One Christmas Wish by Brenda Jackson

CHAPTER SIX

“GOODMORNING, SIERRA. I’m surprised to see you here.”

Sierra recognized the deep, husky voice even before looking up. Her lips spread into a smile, determined to focus on his features and not his voice. But then the man was handsome as sin, so that wasn’t a good option either.

“Good morning, Vaughn. I just walked Teryn to school and decided I had a taste for some blueberry muffins, so here I am, in the place that makes the best.”

The Witherspoon Café was a favorite with locals and served the best omelets, pancakes and blueberry muffins for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and delicious meals for dinner. Every once in a while, on her way back home from walking Teryn to school, she would stop at the café to grab a muffin and a cup of tea. Usually, she got it to go, but this morning she’d decided not to rush and to just sit and enjoy both.

Catalina Cove was considered the blueberry capital of the country, and every time she bit into a muffin she liked that the blueberries were homegrown. She had eaten the blueberry muffins in Chicago and other places, but there was nothing like a muffin from the Witherspoon Café.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

“Sure.” There was no reason she should mind, other than the fact she was attracted to him when she shouldn’t be.

She noticed a number of eyes on them. There had been curious looks when she’d sat with him at her restaurant, too. Some of the good people of the cove had always been busybodies. She couldn’t see that changing anytime soon. She figured Vaughn had to have noticed the gawkers, but he didn’t seem bothered by the attention they were getting.

“What would you like, sir?” a young waitress came up to ask him.

He smiled up at her. “I’ll have coffee for starters and an omelet. Just tell Chester it’s for Vaughn Miller and he’ll know how to fix it.”

The waitress smiled. “Sure thing.” And walked off.

He glanced over at her and asked, “Is it good?”

She swallowed. “Is what good?”

“That blueberry muffin you’re eating.”

She nodded and then after she had finished chewing and swallowing, followed by a sip of tea, she said, “It’s delicious, but then they always are.”

For the past couple of weeks, he had dropped by the Green Fig, although she hadn’t had a chance to sit and chat with him again. Business had picked up and she’d been needed to help out her staff.

He hadn’t come to the restaurant for the past few days, not that she expected him to come by every single day. However, she had missed seeing him. Of course, she wouldn’t tell him that. The last thing she wanted was for him to assume she was looking for him every day.

“I’m sure you don’t miss the Chicago weather this time of year,” he said.

“You’re right. All that snow took getting used to and now I don’t miss it at all. As a software development manager, I did get to work from home on the real cold days, but I honestly preferred being in the office.”

“You enjoyed what you did?”

“Yes, but it was taking over my life and there was no way I could have kept up all the hours required with the adoption of Teryn. Raising her and giving her the time she needed was more important to me. I hired a good staff, so I can make my own hours. I enjoy walking her to school every day and being there when she comes home.”

At that moment the waitress brought his coffee, and Sierra watched as he took a sip, fascinated by how his lips fit on the rim of the cup. She thought it was really crazy for a woman to get turned on just from seeing a man drink coffee.

“That’s good. I’m convinced they make the best coffee.”

“I’m not a coffee drinker but I enjoy their selection of teas,” she said, sipping her tea before taking another bite into her muffin. She decided since he was always asking her questions, now was her turn.

“You’ve never been married, have you?” It was only after she’d asked that she wondered if perhaps her question had been too personal.

“No, I’ve never been married. I take it you have, though.”

She wondered how he figured that. And then as if the question was in her eyes, he reached out and touched the third finger of her left hand and said, “The imprint where you wore your ring is still there.”

Sierra looked down at her hand and saw that it was. She had worn her wedding rings for seven years and had taken them off the night she’d caught Nathan cheating. “Yes, I was married before. Nathan and I were married for seven years.”

He nodded, and because she figured he was too much of a gentleman to ask, she said, “I caught him cheating.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” he said lightly. She felt his words were sincere.

“So am I. After it happened, there was no way I could remain with him.”

He nodded. “I understand. I believe trust in a marriage, as well as in a relationship, is very important.”

She thought so, too. Entwining her fingers together she placed her elbows on the table and asked a question she needed to know the answer to. “Why aren’t you seriously involved with someone?”

He tilted his head and gave her a smile and asked, “What makes you think that I’m not?”

Vaughn’s question gave her pause and for a moment she didn’t know what to say. Then she decided to be up-front with him. “I believe you’re a man of good character. One who wouldn’t be seriously involved with one woman while talking to another.”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with a man talking to a woman, Sierra. I guess what you could have said is that I’m not the type of man who would be seriously involved with one woman while pursuing another.”

Her brows drew together questioningly. Was he pursuing her? “If that’s a hint that you’re pursuing me, Vaughn, then maybe now is the time I should warn you off. I am not interested in being pursued. Marriage left a bitter taste in my mouth.”

Vaughn nodded again. “I should say my last serious relationship left a bitter taste in mine as well. I thought Camila loved me as much as I loved her. But she broke things off with me the day I was arrested. She didn’t even ask if I was innocent or guilty.”

He took a sip of his coffee and then said, “Just the thought that she’d been involved with me was an embarrassment for her. In fact, it was more than a mere involvement. We were engaged to be married.”

“Oh, no. I’m sorry that happened, Vaughn. Why do the people we love hurt us sometimes?”

