Lighthouse Reef (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 4)

by Vickie McKeehan

  Now if only he could find the answers he needed, maybe he could stop imagining shadows and ghosts in the dark.

  Aaron had gone back to work Monday morning without a hitch in his routine, although in a limited capacity. Despite the fact that he and Kinsey had squared off on Sunday both acted like the air had cleared. They seemed to be back on even footing.

  For Kinsey, it was a relief to know Aaron didn’t hold a grudge. But then she didn’t either.

  Their first client of the day turned out to be Ethan Cody who brought Hayden along pushing Nate in his stroller.

  Kinsey immediately began to coo over the baby, who had a thick mane of raven hair and cinnamon skin like his daddy. “Wow, he’s gotten even bigger just since I’ve been in town.”

  Hayden beamed. “He has, hasn’t he?”

  “Kid’s growing like a weed,” Ethan added.

  “Don’t you miss law enforcement, Ethan?” Aaron asked in a wheezy voice.

  “I miss a few things about it. But overall, the job itself? Not really, especially not the hours, certainly not having to be on call twenty-four-seven. I’ll leave that to Garver. That gets old pretty quick,” Ethan answered. All the while Ethan stared at Aaron who looked as though the man had aged ten years overnight. Ethan sent a knowing gaze in Kinsey’s direction. When Ethan saw her nod, he knew. Ethan had picked up on the vibe that said Aaron didn’t have long to live and Kinsey had just confirmed it. “My agent sent me over the latest contract from my publisher. I need someone to look it over. The thing is ten pages long and reads like War and Peace. I want to make sure I’m not getting ripped off.”

  Aaron nodded. “I think we’ll be able to decipher the ins and outs for you, Ethan.”

  Kinsey opened a drawer and took out her own copy of Ethan’s debut novel, Silent Death. She held it out to him with a pen. “Might as well get this out of the way, how about autographing this for me? I haven’t finished reading it yet, but I’m about halfway done and it’s…disturbing while keeping me turning the pages.”

  Ethan grinned widely. “No problem. That’s what I like to hear. It’s weird getting used to people asking me to sign it.”

  “After you’ve done it a few thousand times, it’ll get easier I’m sure,” Kinsey speculated. As soon as he finished though, Kinsey got down to work. Perusing the contract line by line, Kinsey did most of the explaining and the revising with Aaron offering only a comment or two from the sidelines. Aaron willingly sat back and let her take the lead.

  Kinsey took out a red pen and began to mark up the changes. “Let’s clarify the language here so there’s no ambiguity,” she suggested, pointing to a paragraph under subsidiary rights. “And let’s better define the exact work described here so neither side is surprised when you deliver your next manuscript. I’m removing the words ‘upon execution’ so there’s no confusion in what either party expects if the book is ever made into a movie.” She grinned. “Or should I say when? Plus, you need more specific language that covers your royalties here, here, and here. And we’ll remove this catchphrase altogether. It’s a loophole that favors the publisher.”

  Ethan raised his eyebrows. “Wow. She’s pretty good,” Ethan said to Aaron.

  Aaron nodded. “She’s a smart girl. But I should get some credit for my brilliance at finding her and bringing her here.”

  Ethan gently slapped Aaron on the back with a wink. After all, it looked as if one good strong wind would topple him over. “You always were a visionary, Aaron.”

  “Once upon a time, I guess. But then so was Edmund Taggert, starting that organic farm like he did. Everyone thought he was crazy. Remember that, Ethan? All my friends are either confined to nursing homes, ready to die, or they’ve already gone to meet their maker.”

  Hayden laid a hand on his shoulder. “You aren’t there yet, Aaron. Would you like to hold Nate?”

  A smile curved on Aaron’s lips. “Remember holding his daddy here when his mama, Lindeen, brought him by a few times. Ethan couldn’t have been more than ten months old. Brings back memories.” They listened as Aaron went on about when Ethan had been a baby, watching him grow into an active toddler, then into a teenager.

  But as soon as Kinsey had finished going over the document, Ethan bobbed his head behind Aaron’s back in the direction of the door. Kinsey got the message. After explaining to Aaron that she needed to talk to Hayden about getting one of Ethan’s books mailed to a friend, Kinsey sailed outside behind the Codys for a quiet chat.

