Vendetta

by Ruth Ryan Langan

  “So, it’s personal.”

  “Yes. No.” She tried to pull her hand free, but he tightened his grasp. That only fueled her anger. “Call it a survival instinct. Unless you get out of my way, I’m going to haul off and let you have it with this salad bowl.”

  He surprised her by roaring with laughter. “What a terrible waste of a pretty dish. But since you insist…” He lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss over the palm before closing her hand around the kiss.

  She knew her eyes were wide with shock, but she was too stunned to compose herself.

  That had his smile widening. He lowered his mouth to hers and brushed a soft kiss over her lips.

  At her quick intake of breath he chuckled before whispering, “Trust me. That was personal.”

  “So is this.” With a look that would have wilted a stronger man she gave him a shove before turning away and fleeing to the safety of her apartment.

  Chapter 4

  “Oh, look, Jenny.” A pretty tourist, wearing shorts and a tank top that showed off her tan to its best advantage, pointed to a framed print hanging on the gallery wall of Treasures. “I love this artist’s work.”

  Her friend, whose blond ponytail streamed out the back of a bright green baseball cap, nodded. “Sidney Brennan. I think I read somewhere that she lives right here in Devil’s Cove.”

  “Really?” Curious, the tourist stepped closer to study the painting of a pair of Canada geese standing guard over their young on the banks of a river. “I bet Dan would love this for his office.”

  Courtney crossed the room. “Would you like me to move it to the window, so you can get a better vi

  “Oh, would you?”

  While Courtney held it up, the two women stood together, watching the play of fading sunlight on the canvas.

  Courtney invited them to step closer. “You’d swear you could almost touch the feathers.”

  “It’s true.” The tourist sighed. “I wasn’t planning on spending this much, but I have to have this for my husband.”

  Courtney dimpled. “He’s going to love you for it. Would you like me to wrap it for shipping, or do you want to take it with you?”

  “I’ll have it sent.” She looked at the mound of merchandise she’d already stacked on the counter, alongside the things her friend had purchased. “It’s one less thing I won’t have to deal with when our vacation is over.”

  “How much longer will you be in Devil’s Cove?” Courtney handed the woman a shipping form.

  “We leave at the end of the week.” The woman sighed as she filled in her name and address. “I wish we could spend the entire summer here.”

  Her words had Courtney smiling. “I take it you’ve been having a good time.”

  “The best.” She waited while Courtney tabulated her other purchases before handing over her credit card. “And finding this Sidney Brennan print is the frosting on the cake. My friend thinks she lives around here.”

  Courtney nodded. “She does.” She handed the woman a receipt. “One of our hometown success stories.”

  “What I wouldn’t give to meet her.”

  “Oh, she’s pretty ordinary.” Seeing the woman’s look of shock, Courtney added with a laugh, “Sorry. I couldn’t resist teasing you a bit. Actually, she’s shy and sweet and something of a loner. I ought to know. Sidney is my sister.”

  “You’re kidding.” The young woman slowly nodded. “Now I understand why you have such an amazing selection of her paintings. I found one or two in several other shops in town, but nothing like this.”

  “It does give me an unfair advantage over the other merchants.” Courtney picked up the shipping form. “This will probably arrive at your home just about the time you do.”

  “Thank you. I just love your shop. And be sure you tell your sister how much I love her work.”

  “I will. Come back again.”

  The two women left, juggling several shopping bags.

  Courtney saw Kendra out back, gesturing to the lovely stone benches while a white-haired man nodded and smiled. Today Kendra was wearing a pair of faded bell-bottoms and a baggy top that looked as though it had been woven of string. On anyone else it would have looked ridiculous, especially with that orange spiky hair. But Kendra managed to pull it off.

  Minutes later the white-haired man was following Kendra inside where she rang up a sale.

  “I assume you’ll wanhipped?” Kendra asked.

  “No, ma’am. Got my truck parked just around the corner. I’ll be right over to pick it up.”

