Dawn Stewardson (15 page)

It had been a perfect end to the evening and he’d only been able to tear himself away by thinking he’d be seeing her for breakfast this morning.

Of course, after that… Well, it wouldn’t be long after breakfast before he’d have to get going. Oh, maybe he could hang around for a few more hours, but eventually he’d be heading back to Eagles Roost. Without Lauren. Which just might be the most unappealing prospect he’d faced in years.

He got up and dressed quickly, not wanting to wake his friend, then slipped out of the apartment and down to the street. Since he’d taken another taxi last night, leaving his van in Lauren’s parking spot, he decided to walk to her place. That way, he wouldn’t be knocking on her door too early.

But he walked so fast he ended up circling her block a couple of times, killing another fifteen minutes. He was way too eager—he knew that—yet he didn’t have a clue how to deal with it.

When she opened her door, he couldn’t even wait for her to say a word before he kissed her.

“Mmm,” she murmured sleepily. “Mmm, do you think I could have a wake-up call like this every morning?”

Didn’t he wish. “It would be an awfully long drive to make every morning,” he pointed out, glad to discover he was capable of at least basic logical thought.

Smiling, she stepped aside to let him in and said, “But it isn’t as if you can
never
come to the city again.”

“Right. Just not until after Grace and Otis are home.”

She closed the door behind him, suddenly looking so serious that he knew there was something important on her mind.

“What?” he said.

Giving a little shrug, she said, “I woke up in the night worrying about Blackstone.”

When he nodded for her to go on, she said, “Actually, I woke up because I had a nightmare about him. I think my subconscious was going over what you said yesterday—that Blackstone might come up with some other bizarre scheme to get his hands on Eagles Roost. Because in the dream, you and the boys were walking down the lodge’s driveway, looking incredibly sad. And he was standing on the porch, laughing while he watched you leave.”

After a moment’s pause, she added, “I don’t want you to lose Eagles Roost. And I don’t want anything to happen to your program.”

“That makes two of us.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close again.

“No, listen to me,” she said, straightening up and looking at him once more. “I know you have a problem with the idea of taking anything from me, but I need you to listen to what I’m going to say. And then we won’t ever talk about it again unless you want to, okay?”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“Sully, if by any chance you can’t come up with funding for next year, or if something else happens with Blackstone and you’re in danger of losing the lodge, I’d be more than happy to lend you enough money to see you through.”

“Lauren, I—”

She pressed her fingers to his lips and shook her head. “Please, Sully? Let’s just leave it at that.”

He looked at her for a minute, then finally nodded. Talking about it would only spoil their remaining time together. Drawing her close once more, he kissed her. But even the sweetness of her kiss didn’t entirely take his mind off what she’d said.

He knew that if it ever came down to a choice between swallowing his pride or seeing his program destroyed, he’d swallow his pride. He just hoped that he never found himself in a position where his only option was having to ask Lauren to bail him out.

But if he couldn’t handle the thought of that, could there be even a possibility that he and Lauren might somehow…

He drew back a little and gazed into those beautiful blue eyes of hers, daring to let himself finish the thought. Could there be even a possibility that he and Lauren might somehow end up married? A possibility that he could handle being the poor husband of a wealthy wife? Or that she’d have the slightest interest in living at Eagles Roost, rather than in this fancy apartment?

“Let’s get started on that breakfast I promised you,” she said, taking him by the hand and leading him toward the kitchen.

He followed along, thinking that—if only she were as poor as a church mouse—he’d ask her to marry him right this minute.

The boys come to town

L
AUREN SAT CROSS-LEGGED
on the couch, Killer purring in her lap, wishing she could magically stop time. But as much as she hated to see Sully leave, he had no choice about going, so she was doing her best not to seem depressed.

“You know,” she said, “you’re a terrible influence on me. I’m not the world’s earliest riser, but I don’t remember ever hanging around the apartment, just eating and talking until almost two in the afternoon before.”

