No One but You--A Novel by Brenda Novak

Author:Brenda Novak
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2017-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

16

Sadie took her son from Dawson as soon as they got back to the truck and strapped Jayden in his safety seat while Dawson used his phone to research the contact information for Safety First in Santa Barbara. He found a listing and shot her a “wish me luck” look before dialing. There was always a possibility that the company wasn’t even in business anymore.

She fended off her son’s pleas to eat his sucker two or three times with a “not now” or “after lunch” while trying to listen to Dawson’s side of the conversation. Finally, she gave in, just to keep Jayden quiet. She figured one treat at an irregular time shouldn’t cause any lasting damage.

Dawson had already identified himself and asked for the owner. She could hear him saying, “When will he be in?” and “Can you tell me if you have access to job orders for the company going back thirteen months or so?” over the crackle of the wrapper.

When he hung up, she raised her eyebrows in expectation. “So?”

“That was a woman by the name of Amber.”

“And?”

“The good news is that they have every single job order since they opened their doors eight years ago.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“She wouldn’t give me any more information. Said I’d have to speak to the owner, who won’t be in until Monday.”

“Did you get his name?” She’d heard him ask for it.

“Big Red.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s all she gave me.”

“I’m sorry you have to wait even longer.”

“That isn’t all bad. At least I still have hope,” he said and waited for Sadie to get in before climbing behind the wheel.

“You let him have his treat?” Dawson asked, hitching a thumb at the pleased-as-punch Jayden.

“He couldn’t wait any longer.”

“You mean you got tired of saying no,” he said with a chuckle.

“Essentially,” she agreed.

Dawson leaned forward to see her son. “You got lucky today, huh, bud?”

Jayden offered him a sticky but toothy smile.

Sadie was surprised when Dawson parked in front of The Mint Julep instead of continuing on to the farm. Silver Springs didn’t have a lot of clothing stores. There was no mall, Target or Walmart, just a few small, expensive shops that catered to the wealthy tourists who came through. Sadie had purchased her blouse the other day from this place; it was her favorite boutique. But she’d found the blouse on the clearance rack. Typically, she couldn’t afford to shop here, even though she stopped in once in a while to browse.

“What are we doing?” she asked as Dawson cut the engine.

“You need clothes,” he said simply.

“I can wait. Chief Thomas told me I could give him a list of the things I need. I was planning to do that today.”

“He also said that the bedroom was one of the most damaged parts of the house. I doubt there’ll be much to salvage, and in the meantime I’m sure you’d like a few things—beyond that T-shirt and those baggy sweats.”

She was so glad she’d grabbed her shoes before running out of the house, or she’d need those, too.

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