The Cliff House

by RaeAnne Thayne

  “You know, I’m sure Mari would love to meet you before school starts. Would you be interested, if I could arrange for the two of you to hang out? Maybe she could invite some of her other friends to a little pool party at her house, just to make sure you have a few familiar faces on the first day.”

  This stirred Rowan’s interest. She gave Stella a look that seemed both wary and eager. “That would be really nice. Thanks.”

  “I’ll call her. I’m sure she would love to meet you. And if you have any questions about Cape Sanctuary or the things young people your age like to do around here, I would be happy to answer them or direct you to someone else who can.”

  “Thanks, Stella,” Ed said. He glanced at the reception desk. “I’m here to drop off some forms they need before I start working next week, but if you’re free, would you be interested in going to lunch with us to maybe give us some of those pointers?”

  She gazed at him, clutching her baby swag bag. “Lunch.”

  He smiled. “Yes. You’ve heard of it, I’m sure. The meal between breakfast and dinner.”

  She wanted to say no. A few days ago she thought she had put Ed Clayton firmly in her past. It may have taken years of effort but she had almost managed to forget him.

  She could do nothing about his decision to move here to Cape Sanctuary but that didn’t mean she had to willingly sign up to entangle their lives together again.

  She was about to refuse but then she saw the eager expression on Rowan’s face and couldn’t do it.

  For his daughter’s sake, she could handle a little thing like lunch. “Did you have somewhere in mind?”

  “You tell us. We don’t know restaurants in the area. That’s one of the areas where I could use help.”

  “I like The Ocean Club. It’s on Seaview Drive, near the Pine intersection, just a block from here.”

  “Do you want to walk?”

  She needed to stay active during her pregnancy, for the baby’s health and her own. “Sure.”

  “Give me a few minutes to take care of the reason I came here.”

  He handed the receptionist some signed forms. “Here you go. I think that’s everything you needed from me but let me know if I left anything off.”

  The receptionist apparently was not immune to the gorgeousness that was Ed Clayton. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at him. “Thank you so much, Dr. Clayton. We can’t wait for you to start.”

  Stella had a feeling that as soon as word trickled out about the sexy new doctor, the women of Cape Sanctuary would be lining up for appointments.

  * * *

  Stella felt extremely conspicuous as she walked into The Ocean Club with Ed and his daughter. She had taught all three of the owner’s children and also knew several of the patrons eating at the comfortable café. The place was frequented by both locals and tourists alike, known for its excellent and extensive menu and spectacular view of Sea Glass Beach.

  She waved to Elena, the owner, who raised her eyebrows in Ed’s direction, all but wiggling them, Groucho Marx style. She frowned at her friend, hoping Ed didn’t notice.

  “Elena Jimenez, this is Ed Clayton and his daughter, Rowan. They’ve just moved to town. Ed is a doctor, joining Jo Chen’s practice.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ed. Hi, Rowan.” Elena gave them both a friendly smile. “Welcome to Cape Sanctuary.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Do you want to sit outside on the patio? It’s a beautiful day.”

  “That sounds great. Thanks.”

  “Go ahead and sit where you want,” Elena said. “I’ll send Leilani out in a minute to take your order.”

  Stella was nervous as she led them to a lovely spot near the patio edge, with a striking view of the curving beach below and the dramatic rock formations offshore.

  “This is nice,” Rowan said.

  She smiled at the girl. “The food is good, too. And reasonably priced.”

  They spent a moment going over the menu, then gave their order to Elena’s sweet daughter, who helped her mother out at the restaurant.

  “So do you have a place to live yet?” she asked after the server left.

  “We opted for a short-term lease our first few months, to give us time to figure out what neighborhood we want to settle in for the long haul,” Ed answered. “For now, we’re in the Surfside condos.”

  Surfside was a lovely development not far from Three Oaks. “You’ll like it there. It’s a nice area. Plus, they have that great pool complex.”

  “It’s got a good view of the ocean. That was my only requirement.”

  “You’re not far from the middle school there, only a few blocks,” she said to Rowan. “You should be able to walk or ride a bike.”

  “Or my longboard,” Rowan said.

  “That would work, too.” She knew many students rode longboards to school and stored them in their lockers. “You know, we have a really great skate park north of Dragonfly Park. That’s about three blocks from your condo.”

  She knew all about the skate park since she had been on the committee that persuaded the city council to build it. Several of her foster children had been into skateboarding, and the park provided a safe place to do it where they didn’t annoy business owners.

  “I hear from those who’ve used it that it’s pretty boss.”

  “That could be cool.” The girl sipped at the soda Leilani brought her. “What about surfing around here? Is it always too cold? I was just starting up back home and was hoping I could take more lessons here, but we went down to the beach the other day and it was freezing. I only waded in and I thought my toes were going to fall off from frostbite.”

  “You have to wear a full-body wet suit but there are plenty of folks around here who do. There’s a nice surf break up a little north of town at Hidden Beach. I’m not an expert, I’m afraid. Surfing’s not my thing but you can talk to the couple that runs the surf and bike rental shop down the street and they can give you all the info you need.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  “So,” Ed said when the conversation lagged. “Tell me what you’ve been doing the past twenty years.”

