Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  She understood and needed to assure him that she was okay with it because she had no intentions of them continuing anything beyond this weekend anyway. Doing so would invite complications they didn’t need. However, she had entertained the thought of them becoming friends with benefits, but that would require sneaking around. She’d done that once before in Catalina Cove and didn’t plan to do it again.

  She was about to suggest that they just enjoy today together and leave it at that, when the smile that suddenly touched his lips stopped her. Surprised, she asked, “Why are you smiling?”

  “Because of your good news. I think returning to Catalina Cove and running that inn would be great. I can definitely see you being a success at it. I’m just confused as to why you thought I would renege on my invitation just because you’re moving back to the cove.”

  Vashti thought she was the one confused. “Because I assumed you wouldn’t want for us to start something we’d have to end.”

  Now he looked confused. “Why would we have to end anything just because you’re moving back to the cove?”

  Vashti couldn’t believe he would ask such a thing. “For starters, you have a rule about not dating anyone in town.”

  “I do?”

  “Yes, don’t you?”

  “No. I never dated anyone in Catalina Cove for a number of reasons. I wasn’t ready to date anyone and there wasn’t anyone in town I was interested in dating. And I never wanted townspeople in my business. But now I am ready to date, I’m interested in you and if I have to get anyone out my business, I can do that real fast.” He raised a brow. “Evidently you’re the one with misgivings about dating someone in town.”

  Vashti could feel her face get hot. “Well, yes. I’ll be busy getting the inn ready to be reopened. Too busy for any involvement.”

  “If you’re concerned about me getting underfoot, Vashti, don’t be. I promise that I won’t make a pest of myself.” He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. “There, you have nothing to worry about.” He eased out of bed. “Let’s get dressed for breakfast.”

  Vashti stared at him, not believing the turn their conversation had taken. “Hey, wait.”

  He glanced at her when he reached for his pants off the back of the chair. “What’s wrong?”

  “We will not continue seeing each other after I move to Catalina Cove, Sawyer.”

  He frowned. “Any reason we won’t?”

  “Yes. You’re the sheriff with a teenage daughter. Imagine the scandal if anyone discovers we’re sneaking around.”

  “Sneaking around? We won’t be sneaking around. And if you’re concerned about Jade, don’t be. She’s been throwing out hints that I need a girlfriend anyway. I think she’s worried that I won’t have anyone when she leaves for college in a few years. Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a second.”

  As soon as he left the bedroom, Vashti got out of bed and quickly slid the caftan she usually wore around the house over her head. Evidently she hadn’t made things clear with Sawyer. She had no intentions of them seeing each other once she moved back to the cove. She needed to make him understand why she couldn’t risk a scandal.

  He walked out of the bathroom and glanced over at her and smiled. “Do you have any extra toiletries? I left my stuff at the hotel.”

  “Yes, I have extra toiletries, but I don’t think you understand.”

  “About what?”

  “Evidently you’re under the impression that I want to continue this.”

  That got his attention. “And you don’t?”

  “No.”

  He stared at her. “You want to tell me why?”

  “I have told you, but you haven’t been listening. You might be ready to live again and enjoy life but I’m not. I tried it. Twice. I have no reason to do it a third time. Not only will I not have time to be involved with you, I don’t want to. You and I are just a scandal waiting to happen. I heard that women in the cove want to date you, yet you refuse to date any one of them.”

  “I told you why.”

  “Yes, but think how it will look when I return to town and we hook up. They won’t like it.”

  He frowned. “You think I give a royal damn about what they won’t like? My life is my life, Vashti. Like I said, I never dated any woman in the cove because I didn’t want to. Wasn’t interested. That’s why I dated Leesa. But I want a different relationship with you than I had with Leesa. I don’t want a friend with benefits. I want someone I can have a future with.”

  “Then I’m not your girl because I’m not interested in a future with any man. Been there, done that. Twice. Remember I told you two and through, well I meant it.”

  He looked ready to argue, but she shook her head. “I can’t, Sawyer. I left Catalina Cove and stayed away because of a scandal over my head. I’m not returning for another scandal. When I return to the cove it will be for Shelby by the Sea and not for anyone or anything else.” She took a deep breath. “When I was sixteen, I got pregnant.”

  He stilled, but she couldn’t gauge his reaction.

  “The guy didn’t marry me and I lost the baby. My son died an hour after he was born. Complications.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. My getting pregnant at sixteen was a mistake but the baby I carried wasn’t. I grew to love him.”

  His face softened when she said that. She knew he’d experienced the same with Jade.

  “Of course you would. You were a mother. It was a natural instinct.”

  “Yes. My parents wanted me to abort and I refused. They wanted me to give my baby up for adoption and I refused that, too. They never forgave me for defying them.”

  “I’m sure they’ve gotten over it.”

  “No, they haven’t. Not really.”

