Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  Working late at the office didn’t help because he had to come home eventually. He’d figured by the time he reached sixty Julius would be married with kids. But things didn’t work out that way. At twenty-five Julius died in a car accident while driving under the influence of alcohol.

  Reid had not known what had changed his son. Why had he begun drinking and become a man who couldn’t stand anyone...not even himself? He and Roberta had reached out to their only child, had tried to get him help, counseling, but none of it did any good. There were demons he fought and they were winning.

  When he’d gotten word Julius had been taken by life-flight to a hospital in Baton Rouge, Reid was grateful that for once he hadn’t been away on a business trip. He had arrived at the hospital moments before his son had taken his last breath. In that final moment, his son asked him to make a death-bed promise after a startling confession that explained so many of the changes in him.

  Now after all these years she was back. Vashti Alcindor had returned and she had no idea that he knew her secret. Julius had told him everything. And every day following that, Reid had to accept his part in what had happened, why his son felt the need not to stand up and be a man but rather let a young woman face a difficult time alone. His son had never gotten over that period of weakness. When he should have stood by the woman he’d loved, he hadn’t. He hadn’t enough spine to do so for fear of what Reid and Roberta would say.

  Since Roberta was having chemo treatment that day she hadn’t been at the hospital. In fact she hadn’t known Julius had died until he’d returned home from the hospital and told her. She hadn’t been the same after. There hadn’t been anything he could do for the two people who’d meant the most to him.

  But there was something he could do for the woman who’d meant everything to his son. The woman Julius had died believing he’d let down. Instead of going to her and expressing both his love and guilt, he’d nearly drunk himself to death instead.

  He recalled his son’s words like it was yesterday... Please, Dad, promise me that you will let her know I did love her, so much, and that I wanted to stand by her. Let her know how ashamed I was for not doing so and I will never forgive myself for being so weak that I turned my back on her when she needed me. And if she ever needs you, be there for her...something I didn’t do.

  Reid knew how it felt to be consumed with guilt about something. Maybe more than most, because like his son he’d once fallen in love and married a woman who over the years he’d neglected. A woman he hadn’t known just how important she was to him until it was too late. Roberta would have given him the world, she had tried, but in the end building the company into something his father and grandfather were proud of had become more important to him.

  Now he was alone. No one would know how he felt when Julius had confessed to getting Vashti Alcindor pregnant and to being afraid to come forward because of the scandal it would cause the family’s name. A name Reid had constantly reminded him to uphold and protect. To never do anything to bring shame to the family.

  He mourned the grandchild he hadn’t known the woman had been carrying. Legitimate or illegitimate, that child would have been his grandchild. Reid vaguely recalled the scandal involving Vashti Alcindor’s pregnancy. He hadn’t paid much attention to it because at the time he felt it hadn’t concerned him. Years later on his death bed, his son had enlightened him as to how much it had concerned him. Anything involving the Lacroix family concerned him.

  And the death-bed promise he’d made to his son still concerned him, all these years later. He had promised if Vashti ever returned to Catalina Cove that he would do right by her, and Reid intended to keep that promise.

  * * *

  “KAEGAN IS HAVING a seafood roast at his place to celebrate taking over his family’s business and having a successful harvesting season. We were invited,” Vashti said as they sat in Bryce’s kitchen while drinking glasses of wine.

  Bryce rolled her eyes. “I’m sure you were invited, not me.”

  “We’re both going and he knows it and is fine with it.”

  “Only because you probably talked him into letting me come. No, thanks.”

  “If you don’t go then I won’t either.”

  “You have to go, Vash. If you don’t, he’ll think it’s because of me.”

  Vashti laughed. “It will be because of you.”

  “It shouldn’t.”

  “But it will since I have no idea what’s going on between you two. But like I told you, I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it. Besides, you have to go.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve forgotten how to get on that side of the bayou.” Vashti hadn’t really, but if that little lie would get Bryce to come with her, then so be it. And because she knew how Bryce’s mind worked, she quickly said, “And no, you won’t be giving me directions. I don’t do well with directions and you wouldn’t want me to get lost, would you?”

  Bryce rolled her eyes. “You won’t get lost, Vash.”

  “I won’t take any chances, Bryce. You will be going with me.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Sacramento, California

  KIA HARRIS ROLLED her eyes as she clicked on the phone. “Mom, I’m leaving school now. I’ll be home in a little bit.”

  “Just be careful driving, hon. You’re a relatively new driver and the roads are slick from the rain earlier.”

  Kia waved at the new guy at school as she walked out the doors to the parking lot. He returned the wave and smiled. She smiled back while thinking that he was kind of cute. His name was Trace Nichols. A senior who had moved from somewhere in Florida. He was tall and built like the athlete he was. She’d heard he was a member of the football team. That meant she would get to see a lot of him since she was now a majorette.

  “Kia, are you still there?”

  For a moment she’d forgotten her mother was on the phone. “Yes, Mom, I’m still here.”

  “Remember, no texting while driving.”

