Sara's Song (38 page)

Read Sara's Song Online

Authors: Fern Michaels

BOOK: Sara's Song
13.24Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
Dallas grinned. “Yeah, Jack Piper.” This last was said in a hoarse whisper so it wouldn't carry to the kitchen area. “I haven't told you the best news, Adam. Are you ready?”
Adam smiled at the joy in his brother's face. He felt his whole body swell with love for this person he was just starting to know. “I'm ready.”
“I got us a mom and dad. A real set of parents. They look like parents, too. Maggie wears an apron and she puts on powder and curls her hair. She smells like food all the time. She hugs you till you squeal. Her eyes twinkle, and she can cook like an angel. She used to be a schoolteacher. She runs a motel in the desert. Our pap now is something else. His name is Moses and he's the one who found me in the desert. He sneaks cigarettes from Maggie. He used to own a junkyard, but he lives in a trailer now. They offered to give me money, Adam. They figured out who I was from seeing all the plane coverage on CNN. I told them we'd call on Christmas. They want you to be their kid, too.” Dallas's voice turned shy and uneasy. “They're my Christmas present to you, Adam.”
“Parents? Are you kidding me?”
“I wouldn't kid about something so important, Adam. They look better than those pictures in Millie's old catalogues.”
“Parents?” was all Adam could think of to say. “A mother and a father?”
“Yeah. They like to fuss over you. It feels real good. They care about everything. Neither one had any kids. What do you think?”
“I think we should invite them for Christmas is what I think. We can send a plane for them. Will they come?”
“You bet they'll come. Whip out that cell phone of yours and start making calls. You need to think about presents, too. What do you give a mom and dad, Adam?”
“I don't know, Dallas. We never had this problem before. Something special.” Both men homed in on Tom Silk who was listening to the conversation, his eyes wide in wonderment.
“A cruise would be nice for the four of you. I always got my dad a tie and a book for my mom.”
“A cruise sounds good,” Dallas said.
“Then let's do it.”
“Okay. Do you like my present, Adam,” Dallas asked shyly.
“Kid, it's the best. The best. Parents, huh?”
“Yep.”
Adam laughed. Dallas clapped him on the back as he, too, burst into laughter.
Thirty minutes later, all the details taken care of, Adam said, “Okay, Jack. I assume you plan on staying dead for the time being. What do you suggest we do?”
“Are you asking my opinion, Adam?”
“Yes, Jack, I am.”
Dallas grinned. “I think the three of you should take Miz Sims to the nearest police station. Let Sara sign her complaint. Then I say we charter a plane and head for that house of yours in South Carolina so we can wait for our mom and dad. I'd like that, Adam.”
“Me too, Jack. We could go fishing if you want. I know where there's a great river. The catfish are as long as your arm. If we catch any, we throw them back. Is that understood?”
Dallas threw back his head and laughed. “Understood. Listen, Jack Piper is going to need some money and some credit cards. Will you take care of it, Adam?”
“For you, Jack, anything. The big question now is, how are we going to get out of here?”
“Try that cell phone of yours. I have to pick up my dog. My landlady is probably sick of him by now. He howls when I'm gone too long.”
Adam punched out numbers. “What'd you name him?”
Dallas guffawed again. “Adam One.”
“Turn about is fair play.” He called the sheriff's office. “It'll be a couple of hours before they can get to us,” he said when he broke the connection. “I think we can all live with that.”
“I can't go with you, Adam. I'm going out to see if I can find the distributor cap to Sara's truck. I'll meet you at the Mexican restaurant.”
“You'll never find it, Dallas. Take your own truck. It's gassed and ready to go. If the storm lets up, you'll be able to drive. We bought some deicer. It's on the front seat. The heater works fine. We'll make arrangements to have Sara's truck towed to LA when the weather clears. We'll have someone from the sheriffs office drive us to the restaurant, then we'll head for the canyon to pick up my dogs and then you can pick up yours and we'll be on our way to South Carolina. I have a tree and everything. It might be dead by now but I have a tree and a mantel. Just like the pictures we used to look at in the catalogues. The picture will be complete now with a set of parents. You're invited, Sara.”
“Thanks but no thanks. I will take a ride to the airport, though. Do you think I can get a flight to Vegas? I'd like to spend what's left of Christmas with my sister and Nellie.”
Don't look at Dallas. Be cool. Tomorrow is another day. Just be happy for him and his brother. They both deserve this time. Be happy for them. Happy, happy, happy. You don't matter, Sara. Accept it. Let them be happy.
“We'll charter you a plane. Our new parents can take the same flight back to Charleston. Is that okay with you, Jack?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then I accept your offer,” Sara said. Damn, he didn't sound like he cared one way or the other what she did.
“Sara, I'm sorry about Benton Memorial. I'd like the chance to make it up to you,” Dallas said.
“That's not necessary . . . Jack. I more or less decided to head East and see how I like the Big Apple. But first I'm going back home. I'm going to rent a house and walk around and then do absolutely nothing for as long as I feel like it. I'm going to look up all my old friends, especially Barbara McDermott De Mera. I need to find out exactly who Sara Killian is once and for all. Maybe she can tell me. I need to do what you did, Dallas.” There, she'd told him exactly what and where she'd be. The next move was up to him.
“Will we ever see you again?” There was a catch in Adam's voice that did not go unnoticed by Dallas.
Sara shrugged because she didn't trust herself to speak.
“So who is buried, or cremated, in your . . . you know?” Tom asked.
“Don's brother. They didn't have any family. Don took care of Bruce the way Adam took care of me. They were orphans, too. I sent money anonymously to pay for the funerals from my wad of cash. When things are back to normal, I'll initiate a search for any distant cousins or relatives and do the right thing. Call the hospital, Adam, and see what the judge's condition is. Find out if it's Christmas.”
“He's stable. His family is with him. Today is Christmas Eve. We were two days ahead of ourselves. I wonder how that happened.”
“I guess it was meant to be this way.”
“Yeah, guess so,” Adam said.
“I'm going to get dressed,” Sara said.
“It's cold out there so bundle up,” Dallas said.
“Yeah, it's real cold out there,” Adam said.
“Freezing cold,” Tom volunteered.
Tears burned Sara's eyes as she shed the warm woolly robe. The tears dripped down her cheeks as she pulled on a gray wool sweater and heavy corduroy trousers. It was over. She could give Dallas back his song and move on to her new life, whatever that new life would turn out to be. She choked back a sob. What was wrong with her? The aftermath of shock. She sat down on the bed, her shoulders shaking. She had her life back. Dallas Lord was alive and well. The brothers were united and would lead long, happy lives. “What about me?” she whimpered. “Merry Christmas, Sara Killian.”
 
