The Texan's Surprise Baby. GINA WILKINS

run. She nearly dropped the canned soda in her hand when she saw him.

      Trying to smooth his expression, he gave her a nod and kept walking. One way or another, he promised himself, he would be talking with Hannah tomorrow.

      Chaos descended with a vengeance Thursday afternoon. A neighboring resort suffered a catastrophic septic-system malfunction, shutting the place down for the weekend at a minimum. Frantically dealing with disappointed vacationers, the owners referred as many as they could to the Bell Resort, sending the rest to other facilities along the lake. Every available RV pad and tent site at Bell Resort was filled, as were the cabins and motel rooms. Even the overflow area behind the boat storage was filled to capacity. The grill, convenience store and marina buzzed with activity. Every member of staff was almost running trying to keep up.

      Leaving her cousin Lori to work the front desk, Hannah volunteered to run errands in town that afternoon. She visited the bank and the post office, dropped off some dry cleaning, then stopped by the locally owned pharmacy her family patronized to pick up prenatal vitamins for herself and prescriptions for several family members. She parked in a shady corner of the almost-empty little lot so her car wouldn’t be quite so hot when she climbed back into it.

      “Hello, Hannah. How are you today?” the pharmacist behind the counter asked with a welcoming smile after she’d been greeted by his two longtime employees. Short, round and mostly bald, his kind dark chocolate eyes gleaming in a polished ebony face, Luther Duquesne had served this community since Hannah was in grade school. He’d always had a lollipop for Hannah and Maggie when they’d come in with their mom, offered to them from a big glass jar filled with colorful treats. Even if he hadn’t been one of the nicest men she knew, for that reason alone, Hannah would always have a soft spot in her heart for him.

      Plugged in as he was to the community, he already knew about the disaster at the Lake Oaks Marina, so he and Hannah chatted about that for a few minutes while he checked her out. “Tell your grandpa this is his last refill on his blood pressure medicine. He needs to go see his doctor this month.”

      Hannah nodded. “I think he has an appointment, but I’ll make sure.”

      “Before you go …” With a flourish, he presented her with an orange lollipop. “I seem to remember this being your favorite flavor.”

      She laughed and accepted the treat. “Thank you, Mr. D. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”