Finding Home Again (Catalina Cove)

by Brenda Jackson

  She drew in a deep breath, confident that she could do both as long as they kept things in perspective, and there was no reason they couldn’t.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  “YOU ACTUALLY VOLUNTEERED to be on your high-school holiday class-reunion committee?” Sawyer asked Kaegan, surprised. They were walking toward the parking lot after attending the zoning-board meeting.

  ‘Something like that. In fact, I’m on my way there now, so the zoning-board meeting ended right on time. We’re meeting in the high school’s library at seven.”

  “Now, that’s interesting.”

  Kaegan glanced over at Sawyer. “What is?”

  “Vashti mentioned Bryce was on that committee, but I have a feeling you knew that.”

  “Yes, I knew it. In fact, she’s the one who suggested I join it.”

  Sawyer shook his head, grinning. “When a man loves a woman, he will do anything to stay within her good graces.”

  Kaegan smiled. “Hey, I’m still in the friendship state with Bryce. She’s not ready to move beyond that.”

  “Don’t give up on her, man. True love will prevail each and every time.”

  Kaegan remembered Sawyer’s words a short while later when he walked up the steps to the high school. When he’d been a student here, this place used to seem bigger than life and now everything looked small. He had Vashti and Bryce to thank for making his life tolerable while attending school.

  He opened the door and went inside. He hadn’t seen Bryce’s car parked outside and wondered if she’d gotten here yet. She used to be a stickler for time and he wondered if that had changed over the years. He strolled past the rows of student lockers and several classrooms as he headed toward the library.

  Over the years things had been renovated and the place looked different inside. He then realized that this was the first time he’d been in the school since graduating. He’d never had a reason to return. He wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Bryce.

  When he got closer to the library he heard voices. He remembered the one thing the librarian, Mrs. Tinkersley, wouldn’t tolerate was anyone talking in the library. It was the one place he’d never heard voices, unless they were whispered ones. But even those weren’t allowed by Mrs. Tinkersley.

  Following the sound of the voices, he headed toward what he recalled as one of the smaller conference rooms. When he entered it seemed everyone sitting at the table looked up. “Good evening,” he greeted them, feeling nervous somewhat.

  “Kaegan, come on in,” a woman he knew as Susan Langley said as she smiled broadly. “You know everybody here.”

  Yes, he did. All former classmates. He moved around the table and shook hands with Laura Crawford, whose family owned several businesses in town, and Charlette Hansberry, who owned a nursing home. Moving to the other side of the table to shake more hands, he remembered Derrick Conyers, who played on the football team, and Doug Bostic, who played basketball and who’d been their star swimmer. They smiled as if they were glad to see him.

  He checked his watch, wondering where Bryce was. He hoped she hadn’t talked him into joining the committee, only to back out. As if Susan read his thoughts, when he slid into one of the vacant chairs at the table, she said, “Bryce just texted me that she’s on her way and will be here in a few.”

  The woman’s words released a load of pressure that had been building in Kaegan’s chest. Just knowing Bryce was on her way meant everything.

  * * *

  BRYCE GLANCED AT her watch as she raced up the steps to the school. She hated being late when going anywhere, although she still had five minutes. She had intended to get here with time to spare, but had gotten stuck on the phone with a client.

  When she entered the library she heard voices, so she moved toward the conference room where the voices were coming from. The door was open and she smiled as she walked inside. She was about to greet everyone when she saw Kaegan. He had come. She had wondered if he would. More than once she’d been tempted to call him to remind him of tonight’s meeting and decided that, since he’d been the one to accept her offer to join, he should care enough to make sure he kept his word and remembered to come. He had.

  “Come on in, Bryce. You arrived with two minutes to spare, but since you’re here we can go ahead and get started,” Susan said.

  “Hello, everyone,” Bryce said, as she swiftly moved to sit in the only vacant seat, which happened to be across from Kaegan. She forced herself not to glance over at him and instead tried to focus on what Susan was saying as she called the meeting to order.

