Lover's Leap (19 page)

“Hey, Zach!” Lori walked toward the sheriff and gave him a warm hug.

The sheriff greeted her briefly, then said, “Sorry, honey, but I’m here on business.”

Lori took a step backward, her brows arching in curious surprise as Zach’s expression went grim. He looked from Devin to Cam, then back to Devin. “Sorry to interrupt. I know the timing isn’t the best, but I have a job to do.”

Cam stepped toward the sheriff. “What is this about?”

“I have to ask your son a question.” He opened the back door of his SUV, then held up Devin’s duffel bag. “Is this your bag, Devin?”

Devin closed his eyes. Cam started to walk toward him. “Son?”

Devin didn’t look at Cam. He shrugged and spoke in a sullen tone that Cam hadn’t heard since they arrived in Eternity Springs. “Lots of guys have bags that color.”

Zach set the bag on the hood of his vehicle. “The ball glove inside it has your name written on it.”

The boy shrugged.

Cam tried to remain calm. No need to worry. This wasn’t Cairns. Dev had a new group of friends here in Eternity Springs, a good group. He set a reassuring hand on Devin’s shoulder. “Hold on a minute. Maybe Devin—”

“I picked the duffel up off of your front porch.” Zach stared hard at Devin.

“Did you have a search warrant?” Devin demanded.

Cam muttered a curse beneath his breath as Zach replied, “I didn’t need one, son. The bag was outside the house.”

As Devin once again closed his eyes, Cam asked, “What’s this all about, Sheriff Turner?”

“I’d like to take the boy in for questioning.”

Sarah stepped forward. “Zach, wait a minute. I’m sure this is all a mistake. Devin is—”

“Real lucky I’m not here to arrest him, since he has a bag of weed in his duffel and an eyewitness has him dealing,” the sheriff snapped. “At a playground.”

“What?” Shocked, Cam gripped his son’s shoulder and turned him around to face him. His son wouldn’t look at him. “Devin?”

Nothing.

“Devin!” Cam gave his shoulder a little shake. “Talk to me, son.”

Now the boy shook his head, still refusing to meet Cam’s eyes, his mouth still stubbornly shut. Cam didn’t miss the tremble of the teenager’s hands, which he held clenched into fists at his side.
What the hell is going on?
Cam gazed from Devin to the stony-jawed sheriff, then back to his son again. As he tried to make sense of the lawman’s charge, he came to one unshakeable conclusion. Cam looked Zach Turner in the eyes and said, “Devin is not a drug dealer.”

“Then answering my questions will clear the matter up. Come on, son. Why don’t you get in the car?”

Briefly, Devin met Cam’s gaze. “Sorry, Dad.”

Sorry?
He was sorry? Sorry for what? What was this all about? Cam stood frozen in stunned disbelief as his son climbed into the backseat of the sheriff’s SUV, behind the metal partition and doors with automatic locks. He couldn’t believe this. How could this be happening?

The slam of the door startled Cam from his shock. “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Zach said. “You’ll want to follow in your own car.”

“But he’s a minor. You can’t talk to him if I’m not there.”

“Actually, I can. You should consider calling a lawyer, Mr. Murphy.”

As Zach Turner climbed behind the wheel of his vehicle, Cam called to Devin, “I’ll be right behind you, Dev. Don’t worry. We’ll get this straightened out.”

The sheriff started his car and drove away. For a long moment, Cam stood and watched them go. He was having trouble processing his thoughts. Drugs? He couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t believe it. Dev was not that stupid.

Cam dragged a hand down his face. He closed his eyes. He needed to think. Who could he call?
Timberlake. Mac Timberlake. He’s a lawyer
. Probably a pretty good one, too, since he used to be a federal judge. With any luck, Timberlake could be at the jail before Devin arrived.
Good. That’s good. That’s a plan
.

The memory of another meeting in that same jailhouse rolled over him. Cam’s knees went weak.

Cam took a step toward the house and his cellphone when the sight of Sarah and Lori drew him up short.
Oh, hell
. Sarah stood with her hands steepled in front of her mouth, worry shining in her eyes. Lori had her arms folded, her chin up, her mouth set.

Oh, hell
. He’d forgotten all about them. “I’m sorry. Obviously, this is not how I wanted this afternoon to go. It’s not what I … uh … had planned.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I can’t believe his. I cannot believe this is happening.”

“Call Mac. He’ll help,” Sarah said.

