by Justine Davis, Amy J. Fetzer, Katherine Garbera, Meredith Fletcher, Catherine Mann
“Yeah.” Kayla rubbed at her aching temple. This was definitely the kind of day to prompt a headache. “I don’t trust him, Alex.”
“I’d say you’d be smart not to. However…” She hesitated as if she either didn’t know what to say next or resented the words to come to some degree. “He is her father. I know you’ll do the right thing.”
There was no holding back the tears that flowed down Kayla’s cheeks then. To hear Alex say that meant the world to her.
“Christine called me,” Alex went on before Kayla could find her voice. “She wanted me to hear from her what she’d told you.”
Kayla scrubbed a hand over her damp face. “Betsy Stone must know a lot more than she’s telling.” Thank God her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she felt.
“Be careful, Kayla. I don’t trust Betsy. Justin’s certain she was involved with his sister’s death. And we have no way of knowing how close she is to those who want to stop us.”
Kayla couldn’t have agreed more. If only she could determine if Rainy had made contact with Betsy Stone with her suspicions.
Fury roared through Kayla. If she learned that Betsy Stone had somehow been involved in Rainy’s murder, there would be no place on the planet the woman could hide. Kayla would hunt her down and tear her apart with her bare hands.
“Christine also mentioned that Jazz has been invited to attend Athena.”
“I got the letter yesterday.” Kayla fought hard to pull herself together. Looking at her various quandaries from a rational standpoint was essential. She couldn’t let Mary or Jazz see that she’d been crying. The next few hours had to be about reason and good, solid judgment.
“I don’t have to tell you what an amazing opportunity this is,” Alex commented. “Jazz is your daughter and I know you love her immensely. I’m certain you wouldn’t want her to miss out on all Athena has to offer.”
“No,” Kayla agreed. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. I know. It’s just that…” She moistened her lips and dredged up the bitter words that burned in the deepest recesses of her soul. “What if we learn that Athena Academy was somehow involved in all this, beyond just a staff member or two going rogue?”
“If,” Alex said pointedly, “we learn such a thing then we’ll see that it’s taken care of. We won’t let it happen again. Athena Academy is too important to let anyone use it for evil.”
Alex was right. Even if Athena was involved more deeply than Kayla wanted to admit out loud, the wrong would be righted. The academy was still the finest school in the country. One that offered a chosen few young women an unequalled education. She would be a fool not to let Jazz take advantage of the invitation.
Kayla wasn’t a fool. She had to do what was best for her daughter.
One way or another she would get to the bottom of this case first.
There was one more call she needed to make before picking up Jazz. She dreaded this one almost as much as she did the next one she’d have to make.
His voice sounded weary when he answered and Kayla’s heart squeezed instantly. “Marshall, it’s Kayla.”
“Is everything all right?”
She hadn’t called him in a while. It made sense that he would be surprised to hear from her. “I’m good,” she assured him. “I finally caught up with Dr. Halburg today.”
Marshall listened quietly as she relayed what she had learned, but Kayla could feel the hurt and anxiety building in his silence.
“This confirms what we thought,” he suggested gruffly.
“It does.”
Another long beat of silence. Kayla knew how hard this was for him. Marshall had worshipped Rainy. He was the most caring man Kayla had ever known outside her own father. The idea that someone had purposely hurt Rainy was killing Marshall.
“Find whoever did this, Kayla,” he said, his voice breaking. “Find them and kill them. They don’t deserve to live.”
The pain in his voice, in his words tugged at her heart. “I will find them, Marshall. They won’t get away with it. I promise you that.”
“I’m counting on you,” he urged, desperation keen in his voice. “I’m counting on you more than you know.”
Chapter 6
Kayla paced the floor of her cluttered living room as Jazz dried her hair and got ready for bed. She told herself again that she couldn’t put off this talk any longer.
But it was so damned hard. And the conversation with Marshall kept echoing in her head. He was counting on her.
