“Aiden! Where the hell are you?”

Brogan’s deep voice called out from behind the bar at Finn’s, serving beers to the lunch crowd.

“What the hell are you yelling for?” Aiden asked, as he made his way from the back. “I told you there was a delivery today.” Unlike Brogan, Aiden still sported the long hair from their post-Marine days, pulling it back in a sloppy ponytail as he walked. Leaning his forearms on the bar, he grinned at his brother. Of the two, only one year apart and so similar in looks they were often mistaken for twins, Aiden had definitely inherited the fun-loving gene from Pops.

Shaking his head, Brogan grumbled, “Why the fuck can’t the beer truck get here in the morning and not right at the time we’re getting slammed.”

“With the Seafood Shack now open for the season, just be glad we’re full.”

“You don’t gotta tell me about the other restaurants in town,” he growled, slapping his towel down on the bar, aiming at Aiden’s hands, barely missing them as Aiden jerked them back, holding them over his head.

“Missed!” Aiden’s laugh rang out.

“Well, I see things are all normal around here,” a feminine voice interrupted. “God, how old are you? Five?”

The two brothers looked up, smiles on their faces as their sister walked in. Brogan cherished finally seeing the spark in his sister’s eyes after so many years of sadness. Having lost her fiancé to the war, she finally gave in to love with one of the newest members of the American Legion and businessmen in town, Gareth Harrison. She also found her perfect career with him, the two now working together in his private investigations firm.

“You here for lunch?” Brogan asked, nodding toward one of the servers to come over. “You and Gareth want your usual?”

“Not for him, he’s out on a case, so I thought I’d come have lunch here and, when you have a free minute, we can talk about the block party.” Looking around, she added, “But it looks like y’all are slammed.”

Finn MacFarlane had left his pub to his son and it was now owned and managed by his three grandchildren. Katelyn continued to do their books and purchase orders, but left the day to day running to Brogan and Aiden. The pub retained the original look and appeal of days gone by. Never changing, the entrance held a dartboard to the right and an old fireplace and sofa on the left. The original building had been one of the early brick structures in the town. While renovated, it retained much of the original brickwork walls and floor. The bar ran the length of the right side with tall, mismatched, padded bar chairs up against the counter. The left contained tables already full of patrons and the kitchens were in the back.

The harbor now had a casual seafood restaurant that closed during the winter months, making the pub’s crowds swell. But with the other restaurant open, they had been concerned about tourists deciding to walk to the harbor instead of partaking of the pub. Grateful that was not the case, Brogan nodded toward his sister and said, “We’ll find a minute.”

He watched as Katelyn settled onto a bar stool, smiling as she accepted the plate of fish and chips from the server. As she readily dove into the food, his normal, surly expression softened at the knowledge his sister had finally found happiness.

Looking up, he saw Mildred Score walk in and his eyes darted behind her to see if there were any other members of the police department behind her. His face met hers with a scowl when he saw she was alone, then blushed as she greeted him.

“Nice to see you too, Brogan. If I didn’t know better I would think you were hoping to see someone else.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Score. Just trying to keep an eye on the crowd,” he lied.

“Uh huh. Well, I’m here to grab some to-go sandwich platters for the officers. They’re in a meeting with the mayor and by the time the ol’ windbag leaves, they’ll have missed their lunch.”

Unable to hide his slight grin at her accurate description of the town’s mayor, he simply nodded as he turned away. “I’ll get those lunches for you, Mrs. Score.”

“How’s Coach?” Aiden asked.

She grinned at him, and said, “He’s loving his retirement and goes fishing every chance he gets. Give him a heads up on one of your days off and he’d love to take some of his old players fishing.”

Aiden flashed a huge smile as he nodded. “Brogan and I’d love to go out with him. I’ll give him a ring.”

Back in the kitchen with her handwritten order, Brogan perused the one for Ginny. Half of a Finn’s club, easy on the mayo. As the chef handed him the bags, he waited before turning back to the serving counter. Filling a container with homemade chips with the pub’s special dipping sauce, he added it, along with a slice of cake, to the bag labeled Ginny. Turning, he saw a smirk on the line cook’s face, so he mumbled, “She’s too skinny. Needs to eat if she’s gonna keep these streets safe.”

Bursting out with laughter, the cook said, “Whatever you say, boss.”

