Ernie grinned at her enthusiasm. “Sure, I’ll go back and see what I can find,” he said. “Are you just working on sun planters today?” he asked. “Because the shade planters seem to be moving fast too, especially the larger ones. We don’t have many left out back.”

Kara nodded happily. “I should have time to do both. I’ll take a wander through the lot in a few minutes and do a count of everything myself, but keep letting me know if you see any sizable gaps in the inventory as they sell,” she replied.

“Will do,” Ernie said and left to look for more plants for her.

Kara dug her hands into the cool potting soil and dumped it by several large handfuls into big buckets so she could mix it with the right amount of compost and vermiculite before packing it in the large metal and fiberglass planters that were waiting to be filled by her side.

As she worked, Kara’s thoughts wandered to Maeve’s fainting spell the day before, and all the things her pediatrician had told her might have been the cause. A few were terrifying. “I can’t think about that,” she murmured under her breath and, wiping her brow, forced herself instead to focus on the work at hand. She was determined to put her worries out of her mind until the test results the doctor had ordered for Maeve could be completed and returned.

After placing a group of flowers together, Kara sat back to admire their bright colors. Stretching back for a better look, she heard the crunch of paper in her pocket and reached in to pull out a thick, letter-sized piece of paper. Unfolding the page of correspondence she had received from the lawyer about the purchase of the garden center, she frowned. While it was comforting to know that Mark would support her no matter what she decided to do, it didn’t seem like he was going to be much help in making a decision. So she needed to call someone who would.

Sighing, Kara shoved the letter back into her pocket and quickly finished putting together the planter in front of her. When she was finished, she wiped her hands on the front of the large apron she wore and picked up her phone from the table. The number she dialed rang twice before it was picked up.

“Hi, Courtney? It’s Kara Sullivan from Larkin Bay Garden Center,” she said to the woman on the other end of the line. “I was wondering if I could hire you to help me with something…”

Later that week, as she squirmed on the bleachers trying to get comfortable, Kara considered how hard the baseball stands were. “You know,” she said to Amanda, who was sitting next to her, “if someone were to rent out seat cushions here, they’d make a fortune.”

Amanda laughed and pulled a blanket out of the overflowing baby bag she had placed on the spot between them. She tossed it at her friend.

“Here,” she said. “Sit on this. And I’m not so sure they would make a ton of money. Unlike you, most of us in the stands have enough padding on our backsides that we don’t need cushions too.”

Kara chuckled and got to her feet to place the blanket on the metal seat beneath her. While standing, she turned to check on Maeve. A group of young teen spectators had taken the little girl to play in the children’s playground behind the ballpark, and Kara saw she was laughing while being pushed on the swings. Grinning, Kara settled back into her seat to watch the game.

Two of the local adult soft pitch teams had taken the field. Although the players were all amateurs, they still took the game very seriously—the teams were friendly but competitive. Usually, everyone in the stands cheered for all the five local teams, but most were also passionately loyal to one. Sons and daughters who played ball took over their parents’ spots on teams when they were old enough, and the race between the teams to gather new talent when they moved to town was fierce. Thursday night adult softball games had been played in Larkin Bay for over seventy years, and it was a serious pastime for everyone involved and their loved ones.

Kara shifted over on the bleacher, moving the baby bag and her blanket, so she was sitting right next to Amanda. Danny, Amanda’s husband, played with Mark and it was nice to have another woman with a young child to talk to on the nights Kara came to cheer for her brother’s team. Both women could acknowledge and wave at Jaycee when she was there, but since her fiancé played on a different team, they didn’t dare go over and sit with her. They could, however, all get together later at Sullivan’s, as mingling with friends on other teams after the game was considered acceptable.

“Oh, look,” said Amanda, “there’s Scott. Quick, call him over, Kara! Danny told me Mark asked him to come out and see the game tonight, so they might be able to convince him to join our team. If he’s interested in playing, we have to get him before another team does!”

Kara hesitated for a second, but as Scott got closer to them, she slowly raised a hand to wave him over. He grinned when he saw her, and her heart fluttered in anticipation as she watched him pick his way across the bleachers toward her.

When he was a few rows away, she watched as his head suddenly tilted at the sound of a child’s laugh and, after checking to see where it was coming from, he shot her a quick smile and waved at her to join him as he abruptly changed direction to head over to the children’s playground. He had recognized Maeve and was on his way over to see her little girl. Kara blushed with pleasure as she hurried down the bleachers toward the swing set to meet up with him.

As she strode toward the playground, Kara watched as several mothers and the two young teens who had been pushing Maeve on the swings all visibly relaxed when they realized Kara knew the tall, good-looking man heading their way. Kara smiled to herself. This was one of the things she loved most about Larkin Bay. She knew that if she was ever distracted from watching Maeve closely, then it was highly likely one or two other Larkin Bay moms probably had their eye on her.

“Hi,” she called over to Scott.

He returned the greeting before smiling down at Maeve. “It looks like someone here is all healed up and in good spirits today.”

