Wanted: A Real Family Read online

  “Did you find her?”

  “Jase, there’s nothing out here. We don’t know what we’re looking for. You need to call the authorities.”

  “You’re looking for red. You’re looking for reddish-brown hair. You’re looking for a child who could not have gone that far.”

  “Maybe you want to be the hero here, but you’ve got to be practical.”

  Did he want to be Sara’s hero? Sure, why not. After all, he was getting in deeper. But more than anything else, he just wanted to find a little girl who’d crawled into his heart.

  “Ten more minutes, Liam, then I’ll call. Search low and search behind.”

  As each second ticked by, Jase’s optimism fled. What did he know about searching? What did he know about relationships? What did he know about finding one lost little girl?

  The next time Jase’s phone buzzed, his father’s number flashed on the screen. He suspected Ethan was going to give him the same advice as Liam had. Instead, however, Ethan’s voice was jubilant.

  “I found her! Something about she saw a cat and she chased after it.”

  There were a couple of cats at the winery. Liam had taken them to the vet now and then, and he kept a stash of cat food in the storage cupboard.

  “Did you call Sara?” Jase asked.

  “I thought you’d like to do that. Meet you at her place.”

  Jase could hear Amy in the background, and the gentleness in his father’s voice when Ethan said to her, “I’ll take you home to your mommy. Come on, now.” Then he clicked off.

  Jase wondered about that gentleness...wondered how his father would be with a grandchild.

  Grandchild? What was he thinking of?

  He jogged back to Sara’s cottage, on the phone the whole way, alerting Sara her daughter had been found, alerting the searchers they could come home.

  * * *

  Sara ran toward Ethan and Amy as they came into view. When Jase had phoned her to tell her his father had found her daughter, her legs had almost buckled. Now she rushed toward them, eager to see Amy and make sure she was okay. However, the sight of them made her stop. Ethan looked like a grandfather, holding his granddaughter’s hand. He had his head bent low and was speaking to her. Sara wondered what he was saying.

  Moving again, Sara reached Amy and hugged her tight. “I lost you and couldn’t find you! Where did you go?”

  “Kitty ran off and I went, too.”

  Sara crouched before Amy. “Honey, look at me.”

  Amy did.

  “Don’t ever go outside without my permission...or without me. It’s a great big world and I don’t want you to get lost. If Mr. Cramer hadn’t found you, it would have gotten dark and you would have been out here all alone. Promise me you won’t do that again.”

  Amy’s eyes grew really big and her lower lip quivered. “Are you mad?”

  Sara gave her another hug. “No, I’m not mad. I was just very, very worried. Can you promise you won’t go out without me?”

  “I promise,” she said solemnly.

  Standing, Sara faced Ethan. “Thank you. I don’t know how to express how much your search meant.”

  Ethan’s expression was gentle. “I understand how a parent feels when a child is lost. When Jase was thirteen, he disappeared and we couldn’t find him.”

  Jase’s voice came from behind her. “I don’t remember that.”

  “We found you reading a book in the springhouse.”

  Sara saw a shadow pass over Jase’s face as he must have suddenly remembered exactly why he’d been in the springhouse. “I wasn’t trying to run away.”

  “No, maybe not, but you were trying to find a place where you felt you belonged.”

  Jase’s face showed surprise at his father’s perception. He went silent until he glanced at Amy. “You had quite an adventure. I think we have sweet rolls at the house. Interested?”

  Amy looked up at Sara for permission.

  “That sounds good,” Sara agreed. “We’ll get a bath, and then we’ll have a snack.” She noticed all the volunteers had left, returning to whatever they were doing before Jase’s call had summoned them. Liam, too. She’d make a point of thanking everyone personally.

  An hour later, Amy smelled of strawberry shampoo when Jase arrived with the sweet rolls. Amy grinned at him, oblivious of the chaos she’d caused as her fingers became sticky with icing, and grape filling smudged her upper lip.

  “You’ll need another bath,” Jase teased her. Then he said to Sara, “Watching her enjoy a sweet roll has got to be one of your best visual memories. I should have brought my camera.”

  Sara thought about the other photos he’d taken. She’d framed them, placing them around the cottage. He’d given her more that he’d taken at the wine and music festival.

  “Speaking of memories,” she said, “I can’t quite imagine you running away and holing up in the springhouse with a book.”

  “I’d forgotten about that one. I’m surprised my dad remembered it.”

  “I’ll bet he remembers more than you give him credit for.”

  “I was pretty defensive back then. Sullen, too.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “I don’t think my dad could. He expected me to be thankful for being adopted and just fit in somehow. I wish it had been that easy.”

  “But you did fit in eventually.”

  “I did. But by then it was as if he and I had this great divide between us. We’ve never been able to bridge it.”

  “I hope that never happens between me and Amy.”

  “It won’t. You’ll make sure it doesn’t.”

  “Even when the teenage hormones surge?”

  “You’ll need a gatekeeper to turn the boys away.”

  She could imagine Jase being that gatekeeper.

