Follow Your Heart (Catalina Cove #4) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,1
wind of, she had no problem bursting his bubble. “I came to Catalina Cove to cover a story about the shrimp festival they hold each year. It took me less than an hour to get here. I loved the place immediately and decided although I worked in New Orleans, I didn’t have to live there when I liked this place better.”
Corbin nodded. “You’ve only been here a couple of months and already you’ve made friends who invited you to their wedding?”
She smiled. “Bryce was one of the first people I met. She’s the Realtor I contacted to find me a place to lease in the cove. And you have to admit my place is nice.”
“It’s small.”
She figured he would say that, since his condo in Houston was bigger than most houses. “It’s big enough for me, Corbin. And I love that apple grove in the back. There’s nothing like waking up to the smell of apples every morning.”
“How’s your job going?”
Victoria glanced over at him. She knew that her brothers hadn’t particularly liked the idea of her taking a job as a news reporter in New Orleans when a similar job had been offered to her in Houston. She tried to get them to understand it was time for her to spread her wings. Besides, the Madaris name was well-known not only in Houston, but also in the entire state of Texas. She didn’t want to worry about taking a job and being treated differently because her last name was Madaris.
“My job is going great, although I miss being out on the beat.” Six months ago, she’d been promoted from a beat reporter to coanchor one of the morning shows.
“I’m glad the political season is over. I couldn’t take interviewing one more politician,” she said. There was no reason to explain to her brother why she felt such deep animosity toward politicians. Most of the family already knew why. To change the subject, she asked, “So what’s going on with your love life, Corbin?”
She laughed when he let out an expletive. She knew one sure way to get her brother riled was to ask about his love life. Like most single Madaris men, he intended to stay a bachelor forever.
“Don’t worry about my love life. You need to be concerned with your own. I’m not the next person on Mama Laverne’s list.”
“Not for long. I’ve been summoned. I got a call from Mama Laverne. She wants to see me, so I’m going to Whispering Pines next weekend.”
Stopping at a traffic light, Corbin glanced over at her with an arched eyebrow. “Do you think she’s going to tell you who she’s chosen as your husband?”
“Probably, since I can’t think of any other reason for her to want to meet with me, especially when I spent time with her over the holidays. It has been almost two years since she told Nolan I was next in line. You know what that means, right?”
Corbin shook his head. “No, what does that mean?”
Victoria smiled. “It means since I don’t plan to give Mama Laverne grief about anything, I’ll probably have a June wedding and then she can turn her attention to you, since you’re next on the list.”
Corbin frowned. “Like hell.”
Victoria laughed at her brother’s reaction. “I suggest you start enjoying your final days as a bachelor, Corbin.”
The following weekend
“UNCLE JAKE AND Aunt Diamond, how are you?” Victoria asked as she entered their home on Whispering Pines and gave both huge hugs. She adored her grand-uncle and grand-aunt. She also loved Whispering Pines, the place everyone in the family considered the Madaris homestead.
Whispering Pines was an hour drive from Houston and encompassed hundreds and hundreds of acres of land for grazing cattle. The ranch was renowned for raising only the highest quality grass-fed Texas longhorn cattle. Victoria thought the ranch house, a massive hacienda-style villa where Jake and his family lived, was a real piece of art. It had always been beautiful, and since marrying former actress Diamond Swain, who’d put her special touch here and there, it was even more so.
Jake, a distinguished rancher, had once made the cover of Time magazine when they’d applauded his efforts in aiding the British government with England’s cattle industry’s mad cow epidemic. Not only was her uncle a great rancher, but he was also highly intelligent when it came to investments. Thanks to him, all the members of the Madaris family had a hefty amount of stock in the family business. He managed the portfolios for