Chapter Two
THERE WERE ABOUT a million things Bella loved about spending summers at Seaside, but two of her favorites were spending eight weeks with her best friends and waking to the hoarse cawing of crows. Most people hated the annoying squawks that began the moment the dawn settled around them. It was a sound so unique to her summers at the Cape that Bella reveled in it, and on sunny mornings like today, she welcomed it. She’d spent much of last night thinking about—then trying not to think about—the undeniable shock of heat she’d felt the moment she’d looked into police officer Caden Grant’s eyes. She took a sip of her coffee and kicked her feet up on the edge of the table.
“Hey, babe.” Jenna joined Bella on the deck. Like Bella, she was still wearing her pajama top and had slipped on a pair of cute cotton shorts over her underwear. That was another thing Bella loved about Seaside. Since the cottages had been in their families for years, they’d spent summers together since they were knee high. Hanging out in their pajamas felt normal.
“Shh. Theresa just opened her front door. She hasn’t seen the toilet yet.” Bella’s cottage faced the laundry building and what they called the big house, which was the original house on the property before it was subdivided and cottages were built. Theresa lived in the big house, and after they were busted by Officer Grant, they’d wrapped up the evening by placing the toilet in Theresa’s driveway.
“There she is.” Jenna sat beside Bella.
Theresa stepped outside with her arms extended in a wide stretch. Her polo shirt was neatly tucked into her tan shorts, and her short, layered hair was perfectly combed. She waved to Bella and Jenna.
“Morning, ladies.”
“Morning,” they said in unison as they waved back.
Theresa was in her early fifties, and her life was a bit of a mystery to Bella and her friends. Even though they’d known her for years, they didn’t know much about her except that she was an attorney. She was congenial, despite the fact that she’d taken on the position of property manager and queen rule enforcer, but in general, she kept to herself and rarely joined them for community barbeques and gatherings.
“Here it comes,” Jenna said under her breath.
Theresa cocked her head to the side, craned her neck forward, and squinted at the toilet. She took a few tentative steps forward. She walked around the toilet and shook her head. She looked up and narrowed her eyes in their direction. Her hands settled on her hips.
“Uh-oh,” Jenna whispered.
Bella wasn’t discriminatory in her pranking. She’d pranked every one of her friends, including the community and pool maintenance guy, who came by every few days to clean out the pool and who was the focus of Jenna’s crush. Bella’s pranks were relatively harmless, like adding bubbles to the pool or freezing all of Jenna’s bras while she was asleep. Her summer pranks were usually met with a laugh and an eye roll, but she’d never gotten a rise out of Theresa.
Theresa spun on her heels and stomped inside.
“Wow, that was quite a reaction,” Bella said with a sarcastic tone. She sipped her coffee.
Jenna grabbed her arm.
Theresa stomped out of her house with a book tucked under her arm. She made a show of dropping her pants, then sat her bare butt on the toilet and opened her book. She flashed a wide grin in their direction.
Bella spit her coffee out all over the deck. “Holy cow.” She grabbed Jenna’s hand and they turned their backs, laughing uproariously.
“Did you see that?” Jenna had tears pouring down her cheeks.
Bella clung to Jenna’s shoulder. “Is she…Is she still on it?” she said in a loud whisper.
“Hold on…” Jenna glanced over her shoulder. “No!” She laughed again. “She’s standing next to it and looking over. Oh no!” Jenna tightened her grip on Bella’s arm. “Pete’s truck just pulled up and she flagged him down.”
“No way!” Bella covered her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.
Pete handled general property and pool maintenance for Seaside. He was a quiet man by nature, and he’d give a stranger the shirt off his back. He carried the toilet to the dumpster, shaking his head.
Theresa made a show of wiping her hands, then went back into her house.
“Poor Pete. I feel sorry for him. He’s so sweet.” Jenna kicked a foot onto Bella’s lap and watched Pete climb back into his truck.
He waved out the window. “Thanks for that,” he called to them on his way around the cottages to the pool.
“We are so evil,” Jenna said. “Did I mention that Pete is wicked sexy?”
“Do you ever not?” Bella shook her head. “Well, chalk one up for Theresa.”
