Ethan took a seat on one of the barstools and gawked at his brother noting the bags under his eyes. “What’s troubling you other than lack of sleep that comes with having a newborn in the house?”
Brent took his coffee over to the kitchen table, laced it with plenty of sugar to boost his outlook. “You remember when we finally nailed the meth dealers Harley Edgecombe and his sons, sent them away for a long time?”
“You bet, hard to forget the way I felt taking down that whole compound near San Sebastian. It’s one of the highlights of my brief stint in law enforcement. Why? Has Richardson finally decided to go after them and now’s begging your cooperation?”
“I wish.” Brent told him about how the Thorwalds had now taken over the lucrative enterprise and Eastlyn’s offer to scope it out. “Trouble is, the first time we went in there, I was sheriff. Here in Pelican Pointe as police chief I have no reason to officially be in that area. Yet, knowing that compound is still out there, knowing what crystal meth does to kids, or anyone else for that matter, how can I sit on my butt and do nothing?”
Ethan knew his brother. “I can see the war going on in your head from here. Especially when a private citizen offers to put her ass on the line to make it go away and you stymied.”
“Exactly. It makes me question why I took this job if all I plan to do is write speeding tickets and hassle the occasional transient trying to catch a few winks on the bench along the pier.”
“It isn’t like you to question yourself. So don’t hand me that hangdog attitude by selling yourself short. You do a helluva lot more around here than that. Do I have to list everything so you’ll quit feeling sorry for yourself?”
Brent lifted his cup and said as only a brother could, “Screw you. With kids I’d think you’d be as concerned as I am with the idea we didn’t completely put an end to the drugs coming out of that compound.”
“Okay, now that you’ve opened that door, there’s been an ugly rumor floating around for several years now that the drug trade in the area has managed to infiltrate our own quaint city limit borders.”
Brent sent him a knowing look. “I’ve heard that before. For some time I’ve had my eye on McCready’s, maybe because I live practically across the street from the place. Rowdy weekend crowds are becoming more and more routine and there’s something about Flynn’s clientele I find…questionable.”
“I know you’ve been suspicious of that place for a long time because of the seedy crowd.”
“When it’s the only local watering hole for miles around that tends to be the norm. Up to now, I’ve given Flynn some leeway, or tried to, often times cutting him some major slack with the noise ordinance.”
“Hey, during the time the town was my turf, we managed to drive many of the criminal types away for good. No one gave us a medal for it, but then, we weren’t looking for one either. ”
“Those were the days.” Brent sat back, sipped his coffee. “So if I could find a link here in town to that compound, I’d be justified in going after the Thorwalds?”
“I’m no legal eagle, but I’d say if you made a connection like that, you’d be able to justify following any suspect. If that suspect just happened to lead you to Thorwald’s front door, you’d have plenty of reason to kick it down and see if the operation has been revitalized. But having a civilian do your intel is risky and dangerous. This woman wouldn’t do it on her own, would she?”
“Nah, I don’t think she’s that wound up. I’m pretty sure I discouraged her from going near that place on her own.”
“You know, big brother, if you ever need backup, I still keep my .45 locked and loaded.”
“I can see it now at the family barbeque, Hayden giving me hell because I dragged you into that role and back into the danger zone.”
Ethan let out a whoop of laughter. “Chances are if I went charging out the door to help you in a firefight, she’d definitely have something to say about it. But I can still handle my wife.”
Brent found humor in Ethan’s bravado. “Yeah, right. As far as Hayden’s concerned, I’ve seen you cave at the slightest little thing. But you’re entitled to keep your ‘king of the castle’ delusions.”
Ethan raised his middle finger toward his brother in response. “You’re as prone to caving in to River as I am to Hayden. Don’t pretend otherwise. So what do you intend to do about the ex-pilot?”
Brent rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I’m not sure exactly. Maybe emphasize again that she should avoid the area. Make sure she understands how dangerous it is.”
“What prompted her to make such an offer?”
“Honestly, I think she’s bored. She reminds me of when I left the army. Do you remember how long it took me to get comfortable in civilian life? I think it’s hard for her to leave behind that search for an adrenaline rush. I think she’s going through several kinds of withdrawal other than the pills.”
“Sounds like a tough place to be. Have you thought of bringing her on as a police officer, at least part-time?”
Brent’s eyes widened. He started to speak but then sat back and thought about that. “I could, couldn’t I?”
“There’s your built-in backup.” Switching topics, Ethan wanted to know, “Are you babysitting the kids next Saturday when our wives take the mother’s day out excursion to Promise Cove?”
“Who else? The nanny?” He squirmed in his chair. “We should start a father’s day out.”
“Yeah, you be sure to mention that to River when you get home.”
“Only if you’ll bring it up to Hayden.”
“I’m not stupid. Hayden already believes she has it tough stuck at the store all day with the kids while I try my damnedest to write.”
“Who are we kidding? Marriage is complicated. We’ve been ruled by our wives since the day we said ‘I do.’ Women are sneaky. They’ve brought allies into the mix—our own kids.”