He gave her one of his fabulous smiles. “If the boys weren’t supposed to be getting back around seven, we could hang out even longer.”

She looked down at the couch, absently tracing the pattern on the fabric—still trying to decide if she should raise the subject of Dirk Blackstone again.

That dream about Sully losing the lodge wouldn’t stop bothering her. And even though she didn’t believe she had mystical powers of prediction, why take chances with anything that smacked of intuition or the prophetic? No, she really thought they’d better get to the bottom of the Blackstone mystery. And as soon as possible. She just couldn’t help worrying that the man might try some other crazy scheme to get his hands on Eagles Roost.

But since last night, Sully hadn’t said a word about her idea of hiring a private detective. She assumed that meant he’d decided against it, and if they didn’t do that…

“Sully?” she said, inspiration hitting.

“Uh-huh?”

“Sully, what if you and I played detective at Fax Depot?”

He shot her a curious look.

“What if we sent a fax to Dirk Blackstone, to lure him there, then kept an eye on the place until he came to pick it up?”

“Twenty-four hours a day?”

She shook her head. “I was thinking more like from about eight in the morning until nine at night. I mean, given the manager’s description, I doubt Blackstone’s the type of guy who’d be wandering around Forty-Second Street in the middle of the night.”

“No, probably not, but—”

“And the foundation office isn’t very busy in the summer. So what if I took next Friday off? Or even Thursday and Friday. If we sent the fax Wednesday evening, that would give us four days until Sunday and—”

“Lauren, you know I can’t get into the city again until Grace and Otis are back. It’s one thing to farm out Roxy, but I can’t farm out five boys.”

“Well…what if you brought them along?”

He grinned at her. “Joke, right?”

“No, I’m serious. I’ve got four bedrooms. One for you, two for them. I mean, you wouldn’t even have to stay with your friend, right? Not with five kids here watching us. So why not?”

“Well, let’s see,” he said, still smiling as if she had to be joking. “Just for starters, boys are noisy, messy and put their feet all over the furniture. Your place would never be the same.”

“Oh, Sully, we’re talking five young boys, not five wild animals.”

“Sometimes, there isn’t a lot of difference. Besides, who’d be keeping them from getting into trouble while we were out playing detective? I wouldn’t leave them on their own in this city for a minute, let alone for hours.”

“Then maybe they could help. I mean, I know they couldn’t stand around for twelve or thirteen hours a day, but I think we’d have to cover the place in two shifts, anyway. So they could help keep an eye out with either one of us. Sully, they’ve been trying to help all along. Think what a boost it would be to their self-esteem if they actually could.”

“Well, that’s a good point, but it doesn’t—”

“Or what about this? Elliot and Ursula live on Long Island. They’ve got two kids of their own, a huge pool and a tennis court. And I’m sure they’d take the boys for a day or two.”

“Lauren, you can’t just go asking people to—”

“They’re not people. They’re my brother and sister-in-law. And don’t forget you saved his life. If he’d saved yours, how happy would you be for the chance to do him a favor?”

“No, look, I know you’re trying to help, but what would happen if Blackstone showed up on your shift? I mean, I could just walk up to him, introduce myself and ask him what the story is. But what would you do?”

“I could do the same thing.”

“Uh-uh. We have no idea what this guy’s like so—”

“We’d be in the middle of Fax Depot. And there are always cops on Forty-Second Street. But I could call you right away and you’d get there in no time. Sully, we’d find out what we want to know.”

“No, it’s too crazy and too dangerous.”

“We’d have four days together,” she pointed out.

He looked at her for a long moment. “Well…” he said at last, “maybe I was being a little hasty. Maybe if you were only there in the early part of the day…”

“I could take the first shift.”

“And you’d promise not to approach him on your own.”

“I guess,” she said, deciding
I guess
didn’t exactly constitute a “yes.” If she was there and Blackstone started to walk away, she certainly wouldn’t let him.

“Well…then maybe the idea’s not
entirely
crazy.”