Brogan walked back to Mildred, grumbling under his breath. “Here you go, Mrs. Score.”

With a nod, she left and he stood for a moment, wishing the lovely Officer Spencer had come in for lunch herself.

Shifting his eyes over the lunch crowd, seeing it had thinned, he nodded to Katelyn to follow. Whistling to Aiden, he jerked his head toward the back and headed to the office. Entering, he was glad Katelyn kept the office neat. The small space only held one desk, but they managed to fit two other chairs inside, as well as filing cabinets against one wall. The room had a tall, narrow window overlooking the alley behind. Not visually pleasing, it nonetheless allowed in light, and anyone inside to keep an eye on deliveries. The tiny window was not large enough for anyone to pass through, so it added a level a security for their important paperwork

Settling behind the desk, he pulled up the paperwork on the block party, signed by the town manager. Once Katelyn and Aiden were seated, they began to plan. Agreeing to food trucks who had applied to participate and looking over the contracts for the alcohol that they could serve from eight p.m. to midnight, they were pleased with their accomplishments.

Aiden reported on two local bands and another one from Virginia Beach that had agreed to come play. “The two smaller bands will play at eight and nine, and then I’ve got the Hummers coming at ten.”

“Oh, Pops will love that,” Katelyn grinned, knowing her grandfather’s penchant for any band playing Irish music.

Nodding, Aiden said, “That’s what I thought.”

Katelyn twirled a long strand of hair, cutting her eyes over to Brogan. “So…uh…are you bringing anyone special to the block party?”

Glaring, he said, “Figure I’ll be working. Kinda hard to have a date when you’re pulling beers all night.”

Katelyn’s shoulder’s slumped at her brother’s reply.

Aiden, his eyes moving between the two of them, said, “Ain’t no reason we can’t hire some extra help that night—”

“No need,” Brogan interrupted. Not wanting to share his thoughts, he nonetheless figured Ginny would be working as a cop that evening, and she sure as hell was the only person he wanted to spend time with. Moving the conversation along, he glared at the two expectantly, “Y’all gonna be working that night?”

Scowling, Katelyn retorted, “I’m not an idiot, Brogan. Of course. And Gareth will probably work for us as well, just to give us an extra pair of hands.”

“Sorry,” mumbled Brogan, missing the eye-rolling between his siblings.

The trio spent the next hour planning the menu and alcohol orders for the party, before Katelyn’s phone rang. Checking her texts, her smile turned dreamy as she stood.

“Guess that’s lover-boy,” Aiden teased.

Ignoring him, Katelyn looked at Brogan, “We good here?”

Nodding, he confirmed, “Yeah, we’re good.”

* * *

As soon as Mildred stepped into the reception area with the lunch bags, Ginny hustled by, grabbing hers and tossing out her thanks. “Sorry, I’m heading to do town patrol. Sam got stung by a bee at the beach and he’s allergic. Didn’t have his EpiPen with him, so Grant took him to the doctor’s office.” Seeing Mildred’s concerned face, she quickly added, “He’s fine. Just pissed at himself and knows his wife’ll give him hell for forgetting his meds.”

Mildred was still clucking in concern as Ginny jogged through the door. Once in the patrol SUV, she began the drive though the small town, the streets familiar to her. Having never heard of Baytown, she had answered the call when she saw an advertisement placed on the state’s website for openings in police departments. Shunning the large cities, she had searched for something small. A place where no one knew her…no one had expectations. A place where she could start over. And Baytown had delivered. When she interviewed with Mitch’s dad, then Police Chief, he sold her on the town’s residents watching out for each other. Not to mention, the first time she had stared at the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay, she felt the pull.

The oldest part of Baytown was built on a square grid, with Main Street on one side, closer to the small harbor.  Another side faced the bay where the public beach enticed townspeople and visitors, and a park sat in the middle of town.  About fifteen years prior, a developer built a golf course community on a large farm and it was annexed into the city as well.  On the north side, another developer built large vacation rental homes as well as a marina and a seafood restaurant.

Formerly plantations, the land was purchased in the late 1800s by a man intent on running the Pennsylvania Railroad down to the end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia where a harbor would allow goods and passengers to travel by water to Virginia Beach or Norfolk.  By 1885, Baytown was already bustling with commercial and residential buildings.  As Ginny drove past the main business section, she knew most of the buildings were the original structures from the late 1800’s.

