Redemption Bay (Haven Point Book 2) (Contemporary Romance) by RaeAnne Thayne Page A

into a tall, handsome man. A man any parent would be proud of.
    But, oh, the shadows in those blue eyes.
    When he woke that morning and decided to grab a bite to eat at Serrano’s before work, he never expected to find Ben drinking coffee and looking out at the lake.
    How could he have? As far as he knew, Ben hadn’t been back since the day of his sister’s funeral.
    He stood, lost in indecision, while the lake sparkled in the distance and the peaks of the Redemption Mountains gleamed white in the sunlight with snow that hadn’t melted yet.
    This had been easier when his wife was still alive. Joan had provided a necessary buffer, somehow, to keep him from doing something stupid.
    She was gone now, bless her. After a year, he was finally learning to make his way without her, one baby step at a time.
    Perhaps it was time he took a giant step into the unknown and finally faced all the murky secrets of the past.
    He picked up his cell phone. A quick web search revealed the number he had purposely avoided looking up for a year.
    He was ridiculously aware that his palms were sweating as he selected “call” on the phone options.
    It rang four times. Just before he was certain the call would go to voice mail, a slightly breathless voice answered. “Hello?”
    He swallowed. “Lydia. Hello. It’s Russ Warrick. Is this a bad time?”
    After a long, awkward pause, she spoke again, clear surprise in her voice. “Russ. Hello. No. No. It’s not a bad time. I was in the middle of yoga.”
    He tried not to picture her, limber and prettier at fifty-four than she had ever been.
    “Sorry to interrupt. You can call me back when your class is over.”
    “No class. Just a video at home. I paused it. Really, this is fine. Is something wrong?”
    “Why would you say that?”
    “I haven’t talked to you in forever,” she said calmly. “You’re not a man who calls out of the blue just to chat.”
    That was true enough. He had stayed away from her on purpose, hadn’t called her once since Joanie died, even though he had been tempted a hundred times.
    This was a stupid idea, he thought. Her relationship with Ben was none of his business.
She
was none of his business. But stupid or not, he had called her and couldn’t just make an excuse now and hang up.
    “Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I had some information I thought might interest you.”
    “Oh?”
    “I just bumped into Ben at Serrano’s.”
    “Ben?
My
Ben?”
    The singular pronoun sent pain clutching his heart. “Yes. Your Ben. I thought you might want to know.”
    Her tone shifted from shock to crisp disbelief. “That’s impossible. I’m sure you’ve made a mistake. Ben will never come back to Haven Point. He’s made that abundantly clear.”
    “No mistake. I spoke with him for a good ten minutes.” A wonderful ten minutes. It had been so very long, he had absorbed every word, memorized each mannerism and vocal tone. “He’s in town to help Aidan Caine with a project. Apparently he’ll be here for a few weeks. I thought you might want to know.”
    “What makes you think I didn’t already know?” she asked in a haughty tone. The essence of Lydia, bristly and distant on the outside but so very vulnerable beneath all the layers.
    “Your reaction just now was a good giveaway.” He fought hard to keep the dryness out of his tone. “He also seemed reluctant when I suggested he call you.”
    “So you thought you would step in to make things right between us by calling me, anyway. How very helpful of you.”
    Her hostility stung, though it wasn’t unexpected. Lydia had erected a wall between them long ago, so high and so wide one would never guess they’d once been best friends...and much more.
    “I’m sorry I bothered you,” he said stiffly. “I know if
my
son were in town, I would want to know.”
    She didn’t answer for a long moment, a silence thick and murky with secrets. Why wouldn’t she tell him the truth, even after all these years?
    “I’m