The Path to Sunshine Cove

by RaeAnne Thayne

  “Good. Then we’re on the same page.”

  “I suppose we are.” He let out a breath that sounded like a sigh and his gaze flickered to her mouth one more time then away.

  “I’ll still have a tough time thinking about anything else all day. See you later, Jess Clayton.”

  He shook his head, picked up his surfboard and headed toward his house, his black Lab trotting along behind him.

  After he left, Jess climbed into her trailer, closed the door carefully and sank onto the sofa.

  Good Lord.

  Her hands were actually trembling, from just a kiss.

  Okay, not just a kiss.

  One amazing kiss.

  She supposed it had been inevitable. From the second she had walked down to the cove and watched him surfing, his body graceful and athletic, she had been fiercely aware of him.

  If she were honest with herself, she had been aware of him since the day they met. Spending time with him this morning had been dangerously tempting.

  What did it matter how attracted she might be to him? She wasn’t the kind of woman who lost her head when a man paid her any attention. She had been careful her entire adult life to keep her relationships with men casual and fun.

  Rachel had been right the other night when she said Jess didn’t want a happy-ever-after.

  Her mother had loved Doug Clayton with an all-consuming, obsessive love. She couldn’t see anyone else but him. Even her children faded into insignificance when he was around.

  The kind of hold Jess’s father had on Veronica hadn’t been healthy. Nor had it been easy to see. Roni could barely function without him.

  Jess had vowed she would never let a man tangle her up like that. She would always be the one to set the parameters, would never lose her head in a relationship.

  Her wild reaction to Nate Whitaker’s kiss told her she wasn’t as in control as she tried to tell herself. At least where this particular man was concerned.

  She pressed a hand to her mouth, where she could still feel the heat of him, then caught herself.

  Good thing she was only here a few weeks. Nate was the kind of man who would tempt a woman into throwing all caution into the ocean.

  She would have to be careful not to lose control. The results would be disastrous and she couldn’t afford it, professionally or personally.

  Moving forward, she would simply have to keep their relationship friendly and casual so she could regain a little perspective.

  No more early-morning kisses. That would be an excellent place to start.

  Too bad.

  13

  Rachel

  Where, in the name of all that was holy, was her husband?

  Rachel checked her watch for about the hundredth time in the past hour. Cody had promised he would be home by 2 p.m. so they could avoid the worst of the traffic and get to their hotel near UC Davis at a decent enough hour to get Silas settled for the night.

  They had talked about ordering room service at the darling boutique hotel she had found. She had even called ahead to obtain the menu, hoping for a romantic and cozy evening with her husband after Silas was asleep.

  All her plans would be for nothing if her blasted husband didn’t come home soon.

  “Don’t worry. He probably got hung up at work. He’ll be here.”

  Rachel didn’t even want to meet Jess’s gaze, afraid her sister would see into the depths of her frustration.

  Grace wasn’t home from school yet, Ava was watching TV and Silas was playing on the floor, not paying them any mind at all.

  “I had everything all figured out so that Silas would nap and we could avoid the worst of the traffic. If Cody is much later, we’re going to be stuck right in the middle of it and Silas will nap too late and then won’t sleep tonight.”

  She could only imagine what a nightmare that would be with him screaming in a strange hotel room that probably had thin walls.

  “I’m sure Cody has a good reason for being late,” Jess said gently.

  “He had better,” she snapped. As soon as the words were out, she wanted to cringe at the bitchiness in her tone.

  She couldn’t seem to help it. No doubt Cody wouldn’t have any viable explanation at all. He would simply say he’d been hung up at work, gotten busy at a job site, had a complication with a supplier. She’d heard every one of his excuses for working late over the past two months since Silas was diagnosed.

  Cody seemed to be doing everything possible to avoid being home with her and their kids.

  How could she blame him, when she was so miserable to be around right now?

  “He’ll be here. Don’t worry,” Jess said again. “Do you want me to go look for him.”

  Rachel frowned at her sister’s light tone, doing her best to rein in her temper. Jess had no idea the high-wire act Rachel had to walk every single day, balancing the needs of the girls, Silas, Cody and her social media followers.

  Her perfect life was slipping away, eroding bit by bit like the ocean working away at a sandbar.

  “I might go find him myself if he doesn’t get here soon,” she said grimly.

  A moment later, she heard his pickup in the driveway.

  “Sounds like he’s here,” Jess said cheerfully.

  Cody swept into the kitchen looking as sweaty and dirty as if he’d been rolling in the garden with the boys.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late, babe.” He gave the sheepish, apologetic smile she had come to know well over the past few months. “I had my day all planned but then Georgia Hayes asked me to bid on some roof repairs at her place. And you know how she likes to talk. I think it’s gotten worse since old Walt died. She had me looking at every single thing that needs to be fixed at the house. Part of her porch has completely rotted away and I didn’t want her falling through so I did a quick emergency repair while I was there. Took me longer than I’d planned.”

  Everything always took him longer than he’d planned.

