Dad for Charlie & the Sergeant's Temptation & the Alaskan Catch & New Year's Wedding (9781488015687)

by Stewart, Anna J. ; Sasson, Sophia; Carpenter, Beth; Jensen, Muriel

  She nodded slowly. “Maybe so. But just because he was there doesn’t make him guilty of anything.”

  “No, it doesn’t. And the fact that Chris never told me his father’s name was Raynott doesn’t make Chris guilty of anything, either. But you have to admit, it’s odd.”

  Dana put her hands on her hips. “Did you ever mention your mother’s accusations to Chris?”

  Sam thought about it. He tried to avoid thinking about his childhood at all, much less discussing it with anyone. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Then why is it odd he wouldn’t mention it to you?”

  “Fair enough.”

  Ursula spoke up. “What about this other person you’re trying to find? What money?”

  Dana shrugged. “There were some letters in with my father’s personal papers, claiming he owed money to a man who died, and that the money should go to the man’s son. The letters didn’t mention the son’s name. I’m going to Fairbanks Monday morning to search the birth records.”

  “Will they just give you someone else’s birth certificate?”

  “I hope so, once I show them the legal papers and explain why I’m trying to find him. The lawyers seemed to think they would.” Tiny lines formed between her eyebrows. “As long as I’m there, I’ll look into the other records, see if I can find out if there’s any record of my father being there or his relationship to this man.”

  “What’s the man’s name?”

  “Roy Petrov.”

  Ursula stared at her. Sam jumped up, almost knocking the chair over in his haste. “Say that name again.”

  Dana took a step backward. “Roy Petrov. I have to find his son.”

  Sam moved closer. “I can save you time looking for that birth certificate.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I happen to have a copy at home.”

  “What? Why would you have it?”

  He blew out a breath. “Because I’m the son of Roy Petrov.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  EARLY MONDAY MORNING, Dana repacked her bag for the trip to Fairbanks. The birth certificate Sam showed her raised more questions than it answered. Sam had been born in Fairbanks about a year before Dad started the tool rental business in Kansas, so Dad could have been in Fairbanks during that time. But what was the relationship between Roy Petrov and her father? Friends? Enemies? She felt compelled to find out.

  She’d just stowed away her computer and was about to unplug her phone from the charger when it rang. She looked at the screen. Reliable Equipment and Tool Rental. Jerry certainly wasn’t likely to be checking in with her. She could still picture the smug look on his face when she had resigned.

  “This is Dana.”

  “Dana, it’s Heather.” Her voice was almost a whisper.

  “Hi, Heather. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, but the business isn’t.” Dana could almost see her cupping her hand over the phone.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Everything is completely screwed up. Jerry won’t let the service guys do the scheduled maintenance until the machines break down. And he won’t let me keep the parts in inventory, so when they do break, they’re out of commission until we get the parts in. Customers are starting to complain because they can’t get the tools they need.”

  “Did you tell Jerry?”

  “I said we were out of the parts we need. He blew it off, said to order more.”

  The man was totally incompetent. Why did her dad ever hire him, much less put him in charge? “I’m not sure what I can do about it. The trustees decided to keep him as manager, not me.”

  “I don’t know, either. I just thought I should tell someone. I can’t argue with him.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Jerry was big on loyalty, which translated into expecting everyone else to be a yes-man. He wouldn’t hesitate to terminate an employee who wasn’t what he considered a team player. Heather was a single mom. She couldn’t afford to risk her job. But that business was Mom’s main source of income. “Maybe I can talk to him. Thanks for the heads-up, Heather.”

  “No problem. Bye, Dana.”

  Dana set the phone on the counter. The business her dad had worked so hard to build was going down the tubes, and she couldn’t stop it. That stupid will putting everything in the trustees’ care had tied her hands. How could her father have been so blind?

  Two years ago, when Dad had the first heart attack and mentioned transitioning to retirement, Dana thought he was leading up to putting her in as manager. But since she was taking time off to run him to doctor’s appointments and therapy, he put his golf buddy in charge instead. Dad said Jerry had a degree in business and would know how to run things. Dana suspected Jerry’s college career had centered more on frat parties than business theory, but what could she say?

  Jerry might be a scratch golfer, but he was a lousy manager, and maybe it was her fault Dad hadn’t realized that. As Dad spent less time working and Jerry started to take charge, Dana had quietly worked around him, keeping everything running smoothly despite Jerry’s mistakes and bad decisions, and she let him take the credit so Dad wouldn’t worry. How was she to know Dad’s will would put the business in the trustees’ hands instead of hers?

  Once he died, it was too late. The trustees who managed the trust for Mom saw no reason to upset the management that Dad had put in place. As far as they could see, Dana was just a part-time employee there.

  It was tempting to let Jerry crash, but for Mom’s sake as well as all the employees who worked there, Dana couldn’t just stand by and watch the business flounder. She picked up her phone and dialed the direct number to the office.

  “Reliable Equipment and Tool Rental.”

  “Hi, Haley, it’s Dana. Is Jerry in?”

  “Yeah, he’s here.” Haley dropped her voice. “Do you want to disturb his putting practice?”

