SARA HAD PICKED UP HER phone and had dialed Wayne Davenport as Sean had worked to free Halie. “Hold off on sending the ransom money. We’ve got her.”
Hours later, when the plane touched down in Albany, the screams of elation still echoed in her head. And, although it had taken a bit of convincing, they had Halie with them.
As they walked up the front path to the Davenport house, Sara smiled at Halie. “They’re going to be so happy to see you.”
Sean went to ring the bell but, before he could, the door opened wide and Randi scooped her daughter into her arms. Tears fell from both Davenport women as they hugged.
“Thank you so much for bringing our daughter home. Please come in.” Wayne Davenport gestured them inside. “Tea? Coffee?”
Sean held up a hand, but smiled politely. “We won’t be staying long.”
“Nonsense, you brought our girl home. It’s time to celebrate.” Wayne walked into the room they had been in the first time.
Sara glanced at Sean and shrugged her shoulders, surrendering herself to the invitation.
Randi touched her arm. “I will get us ladies a nice glass of wine.” She snapped her fingers. “Ida.”
The maid came out from the rear of the house and then scurried back in that direction to carry out her employer’s wishes.
“Please, come, sit.”
Reanne Mable was sitting in the room, her legs crossed. She smiled when she saw them. “You really are angels. That is why you were left all that money.” A tear fell and had her brushing it away in a seemingly self-conscious manner.
Sara went over and hugged the reporter, while the Davenports settled on the couch, Halie in between her parents.
Wayne shot up and addressed Sean. “Scotch?”
Sean passed Sara a look and then smiled. “Sure, why not.”
“Excellent.” Wayne poured two glasses from the bar cart at the edge of the room, handed one to Sean and sat back on the couch. “I still can’t believe Palmer was behind all of this.”
“Well, his son anyway.”
“You buy that?” Wayne held up his glass in a gesture of tribute and then took a swig. “If he thought his political career was over before, it’s dead now.”
Sara felt a spark of empathy for the man, having his aspirations contingent upon his son’s actions, but she also knew politicians retained a lot of secret agendas. While Wayne might have convinced himself his competition was dead in the water, she expected Palmer would rise from the ashes.
“Thank you. I know we keep saying it.” Randi ran a hand down the length of her daughter’s hair.
Sara found her thoughts drifting to a subject she wasn’t necessarily comfortable dwelling on—would she ever be a mother? Did she even want to be? And what about Sean? Did he want to be a father?
She pushed the questions aside, burying them beneath a smile when Ida handed her a glass of red.
Hours later, Sean and Sara headed out. He unlocked the Mercedes and held Sara’s door for her. “All’s well that ends well.” He walked around and slid behind the wheel. “We even got back in plenty of time to enjoy Easter dinner with your parents.”
When she didn’t say anything, he turned to face her and asked, “What is it, darling?”
“I noticed how you wince whenever someone calls me ma’am.” When he didn’t respond, she did. “Your silence tells me I wasn’t imagining it.”
“All right, guilty, but you still love me.” He moved in for a kiss, but she pulled back with a smirk.
“It seems to me, I’m not the only one feeling their age. Hmm?”
“I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to.”
“You were beat by a twenty-year-old.”
“Hey, now, that’s not fair. I did get back up.” He stayed his position, angled toward her.
“Yes, yes, you did.” She moved forward.
“I’ve still got it.”
She pulled on his jacket, drawing him closer. “Yes, darling, that you do.” She took in his face, her eyes tracing to his lips before kissing him.
Easter Dinner
THE HOUSE WAS DECORATED NICELY and the table set for a formal occasion such as this one required. The holidays had always been important for Sara’s family. Her mother, Jeannie, and father, Leon, sat at each end of the table, with her and Sean seated across from each other.
Neither of them were her biological parent. In fact, Leon’s skin was dark as night and stood in contrast to Jeannie’s fair skin and blue eyes. They met and fell deeply in love in their late twenties, but, despite their large hearts, weren’t able to have children of their own, so they had sought out adoption agencies.
They’d always told her they got lucky when it came to her. The adoption process had been extensive and painful, paved with discouragement and heartbreak along the way. They wouldn’t go through it again.
Jeannie, who Sara thought of as her mother, was even more than that. She was a friend, a confidant, and her bright smile only revealed a glimmer of her true giving nature. Leon, the only father she would ever have, was the perfect partner for her mother and had always been there for her.
As she watched them eat and drink, her mind drifted to how much her life had changed in a few short months. Not so much giving focus to the newfound wealth in monetary measurement, but how events had altered her outlook.
“So, when are you having that party, dear?” her mother asked as she passed the bowl of potatoes.
“Our reception?”
“Yes. Your father needs to get me out on that dance floor.” She flashed one of her famous smiles across the table.
“We actually just started making the plans for it.”
“Oh. Wonderful.”
Sean looked up from his plate. “We did?”
She smiled.
“She’s keeping secrets already, Leon.”
Sara reached for her wine glass, but didn’t take a sip. “I got started on the list in the last couple of days.”
Her mother smiled. “Impressive.”
