Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  “He did?”

  “Yes. He’s changed, Vashti. For the better. I heard he hasn’t been the same since his wife and son passed away within six months of each other.”

  Vashti looked away when memories she’d put to rest years ago suddenly surfaced. At that moment she felt pain. Real pain. And it was pain she didn’t want to feel.

  “He sure did take a stand tonight where you were concerned.”

  Vashti glanced back at Kaegan. “What do you mean?”

  “That speech he gave to welcome you back to town. It will put an end to any negativity toward you while you’re here. Heck, you saw the crowd surrounding you after the meeting, following his lead and welcoming you back like the Great Oz had not only spoken, but had given his blessings on your return. I wonder why he did it.”

  Vashti refused to look away again. Instead she looked at Kaegan and shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess he was being nice. And it really wasn’t necessary since I’m leaving town on Friday.”

  “You just got here.”

  “Yes, but I’ve stayed longer than I intended to do.”

  He nodded. “Did you go by Shelby’s?”

  “Yes. It brought back a lot of good memories.”

  “Yet you were okay with that developer tearing the place down.”

  It wasn’t a question but a statement and she heard the censure in his voice. “Yes, I need closure, Kaegan.”

  He looked at her for a long moment before asking, “What are your plans for tomorrow night?”

  “As far as I know I don’t have any. Why?”

  “Tomorrow will mark the second anniversary of my return to the cove. I’ve invited a few friends over for beer, fried fish, crabs, oysters and shrimp. Sort of an old-fashioned seafood roast. How about dropping by my place around eight? I’m still at my parents’ home but building my own place next door. I’d love to show you what I’ve done so far.”

  “And I’d love to see it.”

  “So will you come?”

  She looked down at the floor and then she looked back at him. “That invitation extends to Bryce, right?”

  She watched his chin tighten. “Sure. Why not?”

  “You tell me, Kaegan.”

  “Why don’t you ask her?” he said gruffly.

  “I did, but she won’t tell me anything.”

  He chuckled derisively. “Funny. I remember a time when she would tell you everything. I learned that people have a tendency to change on you, in a blink of an eye.”

  Vashti bristled at his words. If he was insinuating something against Bryce, then she would take offense to it. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Nothing. So, will you come?”

  “Only if Bryce agrees to come with me.”

  He seemed to weigh her ultimatum, then said, “Fair enough. Now let me walk you to your car. I heard you got a ticket the other day.”

  She started to say something flippant like was it possible for anyone to have any secrets in this town, but immediately she knew the answer. Yes, it was possible. Hadn’t she been harboring her one and only secret for years?

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  USING THE SPARE key Bryce had given her, Vashti entered Bryce’s home to find her sitting at the kitchen table drinking a glass of wine. “I can’t believe you left, Bryce.”

  Bryce, who’d changed into a comfortable-looking sleeveless flowing caftan, shrugged, causing one to notice how the material rested perfectly against her to-die-for breasts. Vashti remembered how she and Bryce were ecstatic at the prospect of having breasts when they were preteens. They would often stand in front of a mirror to see whose were growing faster than the other. Bryce was always the winner. Even before their thirteenth birthdays it had become obvious that Bryce would have a perfect pair. It had taken Vashti’s pregnancy to show what she called major improvement to her breasts, which ended when her pregnancy did. Her girls were alright, and Scott had never complained, but she always thought compared to Bryce’s she was underdeveloped.

  “You had your own transportation and I knew you were okay. Besides, after the meeting a crowd descended on you like the prodigal daughter, thanks to Reid Lacroix. What do you think that was about?”

  Now it was Vashti who shrugged. “I don’t know but if you’re wondering about it, others will do the same.”

  “They might, but even if they are, they won’t whisper those thoughts out loud for fear it will get back to Mr. Lacroix. For some reason you’re on his good side, even though you were trying to bring a developer into town. That alone should have placed you at the top of his shit list.”

  Vashti nibbled on her bottom lip. “Do you think perhaps he found out?”

  Bryce took another sip of her wine. “I honestly don’t know, Vash. If he did I would think his attitude toward you would be just the opposite and your name would not only head his shit list but would end it as well. But then I’d be the first to admit his attitude changed in a lot of ways after Julius and Mrs. Lacroix died.”

  Vashti nodded. “That’s what Kaegan said.” She noticed Bryce’s reaction when she’d said K-Gee’s name.

  “So he did manage to find his way over to you, did he?”

  Vashti frowned. “Is there a reason Kaegan should not have?”

  “No, I guess not.”

  “Bryce, I wish you would tell me what’s really going on with you two.”

  Bryce shook her head and Vashti saw a tear fall from Bryce’s eyes. She quickly moved toward Bryce and captured her hand in hers. “What is it?”

  Bryce shook her head as more tears flowed. “I’m just not ready. I want to enjoy this time while you’re here. Can we please do that? I promise, someday I’ll share, but not today.” Bryce’s eyes implored her to let it go, and Vashti didn’t want to cause her friend any pain and Bryce was asking her only to respect her wishes, like Vashti had done fourteen years ago when she had left town and mandated that she hadn’t wanted to know anything about the happenings in the cove. She’d preferred not knowing.

