Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (95 page)

“
Y
ou?”
I
t
w
as
hard
t
o
beli
e
ve
th
i
s
woman
could
n
’t handle
a
n
ythi
n
g
,
or
a
n
y
problem.
“
Y
ou
look
so
put
t
ogether s
o—
cool
.
”

“T
h
an
k
s
,
bu
t
tha
t
i
s
n
’
t
th
e
ca
s
e
.
”
J
or
d
a
n
pu
t
H
u
t
t
o
n
do
wn on
the
floor
wh
i
le
she
pulled
out
p
l
a
t
e
s
and
g
l
ass
e
s
f
rom
the c
a
b
ine
t
.
S
he
c
ut
slices
of
cake,
found
an
e
x
tra
s
ippy
c
up
for
J
oe
y
,
and
poured
mi
l
k
for
the
k
i
d
s.
“
I
n
fac
t
,
I
’
m
a
n
ythi
n
g
but cool.
W
ould
y
ou
l
i
ke
cof
f
ee
ins
t
ead
of
mi
l
k?”

“
T
ha
t
s
oun
d
s
good
.
”
Di
st
ra
c
t
ed
,
L
il
l
y
chewe
d
on
th
e
in
s
id
e
o
f
he
r
j
a
w
un
t
i
l
sh
e
said
,
“
J
or
d
a
n
ca
n
I
as
k
y
o
u
s
omethi
n
g?”

“
S
ur
e
.
”

“
Are
n
’t
y
ou
lonely
li
v
i
n
g
out
here
by
y
ou
r
self
?”

S
he
t
u
r
ned
and
s
t
ared
at
the
y
ou
n
ger
woman
for
a
lo
n
g tim
e
.
T
ea
r
s
b
r
immed
her
e
y
es.
“
O
h,
L
il
l
y
,
y
ou
h
a
ve
no
idea
.
”
O
ver
cake,
J
or
d
an
unburdened
the
facts
a
bout
her
life
for the
past
two
y
ea
r
s
r
ight
up
unt
i
l
N
ick
had
appeared
out
of the
blu
e
.
And
f
rom
there
the
two
women
settled
in
l
i
ke
old
f
r
iends
and
chat
t
ed
in
spi
t
e
of
the
bois
t
ero
u
s
p
l
a
y
of
the
k
i
d
s.
J
or
d
an
discovered
L
il
ly
w
as
o
r
igina
l
ly
f
rom
M
on
t
e
r
ey where
sh
e
’
d
g
radua
t
ed
high
school
w
ith
the
dream
of
becomi
n
g
a
desi
g
n
a
r
tist.
L
il
ly
reca
l
led
how
sh
e
’
d
met
her
h
u
sband at seven
t
een
and
how
she’d been so incredibly
young
and stupid t
o think
he
w
as
the an
s
wer
t
o
her
dreams.
H
e
’
d
been
a
charmer
r
ight
up
t
o
the night
of
the
weddi
n
g
when
h
e
’
d
got
t
en
d
r
unk
and
beat
her senseless.
The
sad
thi
n
g
w
as
it
had
n
’t
been
for
the
fi
r
st
tim
e
.

J
or
d
an
shivered
at
her
o
w
n
good
fo
r
t
un
e
.
And
then remembered
her
good
fo
r
t
une
had
died
in
I
raq.
Good
fo
r
t
une it
seemed
could
ta
ke
a
major
t
u
r
n
do
w
n
w
ard
ve
r
y
quickl
y
.

The
s
tag
ge
r
i
n
g
ne
w
s
w
as
tha
t
wh
i
l
e
L
il
ly
ha
d
t
w
o
ch
i
l
dren
and
in
le
s
s
than
a
month
would
be
a
divorcée,
she
w
as only
t
w
enty-three
y
ea
r
s
old.

“
L
oo
k
s
l
i
ke
w
e
’
ve
b
o
th
had
some
rough
tim
e
s
,
”
L
il
ly of
f
ered
quietl
y
,
as
she
t
ucked
a
strand
of
brown
hair
behind her
ea
r
.

A
s
bad
as
thi
n
g
s
were
for
he
r
,
J
or
d
an
realized
L
il
ly
had it
wo
r
s
e
.
A
f
t
er
a
l
l,
she
had
a
fam
i
ly
back
in
S
an
F
rancisco wh
o
’
d
been
her
suppo
r
t
s
y
s
t
em.
A
f
te
r
H
u
t
t
o
n
’
s
b
i
r
t
h
they
had
been
there
for
her
as
she
w
ai
t
ed
for
Sc
o
t
t
’
s
re
t
u
r
n.
T
hey
’
d begged
her
t
o
s
t
a
y
in
S
an
F
ran
c
isco
and
w
ait
w
ith
them.
B
ut ho
p
i
n
g
t
o
make
Sc
o
t
t
’
s
dream
come
t
r
ue,
sh
e
’
d
s
t
ubbo
r
nly packed
up
the
b
a
by
and
come
home
t
o
P
elican
P
o
in
te
.
A
f
t
er getti
n
g
word
of
Sc
o
t
t
’
s
death,
her
fam
i
ly
had
once
a
g
ain
t
r
ied
t
o
t
a
l
k
her
in
t
o
packi
n
g
up
eve
r
ythi
n
g
and
movi
n
g
back
in
w
ith
them.
B
ut
a
g
ain,
sh
e
’
d
t
r
ied
t
o
hold
s
t
eadfast
t
o
Sc
o
t
t
’
s
dream—an
d
si
ng
l
e
-hande
d
l
y
mak
e
i
t
a
reali
t
y
.
S
he
s
m
i
le
d
at L
il
l
y
.
“
Y
o
u
k
n
o
w
, I
do
n
’
t
k
n
o
w
wha
t
i
t
i
s
,
m
a
yb
e
it
’
s
beca
use
I
’
ve
j
u
st poured out
m
y whole life s
t
o
r
y
, but I
feel bet
t
e
r
.
”