Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (22 page)

Blakesley was pleasantly surprised. “Hi, Gina,” she said. “It’s me.”

On the other end of the line, Gina let out a little laugh. “Hi there,” she said.  “Sorry to call you so late. I hope this isn’t a bad time. Beck gave me your number and told me to give you a call while he was away to check up on you.”

Blakesley laughed softly. “I’m glad he did,” she said. “How are you?”

“Fine,” Gina replied. “How are you doing? This is your first real separation from Beck, isn’t it?”

Blakesley shrugged. “The second, but I didn’t know him very well the first time,” she said. “How many years have you been doing this?”

“Seven,” Gina said with some distain. “I hate it every time but it’s just the way it is. I make Butch take me to Vegas every time he’s been gone longer than a month.  Beck says Butch tries to speed things up whenever they’re working because he’s afraid of that one month mark. He says it costs him a fortune every time.”

Blakesley laughed softly. “I’ll have to keep that in mind,” she said. “I like the penalties that get tacked on for extended deployment.  Who knows? Maybe I’ll rack up a trip to Europe.”

Gina laughed. “I like the way you think, girl,” she said, then sobered. “Actually, I am calling for a reason. I didn’t know what else to do, so I hope this is okay.”

“What’s up?”

“Well,” Gina sighed and lowered her voice. “Beck’s daughter, Lizzie, showed up at my doorstep a little while ago. She’s looking for her dad.”

Blakesley was both surprised and concerned.  “Doesn’t she live up in San Francisco?”

“Yes,” Gina replied. “She said she flew down this afternoon to see her dad. Did you know anything about it?”

Blakesley shook her head. “No,” she replied. “Beck didn’t say anything before he left.  I’m sure he would have told me had he known.”

Gina lowered her voice further. “She seems really upset,” she whispered into the phone. “It looks like she’s been crying.  What do I do?”

“I don’t know,” Blakesley admitted. “Have you tried to talk to her?”

“A little, but she doesn’t want to talk to me. She wants to talk to her dad.”

“And he won’t be back until God knows when.” Blakesley glanced at the clock; it was almost nine at night.  She began to scramble around for a pen. “Give me your address. I’ll come over and see what I can do.”

“Thank you,” Gina sounded relieved. “I’ll tell her your coming.”

“No, don’t,” Blakesley said. “I don’t know how she feels about her dad having a girlfriend and I don’t want her to hear it from someone else. I’ll tell her when I get there.”

“Okay,” Gina said before giving Blakesley her address. “See you in a bit.”

“Absolutely,” Blakesley was already off the couch. “Thanks for the call.”

“You’re welcome.”

Blakesley hung up the phone and scooted into her bedroom, quickly changing into jeans, a long sleeved knit top, and her sparkly flip flops. Sticking her head into the girls’ room, she woke Nikki up and told her she would be back shortly. Fleeing down to the parking lot, she jumped in her car and took off for Gina’s house.

Gina and Butch lived in a small house that was just over the bridge from Coronado.  It was neat and plain, with a big driveway and cement patio with kid’s toys all over it.   Blakesley double-checked the address that Gina had given her before she turned the car off and got out.  Her flip flops made clicking noises against the cement as she made her way to the front door and knocked.

Gina opened the door right away, smiling at Blakesley. “Hi there,” she said. “That didn’t take you long.”

Blakesley smiled in return as Gina drew her into the house. “Thank God for my GPS,” she said, looking around. “Your house is so nice.”

Gina grinned. “Thanks,” she said, automatically picking up a nearby toy truck on the floor. “It’s hard to keep it clean with a three year old.”

“Tell me about it.”

Gina grinned, nodding, as a little boy in pajamas suddenly emerged from one of the rooms.  He had dark hair and big dark eyes, grinning up at Blakesley shyly as he grabbed his mother’s hand.  Gina smiled down at her son.

“This is the mess maker himself,” she said. “This is Spike. Baby, can you say ‘hi’ to  Blakesley?”

The little boy’s grin spread and he began to chew his fingers nervously.  “Hi, Bee.”

“Her name is Blakesley, baby.”

“Bee!”

There was no way the kid could say her name. Blakesley giggled.  “Hi, Spike,” she said. “How old are you?”

Spike held up three fingers. “Free,” he said.

Blakesley pretended to be impressed. “Three years old,” she said.  “You’re such a big boy.”

