Godes cocked an eyebrow at Jake. “I’ll take my time, spend my per diem on a room up here, drive back to L.A. tomorrow and tell A and P that you wound up visiting your long-lost aunt.”
Godes was giving him time to put his cards on the table and tell Carly who he really was and maybe even get her to consider meeting with Anna Saunders.
Godes pulled his sunglasses out of his breast pocket. “So, we’re all settled after this one. No more payback.”
“You’re clear,” Jake agreed.
Godes turned to walk away.
“Hey, Sam.”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Jake watched Sam walk away before he tossed the cargo shorts on a nearby table and headed for the door. As Godes started across the parking lot, Jake spotted the Buick parked a few rows away from his own car. His attention was drawn to a slim young African-American woman with a baby carrier in one hand and a Nordstrom’s bag in the other when she reached the door at the same time he did.
She smiled up at him and said thanks as he held the door for her and let her walk out first.
Once he was back in the car, he readjusted his rearview mirror, started the car and backed out of the stall. Godes’ Buick was nowhere in sight. As Jake drove up the on-ramp and headed back onto 101, he passed the woman he’d held the door for. She looked over, recognized him, gave him a smile and a nod as he passed her and headed for the fast lane.
Carly was halfway up the canyon road when Betty Ford broke down. The old gal heaved, shook, wheezed, then died, but thankfully not before Carly pulled over to the shoulder.
The two-lane road was well traveled. It wouldn’t be long before someone came along, but she had told Christopher that she would make it in time to see the end of the game and pick him up. She hadn’t made any arrangements for the Potters to bring him back with them.
With a groan, she pushed the emergency flasher button. There was nothing she could do but let the engine cool and try to start the car again while she waited for help—that and wish she’d budgeted for a cell phone.
Jake checked the directions again, made another left and spotted the ballpark. He parked near Glenn Potter’s car, got out and hit the alarm button on his key ring. The Stingrays were playing on the nearest diamond. He couldn’t help but smile at all the pint-sized players in their official blue-and-gray T-shirts.
He scanned the bleachers. Disappointed when he didn’t see Carly, he sat beside Tracy Potter.
“Welcome back, Jake. We expected you last weekend.”
“I got hung up with work, but I finally managed to get a couple weeks away.”
Time off wasn’t quite the truth. He had a file box full of accounting records from a fraud case to review. With those and a laptop he could work anywhere and express the documents back to Kat.
As far as the Potters or anyone else knew, he was a self-employed business consultant. Completing the rental application had given him pause, but he’d used the standard, “self-employed,” gave them a couple of bank account numbers, and asked that they keep all information confidential.
“I have a great partner.” Greater than he knew. Kat hadn’t minded taking over, doing things just the way he would do, loving every minute of being in charge. He had a feeling she was just humoring him, certain that he’d come dragging back with his heart in pieces, but since he had no intention of handing his heart over to Carly or whoever she was, that wasn’t even a possibility.
“Glenn said he’d heard from the owners,” he told Tracy.
She nodded and dug around in her purse. “They agreed to a six-month lease and half the rent on the house as long as you’re still willing to make it livable. Glenn had a lock-smith up there. Here’re the new keys.” She handed over two shiny keys on a Potter A#1 Realty key ring. “You can move in whenever you want. They really don’t seem to want much to do with the place. Glenn described what a disaster it was, but I don’t think he did it justice. I can’t imagine why on earth you want to stay there.”
“So you’ve seen it?”
“Glenn drove Matt and me up there last weekend. I’ve never seen such a mess in my life. It’s a teardown, Jake.”
Tracy hadn’t let him down. He’d known exactly what she’d say about the place. Just then Christopher spotted him.
“Hey, Jake! Hi! Jake, hi!”
Jake smiled and waved just as the last Stingray at bat struck out and ended the game. The kids ran off the field and Matt and Christopher walked over to the bleachers.
