Chapter 3

 K.C. Whitfield looked out the airplane window and took a deep breath while his ears popped as the commercial jet slowly began its descent through the clouds.

He finally saw the lush, green island that was St. Sebastian off to his right and the small speck of land called Mona Cay in the distance.

The tiny red and silver dots were finally identified as metal roofs and the island was surrounded by the most brilliant blue of the Caribbean Sea. This late morning arrival was a direct flight from Miami and he was glad he had been able to see the island with the early morning haze burnt away.

As well travelled as he was at thirty-one, his heart was thudding in his chest at the knowledge that he would soon be stepping onto the birthplace of his mother. He was the first of his siblings to do so and he might be the only one because Marcus and Danielle had no desire to ever set foot in a place their mother refused to speak of.

They had all glimpsed the sadness in her eyes when the island was mentioned and whether it was a show on the Travel Channel or a story on the news St. Sebastian was a source of suffering for his mother.

While he had been reluctant to brooch the subject with her or his father for that matter he was curious about his mother’s life here. She had left at seventeen and never returned.

Instead she had found her way to Florida where she had met his paternal grandparents and worked for them while going to night school. When they had seen how quiet, studious and polite she was they had funded her dream of being an engineer.

They had been unaware that their youngest son had fallen in love with Frederika Leon and when the young couple showed up days after their respective graduations from college married shockwaves had gone through the family.

Colton Whitfield had been something of a bad boy but after meeting his future wife he had settled into responsibility and his parents had come to accept the relationship and defend them staunchly.

The arrival of grandchildren had helped that process along with his mother’s never wavering faith in his father and Colt had buckled down. His grandparents had approved the change in their wild son and acknowledged the change was due mostly to Frederika.

Colt’s maturity had caused him to be appointed CEO of the family company and along with his brothers Aurora Enterprises had become very prosperous.

K.C. was the oldest of three children and one of the lead architects for the business but he also liked working with his hands and had even helped to build his own home in Denver after graduating from college.

He was very conscious of the environment and at times he and his father would almost come to blows in his attempt to make the various projects eco-friendly, something that was difficult on some of the larger jobs.

He ran a hand through his thick dark blonde hair and looked at his silver bracelet Rolex watch before stretching his six foot four long frame thankful for first class comfort.

He knew Michael felt the same way looking over at his high school buddy who had gone on to fame and fortune in the NFL as one the premier wide receivers in the league. The dark chiseled good looks had earned him a legion of female fans but his athleticism could not be questioned and he was known for being a tough customer both on and off the field.

He was third generation Mexican American and he had been proud to present his hard working parents with a new house in a nice suburb of Denver when he first entered the league five years ago.

He had graduated college with a business degree and had proved to be a savvy financial planner and with endorsements for products from clothes to shaving cream he was definitely set for life after football.

This had been one of the toughest winters K.C. could remember in more ways than one and both men had been more than happy to leave Denver for warmer climes.

When K.C. told him about his new job in the Caribbean island Michael had eagerly tagged along. He was trying to get away from his matchmaking family.