“Okay, change of subject before I get all hot and bothered thinking about Pete and have to take a cold shower. Speaking of cold showers…You were pretty wired when you finally went inside. Did you sleep okay, or did you dream about getting handcuffed by Officer Sexy?”
“Handcuffs spell commitment to me, so…”
“Bull. You know you dreamed about him. How could you not?” Jenna leaned forward and spoke in a seductive voice. “Six foot something of hard muscle attached to a man who knows how to take control.” She leaned back with a sigh. “Sounds almost perfect to me.”
“Do you even know who you are talking to? Hello? Major rule breaker here.” She pointed to herself with both hands and smiled at Amy when she joined them on the deck. “Me and a cop? No way. Besides, as I said, I need to figure out my life, not find a boyfriend.”
“That doesn’t preclude you from a quick roll in the sand with Officer Hottie.” Amy plopped onto a chair in a pair of flannel pajama pants and a Hello Kitty shirt. The animated kitty had a body like Marilyn Monroe and was sprawled on her side in a seductive pose.
“This coming from Little Miss Proper?” Bella rolled her eyes.
“I am not. I’m just careful about who I sleep with. Besides, it’s not like I don’t want…” She gazed at Tony’s cottage. Tony was the resident hottie. He was a professional surfer and motivational speaker and was too good of a friend to sleep with any of them, much less sweet Amy Maples.
Bella patted her on the arm. “Oh, honey, we know. You’ve spent years wanting that particular piece of hotness. It’s time to move on, don’t you think?”
Amy sighed. “Let’s focus on your love life, not mine.”
“How about we focus on my life aside from men. It’s much more interesting than my nonexistent love life.” She spotted Leanna and Pepper crossing the quad and decided it was time to bite the bullet and tell them about the changes she was making in her life. “Besides, I have to tell you guys something.”
Pepper bounded onto the deck and went directly to Amy, who lowered her face so the puppy could lavish her with kisses.
“How’s my big boy?” Amy crooned.
Leanna stepped onto the deck in cutoffs and a white tank top. Her dark hair cascaded in gentle waves over her shoulders.
“Good morning, girlies. I’m late for the flea market, as always.” The previous summer Leanna had begun a jam-making business, Luscious Leanna’s Sweet Treats, and now she ran the business out of the renovated guest cottage on Kurt’s beachfront property. During the summer she also sold her products at the Wellfleet Flea Market and at other flea markets in the area. “I’m sorry about the window, and I promise to remember next time.” Leanna took a sip of Jenna’s coffee.
“Sure, you’ll remember to close the window,” Jenna said. “Now I’m definitely going to install that window lock on the outside.”
“I really do try to remember. It’s just…” Leanna held her palm up.
“Things come up and you don’t think about it?” Jenna threw her head back and laughed.
“Ha-ha. Who was the hot cop?” Leanna asked.
“Caden Grant. He’s Bella’s,” Amy said.
“He is not mine.” The memory of his big hands on her waist, and the heat of their bodies so close, sent a shudder through her.
“Then why did the air sizzle and pop when you were in his arms?” Amy lifted her brows.
“You guys noticed that too, huh?” Bella covered her face with her hands, then met their curious stares with a serious one. “I’m ignoring that particular, incredible connection for now. No men, no commitments, remember? Besides…” She sat up straighter, steeling herself for the gasps and worry that were sure to follow her admission. “I have bigger things to focus on, like the fact that I quit my job.”
As if on cue, Jenna and Amy gasped.
“You what?” Leanna asked.
“Because of Jay? You two weren’t even serious, and you’ve worked there for five years,” Jenna added.
Bella shook her head. “No, not because of Jay. I mean, that factored into it in a very minor way. It was annoying finishing out the school year and having to see him every day, but my decision about moving is based on more than Jay. My decision about taking a break from men is sort of based on him, though. I don’t need to be lied to again, and I’m beginning to think that men and lying go hand in hand.”
Leanna reached across the table and held her hand. “Oh, Bella, I’m so sorry. What can we do to help?”
“Nothing. I’m good, actually. Leanna, you’re the big reason I decided to throw caution to the wind and quit. You have made such a great life between your jam business and your relationship with Kurt that I thought…” She shrugged. “I’m almost thirty. Why not try to do what I really want to do?”
