All A Heart Needs B&N (13 page)

Jessica wondered why Helen hadn't tried harder to reconnect with her grandson. She had a feeling Helen hadn't told them the whole story.

"I could help Jessica look for Lana and Blake," Sean offered. "And we could ask my brother-in-law for assistance. Emma's husband is a police detective."

Helen smiled. "That Emma was such a delightful girl, a real live-wire. So she married a police detective?"

"This past Christmas," Sean said.

"Well, that's lovely."

"Do you still have Lana's sister's address or phone number?" Jessica asked. "We could start with her."

"I think so. As you know, I never throw anything away. Just a moment." Helen got up and walked over to a small desk. She pulled out a thick, weathered address book and flipped through the pages. "Here it is, Connie Bristol. She lives in Carmel, or at least she used to. I'll write it down for you. Unfortunately, the phone number was changed a long time ago. I crossed it out and wrote disconnected."

As Helen jotted down the address, Sean looked at Jessica. "That's not that far away—a two-hour drive."

"It's a long way to go without knowing if she lives there anymore. If her phone was disconnected, she might have moved."

"Only one way to find out."

Helen handed Jessica the address. "I hope you can find Lana. I don't want to throw those albums in the trash, but there's no one else I can give them to."

"I'll let you know what we come up with," Jessica said, getting to her feet.

"If you do talk to Lana, tell her…" Helen's voice trailed away. "Goodness, I don't even know what you could tell her. I suppose you could say that I'm sorry we let so much time go by." She paused. "Maybe that's not the right to say. Oh, I don't know. It's never been easy with Lana."

"I'll tell her that you hope she's well and that you'd love to see your grandson again," Jessica suggested.

Helen gave her a watery smile. "That's perfect. You're a good girl. I'm glad I rented the house to you."

Jessica smiled back at her. "I'll talk to you soon."

"It was nice to see you again, Sean."

"You, too," he said.

They'd barely left the apartment when Sean said, "I think we should drive down to Carmel tomorrow."

"What makes you think Lana's sister will give us Lana's address even if we do find her?"

"Because we have something that Lana might want," he said pointedly.

"Stacy's photo album," she said, meeting his gaze.

"Exactly. Lana should have it, or her brother, if he wants it. But at the very least, they should know it still exists. What do you say?"

"Let me check with Nicole. Usually, I take the boys after school on Tuesday, but if she can do it, then I'll feel more comfortable going that far away. We can probably get down there and back by two, but I don't want to cut it that close."

"Sounds like a plan. Shall we check with Nicole now? Didn't you say you had to pick up Kyle before dinner?"

"And you don't mind playing chauffeur?" she asked, as they walked down the hall.

"You're helping me out. It's a two-way street."

"Am I helping you?" she asked with a frown as he pushed the button for the elevator. "What do you want to get out of all this, Sean?"

"I'm not sure, but at the very least, I think I owe it to Stacy to get her photo album back to her mom."

The elevator dinged, and when the doors opened, Jessica was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Brett," she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Helen, of course." He glanced at Sean, his gaze narrowing. "I'm sorry. Have we met?"

"A long time ago, Mr. Murphy. I'm Sean Callaway."

"One of the Callaway kids, I should have guessed that," Brett said with a nod. "I used to throw batting practice to you and your brothers. One of the kids, I think it was Burke, had a killer swing." His gaze moved to Jessica. "I didn't realize you and Sean were friends."

"We are," Jessica said, not wanting to get into a more complicated explanation. "Sean's sister, Nicole, is the one who told me about Helen's house."

"How is Helen doing?"

"She looks well."

"I don't know how she's going to handle you giving away all her things. I'm still surprised she agreed to let you do that."

The way he said the words made Jessica feel like she was somehow taking advantage of an old lady.

"I'm going through the things at her request," she reminded him.

"Have you found anything interesting yet?"

It was the same question Sally had asked her. "Not really, no. I haven't seen any of the signed baseball cards you gave Blake," she added, remembering his earlier question. "But I've just gotten started."

"Let me know if you do."

