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“Understood.” Gigi pulled out a bag filled with breakfast cookies and held it out. “How do you feel about his houseguest and her obvious designs on your man?”
“I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t concerned.” She took a cookie and nibbled the corner. “But there is nothing I can do.”
“That’s true because if a man is going to be tempted, then there’s no stopping him.”
Lucy studied Linc and his bevy of admirers. “I’m hoping that I’m not about to discover yet another way in which a man can betray me. I’ve had plenty of lessons and feel like one more would just be bad form on the Almighty’s part.”
“I see the way he looks at you and think he’s wealthy enough in heart to afford you.”
“Here’s to hoping,” she mumbled as she watched the man in question walk in their direction. Admiring his broad shoulders, she thought about the strength he possessed and the depth of his gentleness and knew she was a lucky woman.
Was he the type of man that could carry the steel drum weight of not only her body but her dreams? It certainly seemed possible if the promises he’d been showering her with were true.
A tiny ball of hope popped in her chest, and she did nothing to chase it away because when she looked at him, he felt like someone she’d like to keep.
Linc looked at the group he’d drug along to the May Day festival and wasn’t sure why he bothered pulling them out of the house. Zane was knee-deep in grief over the loss of his beloved, and Julie was resentful that she’d been asked to leave the Hawker manse. “This is a celebration of spring, new life, and rich abundance.”
Zane lifted his middle finger. “We live in a dark world with little hope of surviving.”
He slapped his cousin on the back. “Glad to see the therapy is making a difference.” Wagging his finger toward Julie, he arched an eyebrow. “You haven’t been out of the house in days; surely a little Vitamin D won’t kill you.”
“It might.” She adjusted her sunglasses. “What’s with all the bright colors, smiling faces, and frivolity? It’s kind of overdone, don’t you think?”
“I like it.” He pointed to a maypole that sat in the middle of the park. “When was the last time you saw one of those?”
“Never,” Julie said with distaste. “I’m going to grab some cotton candy and see if I can find the lady from the post office.”
“You mean Dee?” Zane asked as he adjusted his ball cap.
“I guess. We talked the other day at the book clearance thing Lucy was having, and she said that she had some true crime books that she’d let me have.”
“Sounds good,” Linc replied, hoping the dark cloud of disaster she was lugging around would eventually drift away. “We’ll catch up with you later.”
Zane crossed his arms over his chest. “The only true crime is when someone you care about walks away and takes all their light with them.”
“This is a pause, not a definitive end.” He looked out at the crowd. “You’re in the hardest part of the battle and can’t see the light, but it’s out there. And Olivia will eventually return to Haven.”
“Did you know that she bakes almost every day?” Zane dragged his feet through the grass. “And she doesn’t even like sweets. Give her crackers, chips, or anything salty and crunchy, and she’ll bite your hand before sharing.” Rocking forward, he shook his head. “Do you think she’s baking while she’s away? I bet she is. It’s not something a person would give up cold turkey. Maybe she’s freezing everything so she can bring it home.”
“Maybe,” Linc said quietly, knowing that the whole diatribe had very little to do with Olivia’s jones for baking and everything to do with a broken heart. He tilted his head toward the food tents. “Let’s go see about some food.”
“Alright.” He shoved his hands in his pocket. “But no cookies. Or brownies.”
“Got it.”
“Or pie.”
“Understood.”
“And…”
Linc stopped next to a table. “When Olivia finds her way home, you are going to discover a way to grand gesture the hell out of a second chance.”
Zane snorted. “I have no idea what you just said and am fairly confident that I don’t want to since the woman made it very clear that she wants no part of me and my emotional constipation.”
Linc threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter. “Kudos to Liv for calling it as she sees it,” Zane grunted and stalked off, and he decided to set the advice about love on the back burner. He headed toward the food and kept an eye out for Lucy. She’d told him that she’d be busy organizing the children for the maypole dance for the first couple of hours, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give her a kiss if the opportunity presented itself. Before he made it to his destination, he ran into his concrete subcontractor. “Hey, Manny. How are you doing?”
“I’m not sure.” He smoothed out his beard and then hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Did your friend get more beautiful and appealing in the last week? Because it sure seems like it.”