  Missing you.

  She cleared her throat. “Teaching. Raising the girls.”

  “You have daughters?” Rowan asked. “How old are they?”

  “Nieces, actually. And they’re grown now. Daisy’s turned thirty this year and Bea is twenty-eight.”

  “Do they live around here?”

  “Yes. Daisy is an accountant and financial planner in town and Bea is an artist. As a matter of fact, she has some lovely pieces in the gallery next door.”

  “We’ll have to check it out,” Ed said.

  “It’s her daughter who is around your age,” she told Rowan. “Marisol is a very funny, creative, kind girl. I think you’ll like her.”

  “Maybe.”

  Stella didn’t miss the hint of wariness in the girl’s voice, as if she was afraid to get her hopes up. It made her even more determined to help her connect with Mari. “I’ll talk to her mother and see what we can arrange before school starts.”

  That might mean she had to spend more time with Ed, but for the girl’s sake, she was willing to make a sacrifice.

  “What other sorts of things besides longboarding and surfing did you like to do back in Pasadena?”

  Rowan fiddled with her silverware. “I don’t know. Just stuff. Ride my scooter. Watch movies. Listen to music.”

  She wondered if Rowan liked Cruz Romero’s music but decided not to blow her mind by telling her the pop icon was her niece’s father.

  “Sounds like the same stuff Mari likes. I’ll call her mom as soon as we finish lunch.”

  Leilani brought their food a moment later, and while they ate, they spoke of Rowan’s previous school and Ed’s practice, their dog, Boomer, an
d a trip the two of them were planning over Christmas break to Hawaii.

  She would be done with the first trimester by then, she thought, and into the second, with a nice baby bump.

  The meal was much more pleasant than she might have expected. She was aware of the currents simmering between them, all the unanswered questions about why she had walked away and their difficult last meeting so long ago. But Ed seemed willing to put that aside. Wouldn’t it be lovely if they could build a friendship, after all these years?

  He insisted on paying for lunch as recompense for all her advice about the community. By the time she finished eating, she was exhausted and wanted to find a nice corner of the restaurant to curl up in and take a nap. She had a feeling that getting through the school day while fighting this fatigue was going to be one of the hardest parts of the pregnancy.

  “Thank you,” she said after they rose to leave the restaurant.

  “This was a great place. I appreciate you directing us to it.”

  It would probably be tough to have a friendship with him when his smile still made her insides shiver.

  “You’re welcome. If you want, I can give you a list of some of my favorite restaurants in town. Or you can just explore. Trial and error is good for finding your own favorites.”

  “I would appreciate a starting point. Thanks.”

  She forced a smile as they walked out of the restaurant. Since both of their vehicles were still parked back at the women’s clinic, they started in that direction when the door to the art gallery next door opened and she spotted a familiar person coming out. Bea looked lovely in a flowery, flowing sundress and a floppy hat.

  “Hey, Aunt Stella!”

  Oh, dear. She didn’t want either of the girls to see her with Ed and get the wrong idea about them. It was too late to worry about that now. The damage was done.

  “Bea. Darling. We were just speaking about you.”

  “Were you?”

  “About Mari, actually. I suppose I should introduce you. Bea, this is Ed Clayton and his daughter, Rowan. They’ve just moved to Cape Sanctuary. Dr. Clayton is going into partnership with Jo Chen.”

  “Oh. Welcome, both of you.” Bea gave them a wide smile, making Stella grateful for her kind nature. Though she had been a bit of a wild, rebellious girl once upon a time, motherhood had settled Bea a great deal.

  “Thank you,” Ed replied. Was Stella the only one who found the way he smiled with his eyes enormously sexy?

  “I was telling Rowan here how amazing my great-niece, Mari, is and how I’m sure they would love each other if they met. They’re both a little too old for playdates at this age, so I was thinking we could set something else up. Maybe a swim party or something with some of Mari’s other friends, just so Rowan can meet some other girls her age before school starts in a few weeks.”

  “What a great idea! Mari would love that. I’ll talk to her and see what we can figure out.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  Bea’s gaze was fixed on Ed, a slight frown furrowing her forehead. “Ed, you seem familiar somehow. I’m sorry. Have we met?”

  Stella froze. She could only think of one reason Bea might recognize Ed. The girl had once stumbled onto a picture of the two of them together, one Stella couldn’t bear to throw away.

  “Ed and I are old friends, tracing all the way back to our university days at UCLA,” she said quickly. “He’s moving up from Southern California.”

  She still had the picture. She kept it in a little carved box of papers and receipts and the few photographs she had of her and Jewel when they were young. Once in a while, she stumbled onto it. Seeing Ed’s face always seemed to knock the wind out of her.

  “I’m actually glad I bumped into you.” Bea changed the subject, much to Stella’s relief.

  “Oh?”

  “I wanted to give you a heads-up, if you haven’t already heard. Cruz is in town, staying at Casa Del Mar. So far, the paparazzi haven’t found him but that could change at any moment. You might want to avoid that section of Seaview Drive until he’s gone again.”