  How could she forget when her mother drilled that into her every time she left the house? The car had been a gift for her sixteenth birthday from her parents and she was elated to have gotten it but could honestly do without the phone calls from her mother before every time she got behind the wheel. “Okay, Mom, no texting while driving. Got it.”

  Changing the subject she asked, “When is Dad coming home?” Her father was a chemical engineer who worked for Anderson Pharmaceutical Company. Her mother had been a chemical engineer as well at the same company, but a few years ago had decided to go back to school and get her PhD. Now she was teaching engineering at California State University. Her father had been in Boston all week attending a seminar.

  “He’s flying back tonight. Why?”

  She shifted her book bag to her other arm. “I miss him.”

  “Me, too, kiddo. I’m picking him up from the airport around eight. You can go with me if you’d like.”

  She knew at sixteen she should probably dis the idea of fawning over her parents. Some of her friends would think it was so uncool. But she didn’t care. She knew she had wonderful parents. They were the best. Even if her mom did call her more than she needed to and reminded her of stuff she didn’t need to be reminded of.

  “Great. I should be finished with my homework by then.”

  “Good. And Nana has prepared you something special for dinner.”

  A smile touched Kia’s face followed by sadness when she recalled why her grandmother was visiting. Her grandfather had passed away two years ago suddenly of a heart attack and none of them had quite gotten over it...especially Nana. The two of them had been married over thirty years.

  “I can’t wait, Mom. Tell Nana I love her.”

  “I will.”

  “I got to go, Mom. I’ve made it to my car and I remember. No texting while driving. Love you, bye.” Then she clic
ked off the phone.

  Throwing her book bag on the back seat, Kia got into the car and automatically buckled up. Before turning the ignition to her car, she inhaled. Her car still smelled new. How many sixteen-year-olds can boast of getting a brand-new car for their birthday? It wasn’t the two-seater Tesla she dreamed of owning one day, but it was hers. Given with love from her parents and Nana.

  As she left the parking lot she couldn’t stop thinking how grateful she was for her family. Her parents had met and fallen in love while attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They’d gotten married after college. They weren’t in a hurry to have kids and instead concentrated on their careers. When they did try to have a baby, it turned out they couldn’t.

  Kia knew she’d been adopted. She would never forget the day her parents told her. It was after coming home from school in the sixth grade and crying her eyes out because she couldn’t understand how two people with such a high proficiency in math and science could have a daughter who detested both subjects.

  That’s when they had told her the truth. She had been adopted at birth. That revelation had been a shocker and then it explained a lot. Things she had wondered about but had dismissed from her mind. Like how her chocolate-skin-tone parents could have such a daughter with caramel-colored skin. But as she got older she figured nothing was strange about it after all since she and Nana were of the same complexion and Gramps had been even darker than both her parents.

  And then both her parents were left-handed and so was Nana. But she’d dismissed that as well since Gramps had used his right hand like she did. They had thought she would be upset about it, but she wasn’t. For a minute, though, she had been disappointed to learn she’d been born to a parent who hadn’t wanted her.

  Her parents hadn’t been able to tell her much about her birth mother other than she knew she couldn’t take care of a child properly and had given her up for adoption, where she’d felt her baby could have a better life.

  Kia didn’t know what type of life her birth mother had lived, but she would admit for her, being adopted by Percelli and Alma Harris had been for the best. She knew her parents had provided a good home for her and there was never a time she doubted their love.

  She recalled her mother asking her if she thought when she got older she would want to find her birth mother and her response had been a resounding no. She had no reason to ever want to meet the woman who’d given her away, no matter the circumstances.

  She shifted her thoughts from her parents to that new guy at school, the one who’d smiled at her. Yesterday in the cafeteria she’d gotten close to him, but not close enough to say hello and introduce herself. But she had seen he had a gorgeous pair of dark eyes and a perfect set of white teeth. How a guy’s teeth looked said a lot about him in her book.

  She knew the only problem her parents might have with him was that he was a senior, which meant he was already eighteen or close to it. That was no biggie for her but it probably would be for her parents. Besides, she knew they were hoping she would finally show interest in Josh Matthews, the son of friends of theirs. Josh was her age and attended a private school in town. Unfortunately, there was a lot about Josh his parents and hers didn’t know. Like he was sexually active and sleeping with any girl who let him. And because his parents had money, most girls were making it easy for him. Kia knew about it since one of the girls, Nicole Lansford, had come back to school bragging about the fact she’d been one of them...like that was something to be proud of.

  As she turned the corner toward home, she wondered what Nana was preparing for dinner.

  * * *

  “COME IN.”

  Vashti walked into Bryce’s bedroom smiling while eyeing her up and down. “Wow! Don’t you look good? Trying to impress anyone tonight?”

  “Nope, just hope to have a good time.”

  “And there’s no reason you shouldn’t,” Vashti said. She then twirled around. “Well, what do you think?”

  Bryce rolled her eyes. “What is there to think? You always look good. You have that New York chicness about you.”