“Yes, I thought of him. I’d better …”

“Go on, Cam.” Sarah waved him off toward his car. “Don’t worry about Mortimer. We’ll take care of him. You go take care of your son.”

“That’s right,” Lori said, speaking to him directly for the first time ever. Her green eyes dripped disdain as she added, “You go take care of your
son. He
needs you, and it’s vitally important for a parent to be there for his child when that child needs him.”

Cam shut his eyes, accepting the blow. Then he did the only thing he knew to do. “I’m sorry, Lori. I’m so, so sorry. I failed you, and I failed your mother. It’s the biggest regret of my life, and if I could wind back the clock and do it over again, I would. I know you probably won’t believe this and maybe don’t even care, but I want you to know that I love you.”

Without waiting to see her reaction to his words—he couldn’t take another blow—Cam turned his back on his daughter. This time, to follow his son.

THIRTEEN

Sarah watched Cam leave and tears swell in Lori’s eyes. She wanted to sit down and burst into tears herself. Devin dealing drugs? She didn’t believe it. She felt certain that Zach would get it all straightened out, though his timing here couldn’t have been any worse.

Lori had pretended to be calm, cool, and collected when she deplaned at the Gunnison–Crested Butte Regional Airport, but Sarah knew her daughter better than that. The quiet anger had been real enough. Unwilling to put up with cold-shoulder treatment for the trip back to Eternity Springs, Sarah had refused to start the car in the airport parking lot until they’d talked it out. Sarah hadn’t explained how close she and Cam had grown—she wasn’t stupid—but she had listened at length while Lori expressed her anger and frustration at having been summoned home. Once her daughter finally wound down, Sarah had sympathized with the turmoil Lori felt and made a simple request. She had asked Lori to meet Cam with as open a mind as she could manage, and to do it as a favor to Sarah.

Having said her piece, Lori agreed. Sarah seldom asked for favors, and besides, from the minute she’d realized who he was that morning in Australia, Lori had known this day would eventually come.

The closer they’d drawn to Eagle’s Way, the quieter her daughter had grown. Sarah hadn’t missed the nervous way she played with her dangling earrings or the near-constant shifting in her seat. When she’d taken the turn onto the private road leading to Eagle’s Way, Sarah had reached over and given Lori’s hand an encouraging squeeze. Lori had returned the squeeze as tight as a tourniquet.

And now this.

“Oh, baby,” she murmured as the tears overflowed and spilled down Lori’s cheeks.

“This is just stupid.” Lori swiped at the tears. “I don’t know why I am crying.”

“Come here.” Sarah took her daughter in her arms and held her, rocking her gently. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’d be shocked if you weren’t crying. I’m crying. Look.”

Lori glanced at her mother’s watery eyes and smiled brokenly. “I feel like a five-year-old who had her feelings hurt because Daddy paid more attention to the baby than to me.”

“I know.” Sarah brushed Lori’s hair back from her face. “This wasn’t fair to you. Or to Cam, for that matter. I don’t know what Devin has gotten himself into, but I’d like to give him a swift kick in the tush right about now.”

Lori’s mouth twisted. “He must be a real troublemaker. Remember how he’d had that black eye from a fight when he picked us up in Cairns?”

“Yes, but he’s been a good kid since he’s been here.” Sarah’s gaze trailed toward the gate to the estate. “He’s polite and industrious about his independent-study projects. He wrote an excellent report about the Silver Miracle strike and the founding of Eternity Springs. I just don’t believe he’s involved with drugs. Especially selling them.”

“Don’t be naïve, Mom.”

Sarah lifted her chin. “Hey, I am not someone who trusts just anyone. You know that. My friends will back me up about Devin. I have good instincts, and I’m telling you that there is more going on here than meets the eye.”

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go home. I’m anxious to see Daisy and Duke.”

Sarah nodded, then glanced back toward the pool. “Let’s put the food away first, and see if the house is locked up. I doubt Jack wants to come home and find bears watching Yogi and Boo-Boo in the theater room.”

“Great. First he ditches me, and then I have to pick up after him?”

“And take his dog home, too.”

“He left his dog behind, too?”

“Yep, but before you start thinking he’s evil for that, I need to tell you about Mortimer. It’ll make your heart melt.”

Lori snorted and gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes, but she lifted a bowl of tortilla chips and one filled with salsa and nodded toward the house. “On the bright side, I’ve always wondered what Eagle’s Way was like. We’ll be able to snoop around to our hearts’ content.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sarah warned.

