Pelican Pointe Boxed Set Books 1 - 3 (A Pelican Pointe Novel)

by Vickie McKeehan

  But who was she really? Emile Reed no longer existed. She’d morphed into Hayden Ryan. She was standing right here, essentially the same person. Damn it. She’d spent a good deal of money to make sure Emile disappeared. And yet, after all that, it had taken Ethan Cody two seconds on the side of the road for him to become her judge and jury and distrust Hayden Ryan on sight.

  As she dried off she decided she should have stuck to the lie. She never should have admitted anything. Or clarified that it wasn’t an ex or an abusive relationship for that matter. How the hell was she supposed to be good at this sort of thing? She wasn’t the criminal here. Or a liar by nature. She was an accountant for chrissakes.

  She dressed in jeans and a cropped sweater, poured herself a cup of coffee and got down the bread from the cabinet. She stuck two pieces into the toaster and got out the blackberry jam from the fridge.

  Why should she spend a single minute more thinking about that blockhead Ethan Cody? Just because he could kiss better than any man she’d ever known was no reason to put herself at risk of making a mistake, a mistake that could surely cost her, her life. So she would just forget about Deputy Cody. She’d made the decision to start over here in Pelican Pointe rather than Santa Cruz. Look at the friends she’d made here. Nick and Jordan were the upside while Deputy Dawg was proving to top the list in the down column.

  Since she had two days off, she mentally sorted through all the things she needed to get done by Tuesday. Priority one was to boost up her prepaid cell phone. Because Murphy’s Market didn’t carry the kind of card it used, she’d have to find another supplier or ask Murphy if he would order the cards for her.

  But ordering the cards would take time. She needed to be able to make calls and receive them from her mother and Sydney in the event they needed to contact her. She decided to drive over to San Sebastian and look around.

  Maybe while she was there she’d check out the bookstore she’d found over the Internet. She’d spent some time on Jordan’s computer surfing the Web while waiting for her laundry to dry. The San Sebastian bookstore was the closest one to Pelican Pointe, which if memory served was a good forty-five miles away.

  If she intended to follow through on seeing the bookstore become a reality here though, she needed to scope out the competition. Should she put that off until Monday since the bookstore might not be open on a Sunday? If her cell phone had more minutes on it, she’d phone them and ask. But then she decided the trip to San Sebastian could wait until Monday when she could also stop by the First Bank of Pelican Pointe on her way out of town and open up a checking account.

  That meant she had all day to herself, a day to do with whatever she felt like.

  She took her toast over to the little ice cream table and opened the windows on the ocean side of the studio to let in some fresh air.

  The urge to get outside and take advantage of the beautiful day hit her twofold.

  At the prospect of getting outside, she hurried to finish breakfast.

  She dug out her backpack, crammed a power bar into the contents along with her small thermos filled with the leftover coffee, a couple bottles of water, and the romance novel she hadn’t yet finished that she’d picked up in Reno.

  Even though she was only headed down to the cove and the beach, she laced up the used pair of Asolo Styngers she’d found at a thrift store in Colorado. It was too chilly to wear sandals anyway and if the mood hit her to explore farther, she’d be prepared. Besides, she couldn’t possibly walk very far in the canvas sneakers she had. She grabbed her sunglasses, making sure she had her digital camera and compass, and headed down the stairs and out into the brilliant sunshine.

  Despite the fact guests had spent the weekend at the B & B, Hayden found the cove deserted, which suited her mood. Then she remembered that they would probably be checking out today to get back to the Bay. Suddenly she felt amazingly lucky to be here at this spot, enjoying this view, during this time of year. She was no longer a tourist where her time here was limited. If she wanted to she could stay parked in this same spot watching the tides for an hour, or six.

  She got up to walk along the water’s edge and wondered if any of the guests had seen Scott during their weekend stay. How would one approach a guest about that? Would seeing a ghost bring in more people or chase them away?

