Jake’s head came up and he looked at his grandfather carefully. “Do you really believe that?” If it was true, then he might be able to finally forgive himself, might be able to shed some of the guilt he’d carried for so long.
“Aye, I do, Son. We—your dad and I—we didn’t ever want this to come out because of all the publicity going on at the time. We feared it would put the boy in further jeopardy, but the morning after Jesse disappeared, we found a ransom note.” Not even Tommy’s accent could cover the age-old pain in his voice.
“A ransom note?” Staggered by his grandfather’s announcement, Jake merely stared at him. “But why didn’t you ever mention it?”
“Son, you were twelve years old at the time, your brothers ten and eight. To tell you more than you could understand at the time would not have been wise. You were miserable with guilt even then, taking on more than you should have because you were the eldest. You always did,” he added affectionately, touching Jake’s hand. “Thought you were responsible for your brothers, your family and everyone else.” Tommy grinned, because he couldn’t fault his grandson’s loyalty to the family; Jake came by it legitimately. “There was no point adding to your burden, or frightening you any more than you were. We feared if we told you we suspected Jesse had been kidnapped, it would only bring more fear into our lives, our hearts, our family.” Tommy shook his head. “We didn’t want that, not for our boys. Can you understand that?”
Jake was struggling to understand and absorb all this, wondering how much more of the facts of Jesse’s disappearance he and his brothers had been spared so they wouldn’t be hurt or frightened further. Wondering if this was the reason Tommy wanted the family history down on paper now.
It boggled Jake’s mind to think that all these years there had been more to the story of Jesse’s disappearance, but he’d never wanted to ask. It was almost a forbidden subject, at least with him. He’d been so consumed by guilt over his brother’s disappearance that it never occurred to him that there might be more that he hadn’t been told.
Cocking his head, Tommy looked at him thoughtfully “Do you remember that shortly after Jesse disappeared, I hired two new ranch hands?”
Jake frowned, thinking back. “Yeah, yeah, I remember,” he said with a nod. “You hired Frank Cushing, and what was the other one’s name?”
“Joe Osborne.” Tommy puffed his cigar again. “They weren’t ranch hands, Jake, they were both retired FBI agents hired as bodyguards to look after you and your brothers.”
Bodyguards? Jake’s eyes widened and he shook his head. How could he have not known? he wondered. But at twelve, he hadn’t been aware of much, he realized—only the knowledge that his little brother was missing and it was his fault. It was all he’d seemed able to focus on at the time. But now, a few more pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. His gaze narrowed as he remembered. “Is that why they drove us to school every day?”
“Aye.” Tommy nodded his white head. “They drove you and picked you up. Went everywhere with you. You boys never realized it, but you were never out of their sight. One of them was with you or watching you at all times. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until we were satisfied you weren’t in any danger.” Tommy’s gaze hardened. “I wasn’t taking any more chances with my family. Aye, I’d been a foolish man, not taking the first threat I received seriously.”
“Threat?” Stunned, Jake sat forward, fists clenched at the thought that someone had threatened the family, his family. “Tommy what are you talking about? What threat?”
Sighing, Tommy leaned back in his chair, suddenly looking very old and very weary. “About a week before Jesse disappeared I received a threat against the family. I’d fired one of the ranch hands a few weeks before. Caught him drunk on the job, I did, and I fired him on the spot. ’Twasn’t the first time, mind you. He’d been warned—several times, in fact—so I had no guilt about letting him go. I didn’t want drunks around you boys, to say nothing of the fact that it was downright dangerous having a man not have all his faculties while working.” Tommy sighed. “Anyway, when I received the call demanding money or else something would happen to one of my boys, I dismissed it, thinking it was the ramblings of an angry drunk.” Sadly, Tommy shook his head. “I didn’t take it seriously. I was a foolish, foolish man, Son, and your brother, the poor little lad, paid the price for my foolishness.” Unashamed of the emotions that filled his aching heart, Tommy blinked back tears. “So if there’s any guilt to be had, Son, it’s mine.”
