He almost turned around, but the director, an enthusiastic woman with a beaming smile, took his arm and led him into the facility, which had been converted from a home built in the same era as Ren’s. The high, cove ceilings and big windows gave the rooms a light and airy feeling. Squeals of laughter and children’s voices made Ren smile. Before he left, Ren had acquired a new best friend—a toddler named Michael who melted Ren’s heart with his slightly crossed eyes and thick glasses.
He gave the boy a hug before leaving. On the outer stoop, Ren asked the director about the child. “He’s from a single-parent home. His mother works in the Building. He’s very bright and loving but craves male attention. He latches on to every adult male who comes to visit. You should have seen him with the firefighters who gave us our annual fire-safety talk. You’d have thought they were gods.”
Ren found he didn’t have time to visit the second address on his list, but he liked Bright Stars. If Sara liked the place—and the idea of putting Brady into daycare—he planned to offer to pay for Brady to attend the morning program a couple of days a week.
A quick stop at the hardware store nearly made him late for court.
“Sir, do you mind me asking? Does this day-care thing have anything to do with Mr. Lester’s inquiry?” Rafael asked, as they hurried toward Ren’s courtroom.
“What inquiry?”
“He called right after you left and said to ask you if he could officially close your missing persons case? He said he’s tying up loose ends because he has a new case starting and may be out of town for the next few weeks.”
“Damn,” Ren muttered. Not only would Ren miss his friend on a personal level, he’d come to rely on Bo as a sort of mediator. Ren knew Sara liked and trusted Bo and valued his opinion. And Claudie seemed less hostile to Ren when Bo was around. Although he and Claudie bickered like siblings, Ren knew Bo liked the young woman and was hoping she’d make the transition to a better life.
“Please call him back and ask him to come by after work. I need to talk to him.” Ren saw Rafael make a note on his pad. He decided the young man deserved to know some of what was going on. “In answer to your question, yes, this all pertains to the search I hired Bo to conduct. He found that the woman in question was killed in an accident last summer, leaving behind a young child. Sara is the boy’s legal guardian. They’re living at my house until she can find suitable housing closer to town.”
If Rafael was shocked, he didn’t show it. “My sister and her husband just moved into one of those new town houses on the other side of the river. I could get her some information if you want.”
Ren didn’t, but he nodded. “Thank you. That would be nice. Don’t forget about Bo. I need to see him today.”
BO DIDN’T WANT to talk to Ren. He’d vacillated all night about the wisdom of Sara’s move. When she’d showed up on Ren’s doorstep, Bo had worried his friend might stroke out, but with that inborn Bishop poise, Ren had handled the whole transition with grace. He’d sent Bo and Sara back to Sara’s for another load of belongings, while he and Claudie and Brady disassembled the double bed in what would serve as Brady’s room.
Sara had been in a somber mood during the drive, but Bo did his best to buoy her spirits by congratulating her on her amazing coup. “You are my new hero,” he’d told her. “For some reason Babe Bishop has my number. You saw how she acted at the bookstore. I can’t explain it, but she gives me that haughty look of hers and my blood turns to water. When we were in college, Ren would drag me home for the holidays because my family lived on the East Coast. I’d try real hard to be on my best behavior, but Babe seemed to consider me a bad influence on her son.”
“How about Ren’s father?”
“Larry? He was a peach. Everybody adored him. So easygoing and likable. Once in a while he and I would slip away to go boating on the river. I think that’s when I decided I’d one day live on a houseboat. Larry loved the water and he made me appreciate its serenity.” Picturing that particular time in his life—when most days were spent recuperating from a hangover—Bo couldn’t help marveling at Larry’s insight and kindness.
“Ren is a lot like his dad. Thank God. I’d have killed him years ago if he was like Babe. She’s sort of a female version of my dad, which explains why I haven’t been home in ten years. Those kind of people need a little comeuppance now and then. So my hat’s off to you, Sara.”
Sara had groaned and sunk lower in the passenger seat of her station wagon, which Bo was driving. “You don’t understand, Bo. I think I overreacted. Julia used to tell me, ‘Act, don’t react. You’ll live to regret it.’ I have a feeling I’m definitely going to regret this move.”
