Heartache Falls (10 page)

As her path took her near the bank of Angel Creek, she was surprised to hear Celeste call her name. Looking around, she saw her friend and employer standing with a fisherman at the little boulder-sheltered pool that Ali herself had discovered earlier this week when she’d decided to fish after work one evening.

“Good morning, Celeste,” Ali called, changing the direction of her steps when Celeste waved her over. It
wasn’t until she drew closer and the fisherman turned to face her that she realized just who the man was. “Dad?”

He waved. Yes, it was her dad.
Oh, for crying out loud
.

Unhappiness rolled through Ali. She didn’t need this. He had no business coming here. She was an adult. An adult with adult children of her own. She shouldn’t have to answer to her father about the decisions she made about her marriage!

“Well, well, well,” he said. “Imagine running into you here, sweet pea.”

“Yeah. Imagine. Dad, what are you doing here?”

“I’m fishing. I’ve already pulled in two pretty rainbows. Thought maybe you and I could share them for breakfast.”

Once the initial flash of annoyance passed, Ali’s head started spinning. This was not good. She had made a tactical error in going with the message-on-the-machine avoidance strategy. She should have known her dad wouldn’t let her get away with it. “Gee, Dad. That would be nice, but my job—”

“Isn’t a problem,” Celeste interrupted. “I was on my way to the carriage house to tell you we’re taking the morning off when I stopped to visit with this lovely gentleman who, coincidentally, is your father.”

Ali wrinkled her nose. “Celeste, there is nothing coincidental about his visit to Eternity Springs.”

“Oh, quit grumbling, dear. You should have had this talk weeks ago.” She held out her hand to Ali’s father and said, “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Charles. Now, I’m off to my rock-climbing class.
Enjoy your visit with your daughter, and best of luck with the fishing.”

“Thank you, Celeste. I will give your suggestion serious thought. You’re an angel.”

“You’d better believe it. And isn’t this just a heavenly day?” Celeste’s happy laughter tinkled like church bells across the morning air as she headed back toward Cavanaugh House.

Ali frowned at her father. “What suggestion?”

“She suggested I sponsor a section of the healing center’s garden in your mother’s name.”

Ali made the connection immediately and warmth filled her, dispelling some of her annoyance. “The Peace roses. I mentioned to her that you’ve said how much my mother loved Peace roses.”

“They were her favorites.” He lifted a wistful gaze toward Murphy Mountain. “She loved the mountains, too. I think your mother would be proud that you’re involved here.”

Ali certainly hadn’t anticipated that sort of reaction from her father. Encouraged, she asked, “Did Celeste mention my work at the Bristlecone?”

“She did. It’s an ambitious project, what with the fire damage.”

Just as Ali began to relax, he added, “Though I’m not sure that you are the right person to make it a reality.”

She bristled. “You don’t think I can do the job?”

“Oh, I know you can do the job. What I doubt is that you
should
do the job. Not if it means putting the job before your marriage.” He reeled in his fishing line, and when a bare hook emerged from the water,
he said, “Hand me my tub of night crawlers, would you, hon?”

She did as he asked, then, knowing her father, found a comfy spot to sit. She had avoided this conversation as long as possible. Might as well get it behind her. “This job has not caused trouble in my marriage.”

The trouble was already there. In fact, if anything, this job might save her marriage.

He waited to respond until he’d baited his hook and dipped it in Angel Creek, but when he did, he cut right to the heart of the matter. “I’m disappointed in you, Alison.”

Go ahead and stab me through the heart, Dad
. “Why? Because I took a job doing something worthwhile?”

“Because you’ve attempted to avoid me during this, the biggest crisis of your life.”

The biggest crisis of her life? Ali had always known that she came by her flair for drama honestly. “Dad, there is no crisis. Who have you been talking to? Caitlin? Chase?”

“I’ve discussed the situation with Caitlin, Chase, Stephen, Mac, Louise, and Walt Prentice.”

Oh. She didn’t know why she was surprised. She should have anticipated this. Of course he’d talk to the family, to Mac’s secretary. “Who is Walt Prentice?”

“The best divorce lawyer in Denver.”

