Isabel was surprised when Cam suggested they take an Uber to Seven Mile Beach so they could cross off another excursion. She’d already lowered her expectations of hitting all of them.

The beach was stunning. The white sand went on and on. Even though Isabel couldn’t walk, he walked the beach with her on his back, making it a game. Occasionally, they went into the ocean and played. Cam even rented snorkel equipment, and they spent two hours looking at the sea creatures.

Now, she was resting in her suite, ice and compression on her ankle, courtesy of Cam, who insisted they were going to the dining room for dinner so she could protect him from his sister.

That was the only reason she’d agreed to go. Gratitude filled her, and she closed her eyes and tried to rest. It’d been an amazing day. She thought about the stingrays and eating lobster at the restaurant. Of how Cam wanted justice so badly it looked like he would move mountains to get it.

She didn’t doubt that he would. It was obvious he’d adored his wife.

Part of her felt sadness that she hadn’t had a marriage like that. But she pushed away that thought and went back to thinking about the stingrays and the beach and snorkeling.

When she woke up an hour later, she turned and saw it was almost six. She bolted up, realizing Cam would be coming to get her.

She kicked the ice off her ankle. Oops. Too long with the ice. She stood on her good ankle and maneuvered around to the closet and bathroom, using walls and chairs to support her. Her ankle was getting better, but she knew she had another day, at least, where she would have to keep off of it.

Normally, she didn’t care that much about looking good, but butterflies filled her belly as she put on her makeup, taking care to deepen her eye shadow. She’d brought a couple of prom kind of dresses that her sister had insisted she bring for the dinners. If it would have been only her packing, she wouldn’t have any dinner attire, and she was pretty sure she would have eaten at the pizza place every night. The only reason she’d gone and hung out with the singles was because her sister had made her pinky promise to not be a hermit. The singles were the only ones who hadn’t brought their own company, so they were an acceptable default.

She took her long hair, that she normally had in a ponytail, and curled it around the ends. Looking at it in the mirror, she realized she liked it.

She hopped toward the closet, getting out the navy-blue, off the shoulder dress her sister had slipped in. It had been her sister’s prom dress. The funny thing was that Isabel hadn’t fit into the tiny thing all those years ago. Now, it was just a bit loose.

Well, she thought, as she surveyed herself in the mirror, it was true. She was very thin now. Maybe too thin.

There was a knock at the door, and she felt a bit nervous. When she pulled it back, there was the gorgeous guy. He’d trimmed his beard, so it was now just at that sexy length around his face. His hair was combed back. He didn’t have a tux on or anything, but he had on some nice black pants, a white shirt, and a sport coat. His smell was even more amazing. Something spicy and cinnamony.

He looked her up and down in a non-creepy way. The exact opposite of the way that Dave had looked at her the night before. “You look nice, Isabel.”

She knew she was blushing, and she tried to act like she had earlier when they’d been filthy from the ocean and beach and neither had seemed to notice. “Thank you. You too.” She turned and looked at the heels before her. “Hmm.” She opted for flip-flops, knowing they would look silly.

Cam saw and smiled before lifting a hand. “Wait, I’ll be right back.”

She guessed he had forgotten something, but when he got back, she saw he’d traded out his nice shoes for flip-flops too.

Stupid happiness filled her. She laughed. “Awesome.”

He grinned. “Let’s go.”

It wasn’t long after they got seated that Cam’s sister Alicia, his brother-in-law Craig, and nephews joined them. Cam introduced her in a matter-of-fact way. Since her foot was propped up, it was easy to have a lead in as to why Cam had missed being with them all day.

His sister had even looked pleased he’d helped her.

They chatted for a minute and then ordered when the server came by. His sister started asking Isabel a couple of personal questions about where she was from and what she did.

When they got to the family part, she swallowed and tried to avoid Cam’s sad gaze. “Uh, I was married and had a son named Sam.” The words seemed to get stuck in her throat.

