One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson
CHAPTER THIRTY
AS VELVETAND SIERRA waited for the town hall meeting to start, Velvet leaned in to ask, “Have you heard anything from your attorney?”
Sierra smiled. “No. I’m hoping the saying that no news is good news turns out to be true.”
“I hope so, too,” Velvet said as she glanced around the hall. It was packed tonight. A lot of people had come out. Evidently, like her, they wanted to hear the news firsthand.
Velvet was especially interested in the housing development on Lacroix land. She’d fallen in love with the cove and could see herself living here permanently. Her lease at the rental where she lived would expire soon, and now was the time to think of buying her own place.
It was nearly seven. The meeting was about to begin. One thing she’d learned about the people living in the cove, they believed in starting a meeting on time and finishing on time as well.
She and Sierra had been lucky enough to find good seats in the middle of the room. There were still two vacant seats next to her and less than a minute before the meeting was to start, Laura Crawford and her brother Webb arrived and claimed those seats. Velvet met Sierra’s gaze and, without saying a word, they deciphered each other’s thoughts. Why us?
At exactly seven o’clock the meeting was called to order. The mayor, who was presiding over the meeting, went over old business and pending business before they got into the new business. First up was the housing development. From the sound of it, it would be nice. A huge screen for all to see was erected that showed the diagram of where the housing development would be. All of it on Lacroix land and some would be oceanfront.
Velvet turned to Sierra and said, “I’m thinking about buying one of those lots.”
Sierra smiled and before she could respond, Laura, who’d obviously overheard Velvet’s statement, leaned close to them and said, “I doubt you could afford it on a teacher’s salary, Velvet.”
The woman didn’t even try to whisper. In fact the couple sitting in front of them overheard and glanced back at Velvet. She was about to tell Laura that she had no idea what she could or could not afford when she decided not to even bother. Let her believe whatever she wanted.
Next on the agenda was the water-taxi service. Ray Sullivan did a great presentation. Afterward, a number of people raised their hands and were called on to stand and ask their questions. It was obvious everyone was excited that the service would launch in the spring.
Last on the agenda was the issue of the bank. Everyone paid attention as Reid Lacroix stood to speak. “As most of you know, Larson Barrows has decided to retire. We appreciate Larson and the Barrows family for taking care of all of our banking needs here in the cove for over fifty years.”
Reid paused while the audience gave Larson a standing ovation. Then Reid continued, “It was important that whatever financial institution took things over understood the specific needs of our community. I must say the bank that has bought out Barrows truly impressed me.”
“That’s a good thing,” Laura whispered to Webb, but not low enough where others close by couldn’t hear. “Everybody knows that old coot has the most money in town.”
Sierra and Velvet looked at each other again. Although Laura and Webb had thought her comment amusing, they had not.
“The bank we selected,” Reid was saying, “is a national bank, so not only will they be able to take care of our financial needs but will give us access to a nationwide network, which is something I’m sure these young people moving back to the cove will appreciate.”
There was a burst of loud clapping from the young people in the audience. When they finished, Reid said, “The name of the bank is Colfax National Bank and tonight you will hear from their CEO, Jaye Colfax.”
Velvet gasped, and when Sierra looked at her, she shook her head, letting her know she was alright.
The truth was that Velvet was not alright. The one man she’d hoped she would never see again, the one man she’d relocated to Catalina Cove to get away from, to move on with her life, was here.
Jaye stood up from the front row and turned to face the audience. The moment Velvet saw him, her heart—which she’d hoped had recovered—let her know it still ached. All it took was to see him to know she still loved him.
“Damn, he’s hot,” she heard Laura say. When Velvet glanced over at Laura, she saw blatant feminine interest in her expression.
Velvet’s mind began whirling. Did Jaye know she lived in Catalina Cove? Was he aware she was in the audience? So far, his eyes hadn’t connected with hers, so chances were he didn’t know either of those things. Of all the coincidences to happen, why her?
After Jaye introduced himself, he asked if anyone had questions. Several hands went up, including Laura’s. Luckily he picked someone other than Laura. Velvet’s heart was racing. If Jaye hadn’t seen her before, when he called on Laura, there was no way he wouldn’t see her. Velvet was sitting next to Laura, he wouldn’t be able to miss her.
She knew the moment he looked in Laura’s direction and saw her. Although he pointed to Laura and asked her to state her question, Velvet knew his gaze was directly on her. She immediately felt heat spike through her body and she squirmed in her seat. Jaye had always had that kind of an effect on her, and it seemed in two years nothing had changed.
“Yes, Mr. Colfax. Will you be making Catalina Cove your home?” Laura asked.
Jaye smiled and the heat inside Velvet intensified. Nobody had a smile like Jaye with dimples in both cheeks. “Yes, I’ll be living here during the initial start-up period, which will be about six months.”
“Are you married? Will there be a Mrs. Colfax joining you?”