“Oh, come on, Mom. Who is gonna know?”

Eyeing the sky, Sarah watched the dark shadow growing bigger. “I think he might.”

“Who?”

“Look up, sunshine. Look east. See that black dot?”

Lori turned around and looked. “I can’t see … Wait. Is that a helicopter?”

“I think it is. I’ve seen it a few times before. Hold on to your corn chips, missy. I think Jack Davenport is on his way home.”

Soon the
whop-whop-whop
of the whirling blades filled the peaceful meadow. The black helicopter flew over the house, then circled it and hovered for a moment. Sarah lifted her face toward the sky and waved, figuring Jack was trying to identify the squatters on his property before landing. When it moved on toward the concrete helipad some hundred yards or so from the house, Sarah returned the veggie platter to the table and went out to meet the new arrivals.

The noise decreased as the pilot cut the engine and the blades began to slow. Moments later, a door slid open and Jack Davenport climbed down from the pilot’s seat. Sarah’s curiosity was piqued when she spied a second pair of legs—female legs—descending from the far side of the helicopter.

A smile on his face, Jack strode toward her, his long, confident stride eating up the distance. As always, Sarah was tempted to sigh over the man. Standing beside her, Lori did exactly that. Jack Davenport was as gorgeous as ever. Thick black hair crowned a strong-jawed, angular face with a thin blade of a nose that showed signs of a break sometime in the past. Dark lashes framed winter-ice blue eyes, and a small, faint scar ran along his right eye. But it was the jagged inch-long mark on his left cheek that made him look dangerous.

He was tall and broad-shouldered like Cam, the shared family genetics obvious now that she’d seen them both within a short period of time. No wonder she’d been attracted to Jack, Sarah thought.

“Hey, beautiful,” Jack said, taking hold of both of Sarah’s hands, then leaning down to place a swift, friendly kiss on her mouth. “I didn’t anticipate arriving home to such lovely scenery.”

“Please don’t arrest us for trespassing,” she returned. “Cam brought us.”

“More scuba lessons?” Jack asked as he turned to Lori. His expression, already welcoming, warmed. “You’re Lori. Lovely Lori. You have your father’s eyes and your mother’s smile. Welcome to Eagle’s Way, cousin.” Then he leaned over and kissed her, too. Lori’s complexion flushed prettily pink.

Sarah’s gaze shifted from Lori to the woman who had arrived with Jack. She wore a khaki pencil skirt, a white blouse, and a murderous expression as she walked past them carrying a dust mop of a dog and speaking not a word. Upon reaching Sarah’s car, she stopped and glanced inside. Jack frowned and asked, “You didn’t leave your keys in the ignition, did you?”

“No,” Sarah replied, fascinated, as the woman turned and started walking … down the road, away from the house. In heels. “Where is your friend going?”

Jack’s mouth twisted with an amused grin. “Not as far as she thinks. She doesn’t realize how isolated we are up here. The exercise will do me good.”

“Do
you
good?” Lori repeated.

“We’ve been cooped up together traveling for a while. She’s not very happy with me. I’ll let her walk off some of her steam, then I’ll go pick her up.” Looking toward the house, he added, “So where’s Cam?”

Sarah’s concern for the Murphy men came rolling back as she relayed the news to Jack. “That’s crazy,” Jack said once she finished. “I could believe that the kid might be smoking, but dealing? Not in a million years.”

Sarah glanced toward her car, anxious to be headed back to town. “I know. Cam was going to call Mac Timberlake. He’s a great attorney, and Zach is a levelheaded sheriff, too. I’m sure they’ll be able to help straighten the whole thing out.”

Jack settled a sympathetic look on Lori as he asked, “Did you and Cam have a chance to get to know each other before this happened?”

When Lori only looked away and shrugged, Sarah explained, “Zach arrived right after we did, so no.”

“That’s lousy.” Jack reached for Lori’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ve known Cam a long time, and I know how much today meant to him, how much you mean to him.”

Sarah could tell from Lori’s expression that Jack’s words were about to make her tear up again. She looped her arm through Lori’s and said, “We’re going to head back to town now. How long will you be in Colorado this time? Will we see you in Eternity Springs?”

Jack shifted his gaze toward the departing woman. “I’m not quite sure, but I’ll ask a favor of you. It’s fine if you mention that you were here when I arrived, but please don’t tell anyone that I have a guest.”

