At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) (18 page)

“It’s funny that your ancestor also made money sewing,” Charlotte commented.

Just like Leticia, Isabella thought. The desire to sew seemed to be in her genes. “Do you know anything about Leticia Cardoza? She lived here fifty years ago, and she worked at the theater.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell, but I’m sure my grandmother can help. Come by the shop tomorrow. There’s nothing she likes to talk about more than family and Angel’s Bay history.” Kara paused as a slender brunette with sparkling blue eyes joined them.

“Hey, where’s my wine?” the woman complained, gesturing at the empty bottle.

“You got here too late,” Charlotte told her. “This is Isabella Silveira—Lauren Jamison.”

“Silveira, as in Chief Silveira?” Lauren quizzed.

“He’s my older brother,” Isabella replied.

“Great! Now we can get some gossip on the chief.”

Isabella smiled. Her brother had always had his share of female admirers.

“Your brother is a man of mystery,” Kara said. “He’s friendly, but no one gets too close.”

“He has to keep a professional distance,” Charlotte put in.

“Is that what you call the distance you two have been keeping?” Kara teased.

Charlotte blushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And you’re going to give Isabella the wrong idea. Your brother and I are just friends. He’s married—well, he was married, and I always respected that,” she said firmly.

Isabella had seen the way the two of them had looked at each other the night of her accident. Maybe there had been nothing going on in the past, but she wondered if it would stay that way.

“Okay, are we done talking about you and your nonexistent relationship with the chief?” Lauren asked. “Because we need to discuss my bachelorette party.”

Charlotte’s and Kara’s jaws dropped in unison.

“What?

“Are you serious?”

“When?”

“How?”

The questions shot out from Charlotte and Kara while Lauren stood with a giddy smile on her face.

“Shane officially proposed,” she said finally, her eyes tearing up. “In the tree house.”

“That’s the best my brother could do?” Kara asked in disbelief. “And you actually said yes?”

“It was romantic,” Lauren defended. “And sexy, too.”

Kara immediately put up a hand. “Please, I don’t want to know what happened after you said yes. My nephews play up there.”

“When’s the date?” Charlotte asked. “And by the way, I am so happy for you.”

“Thank you,” Lauren said. “We want to get married around Christmas or New Year’s. It won’t be a long engagement, because I need my dad to walk me down the aisle. I want him to know who he is and who I am when he does it.” Lauren glanced at Isabella. “My father has Alzheimer’s, so time is of the essence.”

“I’m happy for you,” Isabella said.

“This calls for a celebration,” Kara declared. “Let’s go to Murray’s. I have a babysitter until ten, so I have another half hour, and we’re out of wine here.”

“I’m in,” Lauren said. “Shane went to the bar to tell Michael and whoever else was there; we can join them.”

“I wish I could come, but I have to get home,” Charlotte said with regret. “My mother is watching Annie’s baby, and my time is up.”

“Isabella?” Kara asked.

“Oh,” she said with a start as their gazes turned to her. “Are you sure you don’t want to celebrate on your own?”

“Don’t be silly,” Lauren said. “It’s Friday night. You don’t have anything better to do, do you? Besides, you still haven’t told us any good gossip about your brother.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any. Joe isn’t big on sharing.”

“Come with us anyway,” Kara said. “We’ll introduce you around. Lauren and I know a lot of people—even a few attractive single men, if you’re interested.”

“I’m always interested,” she said. “But I’m not planning to stay in Angel’s Bay.”

“That’s what they all say.” Kara exchanged a warm grin with Lauren. “But sometimes love gets in the way.”

Kara and Lauren talked all the way to the bar. It was clear they’d known each other for a long time and had a deep friendship that was now going to be tied by blood when Lauren married Kara’s brother. Their closeness reminded Isabella that she’d let a lot of her friends go—or they’d let her go.

Before she’d realized that telling people she had visions would freak them out, she’d tried sharing her secret, but it had always backfired. Her friends grew nervous or became guarded in her presence, the relationship turning awkward, then eventually ending. As she got older, she’d learned to hide that part of herself. With Kara and Lauren, there didn’t appear to be any secrets, and she felt a wistful yearning for an unconditional relationship like theirs.