Cam put his hand over hers. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it right now.”

She put up a hand and took a big breath, hating that sometimes it would hit her. “I’m usually fine talking about it now. It was almost five years ago. They, um, drowned in a river.”

For a moment, no one at the table said anything. His poor nephews looked really uncomfortable.

Alicia suddenly stood and rushed to her, throwing her arms around her.

Warmth filled Isabel at her kindness.

“I’m so sorry.” She pulled back, a soft look on her face. “You poor girl.”

It was funny to her that the way his sister spoke to her actually didn’t sound patronizing. Girl. It made her smile to think she was a girl. “Not a girl, thirty.” She laughed. “I’ve gotten my fair share of wrinkles the past couple of years.” She sounded like an idiot, but she didn’t know what to say with this firehouse of warmth.

Her husband, Craig, said, “I’m sorry too.”

The boys nodded.

She pushed away more of the emotion. “Thank you.” She knew it sounded forced, and it was.

The conversation went back to small chat about their ranch in Cheyenne and how Craig used to do Bronc riding. Paul and Jon both did it too, and they excitedly told her all about it. They also played football. Naturally, the conversation turned to how Cheyenne High School had done in the fall season. Sadly, they had not won state that year.

When the food came, they oohed and aahed over it. The boys were cute, and they ordered more and more until their dad told them to stop so they wouldn’t be sick.

“Can we go hang out with friends, please?” Jon asked.

“Yeah.” Paul glanced to the side, and Isabel noticed a group of kids waiting for them.

Alicia smiled at them. “Yes, but I’ll be coming to check on you, so be good. And don’t do stupid stuff.”

“Be respectful and remember how to act appropriately,” Craig said.

Isabel watched the family scene and was warmed by it.

Cam reached out and pushed each of them as they walked past them. “I’m going to be checking on you guys too.” He pointed at his eyes then to them and back.

“Okay, sheesh.” Jon grinned, looking a tad mischievous. “We’ll be good.”

“Yeah.” Paul grinned, and then the boys were hightailing it to their friends.

Alicia shook her head. “I’m glad they’re having fun, but I don’t know the kids they’re hanging out with, and that makes me nervous.”

“They’re fine,” Craig said, looking more relaxed, draping an arm around Alicia. “Plus, now I can kiss you and dance with you.” He stood and pulled her up.

Alicia blushed. “Fine,” she said grinning widely, but she stopped and came around the table to Isabel, pulling her into another hug and whispering, “I’m really glad it worked out for you and Cam to go today.” She hesitated. “Cam told me earlier that you have some things you want to get checked off for your trip.”

Nervous butterflies assaulted her, and she didn’t know why. Just thinking of spending more time with Cam made her feel fluttery.

Alicia pulled back. “We have some things we’re doing tomorrow, so I’ll just plan on seeing you guys at night in the dining room.”

Isabel smiled. “Sounds good.”

Alicia waved at them as they went to the dance floor.

Isabel noted that Craig was not a small man. Probably close to being as tall as Cam. And Alicia was roughly five ten. She was wearing a pink satin dress and had her blonde hair up.

She suddenly felt awkward. “If you want to go dance, I won’t feel bad about it.” She pointed to the singles table that was laughing. She spotted Dave. “I bet Dave can introduce you to some more women to rescue.”

Cam gave her a “really?” kind of look. “Not interested.” He smirked. “I could go get him for you, though.”

“Ha,” she said.

He laughed.

They sat quietly.

He snapped. “Hey, we could do a piggyback dancing thing.”

She let out a short laugh “Uh, no.”

He stood. “How about we go to the deck then?”

Cam had procured a wheelchair, so she sat in it, and he pushed.The sun was down, but the deck was lit up.

There were people mingling, and even though they’d had a long day, she didn’t really feel tired.

He stopped next to one of the pools, and he pulled her back next to one of the lawn chairs. “Do you want to transfer to a lawn chair so you can put the ankle up?”

She nodded. “Definitely, lawn chair.”

