Home to Sparrow Lake (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Lynn Patrick

and wanted to end it before they brought kids into the world.
    He’d been married for all of five months.
    Now, nearly three years later, he’d finally found a woman he wanted to get to know better, but he feared that Kristen was never going to speak to him again, even though he’d been trying to help her brother.
    “You know you’re not too old to find someone else,” Owen told John. “There are lots of mature women around here who don’t have a man.”
    “No one around here much interests me,” John said. “Except maybe one.” He looked out across the lake at Margaret Becker’s mansion. “But she would never give a boring old coot like me the time of day.”
    “Then find a way to interest her.” Feeling a jerk on his pole, Alex realized he’d hooked a fish. “If you want to get to know her enough,” he said, putting down his coffee cup, “you’ll find a way to reel her in.”
    Good advice.
    He glanced back at the Becker mansion.
    Maybe he would take that advice himself and not give up on Kristen just yet.
    * * *
    W AS SHE DESTINED to see Alex everywhere she looked? Kristen wondered as she stared out the window on the other side of the kitchen sink. She was looking for that boat she’d spotted earlier, before the family had gathered for Sunday brunch. Family minus Brian, that was. It was nearly eleven and he hadn’t yet joined them. At any rate, she’d been washing off fresh strawberries in a colander and had sworn she’d spotted the police chief in a fishing boat. It wasn’t out there now, however. It seemed to have disappeared.
    Had Alex been watching the house?
    If so, had his interest been Brian?
    Or her?
    “Here are some more dirty dishes,” Heather said.
    Kristen moved to the side to let her sister put them into the sink but said, “I’ll take care of them if you start putting away the food.”
    “Deal.”
    What was it with dishwashers, anyway? Kristen wondered as she turned on the faucet. It didn’t matter how expensive the unit was, no matter the instructions, you always had to rinse off the dishes first if you wanted them clean.
    “You haven’t seen Brian, have you?” she asked, raising her voice to be heard above the running water.
    “No, not yet.”
    “Does he usually sleep this late?”
    “How would I know?” Heather was wrapping a plate of leftover cut fruit with plastic wrap. “I’m not the one who lives here.”
    Heather sounded testy, making Kristen hold back the observation that she’d only moved in with Aunt Margaret the week before. As to Brian...he must have been out very late.
    A reminder of Alex’s accusation.
    What had her brother been doing? she wondered, but figured there was no use bringing it up with her sister, who had been tense all morning, had actually lost her temper with the twins. Aunt Margaret had the girls now. They’d followed her to her huge, paint- and fabric-stocked studio where they could “create” something fun.
    Heather had seemed relieved to have a rest from them.
    Kristen finished loading the dirty dishes, added dishwashing powder and started the appliance.
    Thinking to get her sister’s mind off the girls, Kristen said, “You know, I enjoy working at the store more than I thought I would.” A fact that surprised her. “Nice people. A whole lot less pressure than I’m used to.”
    “Uh-huh.” Heather shoved a couple of cartons of leftovers into the refrigerator.
    “Nice working conditions. No stress.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    Kristen caught Heather’s sarcastic tone. What was wrong with her today?
    “I was thinking of ways to improve Sew Fine’s sales.” Which was necessary for Aunt Margaret to have a decent retirement. “I wanted to talk to you about creating an online store.”
    “What?”
    “That way, people who have been calling in orders could use it, and so could new customers who don’t necessarily live in the area.”
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “Why not? The sky’s the limit, Heather.