“I love you, Hobie.”


“Love you, too.” Hobie turned to share a gentle kiss with her new partner.

“I was halfway serious—about being ready to leave, that is,” Baylor said. “You about ready to go home?”

“More than ready. Wait a minute. Where do you mean when you say ‘home’?”

Baylor smiled. “I mean Tanti’s. She’s spending the night here and Jules is baby-sitting Noah at your place. I have something special arranged for us back at Tanti’s.”



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“Well, you thought of everything.” “Somebody had to.”

“I was busy, you know.” Hobie defended herself. “I had to deliver a breech foal this afternoon. I was up to my armpits in places you don’t want to know about.”

“Oh, lovely. I have a nice romantic vision of you on our wedding day now.” Baylor laughed at Hobie’s serious expression. “I’m just teasing you, Doc. I know you had to work. Besides, Mrs. Fazzini already told me how you saved the life of their $200,000 mare, not to mention the baby horse.”

“Foal.”


“Yeah, whatever. Wait a minute, I thought baby horses were ponies.”

“Something else entirely. Don’t worry, you’ll learn all about animals soon.”

“Just be patient with me. We don’t get a lot of wildlife on Lake Shore Drive. Besides pigeons, I mean.”

“You enjoy giving me a hard time, don’t you?” Baylor’s smile reminded Hobie of her son’s hearty, childish grin.

“Yeah, I kinda do.”


“Just be careful, my dear, and remember what happened to the young lady from Niger.”

“Ooh, is that a threat?” Baylor grabbed Hobie tighter and moved to tickle her.

“That’s a promise, tough girl.” Hobie squirmed to elude Baylor’s wandering hands. “Okay, okay,” she laughed. “Uncle!”

It was at that moment that they looked up to see Juliana carrying a limp Noah in her arms.

“What happened?” Hobie rushed toward them.


Suddenly, Noah raised his head and opened one eye a bit. “Mom, don’t. I’m dead.” He then returned to his limp position in Juliana’s arms.

“Jules, what are you doing?” Baylor asked in an exasperated tone.

“We’re playing the part where the mummy carries his victim to the tomb,” Juliana said enthusiastically.

Baylor and Hobie exchanged a look.



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Maas



“And I asked you to baby-sit him,” Baylor said to her friend. “Aw, Baylor, I don’t need no baby-sitter.” Noah rose up to

complain.


“Did I say baby-sitter? I meant buddy.” “Yeah.” Noah smiled and nodded. “Buddy.”

“Come here, you living dead thing you.” Baylor scooped Noah up. “Do you mind spending the night with Jules while your mom and I go someplace special?”

Noah shook his head. “Nope, Jules said married people go somewhere alone so they can do kissin’ and stuff.” His cheeks turned pink and he buried his face against Baylor’s shoulder.

Hobie hid her smile, but Baylor chuckled at Noah’s lovable innocence. He apparently got over his embarrassment in a hurry because his mind was already on a new thought.

“Can I stay up late tonight?” “It is late,” Hobie said. “Then more late?”

“More late, eh?” Hobie chuckled. “Well, it is sort of a holiday, so okay.”

“Yeah!”


“You go say goodbye to your grandma and Tanti. Okay, Bubba?” Baylor directed.

“’Kay,” Noah said before speeding off in the other direction. “Don’t worry, Jules. He’ll probably fall asleep as soon as he

gets home,” Hobie said.


“No worries, love. I don’t mind. After all, if I can live with Baylor, a six-year-old should be a breeze, right?”

“That’s very funny,” Baylor said. “How’d you like to sleep next to the pool for the rest of your visit?”

“I guess that’s my cue to go and collect my charge for the evening. Have fun you two. As a matter of fact—”

“Say good night, Jules,” Baylor commanded.


“Right. Good night, Jules, and congrats, you two. I’m dead chuffed about this whole thing.”

“Happy,” Baylor translated. “Oh,” Hobie said.

Juliana gave them each a hug before she left in search of



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Noah.


“I worry so much about your friends,” Hobie said.



“This is very nice,” Hobie said as she took in the champagne bottle sitting in a silver ice bucket. “Is this the surprise you had planned?”

“No, this is just a precursor.”


“Wow, it’s still cold. How did you manage that?” Hobie asked when she placed her hand against the bottle.

