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from anger to gentleness in one blink of his eyes. When he looked at her again, his expression was tender. "I love you, Elise."

Now she was the one who vaulted to her feet. "Don't you dare say that to me! Don't you dare!"

"I mean it."

"Don't, Maverick, please don't. Did you love me when you spent the rent check on a double or nothing bet? Did you love me when there wasn't enough money to buy milk for the baby?"

He went very still, then whispered. "Yes, I did, but sweetheart, it was a good bet. I couldn't lose. And I didn't."

Elise groaned inwardly. "You say you loved me but you loved gambling more."

"I did." He patted the bench, silently inviting her to sit down.

She waited a moment and then gave in. Maverick Beaumont had always been her weakness, but she was older and wiser now and not as easily swayed. Or so she told herself.

"Do you still love gambling as much?" she asked, curiosity forcing her to ask.

He hesitated. "I'm going to tell you something. You might not believe it, but I swear to you it's true. I've given it up. I was good at it, Elise, really good. I made a name for myself but it means nothing to me now. What's important is my family. I'm through with cards."

She smiled and resisted the urge to remind him how often she'd heard that before. "You're right. I don't believe you."

"That's why I'm in Seattle."

"There are plenty of casinos around here."

"I won't be in any of them. I'm looking for a place to buy close to Aurora so I can spend time with her and my grandsons. I missed out on so much while my daughter was growing up, and I feel that God's given me a second chance with these boys. I'm different now, Elise. I swear to you I'm a changed man."

"I'm sorry, Maverick. As much as I want to believe you, I can't."

It was as if he hadn't heard her. "I've got my eye on a condo. I put down earnest money, but the unit won't be available until August first. Aurora told me I could stay as long as I needed, and David agreed. Once everything's been worked out with the title company and the place is vacant, I'll move in."

Elise wasn't sure she should let herself trust him. She wanted to believe what he said, but he'd made so many promises before. His intentions always started out good, but after a week or two of staying away from the gaming tables, he'd find a poker game and be willing to wager their food money on a roll of the dice. She'd seen it far too many times.

"Grandma, Grandpa," Luke cried, running toward the park bench at breakneck speed.

John followed a few paces behind. "We're ready to go back to the house."

This was a pleasant surprise. Generally, it took the boys an hour or more to wind down enough to even consider returning home.

"We want to play that game you taught us," Luke said, grabbing hold of Maverick's arm.

Elise's suspicions rose. "What game?"

"It's with cards," Luke explained.

A fierce anger gripped her and her heart began to race.

"Excuse me?" she said to Maverick. "With cards?"

"It's a Texas game," John told her excitedly.

"Texas Hold 'em," Maverick said, and had the decency to glance sheepishly in her direction. "Now, Elise, don't go looking at me like that. It's a harmless game."

She placed both hands on her hips and glared at him. "Do you mean to tell me you're teaching our grandsons how to gamble?"

He didn't deny it.

She should have known...should have known.

CHAPTER 16

COURTNEY PULANSKI

After the evening's inauspicious beginning, the Mariners' game with Andrew and Annie Hamlin had turned out to be fun. Courtney had met five of Andrew's friends, and they'd all seemed friendly. The one person who'd been standoffish and distant, not to mention rude, had been Annie. It was more than obvious that she didn't want to be at the game and had somehow been thwarted by her mother and brother from doing something else. She'd ignored both Andrew and Courtney and had barely spoken a word the entire evening. Which was why Courtney was rather shocked when Annie phoned on Friday afternoon and invited her to a movie that night.

"Yeah, sure I guess," Courtney said. It wasn't like she had any other plans. And a movie was certainly preferable to her other option - playing bingo at the VFW Hall with her grandmother. "What did you