as she could in their direction. She didn’t dare call out for fear the boy would take a misstep and tumble straight to the ground.
With her eyes glued to the boy, she made it to the base of the jungle gym and stood there watching his every move, ready to catch him if he fell.
She sensed Sam’s approach, but never looked away.
“What were you thinking?” she said in a quiet voice. “Did you have any idea what he was doing?”
“Of course I did,” Sam said defensively, his welcoming smile immediately fading. “I’m not completely incompetent. Bobby’s been climbing jungle gyms since he was four. He’s a little daredevil.”
He leveled a look at her. “Don’t believe me?” He whipped out his cell phone and showed her a picture of a triumphant little boy atop another jungle gym with a woman who was clearly his mom standing watch just below, a tremulous smile on her lips.
“Your sister?” Carrie asked.
Sam nodded.
“She looks terrified.”
“But she let him do it,” Sam pointed out.
“The difference is she was standing right below in case he fell.”
“And I was sitting a few feet away. I may have looked distracted to you, but trust me, I saw his every move. And you saw firsthand how quickly I got over here when you turned up.”
“I suppose.”
“Carrie, I may be new at this, but I’m not going to let anything happen to Bobby. My sister trusted me to get it right, and I will.”
She looked into his eyes then and heard the sincerity behind his words. “Then I should relax and leave you to it.”
“Or you could go to the café with us. I promised Bobby a milk shake and a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.”
She was a little too tempted by the invitation. “I should probably get Jackson home.”
Sam looked at the sleeping baby and smiled. “Is this your nephew?”
“The one and only Jackson McIlroy,” she confirmed. “His dad’s the doctor in town. With an adventurous kid in your life, you’ll want to get to know him.”
“Absolutely,” Sam said. “Now, about lunch. How about it? You can grumble that nothing I’m feeding Bobby is healthy.”
Carrie laughed and thought about what her grandmother had just advised, opening her heart to new experiences, even if she wasn’t quite ready for a new man.
“Well, when you put it that way, it should be fun,” she said. “Maybe I’ll even let you hold the baby, if he wakes up crying. That could be even more entertaining.”
“Hey, I’m barely holding my head above water as it is. One kid at a time, okay?”
“Okay,” she relented. “I’ll go save a table. It’s going to be hopping in there soon.”
Even as she walked away, she heard him trying to persuade Bobby to climb down. The boy promptly refused.
“Don’t make me come up there after you,” Sam warned.
As much as she wanted to turn around and watch the test of wills play out, she kept going to Sally’s. Lunch promised to be one of those interesting adventures that had been in short supply recently.
“Twice in one day?” Sally commented when Carrie walked into the café. “To what do I owe the honor?”
“I’m meeting a friend. At least I am if he can get his nephew to leave the playground.”
“Ah, you must be talking about Sam,” Sally said, proving how efficient the Chesapeake Shores grapevine could be. “I heard about what happened, that out of the blue, he’s got his nephew to raise.” She shook her head. “Poor little thing. He must be feeling so lost without his mom and dad. And Sam must be feeling completely out of his depth. Your uncle Kevin would know what that was like.”
Carrie immediately sat up a little straighter. “Why didn’t I think of that? Uncle Kevin suddenly found himself a single dad when Georgia was killed. The whole family pitched in with Davey until Kevin got his feet back under him. I should arrange for Sam to meet him.”
Sally gave her a long look. “How did this become your problem?”
“I told you. Sam’s a friend.”
“I thought he was new to town.”
“Okay, we just met, but he obviously needs help. Kevin can give him some encouragement, tell him he won’t feel as if he’s floundering for long,” Carrie said, warming to the idea. “Look at Kevin’s life now. He’s married to Shanna. They have Davey, and an adopted son, Henry, and two kids of their own.”
“You planning to step in and be this man’s Shanna?” Sally asked, a spark of devilment in her eyes.
Carrie’s jaw dropped at the question. “No, of course not. I’m just being neighborly.”
Sally looked doubtful. “Keep telling yourself that. You want your usual to drink—an iced tea?”
Carrie shook her head, determined not to be so predictable. Maybe it was silly, but she viewed it as a first step toward getting more spontaneity back into her life just as Grandma Megan had advised. She’d been right. Playing it safe wasn’t Carrie’s way.
“I think I’ll go crazy and have another cup of coffee,” she announced with a greater sense of triumph than the decision deserved.
Sally nodded and went to greet a group of tourists who’d just taken over two tables in the middle of the room, using half the chairs for all their packages. Clearly their visit had been good for the Chesapeake Shores economy.
Just then Sam came in the door, a firm hand on his nephew’s shoulder. The boy wore a mutinous expression as Sam guided him to the booth where Carrie was waiting.
“Carrie, this is Bobby. Bobby, Carrie is the nice lady who helped me decide on that delicious Irish stew we had for dinner last night.”
Ignoring both her and his uncle, Bobby crawled across the seat and settled in a corner of the booth, arms folded across his chest, his gaze downcast.
“Sorry,” Sam mouthed.
Carrie debated her strategy, then opted to be direct, acting as if Bobby weren’t so determined to punish Sam and pretend she didn’t exist.
“I saw you climb that jungle gym on the playground just now,” she said, her tone cheerful.
Bobby gave her a surprised look, but remained stubbornly silent.
Carrie was undaunted. “You were really high. You must be very
