Return of the Prodigal Son (6 page)

“An hour’s not a problem. A day or two might be cause for alarm, but an hour’s just a walk in the park. I’ll find him.”

Something in the way he said it had her looking at him more closely. The things her brother had speculated about Donovan Lassiter’s secretive work came rushing back. She had visions of a man being dropped by parachute at night into a foreign country and left to survive by his wits alone. At this moment she could almost believe such things about him. “You…won’t tell him I sent you?”

“Not even a hint. Cory isn’t the only one who feels like exploring the woods. He can’t blame me if I happen to run into him, can he?”

Seeing that she wasn’t convinced, he touched a hand to hers. Just a touch, but the heat was there, as strong as ever. This time he was prepared for the punch. “Go home, Andi. I’ll find him.”

She took a deep breath and caught Taylor’s hand as she headed out the door.

As she walked down the steps Donovan called, “Andi?”

She turned.

“I know you feel that he’s testing your patience, and he is. But he’s also testing himself. So relax. He’ll be just fine.”

She nodded before turning away. But the worried look on her face told him she wasn’t convinced.

With a camera strapped around his neck, Donovan stepped into the coolness of the woods and took a moment to get his bearings. Then he started walking. Anyone who saw him would think he was admiring the new spring growth as he stopped to study the pale-green ferns, and noted beside them the footprints heading south. A short time later he paused to touch the bough of a stately pine, and removed a denim-blue thread that had been caught on the bark. When he came to a stream he followed along the banks until he reached the top of a steep drop-off. The water tumbled nearly a hundred feet to a pool far below, surrounded by more evergreens.

Donovan spotted Cory sitting on a rock, his knees drawn up, his look pensive.

Taking the camera from around his neck, he made his way down the steep hill, pausing every few feet to snap a shot of the waterfall, the pool, the surrounding countryside.

Finally as he approached the rock where Cory was seated, he lowered his camera. “Hey. I see you found my favorite spot.”

“This is yours?” The boy scrambled down and stood facing him. The hands at his sides had automatically fisted.

“Not really. I guess it belongs to whoever owns this piece of land. But it’s a great place to sit and think.”

“Yeah.” Cory sank down in the grass, relieved that he wasn’t in trouble from trespassing. “Do you come here a lot?”

“Not often. I do most of my thinking at my computer. But when I really need to get away, this is the place.”

Cory nodded toward the camera. “That’s pretty slick.”

“You want to see it?” Without waiting for a reply Donovan handed it over.

Cory carefully examined it. He peered through the viewfinder, switching from wide-angle to close-up, then flipping a switch that turned it into an infrared night viewer. When he looked up, his eyes were wide. “Wow. This is really cool. It must have cost a fortune.”

Donovan shrugged. “Government issue. They made it a parting gift to me.”

When Cory started to hand it back, Donovan shook his head. “If you’d like to try a few pictures, go ahead.”

“You mean it?”

Donovan nodded. “If you stand on that rock, you ought to be able to get the entire waterfall and pond in the shot.”

The boy did as he suggested and clicked off a shot. Then, for good measure, he took a second one before climbing down.

He handed back the camera. “You on your way to somewhere special?”

“No. Just thought I’d walk a bit. How about you?”

“I guess I’d like to walk a bit, too.” Cory brushed hair from his eyes and fell into step beside him, unwilling to admit that he was feeling more than a little relieved for the company. The size of the forest had been overwhelming.

As they moved deeper into the woods Donovan touched a hand to the boy’s arm and pointed in silence. A herd of deer came walking toward them, pausing every so often to nibble the tender green leaves of evergreens. Cory and Donovan stood perfectly still, hardly daring to breathe until the herd slipped away.

“That was awesome.” Cory turned to Donovan. “Why didn’t you take a picture?”

“The sound might have spooked them.”

“Oh. Yeah.” The boy was clearly impressed by what he’d seen.

They walked on, picking their way over fallen logs, pausing to study tiny jewel-like violets and miniature star-shaped blossoms as white as snow.

Donovan nudged the ground with the toe of his hiking boot. “Looks like that owl I hear outside my window every night enjoyed a midnight snack right here.”

