Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (9 page)

Jason parked his van in the car-park
of the Lazy Boy B&B. He switched off the engine and grabbed the quote he’d
drawn up from the passenger seat. The sooner he completed this business with
Miss Price, the better. The woman wound him up worse than anyone else he’d ever
met! He just hoped they could get through sorting out her car without resorting
to another argument. He wasn’t in the mood to go another round with the
stubborn redhead.

Jason alighted the van and slammed
the door shut. He locked it and crossed the car-park with long strides. His jaw
set with determination. As soon as this business was over, he’d meet up with
Lucinda. They needed to sit down and discuss their problems properly before
things got completely out of hand. She’d avoided his calls for long enough.

The sound of someone crying caught
Jason’s attention the second he entered the foyer of the Lazy Boy.

“Stop that racket, Sandra. Do you
want the girl to hear you?”

Jason recognised the voice of Rebecca
Fuller. He’d only met the woman a couple of times, but he’d answered the phone
to her enough times to know that caustic tone anywhere. He rolled his eyes
heavenward. What had he done to deserve running into them?

“You can’t expect me not to hurt over
this.” Sandra’s voice sounded as if her heart was breaking. “She’s my daughter.
It’s not that simple for me to hurt her this way. I’m not like you. This is
killing me!”

Fresh sobs broke out. Horrified,
Jason realised they were headed in his direction. He debated whether to duck
out of the B&B or hide behind the reception desk. They rounded the corner
and spotted him before he could move even one step. Mrs Fuller’s eyes lit up as
recognition crossed her features.

“Oh, good. Jason, you’re just the
person I wanted to see.” Mrs Fuller lifted a hand and snapped her fingers at
him. Jason gritted his teeth. What did she think he was……..her servant? “I want
you to make fixing Callie Price’s car a top priority. I will pay the fee and
Mitch will give his time to assist you, so the thing can be taken care of with
all speed.”

“Mama, what are you doing?” Sandra
gripped her mother’s arm. “Callie already said she wouldn’t leave until she’d
finished her work here. I don’t see what fixing her car will achieve.”

Mrs Fuller grabbed Sandra’s hand and
firmly removed it from her arm. “She’ll leave. I’ll make sure of it.” She
turned her hard gaze to Jason. “Well? Can I rely on you to do as I request?”

Jason shrugged insolently and leaned
against the reception desk with one foot casually slung over the other, just to
annoy her. He knew she hated what she considered sloppy manners. “Sure. It
shouldn’t take more than a few days, once I get the replacement engine
delivered.”

Mrs Fuller’s eyes narrowed on him and
her lips thinned out. He was surprised when she held her tongue. “See to it. I
would like it fixed before the end of the week. If you manage that, I will pay
you a substantial bonus.” She brushed past him and headed for the door. “Come,
Sandra.”

Sandra dabbed at her red eyes and
followed her mother like a docile puppy. Jason gritted his teeth. He’d never
seen his father’s partner so lacking in spirit. It was as if she were a
different person when her mother was around.

They swept out of the building like
departing royalty. Jason gazed down the corridor they’d come out of when he’d
arrived. Callie had to be somewhere down there. He strode down the hallway, his
feet thudding heavily on the threadbare carpet. He glanced into several rooms
before he finally found the one she occupied.

His heart squeezed in his chest at
the sight of her slumped over her chair as if she’d had the stuffing completely
knocked out of her. She stared into space, her eyes wide and glazed over. A
tear slipped down her pale cheek, but she didn’t seem to notice. He didn’t want
to pity her, but he did. He was sure it was an emotion she wouldn’t welcome.

“Ah-hum!” He cleared his throat and
she jumped.

“What do you think you’re doing
sneaking up on me like that?” Callie quickly wiped her cheek with the back of
her hand and glared at him.

“Sneaking? In these?” Jason lifted
one foot to show her the heavy work boots he was wearing. He grinned at her. “I
think an elephant would have an easier time sneaking around than I do in these
things.”