“I can write my name.”

“That’s great.”

Little Spike giggled and ran back to his bedroom at his mother’s prompting.  Gina watched him go, making sure he actually went into the bedroom and not into the kitchen before drawing Blakesley into the living room.  On the sofa, watching television, sat a beautiful young woman with long blond hair.  Elizabeth Beatrice Seavington had her father’s good looks and when she turned to look at Blakesley, Beck’s features on the young girl were evident. She had his eyes and the big dimple in her chin.  When she stood up, she was several inches taller than Blakesley with the lean body of a supermodel.  She wasn’t shy about extending her hand.

“Hi,” she said. “I’m Lizzie Seavington.”

Blakesley took the slender, warm hand in her own hand and shook it. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Blakesley Thorne. I’m so happy to meet you.”

Lizzie gazed at Blakesley, studying her, before cocking her head in a gesture that looked a good deal like her father.

“So you’re my dad’s girlfriend?” she asked.

Blakesley was caught off guard, letting loose an awkward chuckle as she looked at Gina.  Butch’s wife lifted her shoulders helplessly.

“Sorry,” she replied. “It just slipped out.”

Blakesley chuckled again, looking back at Lizzie with a rather embarrassed expression.

“I… I’m sure that’s something he wanted to tell you himself,” she said. “He’s just been really busy. I’m sorry if he hasn’t already told you.”

Lizzie shrugged, her green eyes scrutinizing Blakesley. “That’s okay,” she said. “But… wow. You’re really pretty.”

Blakesley smiled. “Thanks. So are you.”

Lizzie was still staring at her. “Gina said that my dad is really crazy about you.”

Blakesley’s smile grew. “The feeling is mutual,” she was feeling somewhat awkward so she motioned for them to sit on the couch, turning to see where Gina was and noticing the woman had vanished.  “I think we’ve been deserted.”

Lizzie sat heavily on the couch. “That’s okay,” she replied. “I kind of barged in on her.”

Blakesley’s gaze lingered on the beautiful teenager who seemed much older than her fourteen years.

“Why did you come here?”

“Because my dad and Butch are good friends. This is the only place I could think to look for him. I’m sure she didn’t know what to do with me.”

Blakesley nodded faintly. “She called me because I guess she thought I could help,” she replied softly. “Did your dad know you were coming?”

Lizzie sat back against the couch, averting her gaze and picking up a throw pillow. “No.”

Blakesley watched Lizzie pick at the throw pillow. “You know, your dad and I had a conversation before he left that had to do with you.  See, I have three little girls who have really taken a liking to your dad and he said that he hadn’t seen you in awhile, so I told him he should have you fly down.  He really wanted to see you but with his schedule, he was afraid of what would happen to you if he had to leave all of a sudden. I told him I’d make sure you were safe, so right now, I kind of feel responsible to make sure you’re okay since he’s not around.  You don’t even have to tell me why you’re here if you don’t want to, but I promised your dad that I’d make sure you were okay if he weren’t around. Does that make sense?”

Lizzie was still picking at the pillow but she looked up at her. “It does.”

“Good,” Blakesley smiled at the young woman. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Lizzie shook her head. Then she shrugged. Then she started crying. “I just want my dad.”

Blakesley put her hand on Lizzie’s knee and rubbed gently. “I know, sweetheart,” she said softly. “I just don’t know where he is but I promise I’ll help you however I can if you want to tell me what the trouble is.”

Lizzie wiped at her eyes. “I… I don’t know.”

Blakesley patted her knee. “It’s okay,” she assured her. “You don’t have to. But I’d really like to help if I can.  Meanwhile, since your dad is away, why don’t you come stay with me until he gets back?  He’d be okay with that.”

Lizzie looked at her, all watery-eyed, and shrugged. “I… I came down here to stay with my dad. I didn’t plan on staying with anyone else.”

“I know, but he’s not here and I don’t have a key to his house. You really can’t stay with Gina.”

Lizzie nodded; she knew that.  She picked at the pillow, her jeans, before finally looking up at Blakesley again.

“I’m not trying to be a pain,” she said softly. “I… I just flew down here today to be with my dad. I guess I should have called first but it all happened so fast, I just got on the airplane and came.”

Blakesley nodded patiently. “Maybe we should call your mom and….”

“No!” Lizzie erupted. “Don’t call her. I don’t want to talk to her!”