  Seeing Amy was finished with her sweet roll, Sara said, “Let’s get you washed up again and into bed.”

  “Can Jase say prayers with me?”

  Saying prayers was different from reading a story and she didn’t know how Jase would feel about that. When she glanced at him, she saw he looked surprised.

  “You don’t have to,” she assured him quickly.

  Instead of answering Sara, he focused on Amy. “I hope you’re good at saying prayers because I’m not. Maybe you can show me how.”

  “Okay,” Amy said as if it were no big deal.

  So that’s how, ten minutes later, they were gathered in Amy’s room, Jase sitting on her bed with her. “How does this go?” Jase asked.

  “I tell God what I’m thankful for.”

  “And what are you thankful for?”

  Amy folded her hands and closed her eyes. “I’m thankful for our new house and for Mommy and Jordan and Marissa and you.” Opening her eyes, she said in a low voice to Jase, “Then I ask God to bless everyone.”

  “Okay,” Jase agreed.

  “God bless Mommy and Jordan and Marissa and you and Mr. Cramer, too. He found me. And bless kitty cat.”

  She unfolded her hands and opened her eyes. “That’s it.”

  “You did a good job.” Jase couldn’t hide the smile in his voice.

  “That’s what Mommy says.”

  “And now Mommy says it’s time for sleep.” Sara stood and so did Jase. She could see he didn’t know whether to stay or go.

  She pulled the sheet up to Amy’s neck and kissed her forehead. “Good night, little one. Have very sweet dreams.”

  Jase bent to Amy, laid his hand on her hair and then moved away. Sara wondered what he was thinking as they returned to the living room.

  She didn’t have to wonder for long as he said, “I hope she takes her time growing up.”

  “I know what you mean.” When they reached the sofa, Sa
ra suggested, “I think Amy and your dad bonded.”

  “I didn’t get the feeling that he scolded her for running away,” Jase agreed, looking pensive.

  “Did he scold you when you ran away?”

  After a thoughtful pause, Jase shook his head. “No, he didn’t, come to think of it. He asked me about the book I was reading. It was Treasure Island and he said he’d read it as a boy. I’d forgotten all about that conversation.”

  “Sometimes it’s not so bad taking a stroll down memory lane.”

  “No, sometimes it’s not.” He took her into his arms, then, and gave her one of those long, wet kisses that made her want to strip his clothes off and hers, too.

  After he raised his head, his expression showing he didn’t want to stop any more than she did, he told her, “I’m going to a wine expo in San Jose next weekend. It’s just an overnight trip. I’ll leave Saturday morning, be back by Sunday evening. How would you like to come along?”

  * * *

  Late afternoon on Wednesday, Sara stood beside Ramona at the Four Oaks Ranch, watching Connie Russo on a bay as she led two children on their own horses around the ring. Sara had decided to introduce Ramona to Connie because she thought it might help her attitude.

  Ramona said, “They look like they’re having a lot of fun.”

  “They are. Connie says the lessons teach them confidence, balance and independence.”

  An SUV had driven up while they were talking and a young woman who looked to be in her thirties climbed out. She walked over to Sara and Ramona and motioned to the ring.

  “Those are my two.”

  “They’re doing great,” Ramona noted. “Good seats and handling the reins well.”

  “Do you help out here?” the woman asked.

  “No, I don’t,” Ramona said.

  Sara was hoping Ramona would want to. Soon Ramona would be able to ride again. Maybe not out on the trail, but here in the ring. She could give her input from the ground for now and Connie could use the help.

  The two children dismounted and the mom excused herself to go get them. They all climbed into the SUV and drove off.

  Connie joined Sara and Ramona at the fence, extending her hand to Ramona.

  “It’s good to meet you. Sara told me you used to ride a lot.”

  “I took tourists on trail rides up into the mountains, did a lot of camping on my own, too. But then I was in a biking accident and everything changed. I haven’t been on a horse in six months.”

  “Do you think you’re good to ride now?”

  Ramona glanced at Sara. “I guess that’s up to Sara. I feel stronger than I did since I’ve been working with her, but my leg muscles are still weaker than I’d like.”

  “Riding will help strengthen them again, you know that,” Connie told her.

  “Yes, I do. I guess I’m just scared.”

  “We all fear whatever might hurt us,” Connie said.

  That sentence hit home with Sara. When Jase had asked her to go along to the expo in San Jose, she hadn’t given him an answer. She’d told him she’d think about it, that she would have to see about someone watching Amy. She’d also said she wasn’t sure being separated from Amy was a good thing right now. But the real reason for her hesitation was fear. If she went with Jase, she knew she’d be intimate with him, and she wasn’t sure where that was going to lead.

  For the moment, however, she had to put thoughts of San Jose aside to focus on Ramona. “I think it would do you good to be out in the sun, to just be around horses again and to feel your way. You’re strong enough to get back in the saddle on a gentle horse, but you have to feel you’re ready.”

