The SEAL's Surprise Son (The Admiral's Seals, #1) - Leslie North Page 0,48

reflected off a meandering river that cut through the valley below. “So beautiful,” she breathed, “and I think that’s a little coolness in the air.”

“Fall’s coming,” Zach agreed. “We’ll plan to come back here when the leaves turn.”

“I’d love that. I’m hoping the fall is calmer than the summer was,” she commented. It had been a week since the capture of Dale Huntly, a week of answering questions from the police and trying to undo the damage he had caused to her technology systems. Considering the charges against him, Huntly would be behind bars for a long time and her family would be safe. She hoped he received the mental health counseling that he so clearly needed.

“Could it be nuttier?” Zach turned sideways so Austin could see the flight of an orange-and-black butterfly that went past where they stood.

“I don’t think so. It’ll be busy, though.” She’d learned some lessons about herself that summer, lessons that gave her courage to try new things. With Zach’s encouragement, she’d decided to pursue designing her own line of jewelry. Even though she had ideas for a variety of pieces—rings, necklaces, bracelets, and brooches—she planned to take it slow for now. She’d bring out just a few pieces at a time. With input from her mom, she’d selected the ones she wanted ready for the store’s grand reopening in a few weeks.

There was still a ton of work to be done to meet the deadline she’d set. Her mind turned to the store itself. Her insurance company, convinced she was the victim of arson after Huntly’s arrest, had paid up, and she was forging ahead with the redo. The display area had been gutted down to the studs to remove all vestiges of the fire and smoke damage. She was looking at the valley and trees but seeing the drywall, paint, carpeting, and furnishings necessary to bring the store back to life.

“What are you worried about, sweetheart?” he asked, seemingly in tune with her emotions.

“The remodel,” she admitted. “It seems daunting, but it’ll come together.” She had faith in that. “The new windows will be installed tomorrow. That’s a big step.”

“No more plywood?” he teased.

“Thank goodness. I want the exterior to start looking decent again. The inside’s going to take a little longer.” She wanted to get her employees back to work as soon as she could, too. “I think I might be foolish for going with the same look again, but I’m hopeful that the third time’s the charm.”

She’d considered changing the interior design, but she liked the modern look of glass and chrome that would be dazzling again once the work was complete. She had decided to add more of the vibrant blue accent color this time, though, since people seemed to like it.

“Just because things didn’t go as planned with it the first two times is no reason to give up,” he said.

“Didn’t go as planned?” She laughed at his understatement. “If someone had told me that my summer would include robbery, arson, and three grand re-openings, I’d have said they were nuts.”

“Was the summer all bad?” His tone was much more serious now, as the topic shifted from the store to them.

She studied the way the sun glinted off his dark hair and brightened the blue of his eyes. No, it wasn’t all bad. Parts of it were just plain wonderful, but she had questions before they could go forward.

“Were you going to look me up?” she asked him, matching his serious tone with her own. It was a point she’d wondered about since Zach came back into her life. If he hadn’t been called to the hostage situation at the store, would he have attempted to contact her? She’d pieced together that he’d been out of the navy for just weeks when she first saw him. He could have easily deduced she could be reached at All That Sparkles and called her there. Was he planning to?

“I told myself I wasn’t going to. That it was over between us. But my biggest fear was that you’d moved on. I didn’t want to see you with some other guy.” He squeezed her fingers. “It kept me away, because I don’t think I’d have handled it well.”

“I was with another guy.” She nodded to where Austin, looking so much like his daddy, still watched the butterfly.

“So you were. You’re a great mom, Carolyn.” He’d repeated that to her several times during the past week, even though she’d told him that she’d