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“I hope you’re wrong about that.”
“Until you know for sure, be careful. A woman went missing in the next town over a couple of months ago. I’d hate for the same to happen to you or Sarah.”
Jasmine went cold at his words. She’d thought Sarah’s claims of danger exaggerated. At least she’d hoped they were. But if a woman had disappeared, maybe there was more to Sarah’s claims than she’d thought. “What woman?”
“Her name was Rebecca McKenna.”
“I’ve never heard of her.”
“She hasn’t made the news, but she is missing. Her brother hasn’t heard from her in two months. He’s not sure he ever will again.” He let the words hang in the air before releasing her arm and stepping away. “Get a security system, Jasmine. Make sure you keep it on. I don’t think I need to tell you what an ugly world this can be.”
Before she could comment, he strode away, moving across the lawn and down to the driveway that led to his rental, leaving Jazz alone in the still morning air, his words whispering through her head. I don’t think I need to tell you what an ugly world this can be.
No, he didn’t need to tell her.
She knew.
And she’d do everything she could to make sure that ugliness didn’t touch her or her mother-in-law again.
FIVE
“You are not paying for the security system, Jasmine. If I can’t afford it on my own, I don’t need it.” Sarah’s clipped tone matched the scowl on her too-pale face, and Jazz had a feeling nothing she said could change her mother-in-law’s mind.
Of course, being as hardheaded as Sarah, she had to keep trying. “You do need it. And I can afford it, so we’ve got no problem.”
“We’ve got a big problem, and that problem is that you’re treating me like a child. Which I’m not. I’m an adult. Plenty capable of making my own decisions and paying my own way in the world.” Sarah pushed open the car door.
“Hold on, Sarah. Let me get the walker out of the trunk.”
“I’ll make it to the house without the walker.”
“The doctor said—”
“I don’t care what the doctor said. I’m fine. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure I could dance a jig if I wanted to.” She eased to her feet, but didn’t move away from the car as Jasmine grabbed the walker from the trunk. Between the late night and the doctor’s appointment, Sarah was looking worse for the wear, her deeply set eyes hollow in the early afternoon light, her mouth bracketed with lines that hadn’t been there three years ago.
Worry beat a throbbing pulse at the base of Jasmine’s neck, and she rubbed her hand against the ache as she handed Sarah the walker. “A jig, huh?”
Sarah smiled and shrugged, some of the irritation easing from her face. “It might be interesting to try.”
“It won’t be long before you can.”
“And it won’t be long before you’re heading back to New Hampshire.”
“I’ll stay as long as you need me.”
“I know you will, dear, but my point is that eventually you’ll go back to your life and I’ll go back to mine because we’re both adults. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and my problems.”
They were back to the security-system discussion. Not exactly the direction Jazz had hoped to go. The more they talked about money—most specifically, Sarah’s lack of it—the more Jazz realized just how upset her mother-in-law was going to be when she found out the mortgage to her property had been paid off. Obviously, Jazz should have prayed more and taken a few days to think things through.
She hadn’t, so she’d just have to face up to Sarah’s wrath. But not now. They were both too tired for more arguments. “I know that, Sarah, but I want to help. You’re the only family I’ve got, and I want to make sure you’re safe.”
To her credit, Sarah didn’t bring up the fact that Jasmine had barely had contact with her during the past few years. “We’ll see what the security people say, okay? Once we know for sure how much it will cost to have a system installed, we’ll talk about it again.”
“I’d really like it to be installed today. Eli said a woman is missing. Someone from a nearby town. That makes me nervous for your safety.”
“What woman? I haven’t heard anything about this.”
“You were in the hospital for almost two weeks.”
“And you think the rumor mill couldn’t find me there? If someone was missing, I’d know about it.”
“Eli seemed pretty sure about it.”
“Who? Did he give you a name?”
“Rachel…Rebecca…Something like that.”
“Rebecca McKenna?”
“Yes. That was it.”
“She didn’t disappear. She left her husband. I can’t say I blame her. Reverend McKenna is a hard man with very antiquated ideas about the role of women in the home and in the church.”
