brought in the luggage.
“I need to go to the cottage,” she said.
“It’s dark. Want me to take you?”
She shook her head.
The cottage sat at the back of his property. After Savannah moved in, he’d lined the path with lamps, hoping she’d come visit him, but she’d hidden away from him. She’d been too shy, or maybe too embarrassed about being cut off and needing his help.
“Let me turn on the lights for you,” he said.
After she left, Jack took out his phone and looked up the number of his friend and fellow Marine, Theo Brooks. Theo had been a JAG officer before he’d been injured in the Middle East. He’d been out on a good will mission to deliver vaccines to a remote village. His vehicle was hit with explosives. After a month in the hospital, he was honorably discharged and came home to Salinas Pass.
Theo quit practicing law and now spent his time buying and selling businesses. He prided himself on not having worn a tie since returning to Texas. Ornery and stubborn, he lived alone on three hundred acres outside of town. His only company was a couple of dogs, retired military dogs that he took in when he got out of the service.
Jack sat down in his study and switched on the light. A frame sat beside his phone, a picture of him and Savannah when she first started work. She wore her uniform and a shy smile, looking into the camera as she pulled a strand of hair back. The picture caught her when she wasn’t ready and the photographer didn’t think Jack would like it, but when Jack saw it he knew just where he wanted to keep it. On his desk. Where he could see it every day.
He dialed Theo and his friend answered on the third ring.
“What the hell, Jack,” Theo said, skipping any preliminaries. “You don’t tell people you’re getting married. Not even me?”
“I need a favor.”
Theo chuckled. “Trouble in paradise? That didn’t take long.”
Theo didn’t think much of marriage after his wife walked out on him two years ago. She didn’t care for his decision to quit law and packed up and left before he’d even gotten back to the states. A month later they were divorced.
Jack got right down to business. “That woman your father married, what’s her name?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Her name’s Diane. Why are you asking me about my step-mother?”
Jack picked up a pencil and tapped it on his notepad. “Isn’t her daughter a nurse?”
More quiet. Theo’s father remarried after ten years of being a widower. His dad had plenty of money, and while the woman wasn’t exactly poor, Theo seemed to think she’d been the one to push for marriage, partly or mostly to get her hands on some of his dad’s money. Theo grumbled about her daughter too.
“Sage is in school to become a nurse. She’s not a nurse yet. She’s kind of a scatterbrain,” Theo said. “She’ll graduate in May. God help us all.”
Jack smiled. “You don’t think she’s too smart. Or what?”
“She’s booksmart, far as I can tell. She just doesn’t have a lot of sense. My step-mom’s kind of in lala land too. Step-mom . Jesus. I can’t get used to saying that.”
“You ever talk to her?”
“Who? Sage?”
Jack heard the wariness in Theo’s voice. “Yeah.”
“Some. Her mom asked me to keep an eye on her. My dad and Diane travel all the time, so when their gone, I have coffee with Sage every so often. Make sure she’s okay. She doesn’t like it. Seems sort of scared of me.”
“Scared of you? Smart girl. I like her already. You’re a scary guy… what are you, six three and two twenty?”
“Two forty. I’m lifting three times a week again.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s scared of you. That and you’re a surly son of a bitch. I want you to call her and ask her to find out if Weston Michaels was in the ER anytime today. He claims he was checked out for a heart attack and I’m calling bullshit on that.”
Theo snorted. “You know that’s illegal, right. They can’t
“I need to go to the cottage,” she said.
“It’s dark. Want me to take you?”
She shook her head.
The cottage sat at the back of his property. After Savannah moved in, he’d lined the path with lamps, hoping she’d come visit him, but she’d hidden away from him. She’d been too shy, or maybe too embarrassed about being cut off and needing his help.
“Let me turn on the lights for you,” he said.
After she left, Jack took out his phone and looked up the number of his friend and fellow Marine, Theo Brooks. Theo had been a JAG officer before he’d been injured in the Middle East. He’d been out on a good will mission to deliver vaccines to a remote village. His vehicle was hit with explosives. After a month in the hospital, he was honorably discharged and came home to Salinas Pass.
Theo quit practicing law and now spent his time buying and selling businesses. He prided himself on not having worn a tie since returning to Texas. Ornery and stubborn, he lived alone on three hundred acres outside of town. His only company was a couple of dogs, retired military dogs that he took in when he got out of the service.
Jack sat down in his study and switched on the light. A frame sat beside his phone, a picture of him and Savannah when she first started work. She wore her uniform and a shy smile, looking into the camera as she pulled a strand of hair back. The picture caught her when she wasn’t ready and the photographer didn’t think Jack would like it, but when Jack saw it he knew just where he wanted to keep it. On his desk. Where he could see it every day.
He dialed Theo and his friend answered on the third ring.
“What the hell, Jack,” Theo said, skipping any preliminaries. “You don’t tell people you’re getting married. Not even me?”
“I need a favor.”
Theo chuckled. “Trouble in paradise? That didn’t take long.”
Theo didn’t think much of marriage after his wife walked out on him two years ago. She didn’t care for his decision to quit law and packed up and left before he’d even gotten back to the states. A month later they were divorced.
Jack got right down to business. “That woman your father married, what’s her name?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Her name’s Diane. Why are you asking me about my step-mother?”
Jack picked up a pencil and tapped it on his notepad. “Isn’t her daughter a nurse?”
More quiet. Theo’s father remarried after ten years of being a widower. His dad had plenty of money, and while the woman wasn’t exactly poor, Theo seemed to think she’d been the one to push for marriage, partly or mostly to get her hands on some of his dad’s money. Theo grumbled about her daughter too.
“Sage is in school to become a nurse. She’s not a nurse yet. She’s kind of a scatterbrain,” Theo said. “She’ll graduate in May. God help us all.”
Jack smiled. “You don’t think she’s too smart. Or what?”
“She’s booksmart, far as I can tell. She just doesn’t have a lot of sense. My step-mom’s kind of in lala land too. Step-mom . Jesus. I can’t get used to saying that.”
“You ever talk to her?”
“Who? Sage?”
Jack heard the wariness in Theo’s voice. “Yeah.”
“Some. Her mom asked me to keep an eye on her. My dad and Diane travel all the time, so when their gone, I have coffee with Sage every so often. Make sure she’s okay. She doesn’t like it. Seems sort of scared of me.”
“Scared of you? Smart girl. I like her already. You’re a scary guy… what are you, six three and two twenty?”
“Two forty. I’m lifting three times a week again.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s scared of you. That and you’re a surly son of a bitch. I want you to call her and ask her to find out if Weston Michaels was in the ER anytime today. He claims he was checked out for a heart attack and I’m calling bullshit on that.”
Theo snorted. “You know that’s illegal, right. They can’t
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