“She left.”
The soft note in her voice must have indicated that something was wrong because he hurried to her side. “Did she say something?”
“Nothing awful, if that’s what you’re asking. She was actually kind of nice.” Makay offered him a smile that seemed to take all her remaining energy.
“Good.” He kissed her, wrapping his arms around her body. She let herself bask in his warmth, feeling she belonged there. Which made what she had to do that much harder. “I’ll see you when I get home,” he added. “We’ll figure it all out.”
She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “Have a great day.”
For a moment, she pretended they were a couple and he was simply leaving for the day, kissing her before she headed off to school. It was what she had dreamed of finding when she’d looked for her mother all those years, except she was the “mom” figure now and Nate was the child. She wanted that kind of normal life for him with every part of her soul. But she also had to stop Lenny. She owed it to all the birth parents and children whose lives she’d upset.
Makay sat back on the couch and stared into nothingness for ten minutes after Harrison left—until her phone alarm rang, reminding her of Sally’s funeral. She’d packed the right clothes for them last night so they wouldn’t have to go back to Brette’s, but that still didn’t leave much time to get there.
“Nate,” she called. “It’s time to go to Sally’s funeral. I need you to hurry and change into your good pants.”
He appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Do I have to get my stuff?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t we coming back?”
Makay’s heart hurt for him. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
S
he didn’t stop at the bank because they were late. The viewing was being held before the funeral, and she wanted Nate to be able to say goodbye to Sally. She didn’t want him to wonder as she had about her adoptive mother. Had she really been in the coffin? Did she look happy or was she crying? Her five-year-old imagination had called up all sorts of gruesome scenarios, and she didn’t want Nate to experience that.
He didn’t seem nervous as they entered the funeral home, but she noted that the hand-me-down dress pants were a little short. Before long, he’d grow out of everything. For a brief, bittersweet moment she wished with all her heart that he wouldn’t grow anymore, that he could be her baby forever.
Stupid,
she thought. When he was older, she’d be able to work more. Things would be easier. Never mind that her heart didn’t agree.
They passed by Sally’s son, dressed in a black suit. He looked normal—brown hair, average height, and pleasant green eyes that reminded her of Sally’s the few times Makay had seen her without glasses. He didn’t thank her for coming but shook her hand as if bored with the entire affair.
“Makay Greyson,” Makay murmured. “Sally was my friend.”
“I see.” His voice was sharp and irritated. Makay wondered if he knew how much money his mother had left her.
“We gave her food,” Nate put in. “But she didn’t like the chili. Said it made her fart.”
The man gave a disgusted grunt and turned his face away.
Anger filled Makay, but she pushed it down for Sally’s sake and took Nate’s hand. She lifted him up to see inside the coffin, feeling awkward with her broken arm. Nate stared at Sally for a moment without speaking. Then, “She looks happy,” he said. “Goodbye, Sally. I’ll remember you forever.”
Makay sensed something moving behind her and looked to see Sally’s son staring in their direction. For a second she saw a stark sadness in the bitter face, as he looked between Sally’s lifeless body and Nate, who had reached out as if waving goodbye. She was glad she’d kept her calm. Whatever mistakes this man had made in his mother’s lifetime, he’d have the rest of his life to deal with them.
She lowered Nate to the carpet. “Come on. Let’s go sit down.”
The service was short and sweet, with Janice and Sally’s pastor taking a few minutes to remember the old woman. Makay was glad she hadn’t been asked to speak because for all the time she’d spent with Sally, only now did she feel she was beginning to know her.
Sally wasn’t being buried locally, so there was no graveside service, and Makay felt a little mercenary as she drove straight to the bank after the funeral. She didn’t dare leave the money in her own account in case something went wrong with Lenny and the police, so she took the money in cash. The cashier stared at her curiously as she shoved the two envelopes with the bills into her backpack, and Makay was glad she was wearing a nice skirt and blouse and that her light jacket hid the bruising on her arms. She’d had to use flats instead of high heels that would make her ribs ache, but at least she looked like someone who might actually have access to ten thousand dollars.