  “Oh, I have a couple of gentle ones,” Connie assured them. “It will feel like being in a rocking chair when you ride them. One’s a quarter horse and only fourteen hands high, so you wouldn’t be that far off the ground, either. But as Sara said, you have to feel ready. You could start by watching some lessons, telling me how you think the kids are handling their horses, nothing strenuous, nothing threatening for anyone.”

  “How often would you like me to help?” Ramona asked, almost looking eager.

  “How about a couple of mornings a week? Then over lunch we could discuss how you feel and what you saw with the kids.”

  “I think that sounds like a good start,” Ramona said, and she turned to Sara. “Thank you.”

  “No thanks necessary. And we’ll keep working on strengthening your arms and legs plus your stamina. That treadmill and stair stepper is just waiting for you.”

  Ramona laughed and it was the first genuine laugh Sara had heard since she’d begun treating her. Facing fear was probably the best way to face life.

  So...could she face her doubts and fears and go along with Jase to San Jose?

  First she’d talk to Kaitlyn and see if she could watch Amy overnight. If that could be arranged, then she’d call Jase. She’d tell him she’d go to the wine expo with him and find out if he was going to reserve two rooms...or one.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sara could hardly keep her eyes off of Jase as he drove to San Jose—his strong hands on the wheel, the breadth of his shoulders, the way his expression changed when he talked to her or watched the road.

  But there was tension between them that was her fault. She knew he wanted to ease it when he said, “Tell me why you don’t want anyone to know you’re in San Jose with me.”

  “Marissa and Kaitlyn know.” When Jase had come to the cottage to pick her up, she’d given Kaitlyn last-minute details and asked her not to tell anyone about her trip with Jase unless absolutely necessary.

  “And my father,” he added. “But I don’t understand why it’s a secret from anyone else.”

  “With my interview running in the paper on Monday, I don’t want to start more gossip.”

  “You don’t want anyone to think we’re having an affair?”

  They weren’t. Yet.

  When she didn’t respond, he glanced at her. “I told you the suite has two bedrooms. This trip can be whatever you want it to be.”

  She knew what she wanted it to be. But risking her heart again would take courage. Unless she could just look at this weekend as the start of an affair and nothing more.

  But could she ever just have an affair with Jase?

  She doubted it. If she made love with him, she’d be risking her heart, taking a chance on love again.

  That thought was scary, almost as scary as something else she needed to tell him. “I got a call from Mr. Kiplinger’s secretary while I was packing.”

  Jase cast her a considering glance. “Has the insurance company made a determination?”

  “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me what High Point decided, just that I needed to make an appointment with Mr. Kiplinger. He was out of town, so we set it up for Friday. I can use a personal day.”

  “No hint of their decision?”

  “No. But I think I’ll try to call him myself on Monday.”

  “He’s not going to tell you anything before he has to.”

  “I know. But it won’t hurt to call.”

  “You persevere, don’t you?”

  “What other choice is there?”

  “Lots of people give up.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “No. Because of you.” He reached over and took her hand.

  She liked holding Jase’s hand. She liked the idea of doing it for a very long time.

  Two hours later, the bellhop opened the door into the executive suite and returned Jase’s key card to him. The hotel was attached to the convention center where the wine expo was being held. The lobby had been luxuriously modern, and now she saw that the sitting area of the suite was, also, decorated in plush claret and soothing gray. But what attracted Sara m
ost were the panoramic views of the cityscape.

  After the bellhop deposited their suitcases in the bedrooms—one in each—Jase tipped him and closed the door. “What do you think?”

  Still entranced by the view, she responded, “It’s a world away from the vineyard.”

  Jase came up behind her at the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Yes, it is.”

  He was so close, she could feel his body heat. She did want to be close to him. She leaned back against him and thought again about tonight. Separate bedrooms? Or should she let her desire and feelings for him win out over her fears? His arms came around her and they stood looking out at the city. She could feel his heat, his energy, his passion.

  She’d turned into his arms, ready for his kiss, when his cell phone beeped.

  “I’ll let it go to voice mail,” he muttered.

  She’d come along knowing this was a business trip for him. “Didn’t you say you were expecting calls from other vintners who would be here?”

  “Do you always have to be so practical?”

  “As a mom, I have to be practical.”

  Bestowing a quick kiss on her lips anyway, he shook his head and took his phone from his belt. When he glanced at the number, he frowned.

  “Do you need privacy?” she asked.

  “It’s my editor,” he said in a low voice. “Rather, he was my editor a long time ago.”

  Jase answered the call with, “Hi, Matt. It’s been a long time.”

  After a few moments, Jase glanced at Sara. “So you heard about the article.”

  Uneasy, Sara suspected what was coming next. If Jase’s editor knew Jase was writing again, photographing again—some of his photos of the food collection for the summer lunch program had been in the paper and online—he might want him to write something in particular, something that could take Jase across the world.

  Fidgety now, she crossed to the desk on the pretense of examining the room-service menu. Paging through it, she was far enough away from Jase that she didn’t hear most of the conversation.

  She’d gone through the service directory, the restaurant menu, the concierge services and all the other amenities that were available by the time Jase ended the call.