“I guess we have that in common.”
“I don’t know if you ever saw the old film classic about Louis Pasteur, but when I watched it, I fell in love with the idea of what you could see when you looked through the lens. It decided me on a career and I changed majors, which took me a little more time to graduate.” She smiled to herself. “How did you happen to end up working for the forest service?”
“I was a rancher first and loved the land, but wanted to learn more. In college several opportunities opened up, but I soon realized I needed to work in the outdoors as much as possible. I like being free. If I had to sit in an office all day, I couldn’t do it.”
“Neither could I.” She got to her feet. “Now tell me what you were originally going to ask me.”
“I’m afraid it’s a sensitive subject. I’ve hesitated broaching it in case it sounded like I was prying.”
“You mean Nate.”
“Yes. I realize it’s still painful for you, but I’ve been wondering what drew you together, how you met. Do you mind my wanting to know?” he asked in a more serious tone.
She gripped the phone tighter. “Jack—you need to understand something. He’s been gone too long for it to be painful anymore. For the first few years it was the not knowing what happened to him that made it so hard, but I’m over that.”
“I’m glad for you,” he whispered.
Now that she’d told him this much, she might as well go all the way. “As for how we met, I used to go to the football games when I was in college. One day Nate sat behind me and my girlfriends. We got talking and—”
“And that was it,” he finished the sentence for her. “Thank you for helping me put all the pieces together.”
“Pieces?”
“I’ve been trying to fit the various parts of you into a whole that makes you, you.”
“I guess we’ve both been doing that, so maybe you won’t mind if I ask you the same question. How did you meet the woman who gave you such a beautiful son?” Blaire had wanted to know, but had been afraid to bring it up. Now was her opportunity to do so without seeming to be too curious.
“Liz sideswiped my empty car by accident while she was backing out of her parking spot at the movies.”
“Oh, dear.”
“To her credit, she left a note on my windshield with her name and phone number for the insurance exchange.”
Blaire bit her lip, imagining it was love at first sight for them. “Before you knew anything else about her, you learned she was honest. Besides being kind, I think that’s one of the most important things you can know about a person.”
“I agree.” He took a long time before he said, “Blaire—before we hang up, I wanted you to know I have a business appointment in the morning. I’ll call you when I’m finished so you can tell me where to find you.”
Her heart sank, silly girl. “Oh. That’s fine.”
“When you’re ready to take your lunch break, I’ll work through it to make up my time. Tomorrow night we’ll forget live oak wilt and play.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Good night.” She hung up quickly before she was tempted to tell him she couldn’t wait.
Chapter Five
Sixty-two degrees and holding. The weather couldn’t be better for Caige, who was up on the roof attaching Santa to the chimney. He’d already dropped off Josh at school and had been to court to testify at the nine o’clock hearing for the felon he’d brought in last month.
Now he could take his time to do this right before he joined Blaire. He was just attaching the last clamp when his cell phone went off. It would have to ring until he’d finished the job.
A few minutes later it was done. If he said so himself, the Santa would be able to withstand some wind. Before climbing down, he reached in his pocket for the phone and discovered Ernie had left a message. Instead of listening to it, he called him. “Morning, Ernie. What’s up?”
“Not much yet. No one named Janie Pettigrew is living at the Sterling Condos now. New management took over last year. I phoned the person you need to talk to from the old management, but he’s out of town until next Wednesday. The info is on the message I left with you.
“In case she was a student here, if only for a few semesters, I phoned the UT Austin campus admissions office. They wouldn’t give me any information without a search warrant so I called the judge. He’ll issue you one, but if you need it soon, you have to get over there pronto. At lunch he’s leaving town for ten days.”
Caige had just been to the court building. “Call him back and tell him I’m coming now. Have his secretary put the time on the warrant between ten and eleven o’clock.” He was going to be later than he’d thought to catch up to Blaire, but now was his chance to find out what he could.
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Ernie.”
“You bet. Before you hang up, you need to know I phoned Motor Vehicles. They checked ten years back to the present and found no person with that exact name driving a car or a boat with a Texas license plate. However, there were hundreds of derivatives.”
Naturally. “What about rental-car agencies?”
“I’m working on those now. Then I’ll get busy looking for her in the California DMV database.”
“When you’re always a step ahead of me, I don’t know why I asked. Talk to you later.”
The man was pure gold.
Caige put the ladder away and took off for the municipal court building to pick up the warrant. With it in hand, he was able to sit down with one of the registrars on campus. In case this Janie was a friend of the Farleys, he asked the woman to go back ten years and start through the Pettigrews.
Everything from Jan to Jane to Janet to Janeal to Jayna and Jeanette came up. For all he knew they could all have Janie for a nickname. He came across initials like J. B. and J. C. Pettigrew, but they turned out to be males.
One J. J. Pettigrew caught his eye because it was a female. He jotted down the local phone number listed in case it was still a working number, then thanked the registrar and went out to the car to call Blaire.
