Page 54 of Hibiscus Heights

“Maybe at first, but we pushed each other. Like tearing down the Queen’s Flight on our bikes without hands.”

April laughed. “We still do that.”

When Teddy looked interested, April quickly added, “It’s a little dangerous, but Deb knows other places she can take you.”

“What are you afraid of now?” Mason asked.

Deb was surprised at that. “Not much anymore.” Yet, that wasn’t quite true. As she looked into Grant’s eyes, the emotion she saw there was plenty scary.

Smiling, Grant added, “Deb was the most adventurous girl I’d ever met.”

Ella studied Grant as if trying to place him.

Mason cocked his head. “Dad, I thought you just met her.”

Grant coughed into his hand. “Didn’t I say?”

“Say what?” Teddy stared at him with a quizzical expression.

While Deb waited for Grant to recover, the two boys looked at their father with renewed interest.

Mason asked, “Is that true that you’ve met before?”

With Grant’s face turning red, Deb spoke up lest he choke on the truth. “Oh, my goodness, that was such a long time ago. I can hardly remember.”

That was general enough, she figured. Whatever their father wanted to tell them was fine with her, but that was up to him. She wasn’t going to change whatever narrative he had going.

“Does anyone here like chocolate chip cookies?” April asked. “We made some this afternoon, and we can’t eat all of these.” She turned to Grant before giving one to Teddy. “Is it okay if the boys have some?”

“Sure. They haven’t had homemade cookies in a while.”

“Not since Mom—” Mason cut himself off and threw a look at Teddy, who was already biting into his cookie. “Thank you,” he added, ducking his head.

Deb’s heart went out to the boys. Not that Grant couldn’t take care of them. Since she’d gotten over her initial misguided impression, she’d discovered that he was quite a good father. The boys adored him, and he doted on them.

April filled the silence. “I make them without nuts in case anyone has allergies.” She gave them each a cookie and put a few more in a bag for them to take to the hotel.

Ella tidied the area and washed her hands. “Now, you’ll need transportation back to the Majestic, won’t you?”

“I could carry him,” Grant began.

“Nonsense,” Ella said. “April can drive you back in the golf cart. And Deb, I presume you were out for a run.”

“Duke and I will head home.”

As Ella watched Teddy try to hop on one foot, she put a finger to her chin. “I think I have something that will help you.” She opened a storage closet nearby and withdrew a pair of small crutches.

Teddy’s eyes widened, and he grinned. “Cool.”

Ella handed them to the boy. “One of my granddaughters needed these a few summers ago, so you can use them until you can put pressure on that foot again. Only for a few days, I imagine.”

“I’ll adjust those for him.” Grant did and gave them to Teddy, who was thrilled to have something new to experiment with.

Teddy tucked them under his arms and swung his lean body over them. “Hey, this is fun.”

Grant chuckled. “Glad you feel that way about them.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned to Deb. “Can we drop you off at your house?”

Deb scratched Duke’s head. “Thanks, but that’s a small golf cart. I live close, and Duke looks like he wants to finish our run.”

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