Heart of a Hero (New Beginnings Book 4)

by Margaret Daley

  As the child in question came down the food line, he paused in front of her. “I’m sorry about that night after practice a few weeks ago. Andy and me just had a misunderstanding. It won’t happen again.”

  His innocent expression didn’t fool Lisa. He was up to something. “What did you two fight about?” She was curious to see if the boy would say the same thing Andy had.

  “No big deal.” Joey moved toward the end of the line, his friend behind him whispering something in his ear. Joey laughed, sliding his glance toward her.

  Chilled, she turned to serve a piece of cake to the person who had paused in front of her. Another cocky grin flashed in front of her.

  David leaned across the table. “Keeping an eye on a certain young man?”

  “Yes.”

  He straightened. “I have been, too. I’ve got a great view up there.” He pointed toward the top of the barn. “I won’t let anything happen to Andy if I can help it.”

  “I know.” His musky scent enveloped her, shrinking the space between them. The temperature seemed to soar. “Do you want some pumpkin spice cake?”

  “Did you make it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll take a huge piece. I love pumpkin cake, cheesecake, pie. You name it. If it has pumpkin in it, I love it. That’s probably why I love Thanksgiving. How about you?”

  “I wouldn’t have made the cake if I didn’t like pumpkin.”

  “No, I meant do you like Thanksgiving.”

  “It’s okay.” With only her and Andy, the holidays could be lonely. She did her best to make it a family affair.

  “Turkey and dressing are right up there with pumpkin.”

  “I usually get only a roasting hen for Andy and me.”

  “You and Andy should come to Kelli’s to have Thanksgiving dinner. She goes all out. I came last year and really look forward to this one.”

  She noticed several people skirting David and continuing to move down the table. “I don’t think—”

  “I know Kelli wouldn’t mind. She usually has a few people connected with the shelter at her house for Thanksgiving. Besides, you two are friends. She would insist.” He gave her a heart-melting smile. “I’d love for you to say yes.”

  When he was grinning like that, he was impossible to resist. She scooped up a piece of cake and plopped it on his paper plate. “Fine, we’ll be there if it’s okay with Kelli, and Andy is all right with it.”

  He winked. “I’ll charm him into agreeing.”

  “That I’ve got to see.” Especially knowing her son’s feelings toward the police, although they had warmed lately.

  “You’ll see this will be a great Thanksgiving.”

  “I’m more into Christmas. Thanksgiving means it’s only a month away. Which means right now it’s only six weeks away. Eek! I still have so much to do.”

  “I can do without Christmas.”

  “You two chitchat some other time. Some of us would like to have the pumpkin cake, too,” Roman said with a grin next to David.

  David sidled down the line, also snatching up several cookies and an apple to go with his turkey and Swiss sandwich and potato chips.

  When everyone was finally settled with their food, Lisa grabbed a plate and filled it. When she scoured the area for a place to eat, David waved at her to join him at a card table. She seriously thought about eating with Andy and his friends under an oak tree to see if she could find out anything, but that probably wouldn’t go over too well. Taking the only available chair, she sat with David to eat her lunch. Thankfully Hannah and her husband, Jacob, were at the table, too.

  “Just so you know, I’m coaching the refuge team later this afternoon, and yours is going to lose—big time,” Jacob said to David.

  “Traitor. You’re one of our assistant coaches.”

  Jacob’s chuckles set the mood at the table. “Yeah, that’s why I’m coaching the other team.”

  “To throw the game. We need a challenge.”

  Jacob shook his head. “No way would I ever throw a game, but I’m going to make sure you have that challenge your team needs in order to win against the Spartans next weekend. We’re going to beat you all.”

  “Yeah, we’ll just see about that.” David popped a chip into his mouth. “When my star player is hot, he is hot.”

  “Who? Andy? We’ll take care of him. I know him well. I taught him everything he knows.” Jacob picked up his ham and cheese sandwich.

