C H A P T E R  10

Lauren had made herself scarce for the past couple of weeks since the planning board meeting. Sonja had said she was busy with that new project with her firm’s biggest client. If Jesse didn’t know better, he’d say his fearless Lauren was afraid of their attraction and what they were going to do about it. He bounded down the stairs. Or she really had moved on to break the tie that had bound them even when they’d ended things before. But what Lauren didn’t know was that he’d moved on, too, leaving behind the rash racer he’d been as a younger man. He had the patience now to wait and find out for sure.

Without a conscious thought, he found himself humming “I’ll Wait for You,” their song. The bittersweet memories it evoked ran through his head. He raked his hand through his hair. Next thing he knew, he’d be picking up a few extra bucks writing a column for the lovelorn in the local paper. Not that he couldn’t use the bucks.

Lauren’s appearance at the other door stopped his steps. He’d learned patience, but only to a point. When they’d arrived home at the same time yesterday, it had hit him how much he’d missed her. So, he’d talked her into stopping by today to see the progress he and his dad had made, couching it as an inspection in case she ran into anyone from the planning board.

She opened her door.

“Hi,” he said. “You’re up and out early.”

“I know you usually leave about now.”

So she kept track of his schedule. He tamped down the boost to his ego. She probably knew what time his father left, too. She did live right next door.

“And I have an early client meeting this morning.” She walked onto the porch wearing one of what he thought of as her more lawyerly suits. If her intent was to look business unisex, it didn’t work on him, at least. Lauren was all woman, no matter how she might try to hide it.

“You can look at our work progress another day, if that would be better. The improvements will still be there.”

She caught up with him on the slate walkway leading from the house. “Today’s fine.”

Was it, or did she just want to get the inspection and time with him over with? She had avoided him for two weeks, which had to have taken some effort, considering they lived in the same building. What was with him? He didn’t second guess things, and Lauren wasn’t a person whose words had double meanings.

“I’ll follow you over,” she said, heading toward her car in the driveway while he continued down the walkway to his truck parked on the street.

He hopped into his truck, powered it on, and flicked the directional to pull out. The flash on the dashboard was like a light bulb going off. What was with him was that he wanted Lauren to cheer on his construction work like she used to cheer him on at races. His stomach clenched at his neediness. This love stuff was sick torture.

Jesse stopped at the mansion gate, got out of his truck, and unlocked the gate. He swung it open and walked back to her car. She rolled down her window.

“I’ll pull in so you can get around my truck. Go ahead up to the house. I’m going to relock the gate.” He paused. “What the planning board chair said about people trespassing and possibly getting hurt on the property made me nervous.”

Lauren nodded solemnly, but the corners of her lips twitched.

Jesse felt her gaze on his back as he walked to his truck and drove through the open gate. He needed to stop trying to impress Lauren and be himself, or it would be the death of him. Jesse waited in the truck while Lauren pulled around him and headed up the driveway. Then he locked up and followed her, excitement building. Wait until Lauren saw what he and Dad had accomplished. He’d had trouble getting the foundation people scheduled until this week, so they’d done all the foundation prep they could and concentrated on the cottage, which was nearly done. They probably could move in this weekend and get one thing off his plate.

He pulled behind Lauren’s car and exited his truck with a big grin on his face. A grin Lauren didn’t return.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

Sorry for what? His gaze followed hers to the cottage. All the windows, his custom- ordered windows had been smashed. His breakfast settled like a dead weight in his stomach as he rushed to the door and unlocked it. As if he needed to with the tall living room windows busted out. He braced himself, but it wasn’t enough to stop the bile rising. The damage inside in the living room was limited to graffiti on the newly painted walls. He should check the bedrooms and kitchen, but his work boots were rooted to the hardwood floor, which thankfully, hadn’t been damaged.

Lauren stepped beside him and squeezed his hand with hers. “This time, you’re calling the police.”

He gave her a noncommittal grunt. “I need to check the kitchen and bedrooms.”

Lauren tightened her hand on his, and that unrooted his feet. He blew out his pent-up breath when they entered the kitchen. No damage. “That leaves the bedrooms.” He tugged Lauren along, his boost from the kitchen inspection sinking with each glimpse into the three rooms. The unpainted interiors were untouched, but the windows had been broken.

“I’d thought we’d move in this weekend,” he said, as much to himself as to Lauren. He closed the last door and reassessed the living room.

“You still have two weeks to meet Judge Trexler and Child Service’s deadline.”

“All of the living room windows were custom-ordered and took a week to come in.”

Lauren cocked her head to the side. “But you just need to replace the glass, don’t you?”

Where was his head? He examined the window frames. She was right. They were fine. All he needed was a glazier to help him and Dad replace the glass. Jesse strode back and hugged Lauren.