“Maybe it’s because they aren’t as deserving of our love as we thought. Sounds like we both picked a couple of losers.”

“Yes, it certainly sounds like it.”

The waitress brought out his omelet and gave her a refill on her tea. Sierra could have easily told the young woman she didn’t need a refill because she was about to go, but something made her want to stay. She discovered she liked talking with Vaughn. Even when they broached subjects she’d rather not discuss, he had an easygoing demeanor and a pleasing personality.

“How long were you and your fiancée together?” she asked, curious to know.

“Three years. I worked on Wall Street and so did she, but for different companies. When she broke off with me, she said that she had a reputation to protect.”

Sierra frowned. “Like you said, we picked a couple of losers.”

VAUGHNLIKED SIERRA. He really liked her. Not only was she pretty but she was a great conversationalist. The more he talked to her, the more he found out about her.

He hated hearing that her husband had cheated on her. He couldn’t imagine anyone doing that to her, but then he knew some men, as well as some women, were never satisfied with who they had.

She had finished her muffin and as time slipped by, she declined any more refills of her tea. However, she didn’t make any attempt to leave, which meant she was enjoying spending this time with him as much as he was with her.

They chatted a lot, about all the activities that would be going on in the cove during the holidays, and she told him she was on the committee for planning Christmas on the Main. He could tell she was excited about that.

She checked the time. “I must be going. I open for lunch in a couple of hours.”

“You make the soup every day?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s made fresh daily. I usually get up at six and get started. Then while it’s simmering I get Teryn up and ready for school. Before I leave the house, everything is done.”

“Has there ever been an instance where you ran out?”

She chuckled. “Heck yes. That time that large group of boaters came through here. We sold out the place before dinner. I had to remake pots of everything.”

“Your restaurant is successful.”

“I have my regulars and I have newcomers all the time. I appreciate all of them.” She glanced at her watch again. “I hate to run, but I have to go.”

“I understand. I’m finished up here, so I’ll walk you to your place.”

“You don’t have to do that, Vaughn.”

“I want to.”

She leaned in and in a low voice said, “I guess I don’t have to tell you that we’re drawing interest.”

“Does that bother you?”

She shrugged. “No, but there was a time in Catalina Cove when a Miller wouldn’t be caught socializing with a Crane.”

“Well, I’m glad those days are over, aren’t you?”

She smiled at him and his guts clenched. “Yes, I’m glad.”

Although she’d told him it wasn’t necessary, he paid for both their meals. Debbie and Chester Witherspoon called out to them to come back again as they were walking out. “They are good people,” he said to Sierra.

“I know. I was four years younger than their daughter Bryce and she would babysit me when I was a kid. She was the best. She would always bring treats her parents had baked. I loved it.”

“And now Bryce is married to Kaegan and is a mother of a little boy.”

“I can’t wait to see him. I’m told he looks just like Kaegan.”

“He does. He already has a head of black hair.”

“Sounds like the name Kaegan Junior fits him,” she said.

“I think it does,” he said.

They walked side by side on the sidewalk. He loved this section of Catalina Cove. The entire downtown area was a close replica of New Orleans’s French Quarter, a deliberate move on Jean Lafitte’s part. According to history, the cove was where the pirate would return to when he and his band of smugglers needed downtime.

Like where Vaughn lived, the scent of the sea was prevalent with the shipping district just blocks away. Since returning to the cove, he often wondered why he’d left. When he had arrived in New York he had looked upon it as a great new adventure. All he’d found were tall buildings, congested streets and sidewalks, and a slew of people who always seemed in a hurry. It had been the complete opposite of Catalina Cove.

They kept walking on the wide sidewalk and passing all the historic buildings that were now various shops and cafés. No matter what type of business you had going on inside the building, the outside remained the same. The zoning board had strict laws against architectural changes.

As they continued to stroll toward Sierra’s café, Vaughn noticed she was wearing a long, flowing skirt and boots and loved how the skirt would swish around her legs when she walked. She was also wearing a mid-length leather jacket. “Do you walk Teryn to school every morning?”

“Just about. If it’s raining then I’ll drive her. I prefer walking so I can get my exercise. There’s nothing like walking and smelling the scent of the gulf. Sometimes I wonder why I ever left here.”

He looked at her, recalling he’d been thinking that same thing just moments earlier. “I’d like a stab at answering that. At least I can tell you the reason I left.”

“Okay.”

“I felt suffocated. Other than New Orleans and the states where my family’s gas stations were located, we didn’t visit much. Most of our travels were out of the country. That was nice, but there was so much here in the States I hadn’t seen. I felt there had to be a life outside of Catalina Cove and I wanted to see it.”

“Did you ever think you’d come back?” she asked.

“No. When I left, I left for good, although I would return on occasion to visit my folks. And then when they moved to Paris, I would return to visit Julius.”

“Here we are,” she said, coming to a stop in front of her restaurant. “Thanks for walking me home.”

“It was my pleasure. What’s the soup special of the day?”

She tilted her head to look up at him. “Black beans with crab and sausage.”

He couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips. That was his favorite. “Then you’ll definitely see me later. Have a good day, Sierra.”

“You do the same, Vaughn.”

She opened the door to her shop and went inside. He walked off, counting the hours until he would see her again.