Promise Cove

by Vickie McKeehan

  Jordan was enjoying the browsing when she suddenly came to an abrupt halt. She turned to face Nick, who was pushing the double stroller with Joey and Kyra asleep inside. “You must be bored out of your mind. This is all such girly stuff. Would you like to go home?”

  Home, now that was a new concept, he thought, as he stared at the woman he’d been watching walk. “Actually, I’m having fun. The kids are asleep. It’s a nice day. We’re getting plenty of fresh air and sun. What could be better?”

  At that moment, he saw Jordan’s face go white at something or someone behind him. He didn’t even have time to turn around before Sissy stomped up to Jordan in a fit of something just short of rage and stood inches from her face. Jordan stepped back. Sissy shook a finger in her face. “I know what you did. You paid for that woman to have a booth here, got Murphy to make an exception even though she missed the deadline. And that is just wrong, wrong, wrong! She missed the deadline! She shouldn’t be here.”

  “What possible harm could it do, Sissy? Lilly’s hurting no one.”

  “She didn’t follow the rules and neither did you! You can’t just come into town whenever you feel like it and do things your way!” Sissy screeched at the top of her lungs.

  “Oh, and you always follow the rules, do you? Sissy, take a look around, this fair is for the townspeople of Pelican Pointe. Lilly is part of that whether you like it or not. So what if she got a late start.”

  Sissy cut her off. “This isn’t about me. There were other people who wanted a booth, others that would have paid more money for the privilege, but we turned them down because they missed the deadline. You and Murphy will pay for this. You bitch!” With that Sissy stomped her foot and stormed off, followed on her heels by Kent Springer in hot pursuit.

  “That woman is a piece of work,” Nick said as he watched the pair tromp off in a fit.

  Jordan shook her head. “I think we should go check on Lilly, make sure Sissy doesn’t make trouble for her in front of everyone.”

  But when they got to the tent, Lilly was fine. Much to Jordan’s delight, her tip jar was overflowing. Wally, she noted, was no where in sight.

  With the kids still napping, Nick and Jordan took another swing by the food court again giving in to the temptation of a funnel cake, covered in a generous portion of powdered sugar and cinnamon. After watching Nick devour two at one sitting, Jordan decided she should try to make one of her own, maybe drizzled with a combo of chocolate/cinnamon icing.

  By the time they finished the cake, the kids were stirring. They spent an hour inside the fenced off area where Bran and Joy had set up a petting zoo. Inside were four new lambs, a couple of calves, a chestnut brown pony and six starved-for-attention frisky puppies. With the help of Nick, who never left her side the entire time, Hutton touched, petted, or sat on every animal there. As she ran around after a lamb almost as big as she was, Nick commented, “She has the same disposition as her mother.”

  “What’s that suppose to mean?” Jordan asked, trying to balance Joey and Kyra simultaneously on the same pony.

  “It means,” he said, as he turned to meet Jordan’s eyes, “you both have such sweet temperaments, nothing much pisses either of you off.”

  Jordan’s heart lurched. Little by little this man was slowly chipping away at her heart, replacing despair with something very close to love. If it hadn’t been for turning her attention back to Joey and Kyra who were squirming way too much for their own good on the pony, she was sure the stupid look on her face was enough to reveal her thoughts. She didn’t dare let him know how she felt. Because a man like Nick was a love ’em and leave ’em kind of guy. If he knew how she felt he’d take off back to L.A. before she could finish. Ben Latham had labeled him a major player. Logically, she didn’t understand how she could have fallen for him in such a short amount of time. But it didn’t have to make sense.

  Jordan Phillips had fallen all the way in love with Nick Harris!

  Around five o’clock just as the country and western band started tuning up for the evening, Lilly decided to close up shop. She’d been at it since ten that morning. As she counted out her tip money, she felt like doing a happy dance right there in the park. Her kids were happy. She was happy. How long had it been since she could say that? It had been such a good day she felt like bursting. She headed out to find Jordan and Nick.

