Somewhere by the Sea

by Verna Clay

  Her cell phone rang and she gulped back tears. Taking a few seconds to compose herself, she finally answered the ringtone she recognized as being from Faith. "Hi, Faith."

  "Hi, hon. I was wondering if you were free. Baxter and I would like to stop by."

  "I'd love for you to come over. What time? I'll make some fresh tea and set out the cookies."

  "Is two hours too soon?"

  "Not at all. I'll see you then." Vicky hung up and smiled. It sounded like Baxter and Faith had resolved their differences and were back together.

  Two hours later she opened the museum door and welcomed her friends, and although they smiled, she intuited that something was amiss. Had they not reconnected? If so, why were they together? They followed her upstairs to her sitting room where she had set out a tray of cookies and a pitcher of tea. "Have a seat while I grab some ice." She walked to her kitchen nook and opened the fridge.

  Neither Baxter nor Faith said anything and Vicky was starting to feel apprehensive. Something was definitely wrong and somehow she was involved. She set a bowl of ice on the coffee table. "Why don't you go ahead and grab some cookies while I pour our tea?"

  She was about to put ice in one of the glasses, when Baxter said, "Let's talk first."

  Now she was feeling really anxious and expressed her concern. "Okay, something's going on. Both of you act like you're at a funeral." She stared into Baxter's eyes.

  Baxter swiped a hand across his jaw, glanced at Faith, and finally said, "I don't even know how to begin."

  Vicky frowned and looked at Faith. "Do you know what this is about?"

  She nodded.

  "Then why don't you begin?"

  Faith pressed a finger against her left temple as if she had a headache.

  Vicky leaned forward. "What the hell is going on?"

  Faith's lips trembled when she said, "Yesterday, Baxter and I saw your brother Owen, and Baxter talked to him."

  For a moment Vicky couldn't respond, but then she reared backward and shouted the obvious, "He's dead!"

  Baxter joined the conversation. "I don't understand how it's possible, but Faith is telling the truth. We both saw him and Rex yesterday, and I talked to him."

  Faith interjected, "He's been trying to get a message to you."

  Jumping to her feet, Vicky stared at her friends. "Baxter, Faith, why are you doing this? You know how much his death devastated me and destroyed my family. Why would you want to hurt me like this?"

  Baxter dropped a bombshell. "He told us to tell you his death wasn't your fault. You weren't the last person to throw the Frisbee into the water—he was."

  Vicky had been about to ask Baxter and Faith to leave when his words shocked her into collapsing back onto the sofa. She stared dumbfounded at her friends.

  Twisting her hands in her lap, Faith said, "Let me start at the beginning and walk you through the events leading up to yesterday."

  Over the next several minutes, Vicky learned about Faith's two personal encounters with Owen and Rex and the times she'd seen him from afar or heard him calling for his dog, and finally Baxter's encounter the day before that she had witnessed. Vicky also learned of Gabby's conversation with a psychic three years earlier. By the time Faith and Baxter were finished, Vicky felt drained and exhausted.

  Baxter completed the story by saying, "One of the last things Owen said was, 'Tell Vee I'm sorry for reading her diary.'"

  Vicky gasped and buried her face in her hands. It was time to confess what had happened during her last encounter with her brother. In faltering words she said, "We were at the beach and I…I was angry at Owen for reading my diary. It was late afternoon and no one was around because the season was over." She hesitated long enough to catch her breath. "I picked up the Frisbee and tossed it as far out into the waves as I could and…and Owen yelled at me, calling me Vee, which I hated, and said I was being mean. I made a face at him as Rex was running into the waves." She swiped her tears and sobbed, "Then Owen ran after Rex and that was the last time I saw them, because I didn't wait for them to get out of the water."

  Faith left her chair and came to sit beside Vicky. She placed her arm around her. Vicky allowed herself the comfort and said against Faith's shoulder, "I've always believed that my brother's drowning, and then my family falling apart, was because of me."

