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“You didn’t want to leave?”
He shook his head. “I’d have retired a marine.”
“Why did you have to leave?” Ruby asked. She may have noticed his limp but hadn’t made the connection.
“I can’t be a marine with this.” He gripped his lame leg. Resentment and regret rose up as it always did when he was reminded of all he’d lost. He struggled with that reaction, one he always had when people asked him about it.
“Oh,” Ruby breathed her realization. “That’s where you were shot?”
He really didn’t feel like talking about this anymore. He saw how Georgia hadn’t missed a thing, and pushed off the wall.
“There’s a limo waiting in front of the building.” He went to the office door. There, he looked back at Whit. “We’ll see you later.”
Ruby left the office, and Georgia’s dark green eyes met his as she passed. Out in the hall, she let Ruby go ahead of them.
“What did you mean we?” she asked.
“Whit and his wife are having a barn dance tonight. They finished their new house and are having something of a house warming. Since you and Ruby are staying at the ranch, you may as well join me.”
As Georgia’s mouth parted to reject the invitation—Carson was sure that’s what she would have done since she’d rejected the invite to Whit and Elizabeth’s party that had ended up being their wedding—Ruby stopped and faced them with a cheery smile. “Oh, how delightful. We’d love to.”
Georgia didn’t look excited at all about the prospect of going to a party. Maybe it had more to do with a party that an Adair put on. It would do her some good to see for herself that his family wasn’t a bunch of mean people with money.
“Dress casually,” he said to her, loving how easy it was to rile her.
* * *
Carson found Georgia and Ruby in the living room, sitting on the big off-white leather sectional. They’d both changed into jeans, Ruby much more conservative. Georgia wore a teal-green scarf over a white boatneck T-shirt and distressed jeans that were nearly worn through in places. She had teal accessories, belt, shoes and jewelry. She was so put together. Completely different than the suited woman he’d seen at AdAir. The librarian had sparks. A librarian who hated money. Or was it only his money? He wondered if he should stifle the urge to test her on that.
“I have a little surprise,” he said. “Follow me, ladies.”
Ruby stood with an excited smile and came toward him. Georgia was much slower, woe to be her, subjected to an evening with awful Adairs.
Leading them to the front door, he opened it to a waiting horse-drawn carriage, complete with a driver.
He helped Ruby up and then offered Georgia his hand next. She didn’t take it. Amused, he sat beside her and not Ruby. Ruby looked on in approval, and Georgia scooted over to put space between them. He almost chuckled.
But business had to come first. The carriage was a tool, part of his strategy to relax Ruby enough to broach the subject of Jackson.
He waited for the carriage to start moving.
Ruby sat prim and proper, rail-thin, salon-finished nails, light brown hair dyed to hide her gray. Even her physical appearance supported his expanding theory that Georgia had taken on too much responsibility where Ruby was concerned. It was sad that Ruby had lost her son so long ago, but Georgia had her own life to live.
“I don’t know how you could have ever dreamed of leaving all of this,” Ruby commented, in a fairyland all her own as she took in the landscape.
“I could never have stayed.” This was actually a good way to lead into asking her about Jackson. “It’s what my father wanted.”
“Did Reginald expect you to stay?”
“He expected me to go to college for some kind of business degree and, yes, follow him and Whit. My father and I were never close. He had little interest in being a father. He spent most of his time working.” He glanced over at Georgia, who listened like a mama bear, ready to attack if Carson said anything harmful to Ruby. He was about to take the risk of being clawed. He turned back to Ruby. “If I’d have known his first son was kidnapped and much of his aloofness came from that, things might have been different. He never talked about his feelings, but he must have been heartbroken over losing Jackson.”
“He was. Reginald was a changed man after Jackson went missing. When Jackson was born, I like to think we fell even more madly in love. Our love for Jackson made us close. Until Jackson went missing.” She gazed off into the darkness, unaware that Carson had begun the questioning he’d been itching to do since they’d arrived in California. But Georgia was. Her eyes had narrowed in warning.
Carson ignored her. “It wasn’t your fault, Ruby. Someone took your baby. You didn’t give him away.”
Some of the sorrow left her as she looked at him again. “That’s very kind of you to say, Carson, but no one back then believed I was a competent mother. I left him outside to go answer the phone.”
Reginald and his family had blamed her. “In your own backyard. He should have been safe. You should have been able to leave him out there without worry.”
“It was the middle of the day,” Ruby said, encouraged. “I was in the backyard with him, doing some gardening. He was in his carrier. The phone rang and I went in to answer it. I was only gone one or two minutes. When I came back outside, he was gone.”
“Who knew you had a baby?”