After stopping at Nate’s favorite Mexican restaurant for takeout, she drove to Lily’s. “Am I going to play?” Nate asked, his face brightening.
“I hope so. I didn’t tell her we were coming.”
He stared into the bag. “Is that why you bought extra burritos? Can we give Jonny one?”
“Yep and yep.”
He laughed. “Well, I guess we have plenty of money now.”
“Hey, that’s between you and me, remember? Besides, we have some debts to pay with that money. It won’t last forever.”
Lily opened the door to them, wearing an apron over her large belly and carrying a dust cloth. “Makay!” She started to hug her but pulled back at the last minute. “Oh, I don’t want to hurt you. You look all bruised. Brette told me something had happened to you. I’m so sorry.” Lily gently touched the side of her left arm.
“I’m fine, or I will be.” Makay looked past her at Nate, who was heading toward Jonny and a mound of toys in the living room. “I need you to look after him for a while. If you can.”
“Yes, I can. I have some errands to run today, but the van is plenty big and I can take him with us. What is going on with you? Are you going to tell me?” Lily put a hand on her arm and practically pulled her inside the house.
Makay frowned. “I wish I could, but I’ve done something I’m not really proud of, and I’m the only one who can make it right.”
Lily glanced behind her at the children and lowered her voice. “Does this have something to do with Harrison?”
“Not really, though he did get caught up in it.” Makay grimaced. “I’m going to take care of everything.” She wasn’t quite sure her plan would work, but this morning after Sherry and Harrison had left, she’d decided on a course of action.
“What about you and Harrison?”
“We’re okay.”
Lily sighed. “Good. I’m glad. He seems like a nice guy. Mostly.”
“He is nice.”
Nicer than I am.
Makay stepped toward the door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She shifted her attention to Nate, but he was already springing toward her.
“I want to go with you!” He grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
Makay stared at him in surprise. “But I thought you loved playing with Jonny,” she began, falling silent as she considered what else to say.
“It’s all the—” Lily waved her hand around her face and then pointed at Makay. “It’s natural for him to be worried.”
Right. Makay bent toward Nate. “Hey, honey, I’m going to be fine. I’m actually going to visit a man that I think might help me, okay? But it’s going to be long and boring, and I just thought you’d have more fun here.”
“You’re not going back to Colorado Springs?”
Makay shook her head. “No way. I’m staying far away from that place.”
“And from that Lenny guy. I don’t like him.”
“That makes two of us.” But she didn’t promise about Lenny because her plan wasn’t very good, and she might end up facing him herself.
Nate hugged her. “I love you.”
Makay breathed in his scent. He must have washed his hair last night after swimming because the smell of his hair reminded her of Harrison’s. Amazing how the scent called up his face and the feel of his arms.
She
would
make this right.
“I love you, too.” With regret, she watched Nate run back to Jonny, who was investigating the contents of the takeout bag.
“I’ll take good care of him,” Lily called after her as she hurried down the walk, “but you be careful!”
Makay waved without turning around.
Her first stop was Brette’s to get her laptop and exchange Harrison’s Sebring for her own. She didn’t think he’d mind her taking his car, but what she planned was enough of a worry to her that she didn’t want to endanger his ride. She considered unloading the packed boxes still inside her car, but her ribs protested at the thought.
Thirty minutes later, she arrived in Gilbert and parked outside a hotel with free wireless Internet. She typed in the name Blaine Cooper on her laptop, and it didn’t take long to find his name connected with a carpet company in Gilbert. Not an owner, but a manager. Taking a breath, she wrote down the address, shut her laptop, and stored it under the passenger seat.
The two-story building was crammed between a paint store and a place that sold used vacuums. Makay parked in front of the vacuum store and dialed the carpet company. It was already near one thirty, so the guy might be at lunch, but she would wait if she had to.
A woman’s bored voice answered with the spiel, “Any day is a great day for new carpet.”
“Mr. Cooper, please.”
“Mr. Cooper is at lunch. May I help you or take a message?”
“Oh, no. I’m just a friend of his. I was going to drop something off, but if he’s not there . . .”
“I’m sorry, he won’t be back for at least a half hour.”
