The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5)

by Ava Miles

  The McGuinesses comforted one another with looks, arm pats, and squeezes as they made their way into the house. Once they were all settled in the den, Charlie stood off to the side as Vander took the center of the room.

  “I’ll tell you the news you all want to know first,” Vander said, unbuttoning his jacket and shoving his hand in his pocket. “Your father was in Haines when I arrived. When I spoke to him, he said he couldn’t meet with any of you. He asked that you not try to contact him again, and then disappeared from town shortly thereafter, leaving everything behind.”

  Shelby felt like a car had crashed into her middle. Distantly, she heard Sadie make a whimpering sound, and noticed Susannah turning to Jake, and J.P. pinching the bridge of his nose.

  “I arrived in town under cover as Shelby’s fiancé. Charlie thought that storyline would be more effective than if I went in as a mere boyfriend.”

  He said that word while looking into Shelby’s eyes, and a ripple of heat shot through her. She found herself on the edge of her seat waiting for him to continue.

  “The administrative assistant to the local police department was moved by the story about wanting to reconnect Shelby with her daddy as a wedding present. She and the deputy recognized your father immediately from Lenore’s picture. He was going by the name of Wallie Blevins. May, the assistant, proceeded to take me over to the town diner to meet the waitress Wallie was seeing. Her name was Pauline. She was the one who gave me your daddy’s phone number.”

  Shelby’s chest grew tight as he described waiting at Daddy’s apartment, only to learn from Pauline that he’d left town. Sadie leaned her head against her shoulder, and she put her arm around her sister. J.P. grabbed her hand as she was sitting in between them.

  Vander described his actions after he’d learned the news. He’d worked with the Haines police to speak with other law enforcement in nearby towns, asking them to be on the lookout for Preston, explaining that the man’s family simply wanted to be in touch with him. They’d agreed to help, something small town police forces were more liable to do, Vander said. They’d canvassed a few local truck stops and rest stops, but there’d been no hits. On the third day, Vander and Charlie had conferred and decided to call off the search.

  “One of the hardest things about my profession is tracking down someone who doesn’t want to be found,” Vander said, gazing thoughtfully at all of them. “There isn’t a warrant out for him. Local law enforcement doesn’t have the interest or the manpower to find someone who simply takes off.”

  No, why would they? Shelby thought, the shock of everything making her head spin. There were enough people who were truly missing and in need of help.

  “I don’t know why your father leads this kind of life or why he’s unwilling to speak with you,” Vander said, shaking his head.

  Shelby couldn’t fathom any of it. It was like their daddy had slammed the door in their faces. But why?

  “Since Preston likely hitchhiked out of town, there isn’t much more we can do. I could have Charlie stake out where he was living or follow Pauline around in the hopes he returns, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll return now that everyone in town knows he’s not who he claimed to be. Besides, everyone in Haines knows we’re looking for him. If he does return, I expect May will call me.”

  “But he was seeing that woman,” Sadie said, tears running down her face. “How could he simply leave without another word to her?”

  Shelby bitterly thought it was no different than what their daddy had done to their mama.

  “Seems he hasn’t changed after all these years,” J.P. said, sighing heavily. “I suppose it’s best we know his nature so we don’t cling to any false hope.”

  “I never had false hope,” Susannah said, sitting up straighter next to Jake. “We already knew his true colors when he left us. I say we put this behind us and never tell Mama.”

  A hot rush of anger rose up inside Shelby, and she had to bite her tongue to hold back a harsh comeback. She wasn’t mad at Susannah. She was mad at Daddy.

  “Vander and Charlie don’t need to hear us discuss what we want to do about Mama,” J.P. said, sounding ever like their older brother. “I agree there is nothing more we can do here. We did our part to try and find him.”

  “And he ran away from us again,” Sadie said, crying softly. “How could he be so cruel?”

  Shelby didn’t think it was just cruel. It was downright cowardly.

