Buch lesen: «The Soldier's Legacy»

Chapter One

ALWAYS-PRACTICAL SINGLE MOM Jade Evans had made detailed plans for the coming weeks for herself and her three children. A fire ignited by a careless construction worker had sent that carefully-crafted schedule up in smoke along with the kitchen of their new home, only days before they were to have moved in. Their furniture and most of their belongings had already been delivered before the fire, though fortunately most of the damage had been confined to the kitchen and roof.

“Wow.” Twelve-year-old Caleb stood with his mother and two sisters in a soaring entryway with a dining room on the left side and a front parlor on the right. Glass sliders at the back of the big den ahead looked out over a spacious deck, a glistening pool and a beautifully landscaped lawn that sloped gracefully down to a private dock on the Intracoastal Waterway. His brown eyes wide, Caleb pushed his floppy brown hair off the top of his glasses. “Nice place, huh, Mom?”

“Yes, it’s lovely.”

Jade could understand why her son was impressed. It was hard to imagine that this spacious house was home to only one man—Trevor Farrell, the son of her mother’s closest friend. An army veteran and now-successful resort owner, Trevor had been tragically widowed at just twenty-eight—almost a decade ago while he was deployed overseas. Jade didn’t think he’d owned this place when he was married. So, he’d bought it after his wife’s death, either as a private escape or as an investment. Perhaps he had plans to remarry eventually. His mother hadn’t given up hope for grandchildren to enjoy as much as Jade’s mom. Linda McGill relished being Nanna to Jade’s children.

Mary Pat Rayburn, the short, pleasantly rounded woman who’d opened the door and ushered them inside waved a hand toward the staircase in a warm welcome. “Let me show you up to your rooms.”

“We’re going to live here?” six-year-old Bella asked, slipping her hand into Jade’s. With her golden curls and huge amber eyes, Bella was the youngest and most skittish of the children, the one Jade thought of as her “loving little worrier.”

Notoriously impatient, ten-year-old Erin sighed as she pushed back her darker blond hair to focus on her sister. “We talked about this, Bella. This is Ms. Hester’s son’s house. We’re only staying here until our new house is fixed so we can move in. Right, Mama?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Jade agreed rather reluctantly. She was still finding it hard to believe that she and her children would be sharing Trevor’s home for the next couple of weeks.

Having accepted a job here in Shorty’s Landing, Jade had recently sold the house she’d owned, close to her mother’s home in Columbia, South Carolina.

She and the children could have stayed with her mother until the repairs on their new house here were completed, but school would begin in less than a week. It would’ve been difficult to get the kids back and forth with a ninety-minute drive each way, especially with Jade starting her new job. It was hard enough for them that they’d be in new schools, and now they had to deal with their home in upheaval, as well.

When she’d learned Jade needed temporary lodgings in the area, Hester Farrell had railroaded Jade into occupying Trevor’s rarely used second floor until the repairs were completed. Suspicious about Hester’s motives, Jade had initially resisted the offer. When it came to Jade and Trevor, Hester was no more subtle a matchmaker than Jade’s own mom.

Jade had been forced to inform her mother more than once that she wasn’t interested in being pushed into a romance with Hester’s handsome and successful son—despite hints that grew more pointed each time Jade’s path crossed Trevor’s. As if both being widowed early and having mothers who were close friends formed the basis for a lasting relationship between her and Trevor, Jade often thought in exasperation.

She didn’t want to do anything that would throw more fuel on that particular fire. And accepting charity was difficult for someone who’d become accustomed to relying on no one but herself.

Still, the intimidatingly efficient Hester had forged on with her proposition. Both Hester and Jade’s mother had implied that it would be ungrateful of Jade to refuse the generous offer. So now here they were, being welcomed into Trevor’s home by his housekeeper less than two full days after Hester had extended the invitation on her son’s behalf. Jade couldn’t help wondering if Trevor was any more enthused about the situation than she was.

