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6

During the off-season when things were quieter, having Sunday lunch at The Fish Tale after church had gotten to be a habit for Luke, Hannah, Grandma Jenny and Seth. When Kelsey and Jeff were around, they came along with the baby. This week, with the three of them still on vacation, Seth escorted Grandma Jenny to the restaurant.

He’d deliberately skipped his run that morning, though he couldn’t say for sure why. Had he wanted to avoid Abby or had he wanted to see her a little too much? The latter was scary under the circumstances, scary enough to disrupt his routine.

Unfortunately, the first person he saw when he walked into The Fish Tale was Abby, all alone in a booth again. She was making notes on a legal pad, but gave him a distracted smile when she looked up. Beside him, Grandma Jenny frowned.

“We should say hello,” Seth said.

“Probably,” she conceded grudgingly.

“And maybe ask her to join us.”

The suggestion was greeted with a scowl. “Why would we do that?” Jenny asked, then met his gaze. Something she saw there must have given away his feelings, because she gave a curt nod. “Never mind. Ask her, if it’s what you want.”

He thought about why issuing the invitation mattered to him. Was it about the undeniable attraction? Or was it about everything Abby had told him the night before about wanting to be accepted? That was the safe reasoning. Leaving her at that table all alone would be cruel, or at least that’s what he told himself as they walked over to greet her.

Even with the decision made, he kept right on arguing with himself. Avoiding the beach had been one thing, he reasoned. Avoiding her in public would send an entirely different message, one he didn’t intend. Of course he could have left the decision up to Luke and Hannah, but that would have been the cowardly way out.

He led the way to her table, fully aware of his companion’s reluctance. Yet it was Jenny who spoke first, surprisingly without any hint of awkwardness. Whatever her reservations about Abby’s return, she was innately gracious.

“Abby, it’s been a long time,” she said, her tone friendly enough.

Abby’s expression brightened with unmistakable delight. “Grandma Jenny!” She looked hesitant. “Is it still okay if I call you that?”

“Of course,” Jenny said, her expression softening.

“It’s wonderful to see you. I’ve been wanting to drop by, but...” She faltered. “Well, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that. There was the situation with Luke and me, and then Hannah and I lost touch.” She shrugged. “You know what I’m talking about.”

Seth noted that Jenny flushed with guilt, clearly aware that she hadn’t hidden her displeasure over Abby’s return well enough from everyone. Word had apparently gotten around. She straightened her shoulders and managed a smile.

“You’d have been welcome, of course,” she told Abby, her good manners saving the day. “Are you expecting someone? If not, why don’t you join us? Hannah and Luke will be along any minute. Jack holds one of the big tables for us.”

The invitation, coming from her rather than left to him, surprised Seth almost as much as it evidently surprised Abby.

“I’d love to, if you’re sure it would be okay,” she said at once, looking from Jenny to Seth and back again.

“No reason it wouldn’t be,” Jenny said. “I want to hear more about these plans of yours for Blue Heron Cove. I like getting information straight from the horse’s mouth. It’s easier to make up my own mind that way, though I’ll tell you straight out, I think it’s just what Seaview Key needs.”

Abby grinned. “And I’m always eager to talk about Blue Heron Cove, especially to a supporter,” she said, then winked at Seth. “And I’m even more eager to get you involved in this project that Seth and I have been given.”

Jenny looked startled. “What project is that?”

“The rescue boat Luke and I have been talking about,” Seth reminded her. “We need to raise the money for it, and we need to do it quickly. Last night Luke coerced Abby and me into chairing a committee to make it happen.”

Jenny rolled her eyes. “I imagine what you know about raising money would fit on the head of a pin,” she said to Seth.

“Exactly, which is why Abby needs your help,” he said. “You game?”

“I’m always willing to get involved in a good cause,” Jenny said, regarding Abby with a more favorable expression as they made their way to the table Jack always reserved for them. “Any thoughts about what you want to do?”

“A few,” Abby told her.

Seth sat back and listened with amazement as Abby rattled off half a dozen ideas that she’d apparently come up with overnight. It seemed to him she probably hadn’t slept any better than he had if she’d been busy making all those notes. Even Jenny looked pleasantly surprised.

“You’ve given this some thought,” she said approvingly. “And you were just given this assignment last night? I’m impressed.”