AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brooke watched Adam trot away from her and couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve been like to have a doting father. Having been raised alone by her mother with few opportunities to have a man in their lives, she’d never know. She studied Adam and liked what she saw.
When they reached the little inlet, she saw that waves had washed many shells into a pile, just as she’d suspected.
“Be sure and search through them carefully to find perfect shells for your collection,” Brooke said, kneeling beside Skye. “They’re all lovely but different, like snowflakes from the sky.”
“Sky? That’s my name.” The little girl grinned at her, and Brooke had an urge to hug her. Skye was a beautiful child with her blond curly hair peeking out from beneath a sunbonnet and big blue eyes that shone with excitement.
“Go ahead and take your time, Skye,” said Adam. “I’m going to sit right here on this log to watch you.”
“And then will you help me?” Skye said.
“Of course, I just want to give you the chance to find some on your own. I remember what it was like to have no one else around me when I discovered shells by myself.”
“Remember all the shell crafts our grandmothers set up for us?” Brooke asked. “Of course, you were much older than I was, so you often were away at school or summer camp.”
“Much older? I’m thirty-eight. How old are you?”
“Twenty-eight. Not as different now, but back then, I remember how we all thought you were so old and wise,” said Brooke.
“Well, I’ve proved that I’m not,” said Adam, giving her rueful look. He looked out over the water.
“All I know is that you have a beautiful little girl, who I’m sure, is the envy of all the other grandmothers here,” said Brooke softly.
Adam looked at her and laughed. “Mimi does love her. I do too, of course.”
At that moment, watching the way his face lit with pleasure, Brooke knew the crush she’d had as a teenager was still lurking inside her.