“I would never base your life on mine, Bella.” Leanna’s voice became serious. “Do you remember how I used to jump from job to job?”
“Yes, but that was you finding your path. This is me finding mine. My new life plan is pretty simple. I’ve lined up a summer job with the Barnstable County School District to develop a work-study program for high school seniors, and if I’m successful, then I’ll get a one-year contract for full-time employment. I know I can make this work, and you know I love the Cape.” Bella was still pissed at herself for dating someone she worked with and jeopardizing her reputation at work, but in the end, Jay’s lying was the perfect impetus for her to start fresh. She had interviewed for a few other teaching positions since the spring, but she hadn’t been interested in any of them, and she hadn’t sent out any applications since the summer began. She was excited about her decision, and every day at the Cape solidified her choice. “I can see by your slack jaws that you’re worried. I promise, Jay was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. I want this change for me.”
“What about your house in Connecticut? Your friends? Come on, Bella. Don’t you think this is a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction?” Jenna asked.
“Maybe in the first second it was, but now it feels like the right decision. My boss did say she’s holding the job in case I change my mind, but the summer project is really exciting. I brought the concept of putting together a work-study to the school board. It’s my baby, my project, and they’re as excited about it as I am. Did you know that the unemployment rate among people under thirty on Cape Cod is pretty high in some areas? It’s only about seven percent around here, but in P-town it’s almost thirty percent. Thirty.”
“That’s crazy high.” Jenna’s eyes widened.
“Yeah, tell me about it. I know it’s probably skewed somehow because it’s a resort town or something, but still. If I can secure a dozen businesses that will commit to hiring twenty-five kids for minimum wage during the school year, with on-the-job training, in positions that can lead to full-time employment after graduation, then the school board will give me a one-year contract. And I know that I can convert that one year into a permanent position once they see how motivated these kids become and how their self-esteem grows, not to mention how their post-graduation opportunities will expand.”
“If anyone can do it, you can,” Amy said. “But what if it doesn’t work?”
Leanna glared at Amy. “If I can make Sweet Treats a successful business, then Bella can create a work-study program. I’m the most disorganized person I know, and Bella is not only organized, but she’s smart and incredibly creative.” She rose to her feet. “I’m proud of you, Bella. No man is worth feeling uncomfortable every day when you go to work.”
“It’s really not because of him, although I did use that as my excuse to my boss because she would try to talk me out of the real reason I want to leave. She’d have wanted me to start a new project there, but you guys, I really want to be here. You know how much I love it here, and now that I’ve taken the plunge and put my plan into action, I don’t want to turn back. All I have to do now is focus on work, which should be easy if I’m not dating.”
“I was just being practical,” Amy explained. “I know Bella is capable of doing it, but you know, anything can happen. What if in two months she’s stuck without a job? I didn’t mean anything bad.”
“I know you didn’t, Ames,” Bella said. “So, now that you know my big news, I have two days of fun before I dive into full-on program development on Monday. Are we still having a bonfire on the beach later?”
“Tony left me a voice mail that he got the permit, so yeah.” Amy smiled as she sipped her coffee.
“One day that man will realize you’re the best thing since crunchy peanut butter, Ames.” Jenna patted her leg. “Bella, on a serious note, are you okay financially? Do you need money?”
Jenna’s offer warmed Bella’s heart. She wasn’t the type of woman to tear up, but if she had been, the compassion in Jenna’s voice and her offer to help surely would have made her. Jenna worked as an elementary school art teacher and lived on a shoestring budget. She could no sooner afford to help Bella financially than she could afford to visit Las Vegas.
“It means the world to me that you would offer, but I have a nest egg, so I should be fine for a while. Besides, once my house sells, I can live here, and if the work-study job doesn’t lead to a full-time position, I can stay here until I find a job, even if it means traveling all over for interviews.”
“You’re really doing it.” Jenna sighed. “I can’t believe it.”
“Yes, I’m really doing it.”
“Well, if it’s what you really want to do, then I think it’s awesome,” Leanna said. “I totally support whatever you want to do.”
“I do, too, of course,” Amy added. “It’s just…Leanna’s always been the gypsy in the group. She could pick up at any time and move without missing a beat, and even Jenna and I are more likely to switch apartments, or cars, or even cities, but Bella’s always been the one who sticks to things. Gee, Bell, I thought you’d live in Connecticut forever.”