"Speaking of Blake," Sean interrupted. "Have you kept in touch with Lana and her son?"

A spark of something that looked like anger flashed through Brett's eyes. "Lana? No. I haven't talked to her since she left San Francisco. She was destroyed after the fire. She wanted nothing to do with the old neighborhood."

"So you don't know where she is now?" Sean asked.

"I just said I haven't spoken to her," Brett said with annoyance. "Why do you ask?"

"We're trying to find Blake and Lana. We have some pictures they might want," Sean replied.

"What kind of pictures? Were they at Helen's house?"

"Family stuff," Sean said with a vague wave of his hand.

"I wish I could help you," Brett said. "Are you sure Helen wants you to contact Lana and Blake?"

"She gave us Lana's sister's address," Jessica said.

"That surprises me. She's never had anything good to say about Lana."

The elevator doors opened again, and Jessica took the opportunity to say, "We should get going. We'll see you later."

"Sure."

Once the doors closed, she turned to face Sean. "Did Brett get a little nervous when you mentioned the pictures?"

"I don't know about nervous, but he was definitely interested."

"Yes, too interested. I don't know what it is about Brett and Sally. They're both perfectly nice to me, but I get an odd vibe from them. And they've each taken time to warn me about the other. But maybe I'm just imagining that they have some hidden motive for talking to me. If there had never been a fire, would I even think twice about offers to help from two friendly neighbors?"

"But there was a fire. You can't take that out of the equation. Hopefully, if we can find Lana, she'll be able to tell us everything we need to know."

"I hope so," she said, but she had a feeling that was a long shot.

* * *

Sean's mind was spinning as he drove Jessica to Nicole's house. Somehow he'd gone from wanting to know the origin of the fire to wondering if Stacy's death had not been an accident at all. Not that he thought anyone wanted to kill an eight-year-old girl, but what about her father? Or what if Robert's father had killed himself and Lana had covered it up to get the insurance money? He really needed to talk to Lana. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

"Looks like baseball has started," Jessica murmured, as he turned down Nicole's street.

Kyle, Brandon and Ryan were in the front yard. Kyle was playing catch with Ryan while Brandon dug through a pile of rocks at the edge of the garden.

"I didn't know Kyle was a baseball player," he said.

"This will be his first year on a team. Ryan signed up to coach. They're both over the moon about it."

Sean grinned. "As I recall, Ryan was a good baseball player. Kyle is in great hands."

"I'm very happy that Kyle has someone to teach him how to throw a ball, because I definitely throw like a girl." She glanced over at him as he stopped the van. "What about you?"

"I definitely do
not
throw like a girl."

She smiled. "Were you a star athlete?"

"I played sports when I was young. But once I got into music, that took all of my time."

As they got out of the car, Kyle shouted, "Hey, Mom. Watch this."

Ryan gently tossed a tennis ball to Kyle. The ball hit the mitt, and Kyle somehow managed to awkwardly hang on to it. He held the ball up with a gleam of triumph in his eyes.

"I did it. I caught the ball," he said.

"I saw that," Jessica said, clapping her hands. "Good job."

"Kyle is a natural," Ryan said, walking over to join them. "He might be my first baseman when the league starts."

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" Jessica asked.

"I know talent when I see it."

"Can you throw me more balls, Ryan?" Kyle pleaded.

"Actually, we need to go home and make dinner," Jessica said.

Kyle's face fell. "Just a few more, please?"

"Why don't you go inside and say hello to Nicole, Jessica?" Ryan suggested. "I think she had something she wants to ask you."

"All right, I'll be back in a few minutes."

As Jessica headed into the house, Ryan tossed the ball to Sean. "Why don't you throw to Kyle? He needs to get used to different people throwing to him."

"Okay." He strode toward the driveway so there was a good ten feet between him and Kyle. "Ready, Kyle?"

Kyle nodded, holding up his mitt. Sean tossed the ball, but it was a little too low, and the ball went right past Kyle, landing at Ryan's feet.

"Sorry, buddy. Give me another chance," Sean said.

Ryan grabbed the errant ball and tossed it back to him. "Aim for the mitt," Ryan advised.

