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Pastor Gabriel asked for prayer requests as he ended the session. Several people mentioned concerns. She pulled out her notebook to jot them down so that she could continue to pray during the week.
Holly, voice lilting, asked for prayers of thanksgiving for Ken’s safe return. Then she turned toward Ken, as if inviting him to share a request as well.
He wasn’t going to. Julianna knew it and thought it strange that Holly didn’t. His bitterness washed over her in a wave, so strong that it almost obliterated Pastor Gabriel’s voice, raised in prayer.
When the prayers were over, people pressed around them again—to see Ken and Holly, not her. She picked up her coat and began to edge her way along the row of chairs. But before she could gain freedom, Holly linked her arm with Julianna’s, immobilizing her there at her side.
“It’s just been so nice to see all of you, but we really have to get going.” Holly beamed impartially at everyone. “See you Sunday.”
She hooked her other arm with Ken’s, leading them toward the door. The three of them stepped out into the cool, misty darkness.
“Rain coming,” Ken said, with the authority of one to whom the weather was an important consideration. “I think the little mother should get home.”
“Not yet,” Holly said. “Let’s go out for coffee. Jake’s working late tonight, and I don’t want to go home to an empty house.”
Somehow Julianna didn’t think that was Holly’s only reason, but she couldn’t find the words to refuse. Holly, chattering enough for all of them, didn’t give either of them time to object as she piloted them out the walk to the street.
A few minutes later, the three of them were ensconced in a cozy booth at the coffee shop on the corner. The rain Ken predicted had begun to streak the plate-glass window, and the place was empty except for them and an absorbed-in-each-other couple in the back booth.
Holly beamed at them once they’d ordered their coffee. “This is so nice—going out with two of my favorite people.”
Ken eyed her warily. “I’m glad you’re happy, Hol. But you didn’t need to finagle me into going to Bible study in order to spend some time with me.”
“I didn’t. I’m just so thankful you’re still with us that I have to praise God for it about every minute-and-a-half.” Tears made her eyes brilliant. “You can’t blame me for that, can you?”
“I guess not.” Ken frowned. “But you know, Holly—”
Holly glanced at her watch. “Oh my goodness, I didn’t realize how late it was. I’ve got to get home.” She slid out of the booth before they could react. She divided her smile between them. “You stay, have coffee, talk. We’ll get together again soon.”
She whirled, her jacket flaring, and hurried out.
For a moment Julianna couldn’t speak. What was Holly thinking? Ken stared after his sister, a bemused expression on his face. Finally he shrugged, smiling a little.
“I’m sorry.”
She blinked. “For what?”
“My sister, the matchmaker.” He shook his head. “She can’t seem to help it. She’s happily married, she’s having a baby and she’s busy trying to match everyone else up in pairs, too.”
“The Noah’s Ark syndrome,” Julianna suggested.
“Something like that.” He sobered. “She doesn’t realize—” He stopped, and she couldn’t guess what he was thinking. “Well, that everyone isn’t ready for that.”
“I guess not.” She stared down at the coffee she was stirring, not wanting to look at him.
“I hope it didn’t embarrass you.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze. “Of course not. Why would it?”
His brown eyes were filled with nothing but kindness. “After what happened between us back when we were in high school, I thought it might. I’m sure Holly didn’t think about that.”
She managed a smile. “She didn’t, and I didn’t either. It was a long time ago.” Liar, her mind whispered to her. You’ve been thinking of it too often since Ken’s return.
“That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t apologize for acting like a jerk.”
“I barely remember it, but I’m sure you didn’t do anything of the kind.” Please, don’t let him read anything in my voice. “Just forget it.”
“Okay.” He spread his hands, as if to show they were empty. Strong hands, with a barely healed scar across the back of the right one. “It’s gone. Tell me about you. I want to hear all about this search-and-rescue work of yours.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” Ken seemed determined to bring up every painful subject he could tonight. “Angel and I have been working together for several years. She’s really the hero, not me.”
“Quinn said you’d worked all over the place.”
“That might be a slight exaggeration. We go wherever FEMA sends us. Usually we don’t stay more than ten days at a time on a job—after all, we’re all volunteers.”
