Last Chance Harbor (39 page)

For Julianne, fireworks came early. Rockets exploded. Glorious bursts of red, white, and blue had her gasping out his name. Up and over, they fought through jagged wind. The wild tide beat against the rocks—that ultimate mountain high in sight. Finally the switch snapped, leaving them languid and loose.

She ran her hands up his muscled back. “Can you believe we’re actually sleeping here tonight? It’s official. I’m a Pelican Pointe resident. No more making those trips back and forth to Santa Cruz.”

“Not only here but taking advantage of my expert skills.” He rolled to his back, taking her with him.

“Your expert skills are the main attraction.”

“You don’t worry what people will think if I spend the night?”

“Should I be? Are people that judgmental here? You’ve been here longer.”

“No, no. They don’t come across like that. But you never know.”

After he fell asleep, she crawled out of bed with a case of nervous energy. Instead of feeling exhausted, the first night in a strange place made it difficult for her to come down off the high from moving. She took a tour through the house, going from room to room and ended up downstairs. When that did nothing to help calm her down enough to sleep, she grabbed a sweater to head outside. Once her bare feet hit the wood she realized how chilly it was and ran back inside to get a blanket. Wrapping it around her shoulders she went back out, took a seat on the hard steps.

While waiting for him to show up, she decided she’d have to order a swing for the porch. It would be perfect for times like these when she wanted to enjoy the quiet time of night.

About that time she finally caught sight of him. She’d known he was here, somewhere.

“Do I get points for not coming in and intruding on your space this time? Or would you like to throw something at me again?”

“I’m sorry,” she said aloud, staring at Scott standing on the lawn, just as she’d seen him that very first time, with his hands in the pockets of those khaki shorts. “I thought you were mad at me because of the magazine thing. In my defense I wasn’t fully awake. But you had no right to come in like that, expecting to see... Whatever might’ve been going on between Ryder and me at the time.”

“I crossed a line. I apologize. I shouldn’t have done it. This is a good town… Suggesting the park… That was a…nice surprise. What made you think of it?”

“The town needed a park. What better name than yours?”

Scott turned to look back at the house. “You like it here?”

“I love it. Everyone did a beautiful job on the inside. And just look at the gorgeous color scheme out here. It’s the prettiest house on the block now, although I’m sure I’m biased. May I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Ryder mentioned his concern earlier. Will people talk about us, him staying here with me?”

“People always talk.”

“Okay, that prepares me for the gossip. I’ll just have to withstand it. Ryder’s not going anywhere—that I know of anyway.”

“The cleansing ceremony did the trick then?”

“It did. There’s no residual bad karma that I can tell.” That’s when it occurred to her. “Is that why you’ve stayed out here in the yard? You can’t come into the house?”

“Observant, aren’t you?”

“So the protection ritual works on you, too? I didn’t realize. It wasn’t intentional.”

“I know that. It’s your new beginning though.”

“Did Layne and Brooke get a new beginning?”

“Why do you want to know so badly? Maybe it’s better if you let it go.”

“I can’t do that anymore than Ryder can let go of his obsession with Bethany. There’s something about those boxes we found that don’t make sense. First, why would a child go to such bother to let go of their personal possessions. Some of those baseball cards were quite valuable. Layne and his father owned a baseball card store, which is the major reason I keep coming back full circle to the Jennings children. Caleb was too young to attend school. Drea would have no interest in collecting sports cards. That leaves Cooper, the oldest.”

“You want to find him?”

“I want to do more than that. I want to talk to him. But Brent has pretty much quashed my interfering. So much that I don’t want to make an issue of it.”

“Then follow your instincts.”

“Is that your way of telling me I’m on the right track with Cooper?”

“Eleanor had a warped sense of entitlement.”

“What I can’t figure out is why hide those little boxes all over the school?”

“Maybe it’s the only place he felt sure they’d be found.”

“If that’s the case, we really let someone down then, didn’t we?”

T
he next day Ethan picked up his tool belt to help his brother Brent knock out a wall inside the house that used to belong to Kent Springer Realty.

The new police station was taking shape slowly. Lilly Pierce had already started work on the wooden sign for the building. With help from Troy it would be a simple blue and white design with the words: “City of Pelican Pointe Police Department” etched on it. Above that, a series of lines signifying waves.

