The Seacroft: a love story (Paines Creek Beach Book 2) Read online

  Cody nodded, and carried her equipment to the designated spot. He planted the pink and yellow striped umbrella in the sand and set up the low beach chair beneath it.

  Viv handed Uvi her straw bag, and spread her own beach towel on the sand nearby.

  Cody laid an enormous blue towel on the other side of their employer and eyed the waves. “It’s gonna feel so good,” he said.

  Uvi smoothed sunscreen on her arms and legs, then lifted the bottle to him. “Would you do my back, Cody?”

  Vivian watched him jump to the task, although at first she thought she noticed a flitting expression of surprise on his face. Or was it embarrassment?

  No. It couldn’t be. Not with the way he scrambled to her side and began to smooth the lotion on Uvi’s skin with his big hands.

  Those hands.

  She imagined him doing the same for her, and was almost tempted to ask him to do her back, too. But of course, she wouldn’t.

  The woman wore sunglasses, but Vivian was sure she’d closed her eyes like a sunbathing cat, stretching her limbs in pleasure. “Ah, Cody. Well done. Now, what about your back? Can I help you?”

  Suddenly Vivian felt as though she were in a cheesy romance novel. But she was in the scene instead of reading about it, totally out of place. Would Uvi pull him to her next, and press her lips against his luscious mouth? Would he kiss her back with a driving passion, and lay her on the sand, making mad love to her in the sunlight?

  A flush crept onto her cheeks. She finished applying her own sunscreen and suddenly stood, trotting toward the water.

  Let them stroke each other into oblivion.

  She waded into the cool water up to her knees, then dove beneath the waves and entered another world.

  Chapter 5

  “Hey,” Cody said, popping up beside her in the green water.

  “Hey, yourself,” Vivian said, spewing a stream of salty water at his face. “Don't you have to spread more lotion on the boss? Or did she let you off your chain?” She’d surprised herself by saying the words out loud. And she’d surprised Cody, too, based on his dropped jaw.

  “Huh?” he said, treading water beside her. “Are you mad at me or something?”

  “Sorry. I guess I’m just a little jealous. I’d love a cabana boy to rub suntan lotion all over me, too.” She laughed to take the sting out of her words, and began to stroke toward the deeper water.

  “Cabana boy? Hey, wait up,” he said, quickly catching her and matching her stroke for stroke. “Is that what you think I am?”

  She smiled for real this time. “No. Of course not. You’re the trusty gardener slash handyman.”

  “And?” he said, flipping to his back.

  “And… I think she wants you.”

  “Yeah?” he laughed, splashing her with one cupped hand. “She wants me? How can you tell?”

  Vivian rolled her eyes. “She ogles you.”

  “Ogles me?”

  He was getting way too much enjoyment out of this, and she realized she’d gone too far. But how could she back away now? “Can’t you see it?”

  He stopped and began treading water. She did the same.

  “She is quite beautiful,” he said. “But I’m just the gardener. I’m nobody.”

  Hit with a stab of empathy, she reached out to touch his wet fingers beneath the surface. “A nobody? That’s crazy. You are an amazing man, Cody. You take care of that yard better than an army of gardeners could. You’re devoted. Strong. And… ”

  “And?”

  “And very sweet.” She was thinking, you’re hotter than hell, but hadn’t let it slip. What would he have thought of her then? The shy, retiring little assistant suddenly comes on like a brazen hussy?

  They saw Uvi stand and wave at them, beckoning them back to the beach.

  Vivian laughed and began to swim back toward shore. “Uvi’s calling for you.”

  He joined her. “How do you know she doesn’t want you?”

  “Because I can feel her desire all the way out here.”

  “Desire for you?” he said, winking.

  “No, you idiot. For you.”

  He turned and started to sidestroke, matching her moves exactly. “She might want you. You’re very pretty.”

  They reached the shallows, but hung back, floating in chest high water.

  “Stop it,” she laughed. “You’re such a tease.”

  “I’m serious. You are a lovely woman.”

  She looked into his suddenly solemn eyes. Was he serious? Flustered now, she waded toward the shore. “You’re nuts.”

