by Amy Gamet
Lying made Jo physically sick, her stomach heaving as she forced a smile onto her face and pushed ahead. “We’re looking for McKenzie Bannon. I used to work with her. Do you have any idea when she might be back?”
“No, I’m afraid I don’t.”
Sloan laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, honey, you sound like a burglar, for goodness’ sake. My wife sometimes forgets the world is a dangerous place. Am I right?” The woman looked less than convinced.
“We’re friends from Baldwin & Regan,” he continued. “Well, Suzie here is. I only met McKenzie a few times when we went out for dinner in the city. Super nice girl.” He put his hand on Joanne’s back. She bristled at his touch but resisted the urge to shake him off. “I’ve got three kids from my first marriage who were still reeling from losing their momma. Suzie here quit her job to be there for them, and we took off cross country!”
The old woman’s eyes lit. “Doesn’t that sound exciting. Have you been at it long?”
“It’ll be a year and a half a week from next Monday. Best thing we ever did, wasn’t it, sweetheart?” He looked lovingly at Jo, and she grinned while wishing she could punch him in the mouth.
“Oh, absolutely. Yellowstone was my favorite.”
“Yellowstone is everyone’s favorite,” said the woman with a smile. “I always dreamed of going myself.”
“It’s never too late,” said Sloan, his voice dripping with saccharin sweetness. “Especially with the right person by your side.” He lifted Jo’s hand to his mouth and kissed it, the gesture sparking a thrill in Jo’s belly that she instantly hated him for igniting.
“Anyway,” he continued. “If you know how we might catch up with McKenzie, we’d sure appreciate it.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know that she’ll be back, at least not for quite some time. Her father passed away, and she was heading to Poughkeepsie to close up his plumbing supply business. She said she needed to take some time. Death in the family will do that to a person.”
Jo and Sloan shared a look, then thanked her and said their goodbyes. Jo led the way back to the camper, her arms crossed and her steps heavier on the pavement than they needed to be. “You just had to be my husband.”
She climbed into the cab and pulled so hard on her seat belt it locked up. She cursed under her breath.
“You can’t pull it so hard.”
“I know!”
“It didn’t look like you knew.”
“Shut up!” She buckled her seat belt.
“I take it we’re going to Poughkeepsie.”
She blew out air, turning to check on the children. Fiona had fallen asleep, and Lucas and April both wore headphones. “If he’s alive, this is bigger than stealing money from the mob, bigger than threatening me.” She lowered her voice. “There was a body in that casket. We could be talking about murder of someone other than David here. But what do we do? We can’t call the authorities. I feel like this is getting out of control. Dangerous, even.”
“Agreed. And we’re traipsing around with three kids in tow.”
“What do you suggest?”
He tapped his finger on the steering wheel. “Someplace safe for them to stay. One of the HERO Force guys has a cabin in the northern part of the Hudson Valley, not far from Poughkeepsie. It’s closer than my house. They could stay there.”
“But who would watch them?”
He turned to her and smiled, then picked up his cell phone. “I know the perfect babysitter.” He hit speed dial. “She’ll have to cut her trip short, but I’m willing to bet she won’t mind.”
17
They were going in circles in more ways than one.
Sloan drove the now-familiar highway back from Chicago toward New York, Joanne asleep by his side. He could only hope what he’d said to her was true, and they were really making progress.
Moto had checked into the plumbing supply business, and sure enough, its owner had just recently passed away. It was located in a warehouse on the banks of the Hudson River. It would take twelve hours to drive there.
Fiona and Lucas were struggling with so much time in the camper and needed a break, so they planned to spend the night at a hotel, then pick up Sloan’s mother at the Albany airport in the morning before dropping Evelyn and the kids at Wiseman’s cabin in the foothills of the Catskills. There they would be safe, while he and Joanne looked for McKenzie and the missing money.
He put in his AirPods and dialed Mac, filling him in on the timetable. “Do you want any men at the cabin?” Mac asked, since HERO Force New York was just over an hour’s drive from Wiseman’s place.
“Not necessary. No one will know they’re there. Just meet us at the warehouse in Poughkeepsie. Who’s coming?”
“Champion, Chop, me. Gavin and Asher are flying in from Honduras tomorrow if we need backup.”
“Have them come up when they get in. I’ve got a bad feeling about this one.”
“What are you worried about?”
“That it might be a trap.” He hadn’t voiced that concern to Joanne, but with McKenzie being married to Bannon, anything was possible. “I don’t know if we’re going to walk in there and find Regan alive or the mob equivalent of a firing squad.”
“Got it. I’ll have all hands on deck for this one. See if I can bring in Razorback, too.”
“Ask Moto to get the plans for the warehouse. I don’t like going in there blind.”
“Already tried. The building’s too old. Nothing on file.”
Sloan cursed under his breath. “Tell him thanks for trying.”
“Have a safe trip, brother.”
Sloan hung up and sighed. So, they’d be going in blind, after all. He wished he could leave Joanne at Wiseman’s cabin, too, just to keep her out of harm’s way. But as the only one with a relationship with McKenzie, her presence was necessary, no matter how uncomfortable that made him.