  Lilly found them in the park playing with the kids. “Guess how much money I made today, Jordan? Guess?” Without waiting for a reply, she bubbled, “Two hundred dollars. I’ve never had so much fun doing what I would have been doing just sitting in the trailer. Thanks for everything you did for me today. Both of you. You watched the kids. I couldn’t have done this without you guys.”

  Nick waved off her gratitude. “Hey, don’t thank me. I didn’t do a thing. The booth was all Jordan’s idea.”

  Jordan shook her head. “That isn’t true without Murphy and Carla it wouldn’t have happened.”

  “But it did and even though I thanked Carla and Murphy this morning, this was your idea Jordan. I just can’t thank you enough.”

  Jordan smiled. “Take the kids home, Lilly. I’m sure you’ll have no problem getting them to sleep. Nick and I practically wore them out. Uh, Lilly you might want to give them both a bath. That petting zoo has all of us smelling like sweaty little farmhands.”

  “Are you sure you still want to watch the kids tomorrow and Sunday? You don’t have to, you know. I can…”

  “You can’t draw and watch two little kids, Lilly. Just drop them by the house in the morning.” She pushed at Lilly’s shoulders. “Now go. Enjoy your evening.”

  As Nick watched Lilly pull out of the crowded parking lot, he turned to Jordan and put his free arm around her shoulder. “You’re something else, you know that?”

  “I’m just trying to be a good neighbor which is more than I can say for some of the other Pelican Pointe residents. Sissy was just downright rude today. And wrong.”

  “Sissy isn’t anyone’s good neighbor.” As they zigzagged their way across the crowded parking lot between the cars, he leaned into her and whispered, “What do you say we stop and get some of those ribs before we head home for supper? That way you won’t have to cook.”

  She shook her head and laughed, poking him playfully in his own ribs. “I never knew you were such a chow hound. You’ve been eating all day.” But when a cranky Hutton began to rub her eyes and fuss, Jordan pulled on Nick’s arm, changing direction and headed toward the SUV telling him, “If you want ribs you better get them to-go. She’s so tired she’s cross. I don’t think she’ll make it much longer. Give her to me and I’ll take her to the car, get her settled in while you get the food.” Nick handed over the baby and sauntered off back across the parking lot for the barbeque booth. Over her shoulder, as she climbed into the seat holding Hutton, she yelled to his back, “and could you get some of that potato salad…and maybe some of those sweet potato fries.”

  He laughed and hollered back, “Sounds like I’m not the only one hungry. I’ll try to make it quick. Be back in a jiff.”

  From the bank parking lot, Kent watched the scene play out. He thought about following Nick and getting in his face. But that really wasn’t his style. Not to mention, it would tip his hand. What he’d really like to do is to get that war widow alone for about twenty minutes, maybe teach her a thing or two about what she’d been missing out there all alone before the motorcycle jockey rode into town. Kent licked his lips. Just the thought of getting Jordan alone had him checking out where Nick had gone. What Sissy didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, he decided. Just his luck though he saw Harris heading back toward Jordan. Too bad, he thought, he’d have to savor the widow for another day.

  On his return Nick spotted Jordan sitting in the rear seat of the car rocking Hutton back and forth to sleep. He opened the door as quietly as he could and offered, “I can have us home in fifteen minutes.”

  “There’s no rush now, she’s sound asleep. But I have to put her down
in the car seat to make the trip home. She may not like it very much. You might want to cover your ears,” she told him, as she gently began to transfer Hutton from her arms into the car seat and awkwardly buckle up the sleeping baby. To Jordan’s surprise, Hutton squirmed some, but other than that was pretty much out like a light.

  That night their high spirits from the festive day continued long after they pulled into The Cove. Once they got Hutton to bed, they feasted on the ribs, each drinking a beer with their meal. Watching Nick lick his way down the last rib bone, she jokingly said, “I think that’s the most I’ve seen you put away since you came here. You don’t eat my cooking like that.”

