Lavender Beach (28 page)

“No, you’ll see, your toes will rock along with the rest of you. You’re not nervous anymore, are you?”

“Maybe a little. Not nearly as much though, not since I settled on a clear-cut topic. Thanks to you.”

“Shelby’s pestering me to invite you over for Sunday dinner.”

“What’s wrong with that? Working with Shelby and Landon, I’ve discovered that as bosses go they’re two of the best, fair, even funny at times. You don’t slack off with Landon though. He spends most of his time in the greenhouse fiddling with propagation. But when he wants that warehouse organized, watch out. He sort of reminds me of my own dad that way.”

“I’m sure I disappointed Landon by not taking to digging in the dirt the way he wanted me to. I’m glad Caleb was around to follow in those footsteps.”

She ran a hand over his. “That must be why Landon and Shelby have your photographs plastered from one end of the office to the other. Obviously, I’ve never been inside their house, but tell me I’m wrong to think it’s the same way there.”

“You’re not wrong. But they are my family. They wouldn’t want to hurt my feelings by hiding them in the closet, especially after the boxes full of my pictures I sent them, it would be rude not to display my work.”

“Please. They’re so proud of you they could bust.” She caught the worry on his face. “What’s eating at you? Don’t deny it,” she warned. “You helped me earlier when I needed it. Now tell me what’s troubling you.”

“Eleanor keeps calling me. She won’t leave me alone.”

“From prison?”

“She calls collect.”

A memory flicked through her brain from that day on the cliff. She’d seen for herself how upset the calls made him. “We’ll call the prison. Even if it means getting some of her privileges taken away. She shouldn’t be allowed to harass you. That’s wrong. If calling the warden or whoever, if that doesn’t work, then we’ll go to Kinsey and get her to go through legal channels to get Eleanor to stop.”

He rolled on top of her, pinned her under him. “I didn’t even think of doing that. You’re more than beautiful. You’re savvy and smart. The kind that makes me want to do all manner of things to you.”

She tilted her head, sizing him up. “Then you’d better show me whatcha got, Renaissance boy. I have a big day tomorrow.”

Walking through the
doors at Pelican Pointe Elementary, Eastlyn thought back to her own last days of school; lots of them popped into mind. That breath of summer waiting beyond those double doors, waiting for you to fling them open and run as far away from routine lessons as you could get, a chance to let yourself go for three whole months.

Today there were echoes of laughing children. Voices of conversations whirred around her. The buzz droned in her ear as she strutted into the hallway wearing a summery silk dress in blue and gold, the wedge sandals on her feet decidedly making a statement, and her prosthetic prominently displayed for all to see.

The outfit was more than a splash of color. It made her feel feminine, even powerful.

But the feeling was short-lived when she took a look at the size of the crowd. It seemed everyone in town had decided to show up.

A jumble of nerves warred in her stomach and made her regret forcing down one of the blueberry muffins Jordan had included in the gift basket she’d sent over the day before. The coffee she’d consumed wanted to make its own reappearance.

Outside the auditorium, Lilly Pierce greeted her with a smile and a stunned look on her face. “I’ve only seen you in jeans and pants. You look amazing in that dress, like a different person.”

“That’s the idea,” Eastlyn said with a grin. “But it doesn’t help if I’m unable to form a thought.”

“You’ll be fine. Wally was nervous before going through his spiel, too. Don’t worry. These kids will love you.”

She recognized most of the other speakers lined up on the dais. When it came her turn she walked to the center of the stage, adjusted the microphone for her height and stood with her spine straight and proud. She looked out into the sea of young, fresh faces, took a deep breath and thought of her father right before catching sight of Cooper standing in the back of the auditorium.

Maybe it was seeing his face that caused a calm to move over her. Whatever it was, she began in simple fashion.

“Hello. My name’s Eastlyn Parker and I used to fly Black Hawk helicopters, specifically medevac missions for the army. The first time I flew, though, was in the cockpit of a Piper Super Cub, a lowly crop duster. My father sat at the controls. It was so noisy we could barely hear each other talk. But every time I went up with him and settled into that seat next to him, I’d beg him to let me take over. I wanted to fly so high I could touch the clouds. I must’ve pleaded two dozen times to no avail until one day he let me handle the stick. Or maybe he simply pretended to turn the controls over to me. Whichever it was, I made the most of it. I was thirteen. From that moment on I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to fly more than anything else. While other girls went the beauty queen route, I kept to my goal. I so wanted to take that trip to the moon and back. I never made it there. But you can. Anyone in this room can set their sights on becoming an astronaut, a pilot, whatever you choose. Because, if I can fly, anyone here can achieve their dream.”

Cooper stood at the back watching her body language. The joy on her face practically lit up the room as she talked about doing what she loved. It occurred to him then that it had been stripped away without warning.

The invitation to
have dinner at Landon and Shelby’s didn’t wait for Sunday.

Friday afternoon Eastlyn had been running the forklift inside the warehouse when Shelby waved her to a stop.

“There’s been a change in plans. Could you guys make it Saturday night instead of Sunday? Caleb and Drea are both free then and I’d like to make it a family event.”

“Did you run it by Cooper?” Eastlyn asked.

“I did and he said to check with you.”

“Sure. No problem.”

Her quick response proved to be the first in a series of events that came back to haunt Eastlyn later. But then Cooper had warned her that family dynamics could change into a minefield in a heartbeat.