Yeah, he had a bad feeling, all right.
He thought of his arm and the recent issues he’d had in combat. If the shit hit the fan at the warehouse, he needed to be at his best, not this eighty-five percent, one-armed soldier bullshit. But that was out of his control, and he knew it. More than that, it scared him. He’d nearly gotten Razorback killed. This time, there was even more on the line.
“I’m hungry,” piped Fiona from the back of the camper.
“Me, too,” called Lucas.
“Me, too. There’s a rest stop a few miles up the way.” He eyed April in the rearview mirror, seeming to watch a movie with Fiona on the iPad. The older girl had been downright withdrawn since the incident at the campground, and he didn’t know how to pull her out of her funk.
That’s because they aren’t your kids, asshole.
This was Joanne’s family, Joanne’s life. Beyond knowing they all liked Lucky Charms, he was just an interloper with no inside information on this clan. But if he was being honest with himself, sometime over the last few days, that was beginning to bother him.
He wanted to be there for Joanne and her kids, wanted to get to know them better. Hell, he even wanted to be closer to April, though that girl’s attitude could burn like the sun. He could see himself here, with them, going forward. Could imagine that all of them might one day become a family.
The Brady Bunch theme song started playing in his head.
I’m an idiot.
She’d asked him not to be nice to her kids, now here he was, thinking they might make a nice family. Just add water and stir. But nothing in life was ever as simple as it looked, least of all a woman and kids.
Maybe he could start small. Ask her out on a date. Given that he’d nearly made love to her against a tree, that seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do. Dinner and a movie. No, Joanne hated going to movies with him because they couldn’t talk. Dinner and bowling. Dinner and sex. Damn it, the tree idea had taken hold.
“I gotta go potty,” called Fiona.
“We’re almost there. Five minutes. Can you hold it?”
“No.”
“Well, you have to.”
“Okay.”
He smiled. Road trips were widely considered to be one of the levels of hell, but rather than aggravating him, it only showed Sloan how much he enjoyed their company. Maybe what he’d said to the old woman in the knitting store had held a kernel of truth. Maybe it wasn’t too late to grab the brass ring and hang on for the ride. Hell, he’s said something similar to Mac just the other day.
There was more between Jo and him than just some leftover chemistry. There was enough of a real relationship left over to build upon. But did she feel the same way? They were almost to the rest stop, and he gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. “We’re going to stop up here and get some food.”
She sat up slowly and stretched, nodding. “How much farther are we going tonight?”
“Maybe another hour. Fiona’s about had it.”
“Me, too.”
He wanted to talk to her, wanted to see what would happen if he said what was in his head. His palms started sweating. “I was doing some thinking about you and me.”
“Oh?”
Just say it. Just push through the bullshit and say it.
“I enjoy your company.” God, that’s lame. “I mean, I like being around you. When we were going back and forth, bickering, I realized how much I missed it.”
“Arguing with me?”
“Yeah. Or like, not arguing. Disagreeing.”
“We were arguing.”
“It doesn’t matter. I liked it. That’s what matters.”
“Okay. So what?”
This is not going well. “So, I guess I was wondering if you liked it, too.” Cringe. The thud-thud-thud of the pavement joints counted out the time it took her to answer. God, he was bad at this.
She sighed. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know if you liked it?”
She clucked her tongue and looked away. “It’s not that simple.”
“Of course it is. Did you like it or not? Pretty straightforward to me.”
“Don’t railroad me, Sloan.”
“Asking if you’ve enjoyed my company like I’ve enjoyed yours over the last couple of days is not railroading you. It’s laying my feelings on the line. Putting myself out there.”
“Could you lower your voice, please?”
He did. “What, you don’t want your kids to hear that I like spending time with you? I think when this is all over, we should go to dinner.”
“Stop. Please.”
That was what he got for going out on a limb. One hell of a fall to the ground. She wouldn’t even look at him. “Forget I said anything.” He changed lanes, the camper slowing down as he approached the rest area.
Sloan’s mood hung in the air like a heavy storm cloud. He had his answer. And while his gut told him Jo still had feelings for him, he had no intention of forcing the issue.
18
“Evelyn.” Joanne opened her arms and hugged Sloan’s mother. They were pulled up to the arrivals curb at the Albany, New York airport, Gus barking his head off inside the camper. “Thanks so much for coming.”
The older woman looked stylish in printed capris and a white tank, her once-blonde hair now silvery-white. She smelled like baby powder and perfume, the same scent she always had, and Jo felt happier in that instant than she had in a very long time. Evelyn laughed, leaning back to hold Jo’s arms wide. “Look at you! You’re all grown up.”
“You look great.” Jo was smiling so much her face ached. “These are my children.” She introduced Lucas and April, who waved uncertainly at the gregarious woman, but Fiona came in close and gave Evelyn a hug.
Sloan hugged her next. “Hi, Ma. Did you have a good trip?”
“Always.”
“Sorry you had to cut it short,” said Jo. “We really appreciate the help.”
