4

They found the restaurant packed, but Raine managed to find a vacant table outside in the fresh air while Dec placed their order.

She loved the hustle and bustle of busy diners coming and going, the snippets of conversation from different directions, the salty tang of sea air. But even as she absorbed her surroundings, part of her wondered where Dec had gone, back there at Nitt Witt Ridge. For a moment, although he’d stood right beside her, he’d been somewhere else. And judging by the way he tightened those firm lips and furrowed his handsome brow, it hadn’t been the most pleasant of places.

What had he been thinking?

None of your business. She administered a firm mental slap to her wrist. Let it go.

Dec’s arrival helped her do that, at least for the moment.

He slid a loaded tray onto the table and sat across from her. “Welcome to the best barbecue in the West.”

She laughed. “Well, it certainly looks and smells inviting. I didn’t even realize I was hungry until I got a whiff of whatever this is.”

Dec took her hand and bowed his head. She did the same as the low rumble of his voice skittered its way from her toes all the way to the top of her head, where it tingled her scalp in a most pleasant manner.

“Father, thank You for this beautiful day and for the company of this lovely woman. Thank You for the food we’re about to eat and for Your constant love and care. Amen.”

Now how could such a simple prayer, spiced with the most offhand of compliments, throw her heart into overdrive? Raine picked up her pulled-pork sandwich and bit into it, determined to change the course of her thoughts.

A second later, her eyes widened—she felt the stretch, so Dec must be seeing a bug-eyed version of the “lovely woman” across from him.

“Oh my.” She swallowed the first bite and dabbed at her lips with one of the stack of napkins he had brought to the table. “Oh my! This is incredible!”

He grinned, and Raine somehow knew he’d expected just such a reaction.

“Told’ja so,” he said and took another impossibly big bite of his own sandwich. He paused for a drink, and then tilted his head to one side. “So…I haven’t asked. What brings you to Cambria? Since you’re staying at Paradise Pines, I think I can safely assume you’re here for the duration of the season, right?”

“Yes.” Raine tapped at her lips again. She was bound to be wearing a bit of the barbecue sauce. She sipped at her sweet iced tea before pulling in a deep breath. “I finished a little early at university, and I’ll be starting a new job in forensic pathology as soon as I leave here. I’m just taking a break between school and work.”

Dec sent her a quizzical look—one eyebrow climbing, the other taking a dive. “Finished early, huh? You skimmed over that pretty neatly, lady, but I have a feeling it means you’re an exceptionally hard worker—and more than just passably intelligent.”

Raine shrugged away the compliment as warmth curled upward from her neck into her face.

Dec chuckled. “OK, you don’t want to talk about that. So when are the actual commencement ceremonies? I assume you’ll be participating in those.”

“In May, and yes, of course I will.”

Now he laughed out loud. “I’ve never met anyone less willing to talk about their own accomplishments. May I at least congratulate you on earning your degree, and on what sounds like a really profitable career field?”

“Of course.” She squirmed, uncomfortable beneath his scrutiny. “Thank you.”

He didn’t relieve her of that discomfort immediately. Instead, those steel-gray eyes narrowed to slits and he studied her, obviously curious. “You don’t sound overly excited about it.”

She pasted on a smile she hoped came across as genuine. Dec had proven far more observant than she’d expected, pinning her down with a question that had been teasing at her conscience for some time. “It’s been a long haul, getting that diploma and securing a position in the state forensics department. I’ll be starting as an apprentice, but even that…well, yeah, of course I’m very pleased.”

Dec shoved his food basket to the side and pulled a drink through his straw without once taking his gaze off her face. Was he seeing clear through to her soul?

“Right.” He finally said something, in a dry voice that dripped disbelief.

“I am!” Why did she feel the need to insist so vehemently?

“If you say so.” He still studied her far too closely for comfort. “Your parents must be proud.”

“You could say that.” She glanced away and clasped her lip between her teeth so he wouldn’t see the tremble. When she thought she could speak without revealing anything he didn’t need to know, she smiled. “Watching me reach this point in my life has been their single-minded goal since…well, since the day I was born, I think.”

Dec frowned. “Their goal? That’s an odd way of putting it. What about you, Raine?”

She shrugged. “It makes them happy, so yes—my goal too, of course.”

“Wait a minute. It makes them happy? I don’t get—”

Raine jumped up and stacked both of their empty food baskets onto the tray Dec had left sitting on the edge of the table, then quickly raked their messy napkins on top. “I’ll just take care of these things.” She hurried off before he could pose another question she didn’t want to answer.

As Raine dumped soiled napkins and plastic utensils into the garbage container, and then added their food-dotted tray to a growing stack of them, she fought the urge to cry, perturbed by her own sensitivity.

