Текст книги "Charmed by His Love"

Автор книги: Джанет Чапмен

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and stealing buds off their maturing plants—which had

made her laugh so hard when they’d left that tears had

streamed down her cheeks. But she sure as hel hadn’t

been laughing a week later when she’d discovered the two

idiots had set booby traps al through the woods around

their il egal crop.

Afraid the twins would get maimed—because what did

little boys know about property lines when they were

stalking squirrels with imaginary guns?—Peg had waited

until she saw the brothers go into town one morning and

had marched over and smashed their traps to smithereens.

Then she’d cut down one of their pot plants and left it wilting

on their doorstep, along with a note saying that she’d turn

them in if they didn’t start growing their crop away from her

property line.

Surprisingly, they’d both come over that evening and

apologized. They certainly hadn’t meant to endanger her

children, they’d assured her, but had only wanted to catch

whoever had been raiding their … garden. Then, after

saying they admired her spunk at how she’d gone about

getting her point across, the older brother, Evan, had asked

her out to dinner at the Drunken Moose. Only problem was,

besides missing more teeth than he had left and smel ing

like a skunk and desperately needing a haircut, Evan was

old enough to be her grandfather.

Peg had politely turned him down and waited until they’d

reached the woods before she’d shuddered al over, then

started laughing so hard that she’d cried again.

“Mom! Did you see that?” Jacob shouted, pointing at the

hil side. “They just cut down a big tree and I felt the ground

shake when it landed. Did you feel it, too?”

“I’m pretty sure I felt something,” she cal ed back,

returning his huge smile only to frown up at the woods the

moment he turned away to watch again.

What were they doing cutting trees already? Good Lord,

not ten minutes after Duncan and Alec had started digging

holes this morning, a virtual convoy of three tractor-trailer

log carriers, several different styles of tree harvesters, a

pulp loader, and who knew what else had arrived, and were

now lining the road in both directions of her house. She’d

assumed they were here to clear the timber off the road

Duncan was building up the mountain, which is why she’d

been surprised when one of the harvesters had been driven

around her old pit and up onto the hil side.

Peter and Jacob had been so excited by al the activity

and huge machinery, Peg had promised to sit outside with

them to watch, if they in turn promised to stay on the beach

and at least try to keep their sneakers dry. They’d both

nodded vigorously at the double joys of not only watching

big machinery working but also beachcombing for the

jel yfish and crabs and snails that were now cal ing their

flooded gravel pit home. For the love of God, the air actual y

smel ed salty.

Peg frowned again when she saw another large pine tree

topple to the ground, wondering if Duncan wasn’t getting

ahead of himself. After he’d introduced the owner of the

logging convoy as his cousin Robbie MacBain, also of

Pine Creek, Peg had asked Duncan why he was cutting

trees before he even knew what was under them. He’d

suddenly gotten one of those unholy gleams in his eyes and

said that if she was wil ing to drop her price to one seventy-

five a yard, he’d pay her even if al he found was sand. And,

he’d added, that gleam intensifying, he would also have his

crew finish her house.

Knowing he somehow knewthere was gravel on that

hil side, Peg had smiled sweetly despite being aware of

Mr. MacBain’s amused interest and told Duncan that if he

cut al her trees and didn’t find any gravel—at two twenty-

five a yard—then he was replanting every last one of them

andfinishing her house.

Peg looked down at the purchase agreement again and

pul ed in a shuddering breath at the realization that she was

holding the answer to her prayers. Too bad the angel who’d

brought it was an overconfident, drop-dead handsome

giant with broad shoulders al but begging a tired, lonely

widow to lean on them.

Duncan was also a study of contradictions. For al of his

gruffness—as wel as his habit of cussing under his breath

–there appeared to be a true gentleman lurking behind

those rugged good looks. Because honestly? She didn’t

know any man who wouldn’t have defended himself when

she and her children had attacked him. Then, after nearly

running him down with her van, Duncan had helped her

butcher an il egal deer. And this morning he’d loaned her

his truck to take the kids to the Drunken Moose as she’d

original y planned, and even to drive Charlotte and Isabel to

school in Turtleback Station—which was seventy miles

round trip—because they’d missed the bus.

