“And here comes the Armada,” Sarah said. “Landon’s girlfriend, Eve, and a couple of other good friends from town. Paddleboarding is one of their favorite things, but I’m sure the volleyball net will go up now. If those kids aren’t at work, they’re at play. I’m afraid I have to get going,” she said, struggling to get up from the log.

Peyton got up and extended a hand. “Time for that left-side rest?”

“Well, probably,” Sarah said. “But mostly, I have to pee.” Then she laughed. “I’m headed up to Cooper’s. That’s our place, my husband is Cooper. If you feel like a drink or snack, I’d love to treat you. I’d rather watch the kids play from up there.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that,” Peyton said.

* * *

Peyton found herself at a table on the deck at Cooper’s, nursing her bottled green tea, getting to know a few people from town. She had lifted Sarah’s feet up on to a chair and said, “This won’t get you out of the twenty minutes on your side, but this and plenty of water will help.”

“Oh, you’re darling. You must stay.”

“Stay?” a big man leaning on the rail asked.

“Al,” Sarah said, “meet Peyton, a physician’s assistant who’s considering working with Scott in town.”

Al turned to her. “You’d like working with him. Scott helped me become a father.”

Peyton frowned. The man was in his fifties. Stranger things had happened for older men. But helped? “I have to ask, helped how? Is he into infertility studies or something?”

Al laughed heartily at that. “I know I have a dumb look about me, but I’m not that dumb. No—those three down there. The kid on the board with Sarah’s brother is Justin, he’s seventeen. The two with the Frisbee are Kevin and Danny. They’re my foster kids. I was all worried about being approved, and Scott said, let’s get Sally, their mother, to appoint you as guardian—that should speed things up. Now I’m a foster father, final approval due any second.”

Peyton was stunned. “You must know them quite well to sign up for that. Or you’re gifted with teens?”

“Neither,” he said. “I’ve only known them for a little while, but they’re pretty amazing boys. They took care of their disabled mother at home all by themselves until she was put in a nursing home.” He jutted a chin toward the bay. “We’re having paddleboard lessons today. They’re pricy, those boards. I’m not investing until two things are established—one, they like it a lot and two, they’re not likely to drown!” He chuckled. “Kevin and Danny have been at the water’s edge a dozen times, begging Justin to come in so they can have a turn. Even though the boys can swim, sort of, I only want them out there one at a time. If one of them falls off the board, Landon is a certified lifeguard. I think this idea is going to cost me.”

“Just out of curiosity, how long have you been at this foster parent thing?” Peyton asked.

“Couple of weeks,” Al said. “These boys haven’t had much time off. You know, kid time, because of their mother’s health. I work full-time, but I don’t intend to waste a day of the rest of summer—I want them to be boys for a change. They still pile in the car and go see their mom in the nursing home at least twice a week, more if they can. But I think it’s important they play ball, get in the water, have some fun.”

“How long did they take care of their mother?” she asked.

“Near as I can figure, about four years. And according to Scott, they did a damn fine job of it.”

And I couldn’t get Ted’s kids to carry a dirty plate to the kitchen, Peyton thought.

Al wandered off as she was introduced to Cooper when he came on to the deck wearing a tool belt. “Aren’t you due for a little rest to try to achieve ankles?” he said to his wife.

“I’m much more interested in achieving labor,” she said. But she let him pull her to her feet.

“Don’t be in too big a hurry,” Peyton said. “You want that baby nice and plump.”

“Do I?”

“Well, you want her lungs and heart nice and plump,” Peyton said with a smile.

“Stay awhile, Peyton,” Sarah said. “Enjoy the view. I hope I see you around.”

Peyton was happy to stay awhile. This spot was calming. The group from the bay moved to the beach, erected a net and got the volleyball going. Al’s three foster sons played with Sarah’s brother and his friends. She met an older gentleman named Rawley who had two youngsters in tow with buckets and poles—a boy and girl. He nodded at her. “How do,” he said. The kids raced off ahead of him, down the stairs.

She smiled. “Grandfather duty?”

“Sorta. That there’s Cooper’s boy, Austin. And my friend Devon’s girl, Mercy.”

“Ah, yes, I met Devon. But I thought Austin was her fiancé’s son?”

And the old boy nodded. “Yep,” was all he said, taking the kids down to the dock to fish.

“Well, that was clear as mud,” Peyton muttered to herself.

She was almost to the bottom of her tea when another guy in a tool belt came on to the deck, followed by Al. This guy had a beer and was pretty sweaty. Al had himself a Coke and a bowl of chips and salsa. Al said, “Spencer, that’s Peyton. Peyton’s thinking of working in the clinic...”

“You know Devon?” he asked with a smile.

“I met her,” she said. “I talked with her awhile and left my résumé.”

“We’re engaged.” He brushed his hands off on his jeans and reached across the space between the tables to shake her hand. “I’ve been working on the house. We’re getting married pretty soon, and there might still be some work to do, but we’re going to move in the second it’s livable. How do you like our town so far?”

“Quaint,” she said.

He laughed. “Only on the surface. It’s a tough little town.”

“How is that?”

He thought for a second. “These people don’t have a lot of advantages. The cost of living here is low, but there’s one doctor, one lawyer, no dentists—it’s a working-class town, and a large percentage of the population holds second jobs. Our teenagers carry as many credits as the teens in upscale city schools, yet most of them also work part-time. And they do well in school. We get a fair number into college.”