Tommy sighed heavily, tapping his cigar in the ashtray. “I’ve had twenty years to regret my foolishness and wonder if I could have prevented what happened.” He turned to Jake. “So if you’re wondering if I’m worried about what Rebecca might found out, nay, Son, I’m not. It might, in fact, be a blessing. She’s a top-notch reporter, hard hitting and ethical. I understand she’s got a nose for the truth.” Tommy shrugged. “There’s been enough time and distance now that, perhaps by publishing the facts of Jesse’s disappearance, at least what we know, she might uncover something that may have been overlooked.”
“Tommy, what about the ranch hand, the one you fired? Do you remember his name?”
“Aye, it’s not something I’d ever be forgetting. It was Martin Weaver.” Tommy’s white brows drew together. “Why do you ask?”
“Did the police investigate him?”
Tommy nodded. “Aye, the very night Jesse disappeared the FBI paid him a visit. Seems he’d checked himself into a hospital facility for alcoholism up near Lathrop the day after I fired him. Apparently his wife had threatened to leave him if he didn’t get his life together. He never left that facility, not even for an hour. The patients were monitored twenty-four hours a day, so there was no way he could have done the deed without someone noticing him missing. It’s six hours round-trip from Lathrop to Saddle Falls, so I don’t believe he had anything to do with the lad’s disappearance. The authorities didn’t think so, either.” Tommy sighed again. “The threatening call was made from a pay phone, so there was no way to trace who made the call. The authorities believe it might have just been a crank, an odd and strange coincidence not connected to the kidnapping.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit far-fetched?”
“Perhaps,” Tommy said thoughtfully. “But nevertheless, Martin Weaver was completely cleared.
“But what about the ransom note?” Excitement buzzed through Jake and he leaned forward. “Could he have written the note? Maybe he had a partner.”
Tommy smiled, but the smile was sad, not reaching his eyes. “Aye, Son, we thought of that. But the FBI determined the ransom note had been written by a female, but so many people handled the note they couldn’t get a single, solid fingerprint. It was only one line. Two million for the kid. And there was no connection that we could find to Martin Weaver between the threatening call, the ransom note or Jesse’s disappearance. None at all. The authorities even had his wife submit a writing sample.”
“No match?”
“Nay. Not even close.”
“Wait, Tommy, what about our nanny? What was her name?” Jake asked with a frown, realizing he couldn’t remember.
“Margaret Brost.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s it. Wasn’t she questioned the morning after Jesse disappeared? Could she have had something to do with this? Maybe she wrote the ransom note or had something to do with Jesse’s disappearance.”
“Aye, that occurred to us, Son, which was why she was taken in for questioning.” Tommy paused and took another puff on his cigar. “Police suspected, but couldn’t confirm that she wrote the ransom note. Tests were inconclusive. But she was the only one in the house at the time Jesse disappeared. There was no forced entry, no sign of anything disturbed or missing.” Tommy shrugged. “There was never any evidence to charge her with anything. There was no proof she had anything to do with the boy’s disappearance. It was all just circumstantial evidence, nothing concrete that would allow them to charge her. She jus
t happened to be in the house when the lad was taken.”
“She must have known something, Tommy.” Unconsciously, Jake clenched his fists. “She was alone in the house with my brother, so how the hell could he disappear without her knowing it? That doesn’t make sense.”
“Aye, I know, Son,” Tommy said with a heavy sigh, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his tired eyes. “But we could never get anything out of her, nothing other than she fell asleep on the couch and when she woke up, the lad was gone and the front door open.” Cocking his head, Tommy shrugged. “Falling asleep is not a crime, Son.” His smile was gentle as he laid his head back on the chair and closed his eyes. “Least not yet.”
“Well hell, maybe it should be.” Rubbing his forehead, Jake realized that in spite of the new information he’d learned tonight, he still knew little that would help find Jesse. “Grandpa?”
