Single and Searching (24 page)

"Forget about Gabe Thornton," Jill whispered.

Henry S. patted Casey's damp cheeks, and Casey laughed. "I will. Who needs men anyway?" But she was telling the biggest lie ever.

More than anything, she needed Gabe.

* * *

He hadn't slept. He couldn't eat.

He was so lonely he'd started talking to himself.

Gabe worked around the clock. Being in his big silent house was torture. When had the silence started to feel so dismal? He knew the answer without having to even think about it.

Casey's chaotic home, her lively toddler, and her exuberant personality had made him feel alive again. He missed the toys, he missed the clutter, the painted pasta on the walls. He even missed her messy, monster dog.

After talking to the teenagers, he contacted Quickchange. They set up a stakeout at the drop point where the boys met their boss. The address George had given him turned out to be an abandoned building. Soon, they would have the real ringleader in custody. Now, if he could only figure out why they'd implicated Casey. It was a piece that didn't fit.

He checked his watch. Time was running out. He had to hurry.

* * *

Casey opened the door, accepted the package and set it next to the other three unopened ones.

Gabe had continued sending gifts and notes of love, but she hadn't opened them. Lieutenant Harper hadn't called, and her precious son was driving her crazy.

He had used his tomahawk to chop their "R" project, raisin roads, into craters. Then he'd played Tarzan wearing nothing but the baseball cap Gabe had bought him. She wanted to throw the cap away, but Henry S. had taken to sleeping with it.

The cap reminded her of the first time she and Gabe had made love and her heart cracked another notch.

"Henry S., let's work on the letter T. We can build toothpick towers."

Henry S. picked up the box and dumped them on the floor. "Toothpick toss," Henry S. squealed.

Casey groaned. "No, buddy. Toothpick towers."

The rest of the day passed much the same. Henry S. dribbled glue all over the kitchen chair, and when Casey sat down, she glued her pants to the seat. She had to strip her jeans, then scrape the glue off to separate them from the chair with a knife.

Finally Jenna and Jill dropped by with pizza. Henry S. proceeded to place the pepperonis over his eyes and pretend he was a monster.

"Let me take him for a while," Jenna insisted. "You look exhausted, Casey."

Casey sighed. "I am, but I hate not to spend every minute I can with him. What if I lose him, Jenna?"

"You are not going to jail and you won't lose Henry S., so get it out of your mind," Jenna said. "I still think Gabe will come through for you. Did you see his article in the paper today?"

Casey nodded. "Does he think an editorial about forgiveness is going to get to me?" She refused to admit she'd cried when she'd read the piece.

Gabe's writing certainly had changed. The article sounded personal and sensitive, dramatically different from the first slanderous one he'd written about her. It reminded her of the night he'd comforted Henry S. and then later, her.

"The one in the evening edition last night talked about circumstantial evidence, too," Jenna said.

"Yeah, that was well written," Casey said. Was Gabe really trying to help her? She had to admit he must have trusted her to have left her alone, especially since his job was on the line, but...

"Go bye-bye?" Henry S. asked.

Jenna giggled. "Sure, buddy." Jill remained quiet, sipping her tea while studying Casey.

"Pwease." Henry S. dropped to his hands and knees to beg like Dog.

Casey relented. "Okay, Jenna, if you'll take him for a while, I could use a bubble bath."

Jenna picked Henry S. up.

"Hear?" Henry S. tapped at Jenna's hearing aid.

Jenna tickled him. "That's right. I can unplug it and then you can make all the noise you want, and it won't bother me."

Casey laughed. Sometimes Jenna's hearing loss was a blessing in disguise.

* * *

"Man, you look like a female version of Rambo," Gabe said.

Quickchange adjusted the too-tight straps of his highheel shoes. "Thanks to Vice. I didn't have time to change."

"Silver shoes—wow." Gabe whistled. "I'll get you a matching brooch when we solve this."

Quickchange gave him the finger, then motioned that the action was about to begin.

Gabe instantly became alert as the warehouse door squeaked open. Four teenage boys wearing black jackets and dark hats stumbled out. A tall man in sweats staggered forward.

"That's him," Quickchange whispered. "Now, stay in the background."

Gabe nodded.

His contact motioned for the backup officers to step in and Gabe breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the man being arrested. "T.J.," one of the officers called him.

Quickchange laughed. "Travis Satterfield, nice to finally meet you."

Gabe cracked his knuckles and stepped into the light. Travis Satterfield was T.J.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The man had tried to incriminate Casey because she had his son. He was the one who wanted that trust fun.

The bastard would cause Casey no more problems. And he'd never get Henry S.

Relief filled him as he watched the cops stuff him into the police car. Gabe followed them to the station, determined to make sure the charges stuck and Harper had the proof he needed to completely clear Casey.

An hour later, he finally left the police station, satisfied Satterfield was going to jail. The case was solved. He hadn't written the article yet, but he would, although he definitely wasn't looking forward to it.

He needed to talk to Casey first. If anyone deserved the truth, she did.

Still, the realization that he had to hurt her even more with his discovery made his foot ease off the accelerator. He'd thought solving the case would eliminate his problems, but now he didn't know. Winning Casey back had driven him to explore every possible avenue, and he'd discovered secrets that, while helping Casey, would also cause her pain.

How could he tell her that one of her best friends had helped set her up? She'd probably hate him even more.

The memory of holding her, kissing her, of her giving herself to him, taunted him, and he renewed his resolve to win her back.

He refused to give up. He'd purposefully left his clothes cluttering the floor in his house to remind him of Casey's home. And now he knew more about her past, he understood her need for a new name. She'd wanted to prove she had made something of her life. And she had.

