The Devine Doughnut Shop(76)

Macy held up both palms. “Oh, no you don’t. Pull up a couple of those barstools or sit on the floor. Grace and Travis have walked down to the beach, and that means we’ve got a few minutes to talk about him without her hearing what we say.”

The girls opted to sit on the floor beside the coffee table. This whole thing with Travis was tough on Macy. On one hand, she was happy for Grace because she loved her so much. On the other, she could still feel the horrible pain of Neal’s betrayal, and even though she knew that jealousy was a sin, she had more than a healthy dose of it!

“She probably did that on purpose,” Beezy said. “I like Travis. He’s a gentleman, and he was attentive to all of us at dinner tonight. Then he had the limo driver park, and we all got to walk out on that long pier. I needed that after all that food.”

“When he asked me about my plans, he listened to me. Most adults ask, but then you can see by their expression that they’ve tuned you out,” Raelene said and covered a yawn with her hand.

“I like the way he looks at Mama, and I feel like she hasn’t dated because of me all these years. She kind of put her life on hold to be a mother, and she deserves a life—especially a fantastic evening like this,” Audrey said, yawning out the word fantastic. “But I’m not so sure I’m ready to bring someone else into our family, or even just our vacation.”

“Sarah?” Macy asked.

“You first,” Sarah answered.

“I’m on the fence,” Macy admitted with half a shrug. “I just went through the con of all cons. I think Travis is an honest man, but I’ll need more time to see which way I’m going to fall off this fence before I pass judgment.”

“How long is ‘more time’?” Beezy asked.

“A year, at the very least,” Macy said. “I’m living proof that falling in love too quick can get a woman in trouble.”

Grace knocked on the glass doors, and Audrey jumped up to open them for her mother. She pulled out a barstool for her, and Grace hiked up a hip on it.

“Okay, give it to me,” Grace said. “What did you think of Travis?”

“First, you tell us . . . ,” Macy said with a grin. “Did you get a good-night kiss?”

“I did not,” Grace answered.

Sarah chuckled. “Then it wasn’t a real date. It was just a family outing with a new friend.”

“Something like that.” Grace slid off the barstool and got a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

“We have been talking about Travis,” Macy said, “and the consensus is that he appears to be a nice guy—but then, so did Neal. If you are interested in him, and he is in you, we think you should give it lots of time and not fall too fast and hard like I did.”

Grace twisted the top off the bottle and took a long drink of water. “Audrey?”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to share you with anyone, but Travis does seem to be a nice man,” she answered. “And, Mama, you deserve to have a life. I’ll be graduating in a couple of years, and you’ll be lonely without me and Raelene in the house.”

“Is he nice enough to go out to Shell Island with him on the company boat—with a bathroom on it—tomorrow?” Grace asked.

Raelene gasped. “He’s got a boat and a beach house?”

“They belong to the company, not really to him,” Grace answered.

“I suppose I could share you one more time before I go off to college,” Audrey answered. “What time do we need to be ready?”

“Ten o’clock, and take a tote bag with your bathing suits if you want to do some snorkeling,” Grace answered.

Raelene stood up and held out a hand to Audrey. “This isn’t a vacation. It’s a slice of heaven.”

Audrey put her hand in Raelene’s. “I agree. Is the limo taking us to the boat?”

“No, we’re meeting Travis at the dock. I have the address already plugged into my phone,” Grace replied. “But if you want to spend the day right here with me, I can always tell him not to have the boat ready.”

“I’m going!” Beezy declared. “Travis is good company, and if I was thirty years younger, I’d give you some competition for that man, Grace.”

“I would love to go,” Sarah chimed in.

“We’ll be here,” Raelene said. “I wouldn’t miss that trip for anything. And Audrey’s Instagram has been blowing up with the pictures from the restaurant.” Macy could hear the wistful tone in her voice.

“Why don’t we get you a phone of your own tomorrow?” Sarah said, clearly picking up on that. “We’ll go by the phone store on the way to the boat, buy you one, and get you set up on my plan. You’ll need one when you go to college, so we might as well get it right now.”

“For real?” Raelene asked.

“For real,” Sarah said. “Now, you two get on out of here. Us old ladies need our beauty rest.”

“Who are you calling ‘old’?” Beezy teased.

The girls’ giggles followed them out of the room, and then Macy got to her feet. “I get first shower—and, Grace, maybe the third time is the charm.”

“What does that mean?” Grace asked.