Page 45 of Love At The Shore
After she’d gone, he stood alone in the moonlight for a long moment, turning the colorful Rice Krispies treat over in his hand.
“I guess they’re staying,” he whispered, and then he took a bite.
A truce—however temporary—had never tasted so sweet.
Chapter Nine
Jenna juggled her car keys,three tote bags and her purse as she attempted to corral Nick and Ally down the bright white steps of the deck the next day. Parenting was a balancing act— sometimes metaphorically, and other times, quite literally.
She hadn’t been doing such a great job in the parenting department lately. Yesterday had been a prime example of that fact. But today was a new day. She’d apologized to Lucas for judging him when all along he’d been going out of his way to help Nick. Ally too, if all the hands-on dog experience counted, which it most definitely did.
The apology had gone rather well, actually. Much better than she expected. He’d been so sweet. Humble, even. Jenna didn’t sleep much afterward. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Lucas smiling his crooked smile and holding onto that ridiculous Rice Krispies treat as if it were something to be treasured.
Sometime around five in the morning, she’d given up on sleep and attacked her manuscript with renewed vigor. Lucas’s notes had been surprisingly insightful, and by the time the kids had gotten up, she’d managed to write ten new pages—good pages. She’d written more while they’d been away at camp, so now they were celebrating with a trip to the park for Tybee’s regular Thursday night outdoor concert.
If she could stop thinking about Lucas and that silly Rice Krispies treat long enough to get Nick and Ally in the car.
“I’m king of the mountain!” Ally shouted as she stomped down the stairs, reminding Jenna that she was supposed to beparentinginstead of romanticizing a marshmallow cereal snack.
Lucas was her neighbor. Nothing more.
“You can’t be king.” Nick whizzed past Ally.
Ally still managed to beat him to the bottom step. “Why? Because I’m a girl?”
“No, becauseI’mking!”
They continued battling back and forth on their way to the van, which didn’t bode well for the drive to the park.
Jenna took a deep breath. “Okay, you’re both kings. Now, everyone in their seats. We’re supposed to be there in ten minutes.”
As soon as she reached the gravel drive, Lucas’s voice boomed from the upper deck. “Keep it down out here. I’m trying to sleep.”
She glanced up at him as she tossed the tote bags into the trunk. “It’s five o’clock in the afternoon.”
His dimples flashed. “I was kidding. That was a joke.”
“Oh, were you pretending to be me?” Jenna’s cheeks went warm. “Ha. Very funny.”
She slammed the trunk closed.
“I try.” Lucas leaned against the porch railing. Something had definitely shifted between them. Apparently, they were neighbors who chatted and joked around now.
Jenna didn’t hate it.
She may have even loved it a little bit.
“Are you guys heading to the concert in the park?” Lucas said.
Jenna shot a purposeful glance at Ally and Nick’s heads poking up from the top of the sun roof, where they watched her interaction with Lucas with far too much interest. “If everybody will get in their seats, yes.”
Nick stayed put, grinning at Lucas. “Are you coming too?”
Lucas nodded. “Every Thursday.”
Of course, whereas most Thursday nights back in Savannah, Jenna attended PTA meetings or made homemade cupcakes for the monthly school bake sale.
“Lucky,” Ally said in a singsong voice.
