Chapter 5
5
Evans Toussaint arrived at work later than usual due to a dentist appointment. As he strolled through the wide hallway that led to several offices on the executive floor, he was thankful that once he’d made the decision to move back to Catalina Cove, he’d landed a job and a pretty good one. In fact, he was earning more now than he had while working as manager of that bank in Seattle.
He believed that timing was everything, and it had certainly worked in his favor when he’d been hired by Lacroix Industries. Under the parent company’s umbrella was the Lacroix Blueberry Plant, Lacroix Tool and Die Maker and their most recent venture, the Lacroix Housing Development.
Although Saint was involved with the management of all three subsidiary companies, he’d been hired to specifically spearhead a particular project Reid Lacroix had instituted a few years ago. In memory of the man’s late son, Reid, the wealthiest man in Catalina Cove, had created the Julius Lacroix Loan Program, which offered low-interest loans as an incentive to get people to consider moving back to Catalina Cove and opening a business. To maintain the integrity of the town, it had to be a Reid Lacroix–approved business.
Reid was well-liked and respected by everyone and employed half of the people living in the cove at at least one of his businesses. Everybody knew that if Reid liked you then the entire town loved you. Very few people went against him on anything. Last year he had chosen Vaughn to take over as CEO when Reid retired in a few months.
Saint knew one of the reasons Reid had chosen Vaughn as successor, rather than choosing one of the men who’d worked for the company a lot longer, was because Reid trusted Vaughn to not only take the company to the next level, but also to preserve its legacy for Reid’s twin granddaughters. Vaughn had been Reid’s deceased son’s best friend and was godfather to the twins.
“Good morning, Saint,” a feminine voice said as he rounded the corner.
He glanced over at the older woman sitting behind the huge administrative assistant desk and gave her a cheerful response. “Good morning, Mrs. Dorsett.”
The woman shook her head. “Will you ever feel comfortable enough to call me Kate like everyone else around here?”
“No,” he answered truthfully. Kate Dorsett’s son Brody, who’d graduated from high school the year before Saint, had been one of his playmates while growing up in Catalina Cove. To Saint, the attractive older woman sitting behind the desk had always been known as Brody’s mom or Mrs. Dorsett. Old habits were hard to break.
The Toussaints and Dorsetts—who were part French, African and Spanish—had been born and raised in the bayou, and the two families still resided there. Their ancestors had been known as Bayou Creoles. When Saint moved back to the cove, he had purchased a four-bedroom home on five acres that was located on mossy property connected to a bayou. It was close enough to his parents, and within a mile of the major roadway that took you to the business district of Catalina Cove where he worked.
“Well, you still have five months to get on the bandwagon before I’m out of here,” she said.
Mrs. Dorsett had begun working for the company as Reid Lacroix’s father’s secretary. Then when Reid took things over when his father passed away, she’d become his administrative assistant and had held that position for close to thirty years. Now that Reid was retiring, he had convinced Mrs. Dorsett to do the same.
Her husband had passed away a few years ago, and she’d wanted to keep working to stay busy. “How’s Brody?” he asked.
“He’s still single, and I’m still not a grandmother, so what does that tell you?”
“Now you sound like my mom,” Saint said, amused.
He just hoped Mrs. Dorsett hadn’t taken to playing matchmaker like his mother was doing. He had threatened to change his cell phone number if she gave it to one more eligible prospect from her church. He was getting at least three to four calls a week from women inviting him over to dinner.
“If I do it’s because Irene and I pray constantly that there’s hope for you and Brody yet,” Mrs. Dorsett said, breaking into his thoughts.
“If it had been left up to me, I would have been married years ago.” He knew he could say that to her since Mrs. Dorsett and his mother were childhood friends and talked all the time. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew about his two marriage proposals Mia had turned down.
“Well, some people don’t know what they got until they lose it. It was her loss and I believe one day she will see that. Now, with Brody it’s another story. No woman has ever gotten a marriage proposal out of him. He’s not getting any younger.”
“Well, that’s something you can’t rush these days. No matter how old you are.”
“What?”
“Love.”
“Umm, maybe I need to put a fire under Brody’s behind.”
He laughed. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Need I remind you that Brody is Catalina Cove’s fire marshal? You put fire anywhere near him and he’ll put it out.”
She waved off his words. “Whatever. By the way, Vaughn wants to see you. I almost forgot to tell you.”
He doubted that was true. Mrs. Dorsett never forgot anything. Like the time he fell out of that tree in her yard at the age of ten and ended up with a broken arm, which she reminded him of on occasion. Professionally, she was as sharp and efficient as they came. He knew she would be missed when she retired along with Reid. She had the ability to make the lives of every one of Reid’s executive team members much easier.
“Thanks for letting me know,” he said, pivoting to head toward Vaughn’s office. He knocked when he reached the door.