  “You’re kidding, right? I love your cooking. But ribs and wings have always been my top two weaknesses. That and beer.”

  “I can tell.” When he started to help her clean up, she pushed him toward the hallway. “I believe there’s a recliner with your name on it, waiting for a Lakers game. Go. I can get this.” She gave him another nudge toward the door.

  Glancing at his watch, he edged out of the room. “If you’re sure, I’ll just grab another beer and head out to catch the tip-off.”

  Since she hadn’t cooked, cleanup took less than fifteen minutes. But when she got to the living room, she found Nick stretched out fast asleep in Scott’s recliner. Even though the television blared with the noise of a game in progress, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He had such a peaceful look on his face, it was all she could do not to reach over and run her fingers through his coal black hair. Her pulse quickened. Oh, so tempting, she thought. But she didn’t dare. What was happening to her? She forced herself to reel in her emotions and picked up one of her decorating magazines off the coffee table. She got comfortable on the sofa, curling her legs under her and started absently thumbing through the pages, not really seeing anything clearly. She glanced up, her eyes unwillingly drifting back to Nick. He’d been part of her life for less than a month. She wasn’t sure how it had happened or when, but watching him so peaceful in sleep, she realized she didn’t want him to leave. Ever. As she gazed at his sleeping form, she wondered how he’d handle that little bit of information. And then knew… He’d run the other way so fast he wouldn’t even bother saying adios. She sighed. Oh, God, what have I done? I’ve fallen in love with a guy who has a list of conquests from here to L.A., herself included.

  That weekend during the street fair, from ten in the morning to six in the evening, Jordan and Nick looked after Kyra and Joey while Lilly worked the fair. Lilly had protested about the babysitting, but Jordan had insisted, telling her that if she wanted to pay her back, she could work on a couple of beach scenes for the guest rooms if she had any down time during the course of her day.

  When the street fair ended on Sunday night and Lilly came to pick up the kids, she sat down on the couch in the living room with tears in her eyes. Clutching her purse, she said, “I made more than six hundred dollars over three days. Can you imagine that? I have enough to pay you back for the booth fee.”

  The booth fee had been two hundred dollars. But out of the goodness of his heart Murphy had waived half of that. Something she was certain Sissy didn’t know about. No way was Jordan going to take a hundred dollars from Lilly. Instead, Jordan neatly changed the subject. “Were you able to work on those beach scenes?”

  Lilly brought out her sketch pad and showed off several landscapes, a few in glorious watercolor. Where she’d found the time to do that, Jordan didn’t have a clue? But these were good, ever bit as good as the ones she’d seen at the street fair.

  Jordan studied them, swallowing her emotion. “These are exactly what I was looking for, Lilly. I think they’ll look wonderful on the walls upstairs. How much do I owe you?”

  “Oh, Jordan. They’re yours. No charge. I’ve never had so much fun as I did this weekend. If I had canvas I could make you something really nice, but these are just pencil drawings, a few in watercolor. I want to pay for the booth rental.”

  “Believe me these are more than just pencil drawings. They’re lovely. Okay, it’s a trade. I’ll take these in exchange for the booth rental fee. Will you help me frame them?”

  Lilly’s eyes met Jordan’s. She knew what Jordan was doing. She’d never had a friend as nice. “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.”

  “Then I’d be happy to.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The next day, Lilly started to work three days a week at the B & B, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from nine to three. When she wasn’t helping Jordan with the usual household chores like dusting and polishing and laundry, Jordan sharpened Lilly’s culinary skills in the kitchen. They baked bread, all kinds of desserts, and experimented with an array of new ways of preparing Italian Puttanesca to a simple tasty, Chinese stir fry.

  Lilly’s presence allowed Jordan to finish getting the guest rooms squared away as well as the rest of the house. She put the last coat of paint on the upstairs hallway, the landing and the new walls in the bathroom while Nick spent his days spreading much-needed layers of insulation throughout the attic. It was messy, physically hard work for both of them. But it exemplified what Murphy had said about the two of them making a good team. While the big jobs were mostly independent of each other and kept them busy apart, they also spent a good deal of time together doing the everyday, mundane things that were part of life as a cohesive unit.