  She also knew the Widow Hayes had probably been desperate for company, especially a handsome contractor in a tool belt and tight T-shirt. And she knew Cody would probably underbid the job by a long shot and eat the cost of the labor to help the woman out.

  She loved that about him at the same time it annoyed the hell out of her right now.

  “We’re going to be stuck in traffic. I don’t see any way around it.”

  He shrugged, completely unconcerned about the havoc his good-guy helpfulness had wrought on her well-ordered plans.

  “We’ll still make it. If the traffic gets too bad, we can make a stop somewhere along the way for Si to run out some energy. Maybe we can grab dinner somewhere at McD’s and have a picnic.”

  That was such a far cry from the quiet, romantic room service meal at the hotel that she wanted to cry suddenly.

  “That sounds nice,” Jess said.

  “I want to have a picnic and play at the park,” Ava complained, wandering in from the TV room. “Why does Si get all the fun?”

  “I promise, you wouldn’t think it was fun if you were the one who had to be poked and prodded by the doctors,” Rachel told her daughter.

  “But Silas gets to go stay in a hotel with you. Maybe they even have a pool.”

  “You get to have fun with your auntie Jess,” Jess said. “Maybe we can pack our own picnic and go to a park nearby.”

  “Can we stay up past our bedtime?” Ava asked hopefully.

  Rachel gave her sister a pointed look.

  “Nope,” Jess said. “Sorry, kiddo. We’ll have a great time while of course following all your mom’s rules.”

  Ava looked resigned but Rachel could tell she was already trying to figure out how to work around those rules as she headed back to watch her show.

  “I am sorry I’m late.” Cody headed in the direction of their bedroom. “
Give me five minutes to shower the work stink off and throw a few things into a bag then I’ll be ready to go.”

  “I’ve already packed for you. I’ve left clothes on the bed for you to wear on the drive, as well.”

  “Great. Then I should be ready in no time.”

  He smiled but she could see the hint of annoyance in his eyes. If he didn’t like it when she micromanaged his life, maybe he shouldn’t cut things so close.

  When he left, Jess gave her a careful look. “I know you’re going for a clinic appointment but I hope you guys can try to enjoy yourselves.”

  So far, they weren’t getting off to the greatest start.

  “Are you sure you’re up to this tonight? It’s not too late for me to ask Cody’s mom or one of his sisters. Or Kurt and Jan love having them, too.”

  If she hadn’t been paying attention, she might have missed the way Jess’s features tightened slightly at the mention of Rachel’s foster parents, who had stayed close to her all these years.

  “We’re going to have a great time.”

  “There’s a three-ring binder on the counter that has all the info you should need about their bedtime routine and house rules. I also left several possible healthy meals in the fridge you can choose to give them for dinner.”

  “Great. That should make things easy.”

  “Grace will be home in about an hour. She has school tomorrow and Ava has preschool in the morning. The addresses and drop-off instructions are listed in the binder.”

  “Efficient as always, Rach.”

  Rachel knew that was another way of calling her a control freak. Okay. Maybe she was. How else was she supposed to manage the chaos without everything completely falling apart?

  Jess could mock all she liked. She was a single, carefree woman who didn’t have to worry about one child’s peanut allergy or another one’s aversion to any food touching another food on her plate.

  Jess didn’t know the first thing about having to cope with a child who could have a meltdown at the slightest provocation, usually at the most public, inopportune moment.

  “I only want to make things as easy as possible for you.” Her voice sounded stiff, even to her.

  “I know. And I appreciate that. You know I have no experience at this kind of thing. I have to admit, I was panicking earlier, afraid I couldn’t handle it. Nate managed to talk me down.”

  Nate again. Was something going on between them? She wanted to ask but swallowed the question. She had enough to worry about right now without trying to micromanage her sister’s love life, too.

  “You’ll be fine. The girls already love you. They have really been looking forward to having you stay.”

  “There you go. We’ll all survive, right?”

  “Sure,” she answered with a tight smile as Silas came into the kitchen.

  “Eat,” he said. At four months shy of three years old, he could say six words now. Eat, Mama, Dada, drink, yes and no. Both of the girls had been early talkers. Ava, for one, hadn’t stopped talking since she first put sentences together at about eighteen months. Speech was one area Silas needed help. She knew that was a big source of his frustration, when he couldn’t communicate what he needed.

  One of many areas.

  She sighed and handed him a cheese stick, which he promptly devoured in about ten seconds, before returning to his toys just as Cody came back to the kitchen.

  Rachel managed to avoid looking at her watch, just barely.

  “That was fast,” Jess said.

  “I wouldn’t want to mess up the schedule any more than I already have,” Cody said with a smile that stopped at his mouth.

  When was the last time she had seen a genuine smile on his face, at least one aimed at her?

  She so desperately missed her husband.

  Right now, he seemed farther away than ever. Any hope that they could spend at least a little time reconnecting on this trip seemed to shrink with every passing second. She was ruining everything.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked her sister one last time.

  “We are going to be totally okay. Go. Focus on what you need to do and don’t worry about us for a minute.”