“Come in.” Vaughn tossed the papers he was looking at aside when he saw him. “I take it you survived the dentist,” he said as if amused.
Saint took the chair Vaughn offered to him. “Yes, but I wish Reid would have that same talk with Dr. Wilcox that he had with Mrs. Dorsett. It’s time for him to retire. I recall going to him as a kid.”
Vaughn barely held back a laugh. “We all did. He claims he’ll retire as soon as someone comes along to take over his dental practice.”
“That’s what I heard as well. So far none of the applications I’ve gotten for low-interest loans have been for dentists. However, I am keeping my fingers crossed.”
Vaughn leaned back in his chair. “I heard that a lot of people are applying for teaching positions.”
“Are you surprised after the school board voted to give all teachers a huge pay raise? They can thank Reid for maneuvering that,” Saint said, amused. “Now Catalina Cove pays their teachers more than any city in Louisiana. Anyone applying, who was born and raised here, and returning to the cove to live, is a shoo-in if they have the right credentials.”
Vaughn grinned. “When Reid speaks everybody listens. That will teach the school board members a lesson for going along with Webb Crawford’s foolishness regarding Velvet. That put them on Reid’s shit list, and at his recommendation, every last one of them retired except Marcie Connors, the lone woman on the board. Since she hadn’t been told by the other school board members what the meeting was about, she wasn’t asked to retire,” he said.
Webb Crawford, a wealthy businessman in town, pressured the Catalina Cove school board to fire Velvet Spencer, a teacher at one of the high schools, after she chose to have an affair with the new banker in town, Jaye Colfax, instead of with Webb. When she was brought before the board on cooked-up allegations, a number of people were shocked to discover Reid had been a friend of Velvet’s parents’ and had personally invited her to Catalina Cove. On top of that, Velvet didn’t need her teacher’s salary because she was an heiress. Needless to say, Webb and all those school board members who supported his craziness had left the meeting with egg on their faces.
Vaughn leaned back in his chair and said, “I wanted to meet with you for a couple of reasons. First, to let you know Reid has reached a decision on the bids he received for the housing project. There were several good companies, and he’s decided to go with Colfax Construction Company that’s run by Franklin Colfax.”
“Jaye Colfax’s brother, right?”
“Yes. We’ll announce our decision at the next town hall meeting.”
At that moment the buzzer on Vaughn’s desk went off. “Excuse me while I get this,” he said to Saint. He clicked on the intercom. “Yes, Kate?”
“Your sister, Zara, called and wanted me to let you know she’d booked her flight and will be arriving in town on Thursday morning.”
“Thanks, Kate.”
Saint’s stomach muscles tightened as desire warmed his spine at the mention of Zara’s name. She was coming back to Catalina Cove? Would she stay at the cottage?
“Saint?”
He looked up at Vaughn. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
There was no way Saint could answer that truthfully. Although he’d always considered Vaughn a friend, he was also his boss. Saint wasn’t sure just how much he knew about his and Zara’s history.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Since he’d overheard what Mrs. Dorsett had said, he really didn’t have to ask, but did so anyway. “Zara’s coming to town?”
“Yes. Sounds like she’ll get here Thursday morning.”
“I see.” He was certain the ever-observant Vaughn saw as well. In fact, anyone who’d attended the cookout given for Vaughn and Sierra had seen. It had been a surprise encounter between him and the woman he’d met two and a half years earlier who’d called herself Angel. At the time she’d been twenty-eight and he’d been thirty-four.
Their surprise hadn’t been able to lessen the over-the-top case of the hots they still had for each other. And he was certain that a slew of people, including Vaughn, had known when they’d left that party together.
Saint met Vaughn’s gaze as he sat leaning back in his chair, eyeing him speculatively. Zara was Vaughn’s sister. Yet, to this day, Vaughn had never brought it up. Since Vaughn hadn’t, maybe it was time that Saint did. Clearing his throat, he said, “About me and Zara...”
Vaughn held up his hand to stop whatever Saint was about to say. “No discussion is necessary. Zara is thirty. I respect her as the adult she is and believe she knows how to handle her business. I trust you the same way.” Then Vaughn chuckled. “Nonetheless, I have a feeling Jaye and Velvet’s engagement party next weekend will be rather interesting.”
Yes, it would be, Saint thought. The prospect of seeing Zara again had him heating up. So far each and every time their paths crossed, sexual chemistry between them would reach its peak to the point they would give in to temptation. He hoped this time they did a better job of controlling it.
Zara opened the door to the cottage on Pelican Bay and was immediately rushed with memories of the last time she’d been there. It had been the night of Vaughn and Sierra’s wedding in March, two months ago. She loved the cottage and appreciated her mother for bequeathing it to her.