  “I haven’t seen too many his age make the three-point shot consistently. You’re going down—big time.” David punched the air with his forefinger to emphasize the last two words.

  Hannah made a T with her hands. “Time out. The competition hasn’t started. Wait until later.”

  Jacob bent forward. “Okay, I have to admit Andy is good, but I’ll deny it if you tell the kids I said so before the game.”

  The compliments flying across the small table concerning her son pleased Lisa. Andy loved the game, and if it gave him some success, she hoped that would help him have a better school experience than she had. She could still remember hating school so much because of those girls bullying her that she looked for ways to stay away. She didn’t want that for Andy. His academics were his ticket to a better life—if kids like Joey didn’t ruin it for him.

  * * *

  Nancy, Hannah’s adopted older daughter, approached, holding Emily in her arms. A frown made Nancy appear several years older than her age of ten. “Mom, look what Emily found on the ground. She thought it was candy and was about to eat it.” The child presented Hannah with a small pink oblong pill.

  Hannah took it and examined it, then passed it to her husband. “Are you familiar with anything that looks like this?”

  Jacob paled. “I think it’s an antidepressant. Where did she find it?”

  Lisa stiffened. What was a prescription antidepressant doing lying around on the ground?

  Nancy handed Emily to her mother. “I followed her into the old barn as some boys were leaving. I spoke to them and then caught up with Emily who had picked the pill up off the ground where the boys had been talking.”

  “Who were the boys in the barn?” David asked, an intensity pouring off him.

  “The only one I know the name of is Ryan in cottage three and Andy.” Nancy tapped her finger against her chin. “I think the others are on your basketball team.”

  “How many others?” David gripped his bottle of water so tightly his knuckles whitened.

  “Three.” The girl snapped her fingers. “Hey, I remember one boy calling one of them Joey. Does that help?”

  “Yes, thanks. Please don’t say anything to anyone about what your sister found.” After taking a gulp of water, David recapped the bottle.

  Joey. The name set off alarm bells in Lisa’s brain. Joey and his friends might be involved with drugs? Did Andy know something about this? What was her son hiding? A drug problem? She didn’t think that was possible. All his life he’d been so against drugs because of what she’d gone through. She’d had to fight him in the past even to take medicine prescribed by Jacob for strep throat. That had been only six months before.

  So why was Andy with Joey near where the pill was found by Emily?

  “Hon, please watch Emily for a while. I need to talk to your dad.” Hannah kissed her toddler, then gave her back to Nancy. “Emily, don’t pick anything up off the ground and eat it. Your sister will get a cookie for you instead.”

  “Mmm, cook-eee.” Emily flung her arms around Nancy’s neck as they walked toward the serving tables.

  Hannah shifted toward David. “Do you think one of the boys had the pill?”

  “Maybe. Selling and taking prescription drugs is growing among teens. That one is one of the drugs of choice. Would Ryan be involved in anything like that?”

  Hannah shook her head. “He’s eleven. I hope not. I’ll have a word with the adults who work in his cottage. Ryan’s only been here a few months.”

  Rising, David gathered his trash
, looking straight at Lisa. “It’s possible someone with a prescription just accidentally dropped it, but I’m checking the barn out. Make sure there isn’t anything else on the ground in there.”

  After David strode off, Lisa sighed, then drew in a deep, calming breath that did nothing to soothe her. The past conversation left her numb and scared. The questions in David’s gaze, directed at her although he hadn’t said anything out loud to the others, mirrored the ones she had for her son. What was Andy doing with Joey? Did he know about the antidepressant? Was he taking the drug? How had the pill ended up on the ground in the barn?

  “Lisa, are you all right?” Jacob asked, worry in his gaze.

  “No. I never wanted to have anything to do with drugs again, especially concerning my son. I don’t see Andy doing drugs, but what was he doing in the barn?” Gathering the paper plates and discarded napkins, Lisa stacked them on top of hers.