“How can you tell?”

“By what he left behind.” He picked up a small stick and stooped down, jabbing it into the lump of debris. “Look here. Fur. Tiny bones. These are the parts of the mole or mouse the owl can’t digest. He spits them back out.”

Cory looked at him with new respect. “How do you know so much?”

Donovan laughed. “It’s called living. If you live long enough, you’re bound to pick up some information along the way.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think my mom would ever know anything about owls.”

“Maybe she would. If she wanted to be a scientist or naturalist or a veterinarian.”

“Is that what you wanted to be?”

“For a while.” Donovan smiled, remembering. “But mostly I just wanted to be like my dad.”

“What does he do?”

“He was a cop.”

“Like the ones on those TV shows?”

Donovan nodded. “I suppose.”

“Then why didn’t you become a cop?”

“I guess I wanted more. More action. More adventure. More challenge.”

Cory digested that for a moment before asking, “Does he like what you do?”

“My dad’s dead. He was shot when I was ten.”

That stopped Cory in his tracks. His voice shook when he finally found the courage to ask, “Did you get a chance to say goodbye to him?”

“No.” Even now, after all these years, the shadow of pain was still there. “That was the worst thing for me. Not getting a chance to tell him what he meant to me.”

“Yeah.” Cory dug his hands in his pockets and stared hard at the ground. “My dad…” He sucked in a breath. “My dad left for the airport while I was still asleep. Later, my teacher called me out of class to tell me my uncle was on his way to pick me up. I thought maybe Dad had changed his mind and had decided to let me fly with him to Chicago. I could hardly wait for Uncle Champ to get there. Then, when he did, he gave me the news that Dad’s plane…”

In the silence Donovan closed a hand over the boy’s shoulder. Squeezed.

Cory looked up, his eyes dry. “Some people are saying bad things about my dad.” The boy’s tone lowered. “There were reporters standing all over our driveway, in our yard, peeking into windows, snapping pictures. One even stuck a microphone in my little sister’s face.”

Donovan thought about the very public funeral of his own father. He’d blinked back tears until his eyes had burned like fire. But he’d managed to hold it all inside until he was alone.

“And then the kids at school started.” A look of fire came into Cory’s eyes. “The first time I came home with a bloody lip, I couldn’t tell Mom why. I could have told my dad. He’d have understood. But moms just don’t get it.”

“Yeah.” Donovan could think of nothing comforting to say. His own father had been heralded as a hero. How could he possibly offer comfort to a boy whose father was being accused of stealing millions from helpless victims? What was worse, Donovan was halfway convinced of it himself. The district attorney had made a very strong case against Adam Brady. “Is that the reason you dropped off the soccer team?”

Cory kicked at a log. “Who needs it?”

“Didn’t any of your friends stick by you?”

“One. Billy Watson. But after he went home with a black eye, his mom said he couldn’t hang around with me anymore. She told him I was a bad influence.”

“That’s tough.”

Cory shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’m glad Uncle Champ found this place. Nobody here knows our name.”

“You can’t hide out forever.”

The boy turned bleak eyes to Donovan. “Who says?”

“The world’s too small, Cory. Sooner or later you’ll run into someone who recognizes you. Someone who knows about your father. Then what will you do?”

The fire was back. The small hands fisted at his sides. “Just let somebody try to say something about my dad. I’ll make them sorry.”

Donovan chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I just realized that you remind me of somebody.”

“Who?”

Donovan sighed. “A kid I knew. He was so mad at the world after his father died, he wanted to strike out at anybody and everybody. Even his own family.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah. Way too often.”

“What was his name?”

“Donovan Lassiter.”

Cory stood perfectly still, watching as Donovan moved ahead. Then he started running until he’d caught up with him.

They walked in silence until Donovan handed the boy his camera. “Take a look through the viewfinder at the top of that tree. What do you see?”

Cory did as he was told and gave a gasp. “It looks like a hawk.”

“Yeah. That’s what I figure. When he’s ready to fly, snap off a couple of shots.”

The two remained silent for several minutes until the bird spread its wings. Cory took picture after picture as the hawk began to fly, then to soar.

