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Chapter Two
Caleb felt relief flood through him as Addie Fontaine swept out the door of the Blue Bayou. A few hours ago he’d been of the belief that the bistro was about to slip through his fingers. It had been a lonely, desperate feeling to be in that fragile position. Ever since he’d conceived the idea for the eatery, Caleb had been determined not to ask his family members for financial support. Daniel—who owned a multimillion dollar corporation—was very generous with his growing fortune. And Parker, the oldest Donahue brother, owned a very successful PI business. Caleb had wanted to do it without getting a handout from his family.
When push had come to shove, he’d reached out to Sebastian Fontaine for financing. In retrospect, it had been a bad decision. His pride had prevented him from reaching out to family, but in the process, he’d gotten into a situation without taking the fine print into consideration. It had been a rookie mistake on his part. Thank the Lord he hadn’t lost his pride and joy through a foolish error.
All in all, he was thankful Addie seemed invested in the Blue Bayou. And discovering that the Fontaine family wanted to inject more money into the bistro felt like manna from heaven. Losing his business would have been another huge loss in his life. Owning the bistro had been a lifelong dream he’d held ever since he was a child. And through pure grit and pluck he had made it happen. It was his crowning achievement in life.
He glanced at his watch. He had a lot to do to get ready for the lunch crowd. Caleb heard the back door close shut and he found himself grinning. Paolo had perfect timing. He was always right on time for work. Paolo was his sous-chef and all around Jack of all trades. Caleb depended on Paolo to help him run the bistro like a well-oiled machine.
“We’re going to be busy today,” Caleb said, swinging his eyes up to greet Paolo. Rather than Paolo standing there, it was his brother, Heath. With his dark brown hair, blue eyes and olive complexion, he had an exotic look about him. People always
tended to stare at Heath. With a birth name of Delgado, Heath knew part of his heritage was Hispanic. The other half was Scottish.
“Hey,” Heath said in a low voice. “What’s up?”
“Heath! Sorry, man. I thought you were Paolo.”
“No problem. I know you weren’t expecting me. Can we talk for a minute? I know you’re getting ready to open up, but I need a favor.”
“Come sit down, Heath. Whatever you need. Just name it.” Heath walked over to the table and sat down. Caleb patiently waited for him to say something.
“I’m going to need a place to stay for a bit.” He hung his head, then jammed his hair through his shaggy hair. “My lease runs out next week and since Bella and I were planning to get married at city hall I thought I would be moving in to her house. But we’re not together anymore, so I need a new plan.”
“What happened between the two of you?” Caleb asked. “You’ve been in love with her ever since you were sixteen years old.” Bella Vincente for all intents and purposes had been the love of Heath’s life for the last ten years. Caleb had never seen a couple so in sync or so deeply in love with one another. But then Heath had been deployed to the Middle East. By the time he’d returned stateside, he was no longer the same guy. Caleb had tried on several occasions to get through to Heath, but there seemed to be some sort of shield he had in place now. No one or nothing could penetrate it.
Heath sighed and crossed his hands in front of him on the table. “When I came back from the Middle East things felt different. Before I went there was nothing I wanted more than to settle down with Bella. But now everything feels different. I’m different.”
“So you don’t love her anymore?” Caleb pressed. In a million years he couldn’t imagine it to be the truth. Bella and Heath were like peanut butter and jelly. They just went together seamlessly.
Heath twisted his mouth. “Of course I still love her. But sometimes love isn’t enough.”
“Heath, there’s a lot you’re not saying. What happened over there? Why can’t you talk about it with us? You keep shutting everyone out.”
His brother grimaced. “I don’t mean to. It’s just difficult. None of you have ever served in the military. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me. I’m a great listener. I know you lost your best friend over there. That’s not something you just get over with the snap of a finger.”
Heath opened his mouth to respond just as the door opened heralding Paolo’s arrival. Caleb wanted to groan at Paolo’s ill-timed arrival.
Heath turned back to Caleb. “Can I come stay with you or not? It will only be until I can find some other digs.” His gaze was intense.
Caleb nodded. “Of course you can. My doors are always open. I’ll make another set of keys tonight.”
Heath jumped up from his seat. “I’ll give you a call later.” He patted Paolo on the shoulder as he walked past him and out the back door of the kitchen.
Once he was gone Paolo locked eyes with Caleb. “Did I interrupt something?” he asked.
Caleb shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Paolo. Getting anything out of Heath these days is near impossible. He’s changed, my friend.”
Paolo nodded. “It’s understandable. The horrors of war are in his eyes.”
Caleb frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“I’ve seen it a lot. Soldiers come back and it’s all there in their eyes. The pain. The scars. The losses.” He shrugged. “I see it in Heath’s eyes.”
As Paolo walked toward the stove to turn it on, Caleb found himself wondering what had happened to his brother that was so painful he couldn’t reveal it to his loved ones. Ever since they were kids the Donahue siblings had shared everything. Secrets were few and far between. But all that had changed since Heath’s return. Heath was brooding and angry. Somehow or other, Caleb would figure out what had transpired over in the Middle East that had altered his brother so drastically. If his brother was drowning, he wasn’t going to sit around without handing him a life preserver.
The Donahue family stuck together. Donahue strong was their family motto, handed down to them by their father, Jude. He, along with his own three brothers, had coined the phrase growing up in New England. It was now the mantra of the Donahue siblings of Pelican Bay. No matter what challenges were thrown their way, they had vowed to stick together and support one another. This time would be no different.