She and Trevor had been introduced for the first time only three years ago during a party at his parents’ house to celebrate Jade’s mother’s sixtieth birthday. Coincidentally in town for a class reunion, Trevor had dropped in to give his regards. Jade and Trevor had interacted on only a few occasions since, most recently when he’d accompanied his parents to Jade’s father’s funeral last year. Jade couldn’t claim to know Trevor well, but when she thought of him, she always recalled his impeccable manners and his charming, but unrevealing, smile. Despite his deeply ingrained courtesy, she’d had the sense that wherever he was at the time, he felt as though he should be somewhere else—a busy man with divided loyalties pulling him in many directions.

Having been wed to a man whose attention was always somewhere else, Jade recognized the type all too well. Stephen hadn’t been home much during their tragically shortened marriage, but when he was, she knew he’d been thinking of his responsibilities to the military. As much as he’d loved her and the kids, and she’d never had reason to doubt that he had loved them, he’d never seemed totally comfortable changing diapers or grilling burgers in the backyard or unclogging drains. The battlefield had called to him. She’d always wondered if he’d felt the pull of home when he was deployed or if a war zone was where he truly felt most himself.

She’d learned to be independent and almost completely self-sufficient during her somewhat unconventional but still happy marriage. She was chagrined to be in the position of having to accept Trevor’s help now, but she hadn’t had many other options. Finding a temporary place to rent for a family of four would have been difficult. She had to admit this was a convenient, if awkward, solution to her crisis.

With a resigned shake of her head, she motioned toward the stairs. “Everyone follow Mrs. Rayburn now.”

“Oh, y’all can just call me Mary Pat,” the housekeeper insisted with a musical chime of a laugh as she started up the stairs. “I’ve never cared much for formality, as Trevor would tell you.”

Reaching the second-floor landing, they faced a wall arranged with framed photographs of gorgeous landscapes, an intriguing mix of coastal and inland shots. Jade wondered if Trevor had taken them; she’d been told he was a talented photographer. If these photos were his, his talent hadn’t been exaggerated, she mused, studying an image of ocean spray blasting up from behind a boulder on which a heron posed with proudly spread wings. An aerial view of a wooded mountaintop was breathtaking both in theme and in the implied risk involved in taking the shot. Jade had heard Trevor’s mother bemoan her son’s proclivity for risky activities like riding fast motorcycles, mountain climbing and paragliding. As the widow of an adrenaline junkie, Jade didn’t fault Hester for wishing her son would pursue less risky hobbies.

“I like that one,” Bella whispered, pointing to a tableau of two brown horses standing nose to nose in a rolling green pasture as if sharing a secret from the photographer they side-eyed.

“I like it, too,” Jade said, smiling down at her youngest.

“There are three guest bedrooms up here and one downstairs, all with baths attached,” Mary Pat announced with a wave of a hand. “This door ahead of us leads into the bigger bedroom. I figured you’d want that one, Ms. Evans. The other two bedrooms are on either side of the hallway. Maybe the girls would like to share one and Caleb can have the third. Unless you’d prefer to use the downstairs guest suite, Ms. Evans?”

“No, we’ll all bunk up here, thank you. The girls will share. And please call me Jade. I’m not really the formal type, either.”

“Where does Ms. Hester’s son sleep?” Erin asked, peering into one of the open doors.

“Oh, his suite is downstairs,” Mary Pat replied. “He hardly ever comes up here, to be honest.”

“Then why does he have all these rooms?” Erin asked with typical blunt curiosity.

“He calls it an investment. But I think his mama talked him into buying the place,” Mary Pat added with a wink at Jade. “If you know her, you’re aware she’s a force to be reckoned with. Fine woman, but you don’t want to be getting on her bad side.”

Jade believed Mary Pat had just concisely summed up Hester’s personality. Jade’s mom insisted Hester was simply a well-intentioned meddler, but Jade had always been secretly intimidated by the woman. “Where do you sleep, Ms. Mary Pat?” Erin asked.

