Seaside Dreams (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book One) Read online

  “Jenna, don’t kill the messenger, but Pete stopped by and said he had a pool emergency.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. “What kind of excuse is that? A pool emergency?”

  “Jenna, he does pool maintenance,” Bella reminded her. “I’m sure it’s not an excuse.”

  “Whatever. You know what? Men suck.” Jenna touched Jamie’s arm. “Not you, of course.” Jenna stomped off toward the far end of the boat.

  “Sorry.” Jamie shrugged. “For what it’s worth, he seemed pretty bummed about missing the fishing trip.”

  “You know Jenna. She’ll shake it off in five minutes and be back to her bubbly self. Please do me a favor, though. Can you clue her in that Pete was bummed? You know it feels like a rejection even if it was a valid excuse.”

  “Sure.” He followed Jenna across the deck.

  Bella watched as he gave her the news. Jenna hugged him, and Jamie said something that made her laugh; then he slung his arm over her shoulder and offered her a cookie. She was glad to see Jenna smiling again.

  The boat moved swiftly through the water as they left the marina and headed out into the open water. Bella and Caden leaned against the railing at the bow of the boat. The crisp air stung against her skin, but beneath Caden’s protective arm, Bella was toasty warm.

  “Evan’s really excited about TGG. I don’t think I properly thanked you.” He kissed her cheek. “It means the world to me that you include Evan in your thoughts.”

  She turned toward him, and her hair whipped across her cheek. Caden reached over and gathered her hair in his big hand and held it away from her face. “That’s how you first stole my heart, remember?”

  “I remember.” He glanced at Evan, feverishly texting on his cell phone.

  She loved the way he was conscious of acting appropriately in front of Evan. It made their stolen kisses even more special. Heck, she loved everything about him, stolen kisses or heated, exposed kisses, and it still surprised the heck out of her, because she’d been dead set on sticking to her plan.

  “I missed you last night.” He moved so close she could see his long eyelashes tangling at the corners of his eyes.

  She felt her cheeks heat up as the others joined them.

  Caden took a step back, but the heat of him remained.

  “None of that kissy-face stuff, please. It’s depressing me.” Jenna pushed her way in between them. “I’m instigating a five-foot rule.” She pointed to Leanna and Kurt, standing arm in arm. “You too. Five feet between you at all times. Give a girl some slack, will ya?”

  “You’re such a nut. Jamie said Pete was bummed about not coming with us.”

  “I know. But Jamie’s so sweet he probably made that up.” Jenna smiled at Jamie.

  “I’m not that nice,” Jamie said as he joined them by the railing.

  The captain cut the engine and the boat slowed.

  Amy ran to the railing. “Oh good. Now we get to fish. I’m so excited.”

  “Fish barbeque in the quad tonight?” Tony whipped off his shirt. Caden, Kurt, and Jamie followed his lead, and the bare-chested men began readying the fishing lines.

  “Who needs Pete with this much eye candy around?” Jenna slapped Jamie’s butt.

  Bella caught Caden’s eye and blew him a kiss. “You’re telling me?”

  Tony was helping Amy with a fishing rod. “Hey, Ames,” Jenna called. “Hands off Tony’s rod.”

  Amy blushed.

  Bella laughed, glad Jenna was back to her old self.

  Bella couldn’t tear her eyes from Caden. She could still feel his hips against hers, his muscular thighs, heavy and tense as they joined together last night.

  “Hey, girlie. If you keep looking at him like that, his son is going to learn a lot more than fishing on this trip.” Leanna bumped her shoulder against Bella’s.

  “Sorry.” Bella turned away from Caden. “Now I know how you felt with Kurt. I’ve never felt like this before.”

  “Neither had I. Remember how it freaked me out?” Leanna shifted her eyes to Kurt and sighed. “He’s everything to me, Bell.”

  “I know, and I get it. I feel the same way about Caden, and of course Evan.” She glanced at Evan, who was still texting. “As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go talk with him a little and see if I can get him away from his cell phone for a few minutes.”

