One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson
CHAPTER FIVE
VAUGHNSTEPPEDINTOthe Green Fig as he loosened the collar of his jacket. It was an unusually cold October day and the breeze off the gulf was making it worse.
Due to a bad storm causing flight delays, he had returned from his trip to Phoenix late Saturday, and with the Green Fig being closed Sunday he’d had to wait until today. It was the start of a new week and he hoped it would end well.
Vaughn had enjoyed the gathering Thursday night at Jaye’s house. The food was great and so were the drinks. He’d met some of Jaye’s close friends, the Steele brothers. All six guys were happily married. Mercury Steele was Jaye’s best friend and was overjoyed that he and his wife were expecting their first child.
He looked around the café before taking a seat at the same booth he’d sat in the last time he was here. A waitress quickly came to take his order. “I’ll take a brown ale. And is your black bean soup with crab meat and sausage on the menu today?” he asked. “I had it the last time I was here and liked it.”
“Sorry, it’s not on the menu today but it will be on Thursday.”
He nodded. “Okay, then what soup do you recommend?”
The waitress smiled, as if for him to suggest that she recommend something meant a lot. “Our special for today is corn chowder and it’s being served with hot garlic rolls, right out of the oven.”
“That sounds good. I’ll take a bowl.” Before the young woman could walk off, he said, “Is Sierra working today?”
“Yes, she’s probably in the kitchen. Do you want me to tell her that you’d like to see her?”
Vaughn refrained from telling the woman he wanted to do more than see her. He had actually missed her. No matter that the closest he’d gotten to her was to shake her hand. “No, that’s not necessary. Hopefully, she’ll come out of the kitchen before I leave.”
An hour later, he wasn’t so sure of that. He had done everything—eaten slow, ordered another ale and checked the news on his phone—and still no Sierra. He was about to signal for the check when Sierra finally came out from the back.
He knew she didn’t see him at first and she went to straighten up the menus in the rack. And then, as if she detected she was being watched, she glanced over to where he sat.
The moment their gazes connected he felt something right in the center of his gut. It was more than a sexual hunger or a spike of heat that stirred to life. It was something more profound. He didn’t want to try to figure out what it was right now. All he knew was that it was powerful enough to play on his senses and make its presence known. He was about to get to his feet to go to her when he saw she had started walking toward him.
When she reached him, she smiled and said, “Hi. Welcome back.”
His gaze slowly raked across her face, taking in the beauty that was uniquely hers, while little bubbles of want and need continued to burst to life in the pit of his stomach. It was then that he realized what her greeting had meant. Was that her way of letting him know she had missed seeing him...as much as he’d missed seeing her? “Hi yourself, and I’m glad to be back.”
“That’s good to hear. I had begun wondering if perhaps you didn’t enjoy your last bowl of soup. Or even perhaps, my company, Vaughn.”
He loved the way she said his name. However, her comment had him wondering if she was flirting with him, or was it a clear signal of interest on her part? He had no problem with either, although he really liked thinking she was interested in him like he was in her. “I enjoyed both, especially your company. Will you join me again?”
She studied his table. “You’ve eaten already.”
“Yes, I got here a little earlier. I was about to order a cup of coffee. Will you join me?”
He watched her nibble nervously on her bottom lip and knew she was deciding. Even though joining him like she’d done the last time did not constitute a date or anything, it did indicate the building of something, of friendship or a relationship. He preferred the latter and definitely wanted to get to know her. There was a reason why she, of all the women he had met since his breakup with Camila, had this effect on him.
Considering how Camila had dumped him when he’d needed her the most, it would stand to reason that he should be putting the brakes on anything developing between him and Sierra. Yet it was just the opposite. It had taken years to realize not all women were like his ex-fiancée. Being around Sawyer and Vashti, Ray and Ashley, and Kaegan and Bryce had shown him a solid relationship was possible with the right person. He had accepted that Camila had been all wrong.
Sierra glanced at her watch and said, “My goddaughter is on her way from gymnastics practice and will be here any minute.”
He nodded. “Until she arrives, will you sit with me and let me know how you’re doing? I’ve been out of town for a week on business.”
When Vaughn saw the look in her eyes it made him think she was glad the reason she hadn’t seen him was due to business. He really wanted her to know that nothing else would have kept him from stopping by. “I thought of you while I was gone,” he said, deciding to be honest with her.
