “Gramma, this is Lauren Keller. Dad says you’ve sort of met her at the fireworks a couple of times.”
His momma grinned and said, “That I have.” She leaned in and brushed her lips across Lauren’s cheek.
“Sally, right?” Lauren asked.
“Oh, right,” Tommy said. “My gramma, Sally. I always forget that part.”
“You did good, baby,” Sally said, and Lauren agreed.
“We’re eating,” Lindsey said, her voice getting closer and higher-pitched. “Momma. Everyone’s waiting for you.” She flicked a glance to Lauren, her eyes still in “battle mode.”
“It’s a family picnic, Lindsey.” Sally rolled her eyes. “I’m an old woman. No one cares if we’re delayed by ten seconds.”
Tommy stifled a laugh and turned around. “I’m on my way, Aunt Lindsey.”
“Me too,” Lauren said. “Come on, Sally. I don’t want to be in trouble on my first time here.”
His momma chuckled, and Lauren felt like she’d won a great war by getting that from her. Then she joined Blake at the table, where he waited for her beside her chair. He pulled it out for her, and Lauren exchanged a flirty glance with him.
As the meal continued, Lauren realized how amazing having a family could be—and she did want it for herself.
23
Blake checked his son’s location and found him in his bedroom at his mother’s. Of course he would be, as it was a Thursday evening and he had school in the morning. Blake hadn’t said anything to Tommy about coming to live with him. Not yet, at least.
Jacinda hadn’t either. She’d taken her bins out of Tommy’s bedroom, and Blake had been handling the girlfriend and friend issues here on Hilton Head.
Since Jacinda hadn’t had anything to do with it, she’d not said much to Tommy about it.
Blake had said plenty. He’d confiscated Tommy’s phone. He’d put a parenting tracking app on the device, and he used it just to make sure that Tommy knew he would. He was serious about knowing where his son was and who he was with at all times.
Thirteen-year-olds could get into some serious trouble otherwise. Blake loved his son. Adored him. He’d do anything for him. Anything. And that included coming down hard on him when he lied and concealed things from him—both of which he’d done.
They’d had an agreement that Tommy wouldn’t delete his messages and texts, and he had. He’d been hiding his conversations with Kathy, who Blake had poked at his contacts around the island to learn more about her.
Her father had indeed passed away during his military service, and her mother did work two jobs to cover their expenses.
She had two children, but Kathy wasn’t the oldest. Luke was older than her, and when Blake had told Tommy, his son had been livid.
Accusations had been made, and Blake had told him then that he’d do whatever he had to in order to ensure his safety.Whateverhe had to.
“There’s trouble you don’t understand,” he’d told his son.
“You don’t get teenagers,” Tommy had shot back.
Maybe Blake didn’t, but he didn’t have to. Tommy’s girlfriend had lied to him, and Tommy had lied to Blake. That was all he needed to know.
He got out of his SUV and walked toward Lauren’s new house. She’d moved in last month, and she texted him every single day about something new and amazing she liked about the house. He smiled as he walked up to her front door and rang the bell. He went in a moment later, calling, “It’s just me.”
“I’m in the yard.” Her voice echoed back to him from outside, and he closed the door and started toward the back of the house.
She had no back door, so he’d have to go around, or through her bedroom, and she lifted one gloved hand as he peered through the window. “I’m coming in.” She bent again and gathered up the produce she’d just harvested, and several seconds later, her footsteps came down the hallway toward him.
“You’re early,” she said. “I haven’t had time to start the soup.” She gave him a smile and barely met his eye.
He’d caught her retreating from him a couple of times in the past month or so, and he’d carefully brought her back to him each time. They’d had a great meal with his family, and Lauren had gushed and gushed about how great they were.
