Home to Stay (The Long Road Home #2) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,69

he was convinced that he’d sweat through the one he was wearing by the time they arrived. Plus, with Lucy in shorts and a tank-top, his thoughts kept moving to what she looked like naked. Christ, I’ll show up with a boner. That’ll make an impression!

He thanked God that by the time they arrived at the Carringtons’ house he’d laughed at the banter between Lucy and Gramps over who was going to have the biggest watermelon. Once there, he discovered Lucy’s parents were as calm and laid back as she was.

Quick observation gave evidence that Lucy had gained her chestnut hair, petite frame, and ready smile from her mother. Her dad gave her his dark eyes and his penchant for home projects, although, after a home tour, he’d observed that her dad finished his projects before moving on to the next one.

Her brother, Marty, was two years older than Lucy, worked for a logging company, and was easygoing with an obvious affection for his sister but shared the same frustrations that her father had with her house.

“So, sis, did you ever get those shutters up?”

“Yes, they’re up.” She grinned widely. “I finally decided on deep hunter green. Oh, and John helped me screw the porch boards in place as well so I won’t stub my toes on the loose nails that pop up.”

Not wanting to take the credit, John added, “Actually, I showed her how, and she did almost all the work herself.”

“That’s my girl,” Mitchell said. “Once she finally decides on a project, then she learns what she needs to do.” He leaned toward John and lowered his voice. “But we’re happy she’s got someone to share in the tasks. She gets a bit distracted.”

“I heard that, Dad.”

John wrapped his arm around her shoulders, glad that she had a family that could tease while their affection was obvious.

“John’s been working around my house,” Gramps added, nodding toward Linda as she slid another piece of pie onto his plate. He looked over at Lucy and grinned, waving his fork in the air. “You ever get finished with your place, you can come over and work on mine with him.”

“Oh, I’d like that.” Lucy smiled, twisting around to look at John. “Just let me know when.”

“Why don’t you just hire someone to do it? Why would you want to do it yourself?”

All eyes turned toward Marty’s date. He’d brought someone with him to their Memorial Day picnic, but it was easy to see that while he was attentive, the woman meant nothing special to him. Lucy did her best to include Joanne, but it also appeared that Joanne was more interested in the bar she and Marty had talked about hitting after the family picnic.

“I like knowing that I made my house my own,” Lucy explained. “I do hire out what I can’t handle, but I love to paint and have taught myself how to refinish floors and cabinets, how to tile and grout, and now the porch is perfect.”

Joanne twirled her hair and shrugged. “Seems boring to me.” Marty shot his date a glare as the others hid their smiles.

John thought about years past when he’d been in Marty’s shoes. Granted, he never went to a woman’s house to be with their family, but he’d had plenty of dates where the most interesting thing was knowing what would happen when they were alone.

His fingers trailed small circles on Lucy’s shoulder while turning his attention to her dad and brother’s animated discussion with Gramps about the county’s plans for new neighborhoods on land that should remain forested. Since Mitchell, Marty, and Gramps were on the same side of the issue, he didn’t have to worry. Instead, he leaned back and enjoyed his surroundings. His belly was full of good food, the conversation flowed easily amongst the gathering, the sun was shining, and the woman he loved was tucked into his side.

Loved? He blinked at the word, his heart skipping a beat as he heard her gentle laughter and watched her eyes twinkle. The scent of her shampoo wafted past, and the feel of her head on his shoulder was a weight he wanted to carry always. Fighting the urge to shout and smile, he remained still while acknowledging what he knew was true. Hell, yeah… I love her!

20

“I hate that I won’t see you later,” Lucy said, her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear as she waited inside her classroom for Mrs. Farthingale to bring her class back from lunch.