Page 33 of A Beach House Beginning

He was quickly developing a thing for her.

Wes curled his hands into fists.

Could he be any more pathetic? He was falling for a woman he couldn’t have.

Jenna Haynes was soft and gentle and kind, all the things that no longer fit into his world.

Wes let out a breath, chilled and damp, though he had moved to the porch, out of the drizzle.

As difficult as he knew he would find it, he had to go back up the stairs to Jenna’s apartment, for Brielle if nothing else.

He had to forget about that kiss, about his aching hunger for her and about his growing feelings he knew were doomed to remain unreciprocated.

As he made his way up the stairs, he had the strange feeling that the house responded to his turmoil somehow.

He shook his head at his own foolishness. It was ahouse, for heaven’s sake. Four walls, a foundation, a roof. It didn’t have feelings and certainly couldn’t offer sympathy.

When he reached her apartment, his knock was answered almost immediately by Brielle.

“There you are. Did you get lost out in the rain?” his daughter teased.

Yeah. Something like that.

“It’s a pretty night. I was just enjoying it.”

Jenna sat in an easy chair, watching the girls playingMario Kart. She had Theo on her lap, almost like a shield.

When her gaze met his, the uneasy apprehension in her expression hit him like a blow coming out of nowhere in the exercise yard.

What did she think? That he was going to rush into the room and kiss her again?

“We’re almost done with this race, Dad. Do you want to play?”

“We should head off, kiddo. It’s getting late and we have to get ready for camp on Monday.”

Jenna’s daughter lit up. “Hey, I’m going to camp Monday, too. Are you going to science camp?”

Brielle nodded. “My mom signed me up before she even knew she was going to be out of town. I hope it’s not lame.”

Addison gave her a look of astonishment. “Science camp is not lame at all! It’s way fun. I went last year and we always did cool things. Experiments and kayaking and bird-watching and stuff.”

“I really do think you’ll have a wonderful time,” Jenna assured his daughter with that warm smile she seemed to give to everyone but him. “Addie loved it last year. She couldn’t stop talking about it. She’s been looking forward to it all year.”

“I hope so. I’m happy you’ll be there. At least I’ll have one friend,” Brielle said.

“You’ll have lots of friends,” Addie said breezily. “A lot of the kids from school went last year and I’m sure they’ll go again. But we can totally be camp buddies!”

“Definitely!” Brielle said with a grin. Wes thought again how grateful he was that his daughter seemed happy and well-adjusted, despite the divorce and his incarceration.

She was a curious child who was kind to others and made friends easily.

“If you want, I’m happy to take Brielle to camp Monday and I can pick her up again as well. And she’s more than welcome to hang out here after camp, until you’re done with work.”

“That’s a lot to ask of you for two weeks.”

“Not at all. I know how hard it is to be a single parent, trying to coordinate schedules. I don’t mind at all.”

He had been trying to figure out how he was going to manage things. He had already talked to the Gutierrez brothers, who were willing to be flexible with his schedule, but Wes hated to take advantage after they already had been so good to him.

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