Nightingale Way: An Eternity Springs Novel by Emily March Read Free Book Online Page A

shrugged. “Just an added, and probably unnecessary, precaution.”
    Gabe nodded reassuringly. “No need to worry about your safety in Eternity Springs. We take care of our own.”
    One of the girls—Meg—began kicking her legs, saying, “Down, Daddy. Down.”
    For the next little while the girls busied themselves throwing all of the toys one by one into the pool while the adults made small talk. The Callahans spoke of the Fourth of July picnic and fireworks show at Hummingbird Lake, then Gabe asked, “Did y’all come down to watch the fireworks?”
    “No,” Jack replied. “We were still settling in here.”
    What he didn’t say was that neither one of them had wanted any reminder of the romantic Fourths of July they’d spent together watching fireworks on the National Mall. In fact, the word “fireworks” had taken on a special meaning to them after they made love for the first time after returning to Jack’s town house following a Fourth of July show.
    “Have you seen your cousin?” Nic asked, a frown line showing between her brows.
    “I haven’t seen Cam, but he called earlier to tell me he and Devin are returning to Australia.”
    Cat was more than a little surprised as she listened to the conversation about Cam Murphy and Sarah Reese’s star-crossed romance. So, Jack had a cousin named Cam who grew up in Eternity Springs? She’d never heard of any cousin before. He’d always told her he didn’t have any family.
    Once the toys were all in the swimming pool, the Callahan twins showed signs of wanting to go in after them, and Cat wanted a distraction from thinking about Jack. She asked Nic, “Can your girls swim?”
    “We’ve been taking water babies classes at a pool in town this summer,” the other woman replied. “Theycan’t swim yet, but they have learned to go underwater and hold their breath.”
    Jack got into the water with the Callahans, and after changing into a swimsuit in the pool house, Cat did, too. The toddlers laughed and splashed and squealed when their daddy blew bubbles on their tummy and Jack tossed them up in the air. While the children played, the adults talked a little politics, some major league baseball and college football, and then general news about Eternity Springs. When the girls started showing signs of fatigue, Nic and Gabe took them out of the pool, dried, dressed, and fed them, then put them down to nap in the portable beds the Callahans had brought with them. While Gabe and Nic were busy with the girls, Jack and Cat set the table for lunch.
    “This looks good,” Jack said as he peeked into a container. “Chicken salad?”
    “Yes, it’s Ali Timberlake’s,” Nic replied, adjusting the sunshade over Meg. “You need to give her restaurant a try while you’re in Colorado, Jack. Her menu is beginning to attract foodies from all over the state.”
    “I’ll be sure to do that.”
    Once the children were asleep, conversation turned to some landscaping changes that Jack had in mind for Eagle’s Way. An award-winning landscape architect, Gabe Callahan had strong opinions about Jack’s ideas, and once they’d finished their lunch, the men took their discussion into the house where they’d have access to the Internet so that Gabe could illustrate his points. Nic turned the conversation toward the dogfighting ring, explaining that she was a veterinarian. “Is it true that one of the men kept twenty-three dogs penned in his basement?”
    Cat nodded. “Craig Gauthier.”
    “Okay, I must confess my ignorance of pop culture. He’s the singer on TV or the race car driver?”
    “The singer.”
    “That’s just so wrong. They were pits?”
    “Pits and pit mixes,” Cat replied. “You wouldn’t have believed what pathetic shape those dogs were in.”
    “I’ve seen a lot over the years in my veterinary practice. I don’t think anything some humans do to animals could surprise me. This subject depresses me. Let’s change it.” Nic gave Cat a sidelong glance