“You couldn’t find anyone else to help you do the work this early?”

“Every available man is getting the school ready. We’re already at the end of May with ninety days left to go. I believe Logan and Ryder are feeling the heat more than anyone else.”

Brent looked around at the new digs. “I want this place up and running within a week so people will stop dropping by my house without so much as a phone call. River’s about to get fed up and move out. Last night was the final straw.”

“Don’t tell me some drunk showed up?”

“Yes and no. All hell broke loose over at McCready’s. It seems Archer Gates stumbled into the wrong bathroom, was standing there peeing when Joy Sullivan walked into the ladies’ room. Flynn drags him out of there, out of the bar, across the street and up my steps at midnight. Archer’s blind drunk so Flynn asks me to drive him home.”

Ethan snorted with a shake of his head. “Prissie’s boy? Archer always did like his whiskey.”

“
That boy
is forty-two-years old with a major drinking problem. He could use an intervention.”

“What did you tell Archer?”

“That I planned to tell his mama he was out drinking again just as soon as I got him home. That seemed to sober him enough to get in my truck.”

“You know the old joke. You’re the police chief in a small town when you hold the most powerful threat of all over a grown man’s head. You’re gonna tell his mama on him.”

Brent laughed so hard he almost dropped his drill. “So very true.”

“Do you miss Santa Cruz?”

“Not a bit. Surprisingly, I like it here. And most days, when people aren’t banging on our door, so does River.”

“If you honestly think that getting an official police station will prevent folks from knocking on your door in the middle of the night, you’re delusional. When I was in that house, it happened to me all the damn time. The only way to prevent it from happening less frequently is to buy another house.”

“But I don’t want to move.”

“Then Mr. Chief of Police you’ll have to think up something else.”

While Ryder spent
his Sunday morning at the farm doing chores, Julianne hung pictures on the wall, unwrapped knickknacks and finished her unpacking. When she grew tired of putting away dishes and setting the kitchen right, she drove the van over to Murphy’s Market and loaded up on groceries to the tune of a hundred dollars’ worth of food.

After putting away meat, bread, and canned goods, she stepped outside to the backyard. The flagstone patio her dad had installed made the backyard a real showplace. Her little ice cream set looked great out here but Bree’s party would surely mean that down the road she’d need to add more chairs out here for more guests.

The bank of flowers Landon and Shelby had added—tall birds of paradise dotted with gold and pink hibiscus—lined the edge of the stone. Even though it was a start, she’d want to build on the landscaping once she could afford the cost. Maybe next fall.

Watching the leaves of the summer maple sway in the breeze, she saw Scott come walking through the jungle of plants behind the property that was the garden center.

“Promise me something, will you?” she asked Scott.

“What?”

“Don’t ever stop doing that.”

“Walking into your backyard?”

“Yep. No matter what happens, make sure you always come by this house for a chat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I love it here. Who knew I’d ever own a house where my yard is haunted? What do you do for Halloween?”

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.”

“Just saying. If you could rattle a few chains…”

“That’s a stereotype. Do you see any chains?”

“No, but it’s never too early to get your ‘Marley’ on.”

Later, she put a pot roast in the oven for dinner, peeled potatoes and carrots to go in the pan. She called her dad and invited him to supper on Monday.

When Ryder walked through the front door, smelling like farm and man, she greeted him with nothing on but a smile.

His mouth dropped open. “You know, I almost brought Marty home for dinner tonight.”

She tilted her head with a coy smile. “Hmm, from now on, it might be better to call first.”

“I see that,” he said, wrapping her up in his arms. “I need a shower. I smell like cows.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Any objections to taking care of that detail before dinner?”

His mouth had gone dry at the sight of her. “I’m having trouble thinking at the moment.”

“Good,” she said, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs. “For what I have in mind we don’t have to say another word.”

That night as
they took a walk on the beach, Ryder spotted an older model blue Nissan van with peeling paint, parked near the pier.

“That’s strange. That vehicle wasn’t here earlier.”

“I don’t remember seeing it when we set out on our walk either, which means it hasn’t been here that long.” As if reading his thoughts, Julianne squeezed his hand. “You’re on edge. I doubt Bethany would be driving a car like that one.”