Kara thanked the young tweens who had been watching her daughter, and both girls gave Scott a shy smile before making their way back to the bleachers to rejoin their parents.

“Yep, it’s like nothing ever happened to her. I only wish I could heal that fast when I fall,” Kara replied, reaching over to give Maeve’s swing a push. “So, what brings you to today’s game?”

“Mark invited me,” Scott replied, “and I love the game, so I thought it might be fun to watch. I also heard you might be here, so I thought I’d stop by and see how Maeve was doing too.”

Kara’s heart fluttered at the idea that Scott had come tonight, at least in part, to see her.

“Well, you do realize there’s a motive behind Mark’s invitation, right?” she asked teasingly.

“You think so?” Scott asked, raising one eyebrow. “What would that be?”

“Well, the baseball teams here in town are very competitive, so I’m sure part of his motivation was to see if you’d be interested in playing on his team. They’re always looking to recruit talented players.”

Scott looked thoughtful. “Really?” He shrugged. “No one has talked to me about my baseball career since I’ve been here. I wasn’t even sure anyone knew I used to play professionally.”

“Oh, trust me, they know all right. They’re just waiting for you to bring it up, and when you do, you probably won’t be able to stop the onslaught of questions. We’re just polite folk that way. If people don’t want to talk about something, we won’t push too hard, at least not at first.”

Scott laughed loudly, causing other women at the park to glance over at them and Kara to blush.

“Push harder, Mommy,” Maeve demanded, and Scott, still smiling, reached down and gently pushed her, his grin broadening as the little girl crowed in delight.

“Well,” he replied, continuing to push Maeve’s swing. “I guess the best course of action, then, is for me to just not bring it up.”

Kara looked surprised, then thoughtful for a moment before she grinned widely up at him.

“That should work for a while,” she replied, “and it’s going to drive the whole town crazy too, so I definitely think you should do it.”

Scott laughed out loud again. “So now we know for sure who the evil twin in your family is, don’t we? But all right, I won’t bring it up if you don’t.”

Kara smiled and nodded her agreement before turning her attention back to entertaining her daughter on the swings, while also sneaking glances at the man beside her who was both gorgeous and funny.

Chapter Eight

After the game was finished, everyone headed over to Sullivan’s Place to celebrate their win and console the players that lost. After handing Maeve over to her grandparents, Jamie’s parents, who loved to watch her, Kara followed the crowds and now stood behind the bar, watching her brother draw the beers she’d ordered for a table in the back. Enjoying a brief reprieve from serving, she let her thoughts drift back to the conversation she’d just had, or probably, more correctly, didn’t have with Scott.

Scott had consistently changed the subject every time the conversation between them veered toward any events that happened before he attended law school. Kara respected that. After all, there were certain things in her past she didn’t like to discuss, either, and Scott was probably right in suspecting that most of Larkin Bay would be interested in hearing about his former professional baseball career. They’d also have a million questions.

A young couple sitting in the far corner of the restaurant waved at her, interrupting her thoughts, and Kara, with a smile, went over to see what they needed. She often helped at Sullivan’s Place on baseball nights. Usually, when Larkin Bay’s adult baseball league descended on the pub for wings and beer after their games, the spectators all tagged along too, and that made for a hectic night at the restaurant. Even with every member of Mark’s small staff running flat out, it seemed like there were never enough hands.

Kara also enjoyed socializing on these shifts. She knew most of the patrons that came in and usually not only delivered them their drinks but also chatted and caught up with them too. She loved living in a small town where she knew everyone; Larkin Bay was a place she never wanted to leave.

After visiting with several tables in the section she was covering, Kara found herself waiting for Mark to fill a tray with her next drink order. As she did, she glanced over at all the happy, crowded tables and tried to imagine walking in here, like Scott would, knowing no one. It would be hard, as everyone seemed to know someone else and have a spot where they were welcome to sit and join friends.

A few minutes later, Mark called over to tell Kara that her drinks were ready, and she returned to the bar to hoist the heavy tray onto her hip. The other servers who worked there could lift the trays higher and often carried them at shoulder height around the room, but Kara was just too small to do it comfortably.

“Hey, shorty,” called out one patron. “Do you need help?”

Kara smiled and shook her head as she bounced her tray against her side, then rolled her eyes good-naturedly as another of the regulars kidded her about her unorthodox style.

After delivering the drinks, Kara stood for a minute chatting with the friends she had served. She was updating them about Maeve’s fainting spell when she suddenly had a feeling that she was being watched. And from the tingle curving up her spine, she was quite certain she knew who it was.

Smiling self-consciously, she turned and looked toward the bar, where she saw Scott had claimed an empty stool and now sat there openly staring at her. When he saw her look his way, he tipped his baseball cap toward her and gave her a slow, confident, sexy grin.

No wonder Maeve giggled and batted her silky eyelashes at this man every time she saw him, Kara thought—his smile was irresistible.

Well, I’m not going to run over to him as soon as he tips his hat in my direction.