“I could never have stayed.” This was actually a good way to lead into asking her about Jackson. “It’s what my father wanted.”
“Did Reginald expect you to stay?”
“He expected me to go to college for some kind of business degree and, yes, follow him and Whit. My father and I were never close. He had little interest in being a father. He spent most of his time working.” He glanced over at Georgia, who listened like a mama bear, ready to attack if Carson said anything harmful to Ruby. He was about to take the risk of being clawed. He turned back to Ruby. “If I’d have known his first son was kidnapped and much of his aloofness came from that, things might have been different. He never talked about his feelings, but he must have been heartbroken over losing Jackson.”
“He was. Reginald was a changed man after Jackson went missing. When Jackson was born, I like to think we fell even more madly in love. Our love for Jackson made us close. Until Jackson went missing.” She gazed off into the darkness, unaware that Carson had begun the questioning he’d been itching to do since they’d arrived in California. But Georgia was. Her eyes had narrowed in warning.
Carson ignored her. “It wasn’t your fault, Ruby. Someone took your baby. You didn’t give him away.”
Some of the sorrow left her as she looked at him again. “That’s very kind of you to say, Carson, but no one back then believed I was a competent mother. I left him outside to go answer the phone.”
Reginald and his family had blamed her. “In your own backyard. He should have been safe. You should have been able to leave him out there without worry.”
“It was the middle of the day,” Ruby said, encouraged. “I was in the backyard with him, doing some gardening. He was in his carrier. The phone rang and I went in to answer it. I was only gone one or two minutes. When I came back outside, he was gone.”
“Who knew you had a baby?”
“Everyone. Family. Friends. The police questioned all of them. I’ve always thought my neighbor at the time was holding something back, but the police didn’t find any reason not to believe her. That’s something that has always bothered me.”
“Why did you think she was holding something back?” Carson asked.
“She had a lot going on in her life at the time. She just seemed... I don’t know...distracted. The police didn’t talk to her long. I guess I’ve always felt she might have seen something and didn’t tell police because she didn’t want to be involved. It was an impression I had, nothing more.”
Something she’d noticed in the way her neighbor spoke to her? It may be important.
“Did you ever tell Reginald any of this?”
She turned from her lost gaze out across the dark landscape. “He called me about a week before he was killed and asked me about her. He remembered that I’d mentioned what I’d thought of our neighbor and he wanted to confirm it.”
Reginald had called Ruby? She must not have minded. She must be over him. Of course she would be. Their marriage had been so long ago. And Ruby had been happy and in love with Georgia’s father.
“He was going to look into the neighbor,” Carson said aloud.
“Yes, but I don’t think he had the chance.”
“I don’t, either, which is why I plan to talk to her.” Carson stopped questioning her. He had enough for now.
“Are you going to go to North Carolina?” Ruby asked.
Beside him, he sensed Georgia’s tension over the desperate hope coming from Ruby.
“I’ll need to in order to talk to some people.”
“Georgia and I could go with you.”
Ruby seemed to want to help, but it was clear that Georgia had other ideas.
“Why don’t we just let Carson handle this?” Georgia said. “You’ve already been through enough. Leave it up to him.”
“It’s much easier if we’re there. We can help him.”
Carson doubted she’d be of much help, but he also wasn’t so sure that was her main reason. More likely, she couldn’t bear to wait to hear what kind of progress he was making. Waiting here would be harder than being there. But if he made no progress, wouldn’t that be worse for her?
“Let’s decide that later,” Georgia said as the carriage came to a stop in front of the barn.
He watched her take in the grandeur of Whit and Elizabeth’s new house with reluctant admiration and decided right then to enjoy proving her wrong about the rich—the Adairs.
* * *
Georgia hopped down from the carriage, still marveling over Whit and Elizabeth’s big house. It was on the ranch property and it was as spectacular as the Spanish hacienda from where they’d just come. This afternoon she’d gazed out over rolling hills of alfalfa fields, horse pastures and citrus groves and several outbuildings. The guesthouse was three times the size of hers in Florida. She didn’t want to be impressed or like it so much, but she was and she did.
Seeing Carson watching her, she marched toward the barn. She didn’t want to be impressed by him, either, but the deft way he’d handled Ruby had softened a part of her heart. He may not be finished talking to her about the kidnapping, but he had enough to go on for now and backed off. She appreciated that. But he didn’t have to know it.
Reaching the open barn doors, where light poured out onto a corral, she stopped. People ate at tables and danced in the middle to a live country music band. There were Adairs everywhere. And nice or not, Carson was part of this family, the one who had treated Ruby so horribly and attracted people like them. Reginald had loved Ruby, but it was his family that had destroyed them. It hadn’t just been losing Jackson.
Georgia didn’t shun all rich people. Not all rich people were snobs or magnets to draw others like them into their circle. People could make a comfortable, secure living without amassing enormous wealth. There was a difference between struggling to get by and making a comfortable living. People didn’t need hundreds of millions or even billions to survive. Yes, the rich created jobs and kept the economy going. But without those who kept the wheels turning, the ones struggling to get by or making a comfortable living, they’d have nothing. People like Reginald and his parents were just plain greedy. And even if one or two in a family managed to remain humble, there was bound to be someone or several who weren’t. As far as Georgia was concerned, getting involved with a rich man wasn’t worth the risk of happiness.
Carson and Ruby stood on each side of her. Everyone looked normal, but Georgia braced herself for the backlash. Ruby was the first to step forward and introduce herself to a young couple. The happy light had returned and she was ready to mingle. Affection and love swelled up in Georgia. She didn’t have any trouble melting right into the crowd. It was as though she’d stepped into another world and wasn’t an average Lake Mary, Florida, resident anymore. Free for the night. Maybe she was remembering what it had been like to be married to Reginald, to be well off. She had loved Georgia’s father, but he hadn’t made millions.
Georgia followed Ruby and was disappointed when Carson joined her. The young couple wandered off and a man about the same age as Ruby appeared before the three of them.
“Carson.” He stuck out his hand. “I heard you were back. So sorry to hear about your parents.”
“Hayden. Good to see you.”
“Who are these lovely ladies you have with you?” He spoke to Ruby, who all but gushed over the attention.
“I’m Ruby Mason. How very nice to meet a charming devil like you.”
Georgia gaped at her stepmother. She’d never seen her act this way before. Maybe she had when she’d met her dad, but Georgia had been so young, she didn’t remember. A traitorous