The words carved out a piece of Boone’s heart, a void not only in where his legacy would be, but the lack of any he’d inherited.
He swallowed, his mouth dry. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy that.”
“That, they will. You know, Kellogg isn’t what it used to be.”
Oh, Boone knew it too well. When elderly women were killed in their own homes…
The chief continued. “But you’re good at this work, Boone. I think you’d make an excellent police chief.”
And there, Chief Landry dangled the carrot, just out of reach. Stay in Deep Haven. Relax. Read the book. Chat with Rachelle. Go home better than ever and be the outgoing chief’s top pick for a replacement.
Sure. He could do that. How many times had his dad mentioned he’d make a good chief some day? Far too many to count.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your confidence in me.”
“Absolutely. You’ve got the book I gave you?”
Boone leaned forward and picked the book up from the floor, flicked away the dust, and stared at the blue cover. Imperturbability: Finding the Unflappable You.
“Is this even a real book? Or did you pull this out of a cereal box?”
“You’re funny. That’s a New York Times bestseller—I even went to a book signing. Written by the foremost expert on anger management.”
“I told you I don’t have an anger issue.”
Steve let out a breath of disagreement and did nothing further to acknowledge Boone’s protest. “That’s my autographed copy. Don’t lose it.”
“Right. I’ll take it with me wherever I go.” Boone flipped to the title page to see that the book had been not only autographed but included a personal note to the chief.
“And Boone?”
“Yeah?”
“Next time we talk, make sure you’re past the first chapter.”
“Right. I’ll be focused on this marvelous tome you’ve loaned me.”
“Good. Get to reading. Relaxing. Taking care of your health.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m serious, Boone. Read. The. Book. You need it. By the end of these five weeks, you need to have your blood pressure below one-twenty-five over eighty-five, complete any tasks Rachelle’s given you, and pass your physical—with a stress test.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
If dawdling around Deep Haven, jumping through hoops reading the book, and sitting on Ms. Newman’s couch—or whatever she used—was what he had to do, then so be it. He’d prove to Landry he knew how to relax and do nothing.
He looked at the book and thought of the roses. He’d much rather be getting to the bottom of that mystery.
Well, maybe he’d dig into the book later. No sense ruining a perfectly good morning. He’d definitely need some strong coffee to stay awake for this assignment.
Chapter 3
Boone tucked his book under his arm and let the fresh smell of coffee coax him through the door of the Java Cup. He’d show the chief. He knew how to relax. Read. Do absolutely nothing for five weeks.
Boone waited in line while the Monday morning crowd moved up to the counter one by one.
With the waves easy on the shore and the birds soaring on the breeze, Deep Haven really might be the place to relax.
So, relax he would.
Boone moved up to the counter and stared at the board, feeling the barista’s eyes on him. He turned to her.
The blonde’s eye creases deepened, her eyes squinting at him. She had the tired-but-wired look of someone used to working hard and remaining highly caffeinated. “I recognize you. You’re the guy who won the People’s Choice award yesterday.”
Boone read her name tag and smiled. “Good morning, Kathy. Yes, that was my Mustang. I like to drive her in the summer, then tuck her away in storage.”
“Nice car.” She put a hand on her hip. “We always have to drive something practical in winter, don’t we?”
“Yeah. My truck isn’t nearly as much fun though.”
“I bet.” She pointed to the drink board behind her. “You should try one of our signature drinks.”
“That sounds intriguing. What do you have?”
“We’ve got a Megan and a Vivie.” She waggled her brows. “And, for Vivie’s guy, you know what I’d recommend.”
“I’m not—” Shoot. Kathy had turned away and went to work steaming milk to a white froth.
She smiled over her shoulder. “It’s on the house.”
Right. “Thanks.”
“It’s got chocolate with a little kick.”
“Oh?” Boone wondered exactly how much caffeine he was committing to consume. The doctor had said to cut back on his five-cup habit.
Well, he should probably ease himself off of it, anyway. After all, he didn’t want to shock his system.
“You grab yourself a seat and I’ll bring this over.”
Boone scanned the room. Several tables were already taken. Front and center sat a young couple in an animated debate over a…bridal magazine picture? A trio of old-timers who were discussing their last big catch. And then there was the man he guessed to be a lawyer type. Suit. A few gray hairs at his temples. Several deep frown lines. And a bulging briefcase that looked like it held the longest case brief in history.
Talk about needing a vacation.
He decided on a corner seat near the window. The door jangled and a few men came in dressed in jeans and matching blue T-shirts.
He popped open his book.
Kathy brought over his drink while one of the other employees stepped to the counter to take orders. “Here you go, hon.” Her eyes twinkled. “I think you’re really going to like it.” She stood and watched him.
Really? She was going to wait for him to take a taste? Awkward.
He smiled, lifted the cup, and took a sip. Sweet mocha curled around his tongue. Delicious, rich, and decadent.
So yeah, a lot like Vivien, maybe.
And then fire. Burning fire. A veritable inferno in his mouth.
He sputtered and coughed. “What’s—what’s in this?”
She grinned. “It’s chocolate with cayenne. All the rage in the big cities. I thought it was the perfect representation of our Vivie.”
