“Six,” she supplied.
He nodded. “Call in your order at the restaurant and then text me and I’ll pick it up.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she said with a sigh. “I’m going to go in and show Robin the pictures of the land and show her the brochures for the houses. I’m sure she’s going to agree that our folks should buy the place.”
“I’ll see you later,” he promised, then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips before she could climb out of the truck. He watched her limp towards the door and waited until she was inside before he backed up and headed towards his uncle’s place.
He pulled into the small parking area at his uncle Todd’s home. He dashed through the rain and let himself into the massive home.
Todd and Megan had always run a bed and breakfast out of their home. There were several cottages that they rented out between the main house and the beach. The front door was rarely locked and there was always a delicious meal and friendship waiting inside.
He found Todd and Megan in the kitchen, sitting at the table with his two-year-old twin nephew and niece, Ethan and Ellie.
The twins were both happily making a mess with their sandwiches and soup. His aunt and uncle appeared as if they were enjoying the entire fiasco instead of worried about the destruction of their kitchen by their oldest grandchildren.
Todd and Megan Jordan had been as steady in his childhood as his own parents had. There had been times when the lines of parenthood had blurred. It was as if he’d had three sets of parents between them, his aunt Lacey and Uncle Aaron, and his own parents. All of his cousins had felt the same and had even thought of themselves as siblings instead of cousins.
“Hey.” His uncle chuckled upon seeing him. “We were just having some lunch. Grab a bowl of soup and help yourself to some grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Uncle Conner.” Ellie clapped her chubby hands and held them for him.
He walked over and easily picked her up and sat down with her in his lap. She immediately began eating again and even reached up to give him a soggy piece of sandwich, which he ate.
Her long blonde hair was tied in two ponytails, which were coming out of their clips. Her brother Ethan was too busy eating to worry about the new visitor.
“What’s on your mind?” Megan asked as she helped Ethan scoop up a spoonful of tomato soup.
“Thomas Carson,” he said. His uncle jerked and stiffened.
“Is he bothering you?” Todd Jordan asked quickly.
“No, not me directly. I think he—” He stopped talking when Ellie shoved another soggy piece of bread in his mouth. He smiled at her and made sounds of pleasure, showing her that he was enjoying the food she was sharing with him. “I think he’s paid Kara and her sister a visit. She mentioned some lawyer stopped by and informed her that his client wanted to put an offer on their land.”
“And you think it’s Carson?” Todd asked.
“It would stand to reason. Do you know anyone else interested in purchasing land around Pride who would send a lawyer in a suit?” he asked.
Todd sighed. “No. I’ll see if Aiden can sniff around town and keep an eye out for someone who matches the description.”
“While you’re at it, you might want to have him keep an eye out for a blue four-by-four Ford truck. One with a bunch of mud on it.”
Todd’s eyebrows shot up. “Why?”
He glanced down at his niece and sighed. “The driver just bombarded Kara and I with mud pellets. She has a large welt on her leg to show for it.”
“Oh no,” Megan gasped. “Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she’s at home resting. We were up at the land looking at the lots,” he supplied.
“Todd texted me and told me that you’ve picked a lot out for yourself?” Megan asked.
He nodded. “Kara was looking for one for her parents who will be moving down from Portland soon.”
“Alice and Eric are finally going to be moving here?” Megan asked with a smile.
Conner frowned. “You know Kara’s folks?”
Megan laughed. “Of course. They’ve been coming her longer than any of our other guests. We’ve known the Jenkins family forever. Alice and Eric spent a few nights here one Christmas and got snowed in when you were just a baby. Then, after they married and had the girls, they started coming back each summer.”
Conner shook his head and shifted Ellie on his lap. He should have known. Kara had told him she’d spent most of her summers here at his aunt’s place. He just hadn’t expected his aunt to remember every guest that had stayed in the cabins.
“Right.” He nodded. “Yeah, she’s trying to convince them to purchase a place in Hidden Cove.”
“Oh, they’re going to love it. I’m going to have to call Alice later tonight.” Megan picked up Ethan, who was almost falling asleep in his soup bowl.
“I think these two need a bath and then a nap before Mom and Dad come pick them up in a few hours.” She shifted Ethan to her hip and then gracefully leaning over to pick up Ellie and place her on her other hip. “There are fresh sandwiches and warm soup. Stay for lunch,” Megan said before leaving the room with a baby on each hip.
He watched his aunt go, holding the two babies as if she’d done it a million times.
“She’s good at that,” he said unconsciously.
Todd chuckled. “There for a few years, we had so many kids running around this place, it was hard to remember which ones were our own.”
Conner chuckled. “I was just thinking how wonderful it was growing up with three moms and dads.” He sighed and reached for a fresh un-soggy sandwich as his uncle stood up and walked over to the fridge.
“Beer?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Yeah,” he said after taking a bite of the sandwich. “I’ve got a few hours to kill before heading back over to Kara’s for dinner. I was going to start moving some of my things over to the apartment.”
His uncle popped the top on two beers and handed him one as his eyebrows shot up.
“Apartment?” Todd asked.
“Yeah, I convinced Patty to let me rent the place above the store,” he answered with a slight shrug.
“Needing more privacy?” Todd joked.
“It’s sort of hard to date when you are still living under your parents’ roof.” He sipped the beer.
“So, there is more to you helping Kara out?” Todd asked.
Conner thought about it. He’d never kept anything from his family before and wasn’t going to start now. Not with something this important.
“Yeah,” he said, and took a sip of the beer. “Yeah, there is.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kara slept like the dead. The ice pack she’d placed on her calf had at some point slipped off her leg and landed on her bed, soaking the sheets. When she woke, almost two hours after Conner had dropped her off at the cottage, she was refreshed but sore. She tested her leg out and figured a hot shower might loosen the muscles in her calf.
Already there was a massive bruise and several small red marks where rocks must have hit her skin through her jeans. Her entire calf was double its usual size.