“I disagree, Sara. I think this is a good first step—a transition. Ren can provide a sort of way station for you and Brady until you get your bearings.”
“That makes it sound as though I’m using Ren,” she’d said, and Bo had sensed her true feelings toward Ren. She, of course, didn’t know Ren had admitted to Bo his love for her. If Sara felt the same for Ren, things might either work out great or blow up something fierce. That was why Bo distrusted love. He’d had a few romantic attachments over the years, but had always managed to keep them friendly. The one time the word love had entered the picture, things had immediately gone sour. No, Bo Lester didn’t have much faith in love.
Now, stifling a sigh, he knocked on Ren’s door.
“Come in, Bo.”
Bo shuffled in. He walked to the window, not meeting Ren’s eyes.
“Rafael told me you might be out of town for a few weeks. Is that true?”
Bo shrugged. “A guy from Security West called me this morning. They’re hardwiring some new condos in Placerville. They need a supervisor.”
“I thought you’d given up that side of the business.”
“The money’s good.”
“I’ll match it if you stay.”
Surprised by the offer, Bo turned. He rested his shoulder against the window and studied his friend. “Why? I’ve done everything you asked. I found Julia. I hooked you up with Sara. The rest is up to your DNA guys. What do you need me for?”
Ren made a few squiggles on a piece of paper. “I’m so far over my head here, I don’t know which end is up.” He looked at Bo. “I really care for Sara, and I know she feels a certain attraction toward me, but this is all moving too fast.” He held up his hand when Bo started to point out the speed of the situation could be attributed to Ren. “I know, I’m to blame for that fact. But the bottom line is, I’m afraid I’ll blow it.”
“And you think I can help?”
“Yes. Sara likes you and trusts your advice.”
Bo’s hackles started to rise. “What are you suggesting I do? Manipulate her?”
“Of course not. I’d just like you to be around to help make sure things go smoothly. Sara has Claudie for the same reason.”
Bo snickered softly. “I thought Claudie was a chaperone. Do you need two chaperones, Mr. Stud Muffin?”
Ren shot him a dark look. “I’m talking moral support.”
To his surprise, Bo found himself sympathetic to Ren’s cause. He pushed off from the window and walked to the door. “I’ll stick around for a couple of weeks, but no more baby-sitting. Not alone, anyway. Brady’s too damn fast for an old man like me.” He paused, his hand on the doorknob. “If you tell anyone I said that, however, I will amputate your left nut.” With that, he left.
At his car, Bo paused. He’d never admit it, but in a way he envied Ren. Brady was a great kid, and Bo had lied when he’d said he wouldn’t baby-sit. He didn’t blame Ren for wanting to make sure things went smoothly—a lot was riding on what happened in the next few weeks.
SARA WAS STARTING TO THINK about locking up the store, when Ren walked in the front door. The sight of him made her heart shift gears.
“Hi. What are you doing here?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound as giddy as she felt.
“I know I should have called first,” he said, bending
low to pick up Brady, who’d hurled himself at Ren’s kneecaps. “But I was hoping I might persuade you and Brady to have dinner with me. I thought I heard Claudie tell Bo last night that she was planning to study at the library tonight, and this way you could ride home with me and she could have your car.”
“That’s incredibly thoughtful.”
He lifted Brady up and nuzzled his belly, making the toddler shriek. “Not altogether altruistic, though. I have no idea what’s available in the refrigerator, and I don’t want to go to the grocery store.” He set Brady down and gave her a serious look. “Plus, I want to talk to you about a few things.”
Sara gulped. If she’d somehow convinced herself today that she and Ren would be able to cruise along like two vessels occupying the same waters without bumping into each other, she knew now she’d deluded herself. Ren seemed to have every intention of staying connected to her and Brady. What that meant exactly, she didn’t know.
“Okay. I’ll go tell Claudie—she’s in the reading area. Here are my car keys,” she said, taking the key ring from her desk drawer. “Would you mind transferring the car seat?”
