CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“HOWWASYOURVACATION?”
Velvet, who was sitting in a booth at the Witherspoon Café, glanced up and saw Sierra looking simply radiant. Marriage agreed with her.
“It was wonderful. And how was your honeymoon?”
Velvet really didn’t have to ask. The huge smile on Sierra’s face said it all. “It was amazing. There are times I think that I need to pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
“Well, I am happy for you. Are you here with Vaughn?”
“No, he had an early meeting at the office. I just finished walking Teryn to school and had a taste for Ms. Debbie’s blueberry muffins. May I join you?”
“Of course.” Debbie and her husband, Chester, owned the Witherspoon Café. Everyone loved her blueberry muffins, which made the café a popular breakfast place.
Sierra slid into the seat across from her and leaned over the table to whisper, “What about you and Jaye? How did your week in the Keys go?” Sierra was one of the few who knew where she’d gone and who she’d been with.
Velvet sighed. “Of course, we had a great time and I appreciated getting away but...”
“But what?”
Velvet shrugged. “But nothing.” She sipped her coffee, deciding not to say anything else when the waitress came to take Sierra’s order.
When the waitress left, Sierra looked at her and asked in a low tone, “How was it not to have to sneak around?”
She hesitated, and because this was Sierra, she said, “It was fantastic and it will be hard to go undercover with him again when he returns.”
“He’s out of town?”
“Yes. Instead of returning to the cove as planned, Jaye went to Birmingham. Some problem developed with the bank construction, and he’ll be gone all this week. I’m not expecting him back until Sunday.”
“Why do you think you have to go undercover when he gets back?”
“Because nothing has changed. He’ll be leaving the cove soon and the last thing I want people talking about is my affair with him.”
“It’s really nobody’s business, Velvet, what you do and with whom.”
“I know, but there are some who would make it their business, and I’d rather not be the topic of anyone’s conversation. Especially when Jaye deliberately didn’t date any of the other single women in town.”
“It was his right to do so. Just like a woman has the right to date who they want, so does a man.”
Velvet knew what Sierra said was true, but for years she’d intentionally avoided drawing attention to herself. She loved Catalina Cove. It was her home now and it would be her home long after Jaye left. Although the past week had pretty much shown her how things could be, she had to remember for her and Jaye, they would never be that way again.
The waitress returned with their food and they chatted for another half hour before Velvet had to leave for school.
“MS. SPENCER, are you busy?”
Lenny was standing in the doorway to Velvet’s class. It was nearing the end of the day and she was about ready to pack up to leave. “I’m never too busy for any of my students, Lenny. Come on in.”
He closed the door behind him and came to her desk. His hands were shoved into his jeans pockets. Today, he looked a lot younger than the fifteen-year-old that he was. Maybe it was because there was a shyness about him that normally wasn’t there. He was staring down at his shoes, and she figured he was trying to get his thoughts together. She had time to let him.
When he looked up, he said, “I don’t want to fail the ninth grade, Ms. Spencer.”
She nodded. Report cards went out this week and chances were that seeing his grade had been a wakeup call. “And I don’t want you to fail, either, Lenny. You have two more grading periods to turn it around and I believe you can.”
“Algebra isn’t easy, but I know I can pass if I try,” he said quickly.
“But you haven’t been trying, have you?” she asked, speaking aloud Jaye’s suspicions.
His gaze fell to his shoes again. “No. I figured if I didn’t pass, Dad would see there was more to my life than baseball. I like to draw, too.”
“And who says you can’t do them both? I love gymnastics and took classes while growing up. I also wanted to become a teacher. I discovered I could do both. I teach here and I’m still involved with gymnastics by coaching after school twice a week.”
His eyes widened. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, I do. I know a basketball player who played for the NBA. In addition to his love of basketball, he always wanted to fly planes. He played basketball during that season and when he had the time, he learned to fly. He retired from pro sports last year, and now he’s started a company that builds small planes.”
“Wow!”
“He didn’t limit his abilities, and neither should you.”
A huge smile spread across his face and there was a gleam in his eyes when he said, “I can play baseball and when I’m not playing ball, I can do my art. One day, I can even use the money I made from baseball to open an art gallery.”
Velvet laughed. “Yes, you can certainly do that. I suggest you talk to your father, Lenny, and tell him your plans and let him know you can do both and want to do both. But first you need to work on improving your grades. My offer to help you still stands.”
He looked surprised. “It does?”
“Yes. I can give you extra assignments and even tutor you after class to get you caught up.”
“Thanks, Ms. Spencer. I’ll talk to my Dad about it when he gets home from work.”
Velvet smiled. “I think that’s a good idea.”
WEBBGLANCEDACROSShis desk at the man who’d asked to see him. Al had graduated a few years earlier than he had, but he recalled that at one time Allen Bordeaux had been a hometown hero. He’d been picked by the Dodgers until a car accident shattered those dreams.
“So, what’s the reason for your visit, Al?”
The man leaned forward in his chair. “I think most of the men in town know of your interest in Velvet Spencer.”
“And?”
“And I think you forgot to tell the new banker.”