  That was impossible. Sometimes Rachel felt as if her soul was shaped out of anxiety and inadequacy, stitched together with guilt.

  “I can take the suitcases out to the van,” Cody offered.

  “I already did that earlier. Everything is ready.”

  His jaw tightened. Rachel gave an inward wince. Cody did love to help out. She should have left something for him to do.

  “Grace’s carpool will bring her home in about twenty minutes. I would like to stay to say goodbye but we really do need to go.”

  “You do,” Jess said pointedly.

  “Call me if you have any questions at all.”

  “I will absolutely do that,” Jess claimed. “Now, go on. Get out of here. We’re fine.”

  Rachel picked up her purse and the water bottles she had already filled with ice and filtered water for all three of them.

  “Silas, want to go for a ride?” Cody asked.

  She held her breath. If she suggested the same thing when Silas was in the middle of something else, it could sometimes be enough to trigger a meltdown.

  Not when Cody suggested it. Everything seemed like an adventure coming from him.

  Silas nodded and walked to his father with his arms up. Cody lifted him up easily.

  “I want to go with you,” Ava said again, her FOMO even more pronounced than usual.

  “Not this time, honey. But I promise, you and I and Gracie will do something fun when we get back, just the three of us,” Cody promised. “Come here and give me a hug.”

  Ava flew to her father and hugged his waist. He scooped her up in his other arm and squeezed both Ava and Silas. Ava giggled and even Silas gave the lopsided smile that was as close as he got to showing true joy.

  Cody kissed Ava on the top of her head, spun her around a couple of times then set her back down.

  Yes, he worked hard, but when he was here, Cody focused completely on the kids. He was a great father.

  She knew plenty of women in town who would love to have a husband like Cody, who worked hard and adored his family.

  No, he wasn’t perfect, but he was doing his best.

  She vowed that she would spend the next twenty-four hours trying to remember that, instead of focusing on all the areas that could use a little work.

  14

  Jess

  She watched them go, Rachel still stony-faced and Cody doing his best to entertain Silas.

  Something was definitely wrong between Rachel and Cody. The tension in the room had been thick enough to drive a Humvee through.

  Jess frowned, worried about them. At random moments, Rachel seemed desperately unhappy.

  Rachel’s problems were her own, Jess reminded herself. Her sister had made it plain over the years that she didn’t need Jess interfering in her life.

  Jess’s only job right now was simply to enjoy herself with her nieces.

  She spent the time until Grace came home from school going over the scarily efficient three-ring binder Rachel had left her while Ava finished her show.

  Jess closed the binder just as Grace burst into the house, looking adorable with her hair in braids and her backpack almost as big as she was.

  “Hi, Aunt Jess!” she exclaimed. She dropped her backpack and hugged her. Jess hugged her back, warmed by the spontaneous affection.

  “Hi there. How was school today?”

  “Good. I got to be the teacher’s helper at recess today and make sure everybody got in line the right way when it was time to go inside. And we had a spelling bee in our class and I won.”

  “That’s terrific. Congratulations!”

  Jess had never been
that kind of student. She had been mostly bored and uninterested, happiest at recess and when they could have free reading time.

  After she gave the girls a Rachel-approved snack of oatmeal and raisin cookies and almond milk, she suddenly realized she had left her phone charger and her favorite pillow in the Airstream.

  She could get by without them, but why stress about it when Whitaker House was only a mile or so away? “All right, girls. I’ve got to run to my place for a couple of things. Who wants to come?”

  “Me!” Grace exclaimed.

  “Me!” Ava echoed. “And Freckles does, too.”

  “Can we ride bikes? I love riding my new bike and I’m really good at it.”

  “That does sound like fun but I’m afraid I don’t have a bike.”

  “Mommy has a bike,” Ava said. “She rides her bike and Si and me and Freckles sit in the trailer. You could use that one.”

  She calculated that bike riding to her Airstream and back to the house would probably take them all the way to dinner. Exercise and fun at the same time. Seemed like a win-win.

  “Good idea. Let’s check it out. Is it in the garage?”

  “You shouldn’t borrow things without asking, though,” Grace said with a worried look. “Maybe you should text Mama and ask if you can use her bike.”

  Grace was definitely the rule-follower in the family. That was obvious. Jess supposed every family needed one but the girl was going to have some serious mental health issues later in life if she didn’t relax a bit.

  “I don’t want to bother her right now while she and your dad are busy driving to your brother’s appointment. I’m sure she won’t mind a bit. Can you tell me where we can find bike helmets?”

  Grace jumped on the chance to be helpful. “They’re always hanging on the bike handlebars in the garage. I’ll show you.”

  Soon after, she and the girls were on their way, the dog and Ava in the bike trailer already attached to Rachel’s beach cruiser and Grace riding along on her cool-looking retro banana-seat bike.

  “Are you okay riding up the hill?” she asked Grace as they started toward Whitaker House.

  Her niece nodded, offering up her gap-toothed smile. “I have strong leg muscles from all the swimming we do. That’s what Mama says.”