“You’re right.” He rested his forehead against hers, resisting the pull to lower his lips and take solace in hers. “But Dad and I would have to take time out of the other work to repair the cottage before we can I move in. And we only four weeks now to have the mansion stabilized, too. I couldn’t find anyone that could start the foundation work before today.”

Jesse lifted his head and Lauren stepped back. He glanced out the window. Speaking of the foundation work, the contractor should be showing up any minute with its equipment.

Lauren nodded. “Considering the circumstances, I see no problem with your provisional custody being extended until the structural work on the mansion is done and the cottage is repaired.”

He knew that was supposed to reassure him, but it didn’t. He didn’t want anything to jeopardize his custody of Shelley. Jesse kicked an empty beer can the vandals must have left behind. “I’m supposed to take care of my family.”

Lauren reached up and placed her finger to his lips. “You are, to the best of your ability. That’s one of the things I lo … admire about you.”

Her word tumbled out and a blush sent a shiver down his spine.

She dropped her hand to her side. “I’ve got to run.”

Away from him, from what she’d started to say?

“That meeting. Call the police.” Lauren’s voice was all business now.

An army of emotions warred inside him as he watched her walk to her car. The problem with giving his best was that it never seemed to be good enough.

Officer Ben Andrews closed his pad. “This could be random vandalism. You’re sure you can’t think of anyone who might want to get back at you for something?”

“I haven’t been here long enough to make any enemies,” Jesse said.

“I’m only asking because you were a national figure on the motocross circuit. Anything from then?”

Had Ben emphasized were, or was he being overly sensitive? He had kind of liked the guy after he’d learned he was happily married, and that he and Lauren really were no more than friends. That is until he’d grilled him earlier on the insurance coverage on the property, as if he’d done the damage himself for money.

“And I heard you recently got custody of your daughter,” Ben said.

Jesse fisted his hands. From living with Mac and Dana in Chenango Falls as a teen when he first started racing, he knew how people tended to know everyone’s business in a small place. But he didn’t need Shelley dragged into this.

His dad, who’d been boarding up the back windows, came up behind him. Before Jesse could say anything, his dad faced off with Ben, looking every inch the custom bike shop owner he’d been. “I heard what you were saying to Jesse earlier about the insurance. We had the cottage all finished, ready for us to move in as the final step in Jesse having permanent custody of his daughter. He wouldn’t have done anything to jeopardize that, no matter what there was to gain financially.”

Jesse uncurled his fingers and touched his father’s arm. They’d had their differences in the past, but Jesse just realized something they had in common. A fierce protective love for their family. Child and adult. His heart thumped, remembering his and his father’s love for his mother and, then, what Lauren had almost said earlier—or what he thought she’d been about to say. Protective love for the women in their family and those they wanted to be part of their family.

“Mr. Brewster. I was only going to ask if Jesse had gotten any pushback from his daughter’s mother’s family.”

“No,” Jesse answered. “My daughter’s aunt, her only relative on record, dropped her off with nothing more than a suitcase and said she was my responsibility before speeding away, address unknown. Until then, I didn’t even know she existed.”

Ben lifted the plastic evidence bag with the beer can in it. “I’ll take this back to the station and see if we can lift any fingerprints. Unless you can think of anything else that might help.”

Jesse shook his head. “No.”

Ben hesitated. “Is Lauren still your attorney?”

“Why? Do I need one?” Technically Lauren was until the name change was done. But Jesse was anxious to break that connection ASAP for a better one with her.

“No. Acer handled the property, the estate settlement. She might have some insight from that.”

Jesse scuffed the toe of his work boot against the sandy ground. “Right.” Lauren had pressed him hard to report the stolen and replaced gas. Which he hadn’t.

“Did you tell him about the gas?” his father asked, as if reading his mind. More likely, he was still peeved about the insurance questions.

“What about gas?” Ben asked.

Jesse filled him in.

“I could have used this information sooner. Report anything else right away,” Ben said.

“You’ll keep us informed?” Jesse’s father asked.

Ben nodded and strode to his patrol car.

Jesse surveyed the damage to the cottage again. “What am I going to do?” he asked more to himself than of his father.

“We’re going to work harder and smarter,” his dad answered.

Jesse patted his father’s shoulder. He appreciated all Dad was doing. And that the project and little Shelley had pulled his father back into life. But Jesse knew how tired he was at the end of their long days, and how worn out Dad looked in the evening. How much more could his father—and he admitted it, could he—give?

“That college kid Sonja recommended from church is starting tomorrow,” his father reminded him.

“Yeah.” The guy had good work recommendations, but no real experience in construction beyond helping his folks do some interior updates on their house.