  Bryce had broken that rule only once. That had been seven years ago when she’d called to tell her about Julius’s death. Vashti had mourned the loss of the guy who’d fathered her child and the first and only man she’d loved. For years she had hated him for not accepting his part in her pregnancy and when he’d died she had let go of her dream that one day he would show up in New York for her. Or to at least explain why he’d done what he had when she had truly believed he’d loved her. That just goes to show that you couldn’t trust your heart.

  “Okay,” Vashti said softly. “When you’re ready to tell me, you will.”

  Bryce sighed with relief. “Let’s talk about something else. Like how you managed to get on Sheriff Grisham’s good side and he voted in your favor? And don’t think I didn’t notice how he was looking at you.”

  So she hadn’t imagined it. “I’m sure the only reason he cast his vote my way was because he has a teenage daughter who could benefit from the perks the resort was offering.”

  “Well, I guess we can kiss the ten million goodbye,” Bryce said, taking another sip of her wine. “Even after giving that heartwarming speech welcoming you back to Catalina Cove, Mr. Lacroix still voted against those developers.”

  “Did you think he would do otherwise? He might have changed in some ways but when it comes to Catalina Cove, it’s not in his makeup to change. Besides, if he had sided with me on the issue, it would have really given the townspeople something to gossip about.”

  “I guess you’re right about that.”

  Vashti released Bryce’s hand. “I’m going to change. And then we’re going to open another bottle of wine.” She smiled at her friend, her heart aching for the remnants of pain she saw in Bryce’s eyes from just the mention of Kaegan. She wasn’t sure what was going on between them but believed when Bryce was ready to tell her, she would.r />
  * * *

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE you let the old people in this town have their way to do whatever they want to do. It should be against the law.”

  “Voting your conscience is not against the law, Jade.”

  “It may not be against the law but it isn’t fair to the young people in this town. Don’t we get a voice, Dad?”

  Jade had lit into him the moment he walked through the door. A door she’d opened the moment she’d heard his footsteps on the porch. He’d known from the look on her face that she was fired up. He had left the zoning board meeting to come straight home. News certainly traveled fast.

  “First of all, I didn’t let them do anything. I’m not the only member of the board and everyone has the right to cast their vote as they see fit. There were more members against that tennis resort coming here than for it. And as far as your having a voice, no, you don’t have one yet. You’re not old enough to vote. Even if you were, your vote would not have counted. Only members of the board could vote.”

  “Well, every member of the zoning board should be fired...except for you and Mr. Kaegan,” she said, following behind him as he headed for his bedroom to lock his gun, holster and badge in the safe and take a shower. “I heard the two of you were the only ones with the good sense to do the right thing.”

  He thought she’d heard a lot and didn’t mind voicing her opinion on the matter. “The others felt they were doing the right thing as well. The right thing to preserve the integrity of this town,” he said. In all honesty, he thought the perks would have been good for the city, not to mention a boost to the economy with new jobs. That’s why he’d voted for it.

  “That resort would have done a lot for this town and those eight people should not have voted against it. That’s why I love you so much, Dad. You’re the best. You’re your own man. You think for yourself. One day I intend to be the mayor of this town and when I do I’m going to bring as many resorts here as I can.”

  Mayor? That was a new one on him. He hadn’t heard of that aspiration before. “Mayor?”

  “Yes, mayor. And besides the resorts I plan to bring in a Walmart, a McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. It’s a shame we have to go to New Orleans for fast food.”

  Before opening the door to his bedroom he looked over his shoulder to find her right there on his heels. “If I recall, you plan to return to Reno and go to the university there. Stats have shown most kids who go away to school rarely return to the town they grew up in.”

  “Well, I’m coming back and I’m—”

  “Going to be mayor and bring in Walmart, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut,” he said, interrupting her. “I got it. Now be a good kid and warm up my food while I’m in the shower.” He entered his room and closed the door.

  Of course that didn’t stop her from continuing the conversation. The sound of her voice carried through the wooden door. “I really feel bad for the lady who wanted to sell that land. I heard she could have made ten million dollars off it.”

  Sawyer reopened the door. “Who told you that?”

  “Mitzi Perry’s mother.”

  Sawyer had heard that as well and didn’t have to wonder how Ms. Perry got wind of it. The gossip train was at work. “Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, hon,” he said.

  “I heard she was pretty.”

  He lifted a brow. “Who?”

  “The lady who can’t sell her land. I heard she also drives a real sporty car. A red convertible.”

  He wondered where she’d heard that from and decided not to ask. But however she came about her information it was the truth. As far as he was concerned Vashti Alcindor was more than just pretty. She was gorgeous. If he wasn’t sure of it before he was definitely certain of it now. “I’m going to take a shower, Jade.”

  “I was hoping to work at the resort one day, Dad. It was going to be my summer job. And I was going to take advantage of those free lessons and the spa and all the cute tennis players that would have come to town to stay there.”

