The Devine Doughnut Shop(81)

“I hope it is,” Macy agreed, pushing herself out of her doldrums.



Grace had given the idea of the girls working for Butler Enterprises that summer some thought and decided that she should tell them about the offer. She might regret it on down the road, but she would really be surprised if her decision to give them a chance like that would change the path of their lives for the worse.

Audrey was a professional at eavesdropping and could hear a cat walking across carpet, so Grace kept her voice barely above a whisper as she told Travis about her decision.

“That’s great,” Travis said. “I’ll let Delores, Calvin, and Lucy all know when I get back. This has been a wonderful day. I can’t remember when I’ve had more fun or wished that I had a family like you have. But . . .” He paused.

“Why does there have to be a but?” Grace’s Spidey-senses went on alert for the second time.

Travis slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to his side. “I still want to spend time with your family. They are so much fun, but . . .” He hesitated again and looked down into her eyes. “I want to spend some time with just you, also. I like you, Grace Dalton, and I’d like to see where this attraction that is between us might go.”

When she gazed into his eyes, she felt like she was looking straight into his soul—and everything felt right. “I can live with that but,” she whispered.





Chapter Twenty


Beezy needed to go into town for souvenirs, and the girls wanted to check out Pier Park—maybe ride the Ferris wheel at the small carnival there and get some cotton candy. The speed limit on the two-lane highway from the motel to the shopping center was twenty-five miles an hour, so Grace kept an eye on the speedometer and on the golf carts, bicyclers, and joggers at the same time. Five miles from one spot to another in Texas usually meant less than five minutes. At the rate she was driving, it would take three to four times that long to get to Pier Park.

“Stop!” Macy yelled from the passenger seat.

Without hesitation, Grace stomped the brakes and sent up a prayer that she had not hit one of the several dogs she’d seen running along beside their jogging owners.

“What?” Grace’s heart thumped so hard that she had trouble breathing.

Macy pointed over her shoulder. “Travis is waving at us. That house right behind us must be where he is staying.”

Before Grace could gather her racing thoughts, Travis had jogged over to their rental SUV. Macy pressed the button to roll down the window, and he leaned his elbows on the edge. A soft breeze blew his woodsy cologne across the front seat to Grace. Added to his bright smile and the twinkle in his eyes, the whole effect sent vibes bouncing all around the inside of the SUV.

“Good mornin’, ladies,” he said.

“Mornin’,” Grace chimed in with the others.

“We’re off to Pier Park and to buy souvenirs,” Beezy said from the back seat. “You want to go with us?”

“Not this morning,” Travis answered. “But after a day in that place, y’all are going to be too tired to go out for supper or to fix anything at the motel, so why don’t you let me cook tonight? There’s a fancy grill out on the patio. I could make us some steaks.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Beezy said. “What time should we be here?”

“Anytime you want,” Travis answered, but his eyes were on Grace. “Bring or wear your bathing suits, and you can play on this end of the beach. We’ll go completely informal tonight and even eat out on the patio.”

“We’ll bring dessert,” Grace said.

“Ice cream would be great,” Travis said and slid a slow, sexy wink at her.

The way I feel right now, I might need to cover my body in it. Grace fought the urge to fan herself with her hand.

“Any particular flavor?” she asked.

“Whatever sounds good to y’all. There’s not a flavor I don’t like—except maybe bubble gum,” he answered and straightened up. “See y’all later, then. Have fun on your shopping trip.”

Grace watched him jog the short distance back to his house and almost blushed when he turned around and blew her a kiss.

“Mama, we can go now,” Audrey said from the third seat.

“Give her time to let her heart stop racing,” Beezy said with a giggle. “First, she probably thought she’d hit someone when Macy yelled at her to stop, and then”—she fanned herself with a map of Pier Park—“Travis’s face was framed up in the window. Sweet Jesus, that would put any woman’s pulse in overdrive. She needs to catch her breath.”

Raelene turned around and pointed out the back window. “I can see our motel back there. I didn’t realize Travis’s house was this close to where we are staying.”

“Looks to be less than half a mile,” Sarah said, “and tonight, we get to see the inside of his beach house.”

“And eat steak,” Raelene said. “I will probably never stop talking about this vacation.”

“Me either,” Audrey added.

Or me for sure, Grace thought as she started driving on toward Pier Park.



Travis heard the ringtone that said Delores was calling. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit the accept button at the same time the doorbell rang. “Hold on just a minute, Delores,” he said. “My dinner guests have arrived.”