Ethan snorted out a laugh. “Ain’t that the truth? It’s a foregone conclusion we’ve been domesticated by sexy females who invaded the town and took us by storm.”
Brent peered at him over the rim of his cup. “Do you use that kind of crap in your books?”
“Not until now, but I’m desperate enough to try to work it into the storyline somewhere.”
“Lots of luck with that.”
Landon Jennings, owner of The Plant Habitat, studied the hard-working Eastlyn Parker as she zipped the forklift around the warehouse, moving empty pallets from the dock to where the stacks were stored overnight.
After an exhausting day spent landscaping Ina Crawford’s front yard, Caleb came up to him, wiping the sweat off his forehead. “It’s a hot one today. Despite the heat I finished the job in three days as planned.” He handed Landon an invoice, all the while tracking his uncle’s line of vision. When they landed on Eastlyn, Caleb added, “You know, Cooper’s been out with her a couple times.”
“Yeah, word gets out. The other day I stopped by the store and caught Coop humming along to a tune by James Taylor.”
“No way. Are you sure it was our Cooper? Maybe aliens took over his body.”
A smile formed at the corners of Landon’s mouth. “It gave me hope that he’s finally in a place where he can put the past behind him. It’s significant, too, because he’s right back in the town where it all started.”
Caleb rested his hand on Landon’s shoulder. “Sometimes I wish I had memories of my father like Cooper has. But all I remember is you being there for me in that role. What I recall most is how you and Shelby would always show up at assorted school events for all three of us, right on time, never late. Whether you were swamped at the nursery or not, you’d take the time for us. Those first few months had to be a confusing, awful time for Coop and Drea. I was younger. It didn’t affect me the way it did them. I only remember you and Shelby as my mom and dad.”
Landon’s eyes misted up. He laid a hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “It’s good to hear you say that. You’re my son and that’s the truth of it. Shelby
and I thought of all three of you as our own from day one. I don’t know. Maybe it was from guilt because we didn’t see Eleanor’s mental illness as that serious, certainly had no idea she was ever capable of murder. Poor Layne and Brooke, trying to turn to each other for a little happiness in life and getting killed for it.”
“It’s amazing that you’d see it like that.”
Landon swallowed hard. “It wasn’t easy. But you don’t remember how cruel and vicious Eleanor could be. The woman used her tongue like a weapon. She’s my sister but I swear after she left her kids out in the middle of the water that night, I was done with her.”
“But everyone thought she’d committed suicide.”
“I’ll be honest. I never thought she did. Eleanor was too narcissistic to take her own life. Anyway, I never mentioned your mother to any of you kids after that and you guys never really asked. It was as if all of you were happy to be rid of her. I know I was.”
“No one would blame you for that.”
“Doesn’t matter. I blame myself for what you guys went through. I should’ve intervened long before I let it get that far. I didn’t. I have to live with that every time I see the sadness in Cooper’s eyes, the way he’s wary of connecting with anyone on a deep emotional level.”
“You’ve noticed that, too. I thought I was the only one who picked up on that in him.”
Landon shook his head. “That’s why if Eastlyn Parker can bring Coop some level of happiness, I’m all for it.”
Not knowing the seriousness of the conversation between her brother and uncle, Drea glided into the warehouse with problems of her own. All she saw were two men lazing on the job, staring off into space. “What are you guys doing? Why are you standing around watching Eastlyn work?”
“What does it look like we’re doing? We’re standing here working on world peace,” Caleb said good-naturedly.
In response, Drea gave him a light punch to the shoulder.
“Is that all you got?” Caleb teased in challenge.
“What is it with men these days?” Drea sighed. “I’m fed up with all of them.”
Caleb exchanged a look with Landon before holding up his hands in surrender. “Uh oh, that sounds like there’s trouble in paradise. Is that statement meant for men in general or Zach in particular? What did he do this time?”
“I’ll tell you what he did. He forgot our one-year anniversary. He’s been acting strange now for some time. But when a guy you’ve been dating for a year doesn’t even bother to remember the dinner I’d planned to celebrate the occasion, I’d say it’s time to take a serious look at what’s not working. When I moved into his house I expected a little attention. Is that too much to ask? I knew how busy he was at the time with his business so for months and months, I cut him some slack. But I draw the line at completely forgetting the reason we made dinner plans.”
“He didn’t even think to bring the florist a flower?” Landon asked.
“No. Not a card. Not an email. Not a text message. No lunch date. No dinner date. He didn’t even plan a movie at home. In fact, he went off by himself. God knows where.”
“He went off by himself? Is Zach having an affair?” Caleb asked.
“Maybe. Who knows?” Drea grumbled.
Ever the practical cynic when it came to affairs of the heart, Caleb reasoned, “Then I guess it’s a good thing you didn’t find a renter for your loft.”
Drea’s face went white at the prospect of that. “I packed my things up already and slept there last night. So I hope Coop and Eastlyn have a lot better luck at love than I did, because I’ve decided to break things off with Zach for good.”
Thirteen
Once the county forensic team finished digging in the dirt, it was Eastlyn’s turn to get back to the plowing. It took two more days before she deemed the ground ready for planting. When that happened, she helped Isabella and Thane make at least four dozen calls to spread the word.