“Antiquated as in traditional?”
“Tradition is good. Reverend McKenna’s approach is a little too extreme for my taste, and for the taste of most women I know.”
“You’ve been to his church?”
“I’ve heard about his church. You know how the grapevine works around here. Rumor on top of rumor on top of rumor passed from person to person, but always with a grain of truth. According to the people I’ve talked to about it, Fellowship Community Church is more a cult than anything else. But, like I said, I’ve never been.”
“If all you’ve got is rumor to go on, it’s possible Rebecca didn’t leave her husband. Maybe she really did disappear.”
“I doubt it. One of the girls who helped out around here for a while said Rebecca ran off with someone she’d met while she was taking classes at Liberty University. Mary was a member of the church, so I think she probably knew what she was talking about.” Sarah unlocked the front door and stepped into the house, her shoulders bowed as if a weight were sitting on them. And not just one weight. Many. The weight of disappointment. The weight of sorrow. The weight of financial difficulties.
Jazz wanted to put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder and tell her that everything was going to be all right, but she knew it might not be. That was the thing about life. You’d get moving along, everything going well, and suddenly the rug would be yanked out from under you and you’d find yourself flat on your back, staring at the ceiling and wondering how you’d gotten there. “I guess Eli got some wrong information.”
“That’s what it sounds like. Either that, or everyone else does. Maybe you should discuss it with Eli over dinner or a movie. Or both.” Sarah shot Jazz an amused look as she lowered herself onto the couch.
Jazz ignored the look and the comment. There was no way she was going to seek Eli out, let alone have dinner with him. Besides, Rebecca had probably done just what the rumor mills were saying and run off with another man. “It’s past noon. How about some lunch? I could make soup and sandwiches while we wait for the security company to get here.”
“I’m not hungry, dear. I think I’ll just read for a while.”
“Maybe you could just have some soup.”
“You’re doing it again.” Sarah grabbed a paperback from the side table.
“What?”
“Treating me like a child.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Sarah smiled John’s smile again, and Jasmine turned away, grabbing a pile of books that lay on the coffee table and placing them on the bookcase. All around her there were reminders of the past, of the simple rhythm of life before. Before John and the girls had been killed, before she understood what true grief was, before she realized that a heart could be torn in two and still go on beating. It could. It did. And she had no choice but to keep living, to keep doing her best to find the path she was supposed to travel.
Whatever that might be.
She sighed, walking down the hall and into her room, wishing she had the kind of faith that would make her feel as if something good would eventually come of her loss. She knew it was what she was supposed to believe; it was even what she wanted to believe. She just wasn’t sure she did believe it. How could good come from losing the only man she’d ever loved? How could it come from losing the children she would have given her own life to save?
“Faith needs to be a little easier, Lord. A little more concrete. Not feelings and emotions and hunches, but firmly grounded facts.” She snatched the sketch pad from the desk, but couldn’t focus enough to do any drawing. She’d known coming to Lakeview would be difficult, but she’d thought she was far enough away from the tragedy and her grief not to let the memories get to her. Apparently she’d been wrong.
The doorbell rang, and she hurried back toward the living room, motioning for Sarah to relax back down onto the sofa she was struggling up from. “I’ll get it. It’s probably the security company.”
“Just remember, you’re not paying for the system to be installed.”
Jazz ignored the comment as she pulled open the door. She expected to see a uniformed representative of A-plus Security Systems; maybe an older man carrying a clipboard and a DVD featuring underpaid actors telling tales of break-in horrors.
That was what she expected to see. What she actually saw was Eli. Standing in the shadow of the porch, backlit by watery sunlight, he looked dark and dangerous. More like the man she’d met at the cabin the previous day than the charming, easygoing guy she’d spoken to that morning. The dichotomy bothered her. Who was he, really? “Eli. What can I do for you this afternoon?”
“I was hoping to speak with Sarah.”
“About?”
“No need to screen my visitors, dear. Come on in, Eli,” Sarah called out from the living room, and Jasmine’s cheeks heated.