“You could hire additional help.”

Jesse hadn’t shared how close he and Sonja were on financing. Shadows of his father’s disappointment had stopped him. Disappointment when Jesse hadn’t wanted to be an engineer, as his father had hoped; when he’d chosen racing; when he’d dropped his part-time college classes as he became more successful on the circuit. He rolled his lips in and out. Then, of course, there was his accident.

“I’ll talk with Sonja.”

“Yeah, you need to let her know.”

The sounds of large equipment filled the silence that had opened between them. The foundation crew.

“Go ahead, make your call,” his father said. “I’ll handle things with the contractor.”

“Thanks, Dad.” For a whole lot more than today. Jesse’s chest tightened. He was getting maudlin now. Or it could be apprehension about calling Sonja, about old patterns repeating themselves. Jesse paced in front of the cottage while the phone rang.

“Hi, Jesse, you just caught me,” Sonja answered. “I’m on my way out to a showing, a second showing.”

Sonja’s confident enthusiasm reminded him of Lauren when she got all bubbly about something she was excited about. Or how Lauren used to get all bubbly. He hadn’t seen much of that side of Lauren since he’d arrived in Indigo Bay. He shook his head as if that could clear the cloud that had descended on him when he saw the damage to the cottage.

“The foundation people didn’t reschedule again, did they?” she asked. “They know our time frame.”

“No, they’re here.” He paused. “Someone vandalized the cottage. Shelley and I aren’t going to be able to move in this week.” Jesse continued over the squawk of dismay from Sonja. “Dad and I are going to have to move on to the big house and come back to the cottage repairs, if we’re going to make the planning board deadline. We may have to hire some more help.” He might as well get that out front.

“You have to do what you have to do. I can take a loan against my retirement account if needed to cover the costs. And I know someone I can recommend for the work, part-time, at least. His name is Jace Fisher. But Jace’s part-time would be as good or better than someone less experienced full-time.”

Jesse tried not to give in to the relief that washed over him. “Thanks, but I don’t want you overextending yourself for me.”

“Get this right. It’s not for you. It’s for me. The B&B is my dream business. I’ve got two showings today. I can’t get over until late afternoon to see the damage. You called the police?”

“Yes, and there’s no need to come over. I can tell you tonight.”

“My prospective buyers are here. Lauren can come look at the damage for me.”

He hadn’t told her Lauren had already seen it. Jesse had too many emotions tangled up in that meeting right now.

“She’s our attorney, after all,” Sonja said. “And I’ll text you Jace’s contact information.” Sonja clicked off.

Jesse stared at the blank phone screen. He didn’t know what Lauren being their attorney—and his only until Shelley’s last name change was final—had to do with the vandalism. What he did know is that he didn’t need Lauren witnessing his life falling apart again.

“Brittany, I’ll be out for a while,” Lauren said. Hey, Ray and Gerry did it all of the time. They were both out now. She’d make it up to Brittany another time for leaving her to handle the office alone.

“Early lunch?” Brittany asked.

“Client meeting,” Lauren answered before her co-worker could ask her to pick up something. “I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

Brittany’s knowing look as Lauren exited the office said she knew exactly which client, too. Of course, that wasn’t hard. Lauren had only a few clients with open business right now and Jesse and Ken Kostner were the only male ones. Ken had been her early morning appointment. She’d jumped into his project, even though she was technically still working with Jesse. But not for long. She’d gotten notice this morning of the hearing for Shelley’s name change, which for all practical purposes was just a formality. But that wasn’t the only reason she was on her way back to the mansion to see Jesse. No. It was her mother’s phone call a few minutes ago. Mom had let it drop that she was tapping into her retirement account to hire more workers to stay on schedule with the renovations, despite the vandalism.

A salty tang in the air made Lauren glance at the sky before she got into her car. The darkening clouds rolling in signaled a coastal storm. A storm that couldn’t match the one she’d start if she tried to advise her mother against borrowing against her retirement funds. She needed to talk to Jesse without her mother, see how deep he and her mother were getting in and with what, or whom. The uneasiness that plagued her about the project erupted again. Indigo Bay didn’t see much truly destructive vandalism. And it had bothered her that Ken had asked about the B&B project this morning and said his offer for the property still stood.

It was pouring rain when Lauren pulled up to the cottage. The site looked deserted, except for some excavating equipment. As she was debating whether to make a dash for the cottage or leave, Jesse came out of the building holding a square of plywood over his head, taking the chill off the day. Her knight in shining armor.

He opened the car door for her. “Your mother called to warn me you might be on your way, although I didn’t clearly pick up on why. I don’t know what impression you got earlier or from talking to your mother, but you didn’t need to come back.”