  Just as she was about to make herself comfortable on a rock jutting out over the water, she spotted a dark opening to a narrow cavern. Curious, Hayden took off her backpack and wandered over, tentatively peering inside. The area was a naturally formed sea cave perhaps ten feet wide that snaked into the dark, damp space another twenty feet back.

  A dinghy, moored with a rope and tied to a spiky natural stone, bobbed up and down precariously against the side wall of the smooth rock formation as it met the shallow inlet.

  The longer she stayed here, the more enchanted she found this place. She made a mental note to ask Jordan if she could take the little boat out next week.

  She went back to the water’s edge to scan the horizon. For a few minutes she was tempted to untie the dinghy and take it out anyway to explore the dot of land in the distance. But when she realized it had been years since she’d rowed anything other than a machine parked in a gym, she decided her arms might not be up to the task.

  Glumly, she went back to reading the novel. After forty-five minutes though, sitting on a rock trying to read, she gave up and climbed back up to the top of the cliff. It wasn’t the author’s fault she couldn’t get into the book. The argument with Ethan still nagged at her.

  But once she started back to the studio, she discovered she wasn’t ready to spend her day off sitting inside four walls. She decided to check out more of the area. Following the natural curve of the cliffs, she walked along as close to the edge as safety allowed until she spotted a trail snaking off further south. She took out her compass and set off to do some exploring on her own.

  It had been years since Illinois-girl-Emile-slash-Hayden had hiked anything other than the mall. After walking for almost an hour along a narrow sliver of path full of underbrush and some kind of wild tangled vines full of ripe berries, she realized she should bone up on what kind of vegetation grew in this part of the state.

  If she was going to make this area home, if she planned on getting back into hiking and enjoying nature on a regular basis, she would need to know more about the flora and maybe even the fauna indigenous to this part of coastal California.

  When she happened upon a field of wildflowers that looked to her like Indian paintbrush, she dug out her camera. Staggered by the sheer beauty and dazzling colors of what nature provided, Hayden took photos from every angle she could manage.

  It wasn’t until she decided to find some place to sit down and eat her power bar that she realized all the walking had caused her underused muscles to burn in protest. Good thing she hadn’t dragged out that dinghy and set off trying to row through the tides. But as tired as her legs were, she was too excited about the prospect of being outdoors, about being a part of nature again to care much about her sore limbs.

  Instead, she spotted a flat rock and sat down, peeled off the wrapper of her power bar. She drank, now lukewarm coffee, from her thermos. As she ate her meager lunch, she caught the scent of eucalyptus and began looking around for the source. She tried to remember what eucalyptus looked like but when nothing came to mind gave up and simply followed her nose. Sure enough, she found a field of eucalyptus trees where wild sage and fragrant rosemary grew waist-high in abundance. She took out her camera again.

  After a while, after drinking all the coffee in her thermos, she needed to pee. So she began looking around for a place to take care of business.

  Back at the B & B, Nick and Jordan had said goodbye to their weekend guests several hours earlier and there was still no sign of Hayden. Her car was parked in the driveway as it had been all morning. Knowing she had wanted to make a trip into town to look at the house for the potential location of the bookstore, Jordan was more tha
n a little concerned. She had already tried knocking on Hayden’s door three times but had gotten no answer, which is the major reason she’d opened the door and peeked inside. She’d checked the bathroom just in case Hayden had fallen in the shower and hit her head. But the bathroom had been empty. Jordan found her clothes still hanging in the armoire and tucked away neatly in the drawers of the chest. So she hadn’t packed up and left during the night.

  Jordan thought it looked like she’d made a pot of coffee and eaten breakfast. She wasn’t sure what she should do. What if the person she was running from had found her here and taken her against her will?

  Jordan flew out of the studio and met Nick in the courtyard. “She isn’t up there. What if someone’s kidnapped her?”

  “Jordan, we didn’t hear a disturbance of any kind. Maybe she’s down at the cove,” he reasoned. “You go back to the house. I’ll go take a look.”

  But Nick hadn’t found her at the cove.