Was she attending her awards dinner without him? Did she have another date? Perhaps she'd called that motorcycle maniac or Brick? His foot lowered on the gas and he sped up. Casey was his.

And dammit, it was about time she accepted the fact.

* * *

Casey sank down into the sea of bubbles and lay her head back, pushing the Big Bird shower curtain out of the way so she could hear the soft rock music wafting through the room. Tossing Henry S.' rubber duck and boats aside, she closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think about the unopened gifts in her foyer. Two more had arrived after Jenna and Jill left. Curiosity almost overpowered her, but so far, she'd fought the urge to peek inside.

Her hurt and anger with Gabe had subsided only slightly. She wondered if she'd been hasty in her judgment, but the truth about her past held her back. Even if Gabe had wanted to protect her, how could he accept the fact that she'd been a juvenile delinquent?

Shame washed over her as the hot water swirled around her. She'd decided she didn't need to prove anything to her high school acquaintances because Gabe had made her feel special. She'd felt proud of her accomplishments, and he'd made her wonder why she thought she had to prove herself to anyone.

Stunned, Casey sat up. Why did she have to prove herself to anyone? She had survived a painful childhood. Better yet, not only survived, but she'd overcome problems and risen above poverty and stigma. She'd become successful and had a wonderful little boy.

She unplugged the bathtub stopper and stood, water and bubbles beading her body. She didn't have to prove anything, not even to Gabe. She was just as good as anyone else, and just like she'd told Jenna about her hearing loss, if her past bothered him he wasn't worth her spit.

"Casey?"

Casey startled at the voice and glanced at the bathroom doorway to see Jill standing inside.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

"I... I'm sorry," Jill wailed.

Casey stepped from the tub, grabbed a towel, water sloshing and dripping around her. "What's wrong, Jill?"

Jill's shoulders slumped as she dropped her face into her hands and sobbed hysterically. Casey slipped and grabbed for something to steady her, but jerked the shower curtain down. Big Bird tangled around her feet.

Then Jill sagged to the floor. Casey found the towel and wrapped it around her, then crawled toward Jill.

"Jill, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I... I didn't think you'd get arrested. I... I only wanted Henry S. to know his father."

Casey froze, her stomach knotting. "What are you talking about, Jill?"

"I thought Travis really wanted Henry S. I didn't know about the trust fund," Jill stammered.

A bad feeling swept over Casey. "What did you do?"

"I'm sorry... it's all my fault," Jill whimpered.

A sudden realization suddenly sank in. "You sent in a description of me?" Tears blurred Casey's eyes, tears for herself, tears for Jill. "You've been seeing Travis?"

Jill nodded. "He came to me, begging me to help him. He said he loved Henry S., that Bev had lied. That he wanted him all along."

"Oh, Jill. He wanted the money," Casey whispered.

"I know that now," Jill cried. "I'm so sorry, Casey. I'll tell the police. I promise I will. He said he just wanted to scare you into giving him custody, that you'd never go to jail."

"They'll be interested in hearing your side of the story." A deep masculine voice cut into the room.

Casey jumped, shocked as Gabe stepped inside her bathroom.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked, sarcasm tingeing her voice.

Gabe's gaze lingered momentarily on Casey. She suddenly remembered her nudity and tightened the towel around her.

"We found the real person behind the robberies," Gabe said. "I wanted you to know he's in custody."

Jill's sobs grew louder.

Gabe reached for Casey's robe and handed it to her. Their eyes locked and she thought he was going to say something, but he stepped out of the room while she slipped into her robe.

Then Casey helped Jill into the den and settled her on the sofa with a blanket.

Gabe's expression seemed troubled. Casey took a deep breath. Did he have evidence against her? Was he here to tell her the police were on the way?

She sank onto the chair, her legs suddenly weak.

Gabe knelt beside her and took her hands in his. "Casey, the police have arrested Travis Satterfield, Henry S.' father."

Casey exhaled the breath she'd been holding.

"He set you up. It turns out he was furious that you refused him custody rights, but you were right. He owed heavy gambling debts. He paid a group of teenagers to commit the robberies, used money he received from the stolen goods to pay off some debts, but he was in way over his head. He wanted that trust fund."

Casey squeezed Gabe's hands. "Did he confess?"

"Not yet, but we have four guys who'll testify he paid them and evidence tying him to heavy debts he owed a mobster. He was desperate. It's a done deal, Casey. There's no way he'll ever get his hands on Henry S."

Casey sighed in relief and glanced at Jill. They'd been friends for years. Although she realized Jill had been a victim, too, finding out that her friend had deceived her hurt.

Gabe seemed to read her mind. When he spoke his quiet voice soothed Casey, softening the blow. "Jill, your note threw the case. Casey's your friend. Why did you do it?"

Jill spoke through broken sobs. "I thought Travis really wanted Henry S. I wanted him to have a father. You and I didn't."

Casey chewed her bottom lip as tears rolled down her face.

"How did you know I was working on the story?" Gabe asked.

Jill shook her head. "I didn't, but I knew you worked for the paper. And I ha... hate the police."

"I think she wanted to break us up, too," Casey said softly.

Gabe wiped Casey's tears away. Then he glanced at the unopened packages by the door, shook his head and looked down at the floor. "I guess I managed to do that all by myself."

Jill began to wail again.

Gabe glanced at Jill, then squeezed Casey's hands. "I have to go, Casey. Hank's waiting on the story. Will you be all right?"

Casey nodded, his words cutting through her. Maybe he did care more about the story than her.

She dragged herself up and went to Jill, cradling her as Gabe walked out the door.

What would happen to Jill now?

And what would happen between her and Gabe?

After all, he hadn't said he would call.

Chapter 11