It had been easy to put all thoughts of marriage aside when she hadn’t believed she could ever have a life with Ethan. She made a poor job of marriage before because her heart had belonged to someone other than her husband. That was her fault, and she accepted the responsibility for the failure.

But she could make marriage shine with Ethan, couldn’t she? They could build a home and a family and a future based on love and trust and honesty.

He wouldn’t move quickly, she mused. It wasn’t his way. But he loved her. She understood Ethan well enough to know that marriage would be the next step.

She was already poised to take it.

THE SMELL OF BURGERS smoking on the grill, the yeasty tang of beer pumped from a cold keg. The sounds of children laughing and adult voices lifted in bright conversation or lowered in juicygossip. The low roar of a boat zipping over the water, with the thrilled shouts of its teenage occupants, the metallic clang of a horseshoe striking home.

There were scents and sounds and sights. There was the snappy red, white, and blue of the cloths covering the tables that were crowded with bowls and plates and platters and casseroles.

Mrs. Cutter’s cherry pie. The Wilsons’ shrimp salad. What was left of the bushel of corn the Crawfords had brought along. Jell-O molds and fruit salad, fried chicken and early vine tomatoes. People were spread out and gathered. On chairs, on the lawn, down at the dock, and on the porch.

Several men stood with hands on hips, watching the horseshoe match, their faces sober in the way men had when they kibitzed a sporting event. Babies napped in carriers or willing arms while others wailed for attention. The young splashed and swam in the cool water, and the old fanned themselves in the shade.

The sky was clear, the heat immense.

Grace watched Foolish nosing along the ground in search of dropped food. He’d found plenty, and sheimagined he’d be sick as a—well, a dog—before the day was over.

She hoped it was never over.

She waded into the water, gripping Aubrey firmly despite the colorful floats wrapped around her arms. She dipped her daughter down, laughing when Aubrey’s little legs began to kick with delight.

‘‘In, in, in!’’ Aubrey demanded.

‘‘Honey, I didn’t bring my bathing suit.’’ But she eased out a little more, until the water lapped at her knees, so she could let Aubrey splash.

‘‘Grace! Grace! Watch this!’’

Obliging, Grace squinted against the sun and watched Seth take a running leap off the dock, tucking knees,wrapping arms, and hitting the water like a bomb so that it shot it up in a glittering fountain. And all over her.

‘‘Cannonball,’’ he announced proudly when he surfaced. Then he grinned. ‘‘Gee, you got all wet.’’

‘‘Seth, take me.’’ Straining, Aubrey held out her arms. ‘‘Take me.’’