Matchmaking with a Mission

by B. J Daniels

  A question she’d asked herself. So why couldn’t she just let it go? “I was wondering if you could find out what happened to these boys and the people who worked there.”

  He looked as if he thought that was a bad idea.

  “I know it’s an unusual request. But I would feel better if I knew for certain there was nothing to it.”

  Carter hesitated, then smiled. “Sure. Why not? If it will relieve your mind. I need you to keep your big sister sane. I’m worried she’s going to get cold feet. You know Eve. She could just take off on horseback and we’d never see her again.”

  McKenna laughed. “Don’t worry. She’s not going anywhere. She loves you. She wouldn’t miss that wedding for anything.” At least McKenna hoped that was true.

  Carter seemed to relax a little. “There is just one thing that would make her wedding day perfect,” he said wistfully.

  McKenna knew exactly what he was going to say. Her sister had looked nothing like either of their parents, Chester and Lila Bailey, or her sisters. From the time Eve was little she’d somehow known she was adopted even though their mother had denied it. As far as Lila Bailey had been concerned, Eve, McKenna and Faith were her children in every possible way—even if all three were adopted. Adopted through rather strange channels.

  Eve had only recently discovered the truth about her adoption. While McKenna had no interest in her birth parents, Eve seemed unable to move on until she knew.

  Unfortunately, since the adoptions hadn’t exactly been legal, only one person apparently might know the truth about Eve’s—and her brother Bridger Duvall’s—birth mother. That person was Pearl Cavanaugh, who now lived in the nursing home following a stroke that had left her unable to speak.

  “Knowing who her birth mother was and who she is would certainly make Eve happy,” Carter said.

  McKenna scoffed. “Eve is happy. And we all know who she is, and so does she. Knowing who her birth parents are won’t change the woman Eve has become. How is Pearl doing, by the way?”

  “Better. I understand she can say a few words. Bridger visits her every day. I think he’s grown quite fond of her, and vice versa.” Carter shook his head as if surprised by that since the two were definitely at cross purposes.

  “What would happen if it all came out about the illegal adoptions?” McKenna asked. “The women responsible wouldn’t have to go to prison, would they?”

  “I certainly would hope not given that they’re all up in years. But I doubt that would ever happen,” he said. “I don’t think Pearl is ever going to divulge any information about the babies—let alone the names of the others involved in the illegal adoption ring. Nina Mae Cross has Alzheimer’s, so she would never stand trial.”

  “I hope Pearl takes it to her grave with her,” McKenna said more adamantly than she’d intended. “I don’t want to know. I figure my birth mother had her reasons for giving me up. If anything, I’m thankful.”

  Carter nodded. “I wish Eve felt that way.”

  A silence fell between them for a moment, then McKenna asked, “Would you mind making a copy of the paper I found? I’d like to keep it for now.”

  “No problem. I just don’t want you taking it too seriously, all right?”

  She nodded and waited while he went to make a copy.

  “Off the top of my head, I know of at least two people who worked at Harper House,” he said when he returned. “Rosemarie Blackmore and Frank Merkel. Both are still alive—so, see, there’s nothing to what you found. But I’ll look into what happened to the boys who lived there if it will make you feel better.”

  She took the document he handed her back, rolled it up and put it in her purse, relieved. “Thank you.” She tried to settle down. She’d done everything she could. Now she would just wait until she heard from Carter.

  There would be no point in her going by to talk to Rosemarie or Frank. What would she say anyway? That their lives might be in danger after twenty-one years? Crazy.

  As crazy as worrying Carter—and ultimately her sisters—by telling the sheriff about last night.

  If the sheriff thought there was any chance Frank and Rosemarie were in danger, he’d warn them. Why scare a couple of nice elderly people over nothing?

  It was nothing. Just like that incident at the house last night. And now with Nate Dempsey staying out there, she had nothing to worry about but getting moved into her house.

  AT THE NURSING HOME on the edge of Whitehorse, Pearl Cavanaugh looked up to see Bridger Duvall come into her room.

  She closed her eyes as she listened to him pull up a chair next to her wheelchair.

  “How are you today, Pearl?” he asked, just as he had every morning for months.

  She opened her eyes with a sigh, pretending she wasn’t glad to see him. While she used to dread his visits, she had to admit that she now looked forward to them and regretted the day when he would no longer come by.

  That day would be when she told him the truth about his birth parents. His and Eve’s, since the two were fraternal twins.

  “It’s a beautiful day out,” he said. “Wouldn’t you like to go outside?” He stood, waiting.

  She gave a nod and he smiled down at her. “I thought you’d enjoy that.” He went around behind her to push the wheelchair down the hall.

  All of the nurses knew him and said hello, along with the doctors. Pearl liked hearing them compliment him on the restaurant he’d opened with her granddaughter, Laci. Northern Lights was doing well, from what she’d heard. That pleased her.

  She hadn’t been as pleased about Laci’s engagement to Bridger. She’d originally worried about Bridger’s motivations for getting close to her granddaughter. She’d prayed his reason wasn’t the same one as why he’d come to Whitehorse and why he visited Pearl’s nursing home every day.

