Bobby Ray had listened silently to the entire exchange, then regarded him wryly. “Still looking out for Marianne, aren’t you, cousin? That was always the problem. I thought I’d won, but you were always right there between us.”
“Maybe in your mind, not in Marianne’s and certainly not in mine,” Kevin insisted. “Why couldn’t you see that, Bobby Ray? Was it because even after you married her, you were still too busy trying to get even with me?”
“Probably,” he conceded. He looked at Gracie, his expression wistful. “Do you think second chances are possible?”
“Always.”
“Even after I’ve made such a mess of things.”
Gracie nodded with certainty. “Even then, if you’re sure about what you want.”
“Which he’s not,” Kevin said emphatically. “A half-hour ago he came in here moaning because Sara Lynn had abandoned him. Now you’ve talked him into rebounding straight into Marianne’s arms. It’ll be a disaster.”
“They’re old enough to decide for themselves if it’s what they want and to work out whatever obstacles are in the way,” Gracie retorted. “All I’ve done is plant the idea in his head.”
“Well, I hope to hell you’ll be around to pick up the pieces when it all blows up in our faces.”
She stared him down, a stubborn jut to her chin. “I guess that all depends on you now, doesn’t it?”
“Me? How?”
“You can kick me out of your life for meddling in family affairs or you can learn to share the problems with me. It’s up to you.”
“Well, I can’t very well kick you out now, can I?” he grumbled. “You’ve managed to get yourself entwined with me and my relatives so tight, it would take a crowbar to pry us all apart.”
Gracie gave him a tight little smile. “You don’t have to sound so downright elated about it.”
“Believe me, I am not elated.”
“Scared, maybe?”
“Of you? Never.”
Her grin broadened. “Bet you are.”
“Hey, you guys, don’t mind me,” Bobby Ray said, backing away from the table. “I think I’ll just slip on out before the fight picks up steam. Got enough troubles of my own.”
“Where are you going?” Kevin asked.
“Home,” Bobby Ray said. “The cab’s waiting down the block. Jimmy said he’d stick around till I was finished up here. I’ve got some thinking to do. I figure it’s time I thought first, then acted. Maybe I’ll avoid making another mistake that way.” He winked at Gracie. “It’s about time, wouldn’t you say?”
“Something tells me you’re going to get it right this time,” she told him.
After he’d left, walking considerably more steadily than he had when he’d arrived, Gracie faced Kevin defiantly.
“Are we going to fight about what just happened here?”
“One of these days,” Kevin said, reaching for her. “But not just yet.”
“Oh, no,” she said, backing away. “I’m not going to bed with you now, knowing that you’re going to fight with me later. Let’s get it out in the open now.”
He sighed. “Okay, then, what you did here tonight was risky and ill-conceived and, more than likely, a huge mistake.”
“That’s your opinion. I think I gave him something to think about.”
“Darlin’, Bobby Ray never thinks. He acts impulsively. He’ll be over there proposing before daybreak. I don’t want Marianne and Abby getting caught up in that again.”
“It’s not your call,” Gracie said. “Marianne’s capable of telling him to take a hike, if it’s not what she wants.”
“That’s the problem, sweetpea. I’m afraid she might want it too much. She’ll grab on, only to find out it’s another one of Bobby Ray’s impulses with no substance or staying power behind it.”
Gracie shrugged off his concern. “Then I guess it’ll be up to you and me to see that doesn’t happen.”
For some reason he couldn’t entirely explain, the weight that had settled in his stomach when Bobby Ray first called began to ease. The reaction defied logic, because his head was practically screaming that things were going to get a whole lot worse.
But not until after he’d had one more chance to make very passionate love to Gracie.
Gracie knew she had taken a huge risk by interfering in Daniels family business the night before. Obviously, Kevin hadn’t appreciated it, and it remained to be seen if Bobby Ray or Marianne would thank her. Still, she couldn’t help thinking that Abby deserved one last shot at having her family back together. From everything she’d heard and observed, there were still sparks amid the ashes of Bobby Ray’s relationship with Abby’s mom.
By the time Gracie arrived at the Victorian, Delia, Abby, and Helen were all seated around the huge worktable Gracie had moved to the kitchen. Wallpaper samples had been stacked into neat little piles, paint chips had been sorted, and there was a whole new collection of carpet and linoleum samples.
“Abby’s been making calls again,” Delia said as she ran her fingers over a lush piece of carpet in a soft weeping-willow green. She held it up for Gracie’s inspection. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful, but I thought we were going with blues.”
Helen winced. “Sorry. When I went through the wallpaper samples, I hated most of the blues.” She plucked up a pile. “See for yourself.”
Even Gracie had to agree most were either bland and uninspired or too much like every other historic home that used Williamsburg blue for its decor.
“Now look at this,” Helen said, and showed her a pattern that had the same soft green as the carpet, along with a tiny touch of blue and a bit of gold.
“Better,” Gracie admitted.
Helen’s eyes lit up. “And look at it with this,” she suggested, tossing a fabric swatch across it.
The fabric had blue-and-gold irises on a light beige background, but the predominant color was the soft green of the leaves.
“It’s fabulous,” Gracie declared, drawing a collective sigh of relief from the other three. She grinned at them. “Were you all worried?”
“Well, it wasn’t what we talked about,” Delia said.
“And I didn’t want to go against your wishes,” Helen said. “It is your bed-and-breakfast, after all.”
“They had a backup in