  Faith smoothed Vicky's hair. "Honey, I don't understand what's happened, but Owen wants you to know his death wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was an accident. It–" Suddenly Faith stopped speaking and began crying. Her crying turned into a wail and Vicky leaned forward grasping her friend by the shoulders. "Faith, what's wrong?"

  With lightening speed, Baxter moved to the couch and sat on the other side of Faith. "Honey, talk to me!"

  While Faith continued weeping, both Baxter and Vicky tried to ascertain what was wrong. On a huge shudder Faith said, "I've been doing the same thing. I've blamed myself for my husband's and child's deaths. I never told anyone that the night of the crash my husband wasn't feeling well, so I offered to drive, but he insisted it wasn't necessary." She sobbed, "I shouldn't have listened to him. Hammond sometimes had migraines that blurred his vision, and I know that's what happened. The report said he veered into oncoming traffic and then overcorrected, sending the car into a tree..." Her voice trailed. "But I was watching a documentary on television that I didn't want to miss." She cried out, "I should have been driving the car! My selfishness killed them!"

  Baxter returned from the bathroom with a Kleenex box and sat between Vicky and Faith. He placed an arm around each of them, and for a long time no one said anything as they realized their years of turmoil had finally come to an end. Objectively, he could now see his own shortcomings that had played a role in his divorce. He knew that much of the antagonism he'd directed toward his ex-wife was really frustration over his own inadequacies and immaturity.

  Aloud he said, "In all of our tragedies there was the probability they could have been averted if different choices were made, and had we known the future, we would have chosen differently. But the bottom line is that Owen returned to teach us something. He taught us that unforeseen results often happen because decisions are made in anger as with Vicky, or ignorance as with Faith, or willful ignorance as with me. But in each case none of us could foresee the dreadful outcomes, and if we could change our responses, we would in a heartbeat. Owen's message is that it's time to move on; it's time to release the past because living with guilt will not change anything. It will only destroy three more lives." He pulled Faith and Vicky closer. "The question we have to ask ourselves now is how do we want to shape our futures?"

  36: Disclosure

  Vicky woke feeling great. A week after Baxter and Faith's amazing revelation, she no longer felt weighted by her brother's death. By some miracle he had remained behind to send her a message, and that message had not only been for her, but for Baxter and Faith, as well. It was time to stop existing and start living. She sighed and mused over the paradox that her dead brother had renewed her life. Because that revelation was too overwhelming to ponder at the moment, she decided to shower and dress and do something she'd been thinking about for a while.

  She took her time dressing and then sat leisurely at the tiny table in her sitting room drinking coffee. Finally, she opened her laptop and typed two words into a Google search: Michael Wainwright. Her internet connection was slow and she held her breath while the response chugged out.

  From her first meeting with Michael she'd felt attracted to him, and after their visit to the lighthouse, she'd gotten the notion that he was also feeling something for her. Maybe it was just friendship, but she'd welcome that. Perhaps they could become friends like she was with Baxter. It was time to expand her horizons. Michael had given the impression that he was a man of experience, so he was the perfect candidate for asking questions about the world beyond Somewhere. She might even consider taking him up on his suggestion that she have a showing of her artwork.

  The landing
page of her search flashed onscreen and she read the bio in the sidebar.

  The CEO and major stockholder of Wainwright Resorts, Inc. is Michael Wainwright, III.

  She furrowed her brow and clicked on the link. By the time she'd finished reading she was livid, not only with Michael, but with herself for being so gullible. The part that hurt, however, was his passion for filling his resorts with the works of local artists, and since many artists had been discovered in that way, they clamored to be included among his collections. He'd told her, "I'm well connected to connoisseurs in the art world; yours will be seen by them."

  Vicky felt ill. She had surmised that her paintings would be displayed in his home. But now that she knew his identity, there was only one conclusion. He wants to build a resort in Somewhere and hang my paintings there!

