Sam glanced down at his nephew and smiled. “I think that’s your answer. He’s the one who insisted we come in today and find these books, and we just arrived back in town last night.”
“Thomas and my husband will be thrilled about that enthusiasm. Kevin—and yes, he’s an O’Brien, one of Mick’s sons, in fact—works with Thomas. Between us we have three boys and a girl, ranging in age from a few months to seventeen. We’ll have to have the two of you over for dinner, so Bobby can make some new friends.”
“That would be great,” Sam said, liking this open, generous woman at once.
“Should I invite Carrie, too?” she asked slyly.
He blinked at the obviousness of the question. “Up to you,” he said. “It’s your dinner.”
She gave a nod of satisfaction. “I’ll take that as a yes. Now let me ring up those books, unless you want to look around for some for yourself.”
“I think I’m going to be spending all my spare time reading these with Bobby,” he said. “I’ll find some for myself the next time we come in.”
“Any particular genre?”
“Adventure travel,” he suggested. Books were probably the only way he was going to satisfy his wanderlust for the foreseeable future.
“You’re in luck. I have a great selection. There are a few other people in town who have the time and money to travel, so I try to order the latest books for them.”
“You must get to know your customers really well,” Sam said, impressed.
“It’s the only way for a small, independent bookstore to succeed these days,” she said.
When their purchases were paid for and bagged in two separate bags so Bobby could carry a couple himself, she gave Sam another smile. “I’ll be in touch about dinner. Probably one night next week. I know Tuesday is deadline night at the paper, so I’ll aim for Wednesday or Thursday.”
“Great,” Sam said.
Outside Bobby was practically skipping across the street in excitement. “Can we read when we get back to the inn?”
“Would you rather do that than swim?” Sam asked, surprised.
“Uh-huh,” Bobby said with a nod. “I always liked it when Mommy read to me.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Sam said. He held out his hand. “Hold my hand when we cross the street, buddy.”
Bobby tucked his hand trustingly into Sam’s, then gave him a shy look. “I think maybe being here is going to be okay.”
The softly spoken comment brought the sting of tears to Sam’s eyes. He was glad for the sunglasses that kept those tears from his nephew. “I know it’s going to be okay, Bobby,” he said, his tone more reassuring than it might have been even twenty-four hours earlier. “We’re going to be a team, you and me.”
Bobby grinned. “I like being on a team. Do you think they have T-ball here?”
“I imagine they do.”
“Can I play?”
“If you want to.”
“Will you come to the games like Daddy did?”
“You bet.”
Sam studied the satisfied expression on his nephew’s face and realized turning into a dad wasn’t going to be quite as terrifying as he’d imagined. Bobby was already showing him the way.
Jackson was down for his afternoon nap, though how he could sleep with Davey and Henry fighting over a video game in the living room was beyond Carrie.
“Hey, you two, a little quieter, please. The baby’s sleeping.”
“Oops,” Henry said, his expression immediately turning serious.
“Shouldn’t you have outgrown this competitive thing with your younger brother by now?” she teased. “You’re only a year away from going to college.”
He grinned. “I’m just warming up for college,” he informed her. “I hear it gets pretty wild and competitive in the dorms and fraternity houses.”
“Whatever happened to the sweet, serious little boy who first came to town to live with Shanna?” Carrie asked, remembering his arrival even though she’d been just a few years older.
“I got turned into an O’Brien,” he said, then gave her a taunting look. “You want to play?”
Davey’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, Carrie, take him down, okay?”
“I’m no good at this game,” she protested innocently. “You both know that.” Still, she sat down and took Davey’s remote. “Don’t be too hard on me, okay, Henry?”
Fifteen minutes later, she’d wiped the floor with the smug teenager, proving he and Davey weren’t the only competitive people in the room. Davey hooted.