Read Online Lavender Beach by Vickie McKeehan - Free Book Online

the enemy. It’s where the word berserk originated.”
    “The guys I trained with picked up on the Norse blonde hair and fair skin. Not to mention my mom and dad started out in Minnesota. My mom could trace her roots back to Scandinavia.”
    “Zerker,” Cooper repeated. “I can see how the tag might fit. You’re tall, probably five-eleven or so with a pilot’s daredevil personality.”
    “I was never careless with my crew,” Eastlyn pointed out.
    “I couldn’t imagine you’d be careless at flying. You carry yourself with confidence, have a warrior legacy, what with your dad’s service in Vietnam, not to mention your Irish granny.”
    “On my dad’s side, never underestimate my Irish granny.”
    “On your dad’s side and you probably hate to lose a fight.”
    She burst out in laughter. “You just met me yesterday. Unless you’re psychic you don’t really know me all that well.”
    “Nick and Cord consider you a hero.”
    “Believe me, I’m not. Besides, I’m sure some in town still feel that I’m a druggie who hasn’t yet fully reformed.”
    “You don’t strike me as the type who cares much about what other people think.”
    Eastlyn winked and pointed a finger at him. “Again, perceptive. Want a beer?”
    “You’re allowed to drink?” With that one question Coop realized he’d stepped over the line. “Sorry. I’d love a beer.”
    She rose out of the rocker and turned to go into the house, but stopped. “Now it’s my turn. What can you tell me about Scott Phillips?”
    “He’s our local legend, the guardian of the town, watching over the people he loves. That’s the urban myth.”
    Cooper followed her into the cottage, watched as she turned down the volume on the stereo. His eyes landed on the Cape Cod bookcase. He ran his hand over the wood. “I wondered where this beauty ended up. I went back to buy it the other day and it was gone.”
    She handed off a bottle of Blue Moon. “Hope you like honey wheat.”
    “That’s fine.” He started flicking through the stack of vinyl record albums.
    She took a seat on the sofa and studied him. She liked the look of him, the way he moved, the way he made his point with savvy and smarts. “Why do you have a different last name than Caleb and Drea? I know Landon and Shelby adopted you, which made you a Jennings. Drea told me the story.”
    He continued perusing her music selections until he turned to face her. “I’ve always been a Jennings in some form or another. Cooper Jennings Richmond. That’s the name on my birth certificate. For a time after the adoption, I dropped the Richmond part hoping it’d make me feel that I fit in. But using Jennings wasn’t the problem. In my heart I knew my father deserved to have a son who was proud of the Richmond name. If Drea told you the story then you know my mother, Eleanor, killed our father.”
    Eastlyn gave an uncomfortable nod of assent. “She killed your dad and your dad’s girlfriend while the two sat under the pier making plans to leave Pelican Pointe. It’s a tragic story about a man who was locked into a situation. Both victims never got a chance at real happiness. Drea knows now your father didn’t want to leave his children with such a twisted woman.”
    The words were difficult to get out. But Cooper stared at her and did just that. “And did Drea tell you that I helped Eleanor bury the bodies that night?”
    Eastlyn sucked in a tense breath, swallowed hard. “She left that part out.”
    “Little wonder. Not many sisters want to believe a brother could do such a disgusting thing.”
    “Cooper, what were you, ten maybe? Drea and Caleb even younger?”
    “Nine. Fourth grade. I was never the same after that, not in school, not in town, not anywhere. My grandfather owned the same train store I run now. Getting to escape through the doors for a couple hours was my refuge. If my mother had chosen to allow me more access to him, I’d have spent my entire day there, working on the trains