When it disappeared from sight, the boy handed back the camera. “You’ve reached the end of that film.”

“I’ll have this developed and pick up some more.” Donovan dropped the roll of film into his pocket before slipping the camera around his neck.

He glanced up at the sky. “I think it’s time to head back.”

The two hiked in silence for several miles.

Suddenly Cory pointed. “Now I know we’re heading in the right direction. There’s the roof of your house in the distance.”

“Good going, Cory. That’s a good landmark to keep in mind, since it’s high enough to see even with all the trees around.”

The boy felt a quick sense of pride at his words.

When they emerged from the woods, the sun had already made its arc across the western sky.

Donovan paused on the gravel path. “Your mom will be glad to see you.”

Cory shrugged. “I guess. You want to walk home with me?”

Donovan could see that the boy didn’t want to face his mother alone. “I suppose I could.”

Cory brightened. “Thanks for letting me use your camera.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll bring you the snapshots if any of them turn out.”

“That’d be neat.” He was smiling as he danced up the steps of the back porch and shouted, “Mom, I’m home.”

“Cory.” Andi was beaming with pleasure as she looked up from stirring something on the stove. Seeing her son’s smile she resisted the urge to rush across the room and hug him, afraid it would only make him frown.

She was wearing a simple black tank top and jeans that showed off her slender frame to its best advantage. Just the sight of her had Donovan forgetting the long, hot miles he’d hiked all day.

Taylor came dashing into the room, obviously pleased to see her big brother. “Mama made your favorite supper.”

“Tacos?” The boy’s smile deepened.

“Uh-huh. And carrot cake for dessert.”

Cory turned to his mother. “Can Donovan stay?”

She nodded. “Of course he can.”

Donovan was already shaking his head. “I can’t impose on you again. I really have to go.”

“You’re not imposing.” Andi brushed a damp curl from her eye. “I made enough. I’d really like you to stay for supper.”

He inhaled the fragrance of spiced beef and chilis, and felt his stomach protest the fact that, as usual, he’d forgotten to eat. On top of that was the fact that she was the prettiest thing he’d seen all day.

He gave her a heart-stopping smile. “Okay. You talked me into it.”

“Good.” She added another place setting. “If you’d like to wash up, Cory will show you where.”

As Donovan followed Cory from the room he turned in time to see Andi mouth the words
thank you.
He winked, then turned away.

Minutes later they were gathered around the kitchen table.

As Donovan filled his plate, Andi turned to her son. “I found something besides your note this morning, Cory. You must have been up half the night to get all those boxes unpacked, and everything arranged so neatly in the cupboards.”

Around a mouthful of food he said, “I told you I’d do it.”

“Yes, you did.” She walked to where he sat and pressed a kiss to his forehead, much to his dismay. Ignoring his look of horror she remained beside him, a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Cory.”

“You’re welcome.” He ducked his head. But Donovan saw the pleasure in his eyes.

Before the rest of them had taken more than a few bites, Cory managed to wolf down his supper and was helping himself to seconds. “We saw a herd of deer in the woods. And a hawk.” He emptied his second glass of milk. “And Donovan showed me where an owl had dinner.”

“Sounds like the two of you had a grand adventure.”

“Yeah.” While they finished their meal, Cory went on to describe the waterfall and the pool nearly hidden by tall rocks and evergreens. By the time they had enjoyed slices of carrot cake, washed down by tall glasses of milk, he had taken them through every minute of his day. The contrast between his behavior this day and the way he’d acted the previous day was amazing.

“Donovan let me use his camera. It’s really neat.” Cory looked up at his mother. “Isn’t it something, that Donovan and I ran into each other in the woods?”

Taylor glanced at her brother over the rim of her glass of milk. “Mama asked Donovan to find you. She was worried.”

“What?” For a moment Cory merely stared at his little sister. Then, as the realization dawned, he pushed away from the table and glared at his mother. “You didn’t trust me?”

“I…was worried, Cory. You’ve never been in those woods before. I was afraid you’d get turned around and—”

“I can’t believe you did that. I told you…” He struggled to get the words out. “I told you I could take care of…Oh, what’s the use?”