  He hated that. Dana grinned. “I’ll risk it.”

  A minute later, he picked up the phone. “Dana. This is a surprise. I hope you’re well.”

  “I am, thanks. How is everything going there?”

  “Just fine.”

  “Say, I’ve heard customers aren’t always finding the tools they need. Is there a problem with inventory?”

  “Where did you hear that?” His voice was sharp.

  She couldn’t throw Heather under the bus. “A friend, wife of one of the local contractors.”

  “Well, everything’s fine. I have a system. It’s called just-in-time inventory control. All the big companies are using it.”

  Yeah, she could read business articles, too. Jerry liked to throw around buzzwords, but he’d missed the whole point. Just-in-time didn’t mean two weeks late. The only reason his system ever worked was that she’d ignored it and ordered parts on her own authority. Heather couldn’t risk going around him like that.

  “Maybe you could tweak the system a little, just to make sure.”

  “Now, Dana. Your father put me in charge for a reason. I understand these things. It all has to do with cash flow.”

  Dana silently counted to ten before she said something to make it worse. Her pretty little head could comprehend cash flow, and she knew if the tools and equipment they needed weren’t available, their customers’ cash would flow right to their competitors. And they might never come back. How could she make him understand?

  “You know, I read an article on the plane that due to various labor problems, shipping times are increasing. I think it was in Wall Street Weekly. It said businesses needed to double their lead time.”

  “The Weekly said that?”

  “I’m pretty sure it was them.” Actually, she hadn’t seen any such article, but Jerry held the WSW in such reverence it was worth the gamble. Besides, he seldom actually read it.

 
“Hmm.” He paused. “Oh, my appointment’s here. Nice talking with you, but I need to go.”

  “Okay, Jerry. Thanks for listening.”

  She ended the call and stared at the wall. Appointment. Right. He just didn’t want to have to defend his strategy. Not that she could throw stones. She’d just told a blatant lie to manipulate Jerry into doing his job. Did that make her a bad person? That business supported her mother and thirty employees, so she felt somewhat justified. Not that she really expected her suggestions to carry a lot of weight with Jerry.

  Should she be making this trip to Fairbanks? Maybe she should be at home, keeping an eye on Mom and the business. She shook her head. The business wasn’t her problem anymore.

  No, her problem was to try to figure out if her father legitimately owed Sam’s father money. The woman who wrote the letters, signed Ruth, turned out to have been Sam’s mother. From what little Ursula and Sam said, her credibility sounded a little questionable, but Dana was willing to look into it. After all, Dad would have wanted to pay off any legitimate debts.

  Besides, she wanted to prove to Sam and Ursula that Raynotts were not the sort of people that had “blood on their hands.” It was all probably a misunderstanding of some sort. Hopefully, she would find something in Fairbanks that would clear her family’s name.

  She carried her suitcase to the garage, only to find Sam already there. He picked up her bag and set it in the back of his pickup. Dana frowned. “I planned to take Chris’s car. He said I could use it.”

  Sam shook his head and closed the door on the topper. “That car is Chris’s baby. I don’t want to get dog hair all over the seats.”

  “Dog hair?”

  “Yeah. I could put Kimmik in a kennel, but it’s easier to take him with us.”

  “You’re coming?”

  “Of course. I made us reservations in a two-bedroom cabin where they allow dogs.”

  O-kay. She’d planned on doing the research herself and presenting it to him when she returned, but maybe this was better. Sam knew his way around Fairbanks and she didn’t. And this way, there could be no question of her tampering with evidence or hiding anything. Not that there would be anything to hide. Reputation was everything to her father. He would never have done anything that might damage his standing in the community.

  Maybe that’s what the fight with Chris was all about. Maybe Chris had done something Dad thought reflected badly on him. It was hard to imagine Chris doing anything that unforgivable, but he could be a little impulsive. Her eye fell on his car, gleaming under the florescent lights of the garage. Perfect example. “How practical is a convertible in Alaska, anyway?”

  Sam smiled in amusement. “Not practical at all. The clearance is too low for snow. He only drives it in the summer, and only on sunny days. That’s what I meant about it being his baby.”

  An extra car just for sunny summer days. Imagine. “Fishing must pay well.”

  “It does, but that’s not Chris’s main job. He owns a business clearing snow from parking lots. I believe he has six trucks and ten seasonal employees now.”

  “I didn’t realize Chris was an entrepreneur. Dad was always trying to get him involved in his business, but Chris was never interested. Dad made him major in business, but he minored in history.”

  “Well, he must have inherited some business skills because he’s been quite successful. Still, given his schedule it makes sense for him to just rent a room from me.” Sam closed the back of the topper and turned toward her. “Ready to go?”

  Dana cocked her head and studied him. “Are you sure you want to come?”

  “I’m sure. It will be easier to find the information if two of us are looking.” He opened the door to the house and called the dog. “And I need answers.”

  “That makes two of us.” Since so far, all she’d managed to uncover were questions.

