Page 4 of Waiting For A Girl Like You (Haven House #4)

“That sometimes the family God gives you isn’t the one you’re meant to keep. Sometimes, you’ve got to go out and make your own. Find your people. Find your place in the world with them.” He gestured to the sweeping landscape. “And when you do, that’s where you settle and make a home.”

“Ah, hell.”

Devon downed his beer in one go. “Dammit, man. I had faith in you.”

Smoke poured from the grill, drowning them in a smog of burnt meat. Ben coughed. “I can fix this.”

Ty leaned in to look, his own beer in hand. “How in the hell can you fix that?”

“Shut up.” Ben stabbed at the meat until one patty broke completely apart. “Just shut the hell up.”

“We’re gettin’ so much moolah for the swear jar,” CeCe announced, head down as she scribbled in her notebook at the patio table behind them. “We’re gonna go G-O-K-A-R-T-R-A-C-I-N-G.”

“Capital T, CeCe,” Devon reminded her. “And it’s okay to make the tips curly.”

Her handwriting continued to be inconsistent, even writing some letters backward.

This journaling idea had come to him earlier in the summer.

The process was meant to not only encourage CeCe to express her emotions when they got too big for her but also to allow her to write in a non-structured state, which gave him the opportunity to see what areas they needed to work on the most. He and Simone would review the entries at bedtime, discussing CeCe’s feelings with her and noting any improvements or loss of skill in her handwriting.

“Everything okay out there?” Laura Jean appeared at the screen door. “How much longer before the food is ready?”

“About long enough for us to order pizza.” Ty nudged Ben with his elbow. “You burnt it, so you have to be the one to tell them.”

Shoving the tongs at Ty, Ben swiped a hand through his hair as he faced Laura Jean. His mouth opened and closed, his gaze sweeping over her as she cocked an eyebrow. “Since you look so nice, I think we should go out to dinner. How does pizza sound?”

Devon and Ty turned their heads so Laura Jean couldn’t see them laughing.

Completely unfazed, Laura Jean shrugged, and Devon realized that she and the tornado of children behind her in the kitchen were dressed as if they already knew they would be going out.

“There’s a pizza place that opened on the far side of Port Michaelson,” Laura Jean said. “I read about it in the newspaper. It’s family-owned, small, and perfect for us.”

Ben and Laura Jean were still hiding their relationship. Normally, Miranda and Josie would’ve joined them, but the two were in North Carolina for their annual summer vacation while Samuel stayed at Haven House.

“Ben and I will take care of the mess out here,” Devon said, already working on the grill. “Ty, take CeCe to get ready and help the troops prepare for pizza night.”

After cleaning up what they could, he and Ben headed inside and found everyone waiting in the front foyer.

Everyone except Simone.

“Where’s my woman?”

Laura Jean passed Jamison to Ben and went to adjust a loose strap on Livy’s new summer tank top. “Simone said the spot cleaning job you did on the new grill isn’t good enough, and she’s staying behind to clean it.”

“Cleaning a grill instead of getting dinner?” Devon frowned, not quite following. “What’s that about?”

“This is what happens when you’re too smart,” Ty mumbled, bending down to tie Abe’s shoelace. “You don’t get subtle clues.”

“Alone.” Laura Jean rolled her eyes. “You and Simone will be cleaning the grill alone in the house.”

Alone.

With Simone.

“Oh. ”

Laura Jean clapped her hands and put on her mom voice to address the crowd.

“Okay, people, we’re going two by two. Abe, there will be no running off.

Evie, there will be no fighting with Samuel.

Samuel, you will not tease Evie. Toby, stay with Evie.

Annabeth and CeCe, you will not wander away to explore together.

If Selah or Livy tells anyone to do something, you will do it. Does everyone understand?”

With a unified “ yes, ma’am ,” the kids lined up at the front door in their proper order. Selah holding Abe’s hand, Livy and Samuel side by side, Toby and Evie together as always, and finally, Annabeth and CeCe at the end.

Devon bent down to speak to Annabeth and CeCe.

They were decked out in matching blue dresses and clutching twin Tickle Me Elmos tightly in their arms. The toys would drive the adults insane on the car ride, and since they were doing him and Simone a favor, the very least he could do was eliminate their time with the most annoying toys in existence.

“Let me have your Elmos. We don’t want them to get lost.”

The girls didn’t argue—they never did—and kissed him on the cheek as they left.

“Thanks for getting rid of the Elmos,” Ben said, carrying Jamison to the door. “Enjoy your night.”

“Take as long as you want with your pizza.”

“And go-kart racing,” Laura Jean added, pushing Ben a little when he paused with a horrified expression on his face. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Ben. It’ll be fun!”

The door closed, and in the unnatural quiet, Devon immediately headed to the rear of the house.

He told himself not to run and to try at least to maintain some semblance of coolness.

But when he reached the kitchen and found Simone pouring two glasses of wine, wearing the skimpiest nightgown he’d ever seen, the effort was lost.

Even the Tickle Me Elmos were impressed, giggling in his arms when he accidentally squeezed them too tightly.

Simone glanced over her shoulder and turned just the right way to show off the matching underwear. “Play some music. I want to dance with my husband.”

“Dance?” Devon set the toys on the counter. “I was thinking of doing something else. ”

“Oh, we will.” Simone sipped from her glass of wine, the red lipstick she wore staining the rim. “Several times over. Laura Jean promised that they wouldn’t be back until midnight.”

They had the entire house until midnight?

Devon almost giggled as loudly as the Elmos.

“How many rooms are in this house?” He should know this, but she was walking toward him, and his brain had turned into mush. “Twenty?”

“Something like that.” She snagged the stereo remote and hit play, their favorite song filling the air. “Are we going to go exploring?”

Snatching her to him, Devon sprinkled kisses along her neck as they swayed to the music. “Yeah, we’ll hit most of them. Not the attic, though. It’s haunted.”

Simone snorted, and he used his best move to catch her by surprise. A quick spin and then dip, holding her close. “But we can try if you’ll protect me,” he told her. “All the ghosts around here fear The Lady of Haven House.”

“The Lady of Haven House?” Simone cracked the biggest smile. “Oh, I like that.”

He kissed her soundly, straightening them to stand again. “Yeah, I thought you would.”