Redemption Bay

“I just said, I didn’t believe it. What’s the point of passing along gossip without a shred of proof?” she said. McKenzie almost rolled her eyes. Linda delighted in sharing any tidbit she heard and rarely bothered to authenticate any of it.

“It seemed impossible to me and that’s what I told Betty. How can he dare show his face here after what he’s done to this town?” Linda glowered.

“I’ll admit I was pretty surprised, too, when he sauntered into the diner this morning like the cock of the walk.”

“Oh, he was always such a polite boy,” Hazel exclaimed. “And so handsome. Remember how handsome he was, Eppie?”

Eppie beamed. “Oh, yes. I remember, with those brooding blue eyes. Like a young Paul Newman in From the Terrace.”

“Oooh, I loved that movie,” her sister exclaimed.

“Is he still as handsome, Mayor?” Eppie asked.

“Well, yes, Eppie dear. But that’s not the point.”

“What does he want?” Linda Fremont demanded. “Let me guess. He and Aidan are going to raze the whole downtown and build a golf course.”

“What?” Hazel exclaimed. “That’s not right! We don’t need a golf course! Shelter Springs already has one. That would be just plain crazy!”

“We could take up golf next, Hazel,” Eppie protested. “I think it would be fun.”

Okay, she dearly loved all these women and they had been amazingly sweet to her over the years but sometimes during these meetings, McKenzie felt as if she was trying to grab hold of a whole herd of greased piglets.

Did piglets run in herds?

She pushed away the stupid random thought. “Nobody is building a golf course, I promise. Look, our time is limited here. Lindy-Grace and I have a busy Saturday ahead of us and I know the rest of you do, too. Let’s try to stay focused so we can all get back to it. The truth is, as much as I would like to, I can’t tell you exactly what Ben is doing here—I don’t know specifics anyway and he’s asked me to keep what little I do know to myself.”

“Then what’s the point of calling a meeting if you’re going to be Miss Locked Lips?” Marie demanded.

“The truth is, I need your help. I know you all love Haven Point as much as I do. None of us is happy about what’s happened here the last five years. This has been a dark time for us.”

Because of what she intended to ask, she was careful not to remind them the town had suffered mostly because Ben had ignored his responsibilities and let the downtown fall into disrepair.

“This is our chance to turn things around,” she went on. “Aidan and Ben are considering something that might improve things around here. That’s all I can say about it right now. Trust me, this would be very good for us.”

“What do you need us to do?” Ever wise, her friend Julia Winston, one of the librarians at the Haven Point library, struck to the heart of the matter.

She sighed, looking around the assembly of her dearest friends. “This is difficult for me to ask. I know how you all feel about Ben. I share your feelings, believe me.”

“You mean, you think he’s hotter than a billy goat with a blowtorch?” Hazel asked.

Eppie laughed and so did just about everybody else in the room, even Devin. McKenzie felt her face heat, finding it extremely difficult to be appropriately mayoral and dignified around this crowd.

“Okay, first of all, how hot can a billy goat with a blowtorch really get? And why does he have a blowtorch in the first place? But that’s not the point, is it? No. The point is, it’s extremely important that while Ben is here, we work very hard to show Haven Point in the best possible light.”

“How do you propose we do that?” Devin asked.

“That’s where I need your help. I need some ideas about how we can prove to him that this town is warm and neighborly, that he won’t find a better place anywhere in the mountain west.”

“I think we need to kill the man with kindness, even when we want to strangle him,” Lindy-Grace suggested.

“Excellent. Excellent. If you see him on the street, stop and say hello. Show him genuine interest. Be neighborly and welcoming.”

“That would have been easier if he hadn’t made such a mess of things,” Marie protested.

“If it were easy, I wouldn’t have to call an emergency meeting and beg you all to help me,” McKenzie said.

“You don’t have to beg,” Eppie said. “Hazel and I will be nice to him—so nice, he’ll think he’s died and gone to heaven and has two wrinkly old angels at his beck and call.”

Oh, gosh. That was an image she didn’t need. “Don’t overdo, ladies. Just be kind. That’s all I ask.”

“You want us to suck up to Ben Kilpatrick, after everything he’s done?” Linda Fremont demanded.