  “Hi, Ev.” Bella sat beside him.

  He pressed the lock button on his phone. “Hey.”

  “Don’t you want to fish?”

  “In a minute.” Evan shifted his eyes away, and when he brought his attention back to Bella, a chill ran up her spine at the frightened look in his eyes.

  “You okay?”

  He looked away again and fidgeted with his phone. “How long are we going to be out here?”

  “A couple hours, I guess. Is something wrong?”

  He looked at Caden, then dropped his eyes to his phone again. “I can’t get any service. I had it back at the dock, but I’ve lost it.”

  “That happens a lot out here. Is something going on that you need service right now?” She didn’t like the way his demeanor had changed since he arrived.

  He shrugged again.

  “Ev, if something’s wrong, I’m sure Joe can get in touch with someone for you.”

  “I’m cool.”

  “Ev, come take this line.” Caden waved him over to the railing.

  Evan shoved his phone in his pocket and joined Caden. Caden handed him a fishing rod, but Evan’s expression didn’t change.

  “Remember when you caught that big one two summers ago?” Caden asked Evan.

  Evan handed him the pole. “I don’t want to fish.” He stalked to the other end of the boat, leaving Caden to stare after him.

  Bella reached for the pole. “I’ll take it. You should go to him. I think something’s wrong.”

  “He’s just moody.” Caden draped an arm over her shoulder, holding the rod in the other hand, and nuzzled against her neck.

  “I don’t think so.” She watched Evan standing farther down the deck with his shoulders hunched forward as he scrolled through his phone. He fisted his hand around it and punched the air.

  “Babe, he’s just going through something right now. You even said he’d get through this hard time just fine.” Caden turned back toward the water.

  An uneasy feeling drew Bella’s eyes back to Evan.

  Amy squealed. “I’ve got one!”

  Distracted by Amy, Bella glanced back at her, despite her mind still being on Evan.

  Tony came up behind her, dwarfing her small frame with his large body, as he reached around her and helped her bring in the line.

  “Hang on tight,” he guided her. “Good. Now reel it in slowly. That’s it.”

  “Okay. Okay.” Amy smiled brightly. “I got a fish!”

  “Way to go, Amy,” Jenna cheered from the other side of the rail, where her own line hung in the water. “I knew you’d snag one before me.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Get it?” She elbowed Leanna.

  “You’re so silly.” Leanna bumped her with her hip.

  In the excitement, Bella slipped away and went to Evan. He turned away as she neared, a move that screamed trouble in Bella’s experienced mind.

  “Evan, you sure you don’t want to fish?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, you’re missing out on a good time.” She leaned on the railing and looked out over the water. It was a warm, sunny day, and she only wished Evan could enjoy it.

  His eyes were hidden by his hair, but she had a clear view of his clenching jaw. He was throwing off the same troublesome vibe she’d felt when they left the beach.

  “Evan, if there’s something—”

  “Nothing’s going on, okay?” He breathed heavily through flaring nostrils.

  Holy crap, what are you dealing with?

  “Okay. Okay. Sorry.” She took a step away.

  “Wait.” The tremor in his voice stopped her cold. He crossed and uncrossed his
arms. “I don’t know if something’s wrong. Everything’s messed up.”

  “Evan, what’s messed up?”

  He clammed up again, and she wanted to shake him into talking.

  “Hey, guys.” Caden’s voice cut through the silence. He ran his eyes between the two of them. His smile faded, replaced with a piercing, worried stare. “What’s going on?”

  Evan shot a look at Bella. She tilted her head and softened her gaze, as if to say, This is all you, buddy.

  Evan shifted his eyes to his father again. He crossed his arms over his chest, but he couldn’t hide the fearful vibe that radiated from him.

  “It’s Vera.”

  Two words that hit like a bullet to Bella’s chest.

  Caden closed in on him. “What’s Vera?”

  “I don’t know.” Evan drew in a jagged breath. His voice was shaky and angry, and his eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know, okay? Those guys sent me a text, and I think it might mean that they’re doing something to her cottage. I don’t know, Dad, and I swear I have nothing to do with it.”

