their Bible study group. She gave her mom a little wave, feeling surprisingly relaxed.
With Travis keeping the boys under control, Mary Karen was able to listen without her attention being pulled in three different directions.
By the time church was over, Travis looked a little frazzled. But he immediately accepted David’s invitation to breakfast at The Coffee Pot while the boys were in Sunday School.
Mary Karen stopped beside her ten-year-old minivan and held out the keys. “Want to drive?”
His BMW had been left at her house. They’d had no choice but to take her vehicle to church because a two-seater didn’t cut it for two adults and three children.
“Go ahead.” Travis opened the driver’s side door for her and grinned. “Ethel likes you better than me.”
When the blue van had first come off the showroom floor, Mary Karen’s father had christened her “Ethel” because of the resemblance to a certain blue-haired, great-aunt in Ohio. The name had stuck.
Then, when Mary Karen had announced she was pregnant with Logan, her dad had given Ethel to her and Steven.
Her parents had known there would be no way they’d be able to get three car seats into their Chevy sedan. Ethel had been a generous and much needed gift. Yet, in Mary Karen’s mind, the van’s arrival had also marked the beginning of the end of her marriage.
As Steven had walked around the vehicle, listening toher dad extol Ethel’s many features, his resentful gaze had sought hers. Something had told her he didn’t plan to be around long enough to worry about that third baby seat.
Carting around three children in a used minivan wasn’t what Steven had envisioned when he’d graduated from college a few years earlier. According to him, his life was one big disappointment beginning with the day they’d said their vows.
His once perky sorority girl didn’t want to go out and party with him. She wanted to take care of her twin babies and, when she did have some spare time, catch up on her sleep.
“Having trouble getting into the monster truck?” Travis’s teasing voice jolted her back to the present. “If you need help, I’ll be happy to give you a boost.”
His hand cupped her backside, sparking all sorts of interesting thoughts, none of them appropriate for a church parking lot.
“I’m good.” Ignoring the sensations, Mary Karen hopped into the van and hurriedly slid behind the steering wheel.
Travis chuckled and shut the door behind her. “Coward.”
During the short drive to the downtown café, Mary Karen’s thoughts kept returning to her failed marriage. She’d always taken responsibility for her part, but perhaps Steven was right. Maybe it had been all her fault.
By the time she found a parking space and they walked to the restaurant, even the bright skies overhead couldn’t bolster her sagging mood.
They were almost to the door when Travis paused, his gaze surveying her slowly from head to toe. “I don’tknow if I mentioned it before but you look extra pretty today. Blue is definitely your color.”
A spurt of pleasure shot through Mary Karen’s veins. Her mother had told her the same thing when she’d purchased the dress on one of their rare shopping trips to the mall. “Thank you.”
Travis continued to gaze appreciatively at the wraparound dress that showed just a hint of cleavage. “Yep, very pretty. You’re obviously feeling better.”
He took her arm and they stepped aside to let an older couple pass by them on the sidewalk.
“The nausea is pretty much gone,” she admitted. “I’m not quite so tired.”
“You’re a strong woman, M.K.,” he said. “I’ve always admired that about you.”
Another compliment? Mary Karen wasn’t quite sure what was going on but the somber mood, which had wrapped itself around her shoulders like a heavy shawl, slipped to the sidewalk to pool at her feet.
“What are you two doing out here?” David called out as he sauntered up with his son in his arms and
With Travis keeping the boys under control, Mary Karen was able to listen without her attention being pulled in three different directions.
By the time church was over, Travis looked a little frazzled. But he immediately accepted David’s invitation to breakfast at The Coffee Pot while the boys were in Sunday School.
Mary Karen stopped beside her ten-year-old minivan and held out the keys. “Want to drive?”
His BMW had been left at her house. They’d had no choice but to take her vehicle to church because a two-seater didn’t cut it for two adults and three children.
“Go ahead.” Travis opened the driver’s side door for her and grinned. “Ethel likes you better than me.”
When the blue van had first come off the showroom floor, Mary Karen’s father had christened her “Ethel” because of the resemblance to a certain blue-haired, great-aunt in Ohio. The name had stuck.
Then, when Mary Karen had announced she was pregnant with Logan, her dad had given Ethel to her and Steven.
Her parents had known there would be no way they’d be able to get three car seats into their Chevy sedan. Ethel had been a generous and much needed gift. Yet, in Mary Karen’s mind, the van’s arrival had also marked the beginning of the end of her marriage.
As Steven had walked around the vehicle, listening toher dad extol Ethel’s many features, his resentful gaze had sought hers. Something had told her he didn’t plan to be around long enough to worry about that third baby seat.
Carting around three children in a used minivan wasn’t what Steven had envisioned when he’d graduated from college a few years earlier. According to him, his life was one big disappointment beginning with the day they’d said their vows.
His once perky sorority girl didn’t want to go out and party with him. She wanted to take care of her twin babies and, when she did have some spare time, catch up on her sleep.
“Having trouble getting into the monster truck?” Travis’s teasing voice jolted her back to the present. “If you need help, I’ll be happy to give you a boost.”
His hand cupped her backside, sparking all sorts of interesting thoughts, none of them appropriate for a church parking lot.
“I’m good.” Ignoring the sensations, Mary Karen hopped into the van and hurriedly slid behind the steering wheel.
Travis chuckled and shut the door behind her. “Coward.”
During the short drive to the downtown café, Mary Karen’s thoughts kept returning to her failed marriage. She’d always taken responsibility for her part, but perhaps Steven was right. Maybe it had been all her fault.
By the time she found a parking space and they walked to the restaurant, even the bright skies overhead couldn’t bolster her sagging mood.
They were almost to the door when Travis paused, his gaze surveying her slowly from head to toe. “I don’tknow if I mentioned it before but you look extra pretty today. Blue is definitely your color.”
A spurt of pleasure shot through Mary Karen’s veins. Her mother had told her the same thing when she’d purchased the dress on one of their rare shopping trips to the mall. “Thank you.”
Travis continued to gaze appreciatively at the wraparound dress that showed just a hint of cleavage. “Yep, very pretty. You’re obviously feeling better.”
He took her arm and they stepped aside to let an older couple pass by them on the sidewalk.
“The nausea is pretty much gone,” she admitted. “I’m not quite so tired.”
“You’re a strong woman, M.K.,” he said. “I’ve always admired that about you.”
Another compliment? Mary Karen wasn’t quite sure what was going on but the somber mood, which had wrapped itself around her shoulders like a heavy shawl, slipped to the sidewalk to pool at her feet.
“What are you two doing out here?” David called out as he sauntered up with his son in his arms and
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