Nightingale Way: An Eternity Springs Novel (17 page)

“The Bade Foundation.”

“Bade?”

“Ben, Andrea, Daniel, and Elise.”

“Ah.” She abruptly flipped a page on her notebook
and licked the end of her pencil. “So how long has this foundation been in existence?”

“Since I was old enough to access the Davenport trust fund.” When she frowned at him, he defended, “You told me you didn’t care what I did with the money.”

“I didn’t. We had all we needed. But admit it, you weren’t exactly a wealth of information about your wealth. You told me you’d ‘come into some family money.’ I didn’t know you were filthy rich until the divorce lawyer told me. But that’s beside the point. I remember something Sarah said about a scholarship her daughter won. But it was from the Davenport Foundation.”

He nodded. “That one’s been around longer. My father set it up.”

Someone called her name, and Jack was glad for the distraction. He lifted his camera and began shooting. Of course, the first thing of interest he found to focus on was a preschool girl and her mother. After that his attention was caught by an elderly couple who walked hand in hand along the sidewalk and next, a pair of teenagers doing the same thing.

When he finally lowered his camera and looked around, he thought Cat must have deserted him. Then he spied her leaning against the trunk of a tall cottonwood tree at the entrance to Davenport Park, her arms folded, watching him with an enigmatic look on her face. Jack wanted to shift the subject of their conversation, so when he approached her, he asked, “So, are you going to enter the hot dog eating contest? Maybe there’s a ladies’ bracket.”

“No, there is no ladies’ bracket, and I do not plan to enter the hot dog eating contest. The very idea of what goes into hot dogs makes me queasy. I’d lose my lunch right there if I tried. I’m here to report the news, not make it.”

“How about the three-legged race?”

“I don’t have a partner.”

“I’ll be your partner.”

“You?” She clasped a hand to her chest in mock shock. “Jack James Bond Davenport in a three-legged race?”

“Why not? I’m not wearing a tux.”

She flashed a quick grin. “Now that is something I’d like to see. If you want to run home and put one on, there’s time before the race starts.”

Seeing the sparkle in her eyes and hearing the laughter in her voice, damned if he wasn’t tempted to do just that. “I’ll think about it.”

Maybe she heard a note of yearning in his voice, because she shot him a sharp look. He met her gaze with a challenging stare, and after a moment, she shook her head. “Have you been drinking the mineral water, Jack?”

He laughed and returned Nic Callahan’s wave. He lifted his camera and took a few shots of the Callahan foursome—five, counting the dog—then asked Cat, “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Face painting, horseshoe tournament, then it’s the hot dog eating contest and barbecue for the rest of us.”

“What time does the baseball game start?”

“Three o’clock. Oh, look, Jack. Cam’s waving at us. Shall we go see what he wants?”

“I’d rather go give him a hard time.”

He did just that. It was easy to see that Cam was both pleased and embarrassed by all the attention. Jack ribbed him a bit, then took the photographs that Sarah had requested. Jack asked how Sarah’s mother was doing. “I had hoped to bring her back to spend today with us since it was Cam’s rescue of Mom that won the town over completely. I woke up early to drive to Gunnison to get her, but before I left the house, Keller Oaks
called. She has a respiratory infection and isn’t feeling up to snuff.”

“I’m sorry, Sarah,” Cat said. “I hope she feels better soon.”

“Thank you. I do, too. They put her on antibiotics and they’ve assured me she’ll be fine. They also cautioned me about bringing her home too often, especially before she’s had a chance to settle in. She’s so easily confused these days.”

“No illnesses are pleasant, but I think Alzheimer’s is especially sad.”

“Amen,” Cat agreed. She turned her head toward Jack. “Research grants.”

“I’m all over it.”

Cat explained, “Did y’all know that Eternity Springs’s token super-rich nabob has charitable foundations that give away his money?”

“Super-rich nabob?” Cam repeated with a grin. Cat had just handed him some ammunition to return fire in the ribbing department.

“Lori won a scholarship from the Davenport Foundation,” Sarah said. “It’s been a lifesaver for us. Out-of-state tuition is prohibitive.”