She let go a weary breath and spun around to retrace her steps. The “dad” talk had to come first. Kayla just wasn’t prepared to discuss Jazz going to Athena Academy at this point. There were too many things that had to be cleared up prior to that decision. For her peace of mind.
It was quarter of ten already, past her daughter’s usual bedtime. But Mary had insisted that Kayla eat when she arrived to pick up Jazz. A covered dish waited for her on the kitchen counter. What could she say? She had to eat. And snubbing her sister’s hospitality would only earn her one of those you-need-to-slow-down talks, which would become a whole family discussion within the week.
Kayla’s family held dear many Navajo traditions, although those traditions were blended well with modern society. Despite the family’s contemporary outward appearance, the idea that wisdom comes from the stars and that one should find wonder and splendor on each path was deeply engrained.
Women were expected to use at least some of their time together to share cultural and family traditions. Like the fry bread her sister had painstakingly made that very day. To disregard such a gift from a family member would be the equivalent of a cardinal sin. Mary had likely included Jazz in the shaping, stretching and clapping of the dough that resulted in the round, golden delicious fry bread.
To this day Kayla wasn’t so hot in the kitchen. But she had other assets, her mother would boast. Even her unexpected pregnancy at seventeen had been treated as a blessing. Sometimes accidents are better than planning, her mother had said.
That’s how Kayla had survived her error in judgment where Mike Bridges was concerned. With her family’s full support. And that’s how she and Jazz would carry on. Whatever life threw in their path, family would always be there to back them up.
Mike would be waiting for her call. And if she didn’t follow through he would be back tomorrow just as he’d promised. She remembered that he hated being ignored. His ego just wouldn’t permit that sort of slight.
God, the idea had only just crossed her mind that as Jazz’s father he might want to have some input as to whether she attended Athena Academy or not.
Kayla chewed her lower lip. Just what she needed. Him interfering with her plans for Jazz. Perfect.
She plopped down on the sofa. Her fingers automatically fiddled with the colorful throw her mother had woven. Kayla should take more time for that sort of thing. She gazed around at the paintings, all desert scenes, on the walls and thought of all the other cozy touches her family had helped her add to this home when she’d first bought it. Even the sturdy oak table and chairs of the dining room had been refinished by her father.
Kayla didn’t seem to have inherited any basic artistic talent. She never felt as if she’d done enough at home.
At work decision-making felt so easy, came naturally. Tracking and taking down bad guys…protecting the community and its citizens. Piece of cake. Why did everything feel so hard at home? She worried over every little step with Jazz. But then, didn’t every mother? Parenthood was tough.
A smile slid across her lips. But the rewards were incredible. She wouldn’t trade the relationship she shared with her daughter for anything in the world. Maybe it was so wonderful because it was hard. Hadn’t her grandmother always sworn that anything worth having was worth working for? In other words, all good things came with a unique burden.
Just like the friendships she had forged with the Cassandras. If Jazz attended Athena, would she meet girls her age whose influence would follow her for the r
est of her days?
Laughter bubbled into Kayla’s throat when she thought of how they’d first met, she and her sisters in crime. Things hadn’t gone so smoothly in the beginning. Talk about adolescent egos. Child genius Samantha, smart-mouthed Tory, eagle-eyed Josie, eager-to-please Darcy and cool-as-a-cucumber Alex. Kayla had been the overly serious one, the girl who took everything and anything too close to heart. Come to think of it, being Jazz’s age hadn’t been easy, either. How had she forgotten how difficult being a kid could be?
But Rainy had pulled the ragtag group together.
At first, Sam had walked around with a chip on her shoulder the size of Mt. Everest. Part of the problem had been the fact that she was about two years younger than everyone else and nobody really tried to relate to her. Kayla and the others had felt far too old for fraternizing with a “kid.” Tory had never, ever shut up. The girl had to be the center of attention. Oh, yeah, and Josie was nothing but a tattletale. Kayla grinned. How had she forgotten those quirky little details?