When Chris climbed up and sat as close as he could get, took off his cap and brushed his hair back, Jake was again reminded of how much the boy resembled Rick, not only the way he looked but the way he moved. He had no idea who Carly Nolan really was or what she was up to, but there was no doubt that Chris was Rick Saunders’ son.
“I didn’t know you were coming back today.”
“I didn’t either, until this morning. Where’s your mom?”
Chris frowned. “Late, I guess. She’s never late, though.”
“We’ll take you home with us,” Tracy said just as her cell phone went off. “Maybe this is Carly now.”
Chris and Jake listened expectantly as Tracy’s eyes widened.
“Oh, no! She’s what? Are you sure? Maybe she was poisoned . Stop crying, Paula. We’ll come home right now. If it gets any worse, call the vet.”
Chris suddenly grabbed hold of Jake’s hand, his little face drained of color.
Tracy snapped the phone shut and shouted to Glenn.
“Vet?” Jake closed his fingers gently around Christopher’s hand, but not without noting how fragile it felt. “What’s up, Tracy?”
Tracy efficiently gathered up her things—camera, blanket, purse, water bottle. Glenn hurriedly lugged ball equipment to the car.
“That was my next-door neighbor. Our Pekingese, Willa, was out in the yard howling, so Paula walked over to see what was going on. Willa is violently ill, poor baby. We’ve got to get home. I can’t tell you the money we’ve got tied up in that damn designer dog.”
She was off the bleachers, her arms full, headed for the car. “Come on, Chris,” she called over her shoulder. Matt was already trailing in her wake. “We’ll take you home.”
Chris still had a death grip on Jake’s hand. He looked up, his eyes imploring, “I’m not s’posed to.”
“You’re not supposed to what?” The kid was still shaken up from Tracy’s phone call. So was Jake for that matter.
“I have to wait here. Mom said not to leave till she gets here. I know she’s on the way. She never forgets. I’m only s’posed to ride with her unless she tells me. I’m scared something’s happened to her, Jake.” His bottom lip started to quiver as tears filled his eyes.
“Chris, come on! Hurry.” The Potters had the car loaded. Glenn was climbing into the driver’s seat.
Jake took Chris by the hand and walked him over to the car. “He says Carly told him to wait here.”
Tracy leaned out the window. “It’s okay this time, Chris. This is an emergency. Willa’s sick, and we’ve got to hurry. She might have eaten something poisonous.”
Chris tugged on Jake’s hand. “Maybe you can stay with me till my mom gets here. Please, Jake?”
It was a no-brainer. He wasn’t about to refuse, but he wasn’t sure the Potters would leave Chris alone with him.
“I’ll wait with you, if it’s okay with the Potters.”
If Carly failed to show, he could always drive Chris to Twilight himself. He wasn’t going to panic over what might have happened to Carly. She was probably stuck at work or already on the way.
“Would you mind, Jake?” Tracy was in the car, still hanging out of the passenger window. Glenn had the engine running. “We’ll probably pass Carly on the way out of the park.”
“Sure. Go ahead. Tell her we’ll be waiting right here.”
They drove away, the car kicking up dust as Glenn peeled out of the parking lot. Jake took Christopher by the hand and le
d him back to the bleachers where the boy had left his small bag of gear.
Soon all the other parents and kids had driven away, too, and they were alone. Jake had taken care of his niece and nephews before, so he wasn’t uncomfortable, but he found himself thinking about how this was Rick’s kid and how Rick should have been here.
“Wanna toss the ball around?” Chris looked hopeful.
Jake shrugged. “Sure, why not.”
Chris’ smile, another distinct echo of Rick, spread about a mile wide. “Great!”
With the first toss Jake realized Chris would do more chasing than catching so he squatted down and started to gently lob the ball.
“Know what, Jake?”
“What, Chris?”
“We had grandparents’ day at school, and I didn’t have any, so Mom said I could ask Joe from the diner. He brought a bullfighting sword with him. It was real sharp and pointy and the principal almost took it away from him. She said if Joe was a kid she’d have to suspend him. We can’t bring anything like that to school, you know?”