  Vashti laughed. “New York chicness?”

  “Yes, like you’d be put together even if you were wearing tops and slacks that don’t match.”

  Vashti looked down at herself. “Well, they do match so I’m good. You can’t go wrong with jeans and a top. I see we both had the same idea and it was the right one.”

  “I agree.”

  “Who’s driving?” Vashti asked.

  “Doesn’t matter, but I’ve yet to ride in that red little toy with you.”

  “Then consider tonight a done deal.”

  “Great! Besides, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

  Vashti wondered if Bryce would finally tell her what was going on with her and Kaegan. “I’m all ears.”

  Bryce nodded. “We’ll talk in the car.”

  When Vashti had driven halfway to Kaegan’s place and Bryce hadn’t said anything, she decided to ask. “So what did you want to talk about?”

  Bryce glanced over at her. “Shelby by the Sea.”

  Vashti lifted a brow. Not the conversation she had expected. “What about it?”

  “Since the Barnes Group pulled their offer after the zoning meeting, what do you plan to do?”

  “What else can I do but put it back on the market and hope next time the potential buyer is someone Reid Lacroix will approve of?”

  “There is another option, Vash.”

  “And what option is that?”

  “That you move back here and reopen the inn yourself.”

  “What! You got to be kidding. Why on earth would I want to do something like that?”

  “Because this is your home, it’s obvious the townspeople won’t treat you the same. You don’t have a job and running the inn would be a no-brainer for you because of your experience and education. That’s what you went to college for. And last but not least, I think your aunt Shelby would have wanted that.”

  Vashti shook her head. “I’m not sure she would have, Bryce. You were right about the inn needing repairs. That takes money that I don’t have. And I have no desire to leave New York and move back here. I feel confident I’ll get another job eventually in New York. I like living there.”

  “It was just a thought. One I think you should consider. I hear all the reasons you wouldn’t want to move back, but I think no one is going to do justice to Shelby by the Sea but you.”

  She heard what Bryce was saying but she disagreed. There was someone out there who would bring the inn back to life, but it wouldn’t be her.

  * * *

  RAISED IN ONE big city after another his entire life, Sawyer originally had a hard time adjusting to small-town life in the cove, but he’d done so. However, he wondered if he would ever get used to this. Life on the Louisiana Bayou where Kaegan lived.

  First he would have to get used to the wildlife that roamed the shores and swam the waters, namely the raccoons, coyotes, gray wolves, beavers, otters...and he mustn’t forget the alligators. Then because of the swamp, there were mosquitoes that were almost as big as humans, which was why Kaegan had several lit mosquito torches lining the area. So far tonight Sawyer hadn’t been bitten once and according to Kaegan, these torches, whose flame emitted some type of repellent, would assure that he wouldn’t.

  He knew to the people who braved the elements and lived on the bayou there was no place better. It was a culture of their own and was a mixture of just about every influence from Spanish to French to German to African and Irish and, in Kaegan’s case, Native American. There were those with predominantly French ancestry, some who still spoke the language, and who made up the foundation of the Cajun culture.

  Kaegan had explained a lot about the culture of the people Sawyer was duty bound to protect. The first and foremost was to respect their heritage and culture
and not fall victim to stereotypes. For instance, there was more to the Cajun people than how they spiced their foods. Sawyer believed above all else, the most important thing he’d learned was about the bayou itself, and its importance to the habitat and inland areas, mainly against coastal erosion. That’s why in a way he understood the environmentalists who fought to keep out developers and those who didn’t understand and appreciate its contribution, and to preserve as much of the bayou as they could.

  “Here you go.”

  He glanced over at Kaegan as a beer bottle was placed in his hand. “Thanks. And everything looks good and smells even better.”

  Kaegan chuckled. “There’s nothing better than bayou living and eating. You won’t believe the size of the catfish I caught this week just for tonight.”

  “I can imagine.” He recalled the times he’d been able to grab a few hours with Kaegan out on the bayou to fish. He’d never known an area that had such an abundance of crawfish and catfish.

  “How’s Jade?”

  Sawyer smiled. “She’s fine, although I left her in a bit of a tiff when she found out she wasn’t invited tonight. I had to explain to her that turning sixteen didn’t mean she got to go to grown folk’s functions.”

  “Good. I wouldn’t want her to be mad at me the next time I see her.”

  Sawyer smiled. “Jade would have gotten over it by then, trust me. She told me last night that she plans on trying out for majorette next year but thinks she needs lessons. I have to start researching to see if anyone in the area offers baton-twirling classes.”

  Kaegan nodded. “I guess she’s forgotten about those cooking classes you suggested she enroll in.”

  “For now, but you never know when it might pop up later. Just like I’m hoping this majorette thing is a phase.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. Catalina Cove High School is known to rank high in the baton-twirling competition every year.” Kaegan took a sip of his own beer before adding. “Too bad Vashti doesn’t live here anymore. I know a lot of young girls who could benefit from her expertise. She’s still reigning champ.”