  “A kind man doesn’t leave his family in the first place,” Susannah said in a hard tone. “I don’t care what Me-Mother said. She doesn’t see the real him.”

  “All right now,” Jake said, bringing her back against his chest and rocking her.

  “We never should have looked for him in the first place,” Susannah said, grabbing a handful of his shirt.

  “That’s water under the bridge, Susannah,” J.P. said. “We’re all hurting here. No need to make it worse by throwing around blame. Vander, I want to thank you and Charlie for everything you did.”

  “Yes,” Sadie said, rising from the couch and crossing to hug Vander. “Thank you.”

  “I wish I had better news,” Vander said, awkwardly patting her on the back. “I’m sorry.”

  Again, he looked in Shelby’s direction. She could feel his regret. It surprised her that in her own distress she wanted to comfort him and tell him he’d gone above and beyond.

  Her sister sniffled. “It’s not your fault. You found him. I’m…going to head home. I want to lie down.”

  Shelby understood the feeling. A part of her wanted to shut herself in her bedroom, close the drapes, and become a recluse. She couldn’t stop thinking about what her daddy had said to Vander, the phrase he’d memorized to share with them.

  You tell my girl I’m sorry, but I can’t meet with her. With any of them.

  How could he run off like that, knowing how desperate she was to find him?

  “I’m going to leave too,” Shelby choked out. “J.P., you should get back to your family.”

  He chucked her under the chin and smiled. “Tammy’s with the kids. I can stay if y’all want to hang around.”

  “Well, I’m going upstairs,” Susannah told them, hands fisted by her side. “The faster we put this behind us the better. This family has a lot to be grateful for, and I, for one, want to focus on our blessings. We can discuss what to do with Mama later.”

  “It’s pretty simple if you ask me,” Shelby said. “We don’t say anything to Mama since there’s nothing to say.” The faster they closed this unfortunate chapter, the better.

  “Good, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” Susannah said.

  “What about Me-Mother?” Sadie asked. “Shouldn’t we tell Mama we met her? We still haven’t talked about doing anything more for her.”

  “I can’t think about that right now,” Susannah said, putting a hand over her temple like she had a headache coming on.

  “I say we take a couple of days to let this all settle,” J.P. said, rising from the couch. “We can circle back when everyone isn’t so raw.”

  “Fine,” Susannah said with a terse nod. “Vander. Charlie. Thank you for your help.”

  Jake stood. “Let me walk y’all out.”

  “I’ll do it,” Shelby said.

  Vander looked over at her. Their eyes held contact for a long moment.

  J.P. shook their hands and then went over to Sadie and wrapped his arm around her. She immediately started to cry. The pressure in Shelby’s chest was building with each second. She knew she was going to have a long cry herself, berating worthless daddys and wishes gone unanswered.

  Vander was a few steps behind Shelby and Charlie as they walked to the door. “I’m sorry, Shelby,” Charlie said. “People suck sometimes.”

  If she hadn’t been close to tears, she might have laughed. “Thanks for your help.”

  “I didn’t do much. Vander was out there acting like Boy Wonder,” Charlie said. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you, Shelby. Vander, I’l
l be in the car. Take your time.”

  With that, she strode off, and Shelby turned to see Vander closing the front door behind him. She was acutely aware they were alone together for the first time since she’d left his apartment the other night.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t in touch while I was gone,” Vander said. “I didn’t want to tell you anything over the phone, not until I was sure there was nothing more I could do.”

  “You did everything you could.” She swallowed thickly. “Did he even sound sorry? I know he said he was, but you can usually hear it in a person’s voice…” She broke off, unable to continue, and hung her head. How could a daughter live with the knowledge her daddy disliked his children so much, he’d run away from them twice?

  “He was sorry, Shelby,” Vander said, cupping her upper arm. “I don’t know what set him running, but intuition tells me he’s trying to escape himself. It doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

  She pressed her lips together to keep from crying. “It sure doesn’t feel that way right now.”

