The Devine Doughnut Shop(73)

“So was that Travis?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, it was—and after y’all meet him, we’re going to talk about taking a trip out to Shell Island tomorrow,” Grace answered.

“I read that there’s a shuttle that will take folks from here to there, let you collect shells, and then bring you back,” Sarah said, “so count me out. There are no bathrooms on that shuttle or on the island.”

“Travis said that he could take us on the company boat, and it has bathrooms,” Grace said, “but don’t say anything to the others until y’all meet him. I don’t want Audrey and Raelene to get dollar signs in their eyes. I want their honest opinions without knowing that he has a beach house or a boat.”

“I’m in,” Sarah said.

“How do you feel about parasailing?” Grace asked.

“Not me,” Sarah answered. “I like to have at least one foot on something solid, but the girls might like it.”

Grace could hear Beezy huffing the last few feet that she walked toward the chairs. “I swear, that aerobic stuff will wear an old woman out in a hurry. Who would have thought that jumping around in water and batting a beach ball could be such a workout? What are we talking about?” she asked as she eased down into a chaise longue.

“Shrimp scampi,” Sarah answered. “It’s on the menu at the Perfect Pig, where we are eating tonight with Travis.”

“With a name like that, I would think they would have barbecue,” Macy said, holding up a bag of shells she had gathered as she and Raelene and Audrey all joined the others in the beach chairs.

“I checked out that place online,” Audrey said, “and it’s not a cheap date. Travis is going to have to cough up some serious cash to feed all of us.”

“Maybe another evening, we can have a shrimp boil in the condo and invite him to join us to repay him for this,” Grace suggested. “I saw a shrimp vendor on the side of the road when I went for groceries earlier. I bet fresh shrimp will taste a lot better than the frozen we get at home.”

“I can make a dessert for that supper,” Raelene offered. “I can whip up a mean chocolate cake.”

“And I’ll help,” Audrey said.

Thank you again, Lord, for sending Raelene into our lives, Grace thought.



Grace could hardly be still that evening. She was dressed thirty minutes early but still had misgivings about whether she should call Travis and cancel, even at that late time. It would be downright rude, but after what had happened with Neal and Joel—well, it could be just the right thing to do.

Audrey wasn’t helping one bit with the issue, but then she had never been invited to join her mother on one of the few dates she’d had through the years.

Grace had chosen a sleeveless pale green dress for the evening. It went well with the off-white sandals she had brought along in her backpack. She curled her blonde locks and applied a little lipstick and minimal mascara—no use in putting on a lot of makeup, she thought, because she’d just sweat it off, especially if Travis had made arrangements for them to eat at the tables she had seen on the patio.

Or quite possibly from sheer nerves, she thought again as she watched the two girls run back and forth between their rooms, modeling first one outfit and then another. Finally, Beezy took matters into her hands.

“If you girls don’t get dressed in the next five minutes, I’m going to throw you out there in the pool myself and ruin all that makeup and those pretty curls. Wear the yellow polka-dotted sundress, Raelene. It looks good with your dark hair. Audrey, you put on that green gingham-checked one, and be ready to go when Travis gets here, or we’re leaving you behind,” Beezy said.

Both girls took off for their room in a blur.

“Thank you,” Grace whispered.

“I’m starving, and I get cranky when I’m hungry.” Beezy grinned. “You should be thinking about the date, not worrying with a couple of egotistical teenage girls. And besides all that, I’m not just another pretty face. I wear my bossy title with pride.”

The girls had barely made it back when someone rapped on the door. Grace took a deep breath and headed in that direction. She let it out slowly and flung the door open to find Travis standing in front of her. She barely noticed what he was wearing because his smile and his expression when he looked at her made her feel more special than she had in years.

“You sure look beautiful,” he said.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Are we all ready?” he asked. “Your chariot awaits.”

A vision of a horse-drawn carriage flashed through Grace’s mind. If that was what he was talking about, then Beezy was going to be a whole lot crankier because it was at least twenty minutes to the restaurant in a car. A horse would take three to four times that long, and they would all be starving right along with Beezy.

She blinked away the vision. “Come in and meet my family.”

“I’d love to do that,” Travis said as he stepped into the room.

Grace made introductions.

Travis shook hands with each of them but didn’t pass out compliments like Neal/Edward had done when he met the family. “Are we ready to go?” he asked. “Judging from the GPS, I think it’s about twenty minutes to the restaurant, and I sure don’t want to lose our reservation.”