by Sharon Sala
“Trust the big man,” he said; then a child running past them suddenly tripped and fell. Her wail brought her mother running, but it also brought Clarence out of his fugue.
“Clarice is right sorry about having to put you out, but the hotel is gonna take a lot of fixin’ to get it ready for business again.”
Jade could tell she wasn’t going to get an answer to her earlier question and decided that, while Clarence was strange, he’d been nothing but kind, and so had his sister.
“I’m really sorry for what’s happened to Clarice,” she said. “The hotel was so beautiful.”
“It can be fixed,” he said softly; then his focus shifted slightly again. “And so can you.”
She flinched. “What are you talking about?”
“Bad things happened and will again. Trust the big man to see you through.”
An uneasy feeling swept over her. Impulsively Jade glanced around her, eyeing the roomful of strangers. She didn’t see anyone or anything that seemed like a threat—except for the possibility of Luke Kelly. She leaned forward, lowering her voice as she asked, “See me through what?”
“What was…and what is to be.”
Jade wanted to scoff, but then he looked at her, and it was as if he’d just walked through her mind without judging the life that she’d lived. Angry with the fear that his presence brought, she spoke out in anger.
“You’re crazy, old man, and besides that, do you always talk in riddles?”
His gaze shifted again, and he seemed puzzled by what she’d just said.
“Riddles? Nope. Can’t say as I know any,” he said.
Jade frowned, telling herself that she would be as crazy as he was if she actually believed any of this “Twilight Zone” stuff. Besides that, she’d been rude when he’d been nothing but kind. It shamed her.
“At any rate, thank you for bringing our things,” she said.
“God is with you,” he said softly, then turned and walked away.
“There is no God,” she retorted, then started to pick up the bags when Luke suddenly appeared.
“I’ll get those,” he said.
Jade took a single step back, needing the space between them to feel easy, then noticed he was alone.
“Where’s Raphael?”
Luke sensed her discomfort and pointedly averted his gaze as he picked up the bags.
“Over there where you slept, making sure that you’re leaving nothing behind.”
Jade saw him, then relaxed.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
Jade realized he was walking away with their things. She was torn between the need to keep him and their belongings in sight, and the fear of leaving the room without Raphael. Then Raphael looked up at her and waved. She waved back, then bolted after Luke.
Luke heard her coming and stifled a smile. He had to admire her. She was uncomfortable around him but still had the guts to stay with him to keep an eye on their worldly goods. Then he realized that he was carrying everything they owned, and the humor of the situation died. It wasn’t funny. It was tragic. Thank God he’d found her. Reuniting with her father was going to change her world.
Then she caught up with him. He glanced over at her, smiling as they walked. She looked a bit startled by his friendliness, then a little embarrassed. From that, her expression slowly changed to one of reluctant acceptance. It was then that Luke knew Jade’s world wasn’t the only one that was going to change. If she ever smiled at him the way she smiled at Raphael, he would be toast.
They reached his rental car and loaded the bags inside.
“I have a box of paintings and art supplies, too,” Jade said. “Clarence left it up by the office.”
Luke eyed the trunk of the car, then looked up.
“Will it fit in here?” he asked.
Her expression fell. “I don’t think so.”
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’ll make things fit. Now, show me where it is, and we’ll go from there.” Then he grinned. “If we have to, Raphael can ride on the hood and be the new hood ornament.”
The image of Raphael clinging to the hood made her giggle, and her giggle shot straight to his heart.
Luke’s gaze went straight to her mouth. He quickly looked away, but it was too late. He’d known from the moment he’d seen her picture that she was beautiful, but it was nothing to seeing the real thing. And knowing how rarely joy entered her life made the interchange of humor special. Even though she was unaware of his feelings, the fact that she’d shared the laughter with him had changed the dynamics between them forever.
And yet he couldn’t forget what Raphael had just told him and feared the day when Jade learned the truth. Would she ever laugh again?
“So let’s go get that box,” Luke said, and led the way back indoors.
Seven
Everything fit perfectly, the car had been loaded, and their thanks had been said to the people who’d given them shelter from the flood, but when it came time to leave, Raphael opted for the back seat, claiming a headache and the need to sleep. That left Jade and Luke to share the front. Jade wanted to argue, to beg Raphael to trade places with her, but she could tell by the strained expression on his face that his headache was real.
“Rafie, did you take something for the pain?”
“No,” he said, and then rolled into a ball in the back seat and closed his eyes.
Jade turned to Luke. “I think I have something in my bag. Would it be too much trouble to—”
“Of course not,” Luke said, and quickly popped the lid to the trunk.
Jade smiled a quick thanks, unzipped her bag and dug through the contents until she felt the small plastic bottle with the painkillers inside. She shook out a couple and then tossed the bottle back in the bag before hurrying to the back seat. Luke handed her a partially opened bottle of water that he’d had in the car.
“If Raphael doesn’t mind drinking after me…”
“We’ve had worse,” Jade said, dropped the pills in Raphael’s hand, then handed him the water.
