Lavender Beach (24 page)

“I must’ve been in the shower when she called. We’ll start at his house. If he’s not there then we’ll work our way to the boatyard.”

But when they pulled up in front of the house where Zach had grown up, his truck was still parked in the driveway. After they had knocked on the door for almost five minutes, Zach finally appeared wearing a bathrobe. He looked disheveled and confused. His eyes seemed glassy from staying up all night.

To Cooper, it looked as though the man had gone off the deep end some time ago and they were about six months too late.

Instead of the confrontational speech Cooper had been prepared to deliver, he took one look at Zach and decided another strategy might be the way to go. “Is there something you’re keeping from Drea, some medical reason you’re behaving the way you are?”

“What? No. Why? No. I don’t think so. Drea just doesn’t understand that I’m under a lot of pressure at work.”

Cooper went into his condensed pitch. “If there isn’t some medical reason, then why not let her move past the time you two had together. It’s not working for her anymore. Things like this happen sometimes. Two people come together. It works for a while, but then one person wants to go another way. You have to let Drea go another way and let her move on.”

“I don’t want her to move on. I love her. We talked about getting married. That’s why I spent the night sitting on the stairs. I want her back.”

Coop shook his head. “But most people would leave when they’re asked to leave. Don’t you see how crazy it is that you wouldn’t go away? It’s almost like you’re stalking her. She’s made it clear she doesn’t want things to remain the same between you two. Change is hard for some people. But breakups happen all the time. You have to move on, Zach.”

It was Caleb’s turn to emphasize that. “You’re scaring her the way you’ve been behaving.”

“Drea’s afraid of me?”

Cooper struggled to maintain his composure. “Why wouldn’t she be? You beat down her door the other night then you refused to leave last night. If it happens again, I’m instructing her to call Brent. Is that what you want?”

“I thought I could talk to her, talk her into coming back.”

Losing patience with him, Caleb’s voice rose. “It’s over, Zach, as in done. Leave her alone. We’ve all experienced relationships that went south. This is no different.”

“Do you want us to call Bree? Do you need to talk to your sister about this?” Cooper offered.

Zach bristled. “Everyone in town knows Drea dumped me.”

Cooper began to suspect this dialogue would get them nowhere. Were they dealing with something other than ego here? “So she dumped you? Everyone’s been in your shoes a time or two. It’s no big deal. But the way you’ve been behaving lately there are people worried about you. When was the last time you had a physical?”

“I don’t know. Five years maybe.”

“How long have you been having anger issues?”

Caleb’s patience evaporated. He turned to stare at his brother. “Who cares? Our job is to get him to stay away from Drea.”

Cooper sent Caleb a lethal stare. “Zach, will you stop bothering Drea?”

“Hey, if she doesn’t want to be with me, that’s fine. Tell her I got the message.” With that, Zach slammed the door shut.

“What the hell was that about?” Caleb complained when they started for the car. “Get him to see a doctor? What were you thinking?”

“That man is suffering from major depression. I have no idea for how long but he’s exhibiting all the signs.”

“That’s not our problem.”

“Sure it is. I don’t want him around Drea any more than you do. But neither do I want another domestic issue leading to a violent end on my hands because of mental issues. If Zach’s spiraling downward, and all the signs say he is, I’m getting him some help.”

As soon as they’d settled inside the Mustang, Cooper began the quest to find Bree’s contact info. The perks of a small town didn’t take too many tries before he landed the right person. Jordan not only had the number he needed, the innkeeper said Bree was there at Promise Cove about to take out a boatload of tourists on a sightseeing trip. Jordan simply handed the phone to Bree.

“This is Cooper Richmond. I need to talk to you about your brother Zach.”

Cooper had agreed
to wait around until Bree got there, which irritated Caleb.

“I don’t see why we had to sit here and babysit the guy. I don’t know why we had to get involved like this. It wasn’t part of the equation,” Caleb groused.

Cooper snapped back. “I didn’t drag you over here. In fact, I suggested that you not to come. But since you insisted, you’re stuck unless you want to walk to work, which you could just as easily do as sit here and bitch. So shut up.”

It took thirty minutes sitting in stony silence before Bree showed up. She’d brought reinforcements—Troy and Zach’s other business partner, Ryder McLachlan.

Bree stood outside the car wringing her hands. “Thanks, Cooper for calling me. I’m sorry it took so long but I had to round up the troops and rearrange the tour schedule for this afternoon. Do you really think Zach’s having a mental breakdown?”

“I don’t know. If I’m wrong, what’s the worst that could happen? He gets an office visit with Doc Prescott and a complete checkup. But if I’m right…”

Ryder spoke up. “For what it’s worth, I think Cooper’s on to something. Over the past several months there’ve been signs that Zach might be coming unglued. Troy and I have seen him freaking out at work more than usual.”

Troy nodded in agreement. “Zach’s always been a stickler for things clicking, but when they don’t, he’s been losing it over the least little thing.”

Ryder went on, “Then when Drea blew up at him about forgetting their anniversary, it just him over the edge when she packed up.”

Troy boosted that incident with another example. “There was that week before Christmas last year when we had this big job to finish. Zach couldn’t concentrate. He kept messing up with the router, the sander. He’s usually a perfectionist with his work, takes pride in a job well done, but not lately.”