  One of the reasons she’d decided to be a part of the committee was because Susan was known to be a very organized individual, who didn’t believe in wasting time. That meant the meeting would follow an agenda and they would be leaving at the allotted hour.

  Although she’d tried really hard, she hadn’t been able to resist temptation, and more than once she’d glanced over at Kaegan. Thankfully, he’d been paying rapt attention to what the others were saying, as if she hadn’t been there.

  “Anyone want to work on the music committee to assure we have a blend of all types to satisfy everyone attending?” Susan asked. “Like I said, the response has been overwhelming. Since we’re encompassing five graduating classes instead of just one, we’ll have a large group coming. Music will play an important factor.”

  “I suggest we get a band,” Charlette said.

  Susan nodded. “Any more suggestions?”

  Bryce raised her hand. “Since this reunion will encompass several classes, I thought what would really be neat is that, in addition to getting a band, we hire a DJ to play a few songs that were popular during the year we graduated. It will be fun to hear them.”

  Derrick nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”

  “Well, I don’t,” Laura said. Even in school, she was the most argumentative person around. People usually gave in to her just to shut her up. “I suggest we do neither and just make our own playlist. That way we can save on hiring a band and a DJ.”

  Everyone stared at her, but then, they really weren’t surprised. Laura was tight with her money and didn’t like spending it on anything. The thing was, the committee had the money to spend from the tickets they’d sold to the reunion. People were expecting something a little more special than just a playlist and the committee could afford it. When nobody said anything, probably too shocked to speak, Laura smiled and said, “I’m glad everyone agrees with me, so now we can move on to something else.”

  Bryce waited to see if anyone would stand up and tell Laura they didn’t agree with her. When it seemed no one would, she raised her hand. Susan looked over at her. “Yes, Bryce?”

  Bryce stood. “Thanks for making that suggestion, Laura, but I don’t agree. From what Susan indicated we have in the treasury, we do have the money to spend toward music, so we should. Some people are coming a long way and the least we can do is to have good music playing at the event.”

  “I suggest we spend less on music and more on food,” Doug said.

  Bryce drew in a deep breath when she saw a few of the others speaking up to side with Laura. Bryce knew one of the reasons was that Laura’s dad, although not as rich as Reid, was still a major employer in town. It bothered her that everyone would so easily accept whatever Laura wanted.

  Instead of being one of them and sitting down like she figured everyone expected her to do, she remained standing and said, “I think we should spend more money for music.”

  For a minute nobody said anything, and then, surprisingly, Kaegan spoke up and said, “I agree with Bryce. For years the reason I never attended a reunion was because I never felt included.”

  Bryce knew what Kaegan was referring to had nothing to do with the music, and from the looks on some of the faces in the room, they knew that, too.

  Kaegan then added, “Bryce is right. Music has a way of
bringing people together. It transcends all levels of communication. People are coming a long way and we are their hosts. Now is not the time to concentrate on money if we have it to spend. What are you going to do with it if you don’t use it?”

  Bryce glanced at the faces around the table. Kaegan had spoken. Once everyone had gotten over the shock of him doing that, they listened to what he said. Even Laura had been shocked into silence. While in school Kaegan rarely voiced his opinion about anything. He was seen but not heard. He couldn’t help but be seen when most of the girls at school used to drool over him, including Laura Crawford. He’d thought Samuel was the heartthrob, but it had been him. And Bryce had been proud that, of all the girls at Catalina Cove High, she had been the one—and the only one—he’d wanted.

  Bryce looked back at Susan, who said, “I think we should take a vote. All those in favor of varied types of music that includes both a band and a DJ, please raise your hands.”

  To Bryce’s surprise, the majority of the hands went up in her favor. She released the deep breath she’d been holding when Susan said, “The majority of everyone agrees, so, Bryce, are you willing to be the one to make sure we get the different kinds of music everyone wants to hear?”

