Anytime Darlin' (24 page)

“Sir, ma’am, this line is for ticketed passengers only. You’ll have to step back.”

“But I’m a cop,” bellowed Mike. “I need to speak with that passenger.”

“You’ll have to show me a badge and give me a legitimate reason, sir. In the meantime, step back now, or I’ll take you into custody.”

Beth put a hand on Mike’s arm. “Let’s go, honey it’s all right, Officer. That passenger is a friend of ours, and we’re worried about her, that’s all. We’ll make some phone calls and work it out. I’m sorry if we caused a disturbance.”

* * * *

Mike let Beth pull him away. Why the hell had he left his badge at home? He took a look at the sign above the desk. Devlin had just boarded a plane to Omaha. Mike strode rapidly down the corridor to a bank of pay phones.

“Mike, what is she talking about?”

“It’s a long story. As soon as I get a hold of Jake, I’ll fill you in.” Mike glanced at Beth’s face. She was as pale as Devlin. “No, sweetheart, Jake does not have a kid with Janice Matheson.”

Mike searched the phone book for the number to the hotel.

“Shit. I don’t have any quarters,” he muttered, feeling around in his pockets.

Beth ran to the nearest snack bar to get change. As soon as he had a quarter, Mike rang the hotel.

“Jake McKenna’s room, please.”

“Mr. McKenna just entered the elevator, sir. Would you like to call back, or do you want me to ring you through to his room?”

“Ring me through.”

She was nowhere to be found at the mall. Jake decided not to take Janice’s word. He looked everywhere. He had her paged three times. When he called Mary from a pay phone, she said she’d already heard from Janice and given her holy hell, but she hadn’t heard a word from Devlin. Jake’s only other recourse was to return to the hotel to see if Devlin had gone there, to see if her stuff was still in the room. He hoped to God she’d be in the room, ready to slug him or scream at him or throw a lamp at him. Tell him she hated him and never wanted to see him again. Anything would be better than this feeling of helplessness that threatened to overwhelm him. If Jake couldn’t find her, he couldn’t correct the damage Janice had done.

Jake left his Jeep at the curb in front of the hotel. As Jake approached his room, he could hear the phone ringing. He quickly checked his pockets. Goddamn it! Where the hell was his key card? He finally found it lying at his feet. He opened the door and ran across the room to the phone.

“Devlin,” he practically shouted into the phone.

“No, asshole, it’s me,” came Mike’s voice. “What the fuck is going on? Devlin showed up at the airport ten minutes ago and hopped on a plane. She refused to talk to me.”

“A plane to where?”

“Wait for me. I’m on my way.”

Devlin stared out the window of the airplane. Against her will, her eyes filled with tears. She refused to let them spill over. Nothing seemed real. She felt as if she was standing outside herself, watching. Watching as she ran from Jake all over again.

I must be in shock,
she mused,
because I can’t feel a fucking thing.

Her chest was a block of ice. It had frozen the moment Janice spoke those words.
“Jake’s kid. Ran right to my bed. Ask him. Go ahead and ask him.”
It wasn’t as if Devlin expected Jake to be celibate. She knew he’d had his share of relationships over the past four years. It wasn’t even that he had a child. She could accept a child, especially Jake’s child. She recalled him saying just two days ago—was it only two days ago?—that he’d forgotten to use a condom once. Well, she thought, once was apparently enough. She also remembered that when she asked what he’d done when she left, he said he’d gotten stinking drunk. What he’d left unsaid was that he’d run to another woman’s bed. She could accept that too.

What Dev couldn’t accept, what turned her blood cold, was that he’d done it with her. With the daughter of the woman who helped William Franz. Dev choked back a sob. How could he do that? How? How could Jake climb into bed with the woman who hated her? Who loathed her. Who tried to excuse the fact that her mother was an accessory to murder, the murder of Devlin’s entire family. Jake conveniently forgot to mention it. What did he do? Swear everyone to secrecy? Even Mary?

Maybe Mary didn’t know. Devlin couldn’t believe Mary would be a part of this charade. Mike, maybe, he was Jake’s best friend, but not Mary and Ken. Mary watched over her like a big sister. If she’d known, she’d have told Devlin long ago. She would have opposed the engagement for all she was worth unless Jake came clean. No, Devlin thought, Mary was as much in the dark as she had been.

