Finding The Way Back To Love (Lakeside Porches 3) Read Online Free Page A

this guy seems like a ‘What you see is what you get’ kind of guy.”
    “And you can tell he’s a good guy from one interaction?”
    “Well, he was kind to Haley.” Gwen held her mug with both hands. “And he was concerned about our safety, told us to close and lock the garage door and bolt the kitchen door. And when he accepted our invitation to breakfast, he said he’d bring a new lock to replace the one Haley broke. Haley’s going to pay for it. That was her idea.”
    “I’m going to come back to Haley and the break-in. But right now I have to say this guy doesn’t sound anything like Jeb.”
    “My Jeb? No, of course not. Why should he be anything like my late husband?” Gwen inhaled the intoxicating smell of pastries behind her. Lynnie must have opened the case to fill an order. I want one .
    “Gwen.” Deirdre stretched halfway across the table and tapped her fingernails for attention. “Think about it. Every man you’ve dated since you decided to ‘move on’ a few months ago could be Jeb’s twin—blond, preppie, athletic, hotshot professional, sharp dresser. If they didn’t match up with Jeb as he was five years ago, right before he died, you rejected their profiles.”
    “I did?” Gwen squinted. The aroma of the cinnamon-pecan rolls beckoned her.
    “Yes, and finally you’re interested in a guy who’s not a Jeb look-alike. Not even a lawyer, he’s a cop. But I don’t get why you think he’s the guy you want to have a baby with.”
    “I never said that. Haley’s the one that’s pregnant. I just had a hunch he might be solid and interested in a family and . . .”
    “How old is he?”
    “He’s probably thirty. Do you think I’m out of my mind?”
    “I think you’re jumping too far ahead, but the fact he’s not a Jeb clone is real progress.” Deirdre smiled and patted Gwen’s arm. “And inviting him to breakfast?” She flipped two thumbs up. “Spontaneous. You have broken out of your dating rut. Maybe he is Mr. Right, maybe he’s not, but he’s a big step in the right direction. Just take it one step at a time, honey.”
    Gwen gulped the rest of her coffee. “Listen, do we have time for a quick walk along the lakeshore? I want to talk about Haley, but not here.”
    Deirdre glanced at the clock. “Forty-five minutes. Let’s do it.”
    “Yo. Bro,” Tony Pinelli called across the crowded Bagel Depot. He had just emerged from the Early Riser’s AA meeting that congregated every day in the back room of Tompkins Falls’ refurbished train depot.
    The brothers often ran into each other this time of day, as Sam rolled off his shift and grabbed a bite to eat before heading home to bed. “I got your text. Give me details. Who’s this Peter that has his eye on my good friend Gwen?”
    Sam pointed to his full mouth and then to his half-eaten bagel smothered with ham, egg, and cheese.
    Tony clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll get some coffee. Need a refill?”
    Sam nodded and chewed.
    Settled at Sam’s table with their coffees, Tony pumped his brother for details.
    “What can I tell you?” Sam shrugged. “We got the call, like I told you last night. The niece broke in and made a mess of the outside lock. Ms. Forrester—”
    “Gwen.”
    “Whatever. So I tell her it’s her niece inside with my partner, and she bolts into the house. One minute she’s too shaky to stand up, and the next—”
    “Back up. Gwen was too shaky to stand up?”
    “She said a buck almost wiped her out as she came down her road. Big hoof print on the hood, maybe four inches from the windshield. I’d be shaking, too.” He took another bite of his breakfast sandwich.
    “Okay, so she bolts for the house to see if her niece is all right.”
    Sam nodded and chewed.
    Tony tapped his foot impatiently and blew on his coffee.
    Sam swallowed and told him, “He was full of questions about Gwen. She’s a beautiful woman, you know.”
    “Well, yeah, if you like the type.”
    “And we all know your