Child of Grace (Love Inspired) by Irene Hannon

extend a hand.
    Flashing him a chagrined look, she accepted it and let him pull her to her feet. “Thanks. I’m switching to the regular lawn chair for my next visit.” She folded up the beach chair, tucked it under her arm and reached for her bag.
    “Why don’t I carry that up for you?”
    “Thanks, but I can manage. It’s not heavy now, since we finished off all those scones.” She winked at his sister, who smiled back. “You two stay here and soak up some rays. It’s a perfect beach day.” With a wave, she set off for the steps.
    Luke watched her go while Hannah trotted over to retrieve her beach chair. Less than half a minute later, his sister returned.
    “I bet it’s not easy to do all those steps if you’re pregnant.” Hannah checked on Kelsey, who had paused at the midway landing, while she set up her chair.
    “I’m sure it’s not.”
    “So what’s her story?” Hannah plopped in her chair and tipped her head up to him. “You didn’t say much yesterday, other than she was pregnant and here alone.”
    “That’s all I know.”
    “Yeah? Do you think her husband died or something? I mean, a guy would have to be nuts to divorce someone like her. She’s cool.”
    Kelsey reached the top of the steps, and Luke eased back into his own chair. He didn’t disagree with Hannah’s conclusion. Why a man would willingly walk away from a woman like Kelsey was beyond comprehension. From what he’d seen so far, she was smart, caring, strong and had her priorities straight. As for his sister’s question about Kelsey’s marital status—he had no idea.
    “She’s a very private person, Hannah. And I’ve only been here a week. It takes longer than that to establish a friendship strong enough to exchange confidences.”
    “Hmm.” Hannah spread some sunscreen on her arms, her expression thoughtful. “I thought she was very open. I mean, she didn’t have to tell me about how her sister thought she was crazy to throw away her corporate job and move here. Or how her grandmother taught her to quilt when she was a little girl, and how much she misses her. Or how she’s not sleeping very well anymore because the baby kicks so much.”
    Dumbfounded, Luke twisted his head toward his sister. “When did she tell you all that?”
    “While you were sleeping.” She put down the tube of sunscreen and faced him. “So we need to have a talk, okay?”
    “About what?” He was still grappling with all the information Hannah had learned about his neighbor in the space of—he checked his watch—thirty minutes.
    “About being superbrother. Here’s the thing, Luke—you don’t have to worry about me. I know how to handle guys. You need to trust me.”
    “I do trust you. I’m not so sure about the guys.”
    “Look…I’m only going to be here three weeks. What’s the point of starting something that’s going nowhere? I’d rather hang around Kelsey, to be honest. All guys want to talk about is sports. Not my thing. And for the record, I don’t fool around. I still go to church every Sunday, and my values are solid. So give me some space. And quit worrying, okay?”
    Time for an attitude adjustment. Time to take Kelsey’s advice and dial down the protective mode.
    “Maybe I hovered a little too much this morning.”
    “Ya think?” She rolled her eyes again.
    “But I promised Mom and Dad I’d watch out for you.”
    “I know. And I promised them I wouldn’t give you any trouble about that. Unless you went overboard.” She stuck out her hand. “Truce?”
    A grin tugged at his lips and he took her fingers. “Truce.”
    She returned the smile, then closed her eyes and settled in for some serious beach time.
    Luke did the same, his mind once again more at ease. He was liking this grown-up sister of his. And Kelsey obviously was, too.
    An image of his neighbor struggling up the steps alone flashed across his mind, and his smile dimmed. The alone part bothered him.
    But maybe, with Hannah here, he’d find out