Her lips twitched and a sparkle lit
her eyes. “Now that you mention it, I can see that you’d be no match for an
elephant.” She sat up in her seat. “What did you want?”

He lifted his hand and waved the
paper he held in her direction. “I did promise to bring you a quote over for
the repairs on your car.”

“So you did,” the smile disappeared
from her lips, “but since you only promised me that when you wanted me to stay
away from my cousin, I didn’t think you’d follow through.”

“Ah, yes…………..about that.” Jason
shifted on his feet and clasped the paper in front of him. “It wasn’t anything
personal. I just didn’t want to land my dad in hot water. Surely you can
understand that?”

She pursed her lips and picked up a
pencil. “Of course. I’m just a stranger that you picked up on the side of the
road when she’d broken down. You owe me nothing.”

“You could say it like you mean it.”
He crossed the room and sat down opposite her. He folded his hands over his
stomach and balanced one foot on the opposite knee.

Her eyes flicked up at him, anger
lighting their golden depths. “I can’t sound like I mean it when I don’t.” She
leaned forward. “He’s my blood relative. I had the right to know. You purposely
made it sound like he was the son of a family friend!”

“My hands were tied.” Jason held his
hands out in supplication. “It doesn’t mean I agree with the way they’re
behaving.”

“You don’t?” Her voice sounded
hesitant. Jason stared hard at her. Was that the slightest hint of trembling he
could see in her lips……….the tiniest trace of raw hurt deep in her eyes?

“No, I don’t. I’ve said it ever since
Sandra said she didn’t want to see you. I’ve not been able to understand why
she’s refused.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his leg. “You are
her daughter, after all.”

Callie glanced away from him and
stared out the window. “For one moment before she left, I almost thought I
could see something different in her eyes. That maybe she regretted her words
to me.” A small break in her voice tore at him. It was obvious this was severely
hurting her, even if she was trying to pretend that it didn’t.

Jason dropped his eyes to the table
as his mind drifted back over the conversation he’d witnessed just a few
minutes ago. He picked at some dirt that still clung under his short fingernails.
A mechanics hands never seemed to be completely clean, he noted absently. “I
don’t know if I should tell you this or not. It may do more harm than good.” He
broke off and glanced up at her.

Callie jerked her attention back to
him. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”

She set her pencil down and folded
her hands in front of her. He could see the whiteness of her knuckles where she
held her hands so tightly, it was a wonder he didn’t hear her bones crack.

“When I arrived here, I ran into
Sandra and her mother leaving the building.” He cleared his throat, unsure if
he should be telling her any of this.

“And.” She sounded impatient.

Jason hesitated and gazed out of the
window at the trees as they blew back and forth in the wind. Did he have the
right to interfere this way? Should he tell her what he’d witnessed? Unbidden,
the face of a dark haired young woman rose in his mind’s eye. If he’d spoken
honestly to Jenna after his brother’s death, maybe he’d have saved her from the
awful breakdown she’d suffered.

“Please, if you know something, you
have to tell me.”

Jason could hear the pleading in
Callie’s voice. He couldn’t be sure how things would turn out with Callie if he
told her, but he didn’t think he could keep quiet this time around. He would
tell her and let her decide what she did with the information.

“Sandra was crying.” Jason returned
his gaze to her in time to see her incredible eyes light up with hope. “I don’t
know if it means anything,” he hastened to add, “but she didn’t seem happy with
what went on in here. I think Mrs Fuller had more to do with it than Sandra
did.”

“I knew it! I thought the exact same
thing.” Callie thumped the table. She blew out a long breath and regarded him
with her head cocked to one side. “What made you decide to tell me? You didn’t
help me before.”