And if that weren’t enough proof there was a good man

inside the battered, Scotch-sipping grouch, Peg had

returned home to find her van parked in her dooryard,

making her doubly glad that she’d brought back a half-

dozen cinnamon buns for him and Alec as thanks, which

both men had wolfed down without even tasting.

“Uncle Galen’s here!” Peter shouted, running up the

beach brandishing a stick ful of seaweed, Jacob in hot

pursuit.

Peg heard Galen’s old pickup rattle to a stop and

glanced over her shoulder to see no less than five more

pickups pul into the driveway behind him. She quickly

folded her agreement with Duncan and tucked it under her

sweatshirt inside her bra, then stood up just in time to be

pul ed into a bear of a hug.

“Hey, sissy sister, what are you doing with al this

machinery cluttering up your road and property?” he

murmured, squeezing Peg until she squeaked.

Galen had started cal ing her sissy sisterthe day she’d

married his baby brother, only he’d switched to porky Peg

by the end of her last pregnancy—which no one had

realized was twins until Jacob had made his appearance

two minutes after Peter. But Galen had thankful y gone back

to cal ing her sissy sisteronce she’d given birth and almostgotten her figure back.

“Hey, Pete and Repeat,” he said with a laugh, scooping

both boys up in his beefy arms to give them each a noisy

kiss on their cheeks, which both boys immediately rubbed

off on their shoulders before returning the kiss, as was their

ritual. Galen turned to face the shoreline. “You hoodlums

seen any sharks in your new swimming hole?”

They both shook their heads. “But Isabel says she seen a

whale blow when we was at Inglenook last Saturday,”

Jacob said. “Only I missed it because I was watching the

little submarine.”

“I got some snails,” Peter chimed in, reaching in his

jacket pocket and pul ing out a tiny fistful of wilted snails,

which he then held up under Galen’s nose.

“Oh, those look fat and juicy,” Galen said, fighting his

smile with a serious nod. “I think you should have your mom

cook them for you for supper tonight.”

Peg gave an involuntary shudder, not only because Peter

looked positively taken by the idea, but because she was

wondering what other creatures she was going to find when

she did the laundry. Angleworms and the occasional frog

she could handle, but creepy crawly sea critters were

another thing.

“And I hear a person can make soup out of jel yfish,”

Galen continued, setting down the boys and giving them a

nudge toward the beach. “See if you can’t find some that’s

washed up on shore. You’re going to need at least a

bucketful according to the recipe I found in the Farmers’

Almanac.”

“Thank you for that,” Peg muttered when the boys took off

in search of dead jel yfish. She eyed the other men getting

out of their trucks, recognizing most of them. “What are

you doing here, Galen? I cal ed you when I got home and

told you the van was only out of gas.”

“We’ve come to meet our new bosses,” he said, looking

toward the hil side.

“You’re going to work for Duncan? Al of you?”

“We’re working for MacBain Logging until he clears out

of here and MacKeage starts the roadwork,” he said with a

nod, stil watching the hil side. He final y turned to her.

“Apparently both men are smart enough to know they can’t

pul into a town with their crew and machinery and not put a

good number of the locals on their payrol s.” He grinned.

“It’s the polite thing to do.”

“It’s also damn cheap insurance,” one of the other men

said with a snicker—Jonas, Peg thought his name was,

from Turtleback Station.

Galen grabbed the sleeve of her sweatshirt and led her

away from the men, final y stopping to stand with his back

to them. “You don’t worry about nothing, Peg,” he said

softly. “I’l make sure MacKeage gives you a good price for

your gravel. Any notion he might have about taking

advantage of a woman wil be gone once he finds himself

dealing with me. You’re not sel ing him one pebble for less

than a buck fifty a yard.” He held up his hand when she tried

to speak. “I know that sounds like highway robbery for

stumpage in this area, but word in town is the guy who

married Livy Baldwin, Mac somebody, has some mighty

deep pockets. They’re saying he’s bought most the land

around here and is planning to build a fancy resort up on

that mountain overlooking Bottomless. So you being a

softhearted woman and al , I’l just make sure no one takes

advantage of you.”