“Not suck up to him, exactly. Just put aside your anger for now in the interest of helping the town. An investment, if you will, in something that could pay off for all of us. And please ask your brothers and husbands and fathers to do the same.”

She wasn’t sure it would work—or if it was even right. He shouldn’t get a pass for all the things he had done to harm this town, simply because he was here on behalf of Aidan.

“He did come at a great time for seeing Haven Point at its best,” Julia said.

“Right. One of the busiest but most fun weeks of the year, with Lake Days next week along with our July Fourth celebrations and all the events surrounding the wooden boat show.”

“Don’t forget the service auction just a few days after that,” Lindy-Grace said.

She nodded, heartened by the response. At least they weren’t throwing tomatoes at her just yet. “Exactly. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, really, unless Ben were to show up during the Lights on the Lake Festival. Since he’s not here at Christmastime, we’ll have to take what we can get. This is a perfect chance to showcase the best Haven Point has to offer. I will make sure he is invited to everything, from the mayor’s kickoff luncheon this week to the barbecue at the beach park to the fireworks.”

Linda sniffed. “I don’t think we should have to kiss that man’s ass, no matter how hot Eppie and Hazel might think it is.”

It was indeed a fine backside, but McKenzie wasn’t about to admit that.

“I completely understand your feelings, Linda, and I’m not saying they’re off base. You have to do what you think is right. I will add that, like it or not, Ben could hold the future of our little town in his hands. I just want him to see that any decision he makes will have real impact on a town and a group of people who have already been through a great deal.”

Most of the women in the group seemed to be on her side, though she sensed a few siding with Linda Fremont.

“Be nice to him. That’s possibly a tall order, but manageable by most,” Devin said. “What else?”

“That’s where I need your input. A good old-fashioned Helping Hands brainstorming session. Go.”

* * *

AS SHE HOPED, she was able to keep the meeting to less than an hour, and most of that was spent keeping the Brewer sisters from drooling over a picture of Ben with Aidan Caine that Kat Bailey had found on Google on her smartphone.

Finally, game plan in hand, everybody went their separate ways except Lindy-Grace and Devin, who stayed to help pick up paper plates and cups from the few snacks McKenzie had been able to score at the last minute.

“That went pretty well, don’t you think?” McKenzie asked both of them, her two closest confidantes.

“I don’t know.” Devin shook her head. “Linda is a pretty tough sell, as always.”

“I know. She can give stubborn lessons to a three-year-old. I just hope she doesn’t sabotage anything. Slash his tires or key his car or something.”

“Sam will keep her in check. Don’t worry.”

McKenzie sometimes thought she did nothing but worry. With her luck, she had probably picked up an ulcer in the few hours since Ben had told her the reason behind his return.

Whatever Aidan and Ben might eventually decide about the new facility was completely beyond her control but that didn’t stop her from fretting about all the possible ways she could help sway him toward Haven Point.

“I know. She’s not vicious anyway, just sometimes a little...opinionated,” she answered, which was a little like saying the surrounding mountains received a little snow during their legendary winters.

“She might be angry at Ben but she’s not stupid,” Devin said with that calm rationale McKenzie envied so much. “She won’t do anything to screw up this chance if it means a single dollar more profit for the boutique she loves.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“She’s definitely right,” LG chimed in. “Anyway, enough boring talk about the fate of Haven Point. Let’s talk about me.”

“A far more interesting topic,” McKenzie agreed.

Lindy-Grace grinned. “I know. You’re still taking my kids Sunday night, right? I know it’s a huge favor and terrible timing, right after Lake Haven Days, but I can’t tell you how desperately Mac and I need some alone time, if you know what I mean.”

“No. I have no idea what you mean,” she said with studied innocence.

Her sister snorted. “That’s because you need to get out more. When was the last time you went to dinner with anybody besides the city council?”

“You’re one to talk. Have you even had a date since medical school?”

“Yes. I’ll have you know, just last week Archie and Ed bought me breakfast at Serrano’s. Apparently they like the way I fill out a lab coat.”

“Who doesn’t? You’ve always been a big hit with the over-seventy crowd.”