“Really.”
“Yeah. But Joe said he had to confess, once and for all, that he wasn’t a bullfighter, that he was just a cook. The sword was only a souvenir. And he brought this really dangerous cactus with killer needles all over it. He cooks it!”
“No kidding.”
“Yeah. Only the bravest kids tasted it. It was great.”
“Sounds like you had fun.”
“I asked Mom if I could share you at school, like a fake dad, but she said no.”
“What’s a fake dad?”
“You know. Some of the kids have a real dad, but their mom gets married again, and then they have a real dad and a fake dad at the same time. They live with one and they live with the other one sometimes, too.”
“My real dad died when I was eight. Then I had a ‘fake’ dad, but I felt like he was another real dad,” Jake volunteered.
“I don’t have either kind. Hey, Jake?”
“What, Chris?”
“How do you spell your name?”
“Why?”
“I’m learning to write stuff at school. Maybe Monday I’ll draw a picture and write about you playing catch with me. Can we stop now?” Chris had already chased more balls than he’d caught.
“I’m getting pretty tired myself.”
They walked back to the bleachers, and Chris scrambled to the top, so Jake followed. The boy sat down, propped his elbows on his knees, his chin in his hands.
“Wonder where my mom is? I hope she’s okay.”
Jake was worried, too, but tried not to let on. “She’ll probably be along any minute now.”
“Know what, Jake?”
“No. What?”
“I hope Willa’s okay. Have you ever had a dog?”
“Two. Larry and Moe, but not at the same time. They were both mutts. They never got sick.”
“What’s a mutt?”
“A mixture of different kinds of dogs, not one special kind like a Pekingese.”
“I want a dog so bad. I’d even take a mutt, but Mom says we can’t have one. We might have to move.”
“Move?”
“She always says that, but we haven’t moved for a long time. I don’t even remember the other places we lived. She tells me that we can’t have a dog or a cat because we might have to leave all of a sudden. And she thinks our place is too small for pets, but Mrs. Schwartz has one, and her place is smaller than ours.”
“Does your mom ever talk about where she’d like to move to?”
Chris shrugged. “Not really. I don’t want to move anyplace.”
“It must be a lot of trouble to move all the time.”
“We’ve got emergency bags all packed, just in case of an earthquake, too.” The boy pulled down his sock and scratched his ankle, then pulled it back up. “She doesn’t talk about moving too much anymore.”
The boy’s innocent comment confirmed Jake’s worst fears. Carly was obviously prepared to relocate any time she believed her identity had been compromised. If he’d told Carly the truth about himself the night they first met, she most likely would have been gone the next day.
There had to be more at stake here than keeping Anna Saunders from taking part in Christopher’s life.
“Hey! There she is!” Chris started waving and bolted down the bleachers. Jake watched Carly enter the parking lot and pull up next to his car. When she jumped out, the old Ford’s engine continued to rattle.
Chris ran up and threw his arms around her thighs. Carly hugged him tight, though she was looking across the lot at Jake with a frown marring her expression. The breeze drew a few strands of hair across her lips. She brushed it back, then gave Christopher a quick kiss on the top of his head.
The whole time he’d been in Los Angeles, he had tried to convince himself that his initial attraction to her hadn’t been that intense. The longer he was away, the more he’d convinced himself it was nothing but a brief infatuation. And why not? He’d been focused on finding her on and off for six years.
But now, seeing her again, there was no denying her allure. On an emotional level, he felt a strong, irresistible pull whenever he looked at her. A magnetic force he’d never experienced before.
But his investigative side never rested. As he watched her smile over at him, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had ever trusted Rick enough to tell him her real name.
Who was she and what in the hell was Carly Nolan running from?
23
CARLY BRUSHED HER HAIR BACK, LICKED HER LIPS, AND TRIED to smile. Both the delay and her concern for Christopher had shaken her, but she refused to let them see her as upset as she had been the last time they were all together.
“Mom, where were you?” Chris wriggled free and demanded an explanation.
