Above All Else (Sandy Cove Series Book 7)

by Rosemary Hines

  “I asked around, and it sounds like this Adam guy is still in the area,” Jeff confirmed. “I mentioned your concerns to my partner, and he suggested the U.S. People Search website to get more information. Apparently if you pay for an advanced search, you can get criminal records.”

  “Okay, I’ll try that site. You said, ‘U.S. People Search,’ right? That’s the name?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Got it. And thanks, Jeff.” Steve rose from the table, tossing a tip into the pile of bills the men had left for the waitress.

  “Wish I could have been of more help,” his friend replied, resting his hand on the back of Steve’s shoulder as they began to walk toward the door. “I’ll be praying for you.”

  “Thanks, man,” Steve replied.

  The two men grasped hands in a firm handshake and then pulled into a quick hug. “See you Sunday,” Jeff added as he walked across the parking lot.

  “See ya.”

  When Steve got to his office, he unloaded some files from his briefcase, listened to his messages, and then powered up his computer. After checking his email, he immediately searched the Internet for the site Jeff had given him.

  It was pretty user-friendly, and he had soon typed into the form all the information he had on Adam Wilson, including the street he’d lived on when Amber knew him and his approximate age. The site asked for Steve’s email address for sending the report, and he entered his work email.

  “Okay. Done,” he said to himself. Now he’d just have to wait for the email. Before he turned to the pile of work that awaited him, he paused for a moment to pray for their son. Please bring to light anything I need to know, God, and give me wisdom on how to handle all this with Caleb.

  Luke walked up the concrete path to the front door of Madison’s house. The two of them had an appointment with the videographer for their ceremony, and he wanted to leave a little early to have extra time to find the place. He was about to ring the doorbell when Caleb burst out, nearly running into him.

  “Oh, sorry,” Caleb said. “I didn’t know you were out here.”

  “No problem. I’m just picking up Madison for the videographer appointment we have in Portland,” Luke replied. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  “Just running an errand,” Caleb muttered.

  Luke studied him. Something wasn’t right. Caleb was usually so friendly and easy going, but today he was wound up tight. “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “No. Everything’s fine.” Caleb’s voice was curt as he glanced down at his phone.

  “You seem kind of edgy.”

  Caleb pulled the car keys out of his pocket. “Really? Sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. I’m just wondering if there’s something on your mind. Something you might want to talk about,” he added. Both Caleb and Logan had been acting kind of distant lately. Luke couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection. Was this about Caleb’s search for his biological father? Logan hadn’t said anything to him, and he wasn’t sure if Madison had mentioned the idea to Caleb about talking to Luke’s dad.

  “So, Madison mentioned that you’re trying to find your biological father,” he said.

  Caleb looked surprised. “Yeah. I didn’t know she told you.”

  “Hope that’s okay,” Luke replied.

  “Sure. No problem.”

  “Any luck so far?” Luke asked.

  “Maybe. I found the house where he used to live,” Caleb offered.

  “And?”

  “And I talked to some lady there who told me he was at the gym.”

  “Wow. So he still lives there,” Luke said.

  “Apparently.”

  “How are your parents taking all of this? Do they know you think you’ve found where he lives?”

  “Mom’s pretty quiet about it, but Dad blew a gasket. He’s freaked out that Adam is dangerous or something.”

  Luke nodded. “He probably just wants to protect you, Cale.”

  “Like I need protection,” Caleb replied sarcastically.

  His attitude surprised Luke. Usually Caleb was so down to earth and easy going. He wondered how all of this was affecting Madison, too. Hopefully there wouldn’t be some big family blow up right before the wedding.

  “Is that where you were just headed?” Luke asked. “I mean to track down this Adam guy?”

  Caleb shrugged. “I was thinking of driving by his house to see if he’s still home. Maybe I could catch him on the way out.”

  Luke glanced at his watch. He’d like to offer to go along, but then they’d definitely be late for their appointment. “Wish I could go with you,” he said, adding, “I’m free later in the day.”

  “That’s okay. Thanks, though,” Caleb replied, as he turned and headed for the car. “Have fun at the videographer,” he added.

  Luke waved and then peeked into the open front door. “Madison?” he called out.

  As Caleb pulled up to the curb across the street from Adam’s house, he heard loud voices from that direction.

  “You jerk!” a lady yelled.

  The front door opened and out stormed a guy yelling obscenities back over his shoulder. As the man came down the steps and toward a car parked out front, Caleb recognized him. It was the same man who had flipped him off the last time Caleb was on this street. The guy from the car Caleb had almost clipped. Sure enough, he was getting into the same car, which was now parked on the driveway.

  Was that Adam? He looked like he could be about the right age.

  Caleb decided to follow and see where he went. Once the guy’s car was out of the driveway and part way down the block, Caleb swung out from the curb, made a u-turn and followed at a distance.

