COMING HOME
Baytown Boys Series
By
Maryann Jordan
Coming Home (Baytown Boys)
Copyright © 2016 Maryann Jordan
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, then you are reading an illegal pirated copy. If you would be concerned about working for no pay, then please respect the author’s work! Make sure that you are only reading a copy that has been officially released by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by: Andrea Michelle, Artistry in Design
Editor: Shannon Brandee Eversoll
Formatter: Paul Salvette, BB eBooks
ISBN: 978-0-9975538-3-3
Dedication
Four years ago my husband and I discovered the Eastern Shore of Virginia and fell in love. The mostly rural strip of land forming the peninsula originating from Maryland has managed to stay non-commercialized. The quiet, private area full of quaint towns captured out hearts and we rushed to buy a little place there.
It has become our retreat when we need to leave the hustle and bustle of our lives. I gather ideas, create characters, and spend time writing when not walking on the beach collecting sea-glass.
My mother became ill and passed away during the writing of this book. She was my best friend, supporter of my writing, spent endless hours helping the homeless and refugees in our area, and a selfless, devoted wife, mother, and nana.
This book is devoted to the woman who gave me life, taught me to dream and gave me the courage to follow those dreams.
I am so pleased that she was able to visit the Eastern Shore before she became unable to travel. She loved our little place and knew it would spark my creative juices.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Other books by Maryann Jordan
More About Maryann Jordan
Author’s Note
I have lived in numerous states as well as overseas, but for the last twenty years have called Virginia my home. All of my stories take place in this wonderful commonwealth, but I choose to use fictional city names with some geographical accuracies.
These fictionally named cities allow me to use my creativity and not feel constricted by attempting to accurately portray the areas.
It is my hope that my readers will allow me this creative license and understand my fictional world.
Chapter 1
It never gets old. I could stand here for a thousand years, watching it over and over…and it would never become less spectacular.
Mitch Evans sipped his beer as he stood on the weather-worn wooden back porch of his small cottage, his eyes never leaving the sun setting over the Chesapeake Bay. One hand wrapped around the warped board railing and the other curled around the sweat-beaded beer, he viewed the sun dipping lower and lower until the round, orange ball was no longer seen as the sky painted every shade of pink, red, and blue.
He walked a few steps to one of the Adirondack chairs, settling his tall body in, leaning back, continuing to appreciate the sky’s ever-changing panorama.
Did I appreciate this when I was a kid? Did I even notice this when I was a kid? I sure as hell didn’t when I was a teenager, too busy, chomping at the bit to leave this place.
Shaking his head, he could not help but smile at the brash young man he had been. Desperate to leave this small town and see the world. Well, I saw some of it all right, he thought, his mind drifting to the tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Army. Front lines. The dust, the dirt. Little sleep. Making new friends only to lose some…permanently. Shaking his head once more, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind, preferring to note the darker blues drifting across the sky as the night morphed into brilliance.
The ever-present breeze coming off the bay offered a respite from the evening heat that sizzled. His mind drifted over his day, busy with moving a few belongings into the house, having driven over three hours from Charlestown. The house was furnished, but he brought clothes, toiletries, books, and a few personal items to place around.
After a few more minutes, he hefted his body out of the chair, the still-sweating, but now empty, beer bottle dangling in his fingers and walked inside his house.
The small cottage had belonged to his grandparents, before they moved into town. His grandfather, wanting to keep a place to spend weekends fishing, never sold the property. “That house was built back when people knew how to build houses,” his grandpa would brag. “It was built to withstand wind and weather.” Years later he left it to his grandson. Mitch used to wonder if he would keep it or sell it, but as long as his parents were living, it gave him a place to stay when he came to visit.
Who would have thought I’d end up living here? Stepping into the kitchen, he tossed his bottle into the recycle bin by the door. The kitchen was U-shaped, with a new black stove and refrigerator. The sink had been upgraded as well and a dishwasher took the place of a few bottom cabinets.
The remaining cabinets and counter space were not abundant, but served his needs. Opening the refrigerator, he chuckled at the amount of food his mother had stocked. Reaching in, he grabbed a plastic storage container labeled Lasagna and popped it into the microwave.
A knock on the front door sent him walking past the dining table and through the cozy living room with the overstuffed sofa and chair filling up much of the space. He had left the front door open when he finished moving the boxes in earlier in the afternoon, making it easy to see through the screen door at the visitor standing on his front porch.
The blue eyes of the beautiful blonde met his, a wide smile filling her face. “Well, hello, stranger!”
Throwing open the screen door, he braced as his cousin, Jillian, bolted through, hurling herself at him.
Hugging her closely he smiled, having wondered when she would make an appearance. “What took you so long?” he teased.