The next morning people began showing up at six a.m., so many volunteers that the mass arrival created a parking problem.
After Brent and Ethan solved that issue they realized two shifts were needed to accommodate all the troops willing to help. No one was turned away. Children of various ages were assigned to a grownup to act as helper. The kids, depending on their ages, either toted the seed bags or handled the scattering of seeds.
Sure the process could’ve been done a lot faster and far less labor intensive. But that had never been Isabella’s intent. The Lighthouse Project as folks around town now called it, was supposed to show kids and adults there was joy and personal satisfaction in the art of gardening.
“Your hard work’s finally paid off,” Thane noted as he came up to stand next to Eastlyn. “A job well done all around.”
Eastlyn surveyed all the workers in the field. “There was a time I thought your wife might be delusional. Whenever she went on about how many people she expected to show up, I had my doubts. Now, I see she that was the heart and soul of this project.”
“She believed in the townspeople every step of the way,” Thane said with pride. “I admit there were times I thought she might be exaggerating the extent of everyone’s participation.”
“I hear congrats are in order. Jonah’s been telling anyone who’s willing to listen that he’s getting a baby brother for Christmas.”
Thane took off his ball cap to wipe the sweat from his brow. “Oh geez, that boy is likely setting himself up for a big disappointment.”
From a few feet away Coop overheard the exchange. Standing at the back of a Plant Habitat delivery van, he added, “Think of it this way, Jonah’s simply playing the percentages.”
Coop slid a crate of tomato plants off the back, handed them off to Thane in assembly-line fashion. “There’s a fifty-fifty shot the boy’s right and he’ll be able to strut around telling everyone he’s the one who knew it from the start.”
Thane hefted the carton from Coop, handed it off to one of the volunteers waiting in line for another pallet of seedlings. “We’ll know for sure in a couple weeks, around the middle of June. That’s when Isabella goes in for the first sonogram.”
Dressed in a pair of overalls, hair pulled back in a ponytail, Shelby Jennings came up to them looking far younger than her fifty years. “When we finish the planting, all the volunteers have already decided we should stay put and have ourselves a cookout on the grounds to celebrate. Murphy and Nick went to round up as many barbeque grills as they could find.”
It warmed Eastlyn to be part of such camaraderie again. Since leaving the army, she’d missed that feeling of teamwork, that pulling together toward a single, common objective.
Right now, Isabella’s vision for the co-op was coming together nicely.
“So you’re saying the first shift will hang around till the second one gets done?” Coop asked, amazed at that kind of enthusiasm.
Shelby’s voice cracked with emotion. “Coop, you were away a long time. But the truth is, this place has a lot of good people in it who come together like nothing I’ve ever seen. Murph and Nick and Jordan turned this town around. So to answer your question, they’re all planning to chip in for the food and stay to make it a party.”
Landon came up, tossed in his two cents. “Plus, they don’t want this beautiful place overshadowed by death. The negative stamp Carl Knudsen tried to leave, they want it erased for good, replaced by a positive.”
That sounded like a plan to Eastlyn. “We could make a bonfire over near the edge of the cliff.”
Thane nodded. “Good idea. I’ll round up some of the kids and get them busy gathering firewood.”
For the next hour or so the first wave set up folding tables in a common area to use for the food. They unloaded lawn chairs and coolers packed with soft drinks and beer.
As soon as Nick and Murphy returned, the men fired up the grills. Because everyone had worked up an appetite and wanted their food fast, they kept the menu to meat that would cook quickly. They broke open packages of
hot dogs for the kids, bratwurst and links for the grownups.
Margie and Max dished out buckets of old-fashioned potato salad while Fischer Robbins served up helpings of his pre-prepared macaroni and cheese.
When the work in the field began to wind down, Eastlyn stood back and watched the contented faces on the volunteers as they lined up to get their food. So much community spirit made her wonder how long it had been since she’d felt such satisfaction in a job well done.
The Lighthouse Project had come to an end—at least a good portion of it. Sure, Isabella planned to keep her on as an overseer, but how much time would the job really take to line up the volunteers needed to water and tend the place? No, she’d need to start looking for something else. She’d need to stretch every dollar from the garden center if she intended to buy that old chopper.
She was staring off into the horizon when Cooper walked up with his camera in hand. “What are you fretting about? Where were you just now? You didn’t even see me come up.”
Without answering him, her eyes immediately went to the camera. “I hope you don’t aim that thing at me.”
He took her chin in his hand, moved her head from side to side. “Why are you so camera shy? You of all people.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means, why would such a beautiful woman object to having her picture taken?”
“You need glasses,” she grumbled as she moved away. “Come on, there’s something I want to show you.” She led him over to an area away from the others where she’d already decided this was her favorite spot.
She plopped down on the bench among the newly planted lavender seedlings, some already laden with fragrant buds. “By July this spot will be blooming with fragrant buds.”
Instinctively, Cooper raised his lens and zoomed in on her. He started clicking off shots one after the other.
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