  “I know it doesn’t. I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but I can’t.”

  No, he was still hurting inside over his daddy’s murder. “Time doesn’t heal all things, does it?”

  Vander shrugged. “Maybe not. I should let you get back inside to your family. I don’t expect you’ll want to go out this weekend, but you know where I am when you feel up to it. I’d still like to.”

  She appreciated his consideration. “Thank you. I’d…like to go out this weekend. There’s nothing I can do to change any of this, and I always feel better when I focus on the good things in life.”

  He gave a soft smile. “I like knowing you consider me one of them.” Leaning down, he kissed her cheek. “I’ll call you, and we can set something up.”

  She put her hand on his arm. “Just so you know going forward, I don’t take kindly to not having my texts or phone calls returned properly.”

  His lips twitched. “I’ll keep that in mind. Bye, Shelby.”

  “Bye, Vander.” With one last thoughtful look at her, he slid his sunglasses back into place and strode toward his car.

  When she went inside, J.P. was still soothing Sadie, who had thrown a whole wad of tissues on the floor. When Sadie saw Shelby, she pulled away from J.P. and ran to her.

  “Oh, it’s so awful,” Sadie said, wrapping her arms around her. “I wish we’d never looked for him.”

  Shelby put her chin on her sister’s shoulder, tears starting to burn down her face. “Me either.”

  They held each other as they cried out all the hurt.

  Chapter 20

  Vander took extra care to plan something enjoyable for his date with Shelby, wanting to cheer her up. Even though he knew her address from her file, he texted her for it. When he showed up in front of her quaint townhouse, he couldn’t help but smile. The door was buttressed by bright containers filled with Gerbera daisies and trumpet-shaped flowers ready to be a hummingbird’s happy hour. It suited her perfectly.

  Tucking the sunflowers he’d bought her under his arm, he walked to her door and knocked. And waited and waited while the sun beat down on his neck.

  When she finally opened it, she pretty much took his breath away in her red halter cotton dress that flirted with her knees.

  “Did you wait so long to open the door on purpose?” he asked, deciding to kick off their banter right away.

  “I did,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “And if I said I do?” he asked, handing her the sunflowers.

  She gave him a playful wink and shrugged. “Thank you for the flowers. I have to admit to being a little surprised. I didn’t think you’d bring me flowers on our first date.”

  So she was already thinking they’d have more than one. Good, he did too. “I thought they might lift your spirits. How have you been holding up?”

  From the way her shoulders slumped, he had his answer. “We’re not going to talk about that tonight. We’re going to go out for a delicious dinner and have some fun.”

  He gave her a look. “Shelby, I don’t want you to pretend nothing happened. How are we supposed to get to know each other if we’re not honest right off?”

  She worried her bubble-gum-pink lips. “I don’t want to be a downer. Besides, I thought we weren’t acting like I’ve been your client.”

  “I don’t see any reason to ignore the elephant in the room,” he said, reaching out a hand to touch her bare arm.

  “And I don’t see any reason to put a magnifying glass in front of it,” she said, playing with the sunflowers’ petals.

  “Are you going to argue with me all night?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to.” She put her hand on his chest. “But talking about this week will make me get all emotional. You don’t want that.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” he said, cupping her shoulders in his hands. “I don’t want you to hide how you feel from me. Especially since I have my own feelings about how things went down with your father.”

  She pressed the flowers to her chest, crinkling the plastic wrapping. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “I was pretty upset too,” he admitted. “I…Shelby, I wanted to find him for you. For all of you. I haven’t been this upset about failing to meet a client’s request in some time.”

  Rising on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. The flowers were getting squished between them, but he didn’t care. He slid his hand around her waist.

  “This isn’t going to be a normal first date, is it?” she asked, her perfume intoxicating him.

  “No,” he said, nudging her back a few steps until they were inside her townhouse. “Especially since I already want to kiss you senseless.”