  She’d had him feeling a little sorry for her until she mentioned the cute tennis players. This was the first time she’d hinted at being interested in boys. Big boys. Tennis-playing boys. Older and conceited athletes who wouldn’t waste any time seducing an innocent sixteen-year-old. “Don’t forget to warm up my food,” he said, then closed the door again.

  “That Mr. Lacroix thinks he owns this town. People always go along with what he wants. That’s going to change when I become mayor.” Her voice was coming in loud and clear through the door.

  “I hear you,” he said, yelling loud enough to make sure she knew he had responded but not giving the impression he was agreeing with what she said, although she was partly right about some of the townspeople going along with whatever Reid Lacroix said.

  Like tonight for instance. He didn’t know the man’s motive, but for Lacroix to officially welcome Ms. Alcindor to town in front of everyone assured that the people in town would welcome her as well. If anyone still had an issue about her before, they wouldn’t now.

  All was quiet, which meant Jade had moved away from the door. Finally. Good. She’d been on a roll. Not that he thought it was over but for now she’d run out of steam. Tomorrow when she got home from school she would be refueled again after discussing it with her friends. And now she was thinking about returning to the cove after college in Nevada. Imagine that.

  He knew not to count on it because his daughter was just in the moment. After college she would go wherever opportunities knocked. That would be the smart thing to do and he wasn’t raising a dummy. She wanted to be a doctor so he couldn’t see her coming back here working at the cove’s small hospital while alternating at the mayor gig. He smiled at the thought of that.

  As he stepped into the shower beneath the spray of water he thought about Vashti Alcindor and what his daughter had said about her. Tonight he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her and more than once she’d caught him staring and stared back. If eyes could talk he wondered what theirs would have said.

  Lathering his hair, he knew it was crazy. He was still attracted to the woman. How could he think of her in a sexual way when day after tomorrow he would be spending the afternoon in bed with Leesa. He’d never left her arms disappointed and doubted he would. But...

  He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower stall and as he dried himself off, it wasn’t Leesa’s features he was seeing in his mind but those of Vashti Alcindor. Tonight while sitting there he had studied them, every single detail. He’d been in Catalina Cove long enough to know all about the Creoles in the area, specifically in the cove. They made up over ninety percent of the town’s population. He had to admit that the cove was the most diverse group of people he’d ever known.

  Before taking the job he had read everything he could about the Louisiana Creoles. He knew how both white refugees and free people of color found sanctuary in the bayous. Some lived peacefully among the Native Americans. A mixture of French, Spanish and African heritages. They had come together, united to create their own culture: the Louisiana Creole. They still considered themselves as one cultural unit, although their legacies were different. It was obvious Reid Lacroix had French ancestry while Trudy liked to boast of her Spanish birthright. He would bet Vashti Alcindor was a mixture of all three—French, Spanish and African. He would even throw part Native American into the mix.

  She had soft brown eyes, long eyelashes, high cheekbones, shoulder-length dark brown hair and skin the color of rich mocha. Her full lips were a total turn-on and he thought her nose was the perfect shape and size for her face.

  He’d noticed all that the day he’d given her a ticket, so why had he concentrated on them at the meeting and why was he thinking about her features now? He could be having an attack of lust, but surely he was too old for such ailments. He’d gone three years without a woman after Johanna, and probably would have
gone longer had he not hooked up with Leesa. Sex was never something that had driven him even during his bachelor days when he’d dated his fair share of women. He’d been more into a career in the military than anything else. After marrying Johanna they had enjoyed a good sex life because more than anything they were always making up for lost time. He was convinced returning-home-from-deployment sex was the best kind.

  During the first six years of their marriage he was active-duty military. The hardest thing was being shipped off for a year and leaving Johanna in her fourth month of pregnancy. When complications arose and Johanna was ordered bed rest until after the baby was born, he appreciated her best friend, Erin, staying with her during that time. He had returned home to a very healthy six-month-old daughter.

  Sawyer had fallen in love with Jade the moment he’d seen her, and he’d known what total happiness was. He, who never had a family to call his own, had finally gotten one. On that day while holding his daughter for the first time, he had promised Johanna that he would be the best father any child could ever have.

  That’s why I love you so much, Dad. You’re the best.

  As he got dressed he took comfort in the words Jade had spoken tonight, knowing he was keeping his promise to Johanna. He was taking care of their little girl and trying to be the best father she could ever have.

  * * *

  REID LACROIX DIDN’T know the words to the song playing on the stereo system. The only thing he knew was that it had been one of Roberta’s favorites and she played it often. He recalled the song had been playing somewhere in the house the night she’d died. He was sure of it. After Julius’s death she had tried stopping her chemo treatment but he wouldn’t let her. He’d convinced her to finish all her sessions by saying that’s what Julius would have wanted. But he hadn’t been able to coax his wife into fighting for her life. The chemo really hadn’t done her any good because she’d given up the fight.

  It was times like these when he sat alone in the living room parlor with the music playing that he wished he could turn back the hands of time. He wished that he could have gotten wind of what his life would be like now. Then he would have asked to be taken first. Being last and left all alone in a house too massive for one was a torture he endured nearly every night of his life now.