She tilted her head and with a huge smile said, “Are you sure it was me and not the black bean soup with crab and sausage you had the last time you were here? You really seemed to enjoy it.”
He returned her smile. “I did enjoy it, but I enjoyed your company more. So please join me, even if it’s for a little while.”
She nodded and he stood as she slid into the seat across from him. He sat down, getting caught up in the rare sexual energy that encompassed them. He felt it and had a feeling she felt it as well.
“So, you were away from the cove on business,” she said, as if she needed to hear herself repeat his words.
“Yes, in Phoenix.”
They paused when a waitress appeared to clean off the table and to see if they wanted anything. “Coffee for me,” he told her.
“A cup of herbal tea for me, Opal,” Sierra said to the waitress.
When the young woman walked off, Sierra looked up at him and said, “Do you enjoy working for Lacroix Industries?”
“I do. There is so much more under their umbrella than just the blueberry plant. Reid has quite a number of projects going and all to benefit Catalina Cove. It’s true that he hates change in the cove, but he has unselfish reasons for it. He loves this town and knows what can happen if we lose what we have here.”
He paused when the waitress delivered his coffee and Sierra’s tea and then asked, “Are you glad you moved back?”
“Yes, what about you?”
“I’m glad I moved back, too. I lived in New York for years and soon discovered how much I missed living in the cove, where people were friendly and looked out for each other.”
She nodded. “I never knew how much I appreciated Catalina Cove until now. That’s the reason I returned to raise my goddaughter. Her mother, Rhonda, and I were best friends while growing up here in the cove.”
He lifted a brow. “Rhonda? Was she related to Inez Boyer?”
He saw surprise flicker in Sierra’s eyes. “Yes.”
“Then I remember the Rhonda you’re talking about. Ms. Inez used to do all the ironing for my family, and whenever she came to pick up the items each week, she would bring this young girl with her. She introduced her as her granddaughter, and I recalled her name was Rhonda.”
Sierra smiled. “She’s one and the same. After graduation, Rhonda and I left to attend college in Texas together. We even got married the same year. She was my maid of honor and I was hers. Sadly, Rhonda passed away two years ago from ovarian cancer, barely two years after losing her husband in Afghanistan. That left her little girl, Teryn, with no family on either side. Before she died, Rhonda asked me to take care of Teryn after she was gone. I promised that I would.”
“It’s admirable that you kept that promise.”
“There was no way that I could not. Since the day we were born, Rhonda and I had been best friends. Our mothers had been best friends, so had our grandmothers. It just seemed natural that we would as well.”
“Goddy! Goddy! I’m home!”
Hearing the happy voice, Vaughn turned his head to see this little sprite of a girl, with pigtails bouncing all over her head, race toward where he and Sierra sat. Sierra laughed and said, “Speak of the angel, here comes my goddaughter.”
SIERRASTOODASTeryn raced into her outstretched arms. She doubted she would ever tire of this, showing and giving love and receiving it in return. More contentment than she ever thought she could feel filled her heart. Teryn was a gift from Rhonda that she would cherish forever.
Like her mother, Teryn had an overabundance of friendly genes, having never met a stranger she didn’t like. Once Sierra had released her from their hug, she smiled and said to Vaughn, “Hello, I’m Teryn.”
Vaughn smiled. “Hello, I’m Vaughn.”
“Hi, Vaughn,” Teryn said, waving happily.
“That’s Mr. Vaughn, Teryn,” Sierra said.
Teryn nodded. “Oops. Mr. Vaughn.”
Vaughn stood and extended his hand to the little girl. “I’m happy to meet you.”
A radiant smile spread across Teryn’s face and she said, “And I’m happy to meet you, too.”
Out of the corner of her eye Sierra saw Velvet quickly cross the room to where they were. She glanced up at Velvet and smiled. Then Velvet said, “Sorry about that. The moment I entered the restaurant Teryn raced off to find you to share her good news.”
“No harm done, Velvet.” She turned to Vaughn—was she mistaken or was he looking at Velvet strangely? If he was, it wouldn’t be the first time a man reacted to her. Sierra thought Velvet was gorgeous and radiant all rolled into one. She knew since she’d moved to the cove a number of men had tried asking Velvet out and so far, she had refused. That made Sierra wonder about the man who’d broken her friend’s heart. Maybe one day he would be smart enough to know what he’d lost.