He swallowed the pills, then lay back down with a groan. Seeing him like this was frightening. This was the second time in less than four days that he’d succumbed to illness.
“I think maybe he’s getting sick from something in the flood water,” she said, then looked up at Luke, wanting reassurance.
Luke stifled a curse. He almost wished Raphael hadn’t told him that he was sick. Now everything he said to Jade was going to be a lie, and the last thing he wanted was lie to her. So he skirted the issue by promising Sam’s attention.
“Your father has a really good doctor. He’ll be more than happy to give Raphael the once-over as soon as we get to St. Louis.”
Jade considered the answer, then nodded. It was a better plan than anything she could have come up with. She started to close the door, then noticed that her jacket was lying on the back floorboard. She picked it up and folded into a makeshift pillow, then tucked it beneath Raphael’s head.
“Get some rest,” she said, and gently kissed his forehead.
After that, there was nothing left to do but to get in the front seat and pretend that Luke Kelly was not a dominating presence.
Luke watched her tending to Raphael and then looked away, afraid she would see too much in his expression. The more they were together, the more intrigued he became. By the time she was settled, he’d thought of one more thing they needed to do. When she reached for her seat buckle, he picked up his cell phone.
“Since we’re already loaded, what do you two say to driving to Missouri, rather than flying? It’s not that far, and I’m not sure what would happen to your paintings on a flight without some proper packing.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Raphael said from the back seat.
“I’ve never been in an airplane,” Jade said. “I’d much rather ride in the car.”
“Good,” Luke said. “Then it’s settled.” Yet still he sat without starting the car, juggling wh
at he wanted to do against the possibility of making Jade upset.
When Luke sat without making a move to leave, Jade began to get nervous. She glanced in the back seat. Raphael looked as if he’d already fallen asleep. If the man meant them harm, he would be of no help. Without thinking, she put her hand on the door handle.
“What’s wrong?” Jade asked.
“There’s someone I need to call.”
She frowned. “Who?”
“Your father. I need to let him know I’ve found you and that we’re on the way home.”
Her heartbeat skipped and then picked up again as she let go of the door. So he wasn’t intent on harming her after all.
“Oh.”
Luke had seen her go pale and her fingers curl into fists. He didn’t want to spook her, but he had what he thought was a good plan.
“I was thinking that when I call him, you might like to say hello. You know…sort of an ice-breaker? It wouldn’t be anything more than hearing each other’s voices, but it might make him more real to you. What do you think?”
Once again, Raphael spoke up from the back seat. “I think it’s a good idea.”
Jade turned to him and glared. “I thought you were supposed to be asleep,” she said. “Besides, I can make my own decisions on this, thank you.”
“Then do it,” he said, and closed his eyes, thankful that someone else was in charge of Jade’s future, because the way he was feeling, his was fading fast.
With the sunlight on his face, Jade saw shadows beneath his eyes that she’d never seen before. His cheeks seemed hollow, and his skin was missing that pink, healthy glow. Suddenly, getting somewhere safe so that he could see a doctor seemed imperative.
She looked at Luke and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll talk to him.”
Luke exhaled slowly, unwilling to let her know he’d been holding his breath. He started to pat her hand, then remembered what had happened the last time he’d gotten too friendly and settled for a quick wink instead.
“Good for you,” he said, and punched in a series of numbers.
Sam Cochrane had been in the board meeting for almost two hours, and his patience was nearly gone. He never used to mind the time it took to run the businesses he owned, but over the past few years, he’d begun to begrudge it, although it wasn’t as if he had other things to do. He didn’t travel much, and he didn’t have a lot of hobbies, other than to play a little golf from time to time. But when he looked back over his life, it seemed that most of it had been spent in courtrooms or rooms like this, with people like the ones encircling the long, oblong table, arguing about things that, in the long run, didn’t really matter.
“Mr. Cochrane…what do you think?”
Sam had been gazing out the window, lost in thought. Hearing his name called reminded him that he was not attending to business.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Sam asked.
“We were discussing the wisdom of selling the Loflin properties before the end of the year. It would generate a lot of income that we might not be able to offset. What do you think?”
Before Sam could answer, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and then stood abruptly.
“Excuse me,” he said. “I need to take this call.”
He walked toward the windows overlooking downtown St. Louis to give himself a bit of privacy.
“Hello.”
“Sam, it’s me, Luke.”
Sam’s pulse accelerated. He hadn’t heard from him since right before he caught a plane to New Orleans.
“Do you have news?” Sam asked.
“I have more than that,” Luke said. “I found her.”
The words rippled through Sam’s body like hot water over ice, shifting an unstable foundation toward a complete meltdown.
He reached for the windowsill to steady himself and then leaned against the wall.
“Tell me,” he said softly. “Is she all right? Does she remember me?”
“Yes, she’s fine, and no, not really, but she would like to say hello.”
“Oh, dear God, so would I,” Sam said, and then held his breath.