  He didn’t say anything as he stood there and looked at her for a long moment. And then he said, “I’m sorry you went through that. But you have nothing to be ashamed of. And I meant what I said. I want a relationship with you. I don’t want a friend with benefits. I’m just asking you to try, Vashti. Get to know me and take a chance.”

  His eyes implored her to say yes. For a second she wanted to.

  “I can’t, Sawyer.”

  She then watched as he began dressing, putting on his shirt and buttoning it up. When he was completely dressed, he glanced over at her. “I wish you the best, Vashti. See you around.”

  He then left.

  Part 2

  “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”

  —Joseph Campbell

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Six weeks later

  “AND YOU HONESTLY think the inn will be ready for occupancy in four months?” Bryce asked, glancing around.

  “Sooner I hope,” Vashti said, while following Bryce’s gaze around the room. All the furniture was covered since the painters would soon start on the inside, now that the outside structure had been pressure washed and painted.

  It was hard to believe she’d moved back to the Catalina Cove a few weeks ago and had hit the ground running. One of the first things she did was personally contact members of the staff who’d worked for her aunt to see if they were interested in coming to work for her. Some had found new employment and were happy where they were. A few of them who’d worked at Shelby for years were more than glad to return and she was grateful to have them back.

  Instead of hiring an interior decorator, Vashti had brought on Juanita Beckett, the older woman who’d been the cove’s seamstress for years. Juanita had been commissioned to make new custom drapes for every window in the inn.

  Albert Rogers, one of the town’s carpenters, would do all the woodwork needed. She was excited to restore the inn to the level of stately beauty it had once had.

  Before leaving New York she had posted e
mployment opportunities for the inn. By doing that early, she had essentially announced Shelby by the Sea would be reopening for business and who would be running things. She figured any discussion by the townsfolk would take place before she moved back to the cove and would be old news.

  It seemed the residents of Catalina Cove were just happy the inn was reopening because it would put some of them to work. Kaegan’s company would be supplying all her fresh seafood, Harold’s market all the fresh fruits and vegetables, and Linda’s Florist would provide all the fresh flowers for the inn’s huge foyer.

  Other than Bryce and Kaegan, no one knew about the loan from Mr. Lacroix, and she intended to keep it that way. Since hiring a marketing firm for all the promotions, the announcement of the inn’s reopening would appear in a number of tourist magazines around the country. She anticipated reservations would start rolling in. Some people had already gotten the word. A number of those were people who had stayed at Shelby before, either on their honeymoon or for a vacation and wanted to return.

  Reid Lacroix had been right. Reopening the inn was the best thing she could have done. She had the perfect experience for it, and since she’d spent a lot of time here with Aunt Shelby she knew what worked and what didn’t. She also knew how implementing an aggressive marketing campaign could give the inn exposure on an international scale. She enjoyed being her own boss and continuing the legacy her aunt had started.

  “Once the painters finish, Mr. Rogers will come in and take care of all the woodwork and repair the cabinets and tables before Ms. Juanita hangs the drapes. So far everything is on schedule,” she told Bryce.

  Vashti had stayed with Bryce the first week she had returned, just long enough to get the electricity turned on and most of the things she would need to live at the inn operational. She had moved into her aunt’s bedroom and being there had brought her a lot of comfort, although she’d felt alone living in the huge house by herself.

  “I heard you go visit Ms. Gertie pretty regularly,” Bryce said, reclaiming her attention.

  “I don’t go see her every day, but at least two to three times a week. I’m hoping that one of those days she will recognize me, and if she doesn’t that’s fine. What’s important to me is that I recognize her. I know who she is and what part she played in my life.”

  Not only had Ms. Gertie stood with Aunt Shelby against her parents when they tried to force Vashti to give her baby up for adoption, but when they said they wouldn’t pay any of the baby’s delivery fees if she didn’t, Ms. Gertie had countered and said in that case, she would deliver Vashti’s baby for free. Vashti thought about the last conversation she’d had with her parents, when she’d told them of her decision to move back to the cove and reopen Shelby by the Sea. They’d literally blown a gasket. She couldn’t understand why. It was as if they assumed since they no longer lived in Catalina Cove that she had no reason to live there either. She had told them as politely and respectfully as she could that where she decided to live was her decision and not theirs. They hadn’t liked that and hadn’t talked to her since, although she’d tried calling them. Their behavior, as far as she was concerned, was ridiculous.

  She returned her attention to Bryce. “Hey, I got an idea. Let’s go to a movie later.”

  “A movie?” Bryce asked, raising her brow.

  “Yes. I have nothing else to do tonight. Do you?”

  “No.”

  “Then let’s go. I’ve been going full speed since moving back and I feel the need to unwind.”

  Bryce smiled. “Okay, I’ll go. I need to unwind as well. I’m going home to shower and change. Let’s meet at the theater in a couple of hours.”

  * * *

  “WELCOME BACK, SHERIFF. Did you and Jade enjoy your vacation in the mountains?” Deputy Burney Fowler asked as he walked into Sawyer’s office.

  “Thanks and yes, we did.”

