Page 40 of The Seal's Promise

“That has a nice ring to it,” Dalton said.

“But I’ll need to set some ground rules with her. I’m not going to curtail my game night or garden parties, for one. So she’ll either join us or make herself scarce.”

He couldn’t help but laugh picturing the young woman navigating a bunch of tipsy old women dancing in the garden while they sipped mint juleps and margaritas.

“Great, she’ll be here in an hour, so we should figure out which room she can have, and maybe I can get an AC unit installed in the sunroom if you don’t run her off right away.”

His grandmother clicked her tongue at him and gave him a side-eye but was quick to tidy up the sunroom and get fresh linens in the room upstairs above the art studio, Levi’s old room.

To his surprise, when Missy arrived she and Gran hit it off right away, and both agreed not to bother each other much unless the other one needed something. Missy would check in on Gran three times a day, and was of course available at any time because she’d be working in her new art studio.

Dalton could tell that from the moment Missy saw the sunroom space she would have agreed to just about any terms.

“Do you know how much it would be to rent a space like this, even for a week, for an artist to work?” Missy asked, smiling as she looked around the well-lit space.

“Well, no, darling, I’m not in the habit of renting spaces to artists, but that’s not a bad idea,” Gran said.

“I’ve never had a proper room for my art, I usually just carve out a little corner to work in. And my nephews made that impossible.”

“Well, it’s yours now, and I’ll help you unpack your things. Then you can show me what you’ve got,” Gran said. “You must have more in the car?”

“Nope. I travel light, but I wouldn’t mind getting a few more easels.”

“Missy, you can use this room as long as you like, it will now be known as the art studio,” Gran said. “Just be prepared for my friends to want to get a look at your work every Tuesday when they visit for my garden parties. And sometimes on Fridays.”

“Deal. As long as you promise not to be too proud if you’re not feeling well, or you need help with something?”

That was when he thought his gran was going to balk, but then she surprised him.

“If I need anything, I promise you’ll be the first to know.”

They shook hands on it and his gran pulled Missy in for a big hug, and Gran winked at him, as if they’d pulled one over on Missy to make her feel needed.

“Alright then, ladies, I have a baseball game to get to.”

He left them chattering away and wondered if they would actually really get along, but he hoped so.

At the ballfield he spotted Brooke the second he got out of his truck. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail that made him want to tug it before kissing her.

Damn, he needed to figure out how to spend time with her but not constantly obsess about wanting her. But watching her shift her weight from one foot to the other and how it made her hips sway, he couldn’t look away. She’d changed into a pair of fitness shorts and a tank top. The sides of the shorts’ material fluttered in the breeze, giving him a great view of her toned upper thigh. Just a few more inches and…

“Coach Dalton is here!” He heard the kids scream and cheer. Then Brooke turned to watch him walk the final few feet to stand next to her at the fence.

“Wow, you’re popular already,” she said.

“We’ll see how they feel after I put them through some paces.”

The wind blew a few loose strands of hair around her face, and she pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head to look at him.

“These kids aren’t ready for a Navy workout,” she said, and he noticed her eyes roving over his shoulders and arms.

He was carrying a bag full of a few things to use with the kids.

“Are you staying to watch? Or should I bring Max home later?”

“If you’re still offering, just bring him home after practice and I’ll have some dinner ready.”

“You don’t have to feed me, but I’m not going to turn you down. We’ll see you at seven thirty.”

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