That little outburst told Blakesley pretty much everything she needed to know.  Whatever had chased Lizzie onto an airplane to San Diego obviously centered around her mother.  Blakesley tried to be gentle.  She was a teenage girl with a mother once herself.

“Okay,” she said softly.  “I won’t call her. No worries.  I ran away from home once myself, only I didn’t have the money to take an airplane anywhere. I had this old beat up Volkswagen and it barely made it down the street. I just went to my friend’s house.  All my mom had to do was look out the front door and see that crappy car parked down the block. God, I hated that stupid car. I couldn’t even make a good escape in it.”

That drew a semblance of a smile from Lizzie. “I didn’t have money for a plane,” she said. “I took my mom’s credit card and bought a ticket online. Then I took the cash out of her wallet and took a taxi to the airport.”

Blakesley sighed faintly, thinking on the fact that she used a credit card to make her escape. “You know your mom can trace the purchase, right?” she said softly. “She can find out what airline and where you went.  When she finds out you went to San Diego, she’s going to know you came to see your dad. Don’t you think she’ll head down here to look for you?”

Lizzie turned red in the face. “She can come down here,” she said angrily. “I don’t care if she does or not. But I’m not going home with her, no matter what.”

“Why not?”

Lizzie burst out. “Because I’m not going back to that house where Dan jerks off outside my bedroom door and she doesn’t give a damn about it,” she snapped. “My mom married a pervert and all she cares about is protecting him.  When I told her what had happened, she said I must have dreamed it.  She didn’t even believe me, not even when I told her again and again. It just kept happening. So I left.”

Blakesley sat in shocked silence, feeling sick. It was more of an answer than she expected. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Of course you don’t have to go back. We’ll wait until your dad comes back and he’ll know what to do, okay?”

Lizzie was starting to tear up again, wiping at the moisture on her face.  But she looked at Blakesley with some surprise. “You… you won’t send me home?”

Blakesley shook her head. “That’s between you, your dad and your mom. You can stay with me until your dad gets back, but on one condition.”

“What?”

“You need to let me call your mom to at least tell her you’re safe. If my daughter had run away, I would want to know that she’s at least healthy and whole. I think it’s only fair.”

Lizzie thought on that, her expression dubious. “Well…,” she said slowly. “You won’t make me go back?”

Again, Blakesley shook her head. “No,” she said. “I don’t want you to go back, not if that crap is going on. You need to stay away from that until your dad gets back and figures out what to do.”

Lizzie pondered all of that a moment longer before hesitantly nodding her head. “Okay,” she said, fumbling around in her pocket and pulling out her phone. “You can call her. But just to tell her that I’m not lying in a gutter somewhere.”

“Deal.” Blakesley took the phone and brought up the contact list. “Is it under ‘mom’?”

“Yes.”

Finding the number, Blakesley pushed the dial button and put the phone n speaker.  Someone answered on the second ring.

“Lizzie?” the woman on the other end sounded frantic. “Where in the hell are you?”

“Hi,” Blakesley said. “This isn’t Lizzie. My name is Blakesley and Lizzie is sitting next to me. Lizzie, tell your mother ‘hi’.”

Lizzie looked defiant and fearful at the same time. “It’s me, Mom,” she said. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m fine and not in a morgue somewhere.”

“Lizzie?” her mom sounded angry more than frantic. “What’s going on? Where are you?”

Lizzie’s defiance spread. “I’m with Dad,” she said. “I’m not coming home, okay? I’m not going anywhere that Dan is. I told you what happened and if you don’t believe me, then I’m getting out of there.”

On the other end of the phone, there was an exasperated sigh. “Lizzie, cut this out,” she snapped. “I talked to Dan and he says he never did anything like that.   He swears he didn’t and he has no idea where you came up with that.  You’re coming home, young lady, right now. Where’s your father? Put him on the phone.”

“No!” Lizzie shouted. “Will you listen to me for once and stop defending that pervert? I told you what I saw and you didn’t believe me. I also told you that I saw him having sex with my friend Meggyn one night when she spent the night and you still didn’t believe me.  He wants to have sex with me, too, and I’m not going to let that happen. You’re my mom; you’re supposed to protect me and I don’t feel safe with you!”

She was crying by the time she was finished. Shocked and disturbed, Blakesley put her hand on Lizzie’s lowered head and spoke into the phone.