“But—”

“And I’m gonna find you someone to sit in a chair and

count every truck that leaves your pit,” he continued.

“MacKeage might be a Mainer, but he’s here for a year or

two, then he’s gone.” He patted her arm, then muttered

something and pul ed her into another bear of a hug. “You

just leave things up to me, sissy sister, and you’l final y be

able to hire someone to finish that house Bil y started for

you and the kids.”

Damn. The last thing she wanted was Galen sticking his

nose in her business. The guy meant wel , but he had about

as much business sense as Peter’s snails. Hel , when

Galen and his dad, Clive, had tried to work on the house

after Bil y died, it had taken her two weeks to unravel al the

electrical wires they’d run. And to save her sanity without

hurting their feelings, Peg had told them the idea of moving

into the house without Bil y was too painful for her, anyway.

The Thompson men were hard workers, but they often

worked in circles.

She had definitely gotten the pick of the litter—or else

Bil y had been adopted.

“Is there a problem?” Duncan asked from right beside

them, making Peg jump and Galen step back in surprise.

Galen recovered quickly and thrust out his hand. “Galen

Thompson, Peg’s brother-in-law, Mr… .?”

“Duncan MacKeage,” Duncan said, giving his hand a

quick shake, then turning to Peg. “Is everything okay?”

Peg barely had time to nod before Galen stepped

between them. Good Lord, she’d always thought the

Thompson men were hulks, but seeing Galen standing toe-

to-toe with Duncan … wel , there must be something in the

drinking water in Pine Creek, because Duncan and Alec

and Robbie MacBain were nothing short of giants.

“It appears to me that you’ve gotten ahead of yourself,

Mr. MacKeage,” Galen said, gesturing at the hil side. “You

seem to be expanding Peg’s pit before you’ve even settled

on a price.”

Duncan’s gaze slid briefly to her, but it was long enough

for Peg to give a barely perceptible shake of her head,

hoping to God that Duncan was astute. “Wel , Mr.

Thompson,” he said, giving his attention back to Galen, “I

prefer to know exactly what I’m buying before I throw out any

prices.” He also gestured toward the hil side. “That’s why

I’m digging a few test holes today.”

“Last I knew it don’t require cutting trees to dig a couple

of holes.”

Duncan shrugged. “Peg mentioned wanting the pine

for … something,” he said when she shook her head again.

“So I thought that while I had my loggers here, I’d cut some

of the bigger trees in exchange for the privilege of looking.”

Galen turned to her. “Would you excuse us a minute, sis

–Peg—while me and Mr. MacKeage have us a little talk?”

he asked, nodding for her to leave.

Peg walked between them, ignoring Duncan’s surprise in

favor of giving him another speaking look on her way by,

and headed down the beach to see what her boys and the

men were looking at. Only she never reached them

because Galen’s little talk lasted exactly one minute before

he cal ed to his friends and they headed to where Robbie

MacBain was standing with some of his crew watching the

harvester work.

“Mind tel ing me why you didn’t jump al over him for

sending ye off like a good little lass?” Duncan asked as he

walked down the beach and stopped in front of her. “He told

me you might know a thing or two about construction, but

that, and I quote, ‘you’re too softhearted when it comes to

negotiating stuff like prices.’” He snorted. “Did he just come

out of a coma or something?”

“Have you ever tried banging your head against a brick

wal ?” she asked with a derisive smile. “Until you eventual y

figure out the bricks aren’t going to move and that your

head hurts?” She shrugged. “Sometimes it’s just easier not

to bang my head against Galen. Thank you for keeping our

business between just us.”

“Are ye worried he would want a cut? Is the pit yours

outright, or does the family have a stake in it?”