“Oh?” His voice cracked like a thirteen-year-old’s and the room turned blurry. He blinked back the tears.
“Absolutely.” She let out a sigh and then set a hand on his shoulder. Paused. “Is that too hot for you? Do you need some water?”
He caught a few glances from the men ordering at the counter. “No. No, thank you.”
“Okay, well you let me know if you need anything else.” She threaded her way through the tables and ducked behind the espresso machine, helping out with the line that had formed in her absence.
Right. He wouldn’t need anything with the name Vivie on it, that’s for sure.
Boone’s body temperature had risen several degrees and his skin flushed. He swiped his hand across his brow, sniffed, and picked up his book.
He flipped open the book and started the first paragraph, trying to ignore the sense that he’d just been pepper sprayed at the academy.
One of the men from the group ordering walked over and set up camp at a nearby table. “You’re the guy who was with Vivie yesterday, right?”
Boone placed a thumb between the pages to hold his place and looked up.
A large guy with a thick, brown beard and far too much humor in his eyes reached out a hand. “Casper Christiansen.”
“Boone Buckam.” He took the offered hand. “Just visiting. Here for a little R & R.” He ignored the comment about Vivien.
Another man approached from the counter.
“Hey—you’re Caleb’s friend, right?”
Boone gave him a nod.
“Seb Brewster.” The man set down his drink and sat across from Casper. “I heard you’re going to help Caleb and me coach the team. He’s been talking you up ever since we saw you with Vivie yesterday.”
“Oh, tha
t was just an…accident.”
Seb raised a brow. “You should swing by and pick up a donut from my wife over at World’s Best. The football team has a fundraiser every year. It’s a big event—maybe you can help us sell donuts. We’re always looking for another hand.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” Boone opened his book back up, his eyes skimming over the introductory paragraph again.
The other men brought their drinks to join the gathering at the nearby table.
“Weren’t you with Vivien yesterday?” This time, a man in a deputy’s uniform—one Boone recognized from Vivien’s passing parade introductions—was looking at him. Cole, if he remembered correctly.
Boone swallowed. Maybe he should wear a sign.
Vivien has a way of knowing everyone. That, apparently, was a two-way street. Caleb had neglected to articulate on that.
The group’s collective curiosity was written plainly on their faces, all eyes on him.
“You know, it just worked out that while she was admiring my car, we got stuck in the parade.”
He got a few slow nods. More smirks than anything else.
“Really?” This from Casper, who took a gulp of his coffee while Boone looked at his own cup, wishing he did have some water.
“Boone?” The door clanged closed behind a man, vaguely familiar, looking at him. It took a beat for Boone to recognize billionaire playboy Adrian Vassos from Kellogg. He was the last person Boone expected to run into in Deep Haven.
He wore jeans with a blue T-shirt that matched the rest of the crew at the nearby table, his long, dark hair pulled back. Adrian nodded to the table with Casper, Cole, and Seb like he was with the Spanish Inquisition and wove his way over to Boone.
“Boone Buckam. Seriously. Small world.”
Boone stood and met his handshake. “Hey, Adrian. What are you doing here?”
“I’m here for a work crew meeting. We’re building a new Crisis Response Team headquarters.”
So, the Vassos empire had moved from hotels to…Crisis Response Teams? Huh.
“Good to see you.” Boone stepped to the side to let a customer pass. He’d always liked Adrian, despite some of his family’s business tactics. Adrian never treated him as lower class.
“Do you want your usual, Adrian?” Kathy called from the now-empty front counter.
His usual? Boone looked from Kathy to Adrian. “You don’t live here, do you?”
“That sounds perfect, Kathy,” Adrian answered. He turned back to Boone. “I’ve been in Deep Haven since late spring. What about you—wait, was that you in the parade yesterday? With Vivie? I didn’t know you were dating someone from Deep Haven.”
Boone’s shoulders slumped. “It was. No, we’re not dating. I’m just here on…vacation.”
Adrian lowered his voice, glanced at the couple, who sounded like they were now debating the acceptable cost of a wedding gown. “Does this have to do with that lawsuit?”
Boone frowned. “You heard about that?”
“Well, it was pretty big news.”
“Landry wants me to take some time away from work. He’s ready to retire.”
“Oh, that’s big news. Are you going to put in for it?”
“Yeah—if I can complete all the vacation activities he’s tasked me with.”
Adrian raised a brow. “Such as…?” He moved to the side to let two gray-haired women pass on their way to the exit.
Boone measured his words. “You know, read, explore the great outdoors. Lower my blood pressure and do things people do on vacation.”
“Oh, there’s lots to do outdoors here.” Adrian nodded to the other table. “You can always come by and help us on the build. We’re doing as much of the interior work as we can ourselves to save money.”
“And it’s for a Crisis Response Team, you said?”
“It is. It’s fairly new. Team members are still being brought on board and we just purchased a helicopter.”
Kathy called Adrian to the counter for his order. He wove his way through the tables, several new patrons greeting him on his way by.