“I’m glad. I’m not involved with the day-to-day business of the Davenport Foundation, so I rarely hear details like names. I’m happy Lori won the scholarship. If she needs more help—”

“We can manage just fine,” Cam interrupted, pride showing both in his stance and in his stare. “I might not own half of Colorado, but I’ve done all right.”

“He got an offer for Adventures in Paradise Tours,” Sarah said, referring to the tour boat business that Cam had built in Cairnes, Australia. “A great offer.”

“Excellent news,” Jack said. “I’m happy for you.”

Cam gave Jack a suspicious look. “You don’t happen to have anything to do with that offer, do you?”

“Nope, I have not interfered in any way. Though I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it. That’s a great business opportunity. A great investment.”

“I’m a believer in the owner/operator business model for a tour boat company. Need to be a hands-on captain at the wheel. I have a great staff and they’ve done a fine job with me being away so long, but I’m starting to detect some slippage in effort. It’ll be good to get back. I’ll take a couple of days at the end of the honeymoon to whip things into shape before turning it over to the new owner.”

“It won’t be long now,” Cat said, smiling at Sarah. Cam and Sarah were taking an extended South Sea Islands honeymoon cruise.

“I can’t wait.”

“Where is Devin going to stay while you two are away?”

“All our friends offered to put him up, but he’s chosen to live in the Timberlakes’ yurt. He’ll eat his meals with Ali and Mac at their house at Heartache Falls—I don’t want him being completely alone, and Devin is thrilled with that arrangement.”

“Ali is a wonderful cook,” Cat said. “I’ve heard the yurt is fabulous. I bet he’s as anxious for you two to go on your honeymoon as you are.”

“Not a chance,” Cam said glumly, sending his fiancée a martyred look.

From that, Jack gathered that the sex moratorium remained in effect. He was amused. He didn’t feel a bit of sympathy for his cousin. After all, the end of Cam’s dry spell was in sight. Jack’s own dry spell … not so much.

Sarah said, “Jack, Devin has challenged Cam to compete with him in the hot-dog-eating contest. Would you please be on hand to get shots of that event?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The contest was a hit and a hoot. Everyone expected
the teenaged eating machine named Devin Murphy to win the day, but to his disgust and everyone else’s amusement, when the final hot dog was consumed, Celeste Blessing was the last person standing.

Jack couldn’t recall the last time he’d laughed so much. It had been one of the nicest days in memory. He’d been able to live in the moment and put his worry and grief and regrets aside.
Compartmentalizing again, but in a healthier way
, he thought.

The final item on the agenda was to be a statement from Cam to the people of Eternity Springs. What Cam didn’t know—what nobody knew—was that Jack had an official bit of duty to perform himself. He had debated the best way to go about it, and finally decided this would be the most appropriate day, but the manner of the presentation would be private. He intended to take Cam aside after he made his remarks—which wouldn’t last long, knowing Cam.

Mayor Hank Townsend asked the DJ to cut the music, then stepped up to the microphone. “On behalf of the town of Eternity Springs, I want to thank you all for sharing today’s celebration with us. It’s been fun and something I think we all needed as we officially welcome our hometown son back to Eternity Springs, to the place where he belongs.”

The crowd cheered and clapped. Nic Callahan put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Cam stepped up to the microphone. “I’m going to keep this short. On behalf of my son, Devin, and myself, I thank you all for this warm welcome. A lesson I’ve learned during the past few months is that it’s important not to dwell on the past. A glance back now and again doesn’t hurt anything, but a person needs to look forward. Life moves forward no matter what, and we miss a lot of living if we spend our time looking over our shoulder. So again,
thanks for the welcome home. I look forward to life in Eternity Springs.”

The crowd clapped, Cam stepped away from the microphone, and Cam Murphy Day was over. Almost.

“Hey, cousin,” Jack said. “Can I talk to you for just a minute?”

“Sure.” Cam gave Jack a second glance and asked, “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Just have a little family business to conduct.” Jack drew Cam off to the side, stopping near the baseball field bleachers, a spot that offered a very nice view of Murphy Mountain. “It needs a little backstory, first, though.”

“Then I’m going to sit down,” Cam said. “My feet are tired.”

