Secret Vows

Jason made his way back to the main cabin. The flight attendant had repositioned the bed into a seat. He sat, fastened his seat belt and shared a smile with Carrie-Ann who’d taken her seat outside the cockpit door. She was one of two permanent flight attendants on the ColeDiz International Ltd. payroll, along with three full-time pilots. There was an unwritten rule that anyone claiming Cole blood was forbidden to fly commercial carriers. The edict was instituted more than forty years ago when, as a child, Regina Cole Spencer had been kidnapped and held for ransom, before she was rescued and found unharmed by her uncle and a close family friend.

Flying in the corporate jet suited Jason’s laid-back persona. He abhorred crowds or being jostled as passengers crowded around the gate once their flight was announced. He also liked the fact that he could travel light and didn’t have to go through airport screening. All he needed was a carry-on with toiletries and a change of clothes. The closets in his Serenity West home were filled with everything he would need to dress casually, attend a formal affair or a sporting event.

Whenever he settled into a routine at Serenity West, Jason loathed returning to Florida. He was more than content to live in Oregon writing and recording music, while someone else assumed the role as musical director for Serenity Records. He’d spoken to one of his cousins about coming to work for the record company, but Graham had yet to make a decision whether he would leave ColeDiz International Ltd., the privately-held, family-owned conglomerate. Graham had complained to Jason that Diego, CEO of ColeDiz, was a hard taskmaster and he preferred a more relaxing workplace atmosphere.

The sound that the landing gear was activated echoed throughout the cabin as the jet began its landing. Jason smiled when he caught a glimpse of Mount Hood’s snow-covered peaks, and he chided himself for not learning to ski. However, growing up in the Sunshine State didn’t lend itself to cold-weather sports. Within minutes the plane touched down smoothly on a private runway, coming to a stop several hundred feet from a gated area with parked vehicles. Waiting until Carrie-Ann opened the hatch and pressed a button for the stairs to descend, Jason unbuckled his seat belt, reached for his carry-on and prepared to disembark. He thanked the flight crew, took the stairs and walked across the tarmac to where the rental company had parked the Range Rover he’d requested.

He didn’t own a car outright, preferring instead to rent whether in Florida or Oregon. His family teased him constantly about his unpretentious lifestyle. He had his own apartment in the expansive Boca Raton mansion where he’d grown up; preferred jeans, T-shirts and running shoes for his work attire; and spent most of his free time either in the recording studio at the record company or in his parents’ home-based recording studio. He dated occasionally, but hadn’t had a serious relationship in more than two years. Jason was comfortable with his lifestyle because he was in complete control of his own destiny; he was independently wealthy and that was something the majority of those in their early thirties weren’t able to claim. He made his way over to a booth where a man sat watching his approach. Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans, he handed the stoic-looking armed guard his driver’s license. After typing his name and license number into a computer, the man handed him a set of keys to the Range Rover.

Jason’s belly made rumbling noises again as he maneuvered out of the parking area, following the signs indicating the airport exit. Glancing at the dashboard, he noted the time. It was 3:55 p.m. Pacific Time, while his body was still in the Eastern Time Zone. Accelerating into the flow of traffic along the interstate, Jason realized he would make it to Mission Grove in time for the start of Stella’s dinner hour.

Touching a button on the steering wheel, he turned on the satellite radio, tuning it to a station featuring blues. His fingertips kept tempo on the leather-wrapped steering wheel as the gravelly voiced vocalist belted out a rousing rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago.” Driving along the Columbia River highway, Jason lost himself in the music as the landscape changed from skyscrapers to scenic towns nestled in valleys with dense forests making a continuous curtain of green. There were magnificent gorges and breathtaking views of mountain lakes. The sight of Mount Hood never failed to make him catch his breath.

There was something about the natural untamed beauty of this part of the country that made Jason feel as if he’d been reborn, a blank slate where he could selectively choose what he wanted to do, remember or avoid.

The road sign for Mission Grove came into view and within minutes he drove over the single lane road and into the town with a population of 3,956. There had been a time when the population boasted nearly six thousand inhabitants when logging camps sprang up at the height of the logging boom. Now it had become a haven for fishermen, hikers, skiers and retirees and those whose European ancestors came to the Pacific Northwest as traders and settlers in the late-eighteenth century.

Stella’s, an enormous log-hewed building, was erected in a clearing with parking for at least sixty vehicles and overlooked a lake bordered by towering pine trees. Picnic tables and benches were set on a grassy area for those wishing to eat outdoors. There were a number of signs warning diners not to leave food on the tables or on the ground because it would attract bears and other woodland creatures.