The flight attendant came by and asked Devlin if she’d like a drink. Devlin had bought a first class ticket this time. It was all she could get at the last minute. She was glad. First Class was almost empty. Devlin had the row to herself. She asked for a Scotch on the rocks, and she paid extra for the premium Scotch. If she was going to drink, Devlin figured she might as well do it right. She wondered how much she could down in an hour.

Then she remembered that she’d have to rent a car in Omaha. Her own car was in long-term parking at the airport in Des Moines. She hoped they’d let her leave the rental car at the airport there. If she was drunk, they wouldn’t let her drive. She set the Scotch aside, afraid she’d smell of liquor. Dev was desperate to get home.

Drinking herself into oblivion would have to wait.

Jake strode into the airport, his face set, his mouth determined. He would meet up with Devlin and make things right with her. He should have told her. He knew that now. He should have brought it up when she gave him an opening. Was it just two days ago? But he was embarrassed at being caught off his guard, humiliated that Janice had made him look like a fool. Her action that night made him feel like a victim, almost like the victim of a crime, and he’d been reluctant to admit that to anyone. He felt as stupid as shit for thinking it was honorable to protect Janice’s privacy. Janice had no honor and no privacy to protect. No more secrets from Devlin, ever.

Jake found Mike and Beth waiting by the United Airlines ticket counter.

“Buddy, I tried to stop her,” said Mike.

“It’s okay.” Jake put a hand on his shoulder. “She was determined to get far away from me.”

Beth spoke up. “Mike told me about Janice. What happened? How on earth did Devlin get the idea that her child is yours?”

“She got it straight from the horse’s mouth. After we dropped Dev off at the mall, she ran into Janice. The only reason I know is because Janice was stricken with a guilty conscience and met me at the entrance when I went to pick Devlin up. She admitted what she did.”

Mike was furious. “What did she tell her?”

“That Trevor’s full name is Trevor Matheson McKenna. That I ran straight to Janice’s bed after Devlin left. She said I told her to keep out of sight during your wedding weekend. It couldn’t get much worse.” Jake paused. “I don’t think Devlin cares who I slept with over the past four years. I don’t even think she’d be all that shocked if I had a kid but…”

“Not with Janice,” Mike finished for him. “Anybody but Janice Matheson.”

“You got that right.”

“So what will you do?” asked Beth. “Try to catch her in Omaha?”

“No, she probably couldn’t get a flight to Des Moines, so she figured Omaha was the next best thing,” commented Mike. “I suspect she’ll either fly out of Omaha or try to rent a car if she can’t get a flight.”

“So I guess I’ll try to get a flight to Des Moines and catch her there,” said Jake. “Do either of you know what kind of car she drives?”

Mike thought for a minute. “A Toyota, a black Toyota Celica.”

“I need to beat her to Des Moines, if I can,” said Jake.

“Jake, there’s one more thing. I meant to tell you, but I forgot—you know, the wedding.” Mike fidgeted. “A copy of William Franz’s passport turned up in a brothel in Bangkok last month. He wasn’t there. I’m not sure that it means anything, but I think you should know.”

Jake felt a muscle tense in his jaw. “I’ll find her. You two need to get going. You’re supposed to be on your way to Hawaii. What happened?”

“Our flight was cancelled,” said Beth, “There’s bad weather in Dallas, and that’s where the plane originates. It’s okay, Jake. I couldn’t leave now anyway. I need to hear that Devlin’s safe.”

“Yeah,” said Mike. “Why don’t you give us your keys? We’ll take the Jeep and head home. We can pick you and Devlin up tomorrow, or at least, we can drop your Jeep here. I’ll stick the key under the floormat.”

Jake looked at his friends gratefully. “Thanks,” he said. “Do you mind hanging around until I get a flight? That way, you can let Mary know what’s up. Tell her I may call her later. If I have to rent a car, I’ll need directions to Devlin’s house. If Devlin calls, do everything you can to convince her to stay at the airport.”

Jake learned there wouldn’t be another flight to Des Moines until midnight. He couldn’t wait that long. The ticket agent suggested he catch a flight leaving for Chicago in twenty minutes and then connect with a flight to Des Moines. He’d have twenty-five minutes between flights. That would put him in around nine o’clock. The only seats available were in First Class. Jake pulled out a credit card and tossed it on the counter. Snatching up the plane ticket as soon as it was printed, he handed his keys to Mike and gave him the location of the Jeep in the long-term parking garage. Jake sprinted toward his gate. He made it just in time. The flight attendants closed the cabin door right behind him.