Webb paused. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I heard he purchased a prime piece of real estate on the gulf, valued at over a million dollars, in Reid Lacroix’s new development for Ms. Spencer.”
Webb sat up in his chair, surprised. “Who told you that?”
“I’d rather not say. But I just wanted you to know what kind of woman you’ve fallen in love with.” Allen Bordeaux checked his watch and stood. “I need to be going. The shifts change at the restaurant in an hour and one of my workers called in sick.”
Webb sat at his desk for a long while after Al left. First of all, he wasn’t in love with Velvet Spencer. Al was wrong about that. He would admit to being obsessed with having her in his bed, but only because she’d been the first woman he couldn’t get there easily.
He stood and walked to the window. His jaw tightened at the thought that all the time she’d been brushing him off, she’d had no problem hooking up with the new banker. He bet the two were already involved when he’d gone to the bank to warn Colfax off. That meant she began sleeping with Colfax not long after he moved to town. And it must be some hot and heavy affair for the man to put out that much money on property for her.
It wasn’t right that Colfax was getting a damn good roll between the sheets. A roll that Webb should be getting. Anyone in town knew not to get on a Crawford’s bad side and it was time he taught Ms. Spencer that lesson. He wished he could teach Jaye Colfax that same lesson, but he’d heard Reid Lacroix had personally approved of Colfax’s bank to take over Larsons Bank when Larson retired. Everyone in the cove knew that if Reid Lacroix—who was the wealthiest man in the cove—liked you, then the rest of Catalina Cove sure as hell better like you, too. Nobody in their right mind would want to cross Reid Lacroix. For that reason, he knew to leave Colfax alone, but Velvet Spencer was another matter.
Returning to his desk, he picked up the phone to call Dwight Beaks. Dwight was a member of the school board and Webb would bet there was something in a teacher’s contract about her receiving expensive gifts. If there was a violation of any sort on Velvet Spencer’s part, then Beaks would know about it. And if there wasn’t, then Beaks, with a little push from him, could find one that would fit.
“I DON’TTHINKI’ve ever seen you so happy, Dean,” Jaye said to his brother. After attending yet another meeting about the Birmingham bank, they were on their way to grab dinner at one of the restaurants close by.
Dean, who was driving, chuckled as he slowed the car at a traffic light. “Lilly is everything I could ever want and we’re ideal for each other.” He continued driving and asked, “How are things going between you and Vel? You haven’t said.”
Jaye shrugged. “There’s really nothing to tell. I’m still trying to show her how much I love her.”
“Why don’t you just come out and tell her, Jaye?”
“Not sure she’s ready to hear it. In fact, there’s a chance she won’t believe me. When we were together, I did a very thorough job of convincing her I wasn’t capable of loving a woman.”
Dean raised an eyebrow. “Let me get this straight. Vel still doesn’t know she’s the reason you opened that bank in Catalina Cove in the first place?”
“No, she doesn’t know that. She doesn’t know I hired a PI to find her, either.” Jaye rubbed his hands down his face. “There are a number of other things I’ve done that she isn’t aware of as well.” One was the engagement ring he intended to give her and the land he’d purchased for a wedding present. The latter wasn’t contingent on her accepting the former. He would give her the land regardless.
“I don’t understand. You took her to the Keys last week. Why didn’t you tell her everything then? I’d think that was the perfect opportunity.”
Dean’s question reminded Jaye of what a wonderful time he’d shared with her, and his brother was right. It had been the perfect opportunity. In a way, it had been too perfect to ruin.
“Jaye?”
He glanced over at Dean. “Things were so perfect for us in Key Largo. I didn’t want to risk ruining things. I’m not sure how I would have handled it if she refused my love, Dean.”
“The way you refused hers.”
Jaye drew in a deep breath. “Yes, the way I refused hers,” he said softly.
Dean pulled into a parking spot and brought the car to a stop. He cut the engine and turned to Jaye. “Why are you letting what Mom did to us still stand in the way of your happiness? You went to see her and yet you’re still letting her run roughshod over your emotions.”
“You think that’s what’s happening?”
“Don’t you? After you tell Velvet that you love her, and she still needs time to accept that you really do, then by all means give it to her. I’d think, considering everything—especially your relationship before and all that crap you told her about not ever planning to fall in love—that you’d understand. It doesn’t mean you won’t stop trying to get her to fall in love with you or make her believe you love her. At least she’ll know how you feel and intend to do whatever it takes to make her part of your life again. This time not as your lover but your wife. Do you know what I’d do if I were you?”
Jaye couldn’t believe he was getting advice from his younger brother. “And just what would you do?”
“I’d leave here tomorrow, go back to Catalina Cove and tell her how you feel, and if she needs time to digest it, give her that time. But at least let her know.”
“What about tomorrow morning’s meeting?”
“I suggest you take off right after that. I’m sure you can even get a straight flight to New Orleans and make it there before dark.”
Jaye thought about Dean’s suggestion and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed doable. “That means you’ll be attending tomorrow night’s dinner with the mayor alone.”
“No problem.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive. Now let’s get something to eat.”