“And what would you like to drink?”
“Iced tea is fine,” he said, putting a few bills on the counter. “And grab me a few of Deb’s blueberry muffins to take home to Jade.” His daughter loved them and Deb’s were the best.
“How’s Jade? I haven’t seen her in a while.”
That’s the one thing he had to get used to in a small town. Practically everybody knew each other. “She’s fine. Finishing up her sophomore year of high school and already looking forward to the fall when she’ll be a junior.”
“Boy. I remember when the two of you first moved to town. Hard to believe she’ll be leaving in a couple of years for college.”
He didn’t like to be reminded of that, especially since he knew Jade planned to attend school in Reno. That was the deal they’d made when they’d moved here. When it was time for college she could return to Nevada.
A few minutes later he sat down with his food in hand. By habit he rarely sat with his back to any door and selected a table that faced the entrance. He figured it was the former FBI agent in him. This particular table suited him just fine because he had the ability to see whoever entered long before they noticed him.
A short while later he stopped eating when Bryce Witherspoon walked in with the driver of that little red Corvette, Vashti Alcindor. He had a feeling Kaegan and Bryce had history. He’d derived that assumption from their body language whenever they were within a few feet of each other. Kaegan never said and he’d never asked.
He took in both women but his full concentration quickly moved to Vashti Alcindor as his gaze swept over her from head to toe. In the very spot where she was standing, while the brilliance of sunlight shined directly on her, she looked simply gorgeous. It had been a long time since he’d bestowed such a description on any woman but he would in this case. She deserved it.
While she was sitting in that car yesterday he’d only seen so much of her. Now he was seeing it all and he liked what he saw. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. So he didn’t, although maybe he should. No woman since Johanna had held his attention like Vashti was doing now.
Both women were wearing shorts and tops, and his gaze sharpened as it roamed over her legs. They were a long and sleek pair that was perfect with her curvaceous hips and thighs. She was well toned and he knew a body as shapely as hers was the benefit of an active physical regime. More than likely she had a membership in one of those fitness centers in New York. You didn’t get a figure like hers just eating and sleeping.
Unlike yesterday when her hair had been down and flying in the wind, today it was pulled back in a ponytail and the style made her look younger. She could easily pass for a college coed instead of the thirty-two-year-old that he knew that she was.
His gaze went back to her face, an image he’d thought about after he’d gone to bed. A first for him there as well. He had been married to Johanna for twelve years and during that entire time hadn’t looked twice at another woman. Why was he trying to make up for lost time and why with this woman?
He watched her smile as she hurried across the floor when Chester came from behind the counter to engulf her in a huge bear hug. Even from where he sat Sawyer could see tears forming in her eyes and had to momentarily look away from such an emotional reunion. If what Trudy had said was true, and he had no reason to believe it wasn’t, this was Ms. Alcindor’s first time back to the cove in fourteen years. That was a long time not to come back home. Hell, at least she had a hometown to return to if she’d chosen to do so. He didn’t.
He drew in a deep breath, not wanting to think about his childhood. His birth certificate claimed he’d been born in Dallas but he had been sent to live in a foster home with a family residing in Waco before his first birthday when his unwed mother had given him up for adoption. He recalled being sent from one foster home to another, even crossing state lines to do so. At sixteen he’d been taken in by a good Christian couple. John and Edith Fairchild had been too old to even think about raising a teenager. But they had and he would always appreciate their good deeds. To repay them for their kindness he got good grades in school and worked hard to stay out of trouble.
He had gone straight from high school to the military. He hadn’t been enlisted a year when he’d received word that Mrs. Edith had passed away in her sleep. He had returned home for the funeral only to have Mr. John die the following year from pneumonia.
When he’d come home for Mr. John’s funeral, he’d had to deal with the man’s long-lost brother who’d shown up to claim everything, and make sure Sawyer didn’t get anything. He’d gone to a bar the night of the funeral to drown his sorrows and he’d met Johanna.
Laughter made him look back to see Ms. Debbie and her two sons rush from the back to give Ms. Alcindor huge hugs as well. It was obvious everyone was glad to see her, which meant not everyone in town had thought ill of her. Hearing her story had made him think of his biological mother. He’d heard she’d also had him at a young age and had given him up for adoption. Only thing, the adoption never happened. He’d been born with a severe breathing disorder and had to spend a lot of time in the hospital before finally outgrowing it. No one had wanted what they thought to be a sickly baby.
He wasn’t sure why Vashti Alcindor chose that moment to glance over in his direction. When their gazes connected a sudden jolt of heat vibrated between them. He felt it and knew she had to feel it as well. The surprised expression on her face indicated as much. It also revealed she was just as stunned by it as he was.
He wanted to break eye contact with her but for some reason he couldn’t. Not when a ripple of desire rushed through him, making him glad he was sitting down. Had he been standing he would have felt weak in the knees. What he was feeling was another first. He’d never felt an intense longing for a woman just from looking at her. As if breaking from the spell surrounding them, she returned her attention to the people around her. Shaking off whatever had passed between them, he drew in a deep breath trying to get his mind back on track. He fought the temptation to steal a look at her as he finished eating.
A short while later, temptation that had been gnawing at his insides made him glance across the room to see she was sitting at a booth with Bryce. Standing, he cleared the trash off the table while thinking he didn’t like being attracted to her. He didn’t like it one damn bit.
He tossed the trash away before strolling to the door. Without his consent, his eyes looked to Vashti Alcindor again and the moment his gaze connected with hers, he couldn’t stop the half smile that curved his lips when he tipped his hat at her before walking out of the café.
VASHTI SLOWLY DREW in a deep breath while trying to ignore the flutter in her stomach as she continued to stare at the door Sheriff Sawyer Grisham had walked out of. If a half smile from him could cause her body to react the way it had, she didn’t want to think what a full smile would do.
Damn it. Why did he have to look so good even with a gun and holster around his hips and a badge of the law on his chest? Just knowing he’d given her a speeding ticket yesterday should have made him a total turnoff, but instead she’d found him a total turn-on.
And hadn’t Bryce said the hot sheriff was already involved with someone? A woman living in New Orleans? On top of that, she would be leaving Catalina Cove in another day. She would be leaving tomorrow if Bryce hadn’t made her feel guilty and talked her into staying another night. She had changed her flight to Friday to accommodate her best friend’s plea.
“I guess now that Sheriff Grisham has left, I can claim all of your attention,” Bryce said, as a corner of her mouth teased into a smile. “I need a fan to cool things off.”
Vashti