  Bryce nodded. “Yes.”

  “Thanks, Bryce. And, Kaegan, since you agreed with Bryce’s position, can we count on you to work with her on the music?”

  Bryce turned her head to look at Kaegan. Before answering Susan, he met Bryce’s gaze and said, “Yes, I will work with Bryce.”

  Bryce broke eye contact with Kaegan as she sat back down. She’d come close to saying that she could handle everything on her own without anyone’s help. However, she recalled she’d been the one to talk him into being a part of his reunion, too. She would welcome anyone’s help, even his.

  “That’s great, Kaegan. I appreciate you doing that,” Susan said, smiling.

  Bryce glanced back over at him, smiled and said, “Yes, thanks, Kaegan. I will appreciate the help.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “GOOD MORNING, KAEGAN, Ray and Sawyer. The usual?”

  “Yes, the usual,” all three men replied to Bryce before she walked off.

  Ray grinned. “Hmm, some things never change.”

  “And some things do,” Sawyer added.

  Kaegan shifted his gaze away from Bryce when she disappeared into the café’s kitchen. It had been almost a week since the night they’d met for the class reunion meeting. He had contacted her earlier in the week to arrange a meeting to discuss the music for the class reunion. She had agreed with his suggestion that they meet on his yacht when she mentioned she would be in the area near the pier this evening.

  He looked over at Ray. “What never changes?”

  Ray smiled. “The way you still check out Bryce every morning when we come in here. Even when the two of you were at odds with each other, you used to look at her like you wanted to eat her alive...after making senseless love to her.”

  “You’re imagining things.”

  “No, I’m not,” Ray said.

  Deciding not to argue with Ray, Kaegan shifted his gaze to Sawyer. “And what has changed, Sawyer?”

  Sawyer chuckled. “There was a time Bryce didn’t even acknowledge your presence. Now not only does she acknowledge it, you get first dibs. Now when she greets us in the mornings, she puts your name first.”

  A smile touched Kaegan’s lips. He had noticed that. Was it because he’d offered her the job as his broker or that he’d backed her at the class-reunion meeting? Either reason didn’t matter because he knew she would be good as his broker, and he agreed with what she’d said about the music. He hadn’t been trying to score brownie points with her.

  “Interesting,” Sawyer added.

  Kaegan chuckled at his friend. “Jealous?”

  “No. In fact, I’m glad to see the two of you are now on friendlier terms. At one point I thought I was going to have to make some arrests. Put you and Bryce in the same cell and have you fight it out, get it out of your system.”

  Ray laughed. “A fight isn’t what they need to get out their system, Sawyer.”

  At that moment Bryce returned with their muffins and a pot of coffee. She smiled at them. “Anything else, guys?”

  “Nope. We’re good,” Kaegan said, smiling back at her.

  “I forgot to ask if you spoke with your neighbor to verify those were indeed his footprints,” Sawyer said to Bryce.

  She looked over at him. “Yes. He said Butterball got out Saturday night and apologized for the noise. I told him there was no need to apologize, so, Sheriff, the mystery has been solved.” She smiled and then walked off.

  “What was that about?” Kaegan asked.

  Sawyer grabbed a blueberry muffin out the basket and began buttering it. “Apparently nothing now. Bryce and Vashti were talking on the phone late Saturday night, that same weekend we all helped you net oysters. Bryce heard a sound coming from her backyard. Although she tried assuring Vashti it was probably just her neighbor out looking for his cat, Vashti wanted me to go over to Bryce’s place and check anyway. I did and found footprints in her backyard. Bryce was convinced they were her neighbor’s and said she would check with the man the next day. Evidently she did check and the footprints belonged to him.”

  Kaegan didn’t say anything for a minute as Sawyer began talking to Ray about how Ray’s tour-boat business was coming along. When there was a lull in the conversation, Kaegan said, “I’m glad you went to check anyway, Sawyer. My tire got slashed at her place.”

