Free A Family Come True by Kris Fletcher Page A

reveling in the moments of freedom that lay ahead. Well, as much as a girl could revel while simultaneously trying not to fret. Or drool. Or remember how right it had felt to snuggle against a welcoming body, even if it was only make-believe.
    She pulled her phone from her pocket, checking once again for messages or emails. Nothing.
    So much for not worrying.
    The line had gone down so it took only a few minutes for her to rejoin Ian and company, now standing, crawling and sniffing around a picnic table in the grassy area off the parking lot. He was on the phone but pointed to her cooler and blanket on the table before taking off toward the building.
    She spread the blanket on the ground, set Cady in the middle—yeah, that was going to last—and unpacked food. By the time he returned she was doing her best to get some banana into a child who was determined to spend her precious free time cruising and exploring instead of eating.
    “Think you’re fighting a losing battle there, Darce.” Ian tossed a piece of cheese to Lulu, who snapped it up.
    “If I were you, I’d focus on helping. Otherwise I’m going to be feeding her while we drive. Do you really want mashed banana all over your car?”
    A low blow, she knew, but desperate times and all that crap.
    He reached for a tiny square of peanut butter sandwich just as she did. Their fingers tangled in a fleeting caress. For a moment the kiss was back, hovering between them, thick and pulsing and almost visible.
    For a moment she couldn’t quite draw a deep breath.
    She grabbed the morsel and twisted away. “Come on, Bug. Open up. Let’s see if Mommy can hit the moving target.”
    She didn’t dare look at him again. Not yet. Far safer to focus on Cady, to call comments over her shoulder, to keep Ian on the fringe of her awareness instead of in the center.
    If only safe didn’t feel quite so much like deprivation...
    She was sinking into her own sandwich when he steepled his fingers and tapped his thumbs together. “So,” he said. “I have a confession to make.”
    “That sounds ominous. Did you finally decide that you should let me drive?”
    “I called Moxie. To, uh, ask about Helene.”
    So much for a peaceful few minutes to eat.
    “Look,” he hurried on, “I know you two aren’t as close as you used to be, but I’ve known her all my life.”
    “So have I.”
    “Yeah, but I’ve spent more time with her. And for her to not answer a call from her only grandchild—well, it’s not her. Not at all. I was worried something might be wrong.”
    She could give him that. The thought of Nonny, hurt and alone, had crossed her mind more than once in the past hours. She didn’t want her grandmother to be injured. God, no. But in a way that had been better than thinking Nonny was ignoring her.
    “I knew that if anything was wrong Moxie would know, or find out fast. So I called. And the thing is, Darce, Helene isn’t home right now. She’s on a cruise. To Alaska.”
    “Alaska?” Dang. She hadn’t known her voice could squeak that way.
    “’Fraid so.”
    “Okay. That certainly puts a new twist on things.” She set her sandwich on her plate and tried to think. “We’re well past the halfway point in the drive, so it doesn’t make sense to turn around.”
    “Especially since Xander will be there.”
    So much for her plan to put off thoughts of him until tomorrow. “I guess Cady and I can find a place for a night or two and then take the bus back.” Though in a tourist town in summer that might be more than her budget could handle. “Or— Oh, does Moxie have a key? Maybe we could stay at Nonny’s anyway.”
    “I asked. Seems Helene was taking advantage of this trip to have some work done in her kitchen. It’s nonstop construction and there’s no water.”
    Didn’t it figure? “So, a hotel, then. Maybe Moxie could recommend a place that won’t be too expensive and doesn’t mind a teething baby.”
    “She already did.” His smile did nothing to