“Did you see that cottage off to one side of the property? Trevor had it built for me when my husband passed away three years ago. I was never blessed with children, and Trevor is like the son I always wanted. His mama is gracious enough to share him with me—probably because it takes both of us to keep him in line,” the housekeeper added with another of her musical laughs.

Jade was getting the distinct impression that while the likable Mary Pat adored her employer, she didn’t hesitate to speak her mind to or about him.

“There’s one other room up here y’all need to see.” Mary Pat turned to her left and walked to the end of the hallway. She opened a door and stepped back to invite them in with another wave of her expressive hands.

Jade heard the kids gasp in delight, and she sighed in surrender as she looked into a spacious rec room equipped with a large-screen TV with leather theater seating, a pool table and a foosball table. Tall, leather-covered stools drew up to a built-in bar on which rested a wooden bowl filled with assorted fruits. Two game tables sat in front of shelves stocked with books, games—both video and tabletop—and an impressive selection of movies. A smaller table had been tucked into a dormer nook, surrounded by inviting beanbag hassocks and topped with a nubbed baseplate for use with a big bin of brightly colored plastic building blocks.

Erin was already being drawn to the bookshelves while Caleb studied the video games. Bella, overwhelmed, clung to Jade’s hand, though she looked longingly at the blocks table. Considering this room and the pool in the backyard, Jade figured the kids were never going to want to leave this house for the more modest home she had purchased in a less-expensive neighborhood a few miles away. It was a nice place, but not like this one. No private pool. No extravagant entertainment room.

Still, she thought they’d be quite happy in their new house, once it was fire-damage free and habitable again, of course. The kids had examined and approved every inch of it before the purchase papers were signed. They’d miss their previous home and friends in Columbia, but Jade thought she’d prepared them well for their adventure here.

She’d been considering this move for more than a year, since her physician cousin had first approached her about taking a nursing job in a medical clinic in Shorty’s Landing. With all the children in school, Jade could put her nursing training to full use, having worked only part-time for Bella’s first six years. And frankly, it would be nice to start fresh in a new town with new acquaintances. As kind as everyone in her hometown had been to them after her husband’s death, there were times when it had become difficult for all of them to be always seen as the tragically bereaved survivors of a larger-than-life military hero.

“Mr. Farrell really never comes up here?” Caleb shook his head in disbelief. “If I had a room like this, I’d stay in it all the time.”

“This floor is set up for his guests. He has a big TV, a reading nook, and a home office in his private suite downstairs,” Mary Pat explained. “When he’s home, he’s usually there.”

“Although I have been known to sneak up here late at night to work on my pool-shooting skills,” a man drawled from the doorway. “I figure if I keep practicing, I’ll beat Mary Pat someday. Don’t ever bet against her, by the way. She’s a hustler.”

“Not a hustler,” Mary Pat said with a grin as everyone turned to watch Trevor Farrell enter the room. “Just better than you’ll ever be, practice or no.”

Trevor laughed, the sound deep and rumbly. Jade swallowed. He was even better looking than she’d remembered—tall and slim, with light brown hair, very blue eyes and a smile that could have come straight from a toothpaste ad. His posture was straight and he looked poised, a man accustomed to being in charge. His expression was warm as he approached her. “It’s nice to see you again, Jade.”

She tucked a strand of blond hair behind one ear. “Trevor, it was so generous of you to take us in while our house is being repaired. We appreciate it very much.”

“As you can see, there’s plenty of room. You aren’t putting me out at all. I’m only sorry the accident at your new house delayed your move-in. That must have been disappointing for you all.”

“Oh, I think everything’s working out just fine,” Erin proclaimed, running a hand admiringly along the back of a leather theater chair. “I’m Erin, by the way.”