A grin popped up on Ren’s face. “Don’t have to. I bought a new car seat today and had it installed. I figured it was a heck of a lot easier than switching yours back and forth.”
Sara swallowed. Either he was very confident of the results of the DNA test or…Sara wasn’t sure what other explanation might exist.
She waited until they were seated in the noisy, family-friendly atmosphere of a local Italian restaurant to ask. “The car seat is very nice, Ren. Top of the line. Wasn’t it a bit extravagant for a couple of weeks? What if the test comes back negative?”
He rolled his shoulders. “It cost a hundred and forty-five dollars. That may seem wasteful for a month’s use, but I value my time, and the time it takes to transfer yours back and forth seemed like a bigger waste to me.”
He pulled two bread sticks from a tall glass container in the center of the table and handed one to Brady, who waved it like a wand. “As long as we’re on the subject, I’d like to suggest another way to spend some of my money.” His words were light, but something about his tone struck her as serious.
“How?”
“I’d like to pay for Brady to spend two or three mornings a week in a preschool. I looked at one today.” He produced a slim promotional flyer from his jacket pocket. “I have the names of three others from my clerk’s wife.”
Sara studied the glossy paper. She was amazed that this would even cross Ren’s mind. It was as if he’d read her thoughts. She’d wanted to place Brady in some kind of day-care situation so he could be around other kids his age, but she hadn’t been able to afford it.
She looked up and found him watching her. “This is very generous of you.”
His face lit up. “Are you okay with it? You’re not upset that I didn’t consult you first? It was sort of spontaneous. I thought about it on the way to work. Brady looked kind of lonely out back without any playmates, and I figured it might be hard for you to arrange day care when you’re alone at the shop all day.”
She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I’m fine with it. If you like this place, we could take Brady there and see what he thinks.”
“Terrific. Maybe during lunch tomorrow.” He turned to Brady in his high chair and ruffled his curly locks. “What do you think, big guy? Want to go to school?”
This time Sara missed Brady’s reply—her heart was pounding too loudly. But Ren nodded and laughed as if understanding every word. Sara tried to take a mental picture of the moment, hoping to keep the image in her head forever. This might be the closest she’d come to a traditional family setting, and it was so beautiful it almost broke her heart.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SARA KEPT ONE EAR on the sounds coming from Brady’s room as she answered the phone beside her bed. Since Ren had departed for the golf course only twenty minutes earlier, she didn’t expect him to be calling—everyone knew his aversion to cellular phones. Hesitantly, she put the receiver to her ear, hoping the caller wasn’t Ren’s mother.
“Hello,” Sara answered tentatively.
“Sara? This is Janice Andrews. Am I calling too early?”
Janice was the real estate agent handling her house. “It’s never too early in the home of a toddler,” Sara assured her. “Have you heard anything?” Janice had shown the house to a couple from Texas on Thursday.
“Yes. Are you sitting down? They called last night with an offer—a good, solid offer, Sara. Cash.”
Sara couldn’t believe it. The house had been on the market for three weeks, and while a dozen prospective buyers had toured it, all expressed concern over the amount of landscaping left to complete. “Really? They’ll take it as is?”
“Yes. It turns out the wife is into exotic animals, and she plans to make a habitat for her pets. I didn’t dare ask what kind. Let the neighbors deal with that.”
Sara grinned, picturing the look on Mary Gaines’s face if an emu or llama showed up next door. “That’s amazing, Janice. I’m thrilled. When do they want it?”
“The sooner the better. I’ve got their deposit money in hand. Do you want me to run over with the paperwork? I could be there in an hour—I have to return a few calls first. Trust me, Sara, it’s everything you hoped for.”
Although Sara would have liked to have Ren present, she agreed to meet the woman at ten-thirty. She hung up the phone and sat down on her bed.
“If that was supposed to be good news, I sure don’t want to see how you take bad,” Claudie said, entering Sara’s room through the bathroom that connected to Brady’s room. She balanced a stack of folded clothes on one arm. This was Claudie’s week for laundry.