“No, it’s al mine. Bil y and I bought this property and the

double-wide on it when we got married. And I’m not worried

Galen is interested in anything other than getting me a fair

price. He’s a good man, but he can’t keep two nickels in his

pocket for more than a minute. If he knows how much

money I’l be making this spring, he’l be finding ways for

me to spend it faster than your wheelers are hauling out of

here.”

Duncan folded his arms over his chest, his gaze going to

the locals talking to Robbie MacBain. “Did I make a

mistake hiring your brother-in-law, Peg?”

“Absolutely not. Galen’s a hard worker and good at what

he knows, which is leveling dirt. Put him in the seat of a

dozer and you don’t even have to rake out a lawn to seed it

when he’s done.” She smiled. “Just don’t ever ask him to

run electrical wire.”

“I wondered why your husband’s family wasn’t helping

you finish your house.”

She shook her head. “Galen and his dad tried, but I told

them not to bother because I wasn’t feeling up to moving

into it without Bil y.”

He lifted a brow. “They’re unaware that you’ve been

finishing it yourself? Quit getting defensive on me,” he

growled when she lifted her chin—even as his eyes crinkled

with laughter. “That was an honest question, not a dig.”

Peg brushed down the front of her sweatshirt. “Working

on that house is my therapy. You try dealing with four kids

under the age of nine al by yourself every day.” She shot

him another smile. “At least gnomes and fairies don’t ask a

thous—”

Duncan was gone in a blur before the scream of terror

even reached her, and was wading into the water and lifting

Jacob into his arms just as the boy burst into tears.

“Jacob!” Peg cried, running to them.

“You’re okay,” Duncan murmured, hugging Jacob against

his chest. “He’s okay, Peg. I don’t think he swal owed any

water. You’re okay,” he continued, his broad hand holding

Jacob’s head against his shoulder. “Quiet down now,” he

whispered as he shot her a wink on his way by. “You’re

scaring your mom.”

Even though Peg was al but shaking with the need to

make sure her son was okay, she took hold of her unusual y

quiet older twin’s hand instead and fol owed, Duncan’s

soothing words seeming to calm her just as much as they

were Jacob.

“And it’s been my experience,” she heard him continue

softly, “that when moms get scared, they make ye play

inside for at least a week.” He stood Jacob on the picnic

table, then shrugged out of his leather jacket and wrapped

it around the boy—who was now valiantly sucking up his

sobs. “And if you get yourself stuck inside, you’re going to

miss my bul dozer pushing al the stumps and topsoil off the

–”

“Jacob! Peter!” Galen shouted as he ran toward them

fol owed by the other men. He crowded Duncan out of the

way and swept Jacob into his arms. “Lord Almighty, boy,

what happened? Are you okay?” He turned on Peg, the wild

look in his eyes making her take a step back. “You gotta

watch them every minute. The boy could have drowned!”

“Peg is wel aware of her responsibilities,” Duncan said

quietly, stepping between them. “Jacob only got a little wet.”

Peg shot around him and pul ed her son away from

Galen and started walking to her house. “Come on, Peter.

It’s time for your naps.”

“Mommm.”

“Let Pete stay here with me,” Galen cal ed after her. “I’l

keep an eye on him.”

She turned to see that even though Galen had moved

away from Duncan, the look in her brother-in-law’s eyes

sure as hel didn’t match his tone. “If Peter doesn’t mind

being too tired to cook hot dogs over a campfire tonight,”

she quickly prevaricated, “then I guess he can stay out here

with you.”

Peter gasped so hard, he actual y stumbled backward

just as Duncan folded his arms over his chest with a grin

and—did he just wink at her again?

Peg spun away and started for the house, pressing

her cheek to Jacob’s wet hair as Peter ran up beside her.

“We’re gonna have a campfire?” he asked excitedly. “Can

we make jel yfish soup? And cook the snails?”

“I think we’l save the jel yfish and snails for your

birthday, okay? Say good-bye to Uncle Galen.” Only Peg

suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked toward

Duncan, who was heading down the beach with Robbie

MacBain. “You need to thank Mr. MacKeage for pul ing you

out of the water,” she whispered to Jacob. “Can you do that,

big man? He was just like the Rescue Heroes you watch on

TV. And you’re always supposed to thank a hero when he

saves you.”