She stepped out under the board, close to him. He didn’t want her here? Her heart sank. That wasn’t the impression she’d gotten earlier. Too bad. From the professional side, she was still his lawyer, for now at least. As for the relationship side, who knew what they were doing?

“But I’m glad you did come by.”

Once inside the cottage, her heart dropped again at the wall graffiti and the now boarded-up windows.

“Oh, Jesse.” She touched his arm as he straightened from leaning the piece of plywood against the wall.

“It’s not that bad. I have this under control, although it means we have to postpone moving from your mother’s place. On the plus side, the foundation equipment and crew arrived today and we have them working exclusively here until the job is done.”

“Assuming the weather clears,” Lauren said.

A muscle in his jaw twitched.

Why had she said that?

His expression remained sober. “What are the chances I could get an extension on the rehabilitation agreement if the weather does cause further delay?”

“The board might consider it if we have a stretch of inclement weather.” She hesitated. She had to be straight with Jesse. “The vandalism probably works against you. That someone was able to get onto the property and do the damage supports the city’s concern about someone getting hurt in the condemned mansion.”

Jesse dropped his chin to his chest in a familiar action she’d seen many times when he was racing. He’d finish a race, whip off his helmet and look at his time. If it wasn’t what he wanted, expected, he’d drop his head for an on-the-spot analysis of what he’d done wrong.

“I shouldn’t have spent the time on the cottage first. It doesn’t matter much if Social Services supervises my guardianship for a while longer. Your mother is fine with us staying with her. Maybe more than fine, where my dad’s involved.”

The quirk of his lips when he mentioned her mom and his dad was a magnet. She stepped closer. “But you couldn’t get any excavation company scheduled to shore up the foundation until today. That could work to your advantage.” She shivered with a wave of uneasiness. For a plum job like this, she was surprised he hadn’t had local companies falling over each other to start the job. There wasn’t that much new construction going on in Indigo Bay.

“Cold?” he asked. Not waiting for an answer, he closed the space between them and wrapped his warm, strong arms around her.

“No.” Her shiver played into the conspiracy thoughts she had no basis for. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel. Lauren wrapped her arms around Jesse’s neck and pulled his lips to hers.

After a moment’s hesitation, he accepted her offering and made her one back, capturing her lips with a kiss that was soft and demanding at the same time. Too soon, he pulled back with a dazed look on his face.

“I love you, still, again, when I have nothing to offer you.” His lips moved in words she wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear.

His bemusement was replaced with an expression she wasn’t used to seeing on his face—defeat.

“I think …”

Jesse’s cell phone rang.

Lauren ignored it and his further pull back. “I think I’m falling back in love with you, too.”

The phone rang again, and he frowned as he drew it from his pocket.

She shouldn’t have been so tentative. The truth was she loved Jesse more than ever, as a woman, not a girl. He had so much to offer that had nothing to do with his financial worth.

“Brewster,” he said into the phone, listening to what whoever on the other end was saying. “Yeah, thanks for the update.”

Jesse shoved the phone in his back pocket. “That was Ben. They’ve got a kid for the damage.”

Nothing of the potentially life changing moment they’d shared showed in Jesse, except in the stiff way he held himself. But that could mean anything.

“That was fast,” she said, controlling her voice to be as bland as his had been as she reined in her racing heart.

“There was a beer can. It had a fingerprint on it. Ben said they connected it to a local kid who’d been picked up last months for underage drinking.”

“Oh.” That was still quick work. Lauren noticed the drum of rain on the roof had stopped. “Sounds like the rain has stopped. I should get back to the office. I’ll swing by and get you a copy of the police report from Ben.”

“Sure,” Jesse said.

That was it? Lauren pushed open the cottage door. The angry thunderclouds still obliterated the sun. But the rain had stopped, unlike the storm their kiss had started inside her. She dashed for her car, leaving without accomplishing what she’d come to do—talk with Jesse about the project and her mother’s financial backing and tell him about the name-change hearing.

Jesse, being close to Jesse, had messed with her organized thoughts, as had happened too often since the day they’d met. She touched her fingertip to her lips. He’d said he loved her. But, again, he wasn’t going to let himself accept the reality of that love until he proved whatever it was he thought he had to prove to her.

Lauren had pulled herself together by the time she entered the police station.

“Hi,” Ben said. “Let me guess. You’ve come for a copy of the Brewster vandalism report.”

“Yep. You sure got to the bottom of that fast.”

Ben looked from side to side. “The Chief made it a priority,” he said in a low voice. “He, most of us, are anxious to see the mansion restored. It’s part of Indigo Bay’s history.”

Lauren took the sheaf of papers Ben handed her.

“The case isn’t solved yet. The kid said he was hired to vandalize the property through an online ad.”