The request piqued Sarah’s curiosity, but she had better manners than to ask more. Her daughter, unfortunately, must have left her manners on the horse farm. “Why not?” Lori asked.

Jack rolled his tongue around his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with rueful humor. “It’s a long explanation, but technically, I kidnapped her.”

“You what?” Sarah exclaimed.

“Don’t worry. She’s my ex-wife. Besides, her mother asked me to do it.”

   Cam parked his truck and rushed toward the front door of the sheriff’s office. Seeing him coming, Mac Timberlake opened the door. “What’s going on?” Cam asked him when he stepped inside.

“Not much of anything,” Mac replied. “Devin isn’t talking to Zach, but he’s not talking to me, either. I decided to leave him alone for a little while to think about some of the things I said.”

Seated at his desk, Zach Turner hung up his telephone. He rose and joined Mac and Cam. “I talked to Colt. It’s like I figured, he’s never picked up a whiff of drug use on the team.”

“Where do we stand, Turner?” Cam asked. “How much trouble is Devin in?”

“That depends,” the sheriff replied.

Mac spoke up: “Zach has a lot of leeway in a case like this.”

“What takes this whole thing up a level is that he had drugs on a playground. Legally, that’s much more serious than smoking a joint behind the Bear Cave. I don’t want to bring the hammer down on your son, Murphy. He wasn’t caught cooking meth or pushing crack, but right now, Eternity Springs doesn’t have a drug problem, and I intend to make sure it remains that way. I need to know where he got the stuff and why he had it at the playground.”

“He wasn’t dealing,” Cam insisted. “I’d bet my life on that. You said you had an eyewitness? Who was it? What exactly did he see?”

Zach didn’t answer right away. He glanced at Mac, then admitted, “Pauline Roosevelt is the one who called.”

“Pauline Roosevelt?” Cam threw out his arms. “Well, of course. I should have known. That woman hates me. She’s hated me since I was six years old and accidentally threw a baseball through her kitchen window. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if she planted the stuff on my kid. Who did she claim he was dealing to?”

“She couldn’t tell. Kid had his back to her.” The sheriff folded his arms. “Look, I didn’t believe her myself, but it’s my job to follow up, so that’s why I went by your place. The duffel was there. The stuff was inside. I don’t think Pauline planted it there, so I want an explanation from your boy.”

He looked at Mac and said, “Do you think we’ve let him sweat long enough? You want to take another run at him?”

Mac glanced at the wall clock. “Yes.”

“I’ll go with you,” Cam said, stepping forward.

Mac shook his head. “I think that would be a mistake. In my experience, kids almost always clam up when a parent is in the room. Let me go in and see where we stand with him. I’ll call you in if I think it’ll help.”

“But—”

“You called me in, Cam,” Mac interrupted. “Let me do my job.”

Cam knew Mac was right. He nodded once, grimly, then leaned against the hallway wall with his arms folded while Mac went in to speak with his son. Zach watched him and looked as if he was going to speak, but Cam wasn’t in the mood to talk to the lawman. Turner had screwed up Cam’s world where both of his children were concerned today, and besides, he couldn’t forget that this was another man that Sarah had kissed.

His gut churned. His thoughts whirled. He’d always tried to be realistic about Devin. He wasn’t one of those parents who believed his kid never did anything wrong. If anything, he tended to believe worse of Dev than he probably deserved. He didn’t believe this. Dev damn sure wasn’t dealing. He probably wasn’t using.

Cam could think of two possible explanations. Either someone planted the weed on him or it somehow figured into a favor Devin was doing for one of his friends.

Friendship had been the boy’s downfall in the past. It was easy to believe that it could be so again. But if that were the case, one or more of the Grizzlies had fooled Cam completely.

The minutes ticked by like hours, but finally the door to the interview room opened and Mac exited. He looked at Cam. “That’s one stubborn kid you have, Murphy.”

“He’s still not talking?”

“He’s told me most of it.” To Zach, Mac said, “I don’t foresee the need to make an arrest in this one, Sheriff Turner.”

“I hope you’re right, Judge Timberlake.”

Cam fervently did, too. After Zach cautioned him to keep quiet during the interview, Cam followed the sheriff and attorney into the conference room. He took one look at Devin and wanted to put his fist through the wall. The young man’s face was a picture of guilt.