  Back in the kitchen, Nick and Jordan sat at the counter going over several theories. “Maybe she and Ethan hooked up.” Nick took out a fat, apple-oatmeal cookie from the jar sitting on the kitchen counter. “After all, Ethan was here when we went to bed last night. Maybe they…”

  “Then he would have spent the night here, Nick. There’s a bed in the apartment.”

  “A very comfortable one, too.” Nick’s eyes lit up. “You know, now that I think about it, we never actually christened that bed.”

  Despite her worry, Jordan laughed and poked him in the ribs. “You’re unbelievable. We’ve christened practically every bed in every room of this house and you’re zeroing in on the one we didn’t get around to?” She chewed on a nail. “Nick, do you think I should call Ethan in an official capacity? Should I let him know we haven’t seen her? What if…?”

  Knowing his wife, Nick knew Jordan wouldn’t rest until they’d contacted Ethan. “Do you want me to call and tactfully ask him if she’s with him?”

  Jordan perked up. “Would you? That’d be great, you know, man-to-man.”

  Nick grinned and reached for the kitchen phone. “I’ll call his house. Makes it less official that way.” After the third ring, Ethan picked up. “Hello.”

  “Ethan, it’s Nick Harris. Are you off-duty?”

  “I’m never off-duty in a town this size, Nick. What’s up?” He got a vibe that told him this call was somehow concerning Hayden. Sure enough, Nick’s next comment confirmed it.

  “Uh, would Hayden happen to be with you at the moment?”

  “No, why?”

  “It’s strange. She and Jordan were supposed to go into town today. It’s almost five o’clock and we haven’t seen her or heard from her all day. Her car’s still parked in the driveway. But there’s no answer at the apartment. Her things are still inside.” He wondered if he should mention that she might have someone after her. To cover all the bases, he decided honesty now should come first. “And… I think she might have someone looking for her, Ethan.”

  Ethan rubbed his forehead as his head began to pound. “Yeah. I know. She wasn’t real specific and got very upset with me last night when I tried to get her to open up about it. Look, I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” With that, he hung up and went to get his badge and gun.

  Even though her muscles ached Hayden was in her element. A good three miles into her hike, she discovered the back entrance to a cemetery called Eternal Gardens. Walking among the headstones, she came across some as old as a hundred years, some of the deaths dating all the way back to 1912. Fascinated, she began to stroll through the grounds at a leisurely pace reading the names and dates of each one. When she happened upon a plot marked Phillips, she looked around for the one she wanted. It didn’t take long to locate it. Five headstones down from what looked like the final resting place of his grandparents and parents, she found Scott’s. She ran her fingers across the marble and sat down on the grass at the base of the marker that read:

  David Scott Phillips

  Beloved Husband and Father

  Died In Service to His Country

  Standing tall and sleek in the urn, fresh long-stemmed, yellow hibiscus seemed to guard the gravesite.

  “Jordan brings Hutton out here every week for a visit. They never come empty-handed. They usually bring me all kinds of flowers. Nick comes too but not always with them.”

  Hayden wanted to jump out of her skin at the sound of the male voice. Instead, she did her best to try for calm. Scott stood less than four feet away wearing the same clothes that he’d had on last night. Her heart did a double beat. He didn’t look scary from this close. He looked like any other man, flesh and blood, with light brown hair worn military-style, sparkling blue eyes, about six feet tall.

  “There’s no reason to be scared. It’s broad daylight and besides I’m not that kind of spirit. What are you doing here anyway?”

  Hayden laughed. “Me? What are you doing here? You’re―not alive.”

  “True. But dead is relative and boring. So, Emile Reed what brings you here to Pelican Pointe?”

  “How…? You know about Emile?”

  “I know about a lot of things now that I didn’t know when I was alive.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  This time Scott laughed. “Oh believe me, I am, too. Truly sorry for many things, for many reasons. Unfortunately there’s no changing the past.”

  Hayden sighed. “I know something about regrets. I guess you could say my life is a mess.”

