Page 16 of Miracles and Marriage (Making a Family #5)

By the time they returned to the cottage, Zoe was getting winded and her hair was damp.

Cal could have continued another mile, but stopped when she did.

He liked running by the sea instead of in the park where he normally went.

Maybe they could get away for more weekends and make this a part of their routine.

Wait a minute, he silently admonished himself. Don’t get carried away with this. She was a wife only because he wasn’t risking losing another child to a woman’s whim. They had nothing in common except Protection, Inc. Getting married didn’t mean being married in the traditional sense.

“Toss you for the shower first,” she said, breathing hard.

“Does the water go cold after one shower?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? With all the people in my family, no one would ever get to bathe if one shower used up all the hot. Granddad put in a huge heater. It’s enough for several showers in a row before the water even starts to cool down.”

Too bad, Cal thought. He could have suggested they bathed together to save water.

“You go first. I’ll do some more exercises out here and come in when you’re finished,” he said.

“Okay. I’ll yell out the window when I’m done.”

He watched her head into the house and shook his head. He was married to a woman so far from the pampered society darlings he’d dated that it was mind-boggling. He tried to picture any of the women he used to date yelling out a window.

An image of his uncle rose. Cal knew with certainty Hal would have liked Zoe.

Turning to face the sea, he dropped to do a series of pushups and then sit-ups. Might as well take the time to catch up on his physical exercises. It kept his mind off the tantalizing image of sharing a shower with Zoe.

When Cal came downstairs after his own shower, Zoe was curled up on the sofa leafing through a magazine. She looked up at him.

“Want to go out for breakfast? Or shall I make some pancakes?”

“I thought the idea was to remain hidden.”

“Not hidden, just not out there, you know?”

He shook his head.

“We’ll go to the pancake house in Waterford. It’s not a far drive and I hardly ever go there so the chances of my mother’s best friend spotting us are hugely remote.”

“Where does your mother’s best friend hang out?” Cal asked.

How far would Zoe go to keep their relationship quiet?

“Not anywhere near here, but you know what I mean. Anyone who knows her could ask who is the man her daughter is seeing. That would start speculation I don’t need. Do you like pancakes?”

“Sure, who doesn’t? We can stop at a grocery store later and get food for the rest of the weekend.”

“You can make breakfast tomorrow and I’ll do dinner tonight,” she said, not looking at him.

Zoe wasn’t sure how he’d take being treated like her brothers.

She decided that was the best way to act.

It was share and share alike in her family.

She’d decided on the strategy to keep her sanity.

If they could continue their relationship as they had done at work, she’d be able to handle things.

If not, she was worried she’d make a blithering idiot of herself before the weekend was over.

“As long as you like omelets,” he said.

“Who doesn’t?” she parroted.

After breakfast, they walked around Waterford. It was a typical seaside resort—catering to tourists in the summer months, quiet and half empty in October.

The sun had warmed the day and being sheltered from the sea breeze by the buildings on Main Street kept the temperatures mild.

They walked along gazing into shop windows, stopping inside a place or two.

Zoe loved browsing driftwood sculptures.

As far as she could tell, Cal had no special interests.

But the way he kept watch, his eyes constantly assessing each place, she knew he was too busy figuring out ways he’d protect someone in this environment than in enjoying the sightseeing.

Crossing the empty street to the next block, Zoe saw a small boy standing by the shop door, looking scared.

“Think he’s lost?” she asked Cal.

“Maybe.” He stooped down to be on level with the little boy. “Where’s your mom?” he asked gently.

The child gave a kind of hiccup and looked about to cry.

“She’s lost.”

“Oh, dear,” Zoe said.

Cal was hard-pressed to keep from smiling. It was this little tyke who was lost.

“Maybe we can find your mother. Where did you see her last?”

“I dunno,” he said.

He stepped closer to Cal, looking at him trustingly.

“What’s her name?” he asked, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on the child’s shoulder.

“Mommy.”

“I should have guessed. Shall we try this store first?” he asked.

The little boy looked at the door and wrinkled his nose.

“It smells in there.”

“A clue,” Cal said, straightening to his full height. “Maybe he was inside and didn’t like the smell.”

The store in question was a candle shop, with many different fragrances all competing on a whiff of air.