Robbie spotted her and nudged Duncan, and both men

stopped to let her catch up to them. Peg used her shoulder

to nudge Jacob upright. “Mr. MacKeage, Jacob has

something he wants to say to you.”

“Tank you,” her son blurted at Duncan’s shirt buttons even

as he turned and buried his face in her neck again.

Peg sighed through her smile. “Yes, thank you, Mr.

MacKeage, for pul ing him out of the water.”

“Jacob?” Duncan said in question. “Can you tel me what

happened? What was that?” he asked with a chuckle when

the boy muttered something into her neck. He ran his hand

over Jacob’s wet hair. “Did you stumble and fal into the

water, or did the ground give out underneath you?”

“I saw what happened,” Peter chimed in. He pointed at

where Duncan had waded in after Jacob. “We seen

bubbles coming out of the water when we was standing at

the edge.” He looked up at Peg, a tad worried yet

somehow defiant—just like the father he was too young to

remember used to get. “I swear we wasn’t in the water,

Mom, ’cause you told us to keep our sneakers dry.” He

craned his head back again, first glancing at Robbie, then

at Duncan. “And the sand suddenly sunk. I jumped back just

in time, but Repeat wasn’t fast enough. See how the water

is al up there now?” he said, pointing a dozen yards down

the beach.

Peg shifted Jacob to her other hip when she realized her

arms were going numb, but then signaled for Galen to take

him when her brother-in-law walked up with his posse.

“What’s going on?” he asked as he settled Jacob against

his shoulder.

“We believe the sides of the old pit are caving in,”

Robbie MacBain said. He looked at Peg. “How steep was

the bank on this side before it flooded?”

“Not steep at al ,” she said, frowning as she tried to

picture it in her mind. She pointed to the west. “It was more

vertical on that end, but even that’s been eroding over the

last three years.”

“How deep is it?” Duncan asked.

Peg shrugged, looking at Galen. “What, maybe forty feet

deep?”

“More like sixty or seventy feet toward the west end.” He

looked at the shoreline closest to them. “But this side is

mostly sand, so it’s probably not al that stable, especial y

with the tides.” He gestured to the east where the water

came in from the newly formed fiord. “And there’s no tel ing

how deep that opening to the lake is.”

Peg heard Duncan release a soft sigh and saw Robbie

grin. “You do look like ye need a bath,” Robbie said.

“I’m real y not due for another two weeks,” Duncan

drawled, returning his grin. “I believe Alec was smel ing a

little off this morning, though. And he spends enough time

on the ski slopes that he’s likely permanently numb.”

Peg couldn’t imagine what they were talking about—that

is, until she saw Duncan start unbuttoning his shirt. “Never

mind,” he said with a snort. “I’m soaked to my thighs

already, so I might as wel finish it. Hel—heck, maybe it wil

numb my ribs.”

She grabbed his arm. “Wait, you … you’re not actual y

going swimming?”

“For the love of God, man,” Galen said in surprise,

hugging Jacob to him. “That water’s freezing!”

Duncan gently pul ed free of Peg, reached in his back

pocket and took out his wal et, then unclipped his cel

phone from his belt. “Somebody has to check the slope on

this side of the old pit,” he said, handing his belongings to

Robbie, “before you walk out one morning and find your

driveway underwater.”

“No,” she growled, grabbing him again when he went

back to unbuttoning his shirt. But she was ready for him this

time when he tried to pul free, and dug her fingers into his

arm. “You are not doing this. I don’t care if the entire

dooryard sinks into that pit; I’m not going to stand here and

watch you drown.”

The building gleam in his eyes disappeared, and he

covered her hands with his own. “I’m not going to drown,

lass. I’ve been swimming in cold mountain ponds since I

was Peter and Jacob’s age. We al have,” he said,

gesturing at Robbie. “And I need to see what that slope

looks like so we can shore it up with the excavator. It might

only be a matter of setting some large rocks in a few

strategic places.”

