A New Hope (Thunder Point #8)(68)

“What? Me?” he asked.

“We know there’s a girl,” Ray Anne said.

“Yeah, but that’s all there is. A girl. Not marriage. How would I ever manage that?”

“Good. We’re on the same page,” Al said.

Then they walked down the beach. They had already decided not to impose on Grace. It was good enough for Ginger to tell her on Monday when they worked together. But Troy was on the beach throwing a Frisbee with Charlie, the nurse’s son, and Austin, the kid next door.

“You’re not imposing,” Troy said. “She’s on the deck with her mother, I think. Everything okay at the shop?”

“As far as I know,” Ginger said. “I’m planning to open tomorrow morning. I just wanted to talk to her for a minute.”

“Go on up,” he said.

“Knock, knock,” Ginger said as they neared the top of the stairs.

“Come up!” Grace said. “Out for a little walk?”

“We have news,” Ginger said. “We wanted to tell you together. Now, don’t worry about anything...”

“We’re getting married,” Matt said, pulling the trigger on it.

Grace flew to her feet and hugged Ginger in a ferocious, excited embrace, shrieking happily. It took a while for her to calm down. Troy, Charlie and Austin came flying up the stairs from the beach to see what was happening. Grace threw herself at Matt, hugging him fiercely. And then, inevitably, there was crying.

“Oh, that makes me so happy!” Grace cried. “This is perfect! It couldn’t be more perfect!”

Ginger was a little stunned. “We were going to be careful to reassure you—I won’t leave you without making sure you have the help you need in the shop.”

Grace burst into laughter. “You mean Matt’s not giving up that huge farm to live off you and your florist’s salary in Thunder Point? I couldn’t be any more thrilled about this. Ginger, all I want in this world is to see you happy!”

“But we do have to find someone to take my place,” Ginger said. “Someone good. Someone you can trust. But don’t worry—we’re certainly not getting married while there’s a harvest going on.”

“We’ll get to work on help in the shop, but first let’s enjoy the excitement of this. This is wonderful! I knew this would happen! I knew last April when you knocked him out!”

“See?” Matt said, his arm around Ginger’s shoulders. “Good story.”

* * *

It took a while for the excitement to die down among Grace, her family and her friends. There was so much hugging and well-wishing it almost wore Grace out. But finally Troy and his playmates went back to the beach with their Frisbee, and Ginger and Matt walked back to town where they would have a couple of hours together before he had to head back to his farm in the north.

That left Winnie, Grace and Lin Su on the warm deck. Lin Su asked Winnie if she’d like a manicure. Winnie loved manicures and pedicures and Lin Su was more than happy to oblige. Lin Su knew that even if Winnie’s hands didn’t work as well as they once had, she wanted them to look good. “You should get a raise,” Winnie said.

“You should,” Grace agreed.

Lin Su laughed. “If you’re comfortable, I’m happy.” She brought a tray to the deck. Placing it between herself and Winnie, she began working on her nails.

“You’re worth a king’s ransom,” Winnie said. “I’d never have requested a nurse who could double as a manicurist. I don’t suppose you do hair and facials?”

“I’m afraid not,” she said. “I learned to do nails before I attended nursing college. I thought I’d be a beautician one day but then Charlie came along and I needed a more dependable income. Doing nails has come in really handy during those tough times when nursing jobs aren’t in good supply.”

“It can’t be easy,” Grace said. “Being a single mother with a demanding nursing career. And I know nursing is a good field, but it’s expensive raising a child.”

“There have been challenging times, but this particular job, bringing Charlie along to be entertained by all the people around here, this is like a paid vacation.” She massaged Winnie’s hands. “It’s true, there isn’t a lot left over at the end of the month but we do fine.”

“Do forgive the intrusion, but do you have a man in your life?” Winnie asked.

“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Charlie Simmons. All the man I can handle,” she added.

“May I ask...?”

“You may ask me anything at all, Winnie. I’m in your employ and I want you to be comfortable that I’m completely honest with you.”

“Charlie’s father?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, he was killed in an accident before Charlie was born. We hadn’t yet married. Charlie carries my name for that reason. I try not to make too much an issue of the fact that I hadn’t been married to his father...but of course, he knows.”

“And your family?”

“Well...” She stopped massaging for a moment. “We’re estranged. They didn’t approve of Charlie’s father. And they didn’t exactly approve of my decision to have and raise my son.”

“Damn fools,” Winnie said.