“Thank you.” Sara’s eyes went to each of them. The three people she loved most in the world were seated around this table. “I’ve even picked a tentative date. I’m thinking we’ll hold it in our new home.”
“Brilliant idea.” Sean smiled at her.
“Speaking of secrets,” her father started, “your mother’s been driving me crazy.”
“Mom?” Sara faced her mother, who was dabbing the corner of her mouth with a cloth napkin.
“Leon, let’s not go there tonight.”
“Come on.” He took a sip of wine and set his glass back down.
“What is it?” The curiosity echoed through her.
“No, she’s going to hurt me.”
“Mom, I promise I won’t hurt you.” Sara laughed, her heart beating fast, a part of her sensing what her mother was going to ask—a part of her not wanting the question brought to the light of day.
“She wants to know when we’re going to have a grandbaby.” Her father blurted out the words, their implication not a proposal but a likelihood.
Sara was glad she had paused eating or she was certain she would have choked on her food.
Sean did.
He dropped his fork to the table and started coughing with one hand over his mouth, the other on his chest.
“Would you look at what you’ve done.” Her mother shot her father a dirty look and went to get up, but Sara stopped her.
“I’ve got it, Mom.” She went to Sean and asked him to follow her into the kitchen.
He didn’t say anything and, as she gazed into his eyes, words were failing her. But she had to go through with this. The moment she decided to verbalize her thoughts, his eyes glazed over—it was as if he knew what she was going to say.
“I don’t want kids, Sean.”
It felt like minutes had passed in silence, but it was only seconds.
He took her hands in his and smiled. It was a passive one that mostly pressed his lips together in a curved manner. “Wh
atever you want, darling.”
She pulled her hands from his and moistened her lips. “Please, don’t just say that to agree with me.” Emotion whelmed up in her throat, but she swallowed it down as a lump of rigid coal.
He took her hands back into his. “I’m not just saying that. I’m actually—please forgive me for this—but I’m relieved.”
“Relieved?”
He nodded. “I want to spend my lifetime close to you, getting to know you, exploring the world with you, meeting new people, doing different things.”
Her chest expanded with a full breath. “Yes, and kids don’t fit into that picture.”
“I thought you were going to hate me. I thought for sure you wanted them.”
“No.” It started out as a giggle and was born into a full laugh.
He smiled, but the expression didn’t extend beyond that. His eyes were serious. “What about you? Why don’t you want kids?”
She felt her face draw straight. “It’s a deep question, darling.”
“I’m here when you want to tell me.”
She pulled one of her hands from his and caressed his face, tracing from his brow, down his cheek, and came to rest her fingertips on his lips. He kissed them and took her hand again.
“You tell me when you’re ready. Okay?”
“Thank you.” Her spirit lightened somewhat, but there was still a gnawing pain beneath the surface. She would tell him one day, but this wasn’t the time or place. She diverted with another concern of hers. “Does this make us selfish?”
“Us? Selfish? That isn’t even a possibility. Besides, I think it’s more selfish to have kids for the wrong reasons, don’t you?”
“Yes, darling, I do.” She kissed him and basked in the warmth of his love, his understanding, his compassion—in this moment—while anticipating the many years to come.
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ALSO BY CAROLYN ARNOLD
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Eleven, Brandon Fisher FBI Series
Silent Graves, Brandon Fisher FBI Series
Assassination of a Dignitary
Hart’s Choice (A Novella)
Rings of a Tree (Short Story)
Pearls of Deception (Short Story)
FOR SEAN AND SARA, A local television interview turns into a high-profile investigation. The host’s niece has gone missing, but the girl isn’t just anyone, she’s the daughter of Albany’s mayor.
Not knowing whether she’s run away, been kidnapped—or worse—murdered, Sean and Sara set out to get the answers. It will have them using all the resources at their disposal.
Begin Reading
Chapter 1 - Fifteen Minutes Of Fame
Chapter 2 - The Compromise
Chapter 3 - What’s Under The Hood
Chapter 4 - Settled In For The Night
Chapter 5 - Wake-up Call
Chapter 6 - The Past Comes Back
Chapter 7 - Mulling It Over
Chapter 8 - Talking It Out
Chapter 9 - Dreams Come True
Chapter 10 - Dorm Room Trouble
Chapter 11 - Class Is In Session
Chapter 12 - Blast To The Past
Chapter 13 - To The Top
Chapter 14 - Infatuation
Chapter 15 - Weary Travelers And Baited Wishes
Chapter 16 - Taken To The Cleaners
Chapter 17 - Bringing In The Reinforcements
Chapter 18 - Touchdown
Chapter 19 - Thinking It Through
Chapter 20 - Looking For Clues
Chapter 21 - Hitting The Nail On The Head
Chapter 22 - Indy Drivers Have Nothing On Us
Chapter 23 - Deep Thoughts
Chapter 24 - Easter Dinner
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 Carolyn Arnold
All rights reserved. Except as permitted by U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database, or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
All rights reserved.
Cover designed by
WGA Designs
Edited by
The Finicky Editor, Lisa Dawn Martinez
Visit the author website at www.carolynarnold.net
Carolyn Arnold - McKinley 04 - Politics is Murder Page 9