“Happy to do it.”
Jo offered Evelyn the passenger seat, but she insisted she wanted to get to know the children. Gus attacked Evelyn as Sloan pulled away from the curb. “She’s a little desperate for grandchildren.”
“Mine could use a grandmother. Maybe we can work out a deal.”
“David’s mom isn’t around?”
“Oh, she’s around. Let’s just say she isn’t grandma material.” She twisted around in her seat. “I smell butterscotch.”
“She probably loaded her pockets with candy, like a mailman with a pocket full of bacon.”
She sighed. “I love your mom.”
“She loves you, too.”
Joanne stared out her window, watching field after field fly by. She felt better after finally getting a good night’s sleep at the hotel last night, whether because of her physical distance from Sloan or Evelyn’s impending arrival, she wasn’t certain. But she was keenly aware of having lost another day without finding Bannon’s money and the growing tension between herself and Sloan.
The latter was her fault. “I’m sorry about yesterday.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I do enjoy your company.” She sighed, wishing she could give him a very different answer. “I just worry that it isn’t going to work out long term. And that’s fine for us, but the kids… I don’t know how to date with kids, to keep things light and casual so they don’t get attached.”
“We just tell them we’re going to dinner.”
She blew out air. “You don’t understand. You’re like that pocket full of butterscotch, and you don’t even know it. You’ve got each one of them wrapped around your finger just by being you. I need to protect them from getting hurt, and I don’t know how to keep them from caring about you.”
“They can handle more than you think.”
“They just lost their father, Sloan. He and I were separated, but he and the kids were not. Bringing you into their lives right now would be like replacing something they haven’t even gotten used to living without.”
“You make it sound like I’d step right into his place. That isn’t what would happen. No one can replace their father, just like nothing could replace my arm. Do you think I feel for one minute like I’m the same man with a prosthetic that I was with flesh and bone? Letting me into their lives might be a good thing for us all.”
She had so much sympathy for all he’d lost in service to his country, but that didn’t make his analogy fair or his reasoning sound. “I respectfully disagree. Their needs have to come first for a while.”
Laughter came from the back of the camper, where Evelyn was playing a game with the kids. Fiona squealed with delight. “They love her already,” he said. “Does that mean you want her to go, too?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. Can you please just respect what I’m saying here, and not pretend the kids playing Uno with your mother is the same thing as you and me dating? I have too much on my plate already, with David and this money and with Bannon. I just can’t handle any more.”
“You make it sound like I’m part of the problem.”
“No. You’re going out of your way to help us, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
“Grateful.”
“Yes.”
He drove along for several miles. Had her words stung him? She found that hard to believe. But he was clearly upset. When he spoke again, he surprised her.
“I’m sorry.” He picked up a Twizzler from the open package on the center console. “You’re right.” He grabbed another and handed it to her. “Truce?”
She took it and nodded, torn between feeling relieved and suspicious. “Truce.”
He exited the highway and continued on a winding mountain road, the sun coming out to shine on the winter woods. Her heart was heavy, wishing she could have given him a different answer, but she knew she was making the only choice she could in this circumstance. This wasn’t about what she wanted, but what was best for her children.
Sloan picked up his phone and handed it to her. “Can you call one of those car rental places? The one that will pick you up. We could use a car with some ge
t-up-and-go. We’ll leave this beast with my mother.”
“You sure there’s one out here?”
“We’re not far from civilization, believe it or not. The address of the cabin is in my wallet.”
She picked it up from the console and opened the billfold, doing her best to ignore the outline of what was clearly a condom. She did an internet search on his phone and found he was right, there was a rental car company less than ten miles from here. She placed the call, wondering against her better judgment when he would end up using that condom, and with whom. “They can be at the cabin in an hour.”
He nodded, turning off the main road and onto a more narrow one that followed a stream, its water rushing past snow-covered ground and snow-laden trees. The camper rounded a wide turn, a log cabin with a wraparound porch coming into view.
Jo unbuckled her seat belt. “This is beautiful.”
“It is.” She turned to him, his stare heavy and pointed. He wasn’t talking about the cabin, he was talking about her. Her face grew hot. How was she going to stay clear of him once the children were no longer traveling with them? One single look, and she was melting into the ground.
He moved to get out, breaking their connection. “Come on, Buckley, I’ll show you around.”
19
Joanne pulled a set of plaid flannel sheets out of the linen closet. Sloan said Wiseman’s cabin was now an Airbnb and well-stocked and ready for guests. “Fiona should be okay sleeping here with April. But if she wakes up during the night, I usually just let her climb in bed with me. Don’t judge.” She tossed the fitted sheet over the bed, and Evelyn grabbed the opposite corner, pulling it around the mattress.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, dear.” Evelyn winked.
“She’s been having nightmares lately.”
“I imagine so. You’ve all been through a great deal. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. We were separated, but it’s still hard.” The anxiety Jo had been carrying deep in the muscles of her shoulders and back eased a bit. “Thank you for doing this. The kids really need some downtime, just to sit around and watch TV, maybe make some cookies, even if it’s just for a few days.”