  “How sick is he?” Hayden asked once they got to the end of the driveway. “He’s dropped a lot of weight.”

  “If I answer that, I’ll need your assurance that you’ll keep it confidential. You two are actually the first people that seem to have picked up on his gaunt look. And after Sunday…”

  “We heard,” Ethan said. “When an ambulance shows up on Main Street, stuff like that moves through town faster than a Santa Ana wind. But people are saying he had a heart attack, which of course I see for myself it wasn’t his heart. You don’t recover like that in three short days.”

  “We won’t say a word to anyone, Kinsey,” Hayden promised as she tucked the baby back into his stroller.

  Kinsey hesitated. “Look it isn’t that I wouldn’t like to share. In fact, it would be great if I could. But I’m very new here not just to the town but to its various dynamics. And as an attorney I’m very cognizant of the legal ramifications if I disclose a private matter that gets out to the public. If that happens, my credibility is shot with less than a month in. So let me just say this. Aaron Hartley is in his late seventies. I think the whole town needs to realize the man won’t live forever.”

  “That’s a very polite way of saying that we should all make a concerted effort to take the time to pay Aaron a visit over the next few weeks. In a totally inconspicuous sneaky kind of way, of course,” Hayden determined with a sly smile.

  Kinsey nodded. “You heard him in there. I think that’s an excellent idea. Not only that, but after living his entire life in this town, he would love the chance to go back and recall the things and the people that meant the most to him.”

  “I hear your moving into my old digs,” Hayden said. “And fixing it up.”

  “I’m starting the paint job tonight.”

  The two women chatted about colors and accessories until Nate started to get hungry. As Hayden and Ethan turned to go, Hayden said, “You take care of Aaron, Kinsey. The man has no family that I know of.”

  “That’s true,” Kinsey agreed. “But then I don’t either.”

  Around noon, Kinsey headed over to Wally’s to see if her car was finally ready. Despite Wally’s promise to have the Nissan ready on Monday, he’d discovered a few other pressing problems that had to be fixed right away before he’d let it out of his garage. The man was nothing if not a perfectionist. It seemed her little hatchback had decided to fall apart and Wally was determined to put it back together with more than chewing gum and string.

  Bottom line was the Altima was all she had. And there was nothing like having your own transportation no matter how ancient it was after not being able to drive for five straight days. Having to depend on other people to get you where you needed to go sucked. She loved the idea of getting it back, even with its peeling paint job, its persnickety dashboard clock that never kept the right time, and the radio knob that refused to stay on no matter how many times she put it back. She wanted to get behind the wheel again. If that meant having to put the repair bill on her one and only credit card, then so be it.

  Lilly greeted her behind the counter, where it seemed to Kinsey the woman stayed and never took a break. “Your car’s done, Kinsey. Wally finished it about thirty minutes ago.”

  “I’m so glad to get it back, Lilly. I’m tired of Nick and Jordan having to run me back and forth into town.”

  “That’s Nick and Jordan though. They’re used to hauling guests around. And now with that Oregon crew staying out there, things are hopping.”

  “That�
�s just it, they both have better things to do than cart me around. Anyway, I’m glad I’m moving out. The B & B is getting crowded and according to Jordan next month kicks in their busy season.”

  Lilly stuck her head into the garage and yelled, “Wally, Kinsey’s here to pick up her car.”

  Wally came through the door wiping his hands on a red rag. His long brown hair tied back in his proverbial ponytail. Lilly was right. He and Logan were two of a kind when it came to thumbing their noses at traditional haircuts.

  “Hey Kinsey. I fixed the oil leak around your head gasket. Put in the new water pump. That’s one of the reasons it kept running hot. The other is your radiator. Flushed it because it was starting to clog up.”

  “I guess that’s what happens with an older car.”