  “Quite the opposite. But you need to find out. I could be wrong.” Jacob scrubbed his hand along his jaw. “If you haven’t said anything to David about your past, then you need to do it soon. If you’re thinking Andy is somehow involved in what’s going on, then he does, too. You need to tell him why your son probably would never take any—even prescription ones.”

  “I haven’t yet. But I’m certainly not going to start the conversation unless we’re alone and have time to discuss it.” Lisa stood, grasping onto the fact none of them believed her son had changed that much to get involved in drugs. She just prayed they were right. “I will, but first I’m gonna have a word with Andy. I want to know what’s going on between him and Joey once and for all. And I’m not going to accept his explanation it’s about grades anymore.”

  Lisa marched away from the table, searching the crowd for her son. He still sat under the oak tree with Gabe, Terry and a few other boys from his basketball team, finishing his lunch. Trying to school her features into a neutral expression, she covered the short distance between them quickly.

  “Andy, I need to talk to you for a moment.”

  The boys teased Andy about being in trouble and made noises, drawing the attention of others around them. Andy slunk away from the group, his mouth screwed into a frown, his eyes narrowed.

  “Emily found an antidepressant pill in the barn on the ground. Right before that Joey was in there with a few boys from the team, you and Ryan.”

  His expression evolved from a defiant look to one of concern. “Emily. She didn’t take it, did she?” Panic edged his voice.

  “No, thankfully Nancy saw her pick it up and stopped her.”

  His tension siphoned from his rigid body, and he sighed heavily. He dropped his gaze to a point between them on the ground.

  “What’s going on, Andy? Is Joey selling prescription drugs? Did he try to sell to you? Is that what you’ve been hiding? Are you involved?”

  He jerked his head up, anger hardening his features. “I can’t believe you asked me that,” he yelled.

  Before she could respond, he hurried away. She whirled around to stop him. He was halfway across the yard, heading toward the new, unfinished structure. When she opened her mouth to shout at Andy to come back was the moment she realized that a lot of the people were following their interaction—including David who stood at the entrance into the old barn. His gaze trapped hers for a few seconds before she wrenched it away. It lit upon Gabe whose look was wide-eyed. She hadn’t handled the situation well.

  She was scared. Scared she was losing her son. Scared Andy was taking drugs. Scared he was mixed up with Joey somehow. Lord, help me. What do I do?

  She looked toward David, still standing in the entrance. Fury, as though a storm brewed in his blue eyes, carved a hard expression on his face. She was afraid he believed the worse concerning Andy after all that had happened in the past hour. It wasn’t true—was it?

  She couldn’t do this anymore by herself. She needed help. Lord, help me.

  Chapter Six

  What had Andy and Lisa talked about? In the barn entrance, David rolled his shoulders to ease the strain, going through some mental exercises to relax himself. They didn’t work. He was wound tight as though he were entering a building where someone was waiting to ambush him. Had Lisa discovered that Andy was somehow involved with drugs to kids? Had there been a falling-out between the two boys over drugs? Or was there something else entirely different going on?

  Lisa made her way toward him. The closer she came, the easier it was to see her haunted look. She appeared to be hurting inside and not sure how to fix it. Her expression tugged at him. He didn’t want to care about anyone. His own life was barely held together with fragile threads that at any moment would break. But he did care. He ached to hold her to wipe that pain-filled look from her eyes.

  Her troubled gaze alerted him to the fact that Lisa must think Andy was somehow connected to the antidepressant dropped in the barn. He didn’t want to believe that of Andy, but what else could the kid be hiding?

  Trembling with anger at the thought of what could have happened if Emily had chewed the pill, he splayed his fingers wide until they ached. He didn’t want to be thrust into a drug situation, especially with kids. That was why he’d become a detective and worked Robbery/Homicide. What if one of the children ended up hurt? How could he deal with that?

