Hayley (The Casella Cousins Book 1)

by Kathryn Shay

  In a better mood by the time they reached Hidden Cove, she took his hand as he helped her out of his car and studied the house before him. “Again, a nice place.”

  “Yeah. I appreciate it.”

  “You appreciate most things.” He tugged her close. “I love that about you.”

  “Thanks.”

  They climbed the steps and went in through the front door. When he just stood there, she tried to see it through his eyes. The house was three decades old, with a good-sized kitchen, where they entered. Bridget had remodeled the space so everything was sleek. Like her. A huge living room straight ahead through an archway had a panoramic view of the water.

  “The second story has four bedrooms and baths.”

  “What’s on the bottom floor?”

  “A storage area for boats and a small bedroom.” She set her hat and bag aside. “How about some lunch?”

  “I am hungry.”

  “Why don’t you go outside on the deck and enjoy the view while I get food and put it out.”

  “Sure.”

  From the kitchen island, she saw that he walked out to the deck. She flipped on her iPod and listened to smooth jazz as she worked, cutting up fruit, cold cuts, and cheeses they’d picked up on the way here. They’d also gotten steaks for dinner.

  The back door opened, and she looked over. “What are you doing here?”

  Bridget, wearing a gauzy white top with a scarf and aqua pants, stepped inside. “I’ve come to pack up my personal things. A moving company is coming to get them on Monday.”

  “You could have called.”

  Ignoring Hayley’s comments, she set a white bag on the counter. “What are you doing here?”

  “The place is partly mine, Mother.”

  “I’m not disputing that, though had I known your brother was buying it up right my under my nose, I wouldn’t have sold it.”

  “That’s spiteful, isn’t it?”

  “He deserves no better. Do you come up every weekend?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “I have to say you’re being more reticent than normal.” She glanced down. “Are you fixing all that for yourself? Or…are those Casella cousins coming here? I thought maybe the car I saw was one of theirs.”

  “None of the above.”

  “Hey.” Hayley heard from the glass doors closing. “I’m hungry for more than…” Paul appeared in the archway. “Oh! Hello.”

  Bridget frowned. “Paul Covington?” She transferred her gaze to Hayley. “You two are sworn enemies.”

  He captured Hayley’s gaze and smiled, sexily. “Not anymore.”

  “You’ve made peace?”

  “Mother, none of this is your business.”

  She’d changed her tone when Paul appeared, but she turned back into a shrew and pointed an icy glare at Hayley. It used to make her shrink back. “I won’t tolerate being addressed like that.”

  “Fine. You can give me your key before you leave.”

  “Leave? I told you…”

  “Next time you want to come to our house, call either me or Finn. We’ll arrange to meet you so you can get your things.”

  Bridget raised her chin. “So be it. Afterward, don’t call me.” A threat she made the morning she’d come to the condo after the jail stay.

  Paul walked to the door and pulled it open. “Goodbye, Mrs. Casella.”

  “It’s Sullivan,” she said disgustedly. “It always has been.”

  When he closed the door on her, he approached Hayley. “How are you?”

  “I’m tired of her bossiness. Her presumptuousness.”

  “I could see that.” He put his hands on her shoulders from behind and began to knead the tension there. “Will you never see her again?”

  “No, I will. I can’t abandon my family.” She stared after her mother. “Like she did.”

  “You mean she abandoned you three?”

  “Not us. We have family in Hidden Cove. My father Albert and his brother Tomaso were very close until Dad met my mother. She was ashamed of his…roots, I guess. Even though he’d made scads of money in investments, she was never proud of him.”

  Paul sat down on a stool across from her.

  “Dad bought this house so we could spend time with his brother, sister-in-law and children. Bridget rarely came here. We never missed her, though Finn still has a soft spot for her. Anyway, there’s six cousins and we became tight, even though Bridget treated them like lepers.”

  “What happened?”

  “My father died. Ronan was 20, Finn was 15 and I was 9. After my father was gone, she kept us from the Casella cousins, Paul. People we loved like siblings. Our flesh and blood.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “She did something else unconscionable. She legally changed mine and Finn’s last name to Sullivan, her name. Ronan was of legal age, so she couldn’t do it to him. Not long after, he took off. Finn and I had to suffer through it until we turned eighteen respectively.”

  Paul slid his arms around her. Hayley turned to him and lay her head on his chest. She’d talked enough about her awful history.

  * * *

  They spent the afternoon in a bed upstairs with a view of the water. They made love, but watched some of the New York news coverage, too.

  “An interesting development in the Gotham Hero event Friday night. Mr. Covington has not accepted any calls for interviews about the event.”

  The co-host shrugged. “And our researchers couldn’t find much about him, either.” The camera panned in on her. “Mr. Covington went to Yale College, UCLA law school, was editor of the law review and graduated Magna Cum Laude.”

  “Wow, Magna Cum Laude,” Hayley said poking him in the ribs.

  “Not something I brag about.”

  The newscaster continued. “He lived in California after getting his law degree and was employed by Maxwell & Myers Law Firm. He left there to come to New York to work a year ago.”