  Since then, though, she’d seen the two of them together. No two people had been so perfectly made for each other. Just the sight of them together made her smile. At least she thought she was smiling. Since the stroke, she couldn’t be sure.

  “We set a wedding date,” Bridger said after circling the nursing home block and stopping to sneak her a flower from the ones growing in the beds out front.

  She fingered the flower stem.

  “We’re getting married next Christmas,” he said.

  Her head came up, her eyes widening in surprise. She tried to form the words that were in her head, but nothing intelligible came out, to her growing frustration. At first not being able to speak had been a blessing in disguise. She couldn’t have told Bridger what he wanted even if she was so inclined—or if he caught her in a weak moment.

  But now she would give anything to get her speech back.

  “Why such a long engagement?” he asked as if he could understand her gibberish.

  She nodded weakly.

  “Laci has her heart set on you being there.” He knelt down in front of the wheelchair and took both her hands in his. “She wants you and her grandfather to be there to give her away. She has this dream that you’ll be able to walk down the aisle with your husband Titus.”

  Tears welled in Pearl’s eyes. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and squeezed his hand. She and Titus had raised her two grandchildren after their father was killed and their mother disappeared.

  “Thank you.” The words came out slowly, awkwardly, but he beamed at her progress.

  “I am so glad you’re getting better. I knew a stroke couldn’t hold you down.”

  She looked into his dark eyes, worried that she wouldn’t live long enough to see Laci married.

  “I don’t want you to get better just so one day you’ll be able to tell me about my birth mother. You have to know that I have grown to care a great deal for you. It’s Eve I’m worried about now. She’s getting married next month. Carter wants a half dozen children at least,” he said with a laugh. “I know why Eve isn’t as sure about children.”

  Pearl nodded slowly. She did understand. For months she’d had n
othing but time on her hands. Way too much time to think—and soul-search. She’d often wondered if she hadn’t had the stroke, if she would have told Bridger and Eve what they wanted to know. She’d always sworn she would take what she knew about the Whitehorse Sewing Circle’s more secret activities to her grave.

  She and the others had placed so many babies over the years. She knew what they had done was illegal in the eyes of the law, but she didn’t believe in laws that made it difficult for those who wanted children not to be able to have them, no matter their age, their income, their abilities. Love for the child was the only criterion she could see. She would still stand behind everything she had done—even if it meant going to prison.

  She’d always believed it was best if the adopted children didn’t know about their birth parents. The stroke and getting to know Bridger Duvall had changed everything, she realized. She now knew the frustration of being unable to have something she desperately wanted or needed.

  She also knew that she wouldn’t have kept records of the information about each baby’s birth parents unless she’d thought she might need it one day.

  That day was near. She was able to say more words and had been practicing writing. Soon she would be able to tell Bridger what he wanted—and thus tell Eve Bailey, as well.

  Eve’s wedding was next month. Bridger had already informed her that he would come by to pick her up so she didn’t have to miss it since he and Laci were catering the affair and he also didn’t want her to miss the food.

  Pearl knew what Bridger wanted for Eve’s wedding day. It was why she’d been doing so much soul-searching lately. She’d seen how haunted both Bridger and Eve had been by their need to know who they were. She thanked God she hadn’t died, the information dying with her. She alone knew the codes to the birth parents.

  She’d done that to protect the others in the Whitehorse Sewing Circle.

  And now she questioned whether she had the right to keep such a secret. But what would the truth do to those involved? Bring them the peace they so desperately sought? Or, in some cases, destroy their lives?

  Chapter Ten

  As McKenna came out of the sheriff’s department, she was surprised to see Flynn Garrett driving by. He slowed to a stop in the middle of the street and rolled down his window.

  “Hello,” he said, sounding genuinely glad to see her. “I had a great time the other night.”

  “Me, too.”

  He seemed to study her for a long moment. “Home ownership seems to agree with you.”

  She smiled and nodded, although that wasn’t the case.

  He glanced toward the sheriff’s department. “Is everything all right?”

  She knew he’d seen her coming out of the office and must wonder why. “My future brother-in-law is the sheriff.”

  “That’s good,” he said. “But why do I get the feeling there’s more? You looked like you’d lost your best friend when you came out of there.”

  Tears blurred her eyes. She bit her lip and glanced away.

  “Hey,” he said. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

  She nodded and swallowed. This was so unlike her. She’d been through so much lately. Her emotions were right on the edge.

  “Is there someplace you have to be?” she asked. “I could use a cup of coffee.”

  “You got it,” he said. “Hop in.”

  He took her to the only coffee shop in town. It was empty this late in the morning in a town like Whitehorse. He ordered them two black coffees and they sat at a table by the window.

  “Okay, tell me what’s going on,” he said, not touching his coffee.

  “Promise you won’t think I’m crazy?”

  He laughed. “Too late for that. I already think you’re crazy for buying that house.”

  She told him about the man who’d come by supposedly looking for work and about being pushed down last night.

  Flynn looked skeptical. “So you think this man hung around to push you off your porch?”

  “See, I told you it sounds crazy.”

  “Did you get a look at him?”

  She shook her head.