“S
ULLY
? I
T’S REAL
crowded back here,” Terry complained from the van’s rear seat.

“It’ll be okay as soon as we drop Roxy off,” Sully told him. “Then we’ll move all your stuff into the back.”

“And then we’ll be on our way,” Freckles said excitedly. “Sully, tell us again what we’re gonna do there?”

“He already told us a hundred times,” Tony grumbled.

“Yeah, but I like to hear.”

“Okay,” Sully said. “This is the last time, though. Tomorrow you’re all going to help Lauren and me. And on Friday, too, if we still need—”

“To stake out the place,” Billy put in. “We’ll be real detectives.”

“Uh-huh, real detectives.” Sully smiled to himself. Lauren had been right. The boys were absolutely thrilled that he was turning to them for help.

He hadn’t told them all the details, but he’d explained that Blackstone was responsible for Eagles Roost losing its funding, and that he and Lauren had unsuccessfully tried to track the guy down last weekend.

“Then we get to go to Yankee Stadium,” Terry was saying.

“Is that for
sure,
Sully?” Freckles asked.

“Yes, it’s for sure. I told you, when Lauren’s brother phoned he said he had six tickets for the Friday night game.”

Sully thought back to that conversation as he turned onto the road that led to old Zeke Scrouthy’s place. It had been the first time he’d talked to Elliot since the shooting. Actually, it had been the first time he’d
ever
talked to Elliot. And the man had fallen all over himself being grateful—and saying that he and Ursula would be happy to take the boys for all
four
days if Sully wanted.

“And after the game he’s going to take us back to his house,” Billy said.

“Right. So you can spend Saturday in his pool.”

“With his two little kids,” Tony said.

“Yes. And they’re younger than any of you, so don’t be rough with them. And don’t forget Mr. Van Slyke just had a concussion, so absolutely no horsing around with him. And you’re going to do everything he and his wife tell you, without a word of talking back.”

“We’ve got it,” Billy said. “We’re on our best behavior for the next four days. And we don’t put our feet on nobody’s furniture, and we don’t eat nothin’ except when we’re in a kitchen.”

“Or at the ballpark,” Terry said.

“Or by the pool,” Freckles added.

Sully turned into Zeke’s drive, hoping the kids would remember at least half the rules.

“Sully?” Billy said. “Will we be able to ride in Lauren’s car? Did she get it back yet?”

“Uh-uh. And her insurance company says that since it’s been missing this long she’ll probably never see it again. I think they’re going to settle the claim pretty soon.”

When he pulled up in front of Zeke’s house, one of the neighbors, Alma Merlinski, was sitting on the porch.

She rose when he popped the tailgate, then hurried toward the van as he climbed out.

“What’s up?” he asked, glancing around for Zeke.

“Oh, Sully, I phoned but you’d already left. When I came over a while back with some fresh-baked muffins, Zeke looked just dreadful. And he admitted he’d been having chest pains, so I insisted on calling the doctor. And, well, Doc Morely thinks he’ll probably be fine, but he took him off to the hospital for observation, just in case.”

Sully looked back to where Roxy was sitting drooling in the rear of the van, wondering what he was going to do with her now.

“Zeke didn’t want to go,” Alma was explaining. “He kept saying you were counting on him to take the dog. But better safe than sorry, right?”

Sully nodded. Then before he could sound Alma out on the idea of dog-sitting, she added, “I’d take her for you myself, but my kids have allergies. There must be somebody, though.”

“Yeah…there must be.” He glanced anxiously at his watch. They were already running late, and now he was going to have to waste time calling around. There weren’t many people he’d feel comfortable trying to foist a 125-pound dog on, though.

“Or how about a kennel?” Alma suggested.

“Yeah, I guess I could try calling that one near Newcomb. It’s the only one that’s anywhere near here, isn’t it.”

“Sully?” Billy said through the open window of the van. “Why can’t we just take her with us. She’s no trouble.”

