Chapter Four
Cade
The Oregon coast is ruggedly beautiful in the morning light.
Pine trees line the skyline to the east except for a bluff with neat rows of vineyards. Craggy outcroppings rise in the waters along the west-facing cliffs. White-capped waves pound continuously on the shoreline. And the bracing wind… It’s an acquired taste.
I shrug deeper into my jacket.
While I wait for Lena and the clock on a nearby church ticks closer to ten, I lean on the wooden, splintering boardwalk railing and breathe in the salty air.
The atmosphere in Mermaid Bay isn’t luxury or spa-like, a specialty of my family’s development company.
This isn’t a destination for sunbathing or paddleboarding.
This place is meant to be stood in, moved through, breathed in.
The bluster and majesty of Mermaid Bay is a reminder that you’re alive.
Even now, I feel different than I ever did in San Francisco. Younger, more energetic.
I mean, forty-five isn’t old and craggy. But I don’t run a mile on the treadmill as fast as I used to or bounce out of bed the morning after having wine with dinner. But today…
Today, all that could change.
But so can Mermaid Bay. And with that change, a change in my circumstances, too.
I’ve always looked up to my father, even when I resented him for trying to make sure I wasn’t a spoiled rich kid.
He’d blazed his own path to success and I want to be like him.
I want to prove I deserve to inherit the family business if only because everyone would know I’d take it to the next level.
“Are you lost?” A deep voice has me turning to find what looks like a weathered sailor—a brawny, bearded man in a blue pea coat with thick, peppery hair that brushes his shoulders. “You look lost.”
“No. Just taking in the view.”
“Before you head up the road to Portland,” the sailor says definitively. He’s pegged me for a tourist.
“No.” I extend my hand. “I’m Cade. I’m considering buying property here.”
That earns me a frown, not to mention, the sailor leaves my hand hanging in midair.
I drop it slowly to my side. “Did I say something wrong?”
“You said exactly what you meant to say.” The man considers me with an increasing air of unwelcomeness.
“I see you’ve met Angus,” Lena says, joining us and hugging the sailor before turning to me and assembling a smile that doesn’t reassure.
There’s something else going on here.
I’m struck with a premonition, as if I’ve somehow lost control of a situation and am on a path I hadn’t planned on traveling.
“I’m ready to take you on the Mermaid Bay Legacy Tour, Cade.
” Lena’s smile feels stiff but everything else about her is relaxed—a lightweight, teal jacket, blue jeans, half boots.
Her dark brown hair is in a twisty bun at the base of her neck.
Other than the wind loosening tendrils of hair, she seems unbothered by the wind or cold.
I’m envious of that.
Lena hands me a small paper bag with one of those cake pops that have been so popular the last few years. This one is pink with cat ears. “Happy trails.”
“Tour trails, you mean.” I don’t plan on leaving town anytime soon. But I haven’t had breakfast and eat the cake pop in one bite. It tastes as sweet as I imagine Lena’s lips might. I give her a big smile. “Let’s get this party started.”
“Be careful with this one, Lena,” Angus says, turning away. “He’s trouble.”
“That’s what Marina said,” Lena calls after the retreating sailor, smile warming. “Ready, Cade?”
I nod.
But neither of us move. Lena and I stare at each other too long. I get the distinct feeling that she feels the chemistry between us, too.
But the premonition…
The premonition that I’m no longer in charge persists. And it almost grows strong enough to outweigh the attraction between us.
Almost.