“Betty stalled on the way up the canyon. I thought I was going to have to have her towed, but I got her started again after she cooled off. I saw the Potters on their way back. They told me you were waiting here with Jake.”
She met Jake’s eyes and started walking toward him with Chris tagging along beside her. Her anxiety over being late coupled with the excitement of seeing Jake again had her heart racing.
“I’m sorry, Jake. I’ve never, ever been late picking Chris up before.”
“I didn’t mind. The Potters offered to take him home, but he insisted that he wasn’t supposed to ride with anyone but you.”
“That’s the rule unless I tell him differently. Maybe we should talk about some exceptions, though. I’m really sorry we held you up.”
“It’s no problem. We tossed the ball around.”
“Yeah. And we talked,” Chris added.
“Really? What about?” Carly hesitated a second before walking over to the bleachers. As she picked up Chris’ small duffel bag, she wondered what he might have said.
“Oh, just guy stuff.” Chris looked up at Jake. “Huh, Jake?”
“Yeah. Guy stuff.”
She almost smiled at the two of them standing there together, but it was bad enough having Chris walking around with stars in his eyes over Jake. One of them had to keep a clear head.
Jake said, “I called Glenn to let him know I was on the way back to town, and he suggested I stop by the game and pick up the new keys to the house.”
He walked them back to Betty Ford and waited while she loaded Chris up and fastened his seat belt. When she tried to start the car, the engine didn’t even turn over. There was nothing but a repetitive clicking noise.
“Oh, no,” she groaned, embarrassed.
“That doesn’t sound good to me,” Chris piped up.
“Me either,” Jake added from where he stood beside the car.
“I think she’s about done for.” Carly grasped the top of the wheel with two hands and stared over her knuckles through the windshield. Arlo Carter down at the Twilight service station managed to keep Betty running, but he’d been predicting impending doom for a couple of years now.
> Jake opened Carly’s door. “I’ll call Triple A and have your car towed back to Twilight and drive you two home.”
“I can’t let you do that, Jake.” She shook her head and didn’t budge. The last thing she wanted was to be dependent upon anyone, especially Jake. She was still haunted about the money she’d taken from Wilt’s and fully intended to pay him back someday. But it was best not to leave a trail of debt behind.
“Yes, you can.” He’d already pulled out his cell and punched the automatic dial for the Auto Club. He gave a description of the car, told the dispatcher where to find them.
“They’ll be here in thirty minutes. Might as well wait in my car.” He stepped back so she could get out.
Chris was already out of the car. “Come on, Mom. Jake will get us home.”
Carly still hadn’t budged. “I’m used to taking care of myself,” she said softly.
He put both hands on the door, leaned down close to the open window. His gaze slowly searched her face thoroughly enough to make her catch her breath.
“Let me in, Carly.” He put his hand beneath her chin, gently forced her to meet his eyes. “Let me help you.”
Forty-five minutes later they were on the road again, this time in Jake’s SUV. The back end was filled with five-gallon drums of paint, brushes, rollers, poles, drop cloths, and boxes. There was an old toolbox on the floor of the backseat.
He’d put on a classical guitar CD, and for a long while they were all content to ride along in silence, listening. Carly looked into the backseat at Chris and softly said, “He’s asleep.”
Jake glanced into the rearview mirror. Sure enough, Chris was slumped over, sound asleep, looking small and vulnerable. The kid’s trust only intensified his guilt.
After what Chris had unwittingly told him, he knew that exposing the truth would not only mean the end of their friendship, but that Carly would most likely leave town and turn her and Chris’ lives upside down.
Driving back to Twilight Cove, Jake made a silent pact with himself to tell Carly the truth the minute he had convinced her that he was there to help and not to ruin her life.
Back at the ballpark, he’d tried to start her car again, which had given him time to take a look in her glove compartment. The registration was right on top of the original owner’s manual. It was current, but filed under the name Etta Schwartz. There would be no way to trace Carly through the vehicle.
Lover's Lane Page 15
