“What happened?” Tori asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“He was killed in service. His body was brought home to be buried. He’s at the town cemetery over near the resort.”
Leaning forward, Tori grasped Katelyn’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
Sighing again, Katelyn said, “Well, it’s been a few years and doesn’t sting as much as it used to.” Slapping her hands on her knees, she shrugged saying, “But, thank God, most of our boys returned.”
Jillian continued, “I overheard them talking about starting an American Legion chapter here. I hope they do. I looked into it and there are a lot of good things that they could do for their fellow servicemen. I think it would be good for them to have an outlet.”
The women quieted for a few minutes, before Katelyn jumped up and said, “More mimosas?”
Soon, easier conversation and laughter filled the small gathering once more.
*
“Hell, the smell of steaks on the grill had me drooling about a mile away!” Zac called out, stepping onto Mitch’s back deck.
Grabbing a beer from the cooler, he nodded to the others gathered there. Callan had arrived and was dragging the corn hole boards out into the yard. Brogan sat with his feet up on the rail, his eyes closed as the sun beamed down on him. Grant carried more beer out and reloaded the cooler.
Aiden stood, surveying the group. “It’s been a helluva long time since we’ve all been together.” Holding his beer high, he said, “Here’s to the original Baytown Boys.”
Here, here and fuck yeahs rang out amongst the gathering.
Turning back to Mitch, Aiden said, “So I hear you finally got your chance to take the pretty Victoria out last night. It’s about time. Hell, you chased her from the time you were eight years old! You are one seriously slow-mover!”
Mitch had to laugh along with the others. “Yeah, well, like a fine wine, some things take time and only get better with age.”
The men settled down with their steaks and the baked potatoes Mitch pulled out of the oven. Brogan set down a platter of corn on the cob and Callan pulled more beer from the ice in the cooler. The conversation and camaraderie flowed easily between the life-long friends and soon the discussion moved to the idea behind an American Legion.
“I’ve heard about them, but just thought that they were for old men,” Grant admitted, pushing his plate back, patting his stomach. “Damn, that was good.”
“Well, of course the American Legions had old men in them when we were younger…that’s who had been in the service,” Callan said. “Now it’s us.”
“Lot of my friends came back in not so good shape,” Mitch noted. “Got a few that I try to keep up with, but we’re lucky to have had most of us come back in one piece.”
Brogan’s eyes grew dark as he added, “Saw a lot of shit over there. Thought the stain of it would never wash off.”
“And has it?” Zac asked.
“Working on it,” Brogan replied.
“Hell,…the heat…the sand…” Aiden said.
“I was in the goddamn mountains for a while,” Mitch added, “training the Afghans on basic police skills.”
The men sat for a moment, lost in their memories…and nightmares, before Aiden piped up. “So, what does the American Legion do exactly? I mean, if it’s just a place for old war horses to get together, hell, we can do that at the bar!”
“I’ve been doing some research. They do more than swap old war stories. They set up programs that offer comfort to veterans, homeless veterans, give scholarships to teens, a lot of work with families, youth, and the community.”
The men were quiet for a moment, allowing the gentle breeze to flow from the ocean, soothing their memories. Brogan was the first to speak, surprising Mitch.
“Mitch is right. We got back. We got a chance to help some of our other brothers and sisters who didn’t come back so good. Ain’t got a good reason not to do this.”
The others looked over at Brogan, his face giving away nothing. Mitch smiled, knowing if Brogan were on board, the others would easily follow suit.
Propping his feet up on the railing, Grant added, “It’s a good life out here.”
“Remember when we couldn’t wait to leave?” Zac grinned.
“Yeah…but we had something to come home to…a place to call home. I’ve got a couple of buddies that don’t got that,” Brogan added. “I was kind of thinking about asking one or two of them to consider moving here.”
Mitch nodded as he added, “The American Legion here might be a good enticement, if we’re able to get it up and running and effective.” Glancing over at Aiden, he smiled, “And not just a place for old war horses to share their stories.”
The others laughed, then Callan said, “I’ve got buddies right now in the Coast Guard here in Baytown that served overseas, myself included. I’m in and I can get them interested as well.”
Mitch looked around, the afternoon sun moving lower in the sky, and knew he was part of something special. Old friends, most since early childhood, all wanting to escape their tiny town and now returned, they had a lot to give. “Okay, I’ll contact the closest American Legion and find out what it would take to move the charter here.”
“We need to include the old timers,” Brogan said. “I’ll pass the word around the bar.”
With those plans in place, the group headed down to the sand to begin playing rounds of corn hole, betting quarters, drinking beer, and laughing over old times.
*
“Mr. Dumfries, there’s water in the mini-fridge in your room,” Tori explained for the third time to one of her guests.
The large man grinned sheepishly and said, “Well, don’t tell my wife, but I was hoping to raid your refrigerator.”
Smiling while losing her patience, she replied, “Yes, but the price of the room only includes breakfast. There is a snack pantry, as I pointed out, in the dining room, but the rest of the kitchen is off limits. This is still my home and this is my food.”
“Oh, now darling, you wouldn’t begrudge an old man a sandwich, would you?”
