Bryce knew that wasn’t the only reason he would walk them home. It was when he could be with her. They would reach Vashti’s house first and then cut through the woods to get to her house. No one knew that on some days before she got home she and Kaegan would take the small boat he kept hidden away on old man Hogan’s property over to Eagle Bend Inlet, their secret place. It was there that Kaegan had taught her how to kiss and where they’d made love for the very first time.
“You’ve gotten quiet, Bryce. What are you thinking about?”
She glanced over at Vashti. Instead of answering her question she asked one of her own. “Where’s your husband? Shouldn’t you be with him instead of here pestering me?”
Vashti laughed. “I am not pestering you and you know it. But to answer your question, Sawyer got a call and had to leave, so I’m going to need a ride home.”
Vashti was married to the town’s sheriff. “No problem. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“Hmm, there might be a problem.”
Bryce lifted a brow. “What?”
“After Kaegan’s parties, Sawyer and I usually stay behind and help him put stuff away and clean up. So that means…”
Bryce frowned, having an idea where this conversation was going. “It means nothing. Kaegan can tidy up his own place. Besides, I’m sure that woman over there in the white top and jeans would be glad to stay back and help him. She’s been keeping her eyes on him the entire night.’
“You noticed I see.”
“How could I not notice?” Bryce refused to consider the tinge of resentment she was feeling had anything to do with jealousy. She dated and so did Kaegan. They meant nothing to each other anymore.
“I noticed you’ve been keeping your eyes on him a lot tonight as well,” Vashti pointed out.
“Yes, but for different reasons. I see him as a reminder of the foolish times of my youth.” She took another sip of her wine and curiosity got the best of her. “Who is she anyway? At first I thought that maybe she was his girlfriend, but she’s been staying back at a distance.”
“Her name is Sasha Johnson. I understand she’s new to town and was hired a month ago to work for Kaegan as a book-keeper,” Vashti said, taking a sip of her drink. Then as if deciding to switch subjects again, she said. “With the three of us working together it won’t take long to get Kaegan’s place back in order. You and I can pack up the food while Kaegan breaks down all the patio tables and tents.”
“Why can’t he do it all by himself?”
“Because we’re his friends and should help him.”
“Speak for yourself, Vash.”
“No, I’m speaking for the both of us, Bryce. Stop being difficult.”
“I’m not being difficult.”
“Yes, you are.”
Okay, maybe she was, but when it came to Kagan she felt she had every right to be difficult. She’d told Vashti some of what had happened, but hadn’t told her all of it. Bryce frowned at Vashti. “Honestly, Vash. There are times when you really do push the bounds of our friendship.”
“I do not.”
“Yes, you do.”
“What’s the big deal since you claim you’re over Kaegan,” Vashti quipped.
“I am over him.”
“Then act like it and not like a woman still carrying a torch after ten years.”
Bryce didn’t say anything. Did she really act that way? That was the last impression she wanted to give anyone, especially Kaegan. “Fine, but I still plan to ignore him.”
Vashti shook her head smiling “You always do.”
* * *
Kaegan Chambray glanced around and saw all the people had left. It had been another great party. The food was good and there had been plenty of it. The September weather had cooperated. Tents had been set up outside where huge buckets of seafood—blue crabs, shrimp, crawfish and lobster—had been served, as well as ribs cooked on the grill.
When he gave a cookout, it was for his employees, although he always included his friends. He liked rewarding his workers whenever they broke sale records or if the company got a big business deal. He felt it was a good incentive. He also believed in giving his employees bonuses as well. That pretty much assured he kept workers who were dependable and loyal.
He turned to look out at the bayou which was practically in his back yard. As far as he was concerned there was no place better to live. Those who called the bayou their home had a culture all their own. The people were a mixture of influences such as Spanish, French, German, African and Irish and in his case, Native American. Those with predominantly French ancestry still spoke the language. Together all the various groups made up the foundation of the Cajun culture.
“If you need help with anything, Kaegan, I will be glad to stay behind and help.”
Kaegan turned to find his newest employee, Sasha Johnson. He thought she’d left. “Thanks for the offer, Sasha, but I can manage.”
“Alright. And it was a nice party.”
“Thanks. Landing that Chappell account gave me a reason to celebrate.” His representative had been courting the huge restaurant chain for years, wanting to get in as their seafood supplier. Then out of the clear blue sky he’d gotten a call this summer. The Chappell Group needed more fresh seafood than their present supplier could provide and wanted to know if Chambray Seafood Shipping Company could deliver. Kaegan had said that he could and he had.
