“Too bad your marriage isn’t real. Will is a rich man who could loan you the money. Although, given what he’s facing right now, you’re probably better off that the marriage is going to end in a few weeks,” her brother added.

She shot to her feet. “Ohmigod, Stephen! Be serious! This whole Bountygate scandal is ridiculous! Will hasn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t even know why they gave him the money!”

Silence greeted her on the other end of the phone line. Julianne’s heart leaped to her throat. She shouldn’t be discussing this with her brother. Granted, he wasn’t a sports reporter, but Stephen didn’t need to know Will’s secrets.

“Julianne . . .”

She cut her brother off before he could say more. “Stephen, please don’t ask me any more about this. The sports media has blown this all up, but it’s really nothing. Will is a good man. He’s Owen’s father. We need to stand behind him in this. He’s part of the family now. If you could just take care of the trust fund for me, I’d appreciate it.”

The sound of Stephen furiously tapping his pen on the desk traveled over the phone. “Sure. I’ll have the money to you next week.”

It wasn’t until after they’d hung up that she realized Stephen hadn’t said anything about supporting Will. She doodled on her folder again. If the truth ever came out, her brother was going to owe her a huge apology for doubting Will. She was looking forward to that day.

“Hi there!” Annabeth strolled through the kitchen door, setting her bag down on the table.

“You’re early.” Julianne jumped to her feet and clapped her hands. “Perfect! I have news.”

Annabeth laughed. “I hope it involves food, because I’m starving.”

Julianne pulled a salad out of the fridge and began adding grilled chicken to it. “It was too hot to cook anything heavy,” she explained. “There’s fruit here, too.”

“Mmm.” Annabeth poured herself a glass of wine. “Will isn’t the best at expressing his appreciation, but I am.” She saluted Julianne with her wineglass. “Thank you for pampering the babysitter.”

Julianne blushed. If Will’s mother only knew her son had been appreciating her against the island in the kitchen just hours before, she’d be shocked. Placing the salad on the table, she ushered Annabeth to sit down and pulled out a chair to sit beside her.

“I have news about the new company.” Julianne had shared her plans with Annabeth last week when her mother-in-law and her friend Patricia discovered her sketches. Both women persuaded her to proceed with the line and to locate her company in their economically depressed hometown. “I have the start-up funds, so we can move to the next phase.”

Annabeth’s face lit up. “That was fast. How did you manage it so quickly?”

“I had money left after paying Owen’s medical bills, and my business manager is investing. I also have money in a trust that my brother is allowing me to borrow against.”

Annabeth arched an eyebrow at her. “Your brother?”

Julianne waved a hand. “Long story. But after selling my soul to the devil, my brother has agreed get me the money. I should have all the funds by next week.”

Annabeth had offered to loan her the money, but that would be like taking Will’s money, and Julianne still felt the need to do this on her own. She needed to prove to Will that her career wasn’t some flight of fancy, that she did have some direction to her life despite her screwups of the last year.

“So tomorrow we check out the mills?” Annabeth asked before taking a bite of her salad.

“If you and Patricia can still make it, I’d love to. We’re headed up to Baltimore next week, and I want to have some ideas to present to Sebastian by then.”

“She and I are planning on it. The only new business we’ve had in two years is an orthopedic rehab hospital. While it’s great for the community, the only ones who’ve been able to find a job there are those with technical skills. We need jobs for the less skilled employees who are out of work in town. In the past five years, this town has lost a blue jeans manufacturer and a linen company. A small company manufacturing clothing will provide jobs to those who stuck around and are scrimping by on the wages they earn during the tourism season.”

Julianne stood, brushing out her skirt. “Great. Owen is asleep upstairs. There’s a bottle made in the fridge. I should hurry over to the ball field to catch up with Will.” She hesitated. “You’re okay with not telling Will about this yet, right?”

Annabeth snorted. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t tell him yet. Most men are domineering when it comes to business, but Will is over-the-top. He went ballistic when he found out I bought my grandmother’s shop in town. It didn’t fit with his idea of what he wanted me to do with my life. As if I were going to follow his plans.”

“Where’d you get the money to buy the store?”