  He fell in step beside her. “Believe me. If you’d just let your hair down once in a while, or wear something a bit less… I don’t know… stark, you’d be a knockout.”

  She met his smile with her own surprised chuckle. “Well, thank you, Cody. That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

  “You’re welcome, Mizz Viv.”

  Uvi openly watched them approach, her eyes devouring Cody. Vivian grabbed her towel and wrapped up in it, wiping the salty water from her face, arms, and legs. Cody didn’t dry off, but just plopped onto his towel beside Uvi.

  “Did you need something, Uvi?” he asked.

  She reached over and touched his forearm. “I just didn’t want you two going out too far. It makes me nervous.”

  Cody sputtered a laugh. “Really? There’s no danger.”

  “What about sharks?” she asked, raising one eyebrow.

  Cody’s smile twisted. “Er. Yeah. Well, there haven’t been sightings around here in ages.”

  “Still,” Uvi said, reaching a finger out to trail down his arm. “I worry.”

  Vivian coughed to get their attention, concerned that her employer would jump poor Cody right there in front of her. “Isn’t that your family’s place, Cody?” She squinted in the bright sun and pointed to the white farmhouse on the bluff in the distance.

  “Yep.” Cody stood and stretched in the sun. His swim trunks slipped a little lower, revealing a trail of hair leading downward. He casually pulled them up.

  “Really?” Uvi looked intrigued. “You never told me much about your family, Cody.”

  He paled, running a hand nervously through his hair. “You wouldn’t want to hear about them, Uvi. Trust me.”

  She slid closer to him. “I would. I like to know about my employees’ histories.”

  “You sure?” He plopped down on the towel again, leaned back, and closed his eyes. “Well, okay.”

  He still looked nervous, and at once Vivian regretted pointing out the house. What had she gotten him into?

  With eyes still closed, he began to speak. “That’s Blueberry Hill. My Uncle Finn and my father grew up there. You’ve heard of him, right? Jax McGraw?”

  Uvi raised an eyebrow again. “Who?”

  Vivian started to recall something about the two brothers who’d grown up on the hill after the fire, the awful blaze that had been responsible for the injuries that had ultimately killed her dad. Of course, it wasn’t their fault. It had been an electrical problem, and everyone said that being a fireman was always the most dangerous job a man could have. She’d been proud of her father, but devastated when he’d died.

  She tried to remember a news story from maybe five years ago about the family. It was something about a car accident. She thought one of the McGraw boys had died.

  Cody hesitated. “You haven’t heard about him? Jax McGraw?”

  Uvi shook her head and pulled down her sunglasses to peer over the top at him. “No. I don’t get out much, as you probably already know.”

  He sighed. “Well, he was a real jerk. A playboy. A cheater. A bastard, really.”

  “Pray tell,” Uvi said with sudden interest.

  “He got a bunch of girls pregnant when he was in high school. My mom was one of them. I guess she told him she had an abortion, so he didn’t even know I was born. And she didn’t even tell me about him until I was fifteen. That was about the time she found another prick to li
ve with who had six kids of his own. I got sick of living there and took off on my motorcycle.”

  Vivian couldn’t help herself, leaning forward in fascination. “Where did you go?”

  “I drove all day and night to come right here. Right to Blueberry Hill. I wanted to see my father. To confront him, actually.”

  Uvi sighed. “And to see if he’d take you in? Give you a home?”

  “I guess.” Cody stretched forward, reaching for his sunglasses. “But when I arrived, my uncle Finn told me Jax was dead. He’d died in a car crash, not long before I got there.”

  Vivian sat up, her heart pounding. “That’s horrible, Cody.”

  He gave her a grateful glance, then glanced back at the hill. “My uncle and Libby, his second wife, took me in. I changed my name to McGraw, which it should have been in the first place. Then I worked on the blueberry farm and took care of their horses for the past six years, graduated from high school, and even tried college for a while.” He blew out another sigh. “That didn’t go so well.”

  Uvi stroked Cody’s arm again. “Tragic.”