Eli shot a half smile in her direction before moving past, the scent of him tickling her nose as he stepped into the house—spicy, masculine. Compelling.
Her heart jumped and a million butterflies danced in her stomach. She didn’t like it. She should not be having this kind of reaction to the man. She would not have this kind of reaction to him.
She took a deep breath and followed Eli into the living room. He’d already taken a seat on the recliner and was leaning toward Sarah, his elbows on his knees, his golden eyes focused on her. If he noticed that Jazz had stepped up beside him, he didn’t acknowledge it. She had a feeling, though, that he had noticed. She was pretty sure there wasn’t much he missed.
“Sorry for dropping by uninvited, Sarah.”
“There’s no need to apologize. I’m always glad to have visitors.” Sarah smiled at him as if he were a Publishers Clearing House representative offering her a giant-sized check, her eyes sparkling for the first time since Jazz had arrived in town.
“Thanks. I had a few questions I wanted to ask if you don’t mind.”
“About the rental? Is everything okay with the cabin?”
“The cabin is fine. It’s probably the best accommodations I’ve had all year.”
“I’m glad. So, what did you want to ask about?”
“A young lady named Mary Cornell. I heard she worked for you until a couple of months ago. Is that true?”
At his words, Sarah stiffened. Not much, but enough for Jazz to notice. She tensed, too, curious and somehow anxious though she wasn’t sure why.
“Yes, it is. She worked here for six months.” Sarah leaned back in her seat, and Jazz was sure she was doing her best to look relaxed and unconcerned. It wasn’t working. Tension rolled off her, filling the room and demanding attention.
“She quit a few months ago?”
“Six or seven weeks ago, I think. I hired another college student a few days later.”
“Did Mary give you a reason for quitting?”
Sarah hesitated for a heartbeat, just long enough for Jazz to notice. “No.”
It was a lie. Jasmine knew her mother-in-law well enough to recognize the tightness in her jaw, the frown line between her brows. What was she hiding and why was she hiding it? Curious, Jasmine took a seat in the old rocking chair that sat beside the recliner. The rocking chair she’d rocked the girls to sleep in. The one she hadn’t had the heart to give away to anyone but family.
The time-worn wood of the armrest felt warm beneath her suddenly chilled fingers, and she clutched it tight as if that could anchor her in the present.
“I spoke to Mary’s pastor earlier. He said she left seven weeks ago. Her parents haven’t seen her since.”
“That’s a shame.” Sarah’s response was noncommittal, and Jazz was sure she knew a lot more about Mary than she was letting on.
“Yeah, her mom is pretty broken up about it.” Eli paused, his gaze sharply focused. “Her father thinks you might know something. According to the pastor, he seems pretty convinced that you know where his daughter is. That you might even have helped her leave.”
Sarah blanched, but she didn’t look away. “Maybe if Jackson Cornell had been as interested in helping his daughter pursue her dreams as he is in making accusations, Mary wouldn’t have felt the need to run away.”
“So she was running away from her father?”
“I don’t know her reasons, but I do know that things weren’t easy at home. Her parents and that hardnosed pastor of theirs didn’t agree with her plans to attend college. They wanted her to marry right out of high school. It was ludicrous.”
“Lots of people do that, Sarah.”
“Of course they do. I did. But I was in love. Mary wasn’t.”
“It sounds like you know a lot about her.”
“That doesn’t mean I know where she is, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“I was. I need to speak with her about Rebecca McKenna.”
“Rebecca fell out of love with her husband and in love with a man she met at Liberty University. It’s as simple as that.”
“Maybe so, Sarah, or maybe not. Until I find Rebecca, I can’t know for sure what happened.”
“And I suppose there is a reason you need to find her?”
“I’m doing a favor for a friend. Someone still in Iraq. He asked me to find his sister and make sure she’s okay.”
“Then I wish I could help you, but Mary’s the one who told me Rebecca ran off with another man. I doubt she has anything else to add to the story.”
“I’d still like to speak with her. Do you know how I can get in touch with her?”
There was another minute hesitation before Sarah spoke. She was going to lie again. Jasmine knew it as well as she knew her own name.
“No.”