  Grabbing her cell phone she tapped her contacts icon and located his name. He answered on the second ring. "Hello, Vicky. What a pleasant surprise. Have you decided to accept my offer of an art show?"

  "Are you building a resort in Somewhere?"

  He hesitated. "A resort hasn't been approved, but I'm hopeful it will be."

  "And you're going to display my paintings there?"

  Another pause. "Yes. They're wonderful."

  "I want them back and I'll return every penny you paid me."

  "I can't return them."

  "Can't or won't?"

  "Won't."

  Vicky could hear tears in her voice when she said, "We don't want a resort in Somewhere and I adamantly don't want my paintings displayed there. It would appear as if I'd colluded with the enemy to destroy our town."

  "You're being melodramatic. And I'm not going to destroy your town. I'm going to enhance it. I want to become part of it. That's why I purchased a home there."

  Vicky swallowed her tears, inhaled deeply, and resolutely said, "Then I'll fight you every step of the way." Before he could respond, she disconnected.

  Epilogue

  Faith sat on her towel on the beach. Fall was well underway so the mornings were cool, but there was still a space of time each afternoon that was warm enough for beach lazing. She sighed with contentment. She was almost finished writing the romance that she'd titled Dax and the Duchess, and was thinking about asking Gabby to read it. Perhaps she'd even garner the courage to let Baxter read it, since he was her inspiration.

  Baxter had returned to California, but only to prepare for a permanent move to Somewhere. Faith smiled when she remembered their parting only a week earlier. He'd held her so tenderly and spoken such beautiful words that she'd cried. Upon seeing her tears, he'd been mortified and apologized for whatever he'd said. Lovingly, she had smiled and cupped his cheeks. "I'm crying because I'm so happy."

  At her confession, he'd pulled her close again and whispered, "I love you, Faith, and I'm never letting you go. You've given me back my dreams, my hopes, my life."

  Returning her thoughts to the present, Faith gazed southward along the shoreline. Tourist season was over so only a handful of beachgoers remained. She moved her gaze past a mother and child playing in the waves…and blinked. Then she gasped! A large red dog leaped upward to catch a Frisbee. She searched for whoever had thrown the toy and not far away was a boy wearing a blue ball cap. She couldn't breathe. And then, adding to her shock, the boy was joined by another boy. The dog reached the children and dropped the Frisbee in front of the second child. Immobilized, she watched him pick up the Frisbee and toss it. The dog barked and ran after it. Faith couldn't remove her eyes from the child until she saw a man walking toward him. She recognized his gait, and although she wanted to run toward the children and the man, she knew she couldn't.

  The dog returned with the Frisbee and dropped it in front of the man. He squatted to retrieve it, but glanced up, staring directly at her. She wasn't close enough to perceive his facial features, but she knew beyond a doubt that he was smiling. Tears clouded her vision as she moved her gaze to the children, who were also watching her. She knew they were smiling, too. The three of them raised their hands and waved, and then the man stood and tossed the Frisbee high in the air before placing an arm around each boy as they turned to walk down the beach.

  Faith watched the trio recede into the distance to be joined again by the dog, and she knew that if she glanced away, they would be gone. Could she let them go?

  She moved her gaze to the water and then back to the beach. They were gone.

  Author's Note

  For a while it was touch and go with Baxter Hope and Faith Bennison, but the fact that they were able to overcome past sorrows and find happiness once again, did my heart good. No doubt their relationship will face obstacles, as does every relationship, but their foundation of love will sustain them. I'm sure of it.

  As for Gabby Hope's dilemma with Leo Constanzo, I'm not sure how that will turn out. She's a strong woman with a sense of right and wrong that may be somewhat off course. Will Leo continue his pursuit of the woman he loves, or come to believe his quest is a lost cause?

  And now that Victoria Patterson is no longer plagued by guilt over her brother's death, I was hoping she and Michael Wainwright might discover romance. However, with his desire to build a resort in Somewhere, and Vicky discovering his plan to display her paintings at the resort, that may not be possible. She's livid and intends to do everything she can to block approval for the resort.