“A girl’s got to take what she can get sometimes. So. Operation Charm Ben’s Socks Off. What do you need me to do?”

For some weird reason, the idea of Devin charming socks—or anything else—off Ben bothered her far more than it should, but she told herself she was being ridiculous.

“If I end up siccing my vicious dog on him because he’s driving me crazy next door, you can stitch him up for me,” she suggested.

Devin laughed and ruffled Rika’s curly head. “Sounds like a plan.” She glanced at her watch. “If you need me to do anything else, you know where to find me. I’d better run. I’ve got a hundred errands to run on my first day off in weeks.”

“Okay. See you. Thanks for making time today for the emergency summit.”

“No problem.” Devin hugged her and McKenzie wrapped her arms around her sister, deeply grateful for the bond between them. When McKenzie showed up out of the blue all those years ago, Devin could have been cold and distant, resentful and embarrassed about having an illegitimate half sister thrust into her world.

Instead, Devin had literally and physically embraced her from the very beginning and had never been anything but kind and loving.

“So you didn’t answer me about next weekend,” LG pushed after Devin left.

“Yes. I am planning on your two wild children staying at my place. I can’t wait.” LG’s boys were completely adorable, even though McKenzie was exhausted just thinking about entertaining them for thirty-six hours. “We’re going to have a fabulous time. I’m stocking up on all the sugary sweets I can find and fully intend to send them back to you with an epic sugar high bordering on illegal.”

Lindy-Grace laughed, though it didn’t mask the worry in her eyes. McKenzie suspected by a few things her friend let slip that her marriage wasn’t completely rosy. Mac Keegan could be a jerk sometimes, loud and annoying with a tendency to drink a little too much on the weekends and ignore his hardworking wife and cute kids.

If dinner and a night away at the small romantic boutique inn where Eliza Hayward used to work would help reignite their burners, McKenzie was more than willing to help out.

Now, if only she could help her town as easily.

* * *

HE SERIOUSLY WANTED to deck Aidan Caine.

The man might be a genius and Ben’s closest friend, but right now, if the other man happened to walk through the doors of the small Haven Point city offices, Ben would be tempted to take him out with one punch.

He wasn’t much happier right now with McKenzie Shaw, the little trickster.

When the mayor called him that morning and asked him to meet her here, he expected they would have a quiet, closed-door meeting at city hall, a chance for her to give her spiel extolling the magnificent virtues of her town.

He had every intention of nodding politely while he tuned her out and went to some distant happy place in his brain—somewhere with palm trees rustling in the trade winds, for instance, or an alpine meadow somewhere with granite boulders surrounding a glacial-fed lake.

Instead of a personal, private discussion with McKenzie, he had showed up to what appeared to be a full-fledged breakfast banquet, apparently attended by every business owner and dignitary in town.

McKenzie bustled through the middle of everything looking like an exotic butterfly in a field of gorse. Her features were animated and bright, her hands constantly in motion as she floated from group to group like a good hostess, making everyone feel comfortable.

This was definitely her party. A sign over the head table read Haven Point Mayor’s Advisory Council. If he had known she planned to embroil him in a small-town political meeting, he definitely would have come up with some excuse. An emergency appendectomy, maybe.

Everyone seemed to be staring at him out of their peripheral vision. It was almost amusing to watch people whip their heads away and try to pretend they weren’t watching whenever he would happen to catch their gaze. The noise volume in the room seemed unnaturally loud—a little too much conversation and convivial laughter to be real.

So much for his plans to come into town under the radar, carry out Aidan’s wishes about the feasibility study, then sneak out again without anyone making a fuss. He supposed he’d deep-sixed that idea the moment he decided to go to Serrano’s for breakfast a few days earlier.

If everyone in town didn’t know by now exactly why Ben was here, they likely suspected it had something to do with Caine Tech.

He had been shortsighted not to realize that his return after all these years would stir up the town’s curiosity like poking a hornets’ nest with a stick. He had too much baggage here, too many connections to everyone.

“How are you enjoying the Sloane house?”

He glanced at Roxy Nash, the real estate agent who had worked with Ben’s assistant to arrange the rental property on Redemption Bay. She had the long, lean build of a marathon runner and a hungry look in her eyes that he suspected had nothing to do with food.