He got her voice mail. It meant she was probably performing surgery on a tree, so he phoned Sheila who gave him addresses for the next scheduled appointments. Before he drove off, he tried the phone number he’d taken from the student file, but it belonged to Biffy’s Car Wash, one of a chain throughout the state.
Caige would ask Ernie to call the phone company and find out the full name of the person who’d had the phone number before it was assigned to Biffy’s.
Instead of driving to the office for the truck he’d been issued, he headed for the nearest address Sheila had given him. He saw Blaire’s truck parked at the side of the street. When he found her, she was talking to the woman who lived there.
Blaire acknowledged him with a smile. “Mr. Lignell? This is Mrs. Wiseman. I’ve inspected this Texas ash and was telling her the reason for the curled leaves is aphids.” She held up some foliage to show the dense cluster of insects. “They’re most prevalent in spring and fall, but they can be managed with chemical control.”
“Where should I call?”
Caige pulled a card out of his pocket. “The person who answers will give you a list of a dozen places for pest control.”
“Thank you.”
“If you get right on it, you’ll be able to save your tree,” Blaire assured her.
“I’ll phone them in a few minutes.”
They said goodbye and Caige walked Blaire to the truck. “Sorry I’m late again, but it couldn’t be helped.”
“You don’t need to explain.” She climbed in her truck and shut the door.
“Anyone can see you don’t need a partner.”
She stared straight at him. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
“That I’m impressed with your expertise? Yes.”
Her blue eyes danced. “Thank you. Coming from a Trees for Texas man, that’s high praise.”
“Only because it’s the trut
h. I’ll follow you to our next appointment.”
“We only have two more. Drive safely,” she reminded him this time before pulling away.
He got in his car and started after her, thinking about their conversation last night. It had illuminated his need to come clean with her before much more time passed. He’d already accomplished his first objective and knew without a doubt she was not involved with her husband’s disappearance. There was no more necessity for him to stay undercover.
But he also recognized that once he removed the mask, the magic between them would disappear and her defenses would go up. That was the downside of deception, even when it was for the purest of reasons.
Caige had to admit that during this week, he’d experienced a kind of happiness he hadn’t thought could come again in this life. This morning he’d sprung out of his bed to take his shower because he knew he’d be seeing her in a few hours.
Instead of the novelty wearing off because they worked together all day long, the opposite had happened and he found she was growing on him. He never got tired of her. It was getting harder and harder to say goodbye after they drove back to the office. At least tonight she’d be coming over to his house. He was living for it.
En route to their next appointment he received a call from Other Destinations.
“Ranger Dawson? This is Mrs. Sanderson.”
“Yes. Were you able to retrieve the information?”
“Yes. I’ll give you what I’ve found for the time period you gave me.”
“I need to write it down, but I’m in my car. May I call you back in a few minutes?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Caige kept following Blaire, who eventually pulled up in front of a residence with a half-dozen black walnut trees. He could tell that two of them were in trouble. He parked behind her and called out the window that he had an important call and would catch up with her. She nodded and went up to the front door of the house.
He drew the small notepad from his pocket before returning the phone call. “Hi. This is Ranger Dawson. Go ahead and give me the information.”
“For the months in question, there are twelve roundtrips from Austin to San Diego. All are mix-and-match weekend lower fares.” The woman listed the dates.
“For two people?”
“No. One person.”
“The name of the passenger on the tickets?”
“Nathan Farley.” Twelve trips without Blaire?
“Any hotels, rental cars?”
“No, sir.”
“Thank you very much.”
By the time he was ready to join Blaire, she’d already diagnosed the trees with walnut blight. She told the owners that the affected parts had to be burned to save the trees. After explaining how to accomplish the procedure, they took off for their last appointment.
An older man at the next house was upset because the red oaks in his front yard were suffering from oak decline and would need injections of fungicide in June to save them. Blaire explained the problem in such a way that she managed to reassure him he wouldn’t lose his trees if he followed her instructions.
Caige gave the man a card that would help him find a company to come out and do an expert job. They chatted quietly for a few minutes before saying goodbye.
“I’ve told you before,” he said as he helped Blaire back in her truck. “You remind me of a highly skilled surgeon with an impressive treeside manner, Dr. Koslov.”
She scoffed at his comment, but color tinted her cheeks. “What time do you want me to make a house call tonight, Mr. Lignell?”
He studied her lovely features. The pulse at her throat throbbed noticeably. “As soon as you can get ready and come over. Here’s my address.” He wrote it on a piece of paper from his notepad and handed it to her. “I only live three miles from the office. My house will be the only one on the street with a red Toyota in the driveway.”
“I’ll find you.”
TWO HOURS LATER BLAIRE turned onto the street where Jack lived in the Crestview area of north-central Austin. During the drive from her town house, dusk had melted into darkness. Most of the ranch-style houses in his neighborhood were already decorated, but only one had a bigger-than-life Santa lit up on the roof.
