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Oliva sprang up from watching whatever was on the television. “A sister?” she cried with delight.
“That’s right.” Fitz crouched down so both Olivia and Grayson could get a good look at the baby. “This is Mary Mae, named after your grandmothers.”
“Aww.” Olivia practically swooned with love. “Look, she’s squeezing my hand.”
Grayson kept notably silent. Fitz glanced up at him. The look of betrayal on the young preteen’s face made him blink in surprise. What? Could Grayson be thinking what the nurses and doctors had assumed, that Fitz was the father? Horrified, wondering how to set the kid straight without causing an outright scene, Fitz added, “Your mother says the baby looks just like Olivia did when she was born. She’ll probably have the same blue eyes.”
Grayson scrutinized the newborn more closely, and some of his disgust seemed to fade.
“Well, I have to take Mary Mae back now, but you’ll see her again very soon. Sit tight, guys. I’ll take you home in a bit.”
Olivia pulled her finger reluctantly from the baby’s grasp. “Bye, little sister.”
On his way back to Faith, Fitz reflected she was right. This wasn’t going to be easy. He might win over Olivia without much effort, but Grayson was already thinking the worst about him. Did he really want to try and fill their father’s shoes? No one could do that. The most he could do was hope to earn Grayson’s respect. So long as Fitz made Faith’s life a little bit easier, then the struggle would be worth it.
CHAPTER15
Anticipating a lively night with all his guests, Amos decided as he headed home from work that he should take everyone out to dinner in lieu of cooking. The restaurant by the golf course on nearby Little Creek Amphibious Base was open until 9:00 in the summer months. Not only could they sit outdoors, but he could get to know Emma’s boys better while watching Simon’s interactions with his cousins. Turning down his shady driveway, his expectations took a dive. Neither Emma’s nor Grace’s car was parked under the carport.
Just then, voices of children reached his ear, reassuring him and reminding him that Emma’s Impala was in the shop. Grace must have run to the store for something. Parking his truck, he left room for her to park behind him.
A fresh breeze blew off the inlet as he strode downhill, where he was pleased to see the three boys on his pier rather than inside, where they might break something.
They were all down on their knees, staring at something set in their midst. As he neared them, he spotted Emma up on the sundeck, and sent her a wave. Concern tugged at him when she did not smile back but only waved.
The boys, sensing his approach, glanced up in one accord before staring down at whatever they had caught in the red bowl.
“Daddy, come see!” Simon waved him over.
As Amos leaned over, his shadow cloaked the contents of the bowl, so it took a moment to make out the little crustacean waving a defensive arm at him.
“You’ve got a fiddler crab.”
Colton glanced up at him with the eyes of a hunter. “We stalked him in the marsh grass on the shore.”
“They’re not easy to catch.” Amos acknowledged their stealth. “What do you plan to do with him?”
Christopher replied this time. “We’re going to research what they eat and keep it as a pet.”
“Ah.” This one was the caretaker. “That’s smart to research what they eat. But what if they need companions to be happy and just the right salinity in the water to survive? You don’t want it to die, do you?”
The older boy frowned down at their catch, worried now.
“We could eat ’im,” suggested his younger brother.
“No!” Simon regarded his cousin in horror.
Christopher shook his head firmly. “There’s not enough meat on him to eat. We’re letting him go.”
Confident the boys would soon make the terrified crab quite happy, Amos swiveled away and boarded his boat. Putting his webbed belt and boots in the storage area under the bookcase, he padded to his captain’s room to change. He could hear Baby Carter on the deck overhead, beating together what sounded like a pot and a spatula. Apart from that noise,Camelotstruck him as unnaturally quiet. Not that Grace herself made an excess of noise, but her absence made him uneasy. Emma would know where she’d gone.
Dressed in jean shorts and a light-blue T-shirt, Amos tied off his tennis shoes and headed for the door, noting as he crossed the living room that Grace’s backpack, tucked next to the sofa that morning where he’d left her sleeping, was gone. The telltale sign roused his immediate concern. Why would she have taken Mateo’s paperwork, which she’d shown to him one evening, with her?
He let himself outside and bounded up the steps to the deck, where Emma had spread several beach towels for the baby to crawl upon. A quick scan confirmed he’d identified the noise correctly. She’d placed a pot, several storage containers, and stackable measuring cups out for the baby to play with, and Carter was beating the pot with a spatula.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Both her tone and her tense expression told him she was fearful of his reaction.
Amos rushed to reassure her. “Why would I mind?”