  “The car’s aging, Kinsey, no doubt about that. Parts are gonna start wearing out every time you turn around, but it runs a lot better than it did when you brought it in. You’ve got a new alternator and that should stop the dash problems flicking on and off. You let me know if it doesn’t, I’ll make it right. The work I did should get you around town without any problems. But you keep an eye on the temperature gauge, and I’ll see if I can get my hands on a used radiator. In the meantime if it runs in the red, you bring it in. I’m giving you a discount today because I did so much work. How’s that sound?”

  “That sounds great, Wally. I appreciate it.” When Lilly handed her the bill, Kinsey dug out her trusty Visa, and calculated in her head how much the amount would increase her payment next month.

  Once she’d crawled behind the wheel again, in her head, she went over all the bills still yet to be paid. She decided she needed a distraction. From the Pump N Go she headed to the lighthouse to see how Logan’s day was going compared to hers.

  As soon as she parked and got out, she realized Logan had been right. The place was jumping with activity. There were men with masks standing on a scaffold working high on the tower at the top. Dust and powder feathered down like soft drops of fine misting rain. The keeper’s house was just as busy while another group of men hauled out trash and rotten wood. She knew Troy was in there somewhere busy scraping out debris and pulling out fixtures.

  She spotted Logan beside his truck, his back to her. It wasn’t until she got closer that she realized he held a cell phone up to his ear. The tone of his voice and his mannerisms indicated he was enjoying himself far more than she’d ever seen him. He was almost animated as he kept up a lively chatter with the person on the other end of the phone. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m up to my ass in remodeling right now and will be for months to come. How about you? You staying out of trouble?”

  Kinsey knew it was wrong to eavesdrop. But she couldn’t help it. Whatever the woman said on the other end, she made Logan laugh. And it was that laugh, that strange sound coming from the man that had her staggering to a stop. This didn’t seem like the same moody man whom she’d seen so often since he’d arrived in town. This side to him was upbeat, even buoyant. And since he was obviously flirting with the person on the other end of the phone, Kinsey deduced the caller was female.

  Her temper spiked. And Logan had had the nerve to make fun of her cheery disposition. Because she recognized he seemed downright cheerful and she’d never seen him like that, she decided to make her exit quick before he noticed her.

  She spun on her heels and fled back to her car.

  By the time Logan caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, Kinsey was more than halfway back to her Nissan. “Valerie, could you hold on a minute?” He held the phone up to his shirt and lifted his voice to yell after Kinsey. “Hey! Where are you going?” But Kinsey never even bothered to glance back at him. Speaking into the phone again, Logan told his agent, “Sorry, Valerie. I’m back. No, you don’t need to worry about me. I know exactly what I’m doing here.”

  As Kinsey’s car bumped along the uneven ground, she couldn’t help the disillusionment from seeping through her. She’d known it all along. But hearing it, having it verified in such a way that he’d been chatting up another woman on the other end of that phone, made her a little ill. She couldn’t help it. What if she’d given in and slept with him? A man like Logan probably didn’t know what it was to be faithful for longer than a week at a time anyway. That’s probably what had prompted his divorce.

  She had to stop making leaps in logic, let alone unproven accusations. It wasn’t like her. But hadn’t Logan put the moves on her and then backed off? Hadn’t he suggested they would end up in bed? And they would have. Now that she had time to think about it, maybe the woman on the other end of the phone had done Kinsey a huge favor.

  With time still left on her lunch hour, she decided to shake off Logan Donnelly. She headed to Ferguson’s Hardware to pick up the paint she needed. If she wanted to move into her new digs, she would do it with new walls. As she walked through the doors, she reminded herself she didn’t need a man to feel good about herself.

  Ellie Wyatt had taught her that much.

  From nine in the morning until six in the evening five days a week, Gerald Colter’s domain was the paint department at Ferguson’s Hardware. In his off time, Gerald played fiddle in Ricky Oden’s bluegrass band. He did it well enough that the group had cut a CD. It sold like hotcakes in places like San Sebastian as well as the Central Valley and up and down the coast. The notoriety had given Gerald a glimpse into experiencing a snippet of local Celebrity Ville.

  He enjoyed the limelight such as it was because it had given him an inroad of sorts with women. While thirty-six-year-old Gerald wasn’t drop dead gorgeous by any means, he wasn’t homely either. He was reed thin with a ready smile and a quick wit that showed up in the twinkle of his blue eyes whenever he told a joke or recited a funny story.

