92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [55]
He typed his response, eager to see her and the baby. Tell me when & where. Fortuitously this was one of his days off. He pushed the send button and sat in his truck, awaiting her response. It wasn’t long in coming.
I’ll take Bremerton ferry. Gets in 2:30.
I’ll pick U up. He punched out the letters as fast as his fingers could type.
It was now quarter after one. Mack bolted down a sandwich, then showered and changed his clothes. He’d started cleaning the apartment but caught sight of the time and rushed out the door.
When the Bremerton ferry slid into the dock, Mack was standing outside the terminal. The walk-on passengers disembarked first, and he saw Mary Jo with the baby almost right away. She smiled and waved, and he returned the gesture.
Noelle was bundled up in an infant carrier that doubled as a car seat. Only her knit cap was showing, above a yellow blanket. Mack hurried to meet Mary Jo and took the heavy carrier from her hands.
He moved the blanket aside, smiling down at the baby. Noelle stared up at him and gurgled a greeting—at least, he chose to interpret the sound as one of recognition and greeting. A smile broke out across his face. He was sure that what he felt for this baby was love, pure and simple. He’d read about the bonding phenomenon and wondered if he’d been susceptible to it, since he’d brought her into the world. Maybe she’d imprinted herself on his heart when she was born.
And Mary Jo…He found himself thinking about her far more than he should. Over the years he’d gone out with plenty of women, but no one had captivated him the way she had. He realized she wasn’t ready to enter into a new relationship, but he wanted her to understand that he was nothing like Noelle’s father.
“I’m so glad you could meet me,” Mary Jo said as they reached his truck.
“I am, too,” he murmured. He tucked the baby carrier in the back and buckled it in place, then helped Mary Jo climb into the passenger seat and got in himself.
Once they were inside with the heater blasting warm air, he waited for Mary Jo to tell him why she’d found it necessary to escape in the middle of the week. “So, are you here for any particular reason?” he asked, which was probably more direct than he should’ve been.
“Nothing really,” she said. “I needed to get away for a while. I hope I didn’t interfere with your plans. I remember you telling me you had Tuesdays off this month. Was I being presumptuous?”
“Not at all.” He wanted her to know her company was always welcome.
“It’s just that…well, an afternoon out sounded like a good idea.”
“Your brothers?” Mack asked. Linc, Mel and Ned were often a topic of conversation between them.
Mary Jo fastened her seat belt and, without glancing in his direction, nodded.
“I thought so.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I haven’t been back to Cedar Cove since the night Noelle was born and…” She let the rest fade. A moment later she resumed the conversation. “I’ve kept in touch with Grace and Cliff. They’re the nicest people.”
Mack shared her opinion. He was beginning to make friends in Cedar Cove, and the Hardings were people he wanted to know better. “I was surprised—but definitely pleased—to get your message,” he told her truthfully.
Her smile was shy. “I’m glad. I like texting you,” she said. “It’s as if I’m talking to a good friend.”
“I feel the same way.” Generally she initiated their conversations, which was fine with him. He knew he had to let Mary Jo set the pace.
“Anyplace you’d like to go?” he asked.
“Would it be all right if we stopped at the library and visited Grace?”
“Of course.” Grace had opened her home and her heart to Mary Jo on Christmas Eve; it was only natural that she’d want to see the woman who’d been so kind. “Off to the library we go.”
The drive around the cove took about thirty minutes, and Mack used that time to draw Mary Jo out regarding her three brothers. She didn’t say much other than that they were suffocating her with their concern. Mack was properly sympathetic but careful