There was a moment of silence at the other end of the line as he supposed Luke was handing over his phone. All Sam remembered was the little girl that she’d been. He’d seen the photos from San Francisco, but that woman was a stranger. It was going to take some time for him to realize that the child had become that woman. And then he heard a nervous cough and a quick intake of breath on the other end of the line and knew that she was there. For the first time in twenty years, he was going to hear his daughter’s voice. Tears thickened his own voice as he turned his back to the room and spoke into the phone.
“Jade? Is it you?”
The deep resonance of Sam’s voice rolled across Jade’s eardrums in a slow, gentle rumble. In that moment, she sensed that everything was going to be all right. She nodded slowly, then realized he couldn’t see her and answered.
“Yes, this is Jade. Are you Sam?”
Sam forgot where he was and turned around, unintentionally startling the men sitting at the board table when they saw that he was crying. They began to mutter among themselves as to what they should do. But Sam was oblivious. All he could hear was the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yes, this is Sam. Do you remember me, honey?”
There was a slight hesitation, then a sigh. “I don’t think so,” she whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Sam said. “You have all the time in the world to get to know me again.” Then he choked on a sob. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m so happy. I had just about given up hope of ever seeing you again.”
“I didn’t know.”
It was those few words that put everything into focus for him.
“I understand, and it’s all right. All that matters is that you do now. I can’t wait to see you. We have so much to catch up on.”
Jade’s heart skipped a beat. How could she tell anyone what her life had been like and expect to be accepted? Anxious to change the subject, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“I have a friend. His name is Raphael. He and I are together.”
“I welcome him as I will welcome you,” Sam said. “Just promise me one thing.”
Jade shivered, afraid of what he might ask.
“If I can.”
Sam heard the fear, and it made him sick at heart.
“Don’t be afraid…not of me, honey…never of me. No matter what is in your past, all you have to do is think of the future. Where there’s love, anything is possible.”
“Yes, okay,” Jade said, and handed Luke the phone.
Luke put the phone to his ear. “Sam?”
“Oh God, Luke! You did it, boy! You did it. I can never repay you enough for what you’ve just done.”
Luke could tell Sam was crying. He swallowed around a lump in his own throat.
“You don’t owe me anything.” Then he looked at Jade, seeing beyond the worn-out clothes and the long, unruly hair to the beauty of the woman beneath. “Bringing you two back together again was payment enough, understand?”
“Yes, I understand. When will you arrive?”
“I rented a car and we’re driving through,” Luke said. “As late as it is today, we’ll have to stop somewhere along the road and get some rooms, but we should be there late tomorrow. If we’re delayed in any way, I’ll let you know.”
Sam could hardly contain his joy. “Have a safe trip and hurry home.”
“You know it,” Luke said, and disconnected the call.
“You okay?” he asked Jade.
She nodded.
“Then we’re on our way,” he said. “Buckle up.”
Sam also hung up, then dropped his cell phone back in his pocket. Tears were running down his face, and his hands were shaking.
His secretary, Doris Smith, immediately moved toward him, fearing he was ill.
“Mr. Cochrane,
is anything wrong?”
He stared at her for a moment, remembering all the years of faithful service she’d given him, then suddenly picked her up and swung her off her feet as he gave a wild whoop.
“Mr. Cochrane! Mr. Cochrane! Please put me down!”
Sam laughed, but did as she asked.
Shocked at his behavior, Doris fussed with her suit, pulling at the jacket and smoothing down her hair as Sam started to laugh.
“Are you ill?” she asked.
“No. No. Nothing is wrong. In fact, for the first time in years, everything is right. Luke Kelly just found my daughter, and she’s on her way home!”
Doris had been with Sam for almost twenty years. She’d known of all the private investigators and the dead ends that had been so disappointing for her boss. But this was something she’d never believed she would hear. She put her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze.
“Oh, Mr. Cochrane, what wonderful news!”
The others at the table began talking at once. Some knew what he was talking about, some didn’t. But by the time the meeting was adjourned, nine people, including Sam’s secretary, were aware of the impending reunion. By morning, it was the headline in all the local papers. After that, it was only a matter of time before the AP wire services picked up the story and released it nationwide.
They’d been on the road for almost three hours. Raphael was snoring lightly in the back seat as Luke topped a hill on the two-lane road that was serving as a detour for another road that had been closed due to the flooding. Suddenly he hit the brakes and slammed the car into park. Water covered the highway below, and without being familiar with the area, he had no way of knowing how deep it might be.
“It’s over the road here, too,” Jade said.
“Yeah.”
Raphael sat up in the back seat. Luke glanced in the rearview mirror, thinking to himself that the man looked like hell, and considering the reasons, he probably felt worse than he looked.
“What’s wrong?” Raphael asked.
Jade pointed. “There’s water over the highway,” she said.
Raphael frowned as he leaned forward. “I could get a long stick, use it as a measure and check it out,” he offered.