“Good. It’s a beautiful spot overlooking the mountains.”

“Have you had a chance to take that boat out yet?”

“A few times.”

“And how’s it running, after all these years?”

He shrugged. “It’s a Kilpatrick. Still as tight as ever.”

“Your family made good boats, from what I hear, though that was before my time in town.”

“Yes.”

The little twinge of guilt took him by surprise. Closing the boatworks had been the right decision at the time—the only choice, really. The company had been losing money steadily for years because of market factors and Joe’s general mismanagement.

“I’ve always loved Redemption Bay,” Roxy went on. “It’s a great location, within the city limits but far enough on the outskirts that you sort of feel like you’re out there on your own and the walking path from downtown to the bay around the lake is a huge bonus.”

“It’s been nice so far,” he answered.

She looked around—surprising a few people who quickly turned away from them—then pitched her voice low. “You know, if you’re interested in purchasing a place of your own in town now that you’ve sold Snow Angel Cove to Aidan, I might have a few possibilities. The property three houses over from where you’re staying now, just on the edge of the bay, is about to go on the market. I’m not supposed to say anything yet but I think you can get it for a steal.”

Yeah, that wasn’t happening. He forced a smile. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“Are you thinking about moving back?” When Ben wasn’t looking, Russ Warrick had approached them and now he faced Ben with an arrested expression.

“No,” he was quick to answer. He didn’t need that rumor going the rounds in Haven Point now. “Aidan keeps me plenty busy in San Jose, believe me. I’m not coming back.”

He would have liked to leave the matter there but Dr. Warrick wouldn’t let him.

“You should seriously think about it, son. I know you’ve sold your holdings to Aidan but your roots in Haven Point go as deep as an oak.”

“I’ve been gone a long time, Doc. I’ve got a pretty good life in California. Some trees are able to throw down roots just fine in a new place.”

“Maybe. It’s worth considering, though.”

The doctor wanted something from him and Ben didn’t have the first idea what that might be. He was actually grateful when McKenzie went to the front of the room and asked everyone to take a seat so the breakfast could begin.

Before he could figure out a way to sneak out, McKenzie pointed at him and then at an empty seat near her, clearly ordering him to sit. Bossy thing, wasn’t she? At least she wasn’t making him sit at the head table or something.

Not sure why he wasn’t obeying his instincts to leave, he slipped into the seat as McKenzie went to the microphone. He was struck by how lovely she was, with that dusky skin and dark hair and the high cheekbones that made her look like some sort of Aztec princess.

“Thank you all for coming to the annual mayor’s Lake Haven Days Luncheon, which as you know kicks off four days of crazy fun here in Haven Point. I’ve been to several of these but this is my first one in the hot seat. I’ve got to say, I much prefer sitting where you are, eating lousy pastries and exchanging gossip with my neighbors, than having to stand here at the microphone and say something pithy.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have thrown your hat into the ring for mayor,” a burly man with a big dark beard said from the audience.

When the general laughter subsided, McKenzie made a face. “As you will recall, Larry, I didn’t precisely throw any hats here. I was nominated at an election meeting I was unable to attend because I had the flu. But that’s beside the point.”

So that explained how she had become mayor of Haven Point. She hadn’t seemed avidly political to him. It made sense that she had stepped up out of a sense of civic duty.

“The point is, Lake Haven Days provides a priceless opportunity for those of us lucky enough to call this place our home to pause and reflect about all the things we find meaningful about living here. The lake is a big part of it and that’s what we celebrate with the wooden boat festival, but there’s more. It’s about the neighbors who show up at 6:00 a.m. with their tractors to plow your driveway after a big storm. About the basketful of tomatoes another neighbor might drop off on your doorstep or the dinner in your refrigerator when you’ve got the flu.

“We all have the chance to give back next week with our annual community service auction. As members of the mayor’s advisory council, I expect every one of you to participate. You can donate something from your business to be auctioned off or if you have a particular skill or talent, you can donate that instead. Larry, I know you make a mean Dutch-oven chicken dinner, since I’ve been lucky enough to be invited over for it, and I’m sure someone in town would be thrilled to bid on that. Karen, with your graphic arts skills, I’m sure someone in this room would love to bid for an hour of your time to help them redesign a logo or a website banner. I expect everyone to help.”

