Page 29 of Love At The Shore
Lucas waved back. “Hey, you guys want to squeeze in?”
Ally and Nick answered simultaneously. “Yeah!”
Before she could stop them, they sprinted toward the group of people around the fire.
Jenna stayed rooted in place. Her cheeks grew warm, which she blamed on the heat of the fire. It definitely wasn’t because Lucas was looking at her.
She swallowed. “It looks like you’re having a party. We can just come back.”
“Trust me, you’d know if we were having a party.” Lucas nodded at the guy beside him, motioning for him to make room on the log that served as a bench. “Scoot over.”
He moved to one of the blankets on the sand, and the young woman with the red braids did the same. Nick and Ally plopped down on either side of Lucas as if they belonged there…as if Lucaswantedthem close by. Warmth filled Jenna’s chest.
“Who wants marshmallows?” Ally raised the bag in the air, and all around the bonfire hands went up.
“See.” Lucas caught Jenna’s gaze and cast a meaningful glance at the log beside Ally. “Plenty of room.”
Jenna took a deep breath. “Yeah.”
It no longer mattered whether she felt out of place or not. She couldn’t very well flee and leave her kids behind.
She sat down. While the fire warmed her face, Lucas put down his guitar and helped Ally spear marshmallows onto long metal skewers. Nick jumped up, volunteering to pass them around. By the time Jenna bit into a soft, warm marshmallow, she’d actually begun to enjoy herself.
A cozy hush fell over the group, and soon the only sounds that could be heard were the crackling fire and the lullaby of waves crashing onto the shore.
This is nice.Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d experienced a campfire. Maybe when she’d been Ally’s age? Had it really been that long?
Even Tank seemed charmed by the tranquil atmosphere. He gave up on begging for marshmallows to stretch out on a red buffalo-checked blanket near the warm glow of the flames. Within seconds, his little doggy chest rose and fell with the gentle rhythm of sleep.
Ally peered at him as she roasted a marshmallow over the fire. “Can I wake him up?”
Lucas aimed a meaningful glance at Tank. “Do you see how his eyelids are fluttering? That means he’s about reached his REM cycle.”
Ally’s face went blank. “His what?”
Jenna figured she should probably save Lucas from having to explain the stages of the sleep cycle. “Ally, honey. Why don’t we leave Mr. Tank alone?”
“But Daddy said I could get a dog,” she protested.
“I’m sure he did, honey. But a dog share might be a little tough right now. We’ve talked about this.” Jenna loved being a mom, but it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially since the divorce.
She’d never seen it coming. She’d always assumed that her marriage was solid…happy. Granted, her dreams of being a novelist had sort of taken a backseat during the relationship. When she’d finally decided to pursue writing fiction, Robert hadn’t hesitated to tell her she was wasting her time. But she’d assumed those instances had just been growing pains. Besides, she loved being an author just as much as she loved being a mom.
A wife.
In retrospect she realized she and Robert were better off as friends, but at the time, she’d been stunned to learn he wanted out. And now, deep down, she knew that part of the reason she liked to keep her household so organized was because it made her feel like she was in complete control, like she’d never be blindsided by anything ever again.
Life wasn’t so simple, though. Still, she wasn’t sure she was up to the challenge of adding a dog to the mix.
Ally sighed. “Can’t you just change your mind?”
“She doesn’t do that,” Nick said.
Jenna was appalled. Did her kids really think she was that inflexible?
She liked to keep her word. Isn’t that what she was supposed to do as a parent? She wanted to create a stable and safe home for her kids, but Nick and Ally were making her sound rigid and overly strict in front of half the population of Tybee. In front ofLucas.
His face was a complete blank as he stared into the fire, no doubt ruminating again on how much she needed to relax.
