Page 91 of The House on Blueberry Lane

Velvet looked at him. “You haven’t eaten since breakfast?”

“No, I got that call from Vaughn right before noon, and I immediately made arrangements to return here.”

She glanced over at Vaughn, who shrugged and said, “A man has to handle business when it comes to his woman. Even if she’s capable of handling it herself. That’s what love is all about.”

Velvet nodded, knowing Vaughn was right. That’s what love was about. Jaye placed his arm around her shoulders and they walked out of the auditorium with their friends.

JAYE AND VELVET left her car parked at school and rode together to the Witherspoon Café. He would drop her off to retrieve her car in the morning on his way to the airport. The only reason he was returning to Birmingham was because there was an important meeting that he didn’t want to miss tomorrow. Knowing he had rushed back to Catalina Cove after Vaughn had called him meant everything to Velvet.

Once inside the car, he pulled her into his arms and gave her the kiss he hadn’t given her earlier.

Hours later, after a delicious meal at the Witherspoon Café, they pulled into the yard of the house on Blueberry Lane and saw a car parked in their driveway, a car neither of them recognized. “Stay put until I find out who it is,” Jaye said.

When the other driver got out, Velvet saw it was Allen Bordeaux. She wondered what he wanted. Jaye and the man conversed for a few minutes. Then Jaye returned to the car and said, “Bordeaux wants to talk to you, Velvet. I’m okay with it if you are. I’ll see you safely inside and then I need to go up to my place for a minute, anyway.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Jaye walked her to the door and even went inside with her to start coffee. Then he left, leaving her alone with Mr. Bordeaux. She turned to the man. “You wanted to talk to me about something, Mr. Bordeaux?”

He nodded. “I came here tonight to give you this.” He took a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Velvet read it and glanced up at him. “You’re resigning as manager of Spencer’s?”

“Yes. I figured you would be firing me, anyway.”

She tilted her head. “And why would I do that?”

“Because of what happened tonight at that school board meeting.”

She studied him. “Are you saying that you’re the person who was behind what happened tonight? The one who provided that information to the school board with the intent of making me look bad?”

“No. I never talked to anyone on the board. I did, however, tell Webb Crawford what I’d overheard about Mr. Colfax buying you that land. But I did so only because I knew he was in love with you himself. For that reason, I felt he had a right to know based on what happened with me and Lenny’s mother. I was in love with her, but I didn’t know she was only in love with money. She left me for another one of the players on another team. I was trying to spare Webb heartbreak.”

There was no need to tell Mr. Bordeaux that Webb didn’t love her; he just wanted her in his bed. “I’m sorry Lenny’s mother did that to you, and since you weren’t the one trying to get me fired tonight, then—”

“No, I would not have tried getting you fired. Lenny talked to me this weekend, and he told me how you offered to help him get his grades up. I knew he liked to draw but I didn’t know he was intentionally failing math because of me. I told him that you were right, he could do both. I hadn’t realized how much pressure he was under because of what I wanted my dream for him to be.”

Velvet nodded. “Now that you know, I’m glad you will support Lenny in fulfilling his own dreams. And as for your resignation, I’m not accepting it.” She handed the letter back to him. “You’re doing a great job as manager of Spencer’s. You always get outstanding reviews and the people you manage enjoy working for you. I couldn’t ask for more than that. Besides, our connections as parent and teacher have nothing to do with your employment.”

He released a deep sigh. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome and I look forward to helping Lenny bring his grades up so he can move on to senior high school in the fall.”

“And I appreciate you for that as well. I don’t know if you and Mr. Colfax plan to make Catalina Cove your permanent home after you marry, but I hope so. We can certainly use more teachers like you.”

Velvet gave him a broad smile. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

VELVET WAS IN the kitchen about to pour coffee into cups when Jaye returned. The moment she saw him, she crossed the room to be engulfed in his arms. The kiss he gave her was toe-curling yummy, just like she knew it would be. When he finally released her mouth, she tilted her head up and looked at him. “You knew what Mr. Bordeaux wanted, didn’t you?”

Jaye nodded. “Yes, he told me. I guess he felt as your fiancé, I had a right to know. Trust me, I would not have left you here with him if I didn’t think he was sincere.”

She nodded. “I know.” She then gave him a curious look. “And are you my fiancé?” she asked him, grinning.

“I hope to be.” Then he said, “I miss sitting in the rocking chairs with you.”

“Same here. It’s a beautiful night.”

---