“Maybe not at the lodge, Billy, but Lauren’s apartment isn’t the same thing.”

“So what are we gonna do, then?”

“I’ll phone that kennel,” he said, even though he didn’t like the idea of sticking Roxy in a pen.

“The door’s unlocked,” Alma told him. “And I’ve got to get going, okay? You can lock up when you leave.”

“Sure.” He headed up the porch steps and into Zeke’s house to make his call.

The kennel, when he finally got the number and called, proved to be fully booked. July, the woman pointed out as if he were an idiot, was the height of the vacation season. Reservations had to be made well in advance.

He hung up and tried a couple of his other neighbors, but didn’t get any answers.

Finally, he dialed Lauren’s office and explained the situation to her. “So it looks like we’re done for the moment,” he concluded. “I’ll try to line up something tonight, and if I can manage it we’ll be able to drive down tomorrow.”

“That would give us one less day, though,” she said. “And the manager of Fax Depot told us Blackstone calls every couple of days. Four days means he’d be almost sure to check in. But with only three, our odds would be lower. Sully, surely there’s got to be a kennel someplace around New York that has a vacancy. How about if you just come ahead while I work on lining up something?”

He cleared his throat uneasily. “If you can’t find anything, you’re going to end up with me and the five boys, plus Roxy.”

There was a long pause at her end. Then she said, “Well, you’ve got the three cats at the lodge, so we know Roxy won’t bother Killer. Which means that even if the worst comes to the worst… But there’s not going to be any problem. So I’ll see you at the apartment in a few hours.”

Sully said goodbye and hung up, the phrase
there’s not going to be any problem
echoing in his head. Then, as he locked the house and started back to the van, it was replaced by a different phrase:
famous last words.

I
T WAS A GOOD THING
, Sully thought as they rode up in the elevator, that the doorman had remembered him. Otherwise, they’d probably still be standing out on Fifth Avenue, because the man had clearly been unhappy about letting the five boys and Roxy into the building.

And the inside man—the concierge—hadn’t been any happier. When he’d phoned up to her apartment, he’d asked her three different ways if she was
sure
she was expecting six guests and a huge dog.

“All right,” Sully said when the elevator began to slow at nine, “remember you’re all on your best behavior.”

“We’ll remember,” Billy promised.

The door opened and the kids tumbled out into the hall—each carrying his sports bag full of clothes. Sully, his garment bag slung over one shoulder and Roxy’s leash looped around his other hand, followed them out. “It’s the door along there,” he said, nodding toward Lauren’s apartment.

“I’ll knock.” Billy hurried down and gave a couple of loud bangs with the brass knocker.

“Well, look who’s here,” Lauren said, opening the door and smiling at the boys. Then, as they were saying hello, she glanced over their heads and gave Sully a smile meant only for him. It started that warm feeling he always got when he first saw her.

“You come right on in,” she told the kids, backing out of their way.

“Wow, what a neat place!” Freckles said as the boys spread themselves out over the foyer.

“Not too loud,” Sully reminded him, closing the door. “Did you find a kennel?” he asked Lauren. He didn’t like the way Roxy had already begun to excitedly sniff the marble floor, her tail twitching.

When Lauren nodded, he felt decidedly relieved.

“I even found one that promised me an oversize run,” she said. “It’s in Brooklyn, but they have a pickup service. So I told them I’d call back once you were actually here, and they could come then. In the meantime, I put a blanket down in the laundry room, so why don’t I take her there and give her some water?”

She took the leash from Sully, adding, “You and the boys figure out how you want to divide up the sleeping space and—”

A loud hiss stopped her midsentence.

When Sully’s glance flashed in the direction of the sound, he saw Killer standing just inside the living room. He’d puffed himself up to twice his normal size and his hissing was directed straight at Roxy.

Sully grabbed for the leash but was a split second too late. Roxy had already charged away at full bark, skittering madly across the marble and almost jerking Lauren off her feet before the leash whipped out of her hand.