“Yes, I recall meeting you at your grandmother’s sixtieth birthday party—what? Three years ago? You’ve grown quite a bit since then.”

Erin nodded. “I was just seven then. I’m ten now.”

“I remember you.” Caleb looked around from the video game selection as he spoke, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “Is it okay if I play Dougie the Donkey on your system later? I’ll be really careful.”

“Of course you can play the game, Caleb, if your mom approves. Maybe you could even show me a trick or two. I’ve never gotten past the Gator Boss fight on level nine.”

“Seriously? I took him out in like three tries.”

Trevor chuckled. “So far my skills at both pool and video games have been questioned. What about you, Little Bit?” he asked casually of Bella, who was peeking out at him from behind her mother. “Do you have a special talent you could embarrass me with?”

Jade half-expected her shy youngest to mumble an answer and hide again, which was Bella’s usual response when spoken to by strangers. Instead, after a moment’s thought, the child replied, “I can do cartwheels. Three in a row.”

Trevor threw up his hands. “Well, there you go. I can’t do one cartwheel without falling right on my...er...face.”

Bella giggled, then crowded behind Jade again as if she’d surprised even herself.

“In case you forgot, her name is Bella,” Erin said in a long-suffering tone. “She’s kind of a scaredy-cat.”

“Am not,” Bella muttered, her voice muffled by Jade’s shirt.

“I wouldn’t call anyone who can do three cartwheels in a row a scaredy-cat,” Trevor said solemnly, giving Jade a wink that made her catch her breath. She blinked a couple of times, as surprised by her own automatic response to this charismatic man as by Bella’s. They’d always been surrounded by crowds in their earlier meetings. Maybe that had somewhat diluted the effect of his substantial charm.

“Anyway,” Trevor said. “I have a dull business dinner tonight and I need to change first. I just wanted to welcome you and tell you that if there’s anything you need while you’re our guests here, please let us know.”

Erin opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again quickly when Jade frowned at her. Heaven only knew what her outspoken middle child had been on the verge of requesting.

Mary Pat moved toward the door. “I’m going down to start dinner for the rest of us. I’ll let you know when it’s ready, Jade.”

“Oh, you don’t have to cook for us,” Jade felt compelled to protest. “I can...”

“Are you kidding? I’m always delighted to have an excuse to cook for a group. And I’m planning to eat with y’all, so I’m looking forward to that, too.” Mary Pat punched Trevor’s arm lightly as she passed him. “This one’s hardly ever home at mealtime.”

“You know I’d rather have your cooking than anyone else’s,” Trevor shot back, patting her cheek. “Just have to work most evenings.”

“And by work, he means schmoozing with guests at the resort or having dinner with travel writers or vendors,” Mary Pat explained in an aside as she left the room. “Most of which he could cut back on significantly without affecting his business in the least. The man is a workaholic, but nothing his mama or I say can make him change his ways.”

Smiling, Trevor spoke to Jade. “Mary Pat is one of a kind. I tell her all the time I’m not sure if it’s a benefit to the world or a shame there are no more like her.”

Amused by the relationship between Mary Pat and Trevor, Jade returned his smile. “Looks to me as if you’re lucky to have her.”

Casting an exaggeratedly wary look toward the doorway, Trevor placed a finger to his lips as he stage-whispered, “Don’t tell her I said this, but you’re right.”

Dropping his hand, he took a step backward toward the hall. “Again, if there’s anything you need, just let us know. There are bottled waters and assorted soft drinks in the bar fridge along with some yogurts and other snacks, and of course the fruit in the bowl. Help yourself...uh...with your mom’s permission, of course, kids. And, Jade, there’s a coffeemaker and an assortment of coffees and teas.”

“Wait up a second, Trevor.” Releasing Bella’s hand, Jade moved to follow him. “You kids stay in here and play with the blocks or something for a few minutes while I speak with Mr. Farrell.”