  Vivian broke in again. “What did you study?”

  “Accounting.” He rolled his eyes. “I hated it.”

  “Accounting?” Viv said, as if she didn’t believe him. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I sort of liked numbers in high school, so this one counselor pushed me that way. But it really sucked.”

  Vivian scrunched her nose. “I can't see you as a bean counter.”

  He snorted a laugh. “It wasn’t a good fit.”

  “My goodness.” Uvi sat up and adjusted her sun hat. “That’s quite a story.”

  Cody nodded. “I guess.”

  “Terribly sad.” She pulled a pout.

  Cody sighed. “Yeah. I guess. But Finn and Libby have been good to me. Real good. Except for working me to death on the farm.” He let out a chuckle. “And trying to turn me into a babysitter.”

  “Babysitter?” Uvi said.

  “They had triplets two years ago,” he said with a grin. “And they needed a lot of help. I still go over on my days off to see the little monsters.”

  “Three?” Vivian said. “Wow. Are they boys or girls?”

  “All girls,” Cody said. “Much to Libby’s disappointment. She wanted at least one boy. You know. To inherit The Seacrest.”

  Uvi’s eyes swung to the opposite side of the beach to another mansion perched regally atop a hill. “I often wondered who would inherit The Seacrest. Libby’s an only child, right?”

  Vivian frowned. “I’m lost. How is Libby related to The Seacrest mansion?”

  Cody rolled onto his stomach and planted his elbows in the sand, resting his chin on his palms. “Libby is Finn’s wife. Her dad, Rudy Vanderhorn, owns The Seacrest. There’s some weird stipulation in his will that Libby must produce a boy, and that the boy will inherit the place.”

  “That’s stupid,” Vivian said. “What, is he, like five hundred years old? How archaic. Libby should inherit her family home, for goodness sakes.”

  Cody smiled. “I know. I agree. It’s idiotic.”

  “Who gets the place if she doesn’t produce a boy?” Vivian asked.

  “I’m not sure. I think it goes to the state. But she’s pregnant again, believe it or not. And they’ll find out in the fall about the baby’s gender.”

  “What if it’s triplets again?” Uvi said, laughing. “Wouldn’t that be hysterical?”

  Cody moaned. “Oh, don’t even say that.”

  “What if it’s three more girls?” Vivian smiled, studying The Seacrest. “You know. It looks a lot like your place, Uvi. It’s uncanny.”

  “It should,” she said. “The Seacroft and its mate, The Seacrest, were built over two hundred years ago by twin brothers. The places are identical, except for a few updates done by more recent owners. Like my upgraded kitchen, you know?”

  Vivian smiled. “Wow. Really? That’s very cool. Twin mansions by the sea. You could almost write a book about that.”

  Uvi scoffed. “Your head is in the clouds today, Vivian dear.” She stood languidly, dropped her wrap, hat, and glasses, and sashayed toward the water, wiggling her fingers over her shoulder. “Going for a dip. Back in a bit.”

  Vivian watched Cody stare at Uvi’s retreating figure, surprised he didn’t catch a mosquito in his dropped jaw.

  “Now who’s ogling?” A low chuckle slipped from her lips. Shaking her head, she picked up her paperback and began to read.

  Chapter 6

  On Saturday, Vivian headed out on her bicycle to visit her mother at Shady Pines. If she were honest with herself, she just needed to get out of that stuffy old mansion. Away from the orders and lists of chores. Away from Cody and the way she felt every time she looked at him. She just plain needed a break.

  In the early hours of the morning, fog drifted over Paines Creek Beach, lying low along the roadsides and spreading its vaporous fingers over orange daylilies and pink roses blooming in the gullies. The streets were relatively quiet at seven o’clock, except for people flocking to breakfast spots like the coffee shop on Main Street.

  Pedaling steadily along the sandy roads, Vivian greedily inhaled the moist air. It was still cool, and felt refreshing after the blistering heat of yesterday.

  She hadn’t ridden past Blueberry Hill since her father died from complications after the fire, so many years ago. But today, for some odd reason, she felt less traumatized. Was it the beautiful morning? Could it be the fact that Cody lived here for the past five years that made it less threatening?