He felt a tug on his trouser pants. Looking down he smiled when he saw the earnest look on the boy’s face.

“If you carried me, I could see better,” he said.

Cal exchanged amused glances with Zoe, then hoisted the boy up. They entered the shop. It was much larger inside than it appeared from the sidewalk. There were many aisles, with shelves so tall people were concealed.

A woman near a register by the door glanced at them as they entered. Probably thought they were a family on an outing, Cal thought. If everything went well, in another year or two, that’s exactly what they could be.

“We have a missing boy, here,” Cal said to the clerk. “We are looking for his mother. Anyone report a missing child?”

“Oh, goodness, no. Where did you find him?”

“Right outside. He says this place smells, so we thought he might have come from here.”

Just then a loud shriek sounded, followed by “Justin” being called very loudly.

The little boy broke into a smile.

“That’s Mommy.”

Two seconds later a frantic woman ran toward the front of the store, checking her speed when she saw her son.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, rushing over. “You scared me to death.”

“He was outside,” Cal said, transferring the child to the frantic mother’s arms. “Lucky he didn’t wander farther away.”

“I can’t believe he left. I know he’s tired of shopping. It’s okay, honeybun. Mommy’s finished for the day. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

She looked at Cal and Zoe relief clearly visible.

“Thank you for getting him. I don’t want to even imagine if he had wandered down the street.”

“Glad we were handy,” Cal said.

Zoe smiled at the mother and at little Justin.

“You have a beautiful boy,” she said.

The mother smiled proudly and nodded. “Thanks again.”

Cal held the door for Zoe and they returned to the sidewalk.

“We can return to the cottage, if you like,” she said when they stepped out.

“We haven’t seen every place on the other side of the street,” he said, glancing around.

“I knew it. You’re bored.”

The quiet lifestyle of this sleepy shore town wouldn’t appeal to a man like Cal. He hobnobbed with business titans and heads of state.

He threw his arm around her shoulder and moved her closer to the wall to let another couple pass by.

“I’m not at all bored. I’m not interested in driftwood plant holders, or candles, but I am interested in the various ways people find to create products out of wax or what is essentially flotsam.

This is a different kind of economy than I normally deal with, so it’s fascinating people can actually make a living out of driftwood. ”

“Innovative, don’t you think?”

Zoe hoped she didn’t give herself away. She could scarcely think, only feel the warmth from his arm across her shoulder, and the blossom of hope in her heart for a baby. Cal would make such a great father.

He nodded, eyeing a particularly fanciful planter in the window.

“Where would someone put that?”

She tilted her head while looking at it, trying to breathe normally.

“I have no idea. On the porch of a beach cottage, I guess. I wouldn’t take it home with me.”

He took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers.

“You relieve my mind. Come on and let’s find a sidewalk café by the water where we can get some coffee.”

“We had coffee less than an hour ago.”

She turned and fell into step with him. It felt special to be holding hands.

“I drink coffee all morning long, don’t you?”

“Only days when I’m stressed.”

“So today isn’t one of them. Good. I still want coffee,” he said.

They wandered down to the water’s edge. The breeze was stronger near the sea. Anyone looking at them would believe they were lovers, out to explore a new place. She could almost believe it herself.

There were several docks with various types of boats bobbing against their ropes. More than one café dotted the block, but none had sidewalk seating this time of year.

“It’s too cold to sit outside,” Zoe said as they entered one establishment. “But come back in summer, every single place along this stretch of road has outside seating and we’d likely not find a spot.”

“We could be awaiting the arrival of our child next summer.”

Zoe swallowed and nodded, wishing there was some guarantee.

By the time they headed back to the cottage, clouds had moved in and the wind had changed directions, now blowing from the north. A storm looked inevitable.

“So much for a walk along the beach,” Zoe said gazing at the gray sky. “It’s going to pour.”

“It’ll keep most folks home tonight, So maybe we’ll try a restaurant that’s closer,” Cal said.

Zoe looked at him. She had been doing him a disservice. She didn’t want to explain Cal to her family, but she was entitled to see whomever she wished wherever she wished. Having dinner with someone didn’t necessarily mean more than having dinner together. So what if someone saw them?

Cal had been very accommodating. She owed him better.

“We can try the seafood place on Main Street,” she said. “And who cares what gossip makes it to my folks.”

“Maybe none will.”