Why did Dec’s questions rankle so badly?

She was excited about starting her new career in a couple of months. Wasn’t she? She huffed out a breath, straightened her shoulders, and fixed a smile on her face. Of course she was. She’d worked too hard and too long for that degree to be second-guessing herself now. Graduation jitters, that’s all that was going on. And it was perfectly normal to be a little apprehensive about a new job of any kind, especially one with as much responsibility as this one entailed.

Dec’s gray gaze as she approached the table started a mini volcano brewing in her insides. She ignored it.

“Ready to go?” He stood, placed a hand to the small of her back, and escorted her out of the restaurant. As he opened the car door for her, he grinned, clearly having decided to abandon a subject she was reluctant to discuss.

“Now for dessert. I can tell you now…you’re about to experience the best cookies you have ever—or will ever—taste.”

Raine stifled a groan. Could she swallow another bite?

But Dec looked like a little boy, with that wide grin and eager expression. The man was proud of his town, and the special treasures and talents it held.

She gave him a saucy grin. “Bring it on, woodcarver! I never met a cookie I didn’t like.”

****

A week later, and Raine still existed in a state of perpetual infatuation with her surroundings.

Fresh, brisk sea air filled her lungs as she jogged alongside the road. Surely this beautiful coastline was one of God’s special gifts to the human race. The deep peace she had experienced here surpassed any she had known before, and already she had fallen in love with Cambria. If she didn’t have a career waiting back in Pasadena, she could easily imagine herself never leaving.

But she did have a career—and two increasingly miffed parents—awaiting her return to the city. A replay of her frustrating phone conversation with her mother just before she set out pounded her conscience with a force equal to that of her feet against the paved bike path.

She’d sat on the balcony off her kitchen, her hands wrapped around a large mug of coffee, for close to an hour while she geared herself up for the call. The sun rose over the pines as she softly prayed for strength. Finally, she picked up her cell phone, almost hoping the call would go to voice mail.

Her mother answered on the first ring.

“Raine?” Excitement and barely restrained hope tinged the cultured voice. “Are you on your way home?”

Her jaw dropped. What? She’d barely arrived at Paradise Pines. Raine drew a deep, not-so-calming breath. “Mother, you know I plan to be away for several months.”

“Yes, but…” A disappointed sigh all but shook the phone. “I thought perhaps you’d come to your senses and you were headed back here, where you belong.”

Raine bit her tongue and counted to ten. “Not likely to happen. I’m loving this place. Have you ever been to Cambria?”

“Yes, your father and I visited once, years ago. Just overnight. We attended a seminar on achieving success in one’s chosen occupation. It was held at a lodge of some sort—quite comfortable, really—something to do with pines, I think, or maybe willows…well, some kind of tree. I don’t really remember.”

“Probably Cambria Oaks.” Raine hoped her voice held no evidence of the edge her mother’s words sent through her spirit. “What a beautiful place to have a seminar. I can’t believe the two of you left so quickly.”

“Well, the seminar was over.” Puzzlement. Her mother honestly didn’t understand why they might have been stayed longer. “Why would anyone want to hang around an unfamiliar place, having absolutely nothing of importance to attend to? You know we don’t waste a lot of time on sightseeing or, well, any other kind of touristy pastimes. We’ve always tried to stay busy with productive activities.”

The thinly veiled hint at Raine’s wasting of valuable time by running off to Cambria for a vacation set her teeth on edge. Why couldn’t her parents give it a rest, just for now? She looked forward to her new job—when she didn’t think about it too much—but did she really have to sleep, breathe, and eat it every moment of every day?

“That’s too bad. You and Father should have taken time to enjoy this beautiful place. I’ve fallen in love with it.”

A low, controlled chuckle—restrained to carefully display only the most ladylike of vocal resonance—spilled into her ear over the phone. “Don’t be silly, darling. One doesn’t ‘fall in love’ with a location. A location is simply…well, a place. That’s all. One is every bit as good as another, as long as lucrative professions are available.” She drew a sharp breath that came just shy of hissing through the line. Wynn Presley would never be accused of such crass behavior as a hiss of any kind. “I don’t understand why you’ve suddenly become so giddy, darling. It’s quite disappointing.”

Raine bit her lip and swallowed the tears that fought to come. “Disappointing you and Father was not what I set out to do.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Based on the familiar tone of voice, Raine could almost see the expressive roll of her mother’s stunning green eyes—eyes very much like her own, although Raine thought her mother’s far prettier. “Why don’t you just admit this was a bad idea and get yourself back home, Spring Raine? There are plenty of worthwhile things we could be doing to help prepare you for your job.”