  “When did you get back in town?”

  “Earlier today. I figured I’ll get a head start on paperwork after being gone two weeks. Besides, Jade’s at a sleepover tonight.” No need to add the house seemed empty. Lonely. On top of that, he felt edgy. Horny. He hadn’t felt that way in years. Even after Johanna’s death, sex hadn’t consumed his mind. Trying to make a life without Johanna for Jade had. It was only later when he’d gotten a sexual itch did he and Leesa hook up. Now what he was feeling was more than a damn itch. It was a full-blown ache. And he knew the woman responsible.

  It didn’t take much to recall his time in New York. It had been one hot night. So hot he still got heated flashes whenever he thought about it. And he’d thought about it a lot. Even though he’d gone to Coney Island without her and had returned to the cove a day earlier than planned, none of that mattered. Nor had it mattered he had been so mad he could have eaten nails. All that mattered was how she’d made him feel when they’d made love.

  Now, six weeks later he had a different perspective on things, mainly because he would get madder than hell at how she ended things between them before they could get started. She’d had a lot of nerve saying she hadn’t wanted them to continue anything just because she planned to move back to the cove.

  When he’d gotten back today, it had taken all his willpower not to drive by Shelby by the Sea. He had eaten dinner at the café and overheard a couple talking at the next table about how excited they were about the inn reopening and Vashti moving back to the cove. They appreciated the fact she was hiring a number of locals instead of outsiders to do most of the work.

  Yes, the townsfolk were talking about Vashti, just like she’d predicted. However, what he’d heard was all positive. He had to wonder would it have been if word got out they’d had an affair. Would the townspeople care? She thought so and that’s what mattered to her. And as far as those women in town that he refused to date, did she honestly assume he would take them out now? If he hadn’t before, why would he now? Nothing had changed.

  He tossed a document aside and leaned back in his chair. How could she turn her back on the best lovemaking there was between two people? People who could generate sexual energy like it was an element of the universe? Did she not understand that degree of passionate power between them wasn’t something they could turn on or off at whim?

  After leaving her place that morning in New York, he had discovered it had been more than sex between them on his part. For the first time in almost seventeen years, he had felt something for a woman. What he felt in his gut whenever he saw Vashti, whenever he thought about her, was more than just sexual. He was now convinced more than ever that she was a woman he could fall in love with, share his life with. Unfortunately, a forever kind of love was not what she wanted. She’d made it damn clear she didn’t want love of any kind.

  Drawing in a deep, frustrated breath he picked the papers on his desk back up, determined to get work done and keep Vashti Alcindor out of his mind.

  * * *

  A NOISE WOKE VASHTI. Jerking upright in bed, she glanced around. She heard it again and knew the sound was just outside her window. When she’d come home from the movies she had checked to make sure all the doors were locked before getting ready for bed. What if someone was outside trying to get in? It didn’t help that the movie she’d seen had been a thriller. She had heard something.

  Catalina Cove had a reputation for low crime, mainly because most people knew each other and worked hard to make the town safe. But what if someone had driven in from someplace else? The inn was on an isolated street and there were no security gates surrounding it. It backed up against the gulf. A trespasser could come by boat just as easily by car.

  When she heard the sound again she told herself not to panic as she quickly reached for her cell phone to call 911.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  SAWYER HAD BEEN on his way home when he’d heard the call from the dispatcher. A possible intruder at Shelby by the Sea. He didn’t waste any time radioing in tha
t he would take the call. He’d heard from Kaegan that Vashti had decided to move in while repairs were being done.

  He sped through the streets of Catalina Cove with red-and-blue lights flashing. Reaching Buccaneer Lane, he quickly pulled into the long driveway. The large historic mansion turned bed-and-breakfast inn could barely be seen in the pitch-black night. Had Vashti not installed floodlights yet?

  Sprinting up to the steps he glanced around as he made his way toward the door. Knocking, he said, “This is Sheriff Grisham of the Catalina Cove Police Department.”

  The porch light came on the minute she opened the door. His breath automatically caught in his lungs when he saw Vashti standing there in the doorway, captured by the glow of a light from the foyer. The surprise on her face was obvious. “What are you doing here?”

  He frowned. “Did you not call for the police?”

  “Yes, but I mean...”

  He knew what she meant. She was probably wondering why of all the people on the Catalina Cove police force he was the one who got the call. Not that he owed her an explanation, but given the nature of their history, he said, “I was on my way home when I heard the call. I figured I was closer and would take it.” What he said was partly true. He would have taken the call regardless.

  “I thought you were out of town.”

  He wondered how she’d heard that. Had she asked about him? If she had, he wondered why when she’d made it clear she hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with him when she moved back to the cove. “I just got back today. I’m sure there’s a reason you called the police.”

  She frowned at him. “Of course there’s a reason. I heard a noise outside my bedroom window.”

  He nodded. “Lock the door. I’ll check things out.”

  And then he turned and sprinted back down the steps.