She stepped back, slapping his arm and said, “Hey, some of us have to work for a living!” Winking as she headed into the living room, she tossed her bag onto the floor before plopping down into the chair, draping her long legs dangling over one of the arms.
Following her lead, he settled on the sofa, placing his feet onto the well-worn coffee table still sporting the dents from the
many games they played as children.
Looking around, she smiled, “The old place still looks the same. You gonna change it? Make it your own bachelor pad?”
Chortling at her goofiness, he said, “Think I’m a little too old to have a bachelor pad, cuz.” His gaze drifted around the room, assaulted by the memories of many family gatherings in the cottage. “I’ve got some furniture I put in storage and figure I can use it at some time if I move to another house.”
The quiet of the evening settled over the pair.
“So what’s new?” he asked, knowing if anyone had the gossip of what was going on in the small town, it would be her.
“New?” she scoffed. “Baytown has hardly changed!” She twisted a long lock of blonde hair between her fingers and added, “Honestly, Mitch? Since you Baytown boys all left after graduation and joined the military, it’s been kinda boring.”
“Graduation was thirteen years ago, cuz. I know things have changed,” he protested. “I’ve been back for family visits enough to know that!”
“Well, I guess I just meant that not much has changed over the years. Have you seen anyone since you got in?”
“I saw Aiden and Brogan when I visited the town council a couple of weeks ago, but I just got moved in today.” Aiden and Brogan MacFarlane owned Finn’s pub, handed down to them by their grandfather, Finn MacFarlane. Brogan graduated with him and Aiden one year behind; both joined the Marines as Mitch went into the Army.
“Did you hear Callan was back?”
“No shit?”
“He’s still with the Coast Guard and stationed here.”
“Anyone else?” Mitch inquired, wanting to find out more about his old friends who had left Baytown.
“Well, Zac is with the Fire Department, but I know you talked with him the last time you were here. He took over as chief about six months ago, so now he gets to be the boss of the volunteers.” Her gaze dropped to her lap as she added, “And of course you and Grant will be working together on the force.”
Mitch smiled, thinking of the gang he hung out with as a teenager. Baytown Boys. That was what they referred to themselves as, all itching to leave one of the poorest counties in Virginia. All of us wanting something…to go somewhere. Anywhere but here, he thought ruefully.
Jillian and Mitch smiled at each other for a long moment, the silence comfortable between them. Finally, Mitch asked, “You come all the way over here just to sit and stare at me?”
Throwing her head back in laughter, Jillian cried, “Jerk!” As she sobered, she wondered aloud, “You okay? About everything?”
“Wow…way to ask a million dollar question,” he joked. Noticing her eyes were not sparkling, he added, “Hey, I’m good.”
Swinging her long, tanned legs back to the front of the chair, she leaned forward resting her forearms on her knees. “Mitch, I know you. You couldn’t wait to move out of this podunk town. Hell, you left for boot camp the day after your high school graduation. And these last several years? You’ve been a big-shot FBI agent.”
“Hardly a big-shot,” he interjected.
“You know what I mean,” she said.
The silence fell between them once more, this time less comfortable. Leaning back in the chair, she pinned him with her stare. “Got all night, Mitchy boy.”
Laughing, he teased, “Jillian, you were a pain in my ass as a tomboy kid always trying to do what us boys were doing. Stayed a pain in my ass when you had those same boys chasing you in high school. And you’re still a pain in my ass!”
Meeting his grin, she retorted, “That’s what cousins are for!”
Nodding, he finally answered her concern. “I’m really good. Honestly.” Seeing her raised eyebrow, he continued, “Yes, I wanted out of this town when I was a teen. Joining the military with the guys was the right thing to do. But it didn’t take long to figure out that watching some of your friends die or get blown apart in battle wasn’t what I wanted to keep doing.”
Jillian’s face immediately softened, her blue eyes warm with concern. “I’m sorry, Mitch. I shouldn’t have been so cavalier with my words.”
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice gentle. “Back stateside, being in the military police seemed safer, but the Army wasn’t ever going to be my career.”
She leaned back in her chair, eager to listen to him. Tucking a few wayward strands of long hair behind her ear, she smiled her encouragement.
“Couldn’t figure out anything other than police science as a major and then, hell, the FBI was exactly what I wanted to do.”
“Grandpa and your dad were thrilled for you to become an agent,” she reminded. “The town’s past Police Chiefs loved the idea of the their golden boy working for the FBI. You know they’d never want you to give up your dreams…not for them…not even for this town.”
Pinning her with his intelligent blue-eyed gaze, he said, “Dreams change, Jillian. What was once important sometimes becomes less important.”