  Gerald zeroed in on Kinsey Wyatt’s approach like a heat-seeking missile closing in on its target. “Hey there, you’re the new lawyer. We haven’t met yet,” Gerald stuck out his hand, introduced himself. “What can I help you with today?”

  Kinsey perused the paint samples, looking for just the right color. “I’m looking for a ripe cantaloupe, only lighter. You sold that shade to Jordan Harris some time back. But I need a lighter version of it, something in the same palette, but not nearly as orangey.”

  “Okay.” Ever prudent, Gerald began to draw out Kinsey’s specifics. Used to the demands of his customers, their unusual tastes and frequent changes of mindset, Gerald suggested a few different hues, soliciting Kinsey’s feedback.

  “No, too pink,” Kinsey said.

  Gerald tried again.

  “No, too dark.”

  Gerald held out a different sample, waited patient as Job for Kinsey’s decision. When he saw another shake of her head, he tried again.

  This time she scrunched up her nose and said, “No, way too pumpkiny.”

  After more prompting, a trio of back and forth shakes of the head, no one was more pleased than Gerald when Kinsey finally settled on a soft, pale apricot. “That’s it. Perfect.”

  That’s what he liked to hear. He mixed her paint, all the while the attractive woman went on and on about her new apartment. “How many gallons do you think it will take?” Gerald asked.

  Kinsey thought for a minute. “Oh at least two gallons.”

  “How many square feet are we talking about?”

  “Hmm, I’d say no more than five hundred and fifty,” Kinsey decided.

  “Do you need brushes and rollers?”

  “Nope. Jordan and Nick are providing all that. But Jordan mentioned you had a catalogue I could browse through to look at fabric for slipcovers.”

  “We do. Upholstery fabrics. Some of them are pricey though,” Gerald warned. Because it hadn’t taken long for it to get around town that the new attorney was having financial problems, Gerald added, “But if you’re on a budget, I’d like to make a suggestion.”

  Cautious, Kinsey chewed her lip and said, “Go ahead.”

  “My mother sews. She’s good. You ask anyone in to
wn and they’ll tell you that Emma Colter is a fine seamstress. Abby Pointer asked my mom to make her wedding gown. She has an entire selection of slipcovers she’s already finished. They’re a lot more reasonably priced than anything you’ll find in that catalogue.”

  “Where can I see her work?”

  Gerald smiled. “She’s two streets over on Cape May. I’ll call her to let her know you’ll be stopping by.”

  Kinsey left Ferguson’s with two gallons of paint and directions to get to Emma Colter’s house. Excited about decorating her new place, she didn’t give Logan Donnelly another thought.

  Chapter Thirteen

  That night Logan didn’t reach the B & B until well after seven. It had been a productive few days so far but an exhausting time of getting organized, and getting the project off the ground.

  As soon as he climbed out of the truck, he heard what sounded like a radio in the distance blaring rock music. Curious, he followed the beat, surprised to find Eddie Vedder’s voice drifting from the windows above the garage.

  He found the door wide open to the apartment. Peering inside, he saw Kinsey standing on a ladder, gripping a paint roller in her hand like a soldier on a mission. Sheets of plastic covered the furniture and tarps covered the floor. Good thing too because she’d left a trail of splattered paint drops here and there and everywhere. She was a messy painter, he noted and grinned in spite of the grueling day he’d had. He took a minute to admire her legs in the low-riding shorts she wore and to watch her butt move in rhythm to the song as she made another up and down pass over one section of the wall. The soft shade of cantaloupe she’d slapped over the old paint so far seemed to energize the room. Or maybe it was the woman.

  When the tune changed to Red Hot Chili Peppers, he didn’t try to yell over the song. There was no point. Instead he went over and turned the volume down on the CD player. “Don’t you ever take a day off?” he said.

  At the sound of his voice, she dropped the roller. “See what you made me do! You scared the life out of me!” She immediately hopped down to retrieve it. “You should let a body know when you’re lurking about. What are you doing here?”