  Sawyer’s head snapped up from looking down into his coffee cup. “What? When?”

  Kaegan shrugged. “Friday of that same week when I went over to her place to help her study. It was after eleven, and when I came out I saw my tire flat, and after checking further, I saw the tire had been slashed.”

  “Slashed? And you didn’t call the station to report it?”

  “I didn’t see the need. I figured it was kids with nothing better to do.”

  “On a Friday night? When the Livewire serves free pizzas every Friday night to the local teens?” Sawyer asked, frowning. “I can’t see any teen missing a free pizza to slash a tire.”

  The Livewire was a hangout spot for the teens in town. It was a decent place that provided a safe environment for them to play arcade games and fill up on hamburgers, fries and milkshakes. There was even a quiet corner in the back for those who wanted to get an early start on their homework during the weekdays. On Friday nights they always served free pizzas and hosted talent night so the teens could showcase their skills. Usually the place was packed but always orderly. “I changed the tire myself and kept moving. I didn’t even mention it to Bryce,” Kaegan said.

  He took a sip of his coffee and studied Sawyer. Anyone who’d been around Sawyer long enough knew how his mind worked. He was thinking. Personally, Kaegan thought he was thinking too hard, but a part of Kaegan understood. Sawyer was sheriff of Catalina Cove and he liked staying on top of things. He was ex-military and ex-FBI, and being suspicious of anything and everything was part of his makeup. Since Sawyer had been sheriff, the residents of Catalina Cove had a positive regard for the law. Sawyer was fair and crime was almost nonexistent. Cops now treated the people with respect.

  Before Sawyer there had been Sheriff Phillips, who’d finally retired after his son was killed in a hunting accident. For as long as Kaegan could remember, there had been a Phillips enforcing the law in Catalina Cove. It had been a foregone conclusion that if a Phillips ran for sheriff he would win and always did. As far as Kaegan was concerned, Sheriff Phillips had been a lazy sheriff and rarely left the station. His deputies did all the work and some weren’t all that nice to people.

  Sawyer was totally different from Phillips. He was a hands-on sort of sheriff and he got out of his office more than he stayed in. He knew how to connect with the people.
He didn’t act like his badge was a sign of privilege, but rather, it was a badge of honor. And he definitely didn’t act like he made the law, like Sheriff Phillips and his regime had. Most of the men who worked for Phillips either quit or joined the New Orleans police force when Sawyer took over. They couldn’t stomach having an outsider come in and run things.

  Sawyer looked over at him. “If any craziness happens again, let me know. I don’t like the idea there might be kids going around slashing tires.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know if it happens again,” Kaegan said.

  He shifted his gaze from Sawyer to Bryce. A man whom Kaegan didn’t recognize had entered the café and he immediately knew the guy wasn’t from around here. However, from the huge smile of recognition on Bryce’s face, they obviously knew each other.

  Kaegan tried downplaying the jealousy he felt that suddenly rushed through his body. He didn’t recall making a sound, but obviously he had because both Sawyer and Ray glanced up at him and then followed his gaze across the café.

  Ray looked back at him. “Like I said earlier, some things never change. Whenever Bryce talks to a guy, steam comes out your ears.”

  He continued watching Bryce and the guy chat it up while he responded to Ray. “Steam does not come out of my ears.”

  Ray chuckled. “Yes, it does. More is coming out now and I don’t know why. She’s not your girl.”

  It was then that Kaegan aimed a narrowed gaze at Ray. “Not my girl but she’s my friend, and I don’t know the guy. Do either of you?”

  Both Sawyer and Ray shook their heads.

  “He’s probably someone passing through or visiting someone in the cove. Chill, man,” Ray said. “You’re acting territorial again.”

  Kaegan glanced back at Bryce and the man. At that moment he didn’t care how he was acting. He didn’t like how friendly Bryce and the man seemed to be.