Boone sat down. If he had to guess, he suspected some of Vassos’s fortune may have paid for a large part of the helicopter purchase, if not all—though by the looks of it, Adrian had shaken free of some of the family constraints. He had an ease about him Boone hadn’t seen before.
Adrian returned, took a drink, and Casper rose from the nearby table and headed back up to the counter.
“This region has probably needed a team like that—for Crisis Response.”
“It has. You should stop by. You can’t miss it—big vacant lot at the north end of town with the new construction.” He looked over at the group of men drinking coffee. “I’d better head over to our table so we can get started.”
The deputy’s chair scraped across the floor as he slid it out of the way. Adrian pulled up a seat.
“I didn’t know you knew the guy who’s dating Vivie.”
Boone cringed at the deputy’s words.
Not. Dating. Vivie.
Adrian raised his eyes to Boone, laughed. “He’s not dating Vivie.”
“I’m right here.” Boone shook his head. Small towns.
Five weeks. He just had to survive five weeks.
Casper came back through, veering toward Boone’s table on his way back to his seat. The man smoothed his beard a moment, then offered, “You know, one of the most relaxing things to do around here is kayaking.”
Adrian nodded in agreement. “That’s true.”
“Yeah? I might have to try that.” Boone latched on to the thread of conversation that didn’t revolve around the blue-eyed starlet.
“You should stop by Wild Harbor Trading Post. We have excellent instructors.”
“Hmm. Maybe.”
Casper took a drink of his coffee. “You should ask Vivie about it. She works there.”
Oh, for Pete’s— “Look, I’m not dating Vivie.”
“Okay.” The man held his hands up and smiled, nodded, then joined the other men at the table.
The door jangled again. Shoot.
His supposed “girlfriend” walked in. And it occurred to him that if he wasn’t dating her, maybe he should be. Because she was everything he remembered.
She stood in the doorway, her perfect loose waves cascading over her shoulders. Vivien looked behind her, as if watching something down the street. She wore a bright yellow T-shirt and tailored white shorts. As she turned back, a furrow on her brow disappeared as her blue eyes connected with his and a smile lit her face.
“Oh, it’s my hero!” She walked over to his table, leaned forward, and set her palms on it. “How’s it going?”
Perfect. He didn’t even venture a glance at the table of men nearby where conversation had stopped like whiplash. Didn’t dare try to sink behind his book to hide.
“Hi.” He shoved a napkin into his book and closed it, strategically setting a second napkin over the cover when she slid into the seat across from him. He could feel all the eyes in the coffee shop turn toward them. He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Everyone thinks we’re dating.”
“What? Oh, don’t mind them.” She raised her voice. “They’re just a bunch of busybodies! I’ve known them forever.”
A few heads turned away and the three elderly men rose to leave. “There. So, whatchya doing?” She smelled his coffee. “Oh no, Kathy did not make you a Vivie—”
“My mouth is on fire. I may need a skin graft.”
“Kathy! Bring out some milk!”
Laughter from behind the coffee bar. Vivie shook her head. “Sorry. They all think it’s funny.” She put a hand on her hip. “I’m a peppermint mocha girl myself. What are you reading?”
She reached out to touch his book and he jerked it away. Like he might be a first grader.
She tilted her head. “Really? That’s the same book you hid under the seat yesterday, isn’t it? What, is it a romance? A pirate and a princess? Or a classic, like Cinderel
la? I hope it’s not one of those—” Her hand flew to her lips and her eyebrows raised.
“What? No!”
She held up her hands, laughing. Aw, she was pretty, and frankly, got under his skin, in a good way. He didn’t know why, but his morning was looking up. And he didn’t even care anymore if the men were staring at him. Them.
She tugged a stack of paper flyers from her shoulder tote and held them out in front of him, her long lashes fluttering. “Want to help me hang these?”
“I don’t know, Vivien.” He made a face. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
She placed a hand over his. Smiled. “Come on. It’ll be fun. What else do you have to do today?”
His conversation with Landry replayed in his mind. “I’m not supposed to have any fun.”
“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. Aren’t you on vacation?”
“I have to read this book my boss gave me.”
She reached out again, and he tried to hold the book into place against the table. Cover it with his hand. Anything. But she snagged the book and he watched the napkin float down to the table. Her eyes moved across the cover and then she laughed, her hand covering her red-painted lips again. “Imperturbability? Is that even a word?”
“It is.” He pressed his lips together and reached for the book, but she held on to it.
“You are already entirely too unflappable. If you ask me, that’s your biggest problem. You need to let loose. Remember? Live a little.” And she winked at him. “Come on…”
Boone grabbed his book when she dangled it in front of him. He looked at the expectation on her face and couldn’t bring himself to say no. Because, as much as he wasn’t dating her, he had to admit she’d shaken loose something deep inside him. Despite all the jokes, maybe a friend like Vivien really was exactly what he needed to get his life back in order. And he’d do anything to not have to sit still. Besides, he really wanted to ask about those roses he’d seen on her porch—and that was the closest thing he had to an actual case.
He looked at the book, the napkin bookmark still sitting on the first page. Well, maybe he’d do better to read later in the day anyway, when he was back at the cabin.
Away from Vivie—and the terrible burn in his chest.
Then Came You Page 5