Velvet couldn’t believe Laura would ask such a thing and from the expressions on the faces of others, no one seemed surprised. Some even chuckled. Jaye continued to hold Velvet’s gaze, although she was certain Laura assumed he was looking at her. “No, I’m not married. There isn’t a Mrs. Jaye Colfax.”
Nor will there ever be, Velvet thought. You’ve made it clear so many times that you’re not the marrying kind.
“Thank you for answering my questions.” The moment Laura sat back down she turned to her brother and stated, “I intend to change that.”
Velvet was tempted to tell Laura not to hold her breath. But then, maybe Laura might turn out to be the kind of woman Jaye wanted, since he definitely hadn’t wanted her.
Jaye took a few more questions before turning the meeting back over to the mayor. Jaye had taken a seat and Velvet was glad his back was to her. She would not have been able to handle it if he’d looked at her a minute longer.
“Thanks everyone for attending tonight’s meeting,” the mayor was saying. “The turnout was great and we want to encourage everyone to participate in the holiday activities planned for Catalina Cove. Good night.”
Velvet stood, intending to leave as soon as possible, and noticed how Laura and a couple of other single women were rushing toward where Jaye stood. She couldn’t blame their interest since he was a very handsome man and he’d stated he was single.
She turned to Sierra. “I’ll see you Saturday at that fun-day event on Zara’s Haven. Hopefully you’ll have good news from your attorney by then.”
Sierra smiled. “Let’s hope.” She studied Velvet. “Are you okay?”
Velvet nodded. “We’ll talk when I see you again.”
“Okay.”
Velvet headed for the exit and, unable to help herself, when she reached the door, she glanced over her shoulder. Although Laura and the other women were all in Jaye’s face, his gaze was locked on her. Velvet felt the heat of that gaze in every part of her body.
Inhaling deeply, she turned and walked out the door.
“YOU’RESUCHASOFTIE,” Sierra said, leaning up on tiptoe to place a kiss on Vaughn’s cheek. She looked around and saw all the kids on the grounds of Zara’s Haven, and they were having the time of their lives.
Vaughn wrapped his arms around her waist. “Hey, what can I say? When I discovered there were only two first-grade classes at Catalina Cove Elementary School, there was no way I could invite Teryn’s class and not invite the other. Especially when school ended for the kids yesterday and the holiday break officially began.”
“Yes, but the pony rides, bouncing house and a surprise visit from Santa were not part of the original plans,” she said, laughing.
He grinned. “I know. Santa was Zara’s idea when I told her about it. She asked how I could have a bunch of first graders and not invite Santa.”
“Good question,” Sierra said, pushing hair from her face. She wasn’t sure who was enjoying themselves the most, the kids or the adults.
The kids had decorated the huge Christmas tree that was on the new dock and, later, right before dusk, Teryn would do the honors and flip the switch to light up the tree. Vaughn thought it was most appropriate since this whole thing had been her idea. And thanks to Reid’s wife, Gloria, each child would leave with a Christmas stocking filled with treats with their names embroidered at the top. That would be another surprise for the kids.
The weather had turned out to be perfect. A number of people had passed by on their boats and tooted their horns. Sierra couldn’t believe all the food Vaughn had had catered. There were hot dogs and hamburgers for the kids, and thanks to Kaegan and Bryce, who’d figured the adults might outnumber the kids, a tent was set up to serve blue crabs, shrimp, crawfish and lobster—as well as grilled spare ribs.
Sierra hadn’t realized just how large the grounds of Zara’s Haven were. There were six guest cottages on the property, a miniature golf course and a huge swimming pool. The pool, Vaughn had told her, had been added when he had been in junior high school.
Reid’s twin granddaughters, who were home from college, were great with the kids, and Velvet had helped as well. It was a fun day and a busy day. Staying busy was what Sierra needed. It kept her mind off her problem with Nathan. Every time she thought about it, she grew angrier.
Not surprising, it had been Vaughn’s lovemaking and frequent hugs that calmed her down. He’d stopped by every night since Nathan’s visit and she appreciated it. When she had talked to her attorney after Nathan’s visit Monday, he felt pretty confident that she didn’t have anything to worry about. She hoped he was right.
Later, when the sun went down, everyone gathered at the dock to watch Teryn flip the switch. Sierra doubted her goddaughter had been this happy since losing her parents.
When the lights on the huge Christmas tree came on, cheers went up and Teryn happily jumped up and down. It was a beautiful tree and next to the water it was even more so.
Teryn turned to Vaughn and he picked her up and she gave him a big hug. Looking at the two of them made Sierra’s heart almost burst when she realized she was gazing at the two people she loved most in this world.
Love?
She drew in a sharp breath. She’d loved Teryn since the day she was born. But Vaughn? Did she love him, too? She knew the answer when he looked at her and smiled. At that moment she accepted what her heart had been trying to tell her for a while. She had fallen in love with Vaughn.