Bella reached for her hand and squeezed. “I know, Ames, but this is a good thing. And who knows? Maybe I’ll live here forever. Forever’s a long time, and my gut tells me that my forever should start here.” Spending summers and school breaks at Seaside had always been Bella’s sanity saver. She wondered if she’d enjoy it as much if it were her full-time residence. “How did you like being here during the winter, Leanna? Do you regret your decision to live here full-time?”
Leanna glanced at Kurt setting up his laptop on the deck of her cottage. “I love living at the Cape, and, Bell, I think everything happens for a reason.”
“That’s because you have a hot, rich boyfriend who spends his days pumping out bestselling novels and his nights adoring every inch of your slinky little body.” Jenna raised her coffee in a toast. “To men adoring our bodies.”
The others lifted their coffee cups. “Hear! Hear!” Amy said.
“He does those things, but I believe in fate because it’s real. You’ll see.” Leanna came around the table and hugged Bella.
If Bella dared to believe in fate that would mean she had been fated to date Jay, and if that were true, then she was fated to leave a job and the community in Connecticut that she loved. Even though she was excited about the new job prospect, she had to wonder—if she’d been fated to date him, then what other crappy heartache did fate have in store for her?
CADEN STOOD IN the doorframe of Evan’s bedroom, watching him sleep. At almost fifteen years old, his toes already hung off the foot of the bed. He looked so much like Caden had at that age, with the same mop of chestnut hair and square jaw. He’d even inherited Caden’s cleft chin, which Caden had hated as a kid. He wondered, as he looked at his son, all elbows and knees lying on top of his sheets in his boxers, if he hated it, too. He tried to push away the guilt that pressed in on him for moving Evan away from his friends in Boston, but when his partner of nine years was killed during a robbery, it drove the dangers of his job home.
George Rowe had not only been an excellent cop, but he’d also been Caden’s closest friend. Losing George had been ten times more difficult than the day almost fifteen years earlier, when Caden’s then girlfriend, Caty Lowenstein, had come to his dorm and placed one-week-old Evan in his twenty-year-old arms. She’d said she was leaving town and that she’d signed custody over to him. He’d been in his second year of college and he’d thought he was in love with her. They’d been dating for five months when she found out she was pregnant. After two weeks of arguing—she wanted to abort the baby and Caden begged her not to—she’d disappeared. He didn’t see her again until that fateful day when she set Evan in his arms and took off.
He looked down at his son now, remembering the weight of Evan in his arms and the way he’d turned those serious, trusting, dark eyes up at him. In the blink of an eye, Caden had known he’d never loved Caty, because what he felt for Evan was bigger than anything he’d ever felt in his life. It enveloped him and filled him to his core, leaving no room for anything or anyone else. He’d packed his things and gone home to his parents’ house that night. Evan had been his life ever since.
Until last night, when he’d looked into Bella’s eyes and felt a fissure form in the armor he’d worn for all those years. Since the day he became Evan’s father, he’d never been affected by a woman that way, which is why now, as he watched the boy who had turned his life upside down and taught him what love was, he allowed himself to think about seeing her again.
“Dad?”
Evan’s voice pulled his mind back to the present.
“Hey, buddy. Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“Not really, but it’s kinda creepy that you’re watching me sleep.” He shifted up on his elbow. “Are we still going fishing after your shift?”
Caden had always tried to spend as much time with Evan as he could. Or at least as often as Evan would agree to spend time with him. Teenage angst was clawing its way into their lives, and Caden was doing all he could to keep it from becoming a constant companion.
He ran his eyes over the posters of video and PC game characters on Evan’s walls. When they’d lived in Boston, Evan hadn’t spent much time playing video and PC games, but Caden had noticed that he was playing them more often lately, and he worried that they were serving as a replacement for friends.
“Yeah.” Caden was glad Evan would still go fishing with him, even though he was going through a rough time. “I’ve got the surf rods ready. About six?”
“Sure. Whatever,” Evan said.
Whatever had quickly become one of Caden’s least favorite words. “What are your plans while I’m at work?”
Evan shrugged.
“Want me to come by at lunch and drop you at the beach?”