Jason shrugged. “It seems to me that
Sandra wants to know you, despite what she’s been saying. You obviously want to
know her. The rest of her family shouldn’t get in the way of that. Besides, I
kept my council about something I should have spoken up against once before.”
He swallowed hard. “It was a mistake and someone was really hurt by it. I don’t
want to repeat that kind of mistake again. I don’t know if this will harm or help,
but I couldn’t just say nothing.”

She leaned over the table and grabbed
his hand. “You don’t know what it means to me that you’ve told me this.” Her
voice was thick with the unshed tears he could see shimmering in her gaze.

Jason squeezed her fingers. His heart
expanded in his chest at the gratitude he could see reflected in her eyes. He
was sure he’d done the right thing…………at least he hoped he had.

His throat grew thick in response to
her deep emotion. “You are most welcome.”

For several moments, he couldn’t tear
his gaze from hers. Something seemed to pulse between them, a strange kind of
understanding. He’d never experienced a feeling of such closeness with another
human being in his entire life.

Jason pulled his hand from hers,
uncomfortable that he would feel this way with a woman other than Lucinda. It
seemed disloyal somehow. Callie flushed a deep red and sat back in her seat.

“So, are you going to give me your
quote or leave me guessing all day long?” Her words were sharp, but her face
was soft. A smile lingered on her delicate lips.

Jason cleared his throat. “Of course,
here you go.” He slid the paper across the table to her. “You should know that
Mrs Fuller has offered to foot the bill for the repairs. She really wants you
out of here.”

“She mentioned as much before. I want
to make it quite clear that I’ll pay for my own repairs, thank you very much!
Don’t you dare take a penny from her!” Callie’s lips thinned. “I will not be
bought off by her or anyone else!”

Jason grinned at her furious tone.
Callie kept a cool façade, but he could see the fire burning deep inside her
whenever her temper was roused. Her cheeks fairly glowed with it.

“As you wish.” He gave a slight
inclination of his head in a mock bow. She glared at him before she turned her
attention to the paper he’d given her. He waited patiently as Callie appraised
the quote. At last, she folded the paper and stuck it into her sketchbook.

“Actually, it’s a pretty good quote.
I have to say, I’ve done some research on the net and I was expecting it to be
a lot steeper.” She pulled her lips through her small white teeth. “I hate to
say it, but you’ve surprised me. I’m actually impressed.”

“That must have hurt.” He threw back
his head and laughed.

Jason held his sides and roared even
harder at the disgusted, disgruntled look she shot him. She held it for all of
ten seconds before she dissolved into laughter with him. The combined sounds of
their mirth bounced off the walls and echoed back to his ears. He couldn’t
remember the last time he’d laughed so hard.

Jason wiped moisture from his cheeks
and gathered himself together. “So, do you want me to go ahead with the
replacement engine?”

Callie nodded, wiping at her own face
and breathing hard. “Please. I really love that car. I would hate to have to
replace it………….unless you think it would be better to get another car?”

Jason faked passing out in his chair.
“You’re asking me for advice and trusting that I’ll give you the right
information? What has happened, Miss Price?”

Callie smiled. “Maybe I’m willing to
revise my opinion. It would seem there are some honest mechanics out there,
after all.”

Jason grinned back at her. “In that
case, I would say that this car is worth keeping. It has no rust and is easy to
maintain and get parts for. It’s actually a great car, especially if your
insurance company are willing to foot some of the bill for replacing the
engine.”

“I’ll get onto them and see what they
say. Either way, I’m happy for you to go ahead with the work. How long do you
think it will take?”

“Not sure. It really depends on how
quickly the supplier can deliver me the new engine. I’ll keep you posted.”
Jason climbed to his feet. “I’d best get going. I should ring my contact
tonight, so I can get the ball rolling.”

“Thanks for coming.” Callie rose to
her feet and stepped closer to him. She held out her hand and he enfolded it
into his much larger ones. “And an even bigger thank you for telling me about
Sandra. I can’t tell you what that meant to me.”