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rungs below stealing kisses on his list of favorite things.
    “Will a half hour give you enough time to get settled?” she asked.
    “More than enough. Thanks, Mrs. Matthews.”
    “If you’re going to be staying here awhile, you might’s well call me Grandma Jenny.”
    “I’ll do that, then,” he said, and impulsively gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for taking me in.”
    “Oh, you’ll earn your keep soon enough,” she assured him. “Now, hurry along. You need to be settled before Hannah gets back.”
    He regarded her suspiciously. “Why is that?”
    “Trust me, it’s just better that way.”
    “You think she’s going to want to kick me out, don’t you?”
    “Oh, I expect so,” she said nonchalantly. “But don’tworry too much about that, Luke. Despite what she thinks, I still have some say around this place. She hasn’t sold it out from under me yet.”
    “Hannah wants to sell Seaview Inn?” he asked, astonished. “Why?”
    “Because I’m old and she doesn’t want to be bothered with it,” she said succinctly. “I’d say that sums it up. Oh, she thinks I don’t know exactly what she’s up to, but I can read all the signs.”
    Luke didn’t begin to understand the dynamics at work here, but he did know one thing. People shouldn’t be forced into doing something just for someone else’s convenience. He’d treated enough elderly patients with hip fractures to understand how many of them wound up leaving homes they loved because it put their children’s consciences at ease.
    Until he knew more about this situation, though, he needed to keep his opinions to himself. It would be wrong to leap to Grandma Jenny’s side before he knew all the facts, as well as heard Hannah’s perspective.
    “Well, there’s plenty of time to figure all of this out, I’m sure,” he told her. “At least you and Hannah are agreed on fixing this place up, so as soon as I’ve had some lunch, you can put me to work.”
    “You’re eager. I like that,” she said approvingly. “Now, run along. Your lunch will be waiting on the porch as soon as you’re ready.”
    “Will you and Hannah be joining me?”
    “Not me. I have things to do,” she said, looking vaguely guilty.
    “And Hannah?”
    “She’s taking a walk on the beach. No telling when she’ll be back.”
    Luke got it then. Grandma Jenny didn’t want to be anywhere in sight when Hannah discovered that he’d taken up residence at the inn.
    “You’re a very sneaky woman, aren’t you?” he said, delighted by her spunk.
    She grinned at him. “I have my moments.”
    Luke had a feeling that coming here was about to take some very interesting twists. Oddly enough, the prospect of a few fireworks intrigued him.
     
    The salt air and cool waters of the Gulf of Mexico usually worked their magic on Hannah, but today it was going to take a lot more than a walk on the beach to settle her chaotic thoughts. Though she loved her daughter dearly and was anxious to see her this afternoon, she was dreading the battle to come over college.
    Oh, who was she kidding? The real issue wasn’t whether or not Kelsey remained at Stanford, but what she was going to do about the baby. Her daughter was pregnant! The thought still boggled her mind, at least when it didn’t make her angry. Of all the careless, irresponsible things Kelsey might have done, this was one that Hannah had never even considered.
    Sure, college kids in lust took chances, made mistakes, but Kelsey had always had a rigid, almost puritanical set of values. They’d talked about sex being best in a committed relationship. They’d talked about precautions, just in case a situation got out of hand. Dammit, it was the one subject about which they’d always been on the same page!
    As close as she and Kelsey were, Hannah thought she knew everything there was to know about her daughter’s life at school. She’d never mentioned any special youngman, not even in answer to Hannah’s direct