Jason pulled into a space between two pickup trucks and cut off the engine. It was a few minutes after five and the lot was half-filled. He walked into Stella’s and was met with a plethora of mouthwatering aromas. He hadn’t taken more than three steps when he stopped short, staring at a young woman in jeans, running shoes, white shirt and matching apron tied around her waist as she leaned over a man seated at a table, her face pressed close to his. At first Jason thought she was going to kiss the diner until he noticed the color of his face. It had gone from bright red to purple. The three other men sharing the table stared mutely, their eyes widening in shock.

It ended when she stood up straight, glaring at him. “Touch me again and I’ll castrate you.” Her voice carried easily in the expansive space. She turned on her heel and walked away with a sensual sway of slender hips. Guffaws of laughter followed her retreat, while the seemingly hapless victim’s chest rose and fell as he struggled to regain what was left of his dignity.

Jason couldn’t stop the smile stealing its way over his features when he realized what had just occurred. Some men had to learn the hard way that women didn’t like to be touched without permission. His gaze swept around the restaurant for an empty table, then spied one with a lone diner. He was fewer than five feet away when the deeply tanned man with shaggy gray-flecked brown hair stood up, hoary-gray eyes widening in surprise.

“I see you haven’t lost your edge,” Jason said quietly.

Chase Bromleigh pulled Jason into a bear hug that threatened to bruise his ribs. “How the hell are you? You told me you were coming two months ago. What did you do? Walk from Florida?”

Attractive lines fanned out around Jason’s gold-flecked eyes as he smiled. “I had a family situation.”

Chase dropped his arms. “And we’re about to have another situation. Bobby doesn’t look too happy.”

A deafening silence descended over Stella’s as six-foot-four, two-hundred-fifty-pound Bobby Henry made a beeline to the table where the customer had harassed his waitress. First the man was sitting, then he was up and running, heading for the door before Bobby could reach him.

The ex-Green Beret folded huge arms over his chest, blue eyes flashing dangerously as lights from hanging fixtures reflected off his shaved pate. “I’ve said it once and I’ll just say it one more time.” His baritone voice carried easily in the hushed silence. “Anyone harassing my niece will have to deal with me. And I promise to tune you up where you wish you’d never taken your first breath.” Reaching behind his back, he pulled out an expandable baton, tapping it against the palm of his large hand. “Do I make myself understood?” There were nods and a few whispered yeses. “Good. Now enjoy your dinner.”

Jason sat down across from Chase. “It looks as if Bobby’s niece can take care of herself.”

Chase nodded. “I’m certain she can if she threatened to castrate the poor man.”

Jason’s gaze shifted to the woman in question when she returned with a tray hoisted on her right shoulder. He didn’t know why, but there was something about her that reminded him of his mother. Perhaps it was the color of her hair or the shape of her eyes. That’s where the similarities ended because she was at least four or five inches taller than Serena Cole.

“When did she start working here?” he asked Chase.

“I assume you’re talking about Greer.”

“If that’s her name, then of course I’m talking about her.”

Chase leaned closer, studying the expression of the talented musician and record producer. “Her name is Greer Evans and she’s just getting over a rather nasty divorce, so if I were you, I’d keep my distance.”

Jason met Chase’s eyes. “I came here to write music not get involved with a woman.”

“Isn’t it time you get involved with a woman?”

“I’ll get involved with one when you do the same, friend.”

Slumping back in his chair, Chase held his head at an angle. “I’m not the marrying kind. Women have accused me of being too moody, and I happen to like coming and going without having to check in with someone.”

Jason stared at the man who owned a home in the same gated community where he’d built Serenity West. Charles, or Chase as he preferred to distinguish himself from his father, was the first to welcome him to the exclusive neighborhood in the Hood River Valley. Like Jason, Chase was born into wealth, but kept a low profile when he’d disappear for months and then reappear as if time had stood still. Although two years his senior, it was difficult to pinpoint Chase’s actual age by looking at him. Tall, rawboned with a network of fine lines around his gray eyes and with finely honed reflexes, he projected an air of danger that kept most people at a distance.

Jason nodded in agreement. “I hear you. Speaking hypothetically. Suppose I had a girlfriend in Florida. Do you think she would go along with me living three thousand miles away for months at a time?”

“She would if she loved you enough.”

“Yeah, right,” Jason quipped, smiling. “Maybe it would work a couple times, but after a while she’d probably accuse me of having another woman to keep me company when I’m not with her.”

