The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(31)

She laughed happily. “Yes, sir. Charlotte does that—and she taught some of us how to knit and crochet. That occupies us on all those cold winter nights. Would you like to look at them?”

He wandered down to the end of the stand and picked through them. The prices on them were pretty high. “Wow, you’re awful proud of these. Seventy-five dollars?”

“They’re handmade, sir. And original designs.”

“I’ll have this one here. I have an elderly neighbor lady who would really take to it.”

“Perfect. I hope your neighbor loves it.”

They wrapped up his vegetables and throw. Rawley paid in cash and left. Instead of going back to Cooper’s to work, he went to the doctor’s office. Devon was sitting behind the counter at the desk and looked up, surprised to see him.

“What a surprise! I hope you’re not sick.”

“Never felt better,” he said. “I brought you a couple of things.” He put his parcels on the table. “I split up the beans and tomatoes, kept half for myself. Then there’s this,” he said, giving her the tissue-wrapped parcel with the throw.

She smiled at the beautiful vegetables, but when she saw the throw she frowned. “Rawley, what have you done?”

He gave a shrug and a fairly handsome smile. “Just checkin’ on things in Myrtle Creek. I thought you might like knowin’ it seems to be business as usual. Not that I expected to see anything amiss. But they’re still there, sellin’ their tomatoes and woven things, wearin’ their overalls and braids.” He shook his head. “Devon, we’ll be careful, but it’s gonna be all right, I think.” He gave her a gentle smile. “I think you got yourself a new home.”

She came around the counter, stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Rawley. I not only have a new home, I have a table and chairs. When can you come to dinner?”

“I reckon there’s time tomorrow night. Wednesday nights ain’t so busy at the beach.”

“That would be great. Consider yourself invited.”

* * *

Devon had become a familiar face at the thrift shop in town. She was very careful with her earnings, but she was able to pick up some wonderful things for Mercy. Children grew out of clothes so fast that secondhand items tended to be in very good condition.

She didn’t worry much about things for herself—she had her work uniform of scrubs and she was very happy with them. For the weekends she had her shorts and jeans and a few other casual things. But there was a wedding coming up and she found herself picking through the women’s secondhand clothing, just in case she saw something suitable.

And there, hanging all wonky and kind of tied on to a hanger, was a sundress. She untied the straps and held it up...and fell dead in love. It was navy blue with pink flowers, along with a bit of white and yellow. It tied over the shoulders. She hadn’t worn anything like that in years and without even looking at the price tag, she hugged it.

“I guess that means you like it,” said the woman who ran the thrift shop.

“If I can afford it, it’s meant to be,” she said.

The lady lifted the tag and smiled. “Can you manage fifteen dollars?”

Devon let out a breath. “I can.”

She was so excited about her “find” that she went straight to the diner to show Gina. “But of course I don’t have shoes. I guess I can wear my tennis shoes—that won’t look completely dorky down on the beach.”

“You can,” Gina said. “It’s a beach party—anything will work. But you can also wear flip-flops—that’s what the bride’s wearing.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded. “You’re going to love it. We’re wearing strapless, breezy summer dresses and Cooper and Mac are wearing Tommy Bahamas island shirts and sandals. I predict we’ll all be barefoot in no time. One thing you could use—a wrap. The beach gets chilly at night, even in summer. Do you have one? Because I have a few—nothing too fancy. I can loan you one. I have a yellow wrap that I think might go with this dress.”

“That would be so wonderful, thank you. How’s Sarah doing? Is she getting nervous and excited?”

“Nervous, yes, but not about the nuptials. Cooper told his family about the wedding and they’re all coming. All of them! Not only are they getting a new daughter-in-law and sister-in-law they’ve never met, they haven’t met Austin yet. In just a few days, this place is going to be raining Coopers!”

* * *

Sarah had to take a week of leave to be available for Cooper’s visiting family and preparing for the wedding. Everyone started arriving on the Thursday before the Saturday wedding and she met them all except a couple of nieces and nephews who had been unable to attend. But there were promises of another summer visit before school started again.

Cooper’s family met Austin and Spencer with caution, clearly trying not to overwhelm them with their sheer numbers. But once the kids got out to the beach and on the water, the adults began to relax.

Sophie and Hank, Cooper’s parents, not only brought gifts but a cooler packed with Sophie’s lasagna, homemade bread, extra sauce and meatballs. Apparently she was afraid Cooper wouldn’t be able to make sure they were all fed. As the Cooper clan arrived in Thunder Point, things loosened up considerably. Cooper got a lot of teasing about falling into this fabulous property when everyone had always considered him just a wanderer who couldn’t put down roots.