Divorce lawyer! Ali’s knees went week. She was glad she was already sitting down. What had Mac said to him? Was that the real reason her father had
made this trip? Bracing herself, she asked, “Dad, why did you talk to a divorce lawyer?”

“Insurance on your behalf.”

Whew
. So Mac hadn’t asked him to do it.

“Although the contact with Prentice took place before I received the private investigator’s report that cleared Mac of any serious wrongdoing.”

“Oh, Dad.” An investigator, too. Ali closed her eyes and dropped her head back, lifting her face toward the heavens.
Dear Lord, give me patience
.

“Which brings me here today. Alison, running away seldom solves anything. I believe you have made a mistake.”

That was all it took to bring the doubts and the guilt roaring back. Ali respected her father’s intellect and opinion. She knew that for her dad, she would always be the most important person on the planet, and that he truly wanted only the best for her. And how could she defend herself to him when she couldn’t explain herself to herself?

She didn’t know if she’d done the right thing by leaving. She just knew that in that moment, she’d had to leave. “Dad, it’s complicated.”

“Life is complicated, sweetheart. You are a bright young woman with a loving heart. That’s really all you need to find your way back home.”

“I’m not ready to go home. However, I do intend to attend the governor’s dinner in two weeks. Maybe by then things will be clearer to both me and Mac.”

Apparently that was enough to satisfy her dad, at least for now, because he said no more until he pulled another trout from the water a few minutes later. Wearing a gleeful grin, he asked, “Breakfast?”

She returned his smile and rose to her feet. “Breakfast.”

“Excellent. After that, I hope you will offer me a tour of the Cavanaugh manse. I’d like to see that part of the family history.”

Once her father had added the trout to his creel, he picked up his fishing gear and they headed toward the carriage house. As they approached the front steps, he paused to enjoy the view. “Beautiful place, Eternity Springs. I like the fact that our ancestors had a hand in building it. Your friend Celeste said this valley has a special healing energy. Do you feel it here, honey?”

Ali considered the question as she, too, looked at the mountains surrounding them. “I think so, Dad. I want to believe it. I know that I’m here looking for answers.”

He reached out and pulled her to him for a hug. Then he kissed her forehead and said, “May I offer you one last piece of advice?”

Ali grinned. “Could I stop you?”

“Probably not.” He gave a strand of her hair a gentle tug, a gesture he’d made all her life when he wanted her to take special notice. “You have it within your power to simplify your situation. Just be sure that every decision you make, every choice you make, is motivated by love. If you do that, what is meant to be will be.”

Ali smiled wistfully. “How did you get to be so smart?”

“Your mother’s influence.”

Ali touched his face. “I’m sorry I was chicken and called when I knew you’d be playing golf, Daddy.”

“That’s okay, baby. This time. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Yes, sir. I won’t. Now, let me get you a knife and a pan and you can clean your fish. After breakfast, before I show you the house, we’ll take a tour of the grounds. I’ll show you the rose garden and we can talk about just how you could honor Mama.”

Charles Cavanaugh’s eyes glistened briefly and he cleared his throat before responding, “It’s perfect.”

“Then while we tour Cavanaugh House, you can stop by Celeste’s office and write a check.”

Mac named his dog Gus. He had no particular reason for the choice. The brown and white springer spaniel mix just looked like a Gus to him. He weighed about forty pounds—thirty of which must be hair, based on how much he shed. Mac thought about Gus as he waited for the tech guys to fix whatever was screwing up the video the lawyers were trying to play. He wondered what Ali would say when she discovered that he’d gone and adopted a dog. A dog that shed.

Guess he would find out tomorrow when she came home. Over the past three weeks, Mac had kept a list of things he wanted to say to her. Last night he’d organized his thoughts into a clear and thorough summation. His points were well considered and to the point. With a little cooperation from Ali, they could work their way through the list in ninety minutes. He’d even built in time for some theatrics. With any luck, they’d have the situation settled before they left for the governor’s dinner, and that night she would be home where she belonged.

“Your honor?”

Mac jerked his attention back to the courtroom. The tech guys were gone and a sea of lawyers looked his way expectantly. “Yes, proceed.”