  Maybe there was a lesson to be learned. The house on the hill had been half-destroyed when her dad and his crew responded to the fire. And he’d even helped save the two boys, although the mother, father, and little girl were lost in the blaze. Now she realized those two boys were Cody’s Uncle Finn, and his father, Jax.

  She thought about Cody and his past when she approached the entrance to Blueberry Hill, stopping at the bottom of the hill to watch the sign advertising berry picking sway in the breeze. She glimpsed a big house further up the incline, realizing it was completely rebuilt. She couldn’t begin to tell the difference between the original and new sections. In the rolling fields on either side of the entrance road stood row upon row of blueberry bushes, their berries just starting to ripen. And toward the sea, fenced pastures held what looked like a dozen horses of various sizes and colors.

  She sighed. How she would have loved to learn to ride, to sit astride a strong steed and pound along the sandy shore.

  She wondered about the berries. When would they be ready for picking? She’d heard that folks showed up in droves for this opportunity and she decided that maybe she’d get over her old demons and do the same this year. She loved blueberry pie.

  Feeling warmer now, she unzipped her blue hoodie and pedaled onward, approaching her family’s old trailer. She felt a sense of loss staring at the yard filled with two tricycles, toddler toys, and a plastic baby swing that hung from her favorite old maple tree. This hadn’t been the most elegant place on earth to live, but it had been the last place she’d called home. Inside those thin tin walls, she’d nursed Martin back to health from his cancer. He’d been so grateful for her help, the sweetest guy she’d ever known. Until that damned aneurism struck.

  She remembered the days, too, that were filled with worry. When her mother began to show symptoms of memory loss, she’d disappear for hours at a time. Some kind stranger would often bring her home, saying they found her crying on a bench by the beach. Or the police would call, and she’d drive her mother’s old Plymouth over to the station to pick her up.

  Then there were the days her mother forgot she was cooking something on the stove, and Vivian would rush into a kitchen filled with smoke.

  She shuddered at the memory. Scary times.

  She and Martin had spent many a day driving that old jalopy around town, searching for her mom, Mirella. It had been the last thing of any value they’d sold after her mind went for g
ood. And even then, they’d only gotten five hundred bucks for it. But they’d needed the cash.

  They finally and desperately ended up seeking help, and two months later her mother was moved to Shady Pines.

  She and Martin had visited regularly, even though in the end Mom hadn’t recognized them most days. And then, when her brother got sick, the visits slowed down.

  She turned into the driveway for Shady Pines ten minutes later. Up the curving driveway she pedaled, waving to a few early morning residents who were strolling across the fenced grounds with their nurses.

  “Good morning,” she called, to those who waved back.

  At the entrance, she parked her bike in the rack around the side of the building, and attached the lock. The darned old thing probably wasn’t worth stealing, but she couldn’t take the chance of losing her only method of transportation.

  She headed inside with a hopeful lilt in her heart. Maybe today her mom would know her. Maybe she’d call her by her name. Maybe… “Hi, I’m here to see Mirella Wood,” Viv said to the receptionist. The kind woman chatted with her for a few minutes about the heat wave that had just broken, and a doctor stopped her in the hall to ask how she was managing. By the time she got to her mother’s room, another ten minutes had passed.

  “Hello?” She slowly pushed the door open. “Mom?”

  Her mother sat in a wheelchair by the window facing the sea.

  This was the reason Vivian paid such exorbitant prices each month—practically her entire salary—because her mother had always loved the sea.

  “It’s rough today. See the whitecaps?” Mirella said.

  Vivian approached her slowly, standing to the right of the chair. She had to be careful not to rush in and hug her. The last time she’d done that, her mom had started screaming. “Yes, I see. Isn’t it pretty?”

  “Do you remember the time Daddy took us out on the boat, and we almost capsized?”

  Vivian felt the blood drain from her face and she wobbled in place. She had no such memory, but the fact that her mom mentioned her father and wanted to share a memory surprised her. “Um, tell me about it.”