  Thank goodness this is the first book in the Finding SOMEWHERE Series because it gives me plenty of time to resolve these issues, create more issues, and introduce new characters with each book.

  If you enjoyed this story, please continue reading for excerpts from two other series that also take place in small towns. The first is contemporary western romance, and the second, contemporary romance. As for the first series, Romance on the Ranch, as of this writing there are nine books. And the second series, Oasis, is a trilogy.

  I love hearing from readers, so don't be shy.

  www.vernaclay.com

  vernaclay@vernaclay.com

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  http://www.vernaclay.com/mailing-list.html

  Dream Kisses (excerpt)

  Romance on the Ranch Series (#1)

  One: Male Model

  Mims Murphy followed Sissy Johansen, chief editor and co-owner of Imaginings Publishing, through an ornate door and into a large photo studio on the fiftieth floor of a high-rise in New York. Sissy had insisted that Mims meet the cover models for her upcoming book, Dream Kisses. After writing five novels with Imaginings with moderate returns, she had finally scored big on her sixth, a chick-lit romance. Because of that success, Sissy had contracted with her for three books in a "Kisses Series": Dream Kisses, Honey Kisses, and Baby Kisses. Based on readers' exuberance, the books were expected to be hits.

  The shoot had already begun when they slipped into the studio. Sissy motioned her to a spot near a side wall. Mims leaned against the wall, her eyes riveted on the models. Lights flashed and the photographer, a short skinny man with a balding pate, called instructions. "Move in, Sage. Yeah, give her that sexy, hot hot HOT look. Make her sizzle. Chastity, let him know who's in charge."

  Sissy smothered a giggle and whispered, "Can you believe her name is Chastity?"

  Mims bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing out loud.

  The photographer called another instruction. "Okay, models, let's try a kiss. The title of the book is Dream Kisses, so how about some dream kisses. Make my toes curl."

  With a rather bored expression, the male model glanced in Mims direction. Her heart tripped when their eyes met, something that only happened to characters in her books.

  Sissy whispered, "He's absolutely the most gorgeous man I've ever seen, and I've seen my share. If I were twenty years younger, I'd throw myself at him unabashedly." She sighed.

  "Sissy, you're kidding, right? You're married," Mims shot back.

  "I think I'm kidding; not really sure."

  Mims shook her head and looked back at the
models now sharing a passionate embrace and kiss. The female had hit the genetics jackpot: curvaceous body, flowing blonde hair, sexy sky blue eyes, and full pouty mouth. Of course, maybe it wasn't genetics; maybe it was implants, hair salon, contacts, and Botox. Whatever, she's still gorgeous.

  A fan billowed the female's lavender silk drape gently around her luscious body and lifted her golden hair off her shoulders. The male model bent her slightly backward, all evidence of his boredom gone when he laid a whopper on her. His hair, the color of rich mahogany laced with sunlight, also moved in the breeze of the fan. His linen shirt, falling off his shoulder and open to the waist, revealed tanned skin and washboard abs.

  Sissy said, "My God, I think I can scrub clothes on his abs."

  Mims choked and shook her head at Sissy's forthrightness.

  For the next hour they watched the photographer command the models, and the models perform magic. The experience transported Mims into the pages of her book. It was as if the characters had found life—a special world of romance, adventure, and a happily ever after that she wanted to step into.

  "Okay, boys and girls, I think we can call it a wrap," said the height-challenged photographer.

  The male model stretched and the female model ran her hands through her hair. For obvious reasons, Mims had expected the models to gravitate toward each other, but with the shoot finished, they appeared oblivious to one another. Then, to Mims astonishment, the female rushed to the photographer and bent to kiss him on the lips. He responded and whispered in her ear. She blushed and giggled, pushing at his chest. "Hon, gotta run and pick up the kids. I'm making lasagna for dinner."