Tommy’s eyes opened and he sat up, his gaze going over Jake’s sombre face. It was a rare occurrence for one of his grandsons to call him grandpa, especially his eldest. It warmed his heart, making him realize just how much he loved the lads. “Yes, Son?” he said quietly, giving Jake his full attention.
“Do you think…” Jake swallowed hard, then forced the words out, words that had remained unspoken for almost twenty years. “Do you think Jesse’s still alive?”
Tommy was quiet for a long moment, then he smiled broadly. “Aye, I do, son. I do. I’ve always felt the lad was alive.” He nodded. “If he wasn’t, I would have known.” He touched his heart. “In here. I’d have known in here. The boy’s alive, Son, the only question now is where is he?” Tommy snuffed out his cigar. “What happened to him? Maybe Rebecca’s story will help us find him.”
Jake swallowed hard, too afraid to hope, to believe. “Yeah, Tommy. Maybe it will.”
He’d driven around for hours after talking with Tommy, trying to settle his emotions and calm his nerves. It was almost midnight when he finally pulled up to the little carriage house, drawn by a power he could no longer control. And armed with a pizza and some beer.
He wasn’t surprised to find all the lights burning again, nor was he surprised to hear the hard-hitting, heart-throbbing strains of Bruce Springsteen floating through the open windows.
Even though the interior door was open, allowing the cool evening breeze to filter through the screen, he still knocked.
“Please tell me you’ve brought a large cheese pizza and a six pack of cola with you?” Rebecca stood before him, hands on hips, looking at him expectantly. She was dressed in a silk wrap of emerald green that was belted at her narrow waist, outlining her luscious breasts, and floating seductively to her bare feet.
Her hair was piled high atop her head and a few tendrils had escapted to frame her delicate face. Her skin was scrubbed clean and she smelled faintly of vanilla and that incredible, delectable fragrance that he’d forever associate with her. She’d obviously just come from a bath.
He tried not to drool.
If she was surprise by his visit, she gave no indication.
“Would you settle for a cheese-and-sausage pizza and a six-pack of beer instead?” he asked with a grin, drinking in the sight of her. Even from here, her fragrant skin seemed to call to him, enticing him, making his mouth water and his hands itch.
Her eyes brightened. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, lifting the steaming pizza up for her to see.
“My hero,” she said with an appreciative grin, pushing open the door to allow him to enter, and nearly swooning at the heavenly scent of the pizza. “I’m starved.”
“I figured you hadn’t eaten.” He glanced at her as he walked into the living room and set the pizza down on the table. “When was the last time you did eat?” he asked with some worry, noticing the smudges of fatigue under her eyes. She looked even paler to him, more fragile, than before.
“What day is it?” she asked with a frown, not remembering exactly when she had eaten last—or what. She tore off the pizza wrapper and took a deep whiff, nearly swooning again.
He laughed, then headed to the kitchen to get glasses for the beer just as the music clicked off. “Been busy, I see,” he said, glancing at the table. It looked like a war zone. And apparently she was losing the war.
“I’ve been working,” she said, curling up on the couch, tucking her legs under her and watching him. She refused to acknowledge the absolute pleasure she felt at seeing him. Nor would she acknowledge that she’d missed him.
He was, she thought again as she let her gaze slide over him, a seriously gorgeous man. It made her sigh. Tonight, in spite of the lateness of the hour, he looked like he’d just stepped off a magazine cover. His dark jeans were freshly pressed and they hugged his lean hips and long legs. The navy blue pullover sweater, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, brought out the startling blue of his eyes. His black hair was damp and curled a bit at his collar. Obviously he’d just showered.
An image of Jake naked, standing under the water, startled her. She could almost see his broad chest, dotted with whorls of dark hair, and his shoulders, broad and tanned, slick with water that ran down his chest to his narrow waist, before slowly cascading down his long, strong legs, thickly muscled from ranch work.
