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wasn’t willing to let that be the last word. If this sexual mumbo jumbo was seriously what she wanted, then he’d simply have to suck it up and be a man.
    He bided his time, waiting for the right moment to outflank her. Over the weekend they had plans to take a group from Fluffy Palms to the beach. He figured that would be an ideal window. The senior set would nap beneath their umbrellas at some point, thus giving him the perfect opportunity to talk to Hannah and not let her distract him with sex.
    Not that he didn’t appreciate that ploy in all its many delightful variations, but this was important.
    Sunday afternoon on the hot sands of the eastern shore, he chatted with Elda while they watched Hannah and Arnie wrestle a deck chair into submission. Despite his advanced years, Arnie was getting an appreciative eyeful of Hannah’s lithe form in her fairly modest black bikini.
    Morgan recognized the urge to strangle the old coot for looking, but in all fairness, he couldn’t blame him. A guy would have to be dead not to sit up and take notice of Hannah Quarles in a swim-suit. It was way better than watching a sunrise over the ocean, and that was saying a lot in the land of beautiful postcard mornings.
    Elda nudged Morgan’s ribs with a sharp elbow. “You’re going to have to give her time, you know.”
    He nodded soberly, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun and looking out toward the horizon. “Has she said anything to you?”
    Elda shrugged. “She’s skittish. But you knew that, I guess.”
    His jaw clenched. “Yeah.” He’d have preferred head-over-heels enthusiasm for his proposal, but then she wouldn’t have been his complicated Hannah. He sighed. “I told her I wanted to meet her parents.”
    Elda unfolded the beach towel beneath her arm and spread it out. “Not sure that’s a good idea.”
    “Why not?”
    “Don’t know about the dad. He’s never been around. I’ve met her mother only once, and she’s a piece of work. Made Hannah cry.”
    His stomach tightened. He’d never seen Hannah shed a tear over anything. “How?”
    “I don’t really know. Me and Hannah were over at the mall one day looking for some support hose the doc said I needed. Suddenly this crazy, skinny woman with stick-straight gray hair down to her waist came up to us and started gushing. Hannah froze and got this weird look on her face. By the time I figured out who the chick was, she was gone. I didn’t think much of it until a half hour or so later, when I was in a dressing room trying on some slacks. I poked my head out of the curtain to ask for another size and there she was . . . my darlin’ Hannah. Crying these big silent tears. I tell you, boy. It tore my heart out.”
    He slung an arm around Elda’s shoulders and kissed her leathery cheek. “Thank you for telling me,” he said quietly. “You know she thinks the world of you.”
    Elda sniffed, her eyes overbright. “My own son never had any kids. I reckon Hannah’s like family. You know? I’d do anything for that girl.”
    After a rowdy picnic lunch, the elders in the group settled down in twos and fours to doze in the shade. The stiff sea winds were not as hot as they sometimes were, and the afternoon was pleasant.
    When their charges were all comfortable, Morgan snagged Hannah’s wrist. “How about a swim?” She had pulled her hair into a high ponytail on the back of her head, and her skin was smooth and pale gold in the harsh sunlight. He frowned slightly. “Do you need sunscreen?”
    She shook her head. “I put some on at home. And besides, I never burn.” She ran ahead of him toward the waves, leaving him to follow in a loping stride that caught up to her quickly.
    He supported her waist as they trudged through the shallows. A narrow sandbar some yards out provided a steadier footing, even though the water now reached up to Hannah’s breasts. The only sounds surrounding them were the raucous cries of seagulls and the slurp and slap of tiny swells