Murray’s Bar was crowded. They made their way through the standing-room-only bar to see the band that was rocking the joint. Isabella felt a tingle of anticipation that seemed inexplicable until her gaze came to rest on one of the band members. It was Nick. And he was jamming on the guitar like a rock star.

Her jaw dropped in amazement. Gone was the controlled suited-up architect. In his place was a hot guy in faded jeans and an open button-down shirt over a black T-shirt. He looked younger, wilder, sexier, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Is that Nick Hartley?” Lauren asked with surprise in her voice. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“He’s been in and out of town for the last decade, but he just came back with his teenage daughter a few weeks ago,” Kara said, raising her voice so she could be heard over the music. “He’s still really good, isn’t he?”

He was very good, Isabella thought, watching the way his fingers moved on the strings. A shiver ran through her as she remembered his hands on her earlier, his tongue sweeping through her mouth, his fingers running through her hair, his body so beautifully strong and hard. A rush of heat swept through her. She’d gotten a taste of the fire burning behind his cool exterior, but now she could see it a lot closer to the surface. Nick was feeling the music with his heart and his soul. He never let down his guard when he spoke, but when he played, it was all there.

He looked out at the crowd, his eyes meeting hers. She clung to his gaze for a long moment, everyone else fading into the background. She was so caught up in him that it took her a second to realize that the music had stopped, and the rush of noise was applause. The crowd shifted as the band took a break, and Nick was lost to her view. She let out a breath of relief, feeling shaken by the intense connection she felt to him and the rampant desire to get naked with him and lose herself in his arms, his eyes, and his touch.

Her cheeks warmed, and she fanned her face with her hand.

Kara gave her a smile. “It’s pretty hot in here, isn’t it?”

She nodded, hoping that Kara hadn’t picked up on the look between her and Nick, but judging by the gleam in her eyes, she had. Fortunately, Lauren drew Kara’s attention away from her.

“There’s Shane,” Lauren said with excitement, grabbing Kara’s hand. “Let’s go see my fiancé. God, I love saying that!”

Isabella followed Kara and Lauren to the bar, where she was introduced to Shane Murray. He was a dark, attractive man with a rough edge to him. He looked like someone who worked with his hands and spent a lot of time outdoors. He was quite different from Kara, who had dark red hair and fair skin.

But whatever rough edges Shane had, they immediately softened when he saw Lauren. He stood up, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her close to him, giving her a smile that was pure love.

“Shane, I can’t believe you proposed in the tree house,” Kara scolded him. “That’s not romantic.”

“It’s our place,” he said with an unrepentant smile.

“And it was very romantic,” Lauren added. “Shane, I want you to meet Isabella Silveira, Joe’s sister. She’s new in town.”

Shane extended his hand. “Nice to meet you. What are you all drinking? Michael is buying.”

“That was the first round, big brother,” the bartender said. “Hey, Kara. I saw Colin in here earlier. Since when aren’t you two attached at the hip?”

“Since I had an event at the quilt shop and Colin decided to play cards with Jason and some other guys. I’ll take a red wine. Isabella?”

“Same,” she replied.

“Michael is my youngest brother,” Kara explained as her brother went to get their drinks. “Patrick is the oldest; he doesn’t live in Angel’s Bay. And I have a younger sister, Dee, making me the middle child.”

“Poor baby,” Shane teased. “It makes no difference where you landed in the lineup. You run the family, and you know it.”

“Well, someone has to,” she retorted.

As Kara quizzed Shane on his wedding plans, the band began to play again. A female singer stepped up to the microphone with a poignant melody of love and loss. She had a good voice, but Isabella barely heard her. She was completely tuned in to Nick. She loved the intensity with which he played, the total surrender of control to the emotion in the music. Was there anyplace else where he felt as free to let go? She doubted it.

Kara handed her a glass of wine. “Nick was a heartbreaker in high school,” she said. “What girl can resist a guy who plays the guitar?”

Isabella smiled. “It is quite appealing.”

“And Nick is very attractive. He’s changed a lot, though. Not in a bad way,” Kara quickly added. “He used to ride motorcycles with Shane, cut school, drink, and God knows what else. I guess he finally grew up. Having a kid tends to do that to you.”

“Yes,” Isabella murmured, only half listening to Kara. Nick’s gaze had found hers again, and she had the crazy feeling he was playing just for her.