  The thirteen-year-old he’d killed in the drug deal in Dallas intruded into his thoughts, prodding his guilt to the foreground. Why couldn’t he rid himself of that child’s image? How long would he pay? But he always came back to wondering what he could have done to prevent killing the adolescent.

  He had to remain calm, think like a cop.

  He had no evidence that Joey was dealing, and that was what he needed if he was going to protect the kids in his care. He had to break through the barriers Andy had erected between them. Could he trust Lisa to help him?

  A few feet from him, Lisa scanned the area before coming to a halt in front of him. “Were there any more pills on the ground?”

  He took a step toward her, wanting to wrap her in his embrace and make everything go away. Was Andy involved in something illegal? Tamping down the strong urge, he held his arms taut at his sides. He had a job to do. “Not that I could find.” He nodded his head toward the area where she and her son had stood. “Why did Andy stomp off?” He watched first fear, then worry and finally caution flittered into her expression.

  “I asked him what was going on with Joey. I wanted to know if he knew Joey was selling drugs.”

  “I’m gathering he didn’t know anything.”

  “No, but he was really upset about Emily finding the pill.”

  She wasn’t telling him everything. She was leaving something out. What? Was she protecting Andy? She wouldn’t be the first parent he’d encountered who had lied to protect her child. He unclenched then clenched his hands over and over, hoping that wasn’t the case. He’d begun to trust Lisa these past few weeks—at least trust her as much as he was capable.

  “I need to have a word with Roman about Ryan, then get back to work.” Maybe he could get something out of the other boy.

  “David,” Lisa said softly as he started to turn away. “Have you thought that the pill might belong to one of the adults who has a prescription for the drug? Maybe someone accidentally dropped it when getting their medicine out.”

  “Yup, that crossed my mind for about a second. See you later.” He strode toward the unfinished barn in search of Roman and possibly some answers.

  He felt the stab of Lisa’s look as he crossed the yard. His neck tingled with the anger reaching across the space between them. He didn’t have time for niceties, not with the children’s safety in question, and if he had stayed a second longer, he would have demanded answers she wasn’t willing to give.

  * * *

  The cheering crowd surrounded the outdoor basketball court between cottage one and two at the refuge. Lisa chewed on a fingernail, her nerves taut. The score was close, but Andy’s team was winning by four points although he
hadn’t played well. He’d missed baskets he usually made in the past. Was their conversation earlier affecting his play? Was he feeling guilty about something and that was throwing off his game?

  Lisa followed Andy’s progress as he broke away from the pack and dribbled toward the hoop at the other end, zigzagging all over the court unnecessarily. Halfway to the basket Andy mishandled the ball, losing control yet again. He stumbled but caught himself before going down. One of the players from the refuge captured the ball and ran with it. Andy started forward, but suddenly halted, swaying.

  Lisa straightened. Was he hurt? Her son shook his head, as though clearing it, then began meandering toward his teammates. His erratic movements alerted her.

  Something was terribly wrong. If she didn’t know better, she would think her child had been drinking or—

  She rushed toward him at the same time David did. Five feet away Andy stopped, looked at her with a dazed expression, then collapsed. David managed to get to him to break his fall. Gently he lowered Andy the rest of the way to the concrete and checked his pulse and breathing.

  Heart pounding, Lisa hovered over her son. Fear held her motionless. Andy’s eyes fluttered close. Her fear quickly evolved into panic. She skirted her son lying still and knelt on the other side of him. “Is he having a seizure?” She frantically searched the crowd about them for Jacob, not sure what to do if that were the case.

  “I don’t know.” David glanced at her with worry in his gaze.

  Jacob plowed through the group of boys around them. “Get off the court,” he shouted at the kids as he squatted next to her son.

  Andy blinked. “Wh-at’s wr-wrong?” His words slurred together.

  Jacob checked Andy’s eyes and vital signs. “Let’s take him to the hospital.” He looked toward David. “Can you drive? I’ll sit in the back with him.”