Chase picked up a glass of beer, draining it. “Women. We can’t live with them, and we can’t live without them.”

Jason wanted to tell his friend to speak for himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t like women because he did. He didn’t have a steady girlfriend, but what he did have was a very jealous mistress: music and the two were like oil and water. They did not mix.

Chapter 3

Greer spooned a generous portion of fluffy mashed potatoes onto a heavy cafeteria-style dinner plate. She added two thick slices of meat loaf, along with peas and carrots, and then ladled au jus gravy over the meat and potatoes. Reaching for a pair of tongs, she placed a generous serving of corn bread on a separate dish. It had been exactly two weeks since she’d come to Mission Grove to work in her uncle’s restaurant. During that time, she’d learned to ignore the gawking, and occasional crude overtures from some of the men, but what she refused to ignore was being groped. She gave her uncle a sidelong glance as he carved a golden-brown turkey.

“You’ve posted signs warning your customers about carrying concealed handguns, bringing in open bottles of beer and liquor, and not serving alcohol to anyone under the age of twenty-three. What you also need is a sign prohibiting customers from groping the help.”

“It’s not going to happen again.” Bobby’s voice had taken on a hard edge. “The next man who puts his hands on you will be barred from coming here, but that’s only after I kick his ass.”

Greer rested the warmed plate on the towel looped over her forearm. “I don’t need you getting arrested for assault.”

Bobby snorted loudly. “The sheriff and I were in Nam together, so I doubt if I’ll get arrested.”

“So it’s like that, Uncle Bobby?”

He winked at her. “You’ve got that right. Folks around here have asked me to run for mayor, but I have no patience for politics—or should I say poli-tricks.”

She returned the wink. “I’ll be back for the turkey.”

Greer shouldered her way through the swinging door, heading for the table with Chase Bromleigh’s order. She had come to know many of the regulars and Chase was one. He came to Stella’s Tuesday and Wednesday for dinner, always ordering the day’s special.

Chase was one of two men she’d placed on her mental watch list; the night before when she’d stepped out to get some air, Greer had observed Chase exchanging a package with a biker in the parking lot. It had been too dark to see what he’d given the other person. She didn’t want to jump to conclusions and say either he or the man were dealing guns or drugs. Even if she couldn’t recognize the biker’s face, she was more than familiar with the make and model of his bike. Unfortunately she hadn’t seen it again parked in the lot. At no time could she forget that she was on the job. The only difference was, this time, it would be as an observer. Becoming an observer was akin to a civilian informant. She would observe, while eavesdropping and gathering information, which data she would eventually pass along to the Seattle office.

She was relieved not to have to go undercover in Mission Grove. After her involvement with a group purchasing guns in Virginia and transporting them along I-95 to gangs and drug dealers in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York, Greer didn’t want to repeat that scene less than a year later. Then, she’d been Jaylee Roseboro, supposed stepdaughter of undercover DEA drug trafficker Malcolm Kelly. She had made the drive once a week, each time in a different car, the stash of weapons hidden in a compartment under the trunk. If she’d been stopped by turnpike police, she would’ve given them her boss’s name and number, but that wasn’t possible because at no time had she ever been in the vehicle by herself. The man supplying the guns always had one of his men accompany her as insurance so she wouldn’t be tempted to take off with his merchandise. She delivered the guns, while her tagalong partner picked up the money. It was the supplier’s way of having them watch one another. His mantra was “Deliver the goods and come back with my money or else I’ll hunt you down and kill you, but not before I kill someone in your family.”

It had taken Greer nearly two years to gather enough information for the U.S. Attorney to issue warrants for the gun smuggling ring that netted six men and two women. She was rounded up with the others, processed and held without bond in protective custody for several days. The day before she and the others were scheduled for arraignment, jail officials announced she’d hung herself in her cell. Greer was whisked away under the cover of darkness to a safe house; she removed the contact lenses, false teeth, braided extensions and began a strict diet to lose the twenty pounds she’d gained while undercover. Indulging in a spree of eating fast food had wrecked her regimen of healthy eating. She was reassigned to a desk in a field office in Phoenix, becoming a glorified clerk.

Relocating to the Pacific Northwest was as different as night was from day when she compared the geography of the Southwest to the rugged untamed forests and the majestic splendor of Mount Hood. Waking up in the bedroom she’d occupied during her childhood summer vacations was like stepping back in time when she’d slept with the windows open because there was hardly ever a need for air-conditioning.