While she marveled at the brave soul who’d put it up there, she realized it was Jack’s house because she saw his car. He’d left the porch light on for her. A lighted Christmas tree glowed from the front window. After she’d parked behind the Toyota, she reached for the gift she’d brought for Josh and, with a pounding heart, hurried up to the front door. Before she could ring the bell, it opened.
The dangerously dark and handsome man standing in the shadows of the dimly lit foyer was a new version of her temporary coworker. All the tough lines and angles of his face and body were highlighted like the relief on a coin. For some reason he seemed taller without his uniform. Over tan chinos he wore a black long-sleeved crewneck sweater that looked like cashmere. Casual yet elegant.
Blaire felt his gaze taking her in. “You look stunning.”
“So do you, Jack Lignell,” she answered boldly. “They say a uniform does something for a person, but I have to admit it’s nice to see you in different attire. It brings out the mysterious in you.” She saw something flicker in the gray eyes smiling at her. An odd feeling stole through her she couldn’t account for.
“Josh and I are glad you’re here. Come in.”
Though it was chillier outside now, she hadn’t worn a coat. It was just as well because a fire blazed inside her. After closing the front door, he showed her through some French doors to the living room with its traditional decor and feel. His ex-wife’s influence?
He’d put some decorations on the mantel and coffee table, but the tree needed ornaments. “Everything looks beautiful. You chose a noble fir, my favorite kind.” She leaned down to put her present on the skirt beneath the limbs.
“Mine, too, obviously.” His voice sounded deeper than usual.
“Where’s Josh?” She raised up to look at him once more. It was hard to do anything but stare when he was so striking.
“In the kitchen playing with some of the pots and pans. He likes to do that when I cook.”
“You’re not dressed for making pancakes.”
“A little flour never hurt anything.”
“You’re right. Do you think he’ll remember me?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out. After we eat, we’ll come back in here to decorate the tree. I would have started a fire, but it’s not that cold out tonight.”
“You’re right.”
She followed him back into the foyer and through the opposite set of doors to the formal French-provincial dining room. Another door led to the charming kitchen dominated by an oval table and chairs. It was set for three. The feminine touches throughout the interior reminded her another woman had once lived in this house.
But when she saw Jack tousle his son’s hair while he sat on the floor, bringing a smile to his precious face, she realized this man was the heart and soul of this home. “Look who’s here, buddy. We’ve got a visitor.”
Blaire drew closer. “Hi, Josh. Those pans are fun, aren’t they?”
The boy kept playing with the gadgets and pots his father had put out for him. She flicked Jack a glance. “While you cook, I’ve got an idea. I’ll be right back.” In another minute she had brought her gift into the kitchen and put it down on the floor by Josh.
He didn’t seem to notice, so she undid the wrapping and drew the pull-ball game out of the box. When she started to play with it, he watched the tetherball go in and out. Now that it made music and she had his attention, she put it up on the table.
To her delight he got up from the floor and came over to see it. He wanted to do it and took over. Blaire sank down on a chair to watch him. At one point he smiled. It matched the broad one on Jack’s arresting male features.
Jack brought hotcakes and sausage to the table. The two of them at
e and drank coffee while Josh continued to play. “You like that, buddy?”
Josh hadn’t touched his pancakes yet. He just smiled again. This time she thought it might have included her.
She leaned toward Jack. “There are extra batteries in the box in case you need them.”
“At this rate I’m pretty sure we’ll be putting more in before the night is out. That’s a winner toy if I ever saw one.” With those words, he devoured two more pancakes in a couple of swallows.
“I remember what you said about him liking to turn the light switch on and off. The salesgirl said it was a popular item.”
He studied her over the rim of his coffee cup. “You’re something else, you know that?”
“Because I brought a little toy to a boy for Christmas?”
“Because of that, and everything else that went with it. The thought, the caring.”
“It’s long past time I thought about someone else besides myself. You’ve had to forget yourself for so long, I feel ashamed. Meeting you has caused me to turn over a new leaf. Even though it’s not New Year’s, I’ve made a resolution to enjoy every minute of the rest of my life and never look back again.”
“Everyone should adopt such a resolution. The world would be a much happier place.”
“Every child should have a daddy like you. I saw that Santa up on your housetop. Has Josh seen it lit up?”
Jack had been lounging back in the chair, studying her through veiled eyes. “Not yet.”
“After I help you do the dishes, let’s take him outside to look at it.”
“The dishes can wait. I’ll grab his parka.”
Jack got up from the table and left the kitchen. Josh didn’t seem bothered, but when his father returned, it was as if he’d just noticed he was gone and ran over to him. “Come on, buddy.” He put the coat on his boy. “We’re going to go outside for a minute.”
He held Josh’s hand and the three of them walked through the house. When they got out in the air, Jack moved to the end of the driveway so they could get the full effect.
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