Knowing Mr. Dumfries ran a large corporation, Tori bit her tongue from giving a retort abut how he could buy twenty sandwich shops with his money. She firmly shut the refrigerator door and said, “I’m sorry, but those are my rules.”
The grumpy guest left the kitchen and Tori walked into the laundry room to load another pile of sheets into the washing machine. The Dumfries were staying all week, but she had two weekend guests check out this morning. Thinking back to her hotel management days, she was glad for only four bedrooms in the Inn.
The front doorbell rang and she headed through the entryway, seeing the shape of a man through the beveled glass. I’m not expecting another guest today. Hoping to see Mitch, she threw open the door, only to immediately scowl at the person standing on the porch.
“Thomas?”
“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, a warm expression on his face.
Incredulous, she stood rooted to the floor, momentarily stunned into silence. Blinking twice, she asked, “What do you want? I thought I’d made it perfectly clear that once I let you off the hook about alimony last year, we weren’t supposed to have any contact.”
“Oh, come on, Tori, don’t be like that.” The congenial expression began to slide from his face as he continued to wait on the front porch. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“Nope,” she said. “We’ve got nothing to say to each other.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I really need to talk to you.” Seeing her only lift her eyebrow in response, he continued. “I know we had our problems—”
“Our problems?” she barked. “Our main problem was that your dick found its way into my sister! I’d call that more than a rather serious concern.”
Thomas blushed while grimacing, taking a deep breath. “I admitted I screwed up, Tori. I knew it at the time and was willing to fight for our marriage.”
“But I wa
sn’t,” she replied, more softly this time.
“That’s a rather harsh, unforgiving attitude,” he accused. “Wasn’t I worth your forgiveness?”
“Wasn’t I worth your faithfulness?”
He pinched his lips together, looking down at his shoes.
“I have to add, Thomas, that while I would not still be with you no matter who it was, the fact that it was my sister totally sealed the deal. You knew how she was with me…always trying to make sure I knew I wasn’t as good as she. Always trying to one-up me. Always trying to belittle me. I never understood why you were unfaithful to me…but especially with her.”
Turning his gaze back to hers, he pleaded, “I swear, I never meant for it to happen. She just kept coming on to me, every time we were together. And when you were back here visiting once, we were at—”
Throwing her hand up in his face, she said, “Please, spare me the details. This is old news. What you need to do is turn around and leave. Now.”
Tucking his hands in his pockets, he started to speak when a deep voice from the side growled, “I’d advise you to do as the lady requested.”
Mitch stepped onto the porch from the driveway and moved past Thomas and right up to Tori. With a gentle hand on her belly, he pushed her back a step, allowing himself to slip around beside her. Leaning over, he kissed her lips chastely, but possessively. He knew it was an alpha move, but could not help himself.
Thomas glanced at the BPD logo on Mitch’s shirt and sputtered, “Who is this? The police? You’ve got someone else—”
“We’ve been divorced for over a year, so I hardly think this is pertinent.”
Before Thomas could speak again, Mitch observed Tori and, seeing the irritation on her face, turned back to her ex-husband and repeated, “You’ve been asked to leave. Now, you can leave of your own accord peacefully or I can escort you off the property. If the lady feels threatened then I’ll advise her to file for a restraining order.”
Thomas stood, the warmth, gone from his expression, replaced with red-faced fury. Turning quickly he moved down the steps but fired a parting shot over his shoulder as he hustled away, “We’re not finished, Tori!”
Mitch started to follow him, but she grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Leave him alone. I’m sure we’ve seen the last of him.”
Whirling around, he retorted, “That could be considered a threat!”
“No, he’s not the threatening type. He’s just pissed and trying not to lose face.”
Feeling impotent, and angry at that emotion, he stood rock steady, his hands on his hips, breathing hard. Finally, the small, warm hands on his chest penetrated and he looked back down at the woman he knew he was falling for. Her sky-blue eyes focused on him, concern in their depths.
Releasing a breath, he said, “You okay?”
“I should be asking you the same thing.”
Leaning down a whisper away from her mouth, her scent filling his mind, he admitted, “I am now.” Closing the miniscule distance, he captured her lips, this time in a soul-searing, claiming kiss.
His lips moved expertly over hers as his tongue slipped deep inside her warmth. She tasted of sweet syrup and strawberries and he wondered if he found his nirvana just inside her mouth. Finally pulling back, he heard her mewl in discontent and grinned as he kissed her forehead. “Oh, Tori, I’d love to stay here but I’ve got to get to work.”
Giving his waist a squeeze, she said, “I’m glad you came by this morning.”
His eyes darkened as he said, “Is that ass-hat going to be a problem?”
Shaking her head, “I actually have no idea why he’s here. I haven’t talked to him since the divorce over a year ago. Him showing up today was a totally unexpected surprise.”
“People don’t just do things for no reason, so he’s got some motive for being here. I’ve got to go, but I’m going to have a friend do some checking into your ex. And if you have one tiny bit of a problem, you call me or the station – got that?”
“Got it, but I’ll be fine,” she assured. “In fact, I’ll be cleaning most of today—that’s my Monday routine.”
