Brambleberry House: His Second-Chance Family

He glanced at Julia and saw her cheeks had turned pink and he wondered if she was remembering holding hands under one of the picnic tables that overlooked the beach and stealing kisses whenever her brother wasn’t looking.

“I did,” he said gruffly, wishing those particular memories had stayed buried.

Maddie looked as if she wanted to pursue the matter but by now they had reached Murphy’s.

He hadn’t thought this whole thing through, he realized as they approached the walk-up window. Rats. Inside, he could see Lacy Murphy Walker, who went to high school with him and whose family had owned and operated the ice-cream parlor forever.

She had been one of Robin’s best friends—and as much as he loved her, he was grimly aware that Lacy also happened to be one of the biggest gossips in town.

“Hi, Will.” She beamed with some surprise. “Haven’t seen you in here in an age.”

He had no idea how to answer that so he opted to stick with a polite smile.

“We’re sure loving the new cabinets in the back,” she went on. “You did a heck of a job on them. I was saying the other day how much more storage space we have now.”

“Thanks, Lace.”

Inside, he could see the usual assortment of tourists but more than a few local faces he recognized. The scene was much the same on the picnic tables outside.

His neck suddenly itched from the speculative glances he was getting from those within sight—and especially from Lacy.

She hadn’t stopped staring at him and at Julia and her twins since he walked up to the counter.

“You folks ready to order?”

He hadn’t been lumped into a folks in a long time and it took him a moment to adjust.

Sometimes he thought that was one of the things he had missed the most the last two years, being part of a unit, something bigger and better than himself.

“Hang on,” he said, turning back to Julia and her twins. “Have you decided?” he asked, in a voice more terse than he intended.

“Bubblegum!” Simon exclaimed. “In a sugar cone.”

Lacy wrote it down with a smile. “And for the young lady?”

Maddie gifted Lacy with a particularly sweet smile. “Strawberry cheesecake, please,” she whispered. “I would like a sugar cone, too.”

“Got it.” Again Lacy turned her speculative gaze at him and Julia, standing together at the counter. “And for the two of you?”

The two of you. He wanted to tell her there was no two of you. They absolutely were not a couple, just two completely separate individuals who happened to walk down the beach together for ice cream.

“Two scoops of vanilla in a sugar cone,” he said.

“Make that two of those.” Julia smiled at Lacy and he felt a little light-headed. It was only because he hadn’t eaten, he told himself. Surely his reaction had nothing to do with the cherry blossom scent of her that smelled sweeter than anything coming out of the ice cream shop.

Lacy gave them the total and Will pulled out his wallet.

“My treat,” he said, sliding a bill to Lacy.

She reached for it at the same time Julia did.

“It is not!” Julia exclaimed. “You weren’t even planning to come along until we hounded you into it. Forget it, I’m paying.”

Even more speculative glances were shooting their way. He could see a couple of his mother’s friends inside and was afraid they would be on the phone to her at her retirement village in San Diego before Lacy even scooped their cones.

Above all, he wanted to avoid attention and just win this battle so they could find a place to sit, preferably one out of view of everyone inside.

“Nobody hounded anybody. I wanted to come.” For one brief second of insanity, he thought, but didn’t add. “I’m paying this time. You can pick it up next time.”

The minute the words escaped his mouth, he saw Lacy’s eyes widen. Next time, he had said. Rats. He could just picture the conversation that would be buzzing around town within minutes.

You hear about Will Garrett? He’s finally dating again, the new teacher living in Abigail’s house. The pretty widow with those twins. Remember, her family used to rent the old Turner place every summer.

He grimaced to himself, knowing there wasn’t a darn thing he could do about it. When a person lived in the same town his whole life, everybody seemed to think they had a stake in his business.

“Are you sure?” Julia still looked obstinate.

He nodded. “Take it, Lace,” he said.

To his vast relief, she ended the matter by stuffing the bill into the cash register and handing him his change.

“It should just be a minute,” she said in a chirpy kind of voice. She disappeared from the counter, probably to go looking for her cell phone so she could start spreading the word.

“Thank you,” Julia said, though she still looked uncomfortable about letting him treat.

“No problem.”

“It really doesn’t seem fair. You didn’t even want to come with us.”

“I’m here, aren’t I? It’s fine.”

She looked as if she had something more to say but after a moment she closed her mouth and let the matter rest when Lacy returned with the twins’ cones.

“Here you go. The other two are coming right up.”

“Great service as always, Lacy,” he said when she handed him and Julia their cones. “Thanks.”

“Oh, no problem, Will.” She smiled brightly. “And let me just say for the record that it’s so great to see you out enjoying...ice cream again.”

Heat soaked his face and he could only hope he wasn’t blushing. He hadn’t blushed in about two decades and he sure as hell didn’t want to start now.

“Right,” he mumbled, and was relieved when Simon spoke up.

“Hey, Mom, our favorite table is empty. Can we sit out there and watch for whales?”

Julia smiled and shook her head ruefully. “We’ve been here twice and sat at the same picnic table both times. I guess that makes it our favorite.”

She studied Will. “Are you in a hurry to get back or do you mind eating our cones here?”