When she and Sara had first moved into Ren’s house, they’d agreed to divide up certain chores. Revelda did the general sweeping, dusting and vacuuming downstairs, and she cleaned Ren’s room. Sara and Claudie looked after their rooms and Brady’s. Laundry was a shared task—one that Ren had asked to be included in, as well.
Claudie set a neatly folded column of clothing on Sara’s dresser. A pair of white Jockey shorts fell off the pile and dropped to the floor. Picking them up, Claudie grinned. “Nothing like dirty clothes to put everybody on the same level. He may be the judge, but I fold his shorts.”
“Laundry—the great equalizer,” Sara said, smiling.
To Sara’s amazement, Claudie and Ren had developed a playful kind of repartee that Sara envied. With Sara, Ren was always thoughtful and considerate, but somewhat circumspect. With Claudie, he allowed himself to cut loose a little.
“That was Janice. She sold the house.”
“You’re kidding! That’s fantastic.”
Selling Hulger’s house had proved to be a valuable learning experience for Sara. Ren had accompanied her to the appointment with the estate lawyer. Sara had expected the meeting to be confrontational. To her surprise the man had been understanding, even supportive, when she informed him of her desire to sell the property.
“Wise move,” he’d said. “I thought the house was a bit unwieldy for a woman alone.”
“I don’t think it would have been much easier for a man,” Sara had returned.
“Of course not. I didn’t mean it that way. I only meant—”
Ren had cut him off by laying a business card on his desk. “My lawyer’s number. He’s going to help Sara with some other legal matters, and I’d appreciate it if you’d send copies of the trust history to him.”
“Are you suggesting some impropriety?”
“Not at all. I’m just curious why Sara has had to fight for every nickel she needed to care for Brady. I agree that it’s important to save for the future, but not at the expense of the present.”
Sara had never seen Ren pull rank before. Later, when she described the episode to Bo, he’d told her, “You think that was something, you should see him take on bad cops. Ren doesn’t tolerate ineptitude.”
“How long �
��til escrow closes?” Claudie asked, bringing Sara back to the present.
“I don’t know, but Janice said it was a cash deal.”
“Cash? What is he? A drug czar? Maybe he’s in a witness relocation program.”
Sara shrugged. “All I know is they’re from Texas and they have four kids. The youngest is an infant, and the wife fell in love with Brady’s room.”
At the sound of his name, Brady dashed into the room, his arms stuffed with toys. He dropped the load in a patch of sunlight on the floor, and began to play.
“I guess this means we should start house-hunting, huh?” Claudie asked, her tone subdued.
A flutter of trepidation danced in Sara’s chest. “I guess so.” She glanced at the calendar by her bed—it was already July 8. The results of the DNA test could be back any day, and she hadn’t managed to make herself take a single step toward the future. Instead, she allowed the simple pleasures of living—volunteering at Brady’s day care, running the book drive, spending time with Ren—to keep her from planning ahead.
“Maybe Monday,” she said, trying to sound up-beat. Changing the subject, she asked, “Did Ren say what time our reservations were for tonight?” She walked to Brady and knelt beside him, picking up one of the new trucks Ren had given him.
Claudie ground her bare toes in the thick carpet. “Are you sure about this? I told Ren it’s not necessary.”
Sara looked up, smiling. She knew Claudie was both pleased and unnerved by Ren’s reaction to the news she’d passed her equivalency test. He’d immediately called Bo and set up a dinner date. “Don’t be so modest. This is a terrific accomplishment, Claudie. We are definitely going to celebrate.”
“But the Stockton Club is the most exclusive place in town. And I doubt if Brady will like it there.”
Sara tousled her son’s hair. “You may not believe this, but Mrs. Bishop is coming over to stay with Brady.”
“What?” Claudie croaked. “Are you okay with that?”
Sara sighed. “I was a little hesitant at first. But Ren says his mother is looking forward to getting to know Brady. I think she’s beginning to believe he might be her grandson. Now, it’s just me she doesn’t approve of.”
His Daddy's Eyes Page 19