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school.”
    “You knew Daniel that long,
too.”
    Jude shook her head. “That’s
not the same thing.”
    “Why not?”
    “I don’t know! But it’s not.
Because we grew up together, maybe. Or...I don’t know.” She stalked
over to the grill and flipped it on.
    “Calm down. I was just
asking. I’m not suggesting you and Matt are going to run off
together or something. Geez.”
    She rolled her eyes at him
as she took pancake batter and a huge carton of eggs out of the
large fridge. “He’s my friend. Just like you all are. I’m not
stupid, Logan. I know you all—the whole posse—probably cooked up
some ‘let’s take care of Jude’ plan.” She buttered the grill and
whipped at the batter.
    Logan swallowed hard. She
was coming dangerously close to the truth of what the posse was
doing, and he didn’t want her to be hurt or offended. And he
definitely didn’t want her to blow his own plans out of the water,
not this early in the game.
    He saw her glance his way,
and her gaze softened. “Logan, it’s okay. I’m not mad about it. I
know you all promised Daniel that you’d take care of the kids and
me, and I think it’s sweet.” She dispensed a row of perfectly
matched pancakes on the sizzling grill before walking over to cover
his hand with her own.
    “I appreciate it. I’m
grateful for Matt taking me out last night. It did keep my mind off
the kids being gone, even though I didn’t know I was going to need
that. I’m grateful that you’re here every morning, making sure I’m
okay.” She patted his hand and moved back to flip the pancakes.
“But I don’t want you guys to treat me like I’m made of glass. I’m
still Jude, the same pain in the ass you’ve known for years. Don’t
forget that.”
    Logan laughed and stood up,
draining his mug of coffee. “No chance of us forgetting that. Okay,
I’m out of here. Thanks for the water and the coffee.”
    Jude grinned. “Don’t forget
the scintillating conversation and fascinating company. That’s on
the house.”
    Logan chucked his empty
water bottle into a nearby recycling container and quirked an
eyebrow. “You know what, Jude? You were right. You are a pain in
the ass.” He started toward the door, and then swung back to shoot
her a smile.
    “But I kind of like it.”
    He left her staring after
him and walked whistling back onto the beach where the first pink
rays of the sun were just visible over the horizon.
    Yeah, it was going to be a
good day after all.
    ***
     

 
     

     
    Jude had a plan, and she wasn’t going to
wait to put it into action.
    As soon as the lunch rush
ended, she stepped outside with her cell phone and scrolled down a
list of contacts. And within minutes, she’d invited Sandra to an
impromptu dinner the next day.
    “We close at five on
Sundays. We used to have a family dinner that day every week, but
now...” Jude let her voice trail off, with just a hint of nostalgia
that didn’t delve into self-pity. “So I thought, what the hell!
I’ll just invite people over to hang out at the Tide on Sunday
night. It won’t be fancy, but I hope it’ll be fun.”
    “That sounds terrific!”
Sandra and her late husband had lived in South Carolina for a long
time, and a hint of it remained in her voice. “What can I
bring?”
    Jude was smart enough to
know that asking a guest to bring something ensured her attendance.
So even though she didn’t really need it, she said, “Would you
bring some kind of dessert? We’ll have dinner covered here.”
    “Definitely! Is it all right
for me bring Lily with me? I could leave her with my folks, but I
try not to abuse their generosity.”
    “Of course, I expected that
you would. My nieces will be here, too, I hope, and my friends Eric
and Janet have two boys. A little older than Lily, but you know
kids. They’ll all hang out together.”
    “Oh, thanks, Jude. I really
appreciate you thinking of me. It’s like a godsend. I’ve been a
little lonely lately. I’ll see you at five