Jake would bring Devlin back. He had no other choice. Devlin had captured his heart years ago. Now that he’d made his feelings known to her, now that he’d made love to her, there was no way he was living without her. She could fight him. She could slap him, she could cry, she could scream at him, and he wouldn’t blame her, but it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. Jake would never let her go. He belonged with her, and she belonged with him. He would do whatever she asked of him, whatever she wanted. He’d leave his job and go to Paris. Sell his property in Idaho if he had to. Move to Iowa and become a farmer. He was prepared to give up everything to keep her. He couldn’t lose Devlin, not now.

Jake sat back in his seat and ordered straight whiskey. He tossed it down in one swallow, the liquor providing the burn he craved right now. The flight attendant offered to bring him another drink, but he declined. One was enough to take the edge off his anger and his worry. Drinking himself sick, though tempting, would be the worst thing he could do. He’d need a cool head to get through the next four hours. Jake hoped he was lucky enough to make it to Des Moines ahead of Devlin. He’d camp out in the parking lot all night if he had to. This time, she wasn’t getting away from him.

After spending thirty minutes arguing with the rental car people at Eppley Airport in Omaha, Devlin felt numb with fatigue. She practically had to sign over the mortgage to her home in order to convince them to let her drop off the car with the rental agency at the airport in Des Moines. As she drove away, heading back toward Iowa over the same bridge where her parents, her brother, and her grandparents had died, she broke down. She recognized the Madison Avenue exit in Council Bluffs and pulled off the freeway. The Walnut Hill Cemetery was only three or four miles away. Devlin made her way through town, sticking to streets she was familiar with.

The hills appeared very green in the late afternoon light. A soft breeze blew in through the open windows of the car as Devlin drove through the gates and climbed the steep brick road to the very top. She parked along the curb and hiked across the thick grass down to the gravesites. Though she’d paid the caretaker extra for upkeep, she hadn’t been back since she returned from Denver four and a half years ago. She tried to live her life pretending the dead still existed, somewhere, just out of sight.

Devlin recalled her friend Jason saying on more than one occasion,
“A little denial goes a long way.”
A little denial was a luxury she couldn’t afford right now. They were gone and weren’t coming back. Devlin once again felt like that tree falling in the forest. Her family wasn’t around to hear her. Neither was Jake.

Just as she did when she’d returned four years ago, Devlin sat down beside the graves. She deadheaded the violets the caretaker had planted at her request. Violets were her mother’s favorite flower. More than anything, she wished she could ask her mother for advice. Devlin wondered what she would do in this situation. She looked up at the clear blue sky, half hoping to hear a voice descend from heaven. Her mother’s, her father’s, the voice of one of her grandparents, even her little brother’s would be fine. Devlin laughed at herself. The dead didn’t speak, except in the movies.

Devlin stretched out in the warm grass beside the graves. The August sun warmed the side of her face. She had no idea what she would do, but for the moment, she simply wanted to be here with her family. Growing drowsy, Devlin watched the long rays of the sun filter through the birch trees bordering the green hillside. Their leaves seemed to tinkle like coins as they fluttered back and forth in the gentle breeze. Devlin listened to the calls of robins and meadowlarks. She saw a flash of red as a cardinal flitted from branch to branch. The cardinal was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep.

When Devlin woke up two hours later, the sun had nearly set, its last rays burnishing the hills with copper. She sat up, blinking at the sudden light. Somehow, while she slept, her unconscious mind had considered the facts and come to a conclusion. Janice was lying—that was clear now. Devlin had let her fear of loss overrule her better judgment. She’d been so afraid of losing Jake, so terrified he’d vanish from her life, that she’d done exactly the same thing she’d done the last time. She fled from him without giving him a chance to explain.

Devlin looked down at the diamond ring she still wore on her left hand. It sparkled in the fading light. She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered clearly what he’d said to her, what he’d done to her, what he’d forced her to admit. After everything they’d shared this weekend, Devlin knew without a doubt Jake would have told her if he had a child. Even, Devlin shuddered, if his child’s mother was Janice Matheson. Jake had never lied to her, never manipulated her. He’d always protected her and put her first. Devlin remembered how he sat at her bedside when she nearly died of pneumonia, holding her hand, murmuring to her in that deep voice of his, hour after hour. He didn’t even know her then.