Bree had heard enough. “Okay, okay, I’ll give Doc a call. Hopefully, he can work us in today.” She turned to Troy. “I don’t think I should leave him alone. Just yesterday I tried defending him at the luncheon because I love him so much. There have been times in the last two years I don’t want to concede that my only brother has his faults.”

When Bree and Troy disappeared inside the house, Cooper said to Ryder, “They may not be faults. It’s possible Zach might be experiencing undiagnosed clinical depression. It usually takes years to get to this point to completely unravel.”

“There’s medication for that, right?” Ryder asked. “I mean he isn’t so far gone that he’s about to go postal or climb up on a tower, right?”

“There are meds. It takes time to fiddle with the right dosage before it kicks in and it won’t happen overnight. Plus, he has to take the stuff for it to work.”

Ryder nodded. “Then I’ll stick around, too. Bree and Troy may need help talking him into seeing Doc.”

Once Cooper started the Mustang and got underway, Caleb turned to eye his brother. “I’m sorry I said those things to you. Obviously, you’ve seen mental illness firsthand. At least your recollections are better than mine are. Which means you know more about it than I do.”

“Be glad. I wouldn’t wish those memories on anyone.”

With days yet
to go to the school assembly, Eastlyn’s jobs kept her busy. But her mind kept circling back to the helicopter. She’d decided there were many things she could with it. She could start a charter service as Cooper had suggested, or she could start her own private search and rescue outfit. There was a third option. She could offer life flight services, including medical runs, up and down the California coast.

The prospects were actually endless.

At the end of her workday one afternoon, she stopped by the Pump N Go to meet Wally Pierce. When she entered the garage he owned, she spotted the mechanic—a guy with brown hair down to his shoulders standing under a shiny red SS Chevelle changing the oil.

Now that she got a better look at Wally’s surfer looks, Lilly’s story about his topic at school made a lot more sense.

The love of a classic muscle car had Eastlyn appreciating the machine. Letting out a loud whistle, she stepped under the car, peered at the engine. “Whoever owns this baby is one lucky dude.”

“It’s mine. Refurbished it from scratch,” Wally said proudly.

“Looks like it has the small engine block three-fifty.”

Impressed with her knowledge, Wally abandoned his task, more than willing to discuss his pride and joy. “Only kind you could buy in California from ’68 through ’71 because of the state’s standards back then.”

“Any heat soak problems?”

Wally eyed her with fascination. “Used to. But that was before I installed a new starter with a heat shield buffering the exhaust. You know your cars.”

“And engines. I had a father who tinkered with his El Camino and an older brother who loved muscle cars. Both let me hang around the driveway enough to pick up a few things whenever they labored over a ’69 Dodge Charger.”

“My dad and I looked at the six-cylinder Charger. But it was our second choice.” Wally stuffed a rag into his back pocket and turned to face her. “Lilly mentioned you had your eye on an old chopper Cooper found out at Cleef’s place.” 

“Your wife sings your praises. But the truth is everyone around here does the same. They say you know more about engines than anybody else. And that’s why I need your input before I put my hard-earned cash into what could be a money pit.”

“You know, I’ve spent hours out there at that old junkyard going through the stuff and I don’t ever remember seeing that chopper in the barn.”

“Probably because it was buried under a mound of hay and dirt. I gotta tell you the same thing I told Cooper. I think that chopper was hidden for a reason.”

Wally lifted a brow in surprise. “Stolen? That doesn’t sound like Cleef.”

She winced at the word. “I’m not saying that or accusing anyone. But I had to dig the thing out of at least three feet of muck just to get a better look at the skids. It was as if someone had buried it to keep it out of sight. Anyway, could you take a trip out there with me sometime, at your convenience, of course, and tell me what you think?”

“I’d be glad to. When do you want to go?”

“You pick.”

“How about now?”

“What about finishing your oil change?”

“I can do that anytime. Let’s go see this mysterious bird.”

They made one stop at Layne’s Trains before getting on the road.

Cooper had already made plans for his evening. In fact, he’d spent the better part of the day looking forward to nothing more than getting home, making himself a quick sandwich to eat in front of the tube, grabbing an ice cold beer, and watching the Giants take on the Mets back east. Because of the three-hour time difference, the game was due to start in less than an hour.

So when Eastlyn came into his shop, he knew right away by that brooding look she had an ulterior motive.

“Come on, Cooper. It’s almost closing time anyway. Ride out to Cleef’s with us. It won’t take that long. I’ll have you back home in time to catch the last five innings. I promise. I need both of you there to make sure I’m not making a huge mistake. What if I sink all my money into it and…?”

He wanted to stand steadfast and firm and stick to his plans. But the way her eyes lit up at the prospect and the pleading look on her face… It wasn’t like Eastlyn to wheedle. And when she gave him that last parting shot about the money, he decided to cave.

Cooper sighed. “I’ll do it, but not because of that pouty, dejected look on your face. I’ve been stuck in here all day and need to get outside. I wouldn’t mind getting some sun. But you’re driving.”

She gave him a quick hug and a kiss, pumped her fist in the air and sailed out the door in front of him.

As he turned the sign around and flipped the lock, it occurred to him that some women could talk a body into spending an afternoon doing anything and everything other than what he’d intended to do.