CHAPTER ONE
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MERCY GRANT’S EARDRUMSSEEMED TO split, and so probably did the eardrums of everybody else in the church. Maybe in the neighboring buildings, too.
"Shhhh, Stevie, it's going to be okay." She scooped up her five-year-old son and shot outside, sending apologetic glances around.
Once outside, she wiped his tears. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
But Stevie only shook his head and seemed to turn up the volume. She had no clue what was happening to her son. Was she a bad mother?
Stevie wiggled in her hands, obviously wanting to leave, and Mercy placed him on the ground. She stayed close to make sure he wouldn't bolt.
Mercy didn't think Stevie could scream any louder, but after he ended up on the asphalt, looked around, and took a deep breath, he proved her wrong.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she whirled around.
Ethan Echeverría, her best friend and ladies’ man extraordinaire.
Their friendship had started in junior high and survived Ethan's tumultuous high school and college years and her marriage and widowhood. She’d even had a crush on him when she’d been a teenager. But he’d started changing girlfriends depending on the season by then already, so she’d kept it a secret.
"What’s going on?" She read his lips rather than heard him.
Stevie stopped screaming, probably taking a breath to get more air into his lungs.
"I was unloading groceries when I thought I heard Stevie scream." Ethan leaned to her son. “What happened, buddy?”
Mercy cringed. The nearest grocery store was a block away. She hoped that Ethan meant that store and not the one halfway across Rios Azules.
Just great.
Instead of answering Ethan’s question, Stevie let out such a loud scream she was surprised windows in the cars in the parking lot didn’t shatter.
"I don’t know. Stevie is upset about something." Leave it to her to state the obvious.
"How about we go get some ice cream? Stevie can wait for us here." Ethan winked at her.
Mercy gasped. She’d never leave her son. Then she realized the reason Ethan said it.
The screaming stopped.
“Ice cream?” Her son zeroed in on Ethan, his eyes full of surprise, curiosity, and hurt.
“Yes, buddy. I think I’ll go for chocolate. Which one do you prefer, Mercy?” Ethan turned to her.
“Peach. Or maybe chocolate with caramel. We’ll see.” The sweet, cold, refreshing concoction sounded appealing, especially considering it was already in the high eighties in south Texas in the middle of spring. But even more than the idea of having an ice cream, she enjoyed the silence. She’d never realized how much she loved the soft whisper of trees, the light breeze on her skin, the encouraging smile on Ethan’s lips...
Whoa.
Where did that come from?
Anyway, Stevie was her priority, not Ethan.
Ethan extended his hand to her son. “What about you, buddy? Wanna tag along? What kind of ice cream do you like?”
Stevie took Ethan’s hand, and the wide grin on her boy’s face tugged at Mercy’s heart. “Strawberry.”
“Good choice. If your mom approves, of course.” Ethan turned that irresistible smile at her.