Rolling her luggage to the main bedroom, she preferred to stay here in the cottage instead of the family mansion. She would be all alone in that monstrosity of a house since Vaughn had married and moved out. She liked it here just fine, she thought, moving around the two-bedroom cottage that had a living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen and two and a half bathrooms on the ground floor.
Upstairs was a spacious loft where her mother would set up her easel to paint. Zara always considered that space as her mother’s artist’s nook, which was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. Tucked in the corner was the table where Zara would sit with her coloring books, crayons and baby dolls.
Nearby was a huge bookcase that contained a lot of her mother’s favorite books. Sometimes, after Vivian Miller had concluded her painting for the day, she would read Zara a story. Her mother’s favorite had been The Three Musketeers .
On those days when her mother needed her full concentration to work on painting, Zara would focus her time and attention on her dolls by designing outfits for them. That was when she’d discovered that although she’d inherited the gift to paint from her mother, she much preferred designing fashions.
A lot of her mother’s work was on display in the Catalina Cove Art Gallery. Most were paintings her mother had donated to the gallery when her parents had moved to Paris. The rest had been donated by Zara and Vaughn after their parents’ deaths. Vivian Miller had been specific in the will as to which of the paintings were to be given away and to whom. She’d even specified which were meant for Zara and for Vaughn.
The paintings she’d left for Zara were those her mother had known were Zara’s favorites. One hung on the wall in her boutique in Boston and the others were hanging here in the cottage. Her mother’s favorite subjects to paint were the pelicans that flocked to the bay, attracted by the warmer waters from the Gulf.
As far as Zara was concerned, no one could capture the beauty of a pelican on canvas like her mother. Back then, her mother would place her easel on the deck to paint the pelicans in their habitat. Zara loved the pelicans as much as her mother did, which was why she had one tattooed above her navel.
In the master suite, Zara placed her luggage on the bed and looked out the huge window that faced Pelican Bay. She’d had an early flight from Boston, so it wasn’t even ten in the morning yet. Already, she could see through the trees the sun beating down on the shimmering blue ocean. It was definitely a nice spring day in May.
Everyone living in the cove knew the parcel of land Catalina Cove sat on had been a gift to her great-great-great-grandfather, the notorious pirate Jean LaFitte. It had been given to him by the United States government for his help in protecting New Orleans during the War of 1812. At the time New Orleans was one of the most important ports in the United States. Because Pelican Bay had been LaFitte’s private domain and the first stretch of land that he and his band of marauding smugglers reached upon returning from the seas for downtime, they’d made sure the bay was kept well hidden. The numerous trees that grew from the ocean waters instead of on land made it an ideal island for privacy since no boats, large or small, could pass through.
The only way to the bay was from land adjacent to Zara’s Haven. To retain its privacy, her father had installed a security gate that surrounded the entire perimeter of the property. Years ago, the only access to the bay was by boat from the secured property. For her mother’s convenience, her father had built a covered, mile-long pier from the estate to Pelican Bay.
Zara loved the pier and recalled the walks she and her mother would take across it to the cottage. Vaughn told her that while living in the mansion, occasionally he would jog back and forth across the pier in the mornings. At night the pier would light up, thanks to timers that came on at dusk and went off at daybreak.
When she had reached the Catalina Cove city limits, she had contacted Vaughn to let him know she’d arrived in town. She had contacted her sister-in-law, Sierra, as well, who invited her to lunch at the restaurant she owned, the Green Fig. She said that she’d prepared Zara’s favorite soup as the “soup of the day”—black bean with crab meat and andouille sausage. That was Vaughn’s favorite as well. He’d raved about it so much that she’d tried it and was glad that she had. It was totally delicious.
An hour later she had finished unpacking and was headed to the shower, looking forward to meeting Sierra for lunch.
Zara entered the Green Fig soup café and was greeted by Levi Canady, Sierra’s assistant manager. Levi, an ex-cop who’d retired early from the police force due to an injury, was a childhood friend of Sierra’s father’s. “Hello, Levi.”
“Hello, Zara. Sierra and the ladies are waiting for you. Right this way.”
The ladies? Following Levi toward the back, she beamed in happiness when she saw the women seated at the table. They were friends of Sierra’s that Zara had gotten to know and considered friends as well. First, there was Velvet, who’d recently gotten engaged to the town’s banker. The huge diamond ring on her finger was blinding. Then there was Ashley—a very pregnant Ashley—who was married to Ray Sullivan. Ray owned a boat tour company as well as the water-taxi service in town. Their baby was due this summer.
Also seated at the table was Vashti Grisham, who owned Shelby by the Sea, the local bed-and-breakfast inn, and was married to Sheriff Sawyer Grisham; Bryce Witherspoon-Chambray, who was the daughter of the Witherspoons, who owned a popular café; and last but not least was Donna Elloran, who like everyone other than Ashley, was born and raised in Catalina Cove.