Admittedly, she’d lacked any sense of humor whatsoever. So she hadn’t been so easy to get along with. Ah, but then there was Alex’s snobby ways. And Darcy’s constant ass kissing. Darcy, apparently, thought being a yes-girl would hoist her a little farther up the food chain. Alex had evidently assumed that the world should and would bow to her every wish.
Rainy saw through all the superficial crap every last one of them oozed. She knew that each of her assigned mentees were good where it counted, deep down inside. All she had to do was polish that goodness and bring it to the surface. Not such a simple task.
Kayla would never forget having to stay at the Academy when their first break rolled around. Rainy had insisted. Principal Christine Evans had agreed. The Cassandras were grounded, no going home for break. Kayla would never forget the indignation.
“Why do we have to go on a field trip?” Tory griped. “We’re supposed to be going on break. I wanna go home.”
“Because I said so,” Rainy tossed back. “Any questions?” She surveyed the gloomy group. “I thought not.”
Kayla hadn’t been too keen on the idea of going on an overnight survival trip into the wilds of the White Tank Mountains, which really amounted to a trip into the farthest reaches of the Academy property. Not such a big deal looking back, but, at the time, it had felt like going to the ends of the earth…in the dark with a bunch of quarreling buttheads, when she should have been at home with her loving family watching her mother weave or her grandmother bake.
The Cassandras had no sooner foraged into the creepy, dark landscape than disaster struck.
“I can’t find her anywhere!”
Kayla saw the fear on the other girls’ faces. Rainy was lost. They had looked everywhere. It was so dark. She shivered. They were all terrified. What would they do now? Rainy was their leader…what would they do without her?
“Are you sure?” Kayla asked Josie. Josie never missed anything. God, if she couldn’t find Rainy…
“All right,” Alex piped up in that authoritative heiress voice of hers. “Here’s what we’ll do.” She divided up the area to be searched and sent two girls into each quadrant, just like they’d learned in class. “Stick with your partner,” she’d instructed, “and we’ll find her.”
Every one of the Cassandras had loved Rainy. Respected and looked up to her. They just hadn’t been able to get past their irritation with each other long enough to show it. But that night, all those years ago in the middle of nowhere in the dark, they had worked together. When they’d found their beloved leader she was injured, a sprained ankle that prevented her from walking without assistance.
Everyone pitched in immediately. Tory told jokes to keep Rainy’s sprits up. Josie, Darcy and Kayla had built a shelter while Sam and Alex started a fire to stay warm. Alex had busily splinted Rainy’s ankle. Using the stars as her guide, Sam had figured out in which direction the school lay. The next morning they would be prepared for getting Rainy back to the safety of the Academy.
The whole transition had occurred like magic. They were all suddenly working together as a team. When all was done the girls, exhausted from their labors, had settled around the campfire with Rainy to wait for daybreak. And then something else unexpected had happened.
“I have a secret to share with you,” Rainy said in a mysterious tone.
Kayla, like all the others, leaned forward a bit, anxious to hear whatever their fearless leader had to say. They were all so awed by her. She’d been injured and lost and yet she’d never worried. She had felt certain her Cassandra sisters would rescue her. The realization that they had done just that warmed Kayla. Even on a cool night in the foothills of the mountains she felt that heady glow more deeply than the heat from the fire.
Rainy looked from one expectant face to the other. “I was never lost…or injured.” She shucked the splint Alex had carefully applied and wiggled her foot. “I was only pretending.”
Gasps echoed in the firelight. Eyes went wide, mouths gaped.
“But why?” Darcy wanted to know.
Rainy smiled at each of them. “Because I needed you to look past your differences and to see each other for who you really are.”
The girls glanced at each other, awed and sort of bewildered at the same time. It was that very night, at that precise moment, that something special passed between Kayla and Alex. Something very special happened between them all.
