With no job and more time on her hands than she really needed or wanted, in addition to the fact that there was ten million dollars dangling in front of her face, she had returned to Catalina Cove to attend the zoning board meeting and plead her case, although the thought of doing so was a bitter pill to swallow. When she’d left the cove she’d felt she didn’t owe the town or its judgmental people anything and likewise, they didn’t owe her a thing. Now fourteen years later she was back and to her way of thinking Catalina Cove did owe her something. The right to sell her land to whomever she wanted and for them to build whatever they wanted on the land.
“Welcome to New Orleans. What kind of car would you like to rent today?”
Vashti smiled at the young college-aged woman behind the counter. “Umm, what do you have?”
“A couple of sedans, some midsize vehicles and a couple of SUVs. And if you feel like being daring, we even have a two-seater sports car.”
“A sports car?”
“Yes, a candy apple red Corvette. It was ordered for one of the NFL players who had to cancel his flight.”
“A Corvette...” That was her dream car. She didn’t need a car to get around in New York since she lived in the city and the subway worked just fine for her. But she would love getting behind the wheel of a ’vette. “And it’s red?”
The young woman smiled. “Yes, and a convertible. It’s a beautiful March day to have the top down while cruising. I give you fair warning. My father is a police officer and he said red cars, especially convertibles, stick out like a sore thumb. You’re liable to get a speeding ticket if you even go one mile per hour over the speed limit.”
Vashti chuckled. “Thanks for the warning but I have no intention of speeding.”
* * *
“PLEASE, DAD...”
Sawyer Grisham drew in a deep breath, wondering at what point he would be able to give his daughter a firm no and truly mean it. She had the ability to wrap him around her finger and he had a feeling she knew it. With this particular request of hers he knew that he needed to turn her down, but...
“I’ll think about it, Jadelyn.” She knew whenever he called her by her full name that meant there wouldn’t be any more discussion on the subject until he decided to have it.
“Thanks, Dad. You’re the greatest. Love you.”
He shook his head, grinning when he clicked off the phone. Of course she would have to end the call like that. Like he’d already given his permission for her to get a job this summer. She could spend her summer doing volunteer work at either the hospital or animal shelter, but as far as he was concerned she didn’t need a job. He gave her a weekly allowance and a pretty darn generous one. All she needed to do was continue to make good grades in school. She would have plenty of time for employment later in life.
Sighing deeply, he pushed back the seat in his patrol car and stretched his legs out. This was the part of his job that he didn’t mind doing since it got him away from behind his desk and out of the office. He loved this expanse of highway that connected New Orleans to Catalina Cove. The picturesque scenery made the drive one of the most pleasant he’d ever known. Giant oak trees lined both sides of the highway and through the low hanging branches you could see the sea marshes.
The closer you got to Catalina Cove, the highway merged from four lanes to two and even more tall oaks were perfectly strung along the roadway, providing a countryside effect. In this particular area that he loved, a cluster of the huge tree limbs joined to form a canopy. This was the spot where he would park under the shade of huge trees, hidden from sight off the highway to clock speeders. On occasion he would steal away here just to clear his mind, think about important matters and to put a number of things in perspective. Right now the main thing on his mind was that his daughter would probably start dating soon. So far she hadn’t mentioned anything about it and he definitely was not going to put any ideas in her head.
He needed to call his office to remind Trudy Caldwell, his office manager, to make sure the Miller file was on his desk when he got back, which wouldn’t be too long. So far he’d issued six speeding tickets and had been here only a few hours. Didn’t anyone feel compelled to abide by the speed limit anymore? And some of the excuses they made while trying to talk their way out of a ticket were just downright ridiculous. As sheriff he expected people to operate within the confines of the law and not the other way around.
It was hard to believe he’d been sheriff in Catalina Cove for four years already. When he’d accepted the job and relocated here, Jade had been twelve. Not once had she complained about moving from their home in Nevada to Louisiana, although she’d left her friends behind. They’d decided to look at the move as an adventure. Thankfully, because of Jade’s outgoing and bubbly nature, she’d quickly made new friends.
Leaving Reno was necessary in order to move on with their lives after losing Johanna. Cancer had claimed her exactly three months to the day she’d noticed the discoloration of a mole on her thigh. He would never forget the day he’d gotten that call at the FBI headquarters where he worked as an agent. In a teary voice Johanna had told him the results of the biopsy. It had come back as cancer, already at stage four. It seemed once the diagnosis was made the condition worsened, and he had buried his wife on the day that would have been her thirtieth birthday.
He pushed from his mind thoughts of Johanna. Even after over four years they were too painful to dwell on. He was about to reach for his phone to call Trudy when a car sped by. The driver was clocked doing sixty in a fifty-five-miles-an-hour zone.
Pulling his patrol car onto the highway, he flipped on his flashing red-and-blue lights and siren as he took off behind the speeding red Corvette convertible.
* * *
VASHTI HAD THE radio on full blast while singing along with Beyoncé, belting out her newest hit. This was a perfect day to drive with the top down. March was about to roll into April with spring-like days. The midday sun wasn’t too hot and the breeze was just right. She loved the feel of her hair blowing in the wind, and wished somehow her problems could be blown away as easily. If she had to return to Catalina Cove she might as well make the drive fun. She would admit this car had a lot of power. Already she’d made it to the outskirts of town and should be reaching her destination soon.
She glanced in her rearview mirror and saw the flashing red-and-blue lights and immediately turned down the volume on the radio. That’s when she heard the siren. Where had the police officer come from and how long had they been following her? She pulled to the shoulder of the road and he pulled off the road behind her.
Vashti wondered why she’d gotten stopped. Annoyed, she tapped her hand on the steering wheel and when the police officer reached her car, she looked at him. OMG. She was convinced she was staring up into the most handsome face she’d seen in a long time. And on top of that, a snap of sexual awareness she hadn’t felt in years rocked her to the bone.
He was so tall and she thought there was something magnetic about those dark brown eyes that were staring back at her. It took her a minute to notice his lips were moving, which meant he’d been talking. What on earth had he said? She’d been too busy concentrating on the shape of his lips.
“Excuse me, Officer. Could you repeat that?”
He gave her an irritated look. “I asked why you didn’t stop when you heard my siren?”
“I didn’t hear your siren probably because I had the radio on full blast. Sorry about that.”
“Your license please.”
“Sure.” She then went into her purse and pulled out her