“That was Tanti’s handiwork.” “How did she do it?”

“She cast a spell.” Baylor enjoyed Hobie’s wide-eyed expression. “Just kidding. She asked one of her friends to stop by on her way home and set it up.”

“A spell, huh?” “Sorry.”

“You’re not, either.”


“Sorry you don’t think it’s funny,” Baylor said with a pout. “My poor baby.” Hobie moved closer and wrapped her arms

around Baylor’s waist. “Hey, the water looks kind of inviting, huh?”

“What?”


“The water in the pool,” Hobie said. “Let’s take a dip. What do you say?”

Baylor looked at Hobie’s enticing expression, then down at the pool. “Uh-uh.”

“Come on, sweetheart. I promise I’ll make it worth your while,” Hobie said seductively. She kissed Baylor’s neck as she undid the top button of Baylor’s blouse.

“Oh.” Baylor groaned. She looked from Hobie to the pool once more. “Uh-uh.” She shook her head vigorously.

“Okay,” Hobie said, pulling away. “What is it with you and this pool? You wouldn’t go in with Noah the other day, either, and all I keep getting from you is that we’ll discuss it later. It’s later. Is it something about the pool? Did you see an alligator in it, or what?”

Baylor shook her head. “It’s not just the pool. It’s all water,



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everywhere. Taking a bath gives me a weird feeling.”


“Did something cause it? I mean, what are you afraid of?” “Sinking, mostly. Afear of sinking. I had a bad experience in

the water.”


“Honey, people only sink when they fight it. If you relax and—”

“Nope, I pretty much always sink. Hell, I should have gotten over it and taken classes or something a long time ago, but I never did. It was one of those brilliant ideas my father had. Throw her in the water and she’s sure to learn how to swim or tread water or something, right? Wrong. I sank like a stone and passed out. I nearly drowned, and that bastard still acted like it was some failing on my part.”

Baylor half expected Hobie to laugh. At the very least, she expected Hobie to calmly talk to her, attempt to put off her childish fears. What Baylor didn’t expect was what Hobie did.

“That goddamn son of a bitch!” Hobie began to pace alongside the pool. “That bastard ruined it!”

“Ruined what?” Baylor asked uncertainly.


“Things! He ruined things in your life, innocent things that are supposed to mean something or be fun. That sick bastard screwed it up for everyone that came after him. I hate him, and I hate the terrible things he did to you, the way he treated you. I’m the one who’s never going to treat you that way, but he’s already fucking ruined it all.”

“Honey, honey…”


Baylor came up behind Hobie and wrapped her arms around her. Hobie was nearly rigid with anger and her whole body trembled. Baylor hadn’t been prepared for Hobie’s passionate response, and the display touched her in a place few had been able to reach. With the exception of her grandmother, no one had stood up for Baylor before and certainly never against her father. She was sure that if she had met Hobie years earlier, the feisty redhead would have given him a run for his money. Just knowing that helped Baylor more than ten years of therapy had.

“It’s okay, honey. He can’t hurt me anymore, not unless I let him, and I’m not going to let him.”



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Cove



Hobie was still quiet, but Baylor could feel her body begin to relax. She heard a muffled sound and thought Hobie was crying. “Hobie, you okay?” When Hobie turned, Baylor could see that she was laughing.

“God.” Hobie shook her head. “I think our wedding night is going good so far, how about you?”

“You are crazy, do you know that?”


“I know. I warned you, but you wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry for going off like that.”

“Don’t be. I was pretty impressed.”


“Impressed that I can turn into a raving lunatic at the drop of a hat?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of being thankful that I have someone who loves me enough to turn into a raving lunatic on my behalf.”

“Thanks.” Hobie furrowed her brow. “I think.”


“I love you, Hobie Lynn, just as you are, all your frailties and faults included. I’ve always believed that it was a person’s flaws that make them so lovable.”

“Really? Well then, I should be damn near irresistible.” “You are, baby. You are,” Baylor said, punctuating her answer

with a passionate kiss.


“Same goes for you.” Hobie returned the kiss with equal fervor. “When you said you weren’t going to let your father hurt you anymore, does that mean you might,” Hobie gently placed a line of kisses from Baylor’s jaw to her collarbone, “give the pool a shot?”