The evening started out well enough on Saturday night when at precisely seven on the dot they pulled into the circular driveway in front of the Jennings home at the northwest corner of Landings Bay. It was the last house at the end of the block.

Four fluted Greek-style columns welcomed them onto a long porch with all the charm of a grand southern colonial. The place looked so much like an antebellum estate that Eastlyn thought she even smelled magnolias from the walled garden next to the portico.

Without ringing the bell, Cooper lifted the handle on the front door and ushered her into an entry hall with a parlor on one side and a dining room across from that. The furnishings were an odd mix of old world charm and country comfortable.

Caleb met them at the door to the living room. He tugged on Cooper’s sleeve to hold him back for a minute longer while Shelby latched onto Eastlyn. While Eastlyn was pulled into the living room where Drea already sat with a glass of wine in her hand, Caleb kept a hold on Cooper’s arm.

Once the women had drifted deeper into the interior of the room, Caleb leaned in, whispered into Cooper’s ear, “Why didn’t you let me know that you were getting calls from the prison?”

Cooper stared at his brother. “How do you know that?”

“Because Eleanor calls me at least three times every day. I figure she’s bound to be calling you as well.”

“Damn it, why won’t she get the message and leave us alone? Have you taken her calls?”

Caleb shot a look back at Cooper. “Are you nuts? I have nothing to say to the woman. I can’t figure out how she got my number though.”

“Look, we’ll talk about this later. I don’t want to ruin Shelby’s dinner by bringing up Eleanor’s crazy stuff.”

“Okay, fine, but Eleanor’s crazy shit has to stop. So you promise me that we talk about this tonight before you leave.”

Across the room, Shelby handed Eastlyn a glass of white wine. “I hear that you hit the ball out of the park with your speech at school.”

Eastlyn scowled, but then her face broke out into a wide smile, beginning to relax. “I wouldn’t say I rocked it exactly, but I did manage to move my mouth enough that coherent words flowed out without freezing up. So, all in all, I guess it was a win on my part.”

Landon entered the room with a tray of cheesy stuffed mushrooms. “Try these. They’re delicious. My own recipe.”

Cooper walked to the bar, poured a shot of bourbon, doing his best to act nonchalant.

But Eastlyn could tell whatever Caleb had said to him upon entering, had sent his good mood south.

Thank goodness Drea transformed the charged air into another topic. “I’m starting to feel guilty about ending things with Zach in the middle of all his issues.”

Cooper popped one of Landon’s appetizers in his mouth, roamed the room. “Guilt is never a good reason to keep a relationship going.”

“Was it working out, Drea?” Eastlyn asked her. “Because unless it was a relationship worth saving…”

Drea twisted her hands together. “No, you’re right. It wasn’t working. Not even a little bit. By the time I packed up and left, it had been bad for six months or more before I actually got the nerve to leave.”

Cooper raised his glass of whiskey. “Then you shouldn’t question the decision. How is Zach doing anyway?”

“Not good. You were right, by the way. I talked to Bree and Doc Prescott says he’s suffering from clinical depression, probably has been for years. Zach ended up in Santa Cruz for an evaluation. The doctors there agreed with his diagnosis and put him on a drug called lurasidone. But Bree says he doesn’t like taking it.”

Cooper set his drink down. “That’s the problem with people diagnosed with depressive disorders. They start feeling better in a short amount of time and decide the meds aren’t really necessary. So they stop taking them and go right back into the paranoid delusional state they were in.”

Drea got to her feet, went to the window to look out on the side garden. “That sounds like a terrible state for Zach to be in. It sounds like a vicious cycle. You have to believe that there was a time I truly cared for him, even thought I loved him. We’d talked about…”

Eastlyn went to her, put an arm around her shoulder. “No one’s blaming you. What Zach needs right now is his family. From what Cooper says, Bree and Troy are there for him. Zach has his. You have yours. You have to stop beating yourself up because it didn’t work out.”

Shelby picked up that refrain. “We’re all here for you, honey. You know that. You’re not to take the breakup so hard. You and that Tucker Ferguson even went out after the Memorial Day festivities. You told us you had a nice time with him.”

“I did have a nice time. We went to dinner at The Pointe but…”

Caleb cut in. “What’s the deal with Tucker anyway? Does he take after his old man?”

Cooper noticed Drea bristle and her defensiveness kick in. The fireworks at the pier were lame compared to Drea’s temper.

“There’s no reason to treat him like that. I happen to like Tucker. I don’t understand why people are so hard on him just because his father had a reputation for being the town cheapskate.”

“More like the resident asshole,” Caleb intoned. “Don’t believe me. Ask Landon. Joe Ferguson used to try to raise the price of our lumber order every other month. The only reason the old man didn’t was because Landon threatened to take his business elsewhere.”

Sensing an argument brewing between siblings, Shelby put her foot down. “No squabbling allowed before dinner.”

“Who’s squabbling?” Caleb asked. “Has anyone else been getting calls from the prison?”

Cooper glowered at his younger brother. “I thought we agreed to table this discussion until later after we ate.” He glanced over at Shelby. “I told him to wait.”

“I knew something was causing tension between all of you tonight,” Shelby admitted. “I’m going to check on dinner.”

When she’d left the room, Cooper turned on Caleb. “Couldn’t you have waited? Couldn’t you tell that Shelby was looking forward having us all here this evening? Sometimes you really are a jerk.”