  Without a word, Caden stalked inside and grabbed his duffel bag. He pulled out some sort of radio and called in a report to the station for someone to get over to Vera’s cottage.

  “Evan?” Bella placed her hands on his shaking shoulders and stared into his damp eyes. “Tell me what you know.”

  “They sent a text that said I could go to hell and that she could kiss her violin goodbye. I think they thought she was with us.” Evan pulled out of her grasp. “Shit. Damn it. If they hurt her, I swear I’ll kill them.”

  Adrenaline and worry surged through Bella’s veins. She heard Caden talking to Joe; then he went to the front of the boat and pulled Jamie aside. A minute later Jamie was hulking over Evan and there was a flurry of pulling in fishing lines and worried voices.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jamie demanded. His face was red, the veins in his neck plumped, snaking over tight muscles.

  “I…I don’t know. I swear I didn’t know anything, Jamie. I swear it. I would never hurt Vera.” Tears streamed down Evan’s cheeks.

  Bella had never seen Jamie as angry as he was now, pacing the deck with fisted hands. The boat roared to life and sped toward shore. The others gathered together, trying to figure out what was going on. Words of worry and confusion darted from their conversations. Caden dragged Evan to the opposite end of the boat with his back to Bella and the others. He paced a few steps, stopped and said something to Evan, then paced again. Evan shriveled beneath Caden’s anger. Bella couldn’t think past hoping that whatever was going on, Vera was okay.

  Chapter Twenty

  CADEN DRAGGED EVAN off the boat and drove like a bat out of hell toward Seaside. Anger, worry, and guilt swelled in his chest.

  “What the hell were you thinking, Evan? You should have said something to me the minute you got that text.” He didn’t mean to yell, but he had no chance in hell of quelling his anger. “Jamie trusted you. I trusted you. Damn it, Evan.”

  “I’m sorry. I texted them and told them not to go near her. You can check my phone. I thought they were just dicking around with me.” Evan pressed his body against the passenger door. “Dad, I swear, I would never do anything to hurt her.”

  “How did they know about her violin?”

  “They asked me to meet them one day when I was with Jamie, and I said no. That night we were joking around, and I said something about her playing the violin. I didn’t think anything of it, Dad. I was just talking. I never thought they’d do anything.”

  Caden shook his head. “If anything happened to Vera…” What? There were no words to express how he felt. This was as much his fault as it was Evan’s. He’d been so wrapped up in Bella that he hadn’t spent enough time with Evan. He’d noticed all sorts of clues, but he hadn’t spent enough time investigating them. What the hell had he been thinking?

  “I want to know who is involved with this, Evan. Even if it includes you. And I want to know every last detail that you know.” Holy fuck. It had better not include you. As he sped into Seaside and the police cars came into view, another reality slap slammed into his chest. If it came down to it, could he turn in his own son?

  “Do not get out of this truck, and you’d better pray she’s okay.” Caden cut the engine and went into Vera’s cottage. The smell of freshly baked cookies shot another piercing pain through him. A quick scan of the surroundings told him there hadn’t been a struggle. Nothing was overturned. The officer, who he knew from the station, filled him in, and he headed back out to the truck as the others arrived.

  Jamie grabbed his arm. “How is she?”

  “She’s okay, but they took her to the urgent care to get checked out.”

  Pain etched Jamie’s face.

  Caden quickly added. “It was precautionary. She was frightened, but no one touched her. Jamie, I’m sor—”

  Jamie was already climbing into his car.

  Kurt and the others were talking to another officer. Bella ran to Caden.

  “What happened? Is she okay?” Fear riddled her words and filled her eyes.

  He spoke fast as he hurried back toward the truck. “She was frightened. They took her to the urgent care center. I’m taking Evan there now.”

  Bella kept pace with him. “I’ll go with you.”

  Caden stopped walking. He fisted his hands, fighting the urge to take her in his arms and tell her Vera would be okay and that he’d deal with Evan. He struggled against the ache burning a hole in his gut because this whole mess was his fault, and when he finally forced himself to speak, his serious, controlled voice surprised him.