“Must be a tough ten days, going to where there’s such devastation.”
“Yes.” The word came out short, because the images were drawing closer. “What about you? You must have had some exciting adventures in the military.”
She knew it was the wrong thing to say as soon as the words were out of her mouth, but she’d been desperate to turn the conversation away from her own pain. His face tightened, and he stared down at the scarred tabletop.
“Some.”
Silence stretched between them, colored with pain. Frustration. Bitterness.
Poor Holly. She thought she was doing a good thing, trying to bring her friend and her brother together. She didn’t realize the truth.
The truth was that she and Ken were both fighting something that could very well beat them. She didn’t know what it was for Ken, except that it had something to do with his crash. She knew what it was for her, but she didn’t know what to do about it.
That was what Holly didn’t understand. Neither she nor Ken was ready for matchmaking. She didn’t know about him, but maybe she never would be.
TWO
“Okay, come on. One more time.” Julianna gave an encouraging smile to the new volunteer who was trying to master searching the debris field. They’d stayed on after the team drill for some private practice.
“It’s no good.” The young woman shook her head, wiping her face with a muddy hand. “I can’t get Queenie to cooperate.”
“Queenie’s doing fine.” Julianna patted the golden retriever’s head. “She’s depending on you for direction, Lisa. You just have to make it clear what you want. One more time, and then we’ll quit for the day.”
Jay Nieto, leaning against a pile of lumber, sighed elaborately, and Julianna shot him a reproving look. She was paying the teenager to assist her with the drill not because she needed help, but because Jay, like so many young teens, needed something to keep him off the streets.
“Okay.” Lisa straightened. “One more time.”
Jay, who’d been playing the role of victim, crisscrossed the muddy lot, moving between and over the debris piles. Then he ducked inside one of the concrete pipes and pulled a piece of plywood over the entrance.
Lisa waited a moment, watching Julianna. At her nod, she gave the order to Queenie. The two of them started across the field, Queenie’s plumy tail waving.
“Are they having problems?” Ken spoke for the first time, but she’d been aware of him, standing and watching, for the past hour.
Too aware. It had made her jittery, that steady gaze, and maybe the dogs had picked up on her feelings.
“Not really. Lisa’s a fairly recent volunteer, so she and Queenie don’t have much search experience. But they’ll work it out.”
She nodded, satisfied, as Queenie lifted her head and sniffed, then gave a soft woof.
“There, she’s got it now. Search-and-rescue dogs have to be able to pick up the scent from the air.”
“Angel looks as if she’s thinking she could do it better.” He bent to pat her dog.
“Angel always thinks that.” The dog looked up at the sound of her name, tail wagging.
Queenie had reached the pipe now. She pawed at the board Jay had pulled across the entrance, barking furiously. Lisa joined them and the two of them “discovered” Jay, who climbed out with a bored look.
“Good job, Lisa,” Julianna called. “Reward her now.”
Lisa, hugging Queenie, responded with a brilliant smile.
“You were right to push her to try once more,” Ken observed. “You never want to end a training session on a failure if you can help it.”
“I try. Sometimes it’s a tough call, but I knew they could do it if they just got out of each other’s way. They have a long way to go, but they have the right stuff.”
His smile flickered. “I usually hear that expression about pilots, but I guess it applies. How long will their training take?”
“Two years, if Lisa wants FEMA certification. I’m pushing her to do that. We don’t have nearly enough trained teams available.”
He whistled softly. “I had no idea there was so much to it. If it’s volunteer work, who pays?”
“The volunteer.” That was what most people didn’t understand. “Hours and hours and hours of work, and plenty of money for materials. We’re only paid when we’re actually deployed.”
“You have to be dedicated, don’t you?”
She thought she detected admiration in the glance he sent her way and hoped she wasn’t blushing. “We’re always scrambling to find places to train that won’t cost us. That’s why it’s so good of Quinn to let us train here.”
“Well, the Montgomerys and Vances owe you. We learned firsthand the value of what you do when you found my brother and his girlfriend in that mine collapse at the ranch.”
She ducked her head at the implied compliment. At least they were talking easily to each other now. After the way things had gone at the coffee shop a few nights ago, it was more than she’d hoped for.