Sean followed his suggestion and did everything he could to put the ball right in the sweet spot of Kyle's mitt. Kyle caught the ball and did a little spin of excitement.

Sean laughed. "Did you teach him that spin, Ryan?"

Ryan grinned back at him. "That's all him. Kyle does everything with enthusiasm."

Kyle threw the ball back to Sean, and for a few minutes, Sean concentrated on nothing but getting that ball into Kyle's mitt over and over again. He wanted to build the kid's confidence. Then Kyle would be ready for bigger challenges.

Several minutes later, Nicole and Jessica stepped out on the porch. "I've talked Jessica into staying for dinner," Nicole said. "But she tells me you're her driver, Sean, so you have to say yes, too."

"What are you having?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's better than whatever fast food place you were planning to hit up on the way home."

"That's not an answer."

"Grilled chicken, rice, vegetables and chocolate pudding for dessert. Kyle and Brandon made it."

"Sold," he said.

"I'm thrilled," Nicole said dryly. "It will be ready in about twenty minutes."

"I'll help you," Jessica said, following Nicole back into the house.

"Why don't you and Brandon go wash up?" Ryan suggested to Kyle. "It's getting dark."

"Not that dark," Kyle protested.

Ryan tousled Kyle's hair. "Don't worry, kid. There will be lots of baseball to come." He paused, turning towards his son. "Brandon, time to wash your hands for dinner."

"I'll get him." Kyle ran over to Brandon and knelt down next to him. He put his hand on Brandon's arm, and then a minute later both boys ran into the house.

"That's amazing," Sean said, struck by the twins' silent communication. "Kyle didn't even say anything to Brandon."

"I know. Nicole and I both wish we could connect to Brandon like that. But at least our son has a link to the world through his brother. Brandon also gets less agitated now that he has Kyle with him. There are fewer tantrums, moments of frustration. It's like everything is right with his world as long as his brother is nearby. Sometimes, we wish we could have Kyle every second of the day, but we're trying not to completely take over. We want to respect Jessica's relationship with Kyle, too, give them their space. It's not easy, especially for Nicole. You know how impatient she can be."

Sean nodded, very aware of his sister's tendency to want results really fast. "I'm glad it's working out so well. I know Jessica is happy with the situation, too."

"She's been great, very easygoing and flexible." Ryan paused, a reflective glint in his eyes. "It's strange how that kidnapping changed everything for the better."

"Have you ever heard from the biological parents or grandparents again?" Sean asked. The biological grandmother had been the mastermind behind the kidnapping, wanting to reunite her daughter with her children.

"The grandmother is in jail, and the mother is still in rehab. One day we might possibly consider talking to her, but that's a long time from now. Why don't we go inside? Dinner should be about ready."

When they entered the kitchen, Kyle and Brandon were sitting at the kitchen table looking at a book together. Nicole was cutting up garlic bread, and Jessica was tossing shredded carrots into the salad. It smelled like garlic and tomatoes, like home, and Sean felt an odd pang of longing for more moments like this. Not that he wanted to spend his dinners with Nicole and Ryan, but with Jessica and Kyle…maybe.

That thought was a little terrifying. He'd never considered himself to be a family man. And while he liked a home-cooked meal every now and then, his life was about music and travel, a different city, a different hotel, a different woman…

But the woman he was interested in looked very comfortable in this kitchen. She was exactly where she wanted to be. She'd spent her life wanting more family, and he'd spent his life wanting less.

"What do you want to drink?" Ryan asked, interrupting his thoughts. "We have beer and wine left over from the party. Also plenty of soda."

"I'll take a soda since I'm driving."

"Jessica?" Ryan asked.

"Well, since he's driving, I'll have a glass of wine." She set the salad bowl on the table, and took the seat across from Kyle.

Sean sat down next to her.

Kyle took a sip of milk, then gave him a bright smile and said, "Did you know that sharks don't have any bones in their bodies, Uncle Sean?"

"I did not know that."

"Did you know that a whale shark has more than 4,000 teeth?" Kyle pressed.

He grinned. "I didn't know that, either."