  They wove through town, with Caleb almost losing him once at a light. Luckily he was able to catch up and see the man turn into a parking lot at the local martial arts studio in a strip mall near the Coffee Stop. Caleb watched him park, grab a duffle bag from his trunk, and walk into the studio.

  Steve was surprised at how quickly he received his report on Adam Wilson. He’d just pushed aside a brief to take a short break, when he heard a chime notifying him of a new email. There it was at the top of his inbox.

  He sat forward and clicked on the email. A brief message thanking him for trying the service was followed by a link to a PDF document. Opening it up, he quickly began perusing the information.

  The search engine had found an Adam Wilson living on Fourth Street in Sandy Cove. He was listed as thirty-three years old, single, with one known living relative—a sister in Portland. Other than one DUI from a few years back and a misdemeanor charge on drug possession, there were no other criminal convictions. It didn’t seem to be enough of a record for Jeff’s co-workers to be aware that he was still in town.

  “I wonder what other charges might not have stuck,” Steve wondered aloud. He knew the report would only show convictions, not other arrests or complaints.

  At least the guy was not a sex offender or anything like that. Still, the DUI and the possession charge showed he was far from a model citizen.

  Steve sat back in his chair, clasping his hands together in his lap as he thought about Caleb. Maybe finding Adam would be a good thing in some ways. It might help Caleb realize how being a biological father was not the same as being a dad. And from the way this guy sounded to Steve, he was pretty sure Caleb would recognize that Adam Wilson was not the kind of man he’d ever want for a father.

  Still, Steve didn’t like the idea of Caleb going over there by himself. How could he convince his son to let him go along?

  “Excuse me,” Caleb called out the window of his car.

  The man turned and looked his way.

  “Are you an instructor here?” Caleb asked, pointing to the studio. His heart was pounding as he looking at the face of this man who might very well be his father.

  The man nodded. “Yeah, I am. Are you thinking of joining a class?” The hard lines of his frown softened somewhat.

  “M
aybe,” Caleb replied.

  “Why don’t you park the car and come on in. You can watch my next class. It’s starting in a few minutes.”

  Caleb nodded. “Okay.”

  “See you inside,” the man said.

  Caleb watched him disappear into the studio. It seemed surreal that he might have just had his first conversation with his real father. Pulling into a parking spot, he turned off the motor, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  As Caleb walked into the martial arts studio, he saw framed photos of the instructors on the wall above the front desk. There it was—the photo of Adam Wilson.

  He stared at it for a moment, looking for similarities to himself. Maybe the eyebrows and forehead? And similar cheekbones. But for the most part, he could see much more resemblance with Amber than he could with this man.

  “Can I help you?” a woman at the counter asked.

  “Uh, I’m just here to check out the studio. I was thinking of watching the next class,” he replied.

  “Of course. No problem. Adam’s class is about to begin. It’s an intermediate Tae Kwon Do class,” she said. “Follow me.”

  Caleb trailed her into the large open classroom with mirrors along the front wall. The students were seated on a mat that covered most of the wood floor, and Adam was entering from a door that must have been to a dressing area. He was wearing a ghee with a black belt cinched at his waist.

  Adam didn’t even glance at Caleb, who was now seated among several adults and a couple of young children, on a bench in the low bleachers at the back of the room.

  Taking immediate command of the class, he had his students on their feet and returning his bow. Then he drilled them on several moves they’d been learning before moving into the day’s lesson.

  Caleb’s focus remained on the instructor for the entire thirty minutes. He could see the athleticism in Adam that he himself also possessed, as well as the youthful vigor missing in his adoptive dad, who was at least fifteen years older. There was something very appealing about a father who was younger and had such a cool job. Maybe as they got to know each other, they’d be good friends. Caleb nodded to himself at the thought.

  After the class was over, he walked up to the front of the room and introduced himself to Adam.

  “So what did you think of the class?” Adam asked.

  “Cool,” Caleb replied with a smile.

  “Ever taken martial arts before?”

  “No. But I’m definitely interested. I’ve been more into team sports like basketball and baseball,” he added.

  Adam nodded. “Cindy at the front counter can give you a schedule of classes. Most of the students in the beginner classes are a lot younger than you,” he said. “But I do have one adult beginner class starting in a couple of weeks on Tuesday evenings.”

  “Okay, sounds good,” Caleb said.

  Adam started walking away, but Caleb stopped him. “Hey, I have a random question for you.”

  Turning back to face him, Adam replied, “Fire away.”

  “You lived in Sandy Cove long?” Caleb asked.

  Adam’s expression changed to guarded. “Yeah. I grew up here. Why?”

  “No reason,” Caleb replied. He could tell Adam had put up his defenses. No point in taking it any further today. He’d sign up for the class and get to know Adam first. Then he’d let him know that they were actually related.

  “Logan, I found him,” Caleb said as he pressed his cell phone to his ear. “And I just signed up for the beginning karate class he teaches on Tuesday nights.”

  “What? Why did you go without me?” Logan asked.

