Page 35 of A Beach House Beginning

That decision had turned out to be a disastrous one, upending her entire life.

She was only now beginning to put the pieces back together.

She might be fiercely drawn to Wes Calhoun and felt great sympathy for what he had endured, spending three years in prison, wrongly convicted for another man’s crimes, but Jenna couldn’t picture a future with him.

Wes was rough, hard, dangerous. He rode a motorcycle, ran for miles on the beach, was built like a professional athlete.

What did she have to offer a man like that? Her hobbies included knitting and reading the occasional cozy mystery, not riding on the back of a Harley.

She sighed, more depressed than she had any right to be.

Wes was a very nice man and someday he would find the perfect woman for him. Jenna was more sorry than she would have expected that she couldn’t be that perfect woman.

The doorbell suddenly chimed through their unit, distracting her from her thoughts.

Her pulse fluttered like the butterflies in her stomach.

“They’re here!” Addie exclaimed, rushing to the door. She flung it open before Jenna could tell her daughter to give her a moment to compose herself.

And there he was.

Everything inside her seemed to sigh as he reached down to greet Theo, who rushed to be the first one to say hello.

Yes, Wes Calhoun was big and hard and dangerous. But his eyes were warm, and the genuine smile he gave both her puppy and her daughter touched something deep inside.

“Good morning, Addison.”

“Hi, Mr. Calhoun. Hi, Brielle.”

Addie reached a hand to the other girl and tugged her into the apartment, already chattering about what might be in store for them that day.

Jenna had to say something to him, she told herself. She couldn’t stand here all day simply gazing at the man.

“Good morning,” she said, forcing a smile to hide her sudden shyness.

“Morning. Sorry we’re a little late. We misplaced a tennis shoe.”

“I think the Brambleberry House ghost hid it from us,” Brielle said from the sofa, where she and Addie were now sitting, heads together, petting Theo. “I swear, I looked in that closet four timesbefore we finally found it, right in front of us.”

“But our ghost usually doesn’t tease,” Addie said, her voice perfectly serious. “I don’t know why she would hide your shoe.”

Brielle shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she doesn’t want me to go to day camp.”

“Or maybe,” her father said mildly, “you didn’t look hard enough in the closet and your shoe was there all along.”

“I did look, though,” his daughter insisted.

“Well, you found it and you’re here now,” Jenna said with a smile. “Did you pack a lunch? If not, I made an extra PB&J.”

Wes handed over an insulated lunch bag. “This one is turkey and cheese, along with some carrots and grapes and a small bag of chips.”

“Sounds delicious.”

“I’m still figuring out the sack lunch thing,” he admitted.

“You seem to be doing great.”

“I guess I should find my own tennis shoes,” Addie said.

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