“Welcome home, Zara!” The women cheered and then stood to give her welcoming hugs. Although she’d lived in Boston for the past few years, the one thing she liked about returning to the cove was the people who would be there to welcome her back.
When everyone had returned to their seats and she’d taken hers, Zara grinned at a beaming Velvet. “Congratulations, Velvet, and that ring is gorgeous. Sierra told me about the school board meeting. I’m dying to know what happened when everyone found out you’re an heiress, and when you returned to school the next day with that rock on your finger.”
Velvet laughed. “Most people were shocked, believe me. But it didn’t matter. I knew who my true friends were and couldn’t care less for anyone who wanted to befriend me after the fact.”
“And just to let you know...” Bryce barely held back a laugh and said, “Once word got out that Jaye and Velvet hadn’t been strangers like the townspeople assumed, but they had been involved in an affair that had lasted three years, and that Jaye’s sole purpose for being in Catalina Cove was to get back the woman he loved, and going so far as to orchestrate the buying of a bank and becoming her neighbor to do so, Webb Crawford is still walking around town with egg on his face. He definitely made an ass of himself for even thinking he had a chance with Velvet.”
“Same thing for his sister Laura,” Donna added. “I heard she left Catalina Cove to travel abroad and hasn’t returned yet. She’s probably too embarrassed to show her face after all those outbursts she made at the meeting while trying to make Velvet look bad.”
Zara laughed, knowing there was never a dull moment in Catalina Cove, and appreciated her friends giving her an update. “So, tell me about the wedding, Velvet,” she said.
Total happiness spread across Velvet’s lips. “The wedding will take place the first week in August in Phoenix. Reid Lacroix will be giving me away. Jaye and I will live here until after the wedding and then we’re moving to Phoenix.”
“So you won’t be teaching in Catalina Cove after this school year?” Zara asked.
“No. I’ve already gotten hired at the high school where I taught when I lived in Phoenix before. Jaye and I plan on building a summer home on the ocean property he purchased for me in Reid’s new development. We’ll return to spend every summer in the cove.”
“What about that guy you were tutoring after school?” Donna asked. “Allen Bordeaux’s son.”
Velvet showed her happiness and excitement when she patted her hands together. “Lenny finished all the classwork he needed to do and passed all the exams. That means he will be attending high school in the fall and has already been accepted to play on their varsity baseball team.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Zara then turned her attention to Ashley Sullivan. “Do you know what you’re having yet? Boy? Girl? Or another set of twins?”
Ashley threw her head back and laughed. She already had an adorable set of three-year-old twins. A boy and a girl. “Don’t you dare suggest more twins. According to my doctor, Ray and I are having another son.”
“That’s great and congratulations to you and Ray.”
At that moment the waitress came to take their orders. After the waitress left, Donna announced that she and Isaac were expecting another baby. Right in time for Thanksgiving. They were hoping for a girl this time but would be grateful for any healthy baby they got. Phones were passed around to show recent photos of everyone’s kids, and Zara provided information about what the fashion trend this fall would be like.
“Okay, Zara, you know what we’re all dying to ask,” Vashti said, grinning from ear to ear. “We were all at Sierra and Vaughn’s celebration cookout and saw your reaction to Saint and his reaction to you. It was obvious the two of you were shocked at seeing each other.”
“Things were so hot between you two that for a while we all felt like we were in a heated furnace,” Donna added.
“That’s what I heard,” Zara said, shaking her head.
“And I happened to notice how he kept his eyes on you at Vaughn and Sierra’s wedding,” Bryce said, cocking a curious eye.
After taking a sip of her water, Zara tilted her head at Bryce, snickered and said, “Umm, you don’t say.”
“We do say, and just so you know,” Vashti interjected, “in school Saint was a very well-liked and popular guy. He was captain of the football, basketball, track and swim teams. A real hottie. He graduated the year before me, Bryce and Vaughn did.”
Bryce piped in with a grin, “And unlike a lot of guys he was always kind, and his popularity didn’t give him an ego. He was handsome and had a great-looking physique even back then.”
“Of course, we noticed the two of you leaving the cookout together early,” Ashley said with a grin that was even larger than Bryce’s. “If you want to tell us it’s none of our business we will understand.”
Zara rolled her eyes, grinned and said, “No, you won’t.”
That got everyone laughing. Vashti then said, “Yes, we will, but be forewarned that we’ll only draw our own conclusions, and they might be hotter and more erotic than the real thing.”
Zara grinned, shaking her head. Leaning closer to the table and in a low, conspiratorial voice said, “I seriously doubt anything could be hotter and more erotic than the real thing, ladies, trust me. And with that said, my lips are sealed.”