  When he left, Kendra and Courtney exchanged knowing smiles.

  “He’s been sitting there for over an hour,”

  Kendra explained. “I was pretty sure he was going to buy it.”

  “Good instincts.”

  The girl chuckled. “I told you. Someday I’m going to own my own place. Not exactly like this.

  Too predictable,” she muttered. “But more like, you know, loaded with people’s cast-offs and stuff.”

  “Like a thrift shop?”

  “Sort of.” She stared out the window until a brand-new bright red truck pulled up to the curb and her customer and a younger man stepped out. Under Kendra’s direction, they loaded the stone bench into the back of the pickup and drove away.

  Inside, Kendra picked up her denim purse and waved to her boyfriend, leaning against a lamp-post outside the door. “See you in the morning, Courtney.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.” Courtney followed her to the door and flipped over the sign before locking up for the evening. She’d been tempted to close up more than an hour earlier, but she’d sensed that these last stragglers were serious shoppers. She was glad now that she’d followed her instincts. That extra hour would just about pay this month’s overhead.

  Upstairs in her apartment she slipped out of her clothes and into a white bikini. Tucking a cover-up and sandals into her sea bag, she stepped lightly down the stairs and across the yard. As she passed the Colby cottage, she noted with relief that Blair’s car wasn’t in the driveway.

  She’d missed a good deal of sleep last night over Blair Colby. Not that she would ever let him know that. She’d already decided that the next time she saw him she would be so cool he would wonder if he’d only imagined that kiss.

  Now if only she could fool herself into believing the same thing. It was, after all, nothing more than a kiss. But the heat from it had lingered far into the night, leaving her tossing and turning like a lovestruck teen.

  No matter. She wasn’t falling into that trap again.

  Clipping the strap of her waterproof bag around her waist she stepped into the water and began swimming toward her sailboat. Once there she tossed the bag into the boat, before pulling herself over the rail. Within minutes she was manning the sails as the little craft left the cove behind and followed the rounded shoreline toward the big houses in the distance.

  “Blair.” Charlotte Brennan opened the front door of The Willows to greet the handsome young man standing there. “Did you have any trouble finding it?”

  “None at all, Charley. Your directions were easy enough.”

  “Come in.” She stood aside and watched his reaction as he stared around the elegant foyer of the home.

  He turned to her with a smile. “This is spectacular.”

  “I knew you’d like it. That was my reaction the first time I saw it as a young bride.”

  “You live here now?”

  She nodded before leading the way along the hallway with its colorful Spanish tiles. “My in-laws added a wing of the house for us, and Christopher and I lived here with them while raising our four daughters.” She laughed lightly. “I know that wouldn’t work for most people, but it suited us perfectly. In fact, even now that Christopher has passed away, I’ve never given a thought to leaving.”

  “I don’t blame you.” They stepped into the kitchen, where a woman was just removing something from the oven. The wonderful fragrance of freshly-baked bread had him salivating, even
as the sight of the cook had him grinning. She was as round as she was tall, and her short white hair was the consistency of cotton balls.

  “Trudy, this is the young architect I was telling you about. Blair Colby, this is Trudy Carpenter. Trudy’s been with the Brennan family since they first moved here, more than fifty years ago.”

  “There you go, Charley.” After a lifetime of smoking, the old woman’s gravelly voice was as deep as a man’s. “Giving away my age again.” She looked Blair over carefully. “You Sarah Colby’s kin?”

  “Nephew.”

  “Tough old bird.”

  Blair laughed. “That she was.”

  “I liked her.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Trudy’s look softened. She turned to Charley. “The others are out on the patio. As usual the judge is busy ruining the beef tenderloin on the grill. And using one of his latest inventions to do the job. You might want to remind him that some meats don’t need to be charred to be digestible.”

  Charley sighed. “I’ll do my best, Trudy.” She turned toward the French doors. “Come on, Blair. It’s time you met the rest of my family.” She led the way, with Blair trailing behind her.