“His rookie season, he gave me money for a down payment on a house. I used it to buy the store instead. I lived in the trailer for another nine months, saving up what was eventually the down payment for this house.”

Julianne stilled. “Does Will know this?”

“Heavens, no! I like to let him think he got his way.” Annabeth eyed her sternly. “Don’t you tell him, either, Julianne. That one’s our secret.”

Julianne smiled and held up her pinkie. “Pinkie swear!” Instinctively she leaned in and hugged Annabeth. Her mother-in-law paused a moment but then hugged her back.

* * *

Owen’s eyes rolled back in his head in complete contentment as Annabeth slipped the finished bottle from his lips. A small smile formed on his face as he dozed off to sleep. She brushed her thumb over his soft, wispy hair.

Had Will ever been this content as a baby? Her son had come out of the womb with a chip on his shoulder, it seemed. He was a colicky, cranky baby. Nothing like the adoring, devoted child she’d envisioned. Everything went so fast back then. She was just a child herself trying to figure out how to be a mom. It had been a lot of work.

But eventually they’d made it through, and Will became her protector, a little mini-man who was in a sense devoted to her. It seemed at times that Will was growing up faster than she was. He’d been smart as a whip and determined to make a name for himself and make everyone in Chances Inlet respect him. All that had done was isolate him further. Today he had teammates, but he wasn’t close to them. Will was their leader, and he liked maintaining that distance.

Then along came Julianne. Annabeth couldn’t condone her daughter-in-law’s action with regard to withholding Owen’s paternity, but things had ultimately worked out. While neither Julianne nor Will would admit it, Annabeth knew the two of them were more involved than they claimed.

“Unless that’s you putting all those love bites on your mama’s neck, little one,” she whispered to the sleeping baby before reluctantly putting him in his crib. “For your sake, I hope they aren’t playing games and are serious about this relationship.”

She had the feeling Julianne had already committed her heart to the marriage; from what Annabeth could tell she wasn’t one to love halfway. Her son, on the other hand, kept his emotions locked deeply inside, believing they were a sign of weakness. For all she knew, Julianne could just be a convenient sexual partner for him; he was a man, after all.

Closing the nursery door, Annabeth prayed she was wrong about Will. He needed Julianne and Owen as much as they needed him. Will just didn’t know it yet.

Her cell phone was ringing when she reached the kitchen. Hank’s number popped up on the screen. Annabeth took a deep breath. She couldn’t keep holding him off, yet she didn’t want to end their relationship. Hank would do it eventually, she was sure of that, and Annabeth would rather save herself the heartache. Except she found herself looking forward to his e-mails and his calls every day, and she’d miss him when they stopped coming.

“Hi,” she answered as she slid down onto the sofa overlooking the sea.

“Oh, good, you answered. I was beginning to think I’d missed you.” The deep timbre of Hank’s voice reverberated in her belly and parts farther south.

“I was up putting Owen to bed.”

“How’s the little guy doing?”

“He’s wonderful. Perfect, actually.”

“So is his grandmother.” The reverence in his voice made her quiver.

Annabeth needed to change the subject. “How’s Sophie?”

Hank’s resigned sigh echoed over the phone. “She’s on her way to Alaska. Elizabeth and Kevin have been planning this cruise for a couple of years. Despite her whining about sharing a cabin with the twins, I think Sophie will enjoy it.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Alaska.” She was unsuccessful at keeping the wistful tone out of her voice.

“Why haven’t you?”

His question made her both angry and sad at the same time. It was another example of why they could never be a couple. Once the sizzle of the sex appeal died down, he’d be stuck with a small-town girl whose education was made up of what life threw at her in a small corner of the world. He’d end up hating her or worse, pitying her. Either alternative made her stomach seize up.

“I’m trying to fit it in between my trips to Switzerland and Bora Bora.” She didn’t bother concealing her sarcasm.

“Stop it, Annabeth! My question was a valid one. You have the money and certainly the free time to go. Why don’t you?” He was testy now, too.

“I have a business to run, Hank. It may not be as important as a football team, but it is my livelihood.”

“Bullshit.”

Annabeth felt the force of the word through the phone, like a slap in the face.