Oh no. Mother had used both names—straight from the flower-child past she shared with Raine’s father. Nothing gave away the couple’s wilder days more clearly than the monikers they’d pinned on their daughters—Spring Raine and Summer Skye.

And nothing indicated their mother’s displeasure with such force as the rare occasions on which she made use of both first and middle names.

“Mother…please, don’t. I am well prepared to step into my career with confidence. What I need right now is some time to relax and forget I even have a job waiting. I’ve spent the last sixteen years thinking only about my future, and forging a path to make it happen. Now I need a break. Why can’t you understand that?”

“Well! If you’re going to be rude and disrespectful, please don’t bother calling, Raine. Call again when you’re feeling more like yourself.”

She hung up, and Raine followed suit, blinking back tears she had no intention of shedding. One trip. One break from the constant drive toward career perfection. That’s all she wanted…and the only thing she’d ever asked. Feeling guilty about it was not a road she intended to take.

She set off on her jog, hoping to clear the cobwebs of disappointment and dissension from her head. Having abandoned the trail in the woods as a running route, despite her pleasant outing with Dec, she headed out along the main road between Cambria and the turnoff to Paradise Pines. If the natural beauty along this road couldn’t clear her mind and lighten her heart, nothing could.

To her consternation, she seemed unable to stop thinking about her outing with Dec. The man had proven himself a perfect gentleman, and a fun companion—to say nothing of being all too easy on the eyes. Raine made up her mind to take a firm rein on her emotions where he was concerned. Spending a little time with him was one thing. A vacation would become overly long without some sort of companionship. But she couldn’t allow Dec’s magnetic personality to draw her any further than that.

She rounded a bend in the road and slowed, her gaze fixed on the side of the road just ahead.

A backpack rested on the ground, and someone leaned back against it, arms crossed over a thin chest.

Raine gnawed her lip, wondering if she should reverse direction. On the other hand, she couldn’t decipher gender…was the figure ahead man, woman, boy, or girl? What if someone was in trouble and needed help? Following a strong inner unction, she jogged on to within a few feet of the stranger, whose bowed and hood-covered head provided no hint as to age or gender.

“Hello.” She bent at the waist, hands planted just above her knees, and drew in a few breaths. “I’m Raine.”

The head raised, and a pair of deep brown eyes, narrowed to suspicious slits, studied her face. A young boy, no more than fifteen…sixteen at the most. Sad eyes. Lips thinned to a straight line.

“So?”

Belligerent, huh? If the kid thought being rude would make her go away, he was in for a surprise.

Raine forced a smile. “So…the typical answer to ‘I’m Raine’ would be something like ‘Hi, Raine. I’m Clark…or Tom…or Sue Ellen.” She made a lame attempt at humor, hoping to garner a smile. It didn’t work. “Whatever folks normally call you.”

“Ha.” The boy looked away, and then back to her. His jaded features pinched at her heart. “You don’t want to know what I’m usually called. A lot of things, and you wouldn’t like any of them.”

“Oh…well, I don’t think I’d want to call you anything you don’t like. Surely you have a name.”

The boy shook his head, and then jerked it hard to the side, shaking a long, wavy strand of hair out of his eyes. “My momma named me Cole, but”—Again, his lips tightened, as did his voice—“I think she forgot it real fast. Most times she calls me Good-for-Nothin’.” An apathetic shrug tugged hard at Raine’s heart. “Sometimes Worthless, when she’s in a better mood.”

Raine stepped closer. “Well, Cole, you are not a ‘good-for-nothing.’ And you’re not worthless either.” She reached out to touch the boy’s shoulder, but thought better of it when he shied away as if he thought she intended to strike him. She tucked her hand into her pocket. “Where are you headed?”

“Anywhere but here.” The kid looked away, his face drawn and stubborn.

Raine clearly got the message: Don’t even try to talk me out of leaving. Her heart ached for him. What kind of mother could push her own son away so hard he’d rather be wherever she wasn’t? “You hungry, Cole?”

Something urged her to make use of his name, if only to reinforce the fact that he had one and it wasn’t an insult of any kind. “The least I can do is see that you’re fed before you hit the road.”

He shook his head in a negative motion, but his words belied the action. “I could prob’ly eat somethin’.”

Raine didn’t hesitate. “Me too. Why don’t you come with me to get my car? I’ll take you into Cambria for lunch. And then, if you still want to leave, I’ll see that you get wherever you want to go.”

The kid bit at his lip while he studied her face as if her entire character were written there. Obviously, he would have been taught about “stranger danger,” and that was a good thing, of course. On the other hand, he’d been all set to hitchhike to anywhere away from Cambria.

She said nothing more. The decision would have to be Cole’s.

The boy hesitated only briefly, then stood, scooping his backpack off the ground as he rose. “That’d be OK, I guess.”