She had to sigh again. The image was so real, Rebecca felt a rush of warmth engulf her, and quickly blinked the image away with a scowl.
She’d had a hard enough time concentrating the past few days with him constantly hovering in her mind. The last thing she needed was to have the image of him slick, wet and naked tormenting her. She’d never get anything done.
“So how are things going?” he asked, setting down two glasses, paper plates and napkins. He sank down on the couch next to her, then politely shifted a portion of her silk gown to cover her legs. He wouldn’t be able to think, let alone eat, with those long legs visible.
Shifting to cover even more of herself, Rebecca smiled, taking the plate of pizza from him. “Terrific.” She took a healthy bite, her eyes closing as the flavor exploded on her tongue. “Things have been going really well.”
Jake took a bite of his own pizza slice. “I’m glad.” I heard you’ve been busy.” He glanced at her, saw the look of surpise. “Word gets around, Rebecca. Saddle Falls is a small town.”
She nodded, then smiled. “And the Ryans are prominent enough that when a stranger starts asking questions?”
“Exactly.”
“I actually expected you a bit earlier.”
“Earlier?” He frowned, taking a sip of his beer. “Why?”
“Didn’t you get my message?”
“What message?” he asked, turning to her.
“I left a message with Tommy a couple of hours ago, told him to have you stop by.” Cocking her head, she looked at him. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
He shook his head, then helped himself to another piece of pizza. “No, I never got the message. I’ve been…out most of the evening.” He inhaled her scent, and reached for his beer again, fearing he’d reach for her instead.
“Out.” She tried to ignore the stab of jealousy, wondering if he’d been out with another woman. “I see. Well, if you were gone for the evening, I guess that explains why you didn’t get my message.” It wasn’t any of her business where he was or who he was with, she reminded herself, annoyed because she felt jealous all the same. She’d told him that their relationship could only be professional, nothing more. And apparently he’d taken her at her word, since she hadn’t seen him in the past three days. Not that she’d made any effort to. Still, she’d thought he might stop by just to see how things were going.
“So why are you here, then?” she asked suddenly, finishing off her first slice of pizza and reaching for another.
“Sustenance,” he said simply, nodding toward the food. “I figured you’d probably forgotten to eaten.”
She laughed. “I had.” She shrugged and the top of her robe gaped slightly, revealing a creamy expanse of skin that curved gently downwa
rd toward her breasts.
Jake almost swallowed his tongue.
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re here,” she said with a genuine smile that lit her eyes.
Pleased beyond measure, Jake turned to her. “You are?”
She grinned, reaching for her beer. She tried not to make a face as she took a sip. She’d probably never get use to the taste of beer. “Yeah, I don’t have a scrap of food in this place. And I’d run out of cola hours ago.”
“Definitely a good time for the cavalry.”
“Jake.”
The tone of her voice had his hand freezing in midair. He turned to her, saw the seriousness on her face, in her eyes, and felt a bubble of panic stir. Slowly, he set his beer down on the table.
“What?” His gaze searched hers. “What is it, Rebecca?” He reached for her hand, held it, grateful for her warmth, her touch.
“I’m almost finished.” She blew out a deep breath, refusing to acknowledge the increased tempo of her pulse. “I only have one more interview to conduct.” Nervously, she held his gaze, her pizza forgotten, her heart pounding. “Jake, I need to interview you.” She took a deep breath and then plunged ahead. “I need you to tell me exactly what happened the night Jesse disappeared.”
Chapter Eight
“I remember every detail of that night like it just happened yesterday,” Jake said quietly, staring down at his hands, which were clenched together so tightly his knuckles were white. “It was August, hotter than blazes. School was going to start the following week. My best friend, Luke, lived next door. He wanted to have one last summer blast sleepover. We’d built a fort in his yard that summer. It was the coolest fort in town. Actually, it was the only fort in town.”
With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1) Page 14