  The other anchor added, “No one has been able to find out where he grew up, his family background or current family status. So, folks, we have a mystery on our hands.”

  “Will we solve it, Joe?”

  “I don’t know, Kara. We have to get an interview, I guess, to even start down that road.”

  Hayley had stilled when they were discussing his background. Damn it, Paul had commented on them intruding on his life and she wondered if this was why.

  She faced him fully. “I guess they don’t seem to understand your need for privacy.”

  “Do you, Hayley?”

  “For now.”

  He slid off the bed. “Let’s get dressed and do something. Is Finn’s boat here?”

  “One of them. It’s in the water, already.”

  “We could go out for a sail. Stop at a restaurant for dinner. I doubt anyone will recognize me with a ball cap and sunglasses.”

  “Probably not. All right, let’s go.”

  * * *

  Paul’s mind was all over the place as they walked into The Pelican Grill. The place was typical of many restaurants on the water: they had a place to dock the boat, steps up to the deck of the eatery, with tables both inside and out. He and Hayley wanted to be in the fresh air.

  He asked, “You didn’t say much on the boat.”

  “I know. I’m still overwhelmed by events of the weekend. You must be, too.”

  “I am. Though it seems like a long time ago.”

  “Did the news upset you?”

  Paul sighed. “Some. I hate people digging into my past.”

  “They didn’t find much.”

  “I’m grateful for that.” He picked up a menu. “What will you have?”

  They both ordered grilled grouper and salad. The fish was flaky and hot, in contrast to the cold lettuce and dressing. But the conversation was less then scintillating.

  When they arrived back home night had fallen. They walked to the upper deck. “Want to sit outside for a while?” she asked.

  “Sure.”

/>   “Let’s have a glass of wine.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that.” When she started to go inside, he grasped her arm and pulled her onto his lap. “Are you upset with me? Be honest.”

  “I’m not upset. I said you could have some time to tell me everything.”

  “But?”

  She put her head on his shoulder. “We’ve been so intimate. I feel like we’ve had quite a bit of time together.”

  “I know. And I value that. But it hasn’t been that long.” When she didn’t seem convinced, he said, “I’m estranged from them, Hayley and it’s hard to talk about why.”

  “I figured that. Then I’ll wait.”

  “All right.”

  She went inside to get wine.

  Paul sat still, trying not to think of his background as she called it. But one memory wouldn’t be kept at bay…

  He was in his dorm room his sophomore year studying for a calculus test. There was a knock on the door. The guys on the floor were probably going out. “Come on in.” But when he looked up, he saw a face that he only dreamed about these days. “Jakub.”

  His only older brother hadn’t changed much. He’d filled out some in the chest, as Paul had, and he’d been exercising, if his muscles meant anything. Instead of talking, he walked over. Paul stood. And Jakub gave him the best bear hug in the world.

  When they parted, Paul couldn’t talk. They just stared at each other. Finally, he was able to say, “Sit down.”

  He did, on the second bed for Paul’s roommate. Jakub linked his hands between his knees and lifted his eyes to Paul. “I’m getting married. I want you to come home and be my best man. I want you to come home and be the godfather of the kids we’re going to have.” His pleading expression was hard to look at. “Come home, damn it.”

  “To where?”

  “I have a place of my own now. Cissy isn’t officially moving in until after the wedding but she’s there a lot. She wants you to be there with us.”

  “And Pa will disown you,” Paul said. “You’re so sensitive, you couldn’t deal with that, buddy. I’m not going to ruin your life.”

  “Alek wants you there, too. And Zofia and Lena, too. What’s he going to do, disown all of us?”

  “He could.”

  “Matka couldn’t live without her son. She got real depressed when you left. Still is on your birthday, holidays.”

  The notion clogged his throat.

  “It’s been two years, man. He saved your trophies, your pictures. He goes into the basement and pours over them, Paul.”

  “I can’t, Jakub, I’m sorry…”

  Remembering all he’d lost, Paul felt even worse. When Hayley came out with wine, he was in a rotten mood.

  * * *

  As they finished their wine, Hayley and Paul didn’t talk much. Instead, they let the beautiful moonlight on the deck and the company of crickets go to waste. Hayley suspected the media reports bothered him. When they went to bed, they turned on Netflix, and Paul fell asleep as they watched a romantic comedy.

  But even after she turned the TV and lights off, Hayley couldn’t sleep, which was highly unusual. Mostly she went out like a light when her head hit the pillow. Sick of seeing the red numbers on the clock change, she eased out of bed, grabbed a robe and slippers from the closet and went downstairs. She stood in front of the glass doors, thinking about her insomnia. Something was bothering her. And she knew what.

  She’d known before that Paul was hiding his past from her, which he confirmed and asked for more time to deal with her about it. But for professional researchers not finding anything about him made alarm bells go off in her head. However he’d grown up, he covered his tracks and nobody even discovered he had family here. No one knew but her. And he probably dropped that information in jail by mistake. She recalled the details now…

  “I was born back here. I got homesick for the glitz and glitter of the streets of New York.”

  “In my extended family, I have brothers and sisters.”

  “Where are they?”

  “In New York.”