  As they stepped out onto the brick-paved patio, Blair paused a moment to take it all in. Ivy softened the brick-and-stone walls of the elegant old mansion. Like the interior, the patio, with its charming urns of flowers and vines, and lovely mix of antique iron furniture and contemporary glass table and cushioned chairs, was an architect’s dream. Added to that was a broad expanse of manicured lawn that ran clear to the water’s edge. Against the blue sky and the deeper blue-green of Lake Michigan, white sails of boats in the distance made it a postcard-perfect scene.

  For a moment Blair wondered at the number of people milling about. Could this all be one family?

  His hostess handled the introductions. “Blair Colby, my in-laws. Judge Frank Brennan and his wife, Bert.”

  “Sir. Mrs. Brennan.” He offered his handshake.

  Charley turned to a tiny, flame-haired young woman who was smiling shyly. “This is my daughter Sidney.”

  “The artist who’ll be doing the mural at the entrance to the clubhouse.” He offered his hand. “I admire your work.”

  “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Blair.”

  Charley included a leggy blonde holding a little boy in her arms and the man beside her holding the hand of a boy of about four. “My daughter Hannah and her husband, Ethan Harrison, and sons Danny and T.J.”

  Blair shook the man’s hand and high-fived the boys before turning to Hannah. “I was just looking over your design sketches for the landscaping.” He grinned at the judge. “You’ve got quite a talented family, sir.”

  “Indeed we do.” Frank winked at his wife, who merely smiled fondly around the circle.

  “Blair, this is my daughter Emily and her husband, Jason Cooper.”

  “Everyone in town talks about you, Dr. Brennan. It’s nice to meet you, Emily.” He turned to Jason. “I’d heard that you’d left Malibu and were writing in Devil’s Cove now. I suppose, with its background of pirates and rumrunners, it would make a great setting for a few thrillers.”

  Jason chuckled. “I’m keeping it in mind in case I ever run out of ideas.”

  “As if that would ever happen,” his wife said with a laugh.

  Trudy stepped out with a tray of drinks, and Blair joined the men in helping himself to a frosty mug of beer.

  Frank Brennan returned to the grill, with his daughter-in-law beside him to lend a hand. Blair found himself fascinated with the odd implement in the older man’s hand. It looked to be part fork, part spatula and demanded a great deal of attention as he flipped the meat, turned it, twisted it and, in general, seemed to be trying to torture it.

  In an aside Trudy whispered, “The judge fancies himself an inventor. Lucky me. I get stuck with all his brilliant inventions, until I find a way to toss them without his knowledge.”

  Blair covered his laughter behind his hand.

  Seeing the trim little sailboat skimming close to shore, Frank Brennan pointed with his invention. “Looks like the last of our band of angels is about to arrive.”

  Blair found himself mesmerized by the figure in the white bikini poised to dive. By the time she’d stepped from the surf and squeezed the water from her hair, he’d managed to get his heart rate back to normal. Or as normal as it would ever be when looking at Courtney Brennan.

  She unzipped a bag and pulled out a length of fabric the color of strawberries. After stepping into it, she was modestly covered from neck to ankle by a long gauzy gown that seemed to cling to every curve of her damp body. Slipping her feet into matching sandals, she started toward the cluster of people on the patio.

  She was smiling as she walked toward them. Blair stood in their midst, watching the sway of her hips, and was grateful for the cold mug in his hand. Instead of pressing it to his forehead as he would have liked, he merely sipped. He was still sipping his beer when she caught sight of him. Though her smile slipped a notch, to her credit she to frown, though he was certain, by the fire in her eyes, she was cursing him under her breath.

  It was obvious that she hadn’t known he would be here.

  “Well, here’s our Courtney now.” Frank Brennan stepped forward to kiss his granddaughter’s cheek before saying, “Your mother invited a young friend to join us for dinner tonight. Courtney, may I present Blair Colby.”

