Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (45 page)

“
S
he
has
n
’t
mas
t
ered
spoon
or
fork
y
et.
Y
ou
h
a
ve
k
ids,
N
ick
?
A
r
e
y
o
u
ma
r
r
ied?”

H
e
ha
d
j
u
s
t
ta
ke
n
a
s
i
p
o
f
cof
fee
and
alm
o
st
choked
at
the qu
e
stion.
“
N
o
,
on
both
counts.
I
’
m
a
bout
as
s
ing
le
as
y
ou
can ge
t
.
N
e
ver
e
ven
had
a
do
g
.
”

“
N
ever?
Really?
W
h
y
not?”

“
M
oved
a
l
o
t
.
M
y
father
w
as
a
c
olonel
in
the
A
ir
F
orc
e
.
B
ut
af
t
er
m
y
m
o
ther
died
when
I
w
as
t
en,
m
y
father
t
ook
a p
os
ition
at
a
m
i
li
t
a
r
y
acade
m
y
back
Eas
t
.
”
God,
he
remembered
how
that
had
p
iss
ed
off
the
old
man
t
o
g
ive
up
h
i
s career
in
the
m
i
li
t
a
r
y
t
o
t
ake
care
of
a
k
id
he
did
n
’t
s
eem
t
o l
i
ke
ve
r
y
muc
h
.
“
Y
ou
ca
n
’t
h
a
ve
a
dog
in
that
k
ind
of
e
n
v
ironmen
t
.
”
A
nd
n
o
t
much
of
a
father-
s
on
re
l
ationship
eithe
r
, he
thought
w
ith
re
g
re
t
,
as
he
remembered
h
i
s
fathe
r
’
s de
t
ached,
aloof
demeano
r
.
G
ro
w
i
n
g
up
w
ith
the
man
h
e
’
d felt
at
od
d
s
w
ith
on
j
u
st
a
bout
e
ve
r
y
l
e
vel,
he
realized
now that
m
a
ybe
that
’
s
w
h
y
h
e
’
d
j
o
ined
the
G
uard,
ho
p
i
n
g
he could
fina
l
ly
make
h
i
s
father
proud.
A
s
he
sat
there
w
a
t
chi
n
g
H
ut
t
on
he
had
t
o
wonder
if
m
a
ybe
h
e
’
d
inhe
r
i
t
ed
s
ome
k
ind
of
a
gene
that
pr
e
ven
t
ed
him
f
rom
fo
r
mi
n
g
em
o
tional at
t
achmen
t
s.
H
i
s
father
ce
r
t
ainly
had
n
’t
fo
r
med
one
w
ith
h
i
s o
w
n
s
on,
nor
had
he
pro
v
ided
a
w
a
rm
,
f
u
z
zy
e
n
v
ironment af
t
er
h
i
s
m
o
ther
had
died.

“
I
s
y
our
father
still
alive?”

“
Y
ou
be
t
,
”
N
ic
k
sai
d
a
little
t
o
o
chee
r
i
l
y
.
“
Rema
r
r
ied,
re
t
ired,
and
liv
e
s
in
F
lo
r
id
a
.
”
A
nd
the
only
ti
me
he
ta
l
ked
to
him
w
a
s
t
w
ic
e
a
yea
r
,
on
h
i
s
b
i
r
thd
a
y
and
C
h
r
i
stmas.
U
na
bl
e
to
keep
h
i
s
e
y
e
s
of
f
the
ba
b
y
,
he
asked,
“
She
fee
d
s he
r
s
el
f
at
th
i
s
a
ge?”

J
or
d
an
smiled.
The
man
k
new
nothi
n
g
a
bout
children.
E
ve
r
y
thi
n
g
H
u
t
t
o
n
di
d
s
ee
m
t
o
fa
s
c
ina
t
e
hi
m.
“
S
h
e
do
e
s
.
T
h
e whole
thi
n
g
’
s
a
bit
of
a
mess
and
cleanup
usually
t
a
kes
s
everal wet
t
owels
but
she
man
a
g
e
s
t
o
get
the
food
in
ther
e
.
Do
n
’t
y
ou,
b
a
by
g
irl?”

H
ut
t
on
ignored
her
m
o
ther
and
continued
t
o
ea
t
.

De
t
e
r
mine
d
t
o
mak
e
co
n
ve
r
sa
t
ion
,
J
or
d
a
n
wan
t
e
d
t
o
lea
r
n
mor
e
a
b
ou
t
th
e
ma
n
.
“W
ha
t
brough
t
y
o
u
to
…
L
.A
.
i
s
it?”