The two men took a seat on the bleachers and Jack said, “This story goes back to the original friendship between your family and mine. When Lucien Davenport died, his eldest son inherited his title and with it, the entailed property. That included the contents of his library and his personal papers. My father descended from one of Lucien’s younger sons. Do you remember the details about how you and I are related?”

“Your grandmother and my grandfather were siblings.”

“Right. My grandmother was Shannon Murphy. She was a war bride and she never met her husband’s family, which is a real shame because that could have changed everything. See, the British Davenports weren’t much interested in any ties to Colorado, and with so much of the family wealth overseen by barristers, no one paid any attention until I got curious and shook the family tree.”

“And I fell out,” Cam said, flashing a grin.

“Swam out, more likely. The women are right about that shark’s smile of yours.”

“It’s one of my best features.”

“It’s important that you know that I never did a thorough study of the ancestral library. It wasn’t until Celeste contacted me looking for information after they discovered the Cellar Bride that I found the letters Daniel Murphy sent Lucien Davenport. Those letters helped establish the identity of the remains as being those of his lost fiancée.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Cam made a rolling motion with his hand. “You weren’t kidding when you said this was a long story. Can you cut to the chase?”

“Patience, grasshopper.” Jack gazed out at Murphy Mountain and continued his tale. “I need you to know that this information isn’t something I have been holding out on you. I ran across these particular papers recently, and I wanted to be certain that I did the right thing with them. Honestly, this is why I wanted to get to know Sarah and Lori last spring—”

“You mean when you dated my fiancée?” Cam asked, baring his teeth in his signature smile.

Jack couldn’t help but grin right back. “The woman’s kiss does pack a punch.”

“Would you please quit saying that?”

“But it’s so entertaining.” He expected he’d be throwing it out to Cam for years.

“Jackass. Get back to the point of your story, would you?”

“Right. Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve been waiting for the right time to do this since last spring. Today is it. In fact, there’s a part of me that thinks maybe the family guardian angel has been guiding events along because the timing couldn’t be more perfect. So that’s the backstory. Now for the action. I have something for you.”

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew an aged yellowed envelope. Words written in ink across the front in
a masculine hand read: “To a righteous heir of Daniel Murphy.”

“What’s this?” Cam asked.

“A sealed envelope. Literally. See the wax seal? That’s Montfort’s seal.”

“Who’s Montfort?”

“Lucien Davenport. The Earl of Montfort.”

“Why isn’t he the Earl of Davenport?”

Jack recognized delaying tactics when he saw them. Obviously, Cam sensed his life was about to change and he wasn’t certain that’s what he wanted. “Just read the letter, Cam.”

“You know what it says?”

“No,” Jack said, exasperated. “Lucien didn’t make a Xerox copy in 1892. It came with instructions to me as Lucien Davenport’s heir, so I know some of it, but apparently, your letter reveals a big secret. You see that the seal hasn’t been broken. I admit I’m very curious.”

“Huh.” Cam broke the seal on the envelope and removed three sheets of paper. He scanned the first page and half of the second, then looked at Jack. “The girls are going to be so jealous. They’ve been trying to solve this mystery for some time.”

“What mystery?”

Wordlessly, Cam handed over the first two sheets. Jack read the neatly written words until Cam distracted him with a muttered epithet. “What’s this b.s.?”

Ah. He’d read to the heart of the letter, obviously.

Cam lifted his gaze from the page and gave Jack a sharp look. “I don’t get this. ‘The Mountain is yours once again.’ What does it mean?”

“It isn’t clear?”

“No. It sounds like the Davenports are giving the Murphys the mountain. Murphy Mountain. That can’t be right.”

“No, it’s not. What I’m doing as the Davenport heir is
ending the lease. The ownership of the mountain never changed.”

Cam gawked at him. “I’m no Eternity Springs history expert, but even I know that Daniel Murphy drank away his fortune and sold Murphy Mountain when he was in dire straits.”

“That’s what everyone believed happened, but it’s not what really happened. According to the information in the instructions letter to me that accompanied the letter to you, my ancestor owed your ancestor his life. Apparently, Daniel Murphy and Harry Cavanaugh pulled Lucien Davenport from a mine cave-in shortly before they made the Silver Miracle strike. So when Daniel needed financial help, Lucien was happy to oblige. He wanted to give Daniel Murphy money outright.”