Ginny had studied her new hometown and knew this epicenter of North Heron County took a nose dive during World War II, when trucks and highways took over much of the carrying of goods after the Bay Bridge and Tunnels were built.  Now, Baytown resembled more of a sleepy village until the warm weather vacationers came through. But for her…it was perfect.

Driving along the roads, she carefully observed the children riding bicycles and families walking toward the beach. Making a pass along one of the side streets she saw Katelyn standing outside the private investigation business she worked for. Katelyn waved and Ginny parked in front. Swinging out of the SUV, she smiled at the pretty brunette with the same blue eyes as her brothers.

“Are you locked out?” Ginny asked, wondering why Katelyn was standing outside.

Laughing, Katelyn said, “No, I’m waiting for the glass cleaners to come. I need to let them in and then I can go—oh, here they are.”

Ginny turned and watched an older man pull into the parking space next to hers, viewing Hudgins Glass and Window Cleaning Service on the side of his truck.

“Saul, I’m so glad you’re here. Gareth called and needs me to meet him,” Katelyn said, shaking his hand.

Ginny smiled as Saul Hudgins shook Katelyn’s hand before turning to her. “Officer Spencer,” he greeted, his wizened face grinning at her.

“Nice to see you, Saul.” Turning to look at the large plate glass window in the front of Harrison Investigations, she said, “I hear Katelyn’s putting you to work.”

He laughed and said, “I been doing these windows for so long, it’s fun to see new businesses going into the old buildings.”

A younger man came from the back of the truck, his hands full of equipment. “Where do you want me to start, Saul?”

Saul smiled at the young man and said, “Got me some new help and he’s a hard worker.” Looking at Katelyn, he said, “You head on out, missy, and we’ll get started on your windows.”

Nodding toward Saul and waving at Katelyn, Ginny climbed back in her SUV to continue her patrol. Focusing on the streets in front of her, the scent of lunch wafted through the cab of the SUV and she finally gave in to temptation. Parking along the road leading to the marina, she opened the bag and peeked in. It seemed fuller than just her half-sandwich and she found a full turkey club along with chips and dip and, at the bottom, a large piece of carrot-cake, carefully wrapped.

Scrunching her brow, she held the bag up, clearly seeing her name written on the side. Mildred never made mistakes, but she wondered how she ended up with so much food. Pulling out the napkins, she noticed writing on one.

You need to eat. B.

Sucking in her lips, she tried to still the smile that threatened to appear. Brogan. Shaking her head, she dove in, not stopping until she was stuffed. Unable to finish, she carefully placed the leftovers in the container, knowing she now had a ready-made dinner for the evening.

Brogan had caught her attention the first time she visited Finn’s Pub, but the stoic bartender always seemed to avoid looking her. She had wondered if he had an aversion to her being a police officer. But over the past year she began to realize that he seemed to notice her as well. He never made a move. Never asked her out. But at the last beach bonfire, he finally sat next to her. No talking. Just sat. But she liked him sitting next to her. His large, solid presence gave her a sense of peace.

The bonfire had been roaring, already casting shadows and light over the faces of those sitting around its warmth. Ginny had observed the changing group. Katelyn, with Gareth’s arms around her, Grant leaning against a large log, Jillian tucked in close to his side. Callan, Jason, and some guys from the Coast Guard had played volleyball on the beach. Jade and Belle had shared a blanket on the sand. Ginny had sat in a beach chair, her legs stretched out in front of her.

Mitch and Tori had walked from the deck with trays of snacks in their hands, as Aiden and Brogan followed them with a beer-filled cooler.

Brogan had walked by and offered a beer to Ginny, startling her, but taking it, she had nodded her thanks. Her gaze had continued to follow him as he made his way around the gathering, but when he looked over his shoulder, she jerked her head toward the sunset. He had eventually come back over, sitting on the sand next to her. The move had surprised her, and she had tried to be nonchalant, but it had been hard. Just having him so close muddled her head.

But that was okay…she liked the quiet man of strength. Turned off by flirts, loud men full of themselves, or men whose expectations exceeded hers, she liked sitting next to him. Now, as she leaned back in the seat of the police SUV, her stomach full, she dropped the napkins into the bag and began to crumple it up. Halting, she dug out the napkin with the note and placed it on her lap before wadding up the refuse. Looking down, she smoothed out the napkin, the simple words filling her with warmth.