The girls were already headed toward the blocks table when Jade stepped out of the room and into the hallway with Trevor.

He paused at the top of the stairs. “Is there something I can do for you, Jade?”

“I wanted to thank you again for your hospitality,” she said quietly. “I have a feeling your mother pressured you into this, but it was still very kind of you. And I want to assure you that I was as surprised by the offer as you probably were. It never would have occurred to me to ask you to open your home to us this way.”

He started to speak, and she sensed he was going to respond with the practiced, professional-host courtesy he’d displayed before. But then he dropped the act, giving her a glimpse of the man behind the admittedly attractive polish. “Knowing my mother, I have no doubt whose idea this was. And, yeah, Mom did let me know after she’d set it up that you and your family would be staying with me for a couple of weeks. But don’t take that to mean I regret having you here. I’d have made the same offer had I heard about your situation on my own. If the resort weren’t full to capacity this week, I’d have arranged a suite for you there to give the kids more options for entertainment.”

“More options?” Jade glanced toward the rec room where her children were happily entertained at that moment. “I think they have more than enough here to occupy them, thank you.”

“My mom told me you’re moving to Shorty’s Landing to start a new job,” Trevor said.

She nodded. “I’ll be working for my cousin. She’s opening a family practice clinic with a partner, and I’ll be her nurse. The clinic opens a week from Monday.”

Obviously, none of this was news to Trevor, who’d probably heard all the details from his mother. “I look forward to meeting your cousin, Dr....?”

“Amy Ford. You might have met her at my dad’s funeral last year. She’s an excellent doctor. Very compassionate and thorough. Dr. Lincoln Brindle is her partner, and he’s wonderful, too.”

“I’m sure they’ll be an asset to the community,” Trevor said, slipping smoothly back into his rather formal manner.

“They will be.”

He would know all about being a community asset, of course. Even as a newcomer to the town where Trevor had made his home for the past eight or nine years, Jade had already heard his praises from the few locals she’d encountered. He was considered one of the most prestigious community leaders. The daughter of a successful attorney and a human resources manager, Jade came from a comfortable background, herself, but the Farrells were wealthy. Very wealthy. And everyone in their hometown—nearly everyone in this state, for that matter—knew that Trevor had done quite well for himself with the rapidly expanding Wind Shadow Resort chain he’d started a few years earlier.

“Anyway, thank you again for your generosity. We’ll try not to be any trouble for you while we’re here.”

“And again, it’s no trouble. You saw how happy Mary Pat is to have you and the kids here. She’s going to have so much fun with them.”

Jade didn’t know what else to say. She nodded and forced a smile. “I’ll let you get ready for your evening now. Enjoy your dinner.”

“I have a feeling Mary Pat will enjoy hers more,” he said with a flash of those pearly whites. “Good night, Jade.”

“Good night, Trevor.”

Seeing the slight limp when he put his weight on his right leg as he descended the stairs, she recalled that he’d been in a serious motorcycle accident just over a year ago. Her mother had called to tell her about it the night it happened, when Trevor’s family had worried he might not even survive his injuries. She’d been told he’d undergone at least two surgeries since to repair injuries to that leg.

She shuddered at the thought. Motorcycles terrified her. Her late husband had loved them, and had barely escaped serious injury more than once with his escapades on them. She hated to think there would come a day when her son would express interest in one of the machines.

She only hoped Trevor had gotten rid of his, if it was still drivable, for his own mother’s sake. Had this particular daredevil learned caution from his misadventure—or was he still hooked on defying danger? None of her business, of course, but she knew his parents hoped for the former.

* * *

TREVOR WAS ACCUSTOMED to returning to a dark, quiet house at the end of a long workday, usually well after his housekeeper had retired to her cottage for the evening. Sometimes he slept in the small suite connected to his office at the resort, but most nights he came home so he’d at least feel like he’d left work for a few hours, even though he often spent a couple hours more catching up on paperwork in his home office.