Kevin studied his cousin closely. Bobby Ray looked vaguely uneasy, but he supposed that could be attributed to his fear that Kevin would refuse to give him the money for Sara Lynn. When it came to marrying Marianne again, he seemed totally confident. Just to be sure, though, he asked, “This is what you really want? You’re not just playing some sort of emotional game because you can’t bear to be alone and uninvolved for more than a second? You’re certain? Forever and ever, amen?”
“Till death do us part,” Bobby Ray assured him. “I never should have let Marianne get away in the first place. My pride got in the way.”
“He’s learned his lesson, Uncle Kevin. I swear it,” Abby told him solemnly. “Please give Sara Lynn whatever she wants, okay? Maybe she’ll move far, far away, like Alaska.”
Alaska would almost certainly chill Sara Lynn’s overly active libido, Kevin thought, but kept that particular opinion to himself.
“And once all of this business with Sara Lynn is straightened out, you’ll never have to worry about me bugging you for money again,” Bobby Ray promised.
Kevin regarded him skeptically. “Oh?”
“I’ve gotten a job with Ray Mason.”
“The contractor?” Kevin asked, astounded. “Doing what, for heaven’s sakes? Have you realized that you’ll actually sweat, if you do this, that you won’t be wearing those fancy suits you love to work?”
“Yes, I’ve realized all that,” Bobby Ray responded.
“Then what on earth brought this on?”
“Working on this place with you guys, I realized how much I enjoy working with my hands, building things, painting. Maybe it has something to do with me getting a second chance, but I kind of like seeing a house get a new lease on life, too. Best of all, I’m pretty good at it.”
“You know he is, Uncle Kevin,” Abby said. “He never messed up the painting the way you did.”
Bobby Ray grinned at the loyal backing of his daughter. “Thanks, kiddo. Anyway, Ray says he’ll train me and, if I do okay, I can start taking on renovation projects of my own once I’m licensed.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Kevin mumbled.
“Isn’t it great, Uncle Kevin?” Abby said, slipping her hand into her father’s and gazing at him with adoration rather than the justifiable cynicism she’d displayed far too often.
Kevin leveled a look straight into Bobby Ray’s eyes and saw no signs of deception or wavering enthusiasm. He seemed to be throwing himself wholeheartedly into this new plan for his life. For once, the concept of hard work didn’t seem to faze him. He wasn’t looking for a quick buck or an easy way out. It was the first time in years that Bobby Ray seemed to have found a purpose.
“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?” he asked at last.
“Took me long enough, don’t you think?”
“The point is, it didn’t take you too long. Marianne and Abby were still waiting.”
“We would have waited a hundred million years,” Abby insisted.
Bobby Ray dragged her into his arms and began tickling her. “You can’t even count that high, kid.”
“Well, I could have, if we’d had to wait that long,” she said with her unerring logic. She peered at Kevin. “Are you going to wait that long before you marry Gracie?”
Kevin reached over and ruffled her hair. “You meddle in your father’s life,” he instructed her. “Stay out of mine.”
“But—”
“No buts, short stuff.”
“You know you like her,” Abby argued, undaunted by Kevin’s scowl. “You looked awful when you thought she’d gone back to France to be with Max.”
“Of course, I like her, but—”
“Then marry her, Uncle Kevin.”
Bobby Ray chimed in with his two cents. “Yeah, Kev, for once in your life, stop worrying about the rest of us and do something that’s right for you.”
Kevin regarded his cousin with a touch of irony. “Do you honestly think you’re the one to be giving me advice when it comes to romance?”
“Why not?” Bobby Ray retorted. “I’ve made more mistakes than you’ll ever think about making, but I’ve finally got it right. Listen to the voice of experience. When the good one comes along, grab on and hang on tight.”
Kevin considered Bobby Ray’s advice as he lounged in his hammock that afternoon. For once, though, peace seemed to be eluding him. He was restless and uneasy. For all of Bobby Ray’s reassurances that the women—all of them—would be coming home tomorrow, he knew for a fact that Gracie could be unpredictable.
What if Max finally came up with a convincing argument to lure her back to Worldwide? What if he threw buckets of money at her, as she’d once worried he would? What if she just realized that she missed France and couldn’t bear to leave the country again? What if Seagull Point’s quaint charm just didn’t hold up against the lights of Paris?
Well, he supposed he’d just have to brush up on his French and find someplace over there to live. He wasn’t letting her slip away. That much was certain.
As for marrying her, though, that was a whole other kettle of fish. Gracie was as independent as anyone he’d ever met. She hadn’t relied on him for a single thing since he’d known her, hadn’t asked for much, either. He didn’t know what to make of a relationship that wasn’t based on neediness of one kind or another.
If he’d known precisely where Gracie was, he would have gone traipsing after her to get a few answers. But based on Bobby Ray’s information, it was more than likely that the whole bunch of them was getting ready to fly home. In fact, they might be in the air at this very minute.
Irritated that he couldn’t get Gracie off his mind and relax, he finally muttered a curse and abandoned the hammock. He got in his car and headed back to town, straight for the Victorian. If he wasn’t going to get any peace anyway, he might as well be doing something productive. When he’d been in that tower room
