Renee widened her eyes mischievously toward the screen. “Dan? I want you to come over here and finally meet Tansy.”

He grinned, sitting beside her and waving at the camera. “It’s nice to meet you, Tansy! I’ve been hearing about you since my very first day at the practice. How’s the weather out there?”

“Um, sunny,” she said, more than a little confused. While Tansy had heard plenty about Dan, she’d never actually met him before. And she certainly didn’t know about her mom’s gigantic crush on him. “Are you two—”

“Dating? Yep.” Renee squeezed his hand. “Tansy, you remember hearing about my soon-to-be-former boss, Dr. Hanlon. Well, he’s been promoted to boyfriend.”

Dan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

If Tansy’s mouth opened any wider she’d be able to swallow a volleyball. “I can’t keep up with you these days, Mom! A new business, a new boyfriend. Look at you living your best life.”

Renee blew the camera a kiss. “Looks like life can be exciting in Cranberry Cove after all.”

“Mom, it was amazing. I am amazing. I mean you are. I mean, I’ll let you all go. But I’ll talk to you very, very soon, okay?”

They both disconnected with smiles.

Renee curled up against Dan’s chest, rubbing his shoulder, his arm. “Thanks for cleaning up outside. Are you sore?”

“Ah, just a little bit.”

“Let’s go run you a hot bath then.” Kissing his cheek, Renee stood, heading for the stairs. “I’ve got the most amazing salts that will help, too.”

But Dan pulled her right back down on top of him. “You know what would help more than bath salts?”

She raised an eyebrow.

“You joining me.”

“It’ll be a tight fit, but I think we can squeeze.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago.

Sadie stood by the door anxiously tapping her foot and checking her watch.

Tyler had volunteered to pick Ethan up from the hospital today in one of the police department’s SUVs. Not only was the vehicle better suited for the unpredictable route, it also boasted a comfortable amount of space for his broken foot.

Plus no sticky spots on the door handles or Cheerios buried in the seat cushions.

An upgrade all around, really.

Renee and Dan were babysitting Lincoln for the evening, which would give Sadie time to get Ethan situated. Plus, she wasn’t sure how severe his injuries looked, and she thought it was smarter to figure that out first before Lincoln saw him.

Annette was flying in tomorrow to help with things around the house. Tickets were purchased before Sadie could even ask. Even though the woman could overstep off a cliff, Sadie had to admit it was pretty cool that Annette was always willing to drop everything and come.

Finally, a pair of headlights swung down Seashell Lane.