For the next two hours he dealt with motions and procedural issues while making an effort not to allow his disdain for the ballplayer to show. Josh Sandberg was an idiot. He’d had a beautiful wife, three great kids, and a career that boys all across America dreamed about. No matter how this trial ended, his reputation, his life, would never be the same. He could have avoided every bit of it if he’d just been truthful with his teammates and his family.

Mac left the courthouse at the end of the day amidst the lights, cameras, and microphones of media and paparazzi alike, and when he heard his own name called, he scowled and forged ahead. Judges didn’t talk to buzzards, but that didn’t stop them from trying. Would they never learn?

He was tired of the nonsense already.

Later as he drove home, he found himself thinking about celebrities and the public’s fascination for them. Personally, he just didn’t get it. He’d never understood the whole hero worship thing over actors and singers and sports stars. Cops and firemen, yeah. Soldiers, absolutely. He appreciated and admired a great athlete’s abilities, but just because a guy had the eye-hand coordination to swing a bat and hit a ball didn’t make him a hero. Neither did riding a bull in a rodeo.

In his experience, more often than not, those God-given talents ended up making people jerks.

And jerks attracted some women like moths to flame.

Red neon light flashed through the half-drawn curtains of the run-down hotel room in Oklahoma City. He sat on the corner of the bed and watched as his mother stroked cherry red lipstick across her mouth while she stared into a cracked and dusty mirror. “Just imagine. The championship buckle. How exciting is that? Now, you be a good boy and don’t get into any trouble while Mama’s gone. You hear?”

He was seven years old. She didn’t come back for three days
.

Celebrities. Mac exhaled a long, heavy sigh. What he wouldn’t give for a good embezzlement trial.

He hit the garage door opener as he pulled into the drive, which served as the signal for Gus to go wild. Barking, running, jumping—the dog did everything but flips when Mac let him inside. Grinning, he sat in one of the kitchen chairs and let Gus plop his paws in his lap as Mac scratched him behind the ears. “I’m glad to see you, too, boy. Just … whoa. Keep the tongue to yourself, okay?”

He reached into the treat jar he kept on the table. “Here you go, boy.”

Gus gulped it down in seconds, then came back at him with a dog kiss he wasn’t quite fast enough to dodge. The weird mood from earlier returned with the rough scrape of Gus’s tongue and he was back in that hotel room, this time with bright yellow sunshine beaming through the window.

“But Mama, please? I’ll take care of him. I’ll feed him and water him and he won’t be one bit of trouble.” Mac had named him King, and they’d become
pals—best friends—in the days his mama had been gone
.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mackenzie. He’s a stray. You can’t go picking up strays.”

“Why not? You do.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d hit him. Nor was it the last. It was, however, the last time he asked for a dog. When they left Oklahoma City the next day, King didn’t go with them.

And when Louise brought him his mail today at the office, he’d had a letter from his mother, the first contact he’d had with her since he’d turned eighteen.

Damned celebrities. Damned paparazzi. Damned Court TV.

A month after running to the mountains, Ali returned to Denver. As she pulled into line for valet parking at the Brown Palace Hotel downtown, she told herself she should have dressed in feathers for tonight’s events. Heaven knows she was just as much a chicken as what was likely on the menu for this evening’s meal. The dress she’d purchased specifically for the awards dinner still hung in her closet at home. Rather than face Mac alone at home for the first time since she’d left, she’d chickened out, stopped at her favorite boutique, and bought a new outfit, from earrings down to shoes, then sent him a text saying she’d meet him downtown.

Nerves had her drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. She wished she’d never committed to attend this dinner. She’d been dreading it like a bikini wax since she told him she’d be here. Just thinking about Mac was hard these days. She sensed that seeing
him, speaking with him, would be just short of torture.

The last few weeks in Eternity Springs had been packed full from morning to night. Being so busy had enabled her to think about something, anything, other than the sad state of her marriage, and with each day that passed, her heart grew a little lighter. She knew she wasn’t solving anything by ignoring reality, but she thought she’d needed this breather. Her heart was wounded, and she’d needed a little R&R before joining the battle once again. But when the valet opened the door for her and she exited the car, Ali knew she wasn’t ready to resume hostilities after all. Had someone not called her name at that very moment, she’d have ducked back into her car and sped away.