Brave the Heat by Sara Humphreys Page A

took me almost ten years to get pregnant with you. But then look at what we got. Five boys! I can only imagine how many grandchildren we’ll eventually have. If waiting all those years to have my children taught me anything, it’s to have patience and have faith. But you boys aren’t getting any younger…”
    “Mom,” Gavin groaned.
    “Oh stop it, I’m only teasing.” She waved her hand in the air and swept past him toward the living room. “Anyway, save the date for the party. Speaking of the flower shop, I told Maddy what we’re looking for, and she already gave a preliminary list to Veronica and Cookie. I’m sure they’ll put together some lovely centerpieces. If you happen to see Jordan again, let her know I’ll be in on Monday to confirm everything.”
    “I’m…going to see her tomorrow actually.”
    “Really?” She lingered in the doorway and adjusted the purse on her arm. “Getting me more flowers?”
    “No.” Gavin shuffled his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Like I said, she’s going out to see her old man and I offered to go with her.”
    The smile on his mother’s lips widened slightly and that knowing twinkle glinted in her eyes.
    “It’s not like that,” Gavin insisted. “She was my friend before anything else, and I don’t trust that old SOB. Hell, she hasn’t seen him or spoken to him in fifteen years.”
    “Whatever you say, Gavin.” His mother waved as she left. “Close the door on your way out.”
    Gavin let himself out the side door of the kitchen. Thoughts of Jordan stayed on his mind. Once he’d set eyes on her again in the shop and gotten close enough to breathe in her scent, Gavin had about lost his mind. Any anger or bitterness he’d felt vanished. Memories of their night in the lighthouse. Stolen kisses under the bleachers. The smell of her skin, the soft, velvety feel of it as it rushed beneath his fingers. Damn. What he wouldn’t give to touch her like that again.
    To love her.
    He’d offered to go with her to her parents’ place without thinking about it. He couldn’t bear the idea of her and those two little girls being in the presence of such an ugly, angry man. Offering to go along had seemed like the most natural thing in the world. And that probably made him crazy or stupid, because Jordan was right.
    They did have things to talk about—lots of things—and he had a bunch of unanswered questions for her. But staring into those deep, soulful eyes of hers, all he could think about was keeping her safe. Jordan’s old man wasn’t a danger to her physically anymore, but words could still carry a hell of a punch. His need to protect Jordan was as strong and deep-seated today as it had been fifteen years ago.
    His mind drifted to their fight at the lighthouse. He’d acted like a macho, overbearing dickhead, but that was because he’d been scared—not for her, but for himself. The ironic part was that he’d said all that stuff because he didn’t want to lose her. In the end, that’s exactly what had happened.
    As he made his way across his parents’ sprawling lawn toward his cottage, the fresh ocean air filled his head. The feel of it helped him push aside those uncomfortable memories. Growing up here was a blessing and a curse; no other place on earth could hold a candle to their family home on the bluff. He’d been stationed around the world during his ten years in the military, but nowhere even came close to the beauty and serenity of Old Brookfield.
    The sun started to set, the sky burning in bright hues of orange and pink along the horizon. The lighthouse and the little row of houses lay below along the strip of sandy beach beneath the bluff. The Sweeneys’ gray saltbox cottage was a few houses away from the lighthouse, the one with the long gravel driveway. The house had been empty for the past two years. But not anymore. For the first time in a long time, it was alive inside.
    Staring at the