“No,” she growled again, actual y trying to shake him.

“I’m not wil ing to risk having it cave in,” he said, gently

prying her hands off, then holding them against her angry

tugging. “Not when it could happen while your children are

out here playing, like it did just now.”

“Wait, what about the scientists?” she said. “The other

day Steve told me they have an unmanned rover, so I’l go

to Inglenook and ask him to bring it here to look at the

slope. He can drive their boat right into the pit.”

Duncan shook his head. “It would likely take them an

entire day to bring a rover in here, when I can be in and out

of the water in ten minutes and have the problem fixed in an

hour. Robbie,” he said, turning away as he went back to

unbuttoning his shirt. “Radio Alec from my pickup and have

him bring down the excavator.” He glanced over his

shoulder when Peg muttered a nasty little curse of her own

under her breath, and arched his brow. “Maybe ye should

take your boys inside for their naps.”

She started to spin away in disgust, but gasped instead

when he shed his shirt and she saw the large bruise on his

side and several smal cuts on his arms and back. “Did you

fal down the mountain naked?”

He turned in surprise and looked down at himself, then

rubbed a tiny cut on his ribs with a grin. “It’s a very tal

mountain.”

“And yet your jacket doesn’t seem to have so much as a

scuff mark,” she said, gesturing at Jacob stil wrapped up in

his leather jacket in Galen’s arms.

Duncan walked over to sit on the picnic table and started

taking off his boots. “Just be a good lass and go in the

house, Peg,” he said as she walked toward him, “and let us

men do our work.”

“Dammit,” she softly hissed in deference to the men

standing behind her as mute as fence posts, she assumed

because they were trying to decide if their new boss real y

was as tough as he looked or certifiably insane. Heck, even

Peter was speechless for once. “This is crazy. You don’t

have to prove anything to Galen and the others.”

He glanced up in surprise, then took off his socks, stuffed

them in one of his boots, and stood up. “Did ye know a

person can see the entire length of Bottomless from the top

of the mountain, and al the way to Canada in the other

direction?” he asked. “If the weather’s nice I could take you

and your children up to the summit this Sunday if you’d like,

and we could bring a lunch.”

Peg dropped her gaze to his chest—which was quite

naked, she couldn’t help but notice—and also tried to

decide if he real y was as tough as he looked or insane.

Not because it appeared he was going swimming with or

without her permission, but because she’d swear he’d just

invited her on … No, he hadn’t just asked her and her kids

on a picnic, because that real y, real y was insane.

“I … The kids would like that,” she heard herself say,

deciding shewas insane.

“Take the boys inside, Peg.” He lifted her chin with his

finger, either because her staring at his chest unnerved

him, or he wanted her to see his smile. “And try not to worry,

okay? I real y do swim in mountain ponds for sport.” His

eyes took on a decidedly wicked sparkle. “Although I

usual y prefer to do it naked.”

Peg spun around and was halfway to Galen before she

heard Duncan’s quiet chuckle. She snatched Jacob away,

settled him on her hip to take hold of Peter’s hand and

marched to her house, hoping the stupid idiot caught

pneumonia!

No, wait; then he couldn’t take her and the kids up the

mountain Sunday.

Yeah, wel , she hoped Duncan MacKeage liked shaved

venison sandwiches, because that’s was she was packing

for their picnic.

Chapter Seven

“I think I’ve done a real y dumb thing,” Peg said, sitting with

her back against the picnic table as she stared across her

newly reconstructed beach at her nearly barren hil side. She

looked over at Olivia. “I agreed to let Duncan take me and

the kids up the mountain this weekend to see the view and

have a picnic.”

Olivia’s eyes widened in surprise, and Peg flinched when

her friend suddenly threw her arms around her with a soft

squeal of delight. “Oh, Peggy, that’s the smartest thing I’ve

heard come out of your mouth since last Saturday.” She

leaned away. “Wait; how can going on a picnic possibly be

dumb?”

“Give me one good reason it can possibly be smart.”