  “We’ve met.” She gave him a cool smile before turning to greet the rest of her family with hugs and kisses.

  “You’ve been in Court’s shop?” Hannah asked.

  “Not yet. Though I’m hoping to get there soon.”

  “Then where did you two meet?” Emily sounded a bit too interested, causing Courtney to arch a brow. Leave it to her family to play match-maker. To their way of thinking, anyone unmarried was fair game.

  “I’m staying in my aunt’s old cottage.”

  “The one behind Court’s shop? But I thought…” Hannah put a hand over her mouth.

  Blair chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’re not giving away any secrets. I’m aware that your sister is interested in buying the place. I’ve already told her that if I decide to sell when this project is completed, she’ll be the first one to know.”

  “That’s great.” Hannah kept an eye on the two boys, who were now chasing butterflies across the lawn. “I’ve already drawn up some ideas for the gardens Courtney is hoping to add.”

  “Gardens?” He shot a glance at Courtney, who was busy helping herself to a glass of wine from the tray.

  “Court didn’t tell you?” Missing the warning look from her sister, Hannah launched into details about her favorite subject. “She sells these fabulous stone benches that are made by a colorful old gentleman who lives in the middle of the forest.

  When Court first found him, he was barely eking out a living. Now he’s had to hire two college students to help him keep up with the demand.

  Court figures she can sell even more if she can present them in the proper setting. So I’ve drawn up a perennial patch that will resemble an English garden with foxgloves, periwinkle and lavender, softened with ivy and grasses, and decorated with garden art, and of course, the old man’s benches.”

  “Where are you planning on putting this garden?”

  “In the open space between her shop and your cottage. Then, of course, there’s the cutting garden, which I’m thinking would do best on that stretch of land closest to the shore. Wait until you see what I’ve planned around the sides of your cottage.”

  “Now aren’t you sorry you ever got her talking about landscaping?” Hannah’s husband, Ethan, drew her close and brushed a kiss over her cheek.

  “That’s one thing she never grows tired of talking about.” He linked his fingers with hers and drew her away. “Right now I think we’d better haul the boys out of your grandfather’s gardens, ’re going to have some major repairs to make in the morning.”

 
As they walked away, Blair stepped closer to Courtney. “You don’t let any grass grow under your feet, do you? Gardens? Before you even knew if you could buy the place?”

  She shrugged. “Hannah’s got a big mouth.”

  He chuckled. “Sorry I spoiled your plans.”

  She sipped her wine. “They aren’t spoiled. Just delayed.”

  “You’re awfully sure of yourself.”

  “You did say you’d give me first chance to make an offer.”

  Blair couldn’t resist bursting her bubble. “If I decide to sell.” He cast an admiring glance around. “Now that I’ve seen The Willows, I just might decide to stay and turn my aunt’s cottage into my dream home.”

  Before Courtney could make a response, her mother stepped between them to link an arm through each of theirs.

  “Dinner’s ready.” In a whisper she added, “Thanks to my vigilance, your grandfather wasn’t able to burn the tenderloin. I can’t say the same about his fingers, however. His latest invention needs a bit of work.” Aloud she added, “Since you two already know each other, I’d like you to sit side by side right here.”

  Trapped, Courtney thought. By her own mother.

  Chapter 5

  “You might just get the hang of grilling yet, Judge.” Trudy sliced the tenderloin on a huge platter and began passing it around, along with a fresh garden salad and new potatoes. “I don’t believe you burned a single thing.”

  “I had help.” He winked at his daughter-in law. “Charley said you’d have my hide if I ruined this pricey beef.”

  Blair held the platter while Courtney filled her plate. She was uncomfortably aware of him watching her with that intensity that she found so unsettling. Then it was her turn to take it from his hands and wait while he helped himself. When he looked up he caught her staring. She knew her face was flushed as she turned away and handed the platter to her brother-in-law Jason.

  Blair took a bite and murmured his approval. “You can cook for me any time, Judge Brennan.”