  He closed the door, set the flowers on the entry table, and brought her back against his body. Cradling her face in his hands, he stared into her brown eyes.

  “I’m a little scared,” she whispered. “Even though I’m happy we don’t have to wait anymore.”

  His heart was beating hard in his chest. He couldn’t remember reacting this way with anyone. Particularly this soon. “I’m a little scared too,” he said, right before he kissed her.

  Those luscious pink lips stole all his senses. Her hands came up around him, and she settled closer to his body, her body fitting perfectly against his. Changing the angle of their kiss, he kept it light until she moved forward and demanded more. He should have known. She’d been the one to make the first move, after all.

  Her tongue teased him and then proceeded to invite him to dance. Suddenly he had to caress her curves, which had driven him wild since she’d first entered his office. He ran his hand down her waist and cupped her bottom. She started against him and then let out an earthy moan.

  She edged back, her breath warm on his lips. “I’m still not sleeping with you tonight.”

  He chuckled. “Who asked you?” he said, using the response she’d given him back in the hotel.

  Their mouths found each other again, and she seemed to grow lusher, hotter with every kiss, every caress. He needed to touch more skin, so he trailed kisses down her neck and across her bare shoulders. His fingers itched to untie her halter, but he expected she’d slap him for it just because she could.

  “Have I told you how beautiful you are?” he asked as he gave particular attention to the place where her shoulder met her arm.

  “I can’t…remember,” she answered breathlessly, fitting her hand inside his suit jacket and caressing his chest through his white shirt. “We should probably stop this.”

  “Probably,” he said, with no intention of doing so. “I’ve been thinking about this.”

  “Me too,” she confessed. “Even when I was upset about family stuff. The thought of being with you tonight helped me get through my day.”

  “I’m glad,” he said, taking her mouth again.

  This time the kiss swelled between them, going from hot to scorching. He cupped her hips in his hands and brought her
closer to his erection. She put her hands on his shoulders.

  “Okay, now we really need to slow down,” she said, edging back. “I was serious about what I said, Vander. I…I might not have waited for marriage, but the next time I make love with someone I want to be in love with him—and him with me. That’s…not easy to say to you right now.”

  He stroked her cheek to ease her obvious embarrassment. Sure, he wished she was a little more open about having sex with him, but he rather liked that she wouldn’t do it with just anyone. He’d gone out with plenty of women in Nashville, and many of them had proved all too eager to hop from his bed to someone else’s. He wasn’t a prude. Never had been. But as he’d grown older, he’d gotten more discriminating.

  “I’m glad you’re being honest with me,” he said softly. “I told you I want that. More than anything.”

  She took a deep breath and smoothed her dress. Not that he’d gotten much of anything out of place. But she was flushed and looked well-kissed. He liked that.

  “Is honesty all the more important to you because of your profession?” she asked.

  He nodded, happy she’d intuited that. Some of the women he’d dated had wrongly thought he liked subterfuge and mystery in his personal life. He’d had a belly full of that with his father’s murder, notwithstanding his line of work.

  “I don’t ask for much. But honesty and mutual respect is important to me.”

  “Me too,” she said, standing a few feet from him with her hands at her sides. “I suppose we should go.”

  “I suppose so,” he said, reaching out to push her silken brown hair behind her ear. “Although I don’t want to. I could stay here and kiss you all night.”

  Her brow arched. “As tempting as that is, let’s go to dinner. I find myself hungry.”

  “Not much of an appetite this week, huh?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Where are you taking me? You didn’t say.”

  “It’s a surprise. Grab your purse.”

  “Let me put the flowers in some water first,” she said, giving him the opportunity to study the sliver of her place he could see from his position in the entryway. A cherry-wood staircase led upstairs. The walls were decorated with either landscape or floral designs in bold metallic frames. There was a horse sculpture on the entry table and an Art Deco mirror above it.