Lisa came up to her then, and she was distracted from Ken’s presence for a few minutes while she gave the young woman some suggestions for their next practice. When she turned back, she found Jay Nieto looking up at Ken with something akin to worship in his eyes.
“Did you two introduce yourselves?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” Jay had lost the bored expression that was becoming habitual. “I know who he is. Major Kenneth Vance. He’s an Air Force pilot.”
The aliveness in Jay’s eyes startled her. It was the most interest he’d displayed in anything other than the gang of older kids he kept trying to impress.
That gang and their leader, Theo Crale, was the main reason she’d taken an interest in the boy. If she could keep Jay out of a street gang and keep him in school, he might have a decent future. Given Jay’s unexpected enthusiasm, Ken’s presence could be an incentive to keep Jay interested in working for her.
“That’s right,” she said. “He’s helping out here while he’s home on leave. Ken, this is Jay Nieto. He’s been giving me a hand with the training.”
“Nice to meet you, Jay.” Ken held out his hand and Jay took it, color deepening in his thin cheeks.
“You graduated from the Air Force Academy, didn’t you? There was a piece in the paper about you when—” He stopped, obviously embarrassed at having made reference to Ken being shot down.
“That’s right.” Ken’s smile was a bit strained, but probably Jay didn’t notice. “Are you interested in going to the Academy, Jay?”
Jay’s face turned wooden, and he shrugged, his gaze dropping to his sneakers.
She knew that look. She should. It was one she’d worn often enough when she was a teenager, afraid to reach for what she wanted.
“Jay, it’s okay to dream big,” she said gently.
He shrugged again. “School’s for wimps, that’s what Theo says.”
“Theo’s wrong.” She wanted so much to make him believe that. “Doing well in school opens doors for you.”
“Maybe I don’t want doors open.” Jay flung his head back defiantly, jet-black hair falling in his eyes. “Maybe I’d rather do things my way, not yours.”
“Jay—”
But he swung around and darted off, not even waiting to finish the cleanup work and be paid.
Ken looked after him with raised eyebrows. “Tough guy.”
“He’d like to make you think so.” She wondered how much to say to him. If she opened up a bit, maybe he’d be willing to take an interest in the boy. “My grandfather knew Jay’s family when he lived in New Mexico. Jay is Zuni, like us. When his mother died, his dad moved here, but Jay’s had a tough time adjusting to life away from the Pueblo.”
“So you’re trying to help him.”
She shrugged. “I remember what it feels like—not belonging. Unfortunately, Jay’s trying to impress the wrong people.”
“That Theo he mentioned?”
“He won’t get anything but trouble emulating somebody like Theo Crale.” She gave him a challenging look. “Now, if he had someone else to look up to, someone he admires—”
Ken’s expression turned bleak, his brown eyes seeming to darken. “Not me,” he said harshly. “He admires someone who can fly. And that’s something I may never do again.”
The only light in the abandoned tunnel came from a battery lantern on the rickety table, and the woman picked her way across the littered tunnel floor carefully. She wasn’t about to ruin a new pair of Italian shoes just because he had summoned her.
Most people had heard rumors of the tunnels that had once run from The Springs to what had then been Colorado City, the rowdy, wide-open town in frontier days. Colorado City had long since been absorbed into Colorado Springs proper, and the tunnels forgotten, until he had found a use for them. That was like him, to take something and pervert its ordinary purpose to something bent.
She stopped at the table. He’d have heard her come down—he had ears like a fox.
“Stop playing games and come out here. I don’t have much time.”
A footstep grated, and he appeared in the archway. “You always have time for me, don’t you, querida?”
She forced a smile, trying to show an affection she didn’t feel. “You sound even hoarser than usual. These tunnels aren’t good for your throat.”
“Yet another thing for which I have to thank the Vances and Montgomerys. Making me hide like a rat in these tunnels, while they live the high life.” He yanked out a chair and slumped into it. “I understand Kenneth Vance is back in town.”
“So I’ve heard.” She said the words cautiously, not wanting to stir his icy rage to life. He’d been livid at the failure of the attack he’d engineered on Vance’s plane through his drug contacts in South America.
