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“And we swam in this crick.” Colton waved at the water.
A bead of sweat rolled down Grace’s back. “Let’s go inside. It’s really hot.”
“Hotter than a hoochie choochie,” Colton agreed.
His brother hushed him. “That’s a bad word. Don’t say that.”
“Boys!” Emma appeared at the open door with her shirt buttoned up wrong. She’d obviously been putting Carter down for a nap. “Let Miss Grace come aboard, for land’s sake. And stay off the boat for ten minutes so the baby doesn’t wake up.”
“Daddy’s home!”
Simon’s cheery announcement set Grace’s heart racing. She’d said goodbye to Amos a mere forty-eight hours ago, but there’d been no chance to talk about their future. As the boys all tore uphill to greet him, Grace met his hungry regard over the tops of their heads and realized he had missed her, too. Anticipation steamrolled her.
A car pulled up right behind him, a canary-yellow Mustang. Recognizing the bald SEAL named Ben as he slipped from his car, Grace tempered her expectations of an imminent heart-to-heart—or, just as good, a toe-curling kiss.
Mateo recognized Amos, too, delighting Grace by pointing him out to her. “Yes, I see him.”
“Who is that?” Emma had come across the gangplank to keep an eye on the boys.
“He’s a SEAL who works with Amos.”
Grace had eyes only for the latter. He looked so masculine in his naval working uniform, with his sleeves rolled up high on his muscular arms and the patches on his uniform proclaiming his rank.Am I up to being this man’s mate?
Ignoring the boys for the time being, Amos patted Simon on the head and continued walking toward Grace with a single-mindedness that backed the air into her lungs. He didn’t stop until he stood directly before her. “Excuse me, just one second,” he said to Mateo. Lifting a hand to the side of her face, he tipped her face to his and kissed her thoroughly, making his intentions clear to everyone.
By the time he released her, Grace had an answer to her question. Yes, she was up to it. Amos had brought her from the brink of despair into a whole new era of her life, one based on faith and family.
“Ben.” Amos waved the bald chief closer. Grinning, the boys accompanied him.
“Mama, look,” Colton shouted, escorting him up the pier. “It’s Mr. Fix-it!”
Amos and Grace both turned to Emma for clarification.
The stunned young mother was eyeing the bald, blue-eyed chief in amazement. He seemed just as surprised as she was but managed to find his voice first.
“Senior chief says you’re looking for a house to rent?”
“Well, yes,” Emma glanced at Grace and Amos, “but I don’t know if I can afford a house.”
“Oh, it’s not big. And it’s out on the edge of town. Be happy to show it to you if you want to go see it.”
Emma sought Amos and Grace’s permission. “Should I go now? But the baby’s napping.”
“Yes.” Amos had it all worked out. “We’ll watch the baby when he wakes. Take the older boys with you. Simon, do you want to stay or go?”
Simon’s gaze swung between his cousins and Mateo. “I’ll stay.” He backed toward the gangplank.
Emma tucked a stray wisp of ginger-brown hair back into her braid, then grab Colton’s hand and whispered, “Colton, make sure you mind your manners.” Together mother and sons followed the SEAL to his car.
Grace turned toward Amos as he remarked on their departure with a satisfied smile. “Did you know he was the one who’d helped them on the highway?”
“No idea.” His silvery eyes sparkled with humor as he turned to face her, but then his expression sharpened. “Where did Simon go?”
“Back inside. I hope he doesn’t wake up the baby.”
“Shall we show Mateo his new home?”
Grace’s pulse skipped at the casual reference to her living with Amos permanently. Would he propose at some point, or did he expect her to live in sin—if it could be called such with her sleeping in the berthing area?