  “I just decided I needed to do it on my own,” he replied. “But hey, if you want to take the class with me…”

  “I work Tuesday nights,” Logan reminded him.

  “Oh yeah. Which reminds me, I’d better make sure my manager knows not to schedule me for that time,” Caleb said.

  “So what was he like?”

  “He was pretty upset when I saw him coming out of his house. He was having a fight with some lady there. But after I followed him to the martial arts studio and actually met him, he seemed okay,” Caleb replied. Then he added, “He invited me to watch his Tae Kwon Do class.”

  Caleb had told Logan about the guy who flipped him off, but he purposely omitted telling him that Adam was actually the same guy. No point in giving Logan preconceived ideas about him. Sure, Adam seemed to have a temper, and Caleb was pretty certain the guy was nowhere with God, but maybe that was why their paths were finally crossing—so Caleb could help his biological father find a better life, and maybe even become a Christian. He could only hope.

  “So when does the class start?” Logan asked.

  “Two weeks from Tuesday.”

  “You didn’t tell him anything, right? I mean he doesn’t know who you are or anything like that.”

  “No. I want to get to know him first,” Caleb replied.

  “Smart move.”

  Michelle picked up the phone on the second ring. I wonder why Steve’s calling me in the middle of the day, she thought.

  “Hey, babe,” he said. “So I found him.”

  “You found him?” she asked, momentarily confused.

  “Adam Wilson. I found his profile online,” he explained.

  Michelle sank into the sofa. “And?”

  “And he’s definitely still in Sandy Cove.”

  She sighed. “Anything else?”

  “Well, he’s still single, so no other family that I know of other than his father and a sister in Portland.”

  “Does he have a criminal record?” She asked.

  “One DUI and a misdemeanor drug possession,” he replied.

  “So what do you think? Should we tell Caleb?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll think about it,” Steve said. “Maybe.”

  “I wish he’d just drop this whole idea,” she murmured, mostly to herself.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t have a good feeling about this,” she said.

  “Me neither.”

  Madison studied her calendar. There was so much to do over the next two weeks. The wedding was coming up fast. Her excitement mingled with a twinge of anxiety. Was it all going to come together? And was she ready?

  “Better remind Caleb about his tux fitting tomorrow,” she said aloud to herself. Carrying her calendar into his room, she found him on the computer in his email. “Busy?” she asked.

  “No. What’s up?” He turned to face her.

  “You have your fitting for your tux tomorrow,” she said.

  “Right. Three o’clock.”

  “Yeah. Luke and Logan will swing by to pick you up around quarter ‘til.”

  He nodded. “Cool.”

  She turned to leave but was stopped by her brother’s voice. “Mad?” he asked, using his favorite nickname for her. That used to really bug her. Now she didn’t give it a second thought.

  “Yeah?”

  “Something happened today. But if I tell you, you can’t tell Mom and Dad.”

  She studied him. What did he do? “Okay, spill.”

  He walked over and closed the bedroom door. “I met him—my father, I mean,” he said under his breath.

  She could see that he was serious. Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, she said, “So tell me everything.”

  Continuing to keep his voice low, he explained how he’d found Adam, followed him to the studio, and introduced himself.

  “But he doesn’t know who you are, right?” she asked.

  “Right.”

  “Is he married?”

  “I don’t know. He was having a fight with some lady as he was leaving his house,” Caleb explained.

  “But no wedding ring?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so. None that I noticed,” he replied. “I’ll check when I start my first class.”

  “What class?”

  “I’m going to take
his beginner class for adults on Tuesday nights.”

  “When does that start?” she asked.

  “Two weeks.”

  “That’s the week of the wedding,” she said. “It’s going to be busy around here. Couldn’t you wait on this?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be here for the rehearsal dinner and all that stuff,” he replied.

  She felt a sense of dread creep into her spirit as she looked at her brother.

  “Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked.

  “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Cale. I wish you’d reconsider.”

  “Now you sound like Dad,” he replied, accusingly. “You’d better not say anything to him,” he added. “You promised.”

  “Whatever. But I think you’re making a big mistake,” she warned as she stood up and walked out of the room.

  “I’m going to hold off on saying anything to Caleb,” Steve told Michelle that night as they took an evening walk. “With Maddie’s wedding coming up so soon, I don’t want to rock the boat anymore with him. I’d rather we all be on friendly terms for Madison’s sake. We can address this more after she and Luke are married.”

  “Good idea,” Michelle agreed, relief washing over her. She always felt like the referee between her husband and her son these days. It was sad because those guys had been so close when Caleb was younger. Adolescence was certainly challenging at times.

  “At least we know he hasn’t had any major brushes with the law,” Steve added. “Not that drunk driving couldn’t end up being serious. But maybe he learned his lesson. Both of those charges were from a while back. Maybe he’s a decent guy now.”

  “Maybe,” she replied, taking Steve’s hand in her own and breathing a silent prayer for their son.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “I’ve decided to take a karate class this summer,” Caleb announced the next morning over breakfast.