“Velvet, I’d like you to meet one of my favorite customers, Vaughn Miller. Vaughn, this is Velvet Spencer. Velvet is a teacher in town and she’s also Teryn’s gymnastics coach.”
Vaughn extended his hand. “Nice meeting you. Velvet is an unusual name.”
Velvet chuckled. “Not if you had a grandmother who was an Elizabeth Taylor fan and National Velvet was her favorite movie. It’s nice meeting you, Vaughn.” Velvet turned to Teryn. “Now tell your godmother your good news.”
Teryn’s face was a vision of excitement. “They picked me!”
Sierra smiled. “Who picked you and for what?”
“To sing. They liked the way I was singing.”
“Oh.”
Sierra looked up at Velvet, who explained further. “Mrs. Mayes from church came to pick up her granddaughter from practice and asked any of the kids if they wanted to be part of the youth carolers this year. They will make their debut at church during Youth Sunday in December, and then the following week they will be going around the neighborhood singing Christmas songs.”
Velvet grinned and then added, “Although Teryn readily volunteered, I told Mrs. Mayes I would mention it to you and that you would have to decide.”
“May I, Goddy? May I?”
Sierra smiled down at Teryn and wondered if she would have to audition. Granted, she’d never heard Teryn sing a song, but she wouldn’t dare tell her it was a standing joke when they were kids that the best thing Rhonda had done for their church was to get out of the youth choir and join the usher board instead. Lord knows, her best friend couldn’t carry a note.
She looked at Velvet. “Will they have to audition?”
“That was done tonight. Teryn sang ‘Silent Night’ for Mrs. Mayes and sounded beautiful.”
Sierra was glad and decided Teryn must have gotten her singing talent from her father. Definity not her mother. “Then there’s no reason you can’t. When are the rehearsals?”
“They won’t start until next month,” Velvet said.
Sierra turned to Vaughn with regret. “Sorry, I need to get Teryn fed and up the stairs to help her with any homework before she goes to bed.”
Vaughn’s brows rose in question. “Up the stairs?”
“Yes, I have an apartment upstairs,” Sierra said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to chat over drinks another time.”
“I’m sure we will, Sierra. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” And then to Velvet, he said, “It was nice meeting you.”
“Same here, Vaughn.”
He turned his attention to Teryn and gave her a huge smile and said, “It was nice meeting you, too, Teryn. And congratulations for making the carolers.”
“Thank you, Mr. Vaughn.”
Sierra, Velvet and Teryn then walked away. It took everything within Sierra not to look back.
ANHOURLATER, Vaughn eased down at his kitchen table with a cold beer. Although he hadn’t spent as much time with Sierra today as he’d liked, at least he had seen her and talked to her a little. His eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on him. She was as beautiful as he’d remembered, and he had missed her. He had no problem telling her that he’d thought of her.
He took another swig of his beer, remembering he’d just told Jaye Colfax last week that he didn’t know a Velvet Spencer, and then was introduced to her this evening. Vaughn was certain she was the same woman Jaye had asked about. The name and the occupation fit. He didn’t know the story between them but figured there was one. There was no doubt in his mind that Colfax’s decision to live in the cove for a few months had something to do with Velvet Spencer. Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if the man’s decision to buy Barrows Bank centered around Velvet Spencer somehow. Time would tell.
Vaughn shifted his thoughts to Sierra’s goddaughter, Teryn. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought of how excited she’d been at being selected as a caroler. The little girl had been bubbling over with happiness.
He took another sip of beer as he thought about Sierra. She was wearing a pair of slacks and a printed blouse and she had looked good in them. As far as he was concerned, she looked good in whatever clothes she wore. He wished he could have spent more time with her but understood she had more important things to do. Besides, he didn’t want to rush her into anything. He wanted to take his time to get to know her and wanted her to get to know him.
However, what he wouldn’t do is go to her restaurant every single day, although he would like nothing better than to see her whenever he could. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured by his presence. He wanted things to progress naturally between them.
A short while later, before going to bed, he pulled out some of the letters he’d gotten from Marie and read them. And as always, they gave him encouragement and hope.