He helped her get into it.

He was such a gentleman. It made her angry that she compared him to Rick. She hadn’t thought about that part of Rick for a long time. The gentleman part of him. At least, not in comparison with other men. Probably because she hadn’t really dates since. Not that this was a date.

Cam sat next to her in a different chair. “How’s the ankle feeling?”

She shrugged. “The funny thing is that I really haven’t had a chance to think about it. I mean, when I put pressure on it, I get pain, but”—she smiled at him—“you’ve made this an amazing day. Thank you.” More feelings threatened to overwhelm her, and she blinked them back. “Dang, I’ve been so emotional.”

He grinned and leaned back, putting his feet up on the chair. “It has been a good day.” He closed his eyes, and both of them relaxed for a bit.

She couldn’t believe how this trip was turning out so differently than she’d expected.

Without opening his eyes, Cam asked, “So it’s zip lining at Mystic Mountain tomorrow?”

Yes, he’d read the list. “Yep.”

“After that, the Incan ruins, right?”

She sighed, thinking of all the walking that would require. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to wrap it and walk more.”

Cam shrugged. “It’s fine.”

It amazed her that it really was fine. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.

The sound of people walking on the deck, clanking dishes from the dining room, and music filled the air.

It was peaceful.

“It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow.”

She turned and opened her eyes. She knew this. The holidays were always harder. “Sam could never sleep on Christmas Eve.”

Cam nodded. “Sounds about right.”

Cam’s hands were behind his head, and he was looking up at the stars.

He sighed. “My sister was right, though you can’t tell her. This cruise was a good idea.”

She didn’t want to probe more into how hard it had probably been for him last year. “Yeah.”

Silence reigned.

“Orion’s Belt.”

She looked up. “What?”

He pointed off to the right in the sky. “Orion’s Belt.”

She saw what kind of looked like three stars in a row. “I don’t know about stars.”

Cam cleared his throat. “As you know, I grew up on a ranch, too. My dad and I—” His voice hitched. “My dad and I would spend hours on our horses at night, just riding, looking up at the stars. That’s Orion’s Belt, and next to him are his dogs. If you look hard enough, you can see the Little Dipper to the north of it.”

She saw it and smiled. “That’s cool.”

He grinned and just stared for a couple of seconds. She wondered how many times he and his wife had done this.

Taking her off guard, he turned to her. “Tell me about Sam.”

A whoosh of uncertainty filled her. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

She smiled. “Sam was the best kid. He was rowdy and loved soccer and football and basketball and superheroes. He was Superman that last year … before.” Her mind filled with Halloween night. Then she thought of the fight she and Rick had had.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Aren’t we past the lying yet?”

It unnerved her how close she was feeling to Cameron already. And yet, so not close. Why not tell someone? She hadn’t even told her mom and sister. After everything had happened, it felt pointless. For some reason she felt safe enough here to let it out. “I told you I was going to divorce Rick. Well, we got in a fight Halloween night, and I was just remembering it.” She shook her head. “It’s so random the things you remember.”

His head turned to face her. “That’s true.”

She was quiet.

He turned on his side. “What was the fight about?”

She didn’t like the way it made her feel to admit it. “We were both upset about whether we should leave the candy dish on the step or not. And, he pushed me down in front of Sam.”

“What?” Cam jolted and then stood.

Nervous energy pulsed through her. “Cam, just sit.”

He sucked in a breath then sat abruptly.

“It was my fault.”

“The hell it was.” Cam looked ticked. “You know it wasn’t.”

It was true. She let out a light sigh. “Fine. I do. After almost five years of therapy, I know it wasn’t. I don’t even know why I just said that.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Sometimes, it just feels like I’m right back in all of it.”

Cam exhaled then took her hand and held it. “It’s okay.”

She sniffed. “My mom always tells me I just … need a little bit of grace.”

Apparently, Cam didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know if my mom’s talking about grace for me … or grace for Rick.”