“Everyone. Family. Friends. The police questioned all of them. I’ve always thought my neighbor at the time was holding something back, but the police didn’t find any reason not to believe her. That’s something that has always bothered me.”
“Why did you think she was holding something back?” Carson asked.
“She had a lot going on in her life at the time. She just seemed... I don’t know...distracted. The police didn’t talk to her long. I guess I’ve always felt she might have seen something and didn’t tell police because she didn’t want to be involved. It was an impression I had, nothing more.”
Something she’d noticed in the way her neighbor spoke to her? It may be important.
“Did you ever tell Reginald any of this?”
She turned from her lost gaze out across the dark landscape. “He called me about a week before he was killed and asked me about her. He remembered that I’d mentioned what I’d thought of our neighbor and he wanted to confirm it.”
Reginald had called Ruby? She must not have minded. She must be over him. Of course she would be. Their marriage had been so long ago. And Ruby had been happy and in love with Georgia’s father.
“He was going to look into the neighbor,” Carson said aloud.
“Yes, but I don’t think he had the chance.”
“I don’t, either, which is why I plan to talk to her.” Carson stopped questioning her. He had enough for now.
“Are you going to go to North Carolina?” Ruby asked.
Beside him, he sensed Georgia’s tension over the desperate hope coming from Ruby.
“I’ll need to in order to talk to some people.”
“Georgia and I could go with you.”
Ruby seemed to want to help, but it was clear that Georgia had other ideas.
“Why don’t we just let Carson handle this?” Georgia said. “You’ve already been through enough. Leave it up to him.”
“It’s much easier if we’re there. We can help him.”
Carson doubted she’d be of much help, but he also wasn’t so sure that was her main reason. More likely, she couldn’t bear to wait to hear what kind of progress he was making. Waiting here would be harder than being there. But if he made no progress, wouldn’t that be worse for her?
“Let’s decide that later,” Georgia said as the carriage came to a stop in front of the barn.
He watched her take in the grandeur of Whit and Elizabeth’s new house with reluctant admiration and decided right then to enjoy proving her wrong about the rich—the Adairs.
* * *
Georgia hopped down from the carriage, still marveling over Whit and Elizabeth’s big house. It was on the ranch property and it was as spectacular as the Spanish hacienda from where they’d just come. This afternoon she’d gazed out over rolling hills of alfalfa fields, horse pastures and citrus groves and several outbuildings. The guesthouse was three times the size of hers in Florida. She didn’t want to be impressed or like it so much, but she was and she did.
Seeing Carson watching her, she marched toward the barn. She didn’t want to be impressed by him, either, but the deft way he’d handled Ruby had softened a part of her heart. He may not be finished talking to her about the kidnapping, but he had enough to go on for now and backed off. She appreciated that. But he didn’t have to know it.
Reaching the open barn doors, where light poured out onto a corral, she stopped. People ate at tables and danced in the middle to a live country music band. There were Adairs everywhere. And nice or not, Carson was part of this family, the one who had treated Ruby so horribly and attracted people like them. Reginald had loved Ruby, but it was his family that had destroyed them. It hadn’t just been losing Jackson.
Georgia didn’t shun all rich people. Not all rich people were snobs or magnets to draw others like them into their circle. People could make a comfortable, secure living without amassing enormous wealth. There was a difference between struggling to get by and making a comfortable living. People didn’t need hundreds of millions or even billions to survive. Yes, the rich created jobs and kept the economy going. But without those who kept the wheels turning, the ones struggling to get by or making a comfortable living, they’d have nothing. People like Reginald and his parents were just plain greedy. And even if one or two in a family managed to remain humble, there was bound to be someone or several who weren’t. As far as Georgia was concerned, getting involved with a rich man wasn’t worth the risk of happiness.
Carson and Ruby stood on each side of her. Everyone looked normal, but Georgia braced herself for the backlash. Ruby was the first to step forward and introduce herself to a young couple. The happy light had returned and she was ready to mingle. Affection and love swelled up in Georgia. She didn’t have any trouble melting right into the crowd. It was as though she’d stepped into another world and wasn’t an average Lake Mary, Florida, resident anymore. Free for the night. Maybe she was remembering what it had been like to be married to Reginald, to be well off. She had loved Georgia’s father, but he hadn’t made millions.
Georgia followed Ruby and was disappointed when Carson joined her. The young couple wandered off and a man about the same age as Ruby appeared before the three of them.
“Carson.” He stuck out his hand. “I heard you were back. So sorry to hear about your parents.”
“Hayden. Good to see you.”
“Who are these lovely ladies you have with you?” He spoke to Ruby, who all but gushed over the attention.
“I’m Ruby Mason. How very nice to meet a charming devil like you.”