“Did your dreams change or did you just adapt?” she prodded.
Chuckling, he said, “If this had all happened two years ago I woulda given you a different answer. But yeah, my dreams changed. The FBI bureaucracy became ponderous. I was no longer able to be as effective as I wanted to be. Honest to God, if it hadn’t been for a private investigation firm I partnered with, I woulda lost my mind at times.”
“I thought last Christmas, when you visited, you were thinking about joining them.”
“Yeah, I was. But…well, the call came in about dad’s heart attack…” he said shrugging. “And then the call came in from the mayor. So, becoming the Police Chief of my hometown seemed like something I would like to do.” Hesitating for a moment, he looked down at his hands, deep in thought, before speaking again. “I know I made a difference as an FBI agent but the Bureau was so large that I rarely got to see the good I was doing. I didn’t get a chance to really connect with the victims of the crimes I investigated some times. But here,” he looked back up at her, “I can get to know the townspeople again. I can make a difference in their lives.” Chuckling, he added, “Maybe I’ll still a small-town boy at heart.”
Sighing, she evaluated his words, finding only truth behind his explanations. “Well, gotta say, Baytown is lucky to have you, but I think you’ll find being the Police Chief here a lot more boring than chasing down terrorists and major criminals with the FBI!”
“No problem with a slower, simpler life, cuz,” he agreed. “That’s all part of the dream that changes with age. I’m ready to get back to the life I was so ready to run away from when I got out of high school.”
The silence once more settled comfortably between the two as each slipped into their own thoughts. After a moment, Jillian asked, “Remember the great tailgate parties we would have on old man Tollin’s farm? Or the bonfires on the beaches?”
“Yeah,” Mitch admitted. “Drinking way before we were supposed to. Me trying to keep some vacationing kid from getting too fresh with you. Hell, that alone, kept me busy!”
“Me? I seem to remember you trying to get it on with a few of the vacationing girls!”
The two cousins laughed at the long ago memories before Jillian stood and walked to the door. Turning to hug Mitch, she clung tight to his shoulders and said, “I’m glad you’re back, Mitch. I’m sorry for your dad…I know he hates convalescing after his heart attack. Being forced to retire wasn’t what he wanted. But Baytown needs a good Police Chief and no one’s better than you to follow in grandpa’s and your dad’s footsteps.”
He returned her embrace, showing his gratitude for her visit. As she strolled back to her scooter, he watched as she drove down his pea-gravel driveway, her hand lifted up in a wave as she disappeared into the night.
Closing and locking the front door, Mitch walked back through the house to his bedroom, turning off the lights as he went. Years of having a security system out of necessity had him wanting to alarm his residency, but then he laughed. Don’t reckon anyone would even know I
was out here, much less try to break in.
Stripping, he took a shower in the miniscule bathroom before walking back into the bedroom with just a towel hanging low on his lean hips. Stopping at his dresser, he looked at the three, small, framed pictures he had placed on top. The first picture was of his family taken last Christmas. Grandparents, parents, aunt and uncle, and Jillian. All smiling. Who woulda ever guessed that one month later grandpa would be gone and six months later, dad would be laid up with a heart attack?
The next picture was one taken a month ago. The investigation firm he mentioned to his cousin was the Saints Protection & Investigations, run by Jack Bryant, a former Army Special Forces sergeant. The ten men…and their women, had become not only co-investigators with him but good friends. He had planned on resigning from the FBI and working for Jack until the phone call from his mom came in.
The last picture…the Baytown boys. Taken at a tailgate party right before graduation, he peered at the fresh, young faces. All eager. All ready to take on the world. Most returned from the military like him. Hardened. Seasoned. A few returned in worse shape, both physically and mentally. And two did not return at all.
Turning sharply away from the dresser and the memories the pictures held, he jerked the towel off and tossed it into the bathroom before sliding under the covers. Lying on his back, his muscular arm tucked underneath his head, he wondered if sleep would come. Getting up to open the window in his bedroom, he slid back into bed, listening to the sound of the gentle surf, and fell into a deep sleep, dreams full of young friends partying on the beach, beers in their hands, watching the girls walk by…and hoping one in particular would appear.
Chapter 2
Early the next morning, Mitch wandered into the kitchen, popping a pod into the coffee maker and a slice of bread into the toaster. Opening the refrigerator door, he stared at the eggs and package of bacon, knowing it would only take a few minutes to fix breakfast, but thoughts of hitting the diner flitted through his mind. The last time he had been to Baytown, after his father’s heart attack, he had run by the diner and been pleasantly surprised to see Katelyn working there. Aiden and Brogan’s sister was just as adept at keeping up with the local gossip as Jillian.
Coming Home: Baytown Boys Series Page 1