  “I think I’d better handle this alone. I’m sorry.” He climbed into the truck and sped out of the community, feeling as though his world was shattering around him.

  BELLA RAN INTO the urgent care center with Amy and Jenna on her heels. Leanna, Kurt, and Tony had stayed at the cottages so as not to overwhelm the urgent care center. The policeman at the cottages had told them that the kids broke in, and when they saw Vera was home, they took off, but the intrusion had shaken Vera up very badly. She hoped and prayed that Vera was okay.

  They found Evan standing against the far wall of the waiting room with his back to the door. Caden was nowhere in sight. Bella went to Evan.

  “What’s happening?”

  Evan turned with a shrug. His face was pale, his eyes sorrowful. “They won’t tell me anything. Dad’s in with Jamie. Bella, I swear, I didn’t know they were serious when they texted.”

  “Okay. I believe you.” She turned and nearly toppled over Amy and Jenna. “Jesus. Let me go see if I can get any information.” She left them with Evan and went to the registration desk, where she was able to speak to Bones.

  “Hi, Bella.”

  “Hi. Sorry to bother you, but our friend Vera Reed came in and I wanted to see how she was doing.”

  Bones’s eyes softened. “Oh.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “She’s with a police officer and her grandson. I can’t let you back unless she gives us the okay.”

  “I don’t need to go back. I just want to know if she’s okay.”

  He nodded and held up a finger; then he disappeared down the hall. When he returned a few minutes later, Bella was relieved to see him smiling.

  “She’s okay, and she’s talking up a storm. They’re just monitoring her. I’m sure she’ll be released soon.”

  “Oh, thank God. Can I bother you to just ask Caden Grant, the officer who’s with her, if he wants me to take his son back to my place? I hate to leave him here.” She pointed to the waiting area, where Jenna and the others were hovering around Evan.

  “Sure. Hold on.” He left again, and returned quicker this time. “He said to leave Evan here and he’d take care of him.”

  He said to leave? Leave? Caden’s response took her by surprise. She thanked Bones, even though she was tortured inside, and drew in a few deep breaths before returning to the others.

  “Well?” Jenna
asked.

  “They said she’s okay and she’ll be released soon.” She touched Evan’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He shrugged.

  “Your dad should be out soon. Do you want me to stay with you until he comes out?”

  “No. I’m okay.”

  Bella didn’t hesitate before wrapping her arms around him. She was surprised when he returned the embrace.

  “Call me if you need me, okay?”

  He nodded. “Bella, I swear, I really didn’t know about any of this. I told Dad everything I knew.”

  “That’s good, Evan. I’m just glad she’s okay.”

  They went back to Seaside and joined Leanna, Kurt, and Tony on Leanna’s deck. Pepper pawed at Bella to be petted, and Bella crouched to love him up as she filled them in. They sat in silence afterward, digesting the terrible turn of events.

  “Man, Bella. Was Evan into some deep shit, or was he just hanging out with the wrong kids?” Tony asked. “I never would have expected this.”

  “No one did. I think—I hope—he was just hanging out with the wrong kids. Last night he told Caden that he wasn’t going to hang out with them anymore, and from what he said on the boat, they got pissed because of it.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Who does this sort of thing? They could have given Vera a heart attack.”

  “What did Caden say?” Jenna tucked her hair behind her ear. “Can you imagine? He’s not just a parent, but a cop.”

  “I don’t know. He said he wanted to handle it alone. I guess he’ll call when things settle down.” The way he’d looked when he’d told her he had to handle it alone made her stomach sink. Then again, this wasn’t like everyday bad behavior. This was a hundred times worse.

  They turned at the sound of Jamie’s car pulling into his driveway. Amy’s eyes filled with tears. Tony put his arm around her as they descended the stairs to the deck. Jenna grabbed Bella’s hand.

  “Thank God she’s back,” Jenna whispered as they went to greet him.

  Jamie opened Vera’s car door and reached for her hand.