  The curving, tight road could be dangerous under the best of circumstances. Sometimes when Cruz was in the middle of some scandal or other and came back to town, the paparazzi’s vehicles could block the entire road.

  “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll be careful. How is he?”

  Though she could never quite forgive him for getting Bea pregnant when she was barely seventeen and taking her away from them before she could graduate from high school, she would always have a soft spot in her heart for Cruz. He had been her student first, with a poet’s soul she had recognized early, then had lived with her after the grandmother who had been raising him had to go into a nursing home.

  “He seems to be okay,” Bea said. If Stella wasn’t mistaken, her niece still seemed troubled, despite her words.

  “I’m so glad. Did he tell you or Mari how long he plans to stay?”

  Bea’s mouth tightened, confirming Stella’s suspicions that she wasn’t particularly happy with her ex-husband right now. “A month. That’s what he said, anyway.”

  “That means he’ll be here for the Arts and Hearts on the Cape Festival.”

  “Probably.”

  The huge festival in September had become the signature fund-raiser for Open Hearts. “Maybe he would agree to attend one of the events. Imagine how the attendance might soar if people knew Cruz Romero was attending!”

  “Cruz Romero? You know Cruz Romero?” Rowan’s eyes were huge.

  “You could say that,” Bea muttered.

  “Cruz and my niece here were married once. He is Mari’s father.”

  “Really?”

  “He has a house here in Cape Sanctuary. You might have seen it, a really big, sprawling Spanish Colonial just on the edge of town, overlooking the water.”

  “Remember that big house we saw the other night? The one you said looked like a hotel?” Ed said.

  “That’s the one,” Bea said grimly. “Go ahead and ask him about the festival. You know he can never say no to you. Meanwhile, I’ll talk to Mari about the pool party and let you know.”

  “Thanks, honey.” Stella kissed her niece on the cheek and Bea waved and headed on the way, but not until she gave Ed another searching look as if still trying to place him.

  “Thank you again for having lunch with us,” Ed said as they neared the clinic.

  “I enjoyed it,” she answered, and was surprised to find it was true. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

  “I thought we would walk around downtown a little more, just to get the feel of things.”

  She was reluctant to leave them, suddenly. Her fatigue seemed to have disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

  “Have you been to the library yet? In my opinion, you don’t truly belong to a community until you have a library card. We have an excellent library here in Cape Sanctuary.”

  “We have not made that stop yet.”

  “It’s right across the street on the corner. And across the next street from that is the local historical museum, where I am a docent a few times a month. I can show you that, too. It will give you a nice overview of Cape Sanctuary.”

  “That would be great,” Rowan said, obviously still dazed at discovering Cruz Romero lived close by.

  As Stella led the way, she told herself she was only being friendly to two people moving to the town she loved. Her offer to show them around had nothing to do with any desire on her part to spend more time with the man whose memory she had cherished for nearly two decades.

  7

  BEATRIZ

  After Bea left her aunt outside The Ocean Club, she crossed the road and, on impulse, went inside the building and climbed the stairs to Daisy’s second-floor office.

  From the landing outside Daisy’s office, she had a clear view
down the street and could see her aunt walking with Ed Clayton and his daughter.

  As she watched, she saw her aunt lightly touch the man’s arm and point to something in the window of the bookstore where Stella attended her monthly book club meeting.

  He looked down at her, just so, and bells started clanging in her memory. Suddenly, she knew exactly where she’d seen Ed Clayton before.

  She shoved open Daisy’s office door and waved to her receptionist and friend, Donna Cook.

  “Is she free?” she asked urgently.

  “For a few moments,” Donna said, looking concerned as Bea rushed to Daisy’s door, knocked and pushed it open without waiting for an answer.

  Daisy was working on something at her desk—Bea had no idea exactly what her sister did, other than it involved numbers and money, two things that intimidated the hell out of her. She looked up at Bea’s entrance.

  “Come here. Quick,” Bea ordered as she raced to the window, which afforded the same view she had seen from the landing.

  “Nice to see you, too,” Daisy said. “Why no, I’m not in the middle of anything important. Why would I be? I’m happy to drop everything to go look out the window and snoop on some unsuspecting soul.”

  Bea didn’t have time for Daisy’s sarcasm. “Hurry, before they’re gone.”

  Daisy sighed as if she were a hundred years old and rose from her computer, moving to the window with all the speed of a turtle on crutches.

  “What do you see?” Bea demanded, fighting the urge to shake her sister and remind her she was only thirty freaking years old and didn’t need to be so measured all the time, like some senior citizen whose bones could barely hold her up.

  “Um, a few clouds. The ocean. A slow, beautiful August afternoon. What am I supposed to be looking at?”

  She ground her back teeth. “Down there! Can’t you see Stella? She’s walking with a guy and his daughter.”

  Daisy’s gaze followed her pointing finger but she appeared singularly unimpressed with the sight. “Okay. And?”

  “It’s him! It’s the guy in the picture!”

  “What picture?”