“I’ve got my bike.” Evan stretched, and his shaggy hair tumbled over his eyes. When they’d lived in Boston, Evan had spent the weekends at skateboard parks, hanging out with his friends doing ollies and kick flips. There was a skate park across from Wellfleet Harbor, and Caden had taken Evan there to check it out when they first moved in, but Evan hadn’t shown any interest in returning.
“Okay, but remember that the cell phones don’t work on the ocean beaches, so call me when you get to the parking lot if you go.”
Evan scrubbed his hand down his face. “Got it, Dad. You tell me the same thing every day. It’s not like I’ll suddenly forget.”
“Whatever,” Caden said with a hint of amusement, earning him a smile from Evan.
Half an hour later Caden was at the police station, working on reports and thinking about the scene that had unfolded at Seaside. He covered his mouth as a soft laugh accompanied the memory of the half-naked women acting like silly teenagers who had snuck out of a slumber party. The laugh quickly turned to heat, coiling like a snake in his belly with the image of Bella in her silky underwear.
What was it about her?
His chief’s voice beckoned him into his office, startling him.
Caden stuck his head through the chief’s doorway. “Chief?”
Chief Bassett was a serious man with tufts of strawberry-blond hair and pinkish skin that reminded Caden of a newborn mouse. He motioned for Caden to sit in a chair across from his desk.
“How’s it going?” Chief Bassett asked.
Caden shrugged. “Fine.”
“Your kid settling in okay?”
The chief had reached out to him several times in a similar friendly manner, checking in in a way that had been rare in the large precinct he’d come from in Boston.
“Yeah. Evan’s doing okay. You know how things are at that age. He’s having a tough time making friends, but I’m hoping that once school starts that’ll sort itself out.” He wrung his hands together.
“Moving is tough on teens; that’s for sure. You asked about moving to day shifts, and I think we can accommodate that after next week, if you’re still interested.”
Caden felt himself smile. “Absolutely. That’s great. Thank you.” He’d been working only a few night shifts each week, but he didn’t like leaving Evan alone overnight, even though he checked on him often while he was out on patrol. When he’d first decided to become a cop, he’d known the risks of the job and that night shifts would be difficult. But Caden had always liked rules and structure, and helping people was in his nature. The job appealed to him on so many levels, and the outlook of being indestructible that went hand in hand with youth hadn’t allowed him to question the risks. Evan had been just an infant, and leaving him at night, when he was sleeping safely in his crib with his parents in the next room, seemed like a better option to Caden than taking a desk job and leaving him during the day. He didn’t want to miss those first few years with Evan. At the time, his mother worked part-time, and between Evan’s naps and his mother taking over for a few hours each day, he was able to spend quality time bonding with his new son while paying his dues with the station. By the time Evan went to school, Caden had transitioned to day hours. He hadn’t loved the idea of starting over again at a new station, but after George was killed, starting over seemed like a small price to pay for a safer job.
Chief Bassett nodded. “I thought you’d be pleased. No trouble last night?”
Not unless you consider running into a gorgeous blonde trouble. Caden shook his head. “Nah. Typical night. Any leads on the thefts?”
“No, nothing new, but you know, keep your eyes open.”
“Will do.” Caden pushed to his feet to return to his desk.
“Hey, Caden, one more thing. Are you doing okay?” The chief’s gaze softened.
“Sir?”
“Losing your partner. As I mentioned when you were first hired, I’ve been through that loss. If you need to talk to someone, I’m around.”
It had been almost six months since George died, and Caden felt guilty for having almost gotten used to the idea that he’d never see his best friend again. There was a time when just thinking of George brought a surge of anger and sadness, but over the months, he’d come to grips with it. George and Evan had also been close, and Evan seemed to finally get past that hurt, too. Although there were still times when Caden would forget that George was gone, like when he bought his house in Wellfleet and reached for his phone to call George so he could share his news, or after a long shift when he was alone in his patrol car and he’d catch a glimpse of the empty passenger seat. In those moments, he drew upon the good memories they’d shared, until he felt balanced again.
“Thanks. I appreciate your concern. I think moving was the right thing to do. In Boston I saw him everywhere. Here…” He shrugged. “There’s something to be said about starting over.”