Georgia gaped at her stepmother. She’d never seen her act this way before. Maybe she had when she’d met her dad, but Georgia had been so young, she didn’t remember. A traitorous thought came to her: socializing with the rich made her this way.
Hayden spent extra time greeting Ruby, lifting her hand to give it a kiss before saying, “A pleasure.”
Ruby blushed a little, and Georgia was shocked over the transformation in her. Clearly, Ruby loved the attention. Back in Florida, nothing made her shine like that. Most of the time she was sad and lonely.
“Hayden runs a ranch bordering ours,” Carson said.
“Oh,” Ruby said, sounding awed.
Georgia gaped at her again. What was wrong with her?
“What brings you to the Adairs’?”
“Ruby was married to Reginald. She’s Jackson’s mother,” Carson said.
Hayden sobered. “Oh. Tragic. We were all so shocked to find out that Reginald had another son.” He turned to Carson. “Your family certainly has had its share of bad news of late.”
“Yes, but we’ll overcome. An Adair doesn’t give up easily. Whit and I will find Jackson. And we’ll find my father’s killer.”
Hayden turned to Ruby. “Then you’ll be in town awhile?”
“I...” She looked at Georgia and Carson. “We may be taking a trip to North Carolina. That’s where I lived when my son was taken.”
“Too bad. I was going to offer to show you around.”
Wasn’t that a little sudden? Hayden sounded as though he were quietly trying to get her to change her mind and not go to North Carolina so she could stay here and get to know him.
“Oh,” Ruby breathed, clearly delighted he’d made the suggestion. “I would be thrilled to have you show me around. Maybe some other time?”
She’d spend a day with a man she had just met? Georgia was taken aback. Was it his money? Who was this stepmother and what had she done with Ruby? Carson knew the man, so maybe that changed things. That was when an idea struck her.
Distancing Ruby from the search would minimize the amount of pain she suffered along the way. The less involved she was, the easier it would be on her, particularly if they never found Jackson.
“You did say you wanted to see the old lighthouse,” Georgia said.
“Yes.” Ruby looked disappointed.
“And the museums...?”
Ruby stared at Hayden forlornly. “Yes.”
“When are you leaving?” Hayden asked. “Perhaps we can take a day or two.”
“Why don’t you stay here, Ruby? Carson and I can go to North Carolina.” Beside her, Carson turned a sharp look her way. “I’ll call you every day with updates.” If there were any. “You don’t have to be there with us.”
“Oh...I...” Ruby’s happy light began to shine again. That and the shameless flirt Georgia had never met before.
“There’s Beachfront Village I could show you, as well,” Hayden said. “There’s a fabulous place to have lunch there.”
“If you like, you can join up with us later,” Georgia said. Or not. Hopefully, this mutual interest Ruby had with Hayden would keep her here and away from Jackson’s kidnapping investigation.
“Well...if you’re sure.” She smiled coyly at Hayden.
“I’m sure.” She met Carson’s wry look. He knew what she’d just done. At least he didn’t fight her on it. Now all they’d have to worry about was being alone together.
* * *
Carson brought Georgia a glass of wine and put his beer down before sitting beside her at the picnic table they had all to themselves. They had made their way around the barn, and she had met more people than she could possibly remember.
“What do you think so far?” he asked after sipping his beer.
What did he mean? “About what?”
“All these rich people.”
Oh, he was teasing her. “I think they’re rich.” She sent him a mock smile.
With a grin, he left it at that, making her wonder why. Was he playing games with her? Or was he just pushing her because he was offended by what she thought of him? Carson, offended? No. He was way too confident for that. He seemed amused. Charmed, even. Why would her opinion of him and his family charm him? What was her opinion of him? When she’d first arrived, she was full of animosity. She’d expected Patsy’s kids to carry through with what she’d started and keep her stepmother from the inheritance that was rightfully hers. But Carson had surprised her. Some in his family may be coldhearted snobs but he was not. Was just being a part of the family that had so hurt Ruby enough to keep her reticent? She didn’t know him, after all. And didn’t everyone put on their best face when they first met someone? Maybe the evil side would emerge later. If she gave him that much of a chance.
Dismayed that her thoughts had even gone down that path, she looked toward the dance floor and spotted her stepmother doing a two-step with Hayden. They were really hitting it off, ogling each other, oblivious to anyone else. They hadn’t run out of things to talk about, either. It worried her that her stepmother had taken to the rancher so quickly. Would she end up repeating old mistakes? She hadn’t taken any money from Reginald when they’d divorced. It had been a matter of principle. And guilt. Poor Ruby. But she didn’t look like a woman to feel sorry for right now.
“She fits right in,” Carson said.