“Wel , you’l get to see why we’re building the resort up

there,” Olivia said, letting her go. “And you’l get to spend

the day with an adult male you’re not actual y related to.”

She leaned closer. “My first outing with Mac was an ice

fishing picnic, and look where that led.”

Peg jumped to her feet. “I don’t want anything to lead

anywhere! I swore on my husband’s grave three years ago

that I was never, ever fal ing in love again.”

“Shh, the kids wil hear you,” Olivia said, nodding at the

beach and pul ing Peg back down beside her. “I’m pretty

sure Duncan only asked you to go on a picnic, not fal in

love with him.” She folded her hands on her lap. “But I

remember swearing never to fal in love again, myself.”

“How’s that been working for you, Mrs.Oceanus?”

Olivia gave her a sidelong glance and slow smile. “Pretty

damned wel , actual y.” She looked at their children building

sand castles—Charlotte and Isabel and Sophie building

one and the twins and Henry building their own. “It’s working

pretty wel for Sophie, too. I hadn’t realized how much a little

girl needs a man in her life.”

“She had John,” Peg reminded her.

“Grampies aren’t the same as dads. Sophie’s … Wel , I

don’t ever remember her going to John with a problem.”

Olivia turned on the seat to face Peg. “Just the other day I

saw her and Mac sitting in the gazebo, just talking. And that

night when I asked her what they’d been talking about, she

told me she’d asked Mac how she should deal with a boy at

school who kept cal ing her Sexy Sophie.”

“Sexy Sophie? I hope he told her to punch the little snot in

the nose.”

Olivia’s eyes crinkled with laughter. “No, my sweet, dear

husband told my sweet, innocent daughter to thank the little

snot for the lovely compliment and then ask him out on a

date.”

“Oh, for the love of– I hope you punched Macin the

nose.”

“Actual y, it worked,” Olivia said, sounding even more

amazed than Peg was. “It appears Mac was eight years old

once, too, and obviously remembers how boys that age

think. Because despite my warning Sophie that it was

probably going to backfire on her, the next day when the

little snot cal ed her Sexy Sophie and she thanked him and

asked him out, the kid ran away so fast that he knocked

over the food scrap bucket in the cafeteria.” She smiled

smugly. “And his mother had to be cal ed to bring him a

change of clothes.”

“Mac told Sophie to cal his bluff. I never would have

thought of that.”

“Exactly,” Olivia said with a nod. “Now do you understand

what I’m saying? Men see the world differently than we do,

and kids need both perspectives. So how can your children

and youspending the day with Duncan be a dumb thing?”

Peg dropped her gaze. “But what if they start liking him?”

she whispered, lifting her head again. “He’l be

coming around here at least al this spring, and what if they

get attached to Duncan?” She stood up, crossing her arms

to hug herself as she looked at her children. “It’s one thing

for me to survive getting my heart broken,” she said,

looking back at Olivia. “But I don’t want my babies’ hearts

to get broken again by letting them get attached to a man

who wil eventual y leave or … die.”

“Oh, Peg,” Olivia said softly, standing up to take hold of

Peg’s shoulders. “We can’t stop living because something

mighthappen, any more than we can protect our children

from life itself.”

Peg pul ed away to look at the hil side where Duncan—

apparently none the worse from his swim—was sitting with

Robbie and Alec on the track of the excavator, watching the

men cut her pine logs into workable lengths. She turned to

Olivia. “That doesn’t mean I have to go looking for trouble.

Because honestly?” she whispered. “I’m not sure I’d survive

getting my own heart broken again.”

“It’s a picnic, Peg,” Olivia softly growled.

“But what’s the point of it, anyway? Why did Duncan even

offer? What man in his right mind wants to spend al day

with four kids who aren’t even his?”

“Gee, I don’t know,” Olivia drawled, a sparkle coming

back into her eyes. “It couldn’t possibly be that he might

actual y like children, or that he simply wants to spend the

day with a beautiful woman he’s not related to.”

“But I’m not—”

Olivia stepped toward her. “I swear to God, you finish that