Ben heard a little good-natured grumbling but people mostly seemed receptive to her order. In his role as the public face at Caine Tech, he had become very good at assessing the mood of a crowd and right now he could see that McKenzie seemed very well-liked among her constituents. She came across as energetic, enthusiastic and warm.

“Will you still be in town for the service auction?” Doc Warrick asked him after McKenzie ended her welcoming speech and sat down.

“I don’t know yet, to tell you the truth. I haven’t figured out how long I’m staying.”

“It’s only another week and some change. If you are still here, the service auction is an event you should not miss. If you want to know this town’s heart, you should see us in action.”

He wasn’t really interested in seeing the town’s heart. He had seen enough when he lived here, watching them all kiss up to Joe, even though his father had been an ass and a bully.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a polite smile.

Yeah, he was going to wring McKenzie’s lovely little neck. She should have told him what he was getting into when she invited him here to meet her.

Breakfast was served buffet style. While everyone left their chairs to queue up at the platters filled with pastries, fruit and bagels, Ben opted to remain in his seat to enjoy a surprisingly good coffee.

A moment later, he was joined by a vaguely familiar older man with a shock of white hair and sun-wrinkled features.

He set his plate down and eased into the chair with stiff, jerky movements. “Young Kilpatrick, isn’t it? Ben.”

He nodded.

“Thought so. You’ve changed a bit from the days when you were a punk driving too fast up and down the street but I could recognize your mother’s eyes. Lovely woman, your mother. How is she these days?”

“Good. Thank you.” He assumed as much, anyway. With a niggle of guilt, he remembered Doc Warrick’s conviction that he should tell his mother he was back. He hadn’t called Lydia yet. Maybe after breakfast.

“Do you remember me? Mick Sargent.”

Right. He had worked at the boatworks as long as Ben could remember. The man had always been kind to him.

“Was that you I saw the other day out on the water in an original Delphine?”

“Yes.”

“Named for your grandmother,” Mick said with a solemn nod. “From where I sat on shore, she looked sleek and feisty—much like the original Delphine, as I recall.”

He smiled at this, wishing he remembered the woman. Those who had known her, universally spoke of her with admiration and respect.

“Did you restore her yourself?”

He shook his head. “When I found her, she was in terrible shape, rotting out. I sent her to someone I know in the Bay Area and he managed to find mostly original parts to bring her back to her glory.”

“She is looking fine, at least the quick glimpse I got on the water. It’s only right you should bring her back here. Good decision, son.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ve got a Verlaine myself. She’s not quite as smooth as the Delphine but she’s solid and dependable.”

“Good.”

“I don’t think I’m alone in hoping the reason you’re back in town might have something to do with new plans to open the boatworks again. Fine-crafted wooden boats have made a big comeback in recent years. Look at you, pouring all kinds of money and time into restoring a Delphine. You’re not the only one who sees the beauty there.”

He hoped he wasn’t going to have to defend his decision to close the factory all morning long. “I’m not in the boat-building business anymore,” he said quietly, hoping this would be the end of it. “My job at Caine Tech takes all my time and energy.”

“That’s fine for you,” Mick said in a low, even tone that matched his own. “What about for the people of this town? You’ve got obligations here, like it or not.”

He wasn’t responsible for these people. He barely knew them! Simply because his father had once owned the company that had once been the town’s largest employer did not make Ben some sort of feudal lord, for heaven’s sake.

He was saved from having to answer when another guy of about the same age as Mick sat down on his other side and asked Sargent a question about irrigation water shares.

Ben used their conversation as an excuse to get up. He started to head for the exit, hoping McKenzie wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately, at the same moment she began to walk toward him. She wore a tailored white shirt and a chunky blue-and-green necklace that reminded him of sunlight shifting across the lake. All that lovely dark hair was tangled up in some kind of a twist behind her head. She probably thought it made her look crisp and businesslike but he only wanted to pull a few pins out and trail his fingers through the soft strands.