It had taken a full week of long harvesting hours, but in the end he and his crew had delivered, and the Chappell Group had remembered. When their contract with the other supplier ended, they had come to him with an awesome deal.
“I have a feeling that pretty soon you’ll be expanding your business to other states,” Sasha said, smiling.
He had news for her. That move was already under consideration, but he hadn’t shared it with anyone but Sawyer and Ray. “Maybe I will, one day.”
A flash of pink moving around in his house made him frown when he recalled just who’d worn that particular color tonight. He glanced back at Sasha. “Safe travels home and I’ll see you at work Monday morning.” Without waiting for her response, he quickly walked off, heading inside his home.
He heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Moving quickly, he walked into to find Bryce Witherspoon on a ladder putting something in one of the cabinets. Anger, the degree he hadn’t felt in a long time, consumed him. Standing there in his kitchen on that ladder was the one and only woman he’d ever loved. The one woman he would risk his life for and recalled doing so once. She was the only woman who’d had his heart from the time they were in grade school. The only one he’d ever wanted to marry, have his babies. The only one who…
He realized he’d been standing recalling things he preferred not remembering. What he should be remembering is that she was the woman who’d broken his heart. “What the hell are you doing in here, Bryce?”
His loud, booming voice startled her, and she jerked around, losing her balance and came tumbling off the ladder. He rushed over and caught her in his arms before she could hit the floor. His chest tightened and his nerves, and a few other things, kicked in the moment his hands and arms touched the body he used to know as well as his own. A body he’d introduced to passion. A body he’d -
“Put me down, Kaegan!”
He started to drop her, just for the hell of it. She was such a damn ingrate. “Next time I’ll just let you fall on your ass,” he snapped, placing her on her feet and trying not to notice how beautiful she was. Her eyes were a cross of hazel and moss green, and were adored by long eyelashes. She had high cheekbones and shoulder-length brown, curly hair. Her skin was a gorgeous honey-brown and her lips, although at the moment curved in a frown, had always been one of her most noticeable traits. He’d always thought they were such an alluring pair.
“Let go of my hand, Kaegan!”
Her sharp tone made him realized he’d been standing there staring at her. He fought to regain his senses. “What are you doing, goin
g through my cabinets?”
She rounded on him, tossing all that beautiful hair from out of her face. “I was on that ladder putting your spices back in the cabinets.”
He crossed his arms over his chest? “Why?”
“Because I was helping you tidy up after the party by putting things away.”
She had to be kidding. “I don’t need your help.”
“Fine! I’ll leave then. You can take Vashti home.”
Take Vashti home? What the hell was she talking about? He was about to ask when Vashti burst into the kitchen. “What in the world is going on? I heard the two of you yelling and screaming all the way in the bathroom.”
Kaegan turned to Vashti. “What is she talking about me taking you home? Where’s Sawyer?”
“He got a call and had to leave. I asked Bryce to drop me off at home. I also asked her to assist me in helping you straighten up before we left.”
“I don’t need help.”
Bryce rounded on him. “Why don’t you tell her what you told me? Namely, that you don’t need my help.”
He had no problem doing that. Glancing back at Vashti, he said. “I don’t need Bryce’s help. Nor do I want it.”
Bryce looked at Vashti. “I’m leaving. You either come with me now or he can take you home.”
Vashti looked from one to the other and then threw up her hands in frustration. “I’m leaving with you, Bryce. I’ll be out to the car in a minute.”
When Bryce walked out the kitchen Kaegan turned to Vashti. “You had no right to ask her to stay here after the party to do anything, Vashti. I don’t want her here. The only reason I even invite her is because of you.”
Kaegan had seen fire in Vashti’s eyes before, but it had never been directed at him. Now it was. She crossed the room and he had a mind to take a step back but didn’t. “I’m sick and tired of you acting like an ass where Bryce is concerned, Kaegan. When will you wake up and realize what you accused her of all those years ago is not true?”
He glared at her. “Oh? Is that what she told you? Newsflash. You weren’t there, Vashti, and I know what I saw.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. So, you can believe the lie she’s telling you all you want, but I know what I saw that night.”
Vashti drew in a deep breath. “Do you? Or do you only know what you think you saw?”
Then without saying anything else, she turned and walked out the kitchen.
* * * * *
Don’t miss what happens next in
New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson’s
Finding Home Again, available wherever HQN books are sold!
Copyright © 2019 Brenda Streater Jackson
ISBN-13: 978-1-488-05810-3
Husband Material
First published as part of the anthology In Too Deep in 2010. This edition published in 2020.
Copyright © 2010 by Brenda Streater Jackson
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Husband Material (A Summer for Scandal) Page 9