“These Vances have more lives than a cat. Just like my new name.” He gave a bark of gravelly laughter. “Funny, isn’t it?”
“If you say so.” She shifted position, careful not to touch the dusty table. “You have something you want me to take care of?”
“Yes.” He slapped his palms down on the tabletop. “Kenneth Vance is about to discover that Colorado Springs is just as dangerous as his missions over South America. And since he’s spending so much time there, it will be a pleasure to bring Montgomery Construction down with him.”
She knew better than to argue, or to wonder how he knew so much about what Kenneth Vance was doing. He had his methods, and he didn’t tolerate disagreement with his plans.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Step up the vandalism—not enough to make the police take notice, just enough to make them nervous. I don’t want a full-scale investigation at this point. You can use that fool O’Brien.”
“He’s getting scared. The police are paying too much attention to him.”
He glared at her. “He’ll do as I say if he knows what’s good for him. So will you.”
She shrugged. “Of course. Don’t I always? I just don’t see the point of breaking windows and painting on walls.”
“I told you. Make them nervous. Make them wonder. And then, just when the Montgomerys and Vances think success is within their grasp—” He slammed his palm down on the tabletop again, so hard it shuddered. “Then we finish them.”
“When did you find this?” Ken barked the question at the night watchman.
Frank Collins bent, his belly straining over his belt buckle as he planted hands on his knees and stared at the slashed tires on the truck. “I told you. Around six this morning.”
“Why didn’t you call anyone then?”
The man shrugged. “I didn’t figure there was anything you could do about it then. I might as well wait until you got here.”
“That’s not your decision to make. You should have reported.” He gritted his teeth. It probably would have done no good, but he still wished the man had followed orders. “Did you find any sign of how they got in?”
Collins shot him a resentful glance. “Nah. Could have come over the fence, I guess.”
He suspected Collins hadn’t bothered to look. The first thing he was going to recommend to Quinn was that they hire someone else to take over the night patrol. Since that was Quinn’s car coming toward them, he wouldn’t have to wait long to tell him.
The car shrieked to a stop next to them. Quinn got out quickly, face tight with worry.
Ken glanced at the mechanic who’d been checking the rest of the machinery in the equipment yard. “Jess, did you find anything else?”
“Amateur hour,” the man said. “Sugar in a couple of tanks, but we caught it before any harm was done.”
Quinn reached them in time to hear that. He ran a hand through his hair, some of the strain leaving his eyes. “That’s good to hear. Double-check everything before any equipment goes out of the yard.”
“That’s going to put us behind at the hospital site,” Jess warned.
“Do it as fast as you can, but don’t skip anything. I don’t want any foul-ups.” Quinn turned on Collins. “How could anyone get in here without you spotting them?”
Collins shrugged, not meeting their eyes. “Can’t be everywhere at once, can I?”
Quinn made a dismissive gesture. “All right. You can go home.”
He waited until the man was out of earshot before snorting. “He was probably asleep in the office the whole time.”
“Replacing him is the first thing I was going to suggest,” Ken said. “How serious is it to fall behind at the hospital site?”
“Serious.” Quinn’s face grew tauter. “There’s been nothing but trouble there, and the hospital board is looking over my shoulder the whole time. There’s a substantial penalty for not completing on schedule. After the losses from the fire, we can’t afford to lose anything else.”
“I’m sorry, man. You counted on me.”
Quinn’s expression eased, and he punched his arm. “Forget it. Nobody expected you to spend your nights here. How do you think they got in?”
“Good question.” The thoughts that had been lurking under the surface came out. “No obvious break-in signs. I can’t help but wonder about the people Julianna had in here yesterday.”
Quinn gave a short nod. “Hard to believe, but you’d better check it out. Talk to her.”
Easy to say. Not so easy to do. He glanced at his watch. She should be here by now. He’d better get it over with.
Julianna moved away from the window when she saw Ken coming toward the office. It was hard to concentrate on work when everyone had heard about the vandalism, but standing around watching certainly wouldn’t help matters.
“How bad is it?” she asked as he came through the door.