Kissing her goodbye, Mitch headed back to his jeep, a plan already in action. Her cheating ex doesn’t just show up for no reason. I’m gonna find out what it is!
Chapter 10
By the early afternoon, Mitch and the Baytown officers had arrested a teenage shoplifter, directed traffic around a fender bender, met with some school age children for an anti-drug campaign in the library, and policed the public beach, filled with summer families. Most visitors obeyed the beach rules, but glass bottles and dogs not on leashes were always a concern and usually those in the wrong liked to argue with the police. Throw in a meeting with the town council and mayor about the upcoming Fisherman’s Fair in the harbor and Mitch was ready to call it a day.
Sitting in his office, he finally had a chance to work with his computer. Doing a search of Thomas Porter, he began delving into Tori’s ex. Scrolling through his basic information, he discovered he was a real estate broker, originally from the Williamsburg area. He had been named as one of the top realtors for several years, but noticed that distinction had not been bestowed on him in the past two years. His address was a condo in an exclusive neighborhood in the outskirts of Williamsburg and he had only lived there since the divorce. According to his social media, he was a very active man—golf tournaments, constant twitters and Facebook posts, social events and a large number of realtor site pictures. But in searching his friend list, he noticed Thomas and Vanessa were friends. Her name was now Vanessa Hurkamp, but Mitch recognized her bleached blonde hair and heavily made-up face. The large diamond on her finger as she hung onto the arm of an older man was hard to miss as well.
Leaning back, he twisted in his chair and glanced out the window. Recognizing Tori’s hair, he watched as she walked down the street and considered jogging after her. Sighing, he knew he had work to finish and she seemed to be on a mission as she hustled along.
Twisting back around to view his computer monitor, he picked up his phone, calling Jack Bryant, of Saints Protection & Investigations.
“Hey, Jack,” he greeted.
“How’s life back home?” Jack asked.
“Busy,” he replied. “My cases are a lot less stressful than with the FBI, but I gotta say the small-town life is still keeping me busy. I just found out that I have a private investigator in town but haven’t met him yet. Sure won’t be like working with you Saints.”
“It goes without saying, but if you need us, give me a call. The Saints are still ready to help out, Mitch, whether you’re FBI or the police chief.”
“That’s just what I needed to hear. Thanks, man. I might take you up on that occasionally, if needed. But I’m hoping the PI in town will be an ally. If not, I might have Luke do a little searching for me.”
“Absolutely,” Jack agreed. “You need my computer expert or any of us, just let me know.”
Hanging up, Mitch breathed a sigh of relief knowing he had the big guns at his disposal if needed to find out about Tori’s ex and sister. Looking up, he saw Ginny and Burt at his door.
“Come on in,” he called out.
The two sat down across from his desk and he leaned back, expectantly, watching the two of them eye each other nervously. “What’s going on?”
“Sir,” Ginny began, falling back to her military days, “we’ve noticed on beach patrol that Sam tends to let some things go and turn away, such as groups of men drinking alcohol on the beach, both in cans and in glass bottles.”
“He’s also harder on the kids that are playing basketball in the church parking lot than he is on the vacationer kids who are drag racing their golf carts on the streets and sidewalks.”
Mitch stared at Burt for a long minute before sliding his gaze over to Ginny. “You think there’s a problem?”
Ginny and Burt glanced at each other before she answered, “I think he takes his orders from the top.”
Letting ou
t a sigh, Mitch nodded. “Mayor Corwin Banks. Keep the vacationers happy while coming down on his own townspeople in the process.” Leaning back, he scrubbed his face for a second. “Image. It’s all about image to him.”
Nodding, Burt joined Mitch with a sigh of his own. “I wouldn’t discount Silas Mills either.”
*
Wiping down the guest bathrooms, Tori walked by a bag of healthy snacks in the Dumfries’ room and could not help but grin. I guess that’s why he’s trying to sneak food from my refrigerator. His wife is trying to keep him on a diet.
Walking out, she headed down the stairs, cleaning supplies in the bucket she carried. Her mind slipped back to the unexpected visit by Thomas and the subsequent arrival of Mitch. Her thoughts warred between irritation that her ex would just show up and pleasure at knowing Mitch was dropping by to see her before his day got started. Hoping she would not have to deal with Thomas anymore, she reached the bottom of the stairs just as her doorbell rang again.
Eyes jumping to the visible profile, she was pleased to see the image of a woman standing outside. Good, no more ex!
Throwing open the door, she stood stunned once more. If she thought Thomas standing on her stoop early that morning had been a shock, nothing could have prepared her for the sight of her sister. Only a year older than her, obvious, but unnecessary, plastic surgery had occurred since Tori had last seen her. A designer suit, designer heels, designer sunglasses, and a huge diamond wedding band on her left hand indicated Vanessa had hooked herself to someone with money. Her lifelong goal, Tori thought, irritation on her face. Mom told me Vanessa had gotten married again…of course Vanessa told mom that since it was a whirlwind wedding in Aruba, they hadn’t had time to involve family…as if I’d go anyway!
“Tori!” Vanessa called out, a brilliant, dentist-whitened smile on her face.
Coming Home: Baytown Boys Series Page 8