“We’re a team. Like sisters,” Rainy continued. “Nothing can pull us apart or divide us as long as we stick together.”
Cheers went up around the campfire. And the Cassandras were baptized in their unity.
Sisters…there for each other…forever.
“What did you want to talk about, Mom?”
Jazz’s question jerked Kayla back to the here and now. She blinked away the sentimental tears that burned in her eyes. “Oh…you’re ready.” She smiled for her daughter, couldn’t help wondering what kind of character-building adventures she would have if she attended the Academy.
Kayla got to her feet and draped her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. Another few inches and she’d be as tall as her mother. How time flew.
“Come on, I’ll tuck you in and we’ll talk.”
As her daughter climbed into bed Kayla glanced around her room and contemplated how much longer the little-girl décor would last. Before long a redo would be in order. Maybe that would make a good birthday gift, since Christmas was already taken care of. Jazz had asked for a laptop computer for Christmas. It was a bit extravagant but she could use it for school. Especially if she went to the Academy.
“Can we put up the tree this weekend?” Jazz asked as Kayla settled on the edge of the bed next to her.
“You bet.”
“Aunt Mary already has hers up.”
“I noticed.” Kayla’s sister always had the best tree.
“Am I in trouble?” Jazz asked, then chewed her lip as if prepared for the worst. “I haven’t been on the Internet anymore without asking first. I didn’t even play computer games at Aunt Mary’s. I did my homework just like you said.”
Jazz’s big hazel eyes peered up at Kayla. Kayla’s heart squeezed at how very much like Mike’s those gorgeous eyes were. He certainly couldn’t deny his child. Any more than Kayla could, since every other feature besides those eyes were an exact replica of Kayla’s.
“No, sweetie, you’re not in trouble at all.” She sighed, couldn’t help herself. “But I had a visitor today.”
“A visitor? Who?”
Jazz looked so innocent, her expression naively inquisitive. She had no idea her life was about to change in so many ways.
Kayla picked up the framed photograph from her daughter’s bedside table. “We haven’t talked about your father in a while.”
Jazz took the photograph from her mom. “I wonder about him sometimes. Does he still live far away?”
Not able to break her daughter’s heart by telling her the whole truth, she’d just
told her that Mike was in the Air Force and stationed far away. God, what a cop-out that had been.
“Actually, he’s moved closer now,” she said cautiously. “In fact, he came by today and told me he’d like to visit with you if you wouldn’t mind.”
Jazz studied the picture a little longer, then set it aside. “Mom.” She looked directly into Kayla’s eyes. “I know you don’t like to talk about him.”
“Jazz, I—”
“I know, okay?” she butted in. “Every time I ever mentioned him I could see the way you looked.” She shrugged those slim shoulders clad in pink flannel. “So I didn’t bring him up much. But I know what happened.” Her face clouded. “He didn’t want us so he went away.”
“No.” Kayla shook her head. This was exactly what she hadn’t intended to let happen. She should have been smarter. Should have realized her bright daughter would figure out her reasons for silence. “It wasn’t like that. We were just young. But he’s older now. He realizes that not being around was a mistake.” She prayed he did. God, if he broke her baby’s heart…. “He’s your father. He does want to be with you. But being in the military makes it difficult for him. Maybe he thought it was better this way…until now.”
Jazz shrugged again. “Maybe. What did you tell him?”
How strong her daughter was. Kayla was so proud, but she would not cry. She had to be strong too. “I told him we’d give him a call and set up a time to have lunch or watch a movie. Something like that. That okay?”
“Only if you’re with us.”
Kayla pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Count on it.”
Jazz nodded. “Tell him we’ll give it a try.”
Kayla had to laugh. When had her baby grown up so?
“I’ll call him now.”
When she would have gotten up, Jazz tugged at her arm. Kayla turned back to her. “You have more instructions for me?” she teased.
Jazz’s face turned serious as she shook her head.
Kayla’s gut clenched. Had the reality of the conversation only now caught up to her child?