“Thanks.”
Just her luck, but at least he was at work today. She dug into her backpack for her copy of the photo taken at Harrison’s second birthday, and she studied Cooper as he tried to dodge the camera. The blurry face still didn’t resemble the man she’d met in the park, and yet there had to be some unconscious similarity or she wouldn’t have made the connection the first time she’d seen it. He’d known even then that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere, that he’d return to the wife Sherry knew nothing about. By contrast, Sherry looked blissfully happy and full of hope.
Blaine Cooper hadn’t been much of a man twenty-three years ago, and from what she’d seen he hadn’t improved over the years. Maybe coming here was a mistake. If the idea of contacting him had seemed farfetched on the night she’d followed Lenny to Harrison’s, it seemed even more so now in broad daylight. A few more minutes passed, and her nerves calmed. She had to at least try.
After several false alarms, she finally spotted a man with gray-peppered hair that could be him, walking with purpose toward the carpet store. She jumped from the car and hurried to intercept him, taking the picture and two white envelopes with her. “Mr. Cooper!”
He stopped and turned, his attractive face going from pleasant to furious inside three seconds. He glanced quickly around them as he said, “I told you not to contact me again.”
She waved the fatter envelope. “I have your money, and I’m not your daughter. I just need a few moments of your time.”
Glancing around again, he stepped closer, his expression softening slightly. “Put that away. Come on. I know a place we can talk.”
“As long as it’s a public place.” Makay tucked the envelope inside her jacket pocket and lengthened her stride to keep up with him. Their steps devoured the sidewalk beneath their feet, and by the time they stopped in front of a tiny Japanese restaurant located in what looked like a renovated house, Makay felt hot for the first time in weeks. Cooper nodded at the short Japanese woman who greeted them warmly before leading them to a secluded table in the back. The woman darted secret glances at Cooper, and Makay wondered if this was one of the places he met his current lover. Not that it mattered as long as he helped her.
“What’s this about?” Cooper said, after sending the woman for an order of Japanese tea.
“A man paid me to tell you I was your daughter.” Makay drew out the envelope containing money she’d taken from what Sally had given her. She slid it across the table. “It’s only three thousand. My share was supposed to be five hundred, but I took more to pay for college.”
Cooper took the envelope. “And the rest?”
This was the part she had to play carefully. At first she’d planned to give him the entire five thousand back, but she hoped the missing portion would convince him to help her. “The man who set up the scam has it. But I can help you get it back—and show you who he is.”
“How did you get involved in this? And how did you pick me?”
Makay gave him a sketchy outline, leaving out more than she told, but enough of the overall picture. “Lenny found you through Harrison—Sherry’s son.” She pushed the picture at him. “Harrison was trying to find his dad, and Lenny ended up finding out about you and Sherry instead.”
Cooper swore under his breath, his face ugly. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because he’s still after Sherry, and for a lot more than five thousand dollars. She knows it’s a scam, but she doesn’t want her husband to find out.”
“So, she can afford it. What’s this have to do with me?”
Makay took a deep breath. “You told me if I ever came back, you’d send someone to take care of me. I thought maybe you could send that guy to warn Lenny to drop out of the game. Not just for Sherry but everyone in your situation. I don’t have enough dirt on Lenny to have any kind of leverage, but Lenny values his own hide more than anything else. If he is scared enough he’d stop, and you could get your money back from him at the same time.”
Cooper stared at her as if she’d grown three heads. “Are you serious? What kind of idiot are you?” Again the sideway glances, checking for observers. He leaned over the small table that separated them. “Listen up good. Any guys I’d send after this Lenny would only make him leave
me
alone—and that would be because I’d pay them money. As for the rest of Lenny’s scams, they’re more likely to throw in with him than to stop him. Unless you have far more money than this.” He tapped the envelope. “No way. I’m out of it. And you would be, too, if you had any sense.”
“Fine. I’ll take care of him myself.”
“You do that.” Standing, he added, “You make your choices, not me, and now you deal with the consequences. Apparently, it’s going to take more than a broken arm and a ruined face to beat some sense into you. Don’t come here again.”