  “Why didn’t you say they were the reason you came back here?”

  “Because they weren’t.”

  “I don’t understand that. I adore my brothers.”

  His family was in New York.

  Yet he didn’t see them.

  Well, you don’t see your mother much.

  That was true, but she wasn’t actually hiding anything. Maybe he and his parents simply didn’t get along. She yawned, but still wasn’t sleepy. So, she went to the kitchen to make tea. As she stirred it, she pondered the leaves to come up with some good reason Paul abandoned his family.

  But she couldn’t.

  * * *

  Trying to do everything in his power to make Sunday enjoyable for Hayley, Paul drove the boat over to Camden Cove and docked. “So, what are we going to do here?” she asked. He’d picked the spot.

  “There’s a Psychic Fair today.”

  She seemed surprised. “I’ve heard of them, of course. But I don’t know any specifics.”

  “Let’s get a brochure.” They walked up to the area where the fair began. A huge tent had been set up in a park in the center of town. A woman at the entrance gave them a brochure. Paul and Hayley stepped to the side, then she read the description out loud. “A Psychic Fair is a live, all-day event. It’s an organized gathering of diviners—hmm, I like that word—of all kinds of professionals, not only psychics, who have rented tables and offer readings, and sometimes healing rituals for attendees.”

  “Sounds like fun.” He smiled at her. “I thought we’d see what they do, and maybe get our futures told.”

  “Mr. Covington. I never pegged you as interested or as liking woo woo stuff.”

  He lifted his chin. “I have a lot of different aspects to my personality.”

  “So, I’m finding out.”

  “All right, the truth is I went to a fair like this with a girl when I was in high school and she was into Tarot Cards and Fortune Readings.”

  “Do you believe in all that?”

  “I didn’t, until the Tarot lady warned Mary, my girl, that something bad could befall her soon and to be careful.”

  Hayley chuckled. “Did anything happen?

  “You’ll be ashamed for laughing. Mary was head cheerleader and at the next basketball game, she was on the top of one of those pyramid things they do. She fell and broke her leg.”

  “Wow! I’m not sure I want to go in, then.”

  “I do.” He kissed her cheek. “Besides, it’s nice being outside and in public with you.”

  “Yeah, I feel that way, too.”

  A twenty-five-dollar fee to get in, and twenty dollars for each of the participants, turned out to be a hefty sum. They chose to have their auras read first.

  “Greetings. My name is Natasha.” The woman was dressed in colorful garb, gauzy and layered. She wore a turban of sorts on her head with dark black hair peeking out. “First, we have special aura cameras that snap an instant photo of you with your aura. Who would like to go first?”

  “I’ll go.” Paul stepped into a camera box, which resembled the little photo booths people used in the days before cell phone cameras. After his picture snapped, it came out onto a silver tray in the side. Natasha picked up the tray and brought the whole thing back to the table where Hayley waited and Paul sat down.

  The reader picked up the photo as if handling an ancient scroll and slid it in front of Paul. “Take a look, then I’ll read it for you.”

  Paul did. His aura was bright red, a bit foggy, and extending about 18 inches from his body. Natasha said, “This aura is exceptionally large, and at the moment the photo was taken, signified a huge amount of energy. The aura indicates you are a very competitive person. And a passionate man with high sexual appetites.”

  Hayley coughed to cover her reaction.

  “Why is it cloudy?” Paul asked.

  “If you're upset and angry over a recent situation, then t
his can show up in your aura as a clouded dark red. If you harbor negative thoughts, that kind of thinking will color your aura, too.” She peered over at him. “Are you having negative thoughts, sir?”

  “Nah.” He pulled Hayley close. “Not with her next to me.”

  “My turn,” Hayley said popping up and entering the booth. She came out shortly, Natasha went through the same process with the photo and both reseated themselves.

  “My dear,” the woman said, her eyes wide. “Most people have one or two colors in their aura, but yours is a rainbow. Very rare, reserved for those who are very special.”

  Paul winked at her. “We’ve known that all along.”

  “Hush,” she said.

  “People with these auras are outgoing and confident, strong willed and intuitive, optimistic and content.” She studied the image further. “They’re also healers.”

  Paul said, “That’s all good, right?”

  “Yes, you’re a special person, Miss. We give one caveat to those with rainbow auras. Healers are often easily hurt by those they heal.”

  Paul sighed heavily. Christ, everything was working against him. All he wanted was to have a lighthearted day, doing something different.

  Hayley must have seen his mood as they left. “Don’t worry Paul. I’m tough. I may be a healer, but I can take care of myself.”

  “I know.” The problem was he didn’t want to be the one who hurt her.

  * * *

  On Monday morning, Paul took an uber to the firm because he didn’t feel like bucking the crowds on the subway. And what if people recognized him? His face and the story of the gala had been plastered online and on television, and his voicemail continued to overflow. When he neared his building, he found the press staked out on the sidewalk and spilling into the street.

  Damn it. “If you don’t mind,” he said to the driver. “I’d like to bypass the address I gave you and get out at the end of the block.”

  “Sure buddy. Quite a crowd there. I wonder why.”