His Honour, Her Family. Tara Randel

Grace passed by Faith to get to the door, she stopped. “What were you going to say before John interrupted us?”

      Tears clouded her sister’s eyes. Instead of answering, she glanced away.

      Grace touched her arm. “This is a safe place.”

      Faith blinked, straightened her shoulders and met Grace’s gaze. “I’m a mother now. Time to own up to all the choices I’ve made.”

      “You don’t have to do it alone.”

      “This is hard.” She barked out a sharp laugh. “You always tried to look out for me, but I thought I knew better. Look how well that’s worked out for me.”

      If Grace wanted to push for changes, now was her chance. “Faith, we’re going to be in close quarters for a while. If there’s something you want to say, just say it.”

      Faith ran a hand through her hair, her voice shaky when she said, “Give me a little time to sort it all out, okay, sis?”

      “All the time you need.”

      With those words, Grace took John out to the path that led to the dirt lane, then headed toward the lake. She should be thankful that her sister wanted to talk, something they hadn’t done in ages. Maybe living together was a blessing in disguise. As she listened to John’s ongoing chatter, she hoped so.

      * * *

      GOOD GRIEF, WHAT was Faith feeding her son? And where could she buy whatever it was? The four-year-old had enough energy for a full platoon of men, with no signs of letting up soon.

      They’d walked to the lake, then circled around to the play area. The sun was half-mast in the sky, which meant they’d be ready for dinner soon. Her stomach growled at the reminder.

      “Okay, buddy. What do you say we head home?”

      “No. I want to play truck.”

      “We have been.”

      He stomped his little foot, squeezed his face tight. “More.”

      Grace laughed. She couldn’t help it. John was the spitting image of his mother when she was a child. “Good luck with that,” she muttered under her breath, remembering how hard it was to corral Faith when her mind was made up. Seemed like karma was having a belly laugh about now.

      “How about we get something to eat and come back later.”

      “No. Want to play.”

      “After dinner.”

      His brown eyes flashed. “No.”

      John had no sooner said the word than he streaked right past her. She turned in panic, ready to give chase, when she saw him dash right into a pair of long legs. Which belonged to her new employee.

      “Slow down there, champ.”

      Her heart took a dizzy twirl when Deke waylaid her nephew. He smiled at the boy, revealing those dimples, which in turn made her chest squeeze tight. The sun caught the hidden highlights in his dark brown hair, and that woodsy scent of his tickled her nose. When his gaze met hers, well, she was nothing short of a goner.

      This could be a problem.

      “Hey,” he said in greeting, his voice scratchy like he hadn’t used it in hours. It definitely rubbed her the right way.

      “Hi.”

      Their gaze held for a long moment before she felt John wrap his arm around her leg.

      A glimmer of something—what, she couldn’t say—crossed Deke’s eyes before he covered his reaction. “I didn’t know you have a son.”