  At Sam’s whistle, Kimmik jumped into the back seat and the two of them settled into the front. Sam growled as they crossed the speed bump, and Dana hid a grin. Ten minutes later, they were cruising on the highway. It was only seven in the morning, but the sun peeped through a break in the clouds well up over the mountains. For the first hour or so, Sam didn’t speak, just sipped his coffee as he drove.

  Dana opened the folder in her lap and skimmed over the legal papers, trying to read between the lines, but of course she didn’t find anything new. She looked over the copy of the birth certificate Sam had given her. Samuel Roy MacKettrick. Mother: Mary Ruth MacKettrick. Father: Roy Petrov.

  Finally, Dana couldn’t keep the questions bouncing around in her head quiet any longer. “So, if your name is MacKettrick, I gather your parents weren’t married.”

  He flashed a look from the corner of his eye. “You gather correctly.”

  She flushed. “I didn’t mean that as an insult. I’m just trying to understand the situation.”

  “My mother said they had plans to get married but he died. That was before I was born.”

  “So it was just you and your mother.” Dana tried to imagine what life would have been like without her father’s stability and common sense. Would her mother have been less flaky if she were solely responsible for two children? Or would that just have pushed her over the edge?

  “Yes, just us.” Sam kept his eyes straight ahead.

  “So how did you end up with Ursula?”

  He glanced toward her. “Nosy, aren’t you?”

  “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer. It’s none of my business.” She settled back in her seat. “I was just trying to understand the situation.”

  Sam shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to my mother.”

  “How can you not know?”

  He drove on, apparently at the end of his patience as far as her questioning went, but after a few minutes, he let out a long sigh. “My mom wasn’t exactly Mother of the Year material. She drank. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. We moved from Fairbanks to Anchorage when I was in fourth grade.”

  Dana nodded encouragement. After a moment, Sam continued, “We were staying with someone she knew for a while, but eventually they kicked us out. Probably tired of her excuses. We wound up in a shelter.”

  Thank goodness they had a shelter. Dana shuddered to think what would have happened if a ten-year-old and his mother had to live on the streets. She’d heard stories from some of the shelter kids. She just hadn’t realized Sam had been one of those kids. “What happened after that?”

  His shoulders twitched. “We got by okay for a couple of years. Some agency set us up in an apartment and my mom had a job. I liked my school. Ursula and Tommy lived a couple of houses down from the apartment building and I’d walk past their house on my way home from school every day. Tommy worked on the North Slope of Alaska at Prudhoe Bay. His rotation was two weeks on, two weeks off, and when he was home he was always building something in the garage.” Sam gave a little smile. “The sound of power tools is hard for a boy to resist.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “I’m sure I was a nuisance, but Tommy let me hang around, anyway. It didn’t take long before Ursula was feeding me a snack after school every afternoon and checking over my homework. When Tommy was working on the slope, he’d leave me a project to keep me busy until he got home.”

  “Like what?”

  “Oh, a couple of times he cut out pieces for a birdhouse I could assemble and paint, and when he came back we’d hang it in the yard together. I wasn’t allowed to use his power tools without supervision, of course, but he had a set of hand tools set aside for me and encouraged me to use his scraps to build things. Or he’d ask me to spade the garden or help Ursula clean out the basement. There were a couple of boys who lived in my apartment building Tommy didn’t approve of. Minor troublemakers. He made sure I kept too busy to hang out with them.”

  “Wise
man.”

  “He was. I got so comfortable with them that one day I let it slip to Ursula that my mom had left me alone all night. I was scared to death someone would take me away and put me in a foster home. That’s what my mom said would happen if I told anybody.”

  Poor kid. “What did Ursula do?”

  “She made a point of befriending her. After that, when my mom would go out, she’d let me stay over at their house.”

  “Ursula is really something, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah. She and Tommy were both great to me. Mom stuck it out for a while, but the overnights got more frequent, and sometimes it stretched over into two nights. And then one day, she didn’t come back.”

  “What do you think happened to her?”

  He shrugged. “Massive bender? Left town? I don’t know. Not sure I care.”

  “Didn’t someone investigate?”

  “Ursula and Tommy decided not to report me. I know that sounds sketchy, but you have to understand, they weren’t approved as foster parents. They didn’t want to risk someone taking me away from them. We told the school I was staying with them for the time being. It may have been implied they were my aunt and uncle.”

  “What happened to Tommy?”

  “He died when I was in high school. Heart attack.”

  “Rough. I’m sure it was a comfort to Ursula to have you there.”

  “I hope so.”

  “And you never saw your mother again?”

  “She’s probably dead by now.” His mouth tightened. “Doesn’t matter, anyway, as far as I’m concerned. She made her choice.”

  “I guess she did.” Dana was silent, lost in her thoughts. This was the woman who wrote the letters demanding money? Were they just a scam? Or maybe she just imagined someone owed her something. Dana had a hard time feeling any compassion for the woman. How could anyone just abandon a twelve-year-old? How must Sam have felt when he realized she wasn’t coming back?

  Her thought must have shown on her face because Sam frowned. “Hey, don’t you feel sorry for me. I’m not into pity parties. I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I have a good job, a good life.”