 
Sara stood on the tarmac staring at the private jet that would fly her to Las Vegas. She had to turn around and say good-bye to the three men behind her. Childishly she crossed her fingers that she wouldn't cry and make a fool of herself. Good-byes were never easy for anyone. She turned then, her eyes shining with tears. “Merry Christmas!” A second later she bounded up the steps. In the doorway she turned again, and shouted, “I'll send the tape back when I get home.”
Sara buckled her seat belt. Moments later the private jet taxied down the runway. She was airborne within minutes. She howled her misery to the empty cabin. She was still crying when the jet set down on the runway, her eyes red and puffy. Inside the terminal, she stepped into Nellie and Carly's waiting arms. She cried harder, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs. “Merry Christmas,” she blubbered.
Tom tried to make his voice sound cheerful. “You guys are like a couple of sad sacks,” he said. “Would you mind telling me why that is? Dallas is back among the living. We're all here safe and sound. The judge is improving. Sandi's in the lockup, and you two guys are going home to spend Christmas together with a new set of parents.”
“We're tired,” Adam said.
“Exhausted,” Dallas said.
“Bullshit!” Tom Silk said.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Adam demanded.
“Whatever you want it to mean,” Tom said smoothly as he herded the dogs up the steps to the jet that would take them all to Charleston.
“You should have gone after her, Dallas.”
“I was going to say the same thing to you, Adam.”
“I asked her to dinner. Just once. Just dinner, Dallas.”
“I don't have a problem with that. Sara's her own person. I screwed up with that business at Benton. I don't know what ever possessed me to do something like that.”
“We all make mistakes. Recognizing those wrongs and correcting them is what it's all about. Are you in love with Sara?”
Dallas evaded the question to pose one of his own. “I saw you looking at her back in the cabin. Are you in love with her?”
“She was someone I thought I'd like to get to know better, but to answer your question, no, I am not in love with her. However, if you tell me you have no interest in the doctor, then I would like to take her to dinner at some point in time.” His voice was sly-sounding, but Dallas missed the tone because he was busy looking around the cabin of the plane.
“I don't think it matters one way or the other. Sara has her life mapped out. She has things to do and places to go. Those things and places don't include me or you either for that matter, Adam.”
“I can tell you how to get to that small town in Pennsylvania where she's going. The one she grew up in. You fly into Pittsburgh and drive the rest of the way. That's if you're interested.”
Dallas's voice turned testy. “I don't recall saying I was interested. You, on the other hand, said you would like to take her to dinner. At some point in time. You could just as easily take that same plane you mentioned and rent your own damn car. That's if you're interested.”
“Hey, hey, it's Christmas Eve. This is no time for fighting over a woman who obviously isn't interested in either one of you,” Tom said.
Dallas slumped down into his seat. Adam did the same thing. Tom Silk smirked to himself.
“Adam?”
“Yeah.”
“I'm not retarded. Not even mildly. I'm not slow either. You know, slow-witted.”
“I know that, Dallas.”
“Then why didn't you tell me so. Why did you let me believe I was.”
“Dallas, look at me. I did tell you. You refused to believe me. How in the name of God could you be retarded and do what you do . . . did? When you got an idea into your head, I couldn't shake it loose. No one could. You have to take responsibility for that yourself.”
“Billy . . .”
“Dallas, sometimes Billy was an asshole. Yeah, we knew him from the time we were kids, and he was our friend, but that doesn't make what he did right. I tried to tell you about that, too, but you didn't want to listen to me because you thought I was jealous of your friendship. Each of us, in our own way, was swimming upstream. All of that is behind us now. It's in the past, and we can't unring the bell. From this day forward we're starting over, and we're on a wide-open road. I'm up for anything that helps us along that road.”

Other books

The Rise of the Fourteen by Catherine Carter
The Prodigal Comes Home by Kathryn Springer
Mountain Laurel by Clayton, Donna
Not Long for This World by Gar Anthony Haywood