  Scott stuck his hands in his pockets. “Be grateful for life, Emile. Or do you prefer Hayden?”

  “Hayden’s my name now. I miss certain things about Emile though. My blonde hair most of all, the dyed hair makes me feel like such a phony sometimes. But let’s face it, Emile’s life was far from perfect.”

  “Back in Chicago, huh? Life isn’t supposed to be perfect. It shouldn’t be. Stop looking for perfection and start seeing the possibilities in a new place. Was Emile happy in Chicago?”

  She shook her head. “Not really. I thought I was but…”

  “Then maybe there’s your answer. Even though Dochenko fled the country you shouldn’t let down your guard because he still has his henchmen looking for you.”

  “I didn’t do anything criminal.”

  “I know. Look, it’ll be dark soon. You need to start back to the cove now, Nick and Jordan are worried. And Ethan’s looking for you.”

  For the first time Hayden noticed half of the sun had dipped below the horizon. She glanced at her watch. It was almost five-thirty. When she looked back up again, Scott had vanished.

  Hayden heard Ethan’s voice a good thirty yards before she found her way to the trail out of the underbrush. He was speaking to Nick in short, clipped tones.

  Damn it. She realized they were looking for her like she was a five-year-old. Well, she hadn’t been lost for chrissakes. Maybe nearly, but that didn’t count.

  She picked her way along the narrow path and finally emerged from the woods. As casually as she could Hayden asked, “What are you two doing?”

  Ethan looked up and saw a disheveled Hayden. She had twigs in her hair. Her clothes were dirty. Her face was tender pink from either exertion or too much sun. Damned stubborn woman looked sunburned as hell. He’d bet a twenty she hadn’t even bothered to wear sunscreen either. “Looking for you, where the hell have you been? It’s almost dark.”

  Ethan’s angry tone had her snapping back, “There is no need whatsoever to take that tone with me, Ethan Cody.”

  “Yeah, well, Nick and Jordan were worried about you. When you didn’t show up for your planned trip into town, she and Nick thought you might be in danger. Did it ever occur to you if you wanted to wander off in the woods and get yourself lost you could have let someone know where you’d be?”

  She’d be damned if she was going to stand here and let him chastise her. “You go to hell, Ethan Cody. I went for a hike.” She drew out her compass, held it up. “What does this look like? I’ve hiked before today, Deputy, and
I can guarantee you I will hike in the future. I used to be quite good at it. And I did not get lost. I simply enjoyed being outside and lost track of the time.”

  Ethan put both hands on his hips. “Let me ask you this. Do you or do you not have someone chasing you for whatever reason, a reason you refuse to share with anyone?”

  She let out a loud audible sigh but refused to answer him. This man, the cop, was going to throw that up to her every chance he got. She listened as his lecture went on.

  “The fact that you have chosen not to divulge the identity of the person hunting you doesn’t make the situation any less dangerous. So when you disappear for hours without a word, people have a tendency to worry that perhaps you might have been abducted, taken against your will.” Ethan turned to Nick and declared, “I think I’m done here, Nick. I’ll call Brent and cancel the search.”

  With that, she watched him storm off through the grove of trees, through the courtyard, and disappear around the side of the house.

  “I’m sorry, Nick.”

  Nick raised both hands in self-defense. “We’re just happy to know you’re okay.”

  By the time she’d showered and made her way over to the main house it was almost six-thirty. She slipped in the back door and found Nick and Jordan sitting at the kitchen table where a laptop computer sat between them.

  Hayden stood just inside the kitchen. “I think I owe you both an apology. Once I calmed down I realized it must have looked like something happened to me. I didn’t even think to let either one of you know I wanted to explore the area. So I set off on my own. I am so sorry for the trouble I caused you both, sorry I forgot about taking the trip into town and looking at the house. It’s just that once I got outside, once I started walking I got caught up in the scenery, all the wildflowers, and taking a slew of pictures. I found I wasn’t ready to spend my afternoon off cooped up inside.” She finally took a breath.