When the song ended, Nick handed the guitar to another guy and slowly made his way toward the bar, stopped frequently by people complimenting him on his performance.

Eventually, he ended up in front of her. Kara and Lauren greeted him with hugs and rave reviews of his performance, which he brushed off with a disarming smile. She hadn’t seen him look so relaxed, so happy. As the conversation flowed easily, Nick’s gaze occasionally caught hers and every single time she felt her heart skip.

Finally, Kara announced that her babysitting time was up and she was heading home. Shane and Lauren were engaged in conversation with other friends, so Isabella decided to make her exit, as well.

“I’ll walk you both out,” Nick said.

She nodded, feeling a tingle of anticipation. She was glad for Kara’s presence. The way she was feeling tonight, being alone with Nick was probably a bad idea.

“I’m parked just around the corner,” Kara said as they left the bar. “I’m fine on my own.”

“What about you, Isabella?” Nick asked.

“Over on Elm Street,” she replied. “I didn’t know where I’d be going when I came into town, so I just parked at the bottom of the hill.”

“We’ll walk Kara to her car, and then I’ll walk you to yours.”

“That isn’t necessary—” Isabella stopped as she and Kara said the same thing at the same time.

“Relax, ladies, I’ve got it covered.”

“It was good to see you playing again,” Kara said as they started to walk. “I’d forgotten how good you were, Nick.”

“I’d forgotten how rusty I was,” he said. “I hit some bad notes.”

“No one could tell. Where’s your daughter tonight?”

“Babysitting for my cousin Colleen.”

“Sounds very responsible.”

“She has her moments.”

As they turned the corner, Kara paused by a minivan. “This is me. Thanks for the escort, Nick. Isabella, I hope I’ll see you soon.”

“Good night,” Isabella said.

They waited until Kara drove off before continuing down the street. Nick paused as they approached the Java Hut. “Coffee smells good. Want to stop?”

She really should say no, but instead she said, “That sounds great.”

Nick held open the door for her, and she walked into a small, warm café that smelled like coffee beans and vanilla. They ordered lattes from the teenage clerk and sat down to wait for their order. The quiet was nice after the raucous atmosphere in the bar.

“You were really good back there,” she said. “I had no idea you were so talented. When did you learn to play?”

“I was six or seven when I picked up my dad’s guitar. It was love at first sight.”

“Did you ever think about playing professionally?”

“Oh, yeah. I was going to be a rock star, but that didn’t work out.”

She smiled, tilting her head to study him. “You’re different tonight—less tense.”

“Music always relaxed me. It was fun to let loose and escape into that world. I’d forgotten what it was like.”

“Tell me more about your guitar-playing days.”

“I played in a band in high school. We performed at the school dances, town festivals, whatever gig was going on. We planned to tour and make an album after we graduated. But in my senior year, my parents moved us to Chicago for four months to do a play. By the time I got back, the band had another guitar player, and I was out.”

“You couldn’t find another band?”

“Other things got in the way not too long after that.”

“Megan.”

He nodded. “Kendra’s pregnancy was a big detour.” He got up to retrieve their coffees, then sat back down, sliding her cup across the table. “So, enough about me—what’s your story, Isabella? What are the Silveiras all about?”

She took a sip of coffee. “Well, I’m the youngest of five kids. My mother is Irish; my father is Hispanic. They fight and love with energy and passion. There’s never a dull moment.”

“Joe is the oldest?”

“Yes, and I have three sisters, as well. According to my parents, I was a happy accident, but I wasn’t ever sure they were all that happy about my arrival. As soon as I hit kindergarten, my mom was off. She didn’t want to volunteer on the playground or help out in the classroom or be the troop leader, like she did with my older siblings. She’d put her time in, and she was done. I couldn’t really blame her.”

“Couldn’t you?” he asked thoughtfully.

She tipped her head. “I can’t say I was never angry or that I didn’t occasionally feel shortchanged, but maybe that’s true for every youngest kid. There’s always less excitement when you come along. You should see how many photo albums there are of Joe and my older sisters. They must have taken a thousand pictures of them doing practically nothing. But of me, not so many,” she said with a small sigh. “Yet I feel bad for even implying that I didn’t have a good childhood, because I did. And my parents are great people, well respected, very loved in the community. I have nothing to complain about.”