  “Pretty odd. Unless, of course, it was a ghost.”

  “I don’t believe in ghosts—and, believe me, the hand I felt on my back was no ghost’s. That’s not all.” She opened her shoulder bag, took out the piece of rolled-up paper and handed it to him, desperately seeking another opinion.

  His eyes widened as he unrolled it.

  “Apparently it’s a kind of contract. I found it under a floorboard in the house. I’m pretty sure the names on it belong to the boys who lived there when it was a home for troubled youth.”

  He let out a low whistle. “So what do you make of it?” he asked as he handed the paper back.

  “That’s just it. I don’t know.”

  “What did your future brother-in-law say when you showed it to him?”

  As she put the paper back in her shoulder bag, she glanced up at him, only a little surprised he’d figured out why she’d gone to Carter. “You think I was wrong to show it to him?”

  “Not at all. Quite frankly it gives me the creeps.”

  She let out a relieved sigh. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that someone else feels that way. It really upset me when I found it.” She cupped her coffee mug in her hands and stared down into the dark brew as she breathed in the rich scent, more calm than she’d been in days.

  “Your future brother-in-law wasn’t worried about it?”

  She shook her head. “It has been twenty-one years. If the boys were going to do something, wouldn’t they have done it?”

  Flynn shrugged. “Makes sense, I guess.”

  “The sheriff is going to see if any of the people who worked at Harper House—”

  “Got whacked?”

  She grimaced at his frankness. “There are several people who were employed there who are still alive and living here in Whitehorse, so I’m sure there is nothing to it. Just hurt and angry kids finding a little power in the idea of retribution, just like Carter said.”

  “Yeah. You did the right thing showing it to the sheriff, though.”

  Just as she’d done the right thing telling Flynn Garrett about it, she thought as she felt a sense of relief. He was easy to talk to and didn’t confuse her the way Nate Dempsey did. With Flynn, she knew exactly what he wanted from her. Typical male.

  But Nate Dempsey? She didn’t even think he was attracted to her. He’d certainly never acted as if he was. And he had stood her up for their date. Nor had he bothered to ask her out again.

  “So what are you doing tonight?” Flynn asked, making her realize she’d been lost in thought. About Nate. “I could go for another one of those steaks at that restaurant. What do you say?”

  She had to laugh. Here she was thinking about Nate when a very handsome cowboy was asking her to dinner. “Yes, but I have to get out to the house and get some painting done first. I’m running late as it is.”

  “No problem. I could pick you up out there if that would save you time.”

  Why not? She could bathe at the house since the upstairs bath had running water. She would be glad when the shower was fixed downstairs. All she had to do was pick up a change of clothes at the ranch.

  “That would be great,” she said, wondering if she’d agreed to having Flynn pick her up at the house because she wanted Nate Dempsey to see that other men were interested in dating her.

  Sick, she thought. She’d never thrown herself at any man and she certainly wasn’t going to start now. Nor was she going to use Flynn to try to make Nate jealous.

  “You know, it would be easier for you if I just met you at the restaurant like last time.”

  “Not a chance. I’ll pick you up at the house. It’s not a problem. Really. This time it’s a real date,” he said with a meaningful look.

  She smiled, wondering about the look—and him being so agreeable to picking her up at the house he’d lost in the bidding auction.

&nb
sp; Flynn Garrett was the type of man who might think buying a woman two steaks and a bottle of champagne warranted staying over at her house after a “real” date.

  He was going to be disappointed if that was the case.

  SHERIFF CARTER JACKSON hadn’t wanted to worry McKenna. He was sure there was nothing to the paper she’d found under her floorboards at the house.

  Yet at the same time it was the kind of thing that wasn’t easily brushed off as of no consequence.

  He made a few calls to people he thought might have known someone who worked out at Harper House during the time the boys had been incarcerated there.

  The fact that Frank Merkel and Rosemarie Blackmore were still alive pretty much proved that the boys hadn’t followed through with their threat.

  Finding the boys proved harder. Some had apparently been adopted and thus had different surnames. Others just appeared to have dropped off the radar. He suspected some had died; some might have gone to prison.

  He hadn’t found anyone else he knew who’d worked at Harper House, either, when he looked up to see his fiancée in his office doorway. It never failed. Every time he saw Eve Bailey she took his breath away. He couldn’t believe the woman had agreed to marry him. Falling in love with her was the only smart thing he’d ever done.

  “Hey,” he said, unable to hold back a grin. “What a surprise.”

  “Are you busy? If I’m interrupting something important—”

  “Are you kidding? Nothing is more important than you,” he said, coming around his desk to give her a kiss. He motioned to a chair and took one opposite her. “What’s up?”

  He just assumed it would be something about the wedding since it was only a few weeks away now.

  “I have a favor to ask,” Eve said.

  Eve Bailey wasn’t the kind of woman who asked for help if she could prevent it.

  “It’s about my sister.”

  He knew which sister at once. Eve had been concerned about McKenna buying the old Harper place. Carter doubted McKenna had shown her sister what she’d found in the house, which was just as well since he knew it would only upset Eve and he was trying desperately to keep that from happening in the days before the wedding.