  They settled into a routine starting with breakfast, which they each took turns preparing. After that, they’d work on their own separate projects until one sought the other out for advice or a question or until lunchtime brought them together again for the midday meal. But in the afternoon, usually after Hutton woke from her nap, they’d make the time to do some activity together. The three of them would likely go down to the beach or take a bike ride up and down the driveway or just sit in the porch swing and watch Hutton play with Quake. After that they’d drift into the kitchen where they’d organize dinner prep together and discuss what chores needed doing either for the next day or the next week. After supper, they would usually clean up the kitchen together; maybe watch one or two programs on television until it was time to get the baby ready for bed. The ritual always included story time for Hutton. Whenever they’d get her off to bed, they’d spend quiet time just the two of them in front of the fire either talking, or reading or spending time on the computer. Without knowing it, without even trying, they had both settled into a pattern anyone with brains would have recognized as a solid family unit.

  Two nights in a row they had even necked on the sofa like a couple of randy teenagers, going at each other hot and heavy. But each time just when things started to lean toward the bedroom, Nick made up some excuse to leave, pulling away from her. His behavior was starting to annoy Jordan.

  On Wednesday morning after the street fair, just after breakfast, Jordan packed a cooler with sandwiches and beer and watched Nick head off on his motorcycle to meet up with Murphy and Wade at the waterfront.

  Jordan had to admit the fishing trip couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only did Nick need a breather from all the physical labor, but the sexual tension between the two of them was reaching cataclysmic proportion. And his pulling back every time was making both of them edgy. They’d almost had a testy argument that very morning over the runniness of eggs. Any other time it might have been laughable if the sexual frustration hadn’t been getting to both of them.

  She wasn’t sure what to do about it either, just as she wasn’t sure what to do or think about Nick. At times, it was as if he were two different people. He could be helpful, charming, considerate, but the minute she tried to amp up the closeness, he’d pull back, even if he had to leave the house to do it. She was pondering those thoughts, when the doorbell rang a little after nine in the morning. Jordan set Hutton down to go answer the door and was surprised to see Carla Vargas standing on the porch with an anxious look on her face.

  “Carla what a nice surprise.” But Carla didn’t look like it was nice at
all, in fact she acted nervous. And she was dressed in a suit, carrying a heavy-looking briefcase. Her stomach fluttered as it flitted through Jordan’s mind that this early morning visit looked official. After all their precautions had they put Lilly’s stipend in jeopardy?

  “Jordan, how are you this morning?”

  Jordan opened the screen door and let her inside. “Fine. I’ve got coffee and some banana walnut muffins still warm from the oven.”

  “That sounds fine. But…this isn’t a social visit…this is…professional.” Carla looked around the foyer and into the living room as if she were trying to find someone. It wasn’t until her eyes landed on Hutton that Jordan began to worry. At the sight of Hutton, Carla’s demeanor became all business.

  “Professional? What do you mean?”

  “The county—social services received a complaint.”

  “A complaint? I don’t understand.” She thought of Mr. Taggert and wondered why he would call social services complaining about noise.

  “Someone called the county and said they saw bruises on Hutton.”

  Jordan’s mouth dropped open. “What? That’s—impossible, that’s—ridiculous.”

  “I know, but surely you understand we—I have to check it out, Jordan. Pelican Pointe is part of my territory.”

  “But… When? When did they say they saw bruises on her?”

  “At the street fair. I told my supervisor it was ridiculous that I didn’t believe one word of it, but it’s my duty to check out reports, for the file, it’s my job.”

  Clearly taken aback, Jordan tried to act normal, tried to maintain her composure as she led Carla into the kitchen. On automatic, she got coffee cups out of the cabinet and plates for the muffins. But her hands were shaking so much the dishes clanged together. “Can you tell me who made the complaint?”