“Not as bad as it could have been, I guess.” Concern set vertical crease lines between his eyebrows. “Sugar in the gas tanks, some slashed tires.”
Ken shrugged out of the denim jacket he’d worn against the early morning chill. Did he realize that the caramel color of the sweater he wore brought out gold flecks in his brown eyes? Probably not, and probably she shouldn’t be noticing that.
“Sounds like something teenagers would do.”
He nodded, coming to sit on the corner of her desk. “That’s what I thought, too. If someone really wanted to cause trouble for the company, they wouldn’t bother with such small stuff.”
“The police—”
He shook his head. “Quinn doesn’t want the police called. The company doesn’t need any more negative publicity to make clients nervous about hiring us.”
“I understand that, but surely we have to do something—at least try to find out who did it.”
“He seems to think I can do that.” Ken’s frown deepened. “I keep telling him I don’t know anything about security, but he won’t listen.”
“He’s known you a long time. He has confidence in you.” Odd, that she was reassuring Ken. She’d always thought he had more confidence in himself than anyone she knew. The accident must have dented that somewhat.
“Well, I’m trying.” He frowned down at her, and something inside her tightened at his grim expression. “How well do you know the people who were here yesterday for your practice drill?”
For a moment she was speechless. So that was the reason for this little conversation. He wasn’t confiding in her. He was questioning her.
She straightened. “How well? Very well. They’re people I’ve worked with for several years, for the most part. They’re the kind of people who volunteer their time to do a dirty, dangerous job because they care.” She was getting heated, but she didn’t care.
“Look, I realize you feel you know them, but—”
She couldn’t sit still and listen. She thrust her chair back, standing so that their eyes were level.
“I do know them. They risk their lives for something they believe in. People like that don’t go out and commit vandalism for a hobby.” How could he begin to think that?
His gaze was steady on hers. “We don’t always know people as well as we think we do.”
“I know them.” She saw them in her mind’s eye. “I trust my life to them when we go out on assignment together. Believe me, I know them.”
“What about Jay? Do you know him, too?”
It was as if a pit had opened under her feet, and she teetered on the edge. “I—”
She stopped. She couldn’t lie to Ken about the boy, even though she thought she understood him. “I told you. My grandfather has known his family for years. I’ve known Jay for about five or six months, since he moved here.”
“You said he ran with a gang.”
Her hands tightened into fists. “I did not say that. He’s not a gang member. He’s a good kid, a bright kid. He’s just looking for a place where he can belong.” She looked steadily at Ken. “I know how that feels. That’s why I’m trying to help him.”
“I’d like to trust your judgment on him, Julianna. But you have to admit, it raises questions. He was here at the yard yesterday, and you told me he’s been influenced by some undesirables. And you said yourself the vandalism sounded like something teenagers would have done.”
“Not Jay,” she said stubbornly, her heart sinking. “Look, if you accuse him of this, you’re going to ruin any chance I have of getting through to him.”
“If he vandalized your workplace, I’d say you’ve already lost him.”
She wanted to shake him, and she gripped her hands together to keep from giving in to the temptation.
“That’s so easy for you to say. You’ve never had to struggle to belong. You don’t have the faintest idea what it’s like to be someone like Jay Nieto.”
He straightened, his face tightening, giving back glare for glare. “Or Julianna Red Feather?”
“I know who I am.” If she were any angrier, she’d strike sparks. “I don’t need validation from anyone else.”
“Am I interrupting?” The lilting feminine voice from the doorway had both of them swinging around. “I certainly don’t want to, but I did think the construction company was open for business.” Dahlia Sainsbury lifted a perfectly arched dark eyebrow, looking at Ken as if he were a tall drink and she was thirsty. “Or was I wrong?”
THREE
Ken wasn’t sure who disconcerted him more, Julianna with her tacit accusation of prejudice or this woman, with a look that suggested enjoyment at their embarrassment.
Julianna recovered quickly, anger smoothing from her face as if it had never been. “Ms. Sainsbury. I don’t believe Mr. Montgomery is expecting you this morning, is he?”
So this woman was apparently a client. Her elegant suit and high heels seemed out of place at the construction company. She let the door click closed behind her.