BlackJack (A Standish Bay Romance Book 1) (18 page)

A short time
later he pulled up to Shannon’s house, turned off his ignition and counted the
cars in her driveway. Shit! The whole Gallagher family appeared present and
accounted for. Just what he needed, the ex-in-laws giving him the evil eye and
judging him.

The Gallagher’s
wove a tight group. One he had been part of once. He’d never had any complaints
about his in-laws, they were great. They had always been good to him, but
because of his own insecurities about knocking up their teenage daughter, he’d
never felt comfortable around them. He knew he probably read things into it that
didn’t exist. He also knew there would be no evil eyes or accusations, but he
just couldn’t help feeling like he deserved them.

His heart
hammered around inside his chest as he waited for his knock to be answered. It
was finally by Mitch, who immediately let him in and shook his hand.

“Where’s
Shannon?” John asked nervously as he listened for voices.

“Asleep in her
room. She hasn’t slept in days, and it finally caught up with her.”

“Is everyone
here?”
As if he needed to ask
.

“Yeah,”
answered a solemn Mitch.

Chapter
Thirteen

Shannon wasn’t
really asleep, although her eyes were closed and her body relaxed from sheer
exhaustion. The ache in her heart kept her awake. All sorts of scenarios kept
playing in her head and they were all bad. There were times she damned her
creative mind because the things she conjured up were far-fetched and not
realistic.

While she
continued driving herself crazy with her imagination, she welcomed the
interruption of the phone ringing. It was her detective friend, Scott, she’d
hired to find Cameron, and he had a lead. Someone with Cameron’s description
had bought a bus ticket, but the older gentleman who sold him the ticket
couldn’t remember if he bought a ticket to California or Chicago. Scott would
dig deeper and he told her not to lose hope. He would find him.

Before he hung up,
she confided in him about her incident in Chicago and asked if he would please
look into that and Cole’s case as soon as Cameron was found? He agreed,
although it didn’t make her feel any less burdened right now.

Unfortunately,
Shannon knew it wasn’t easy to find runaways if they didn’t want to be found. So
she prayed Cameron would want to be found once he had time to calm down and
think sensibly. Being on your own at sixteen was not only lonely, it was scary.
And thank God he’d taken his guitar. He would be all the easier to trace
because of it.

When she heard
John’s voice inside her house, she tensed and then realized how hard this must
be for him as well. And she tried her hardest not to blame him or resent him
because of the circumstances. Deep down in the bottom of her heart she knew John
would never intentionally cause harm to their son.

The past two
days she’d fought an overwhelming urge to call Cole. She needed to hear his
voice and let the sound of it engulf her and soothe her, but instead she played
his music and thought of him. She must have dosed off because the rain stopped,
the wind no longer howled and she could make out moonbeams shining through the
breaks in the clouds. The BlackJack CD had also ended. All was quiet, too quiet
and it pricked her nerves how silent her house appeared to be.

Had everyone
left?

Did they all
fall asleep?

Shannon dressed
and descended the stairs to find Mitch and John, sitting side by side on the
couch watching television. Darkness had swallowed the house except for the glow
from the fireplace and the light from the television.

“Hi. Did
everyone leave?”

Mitch and John
looked at her at the same time, both looking weary as hell and showing every
bit of their ages. It was amazing what stress and worry could do to people. And
she could only imagine how badly she looked right about now.

It was Mitch
who finally answered her.

“Yeah, they
left.” Mitch went to get up. “Can I get you anything?”

“Sit. I’m
perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” She poured a glass of juice and
curled up in the oversized chair with a blanket, then looked speculatively at
John. “Shouldn’t you be home?”

John looked at
her and shrugged his large shoulders. “Yeah, but if you don’t mind me crashing
in Cameron’s room, I’d appreciate it.”

“Cheryl won’t
mind?”

“She’d rather I
stay here than crack up the car.”

John unfolded
himself off the couch and walked to the patio doors, his head and shoulders
hunched down. “What are we going to do?”

The way John
said it grated on Shannon’s nerves, and all the pain and heartache he caused
her lately bubbled up to the surface. She didn’t even try to hold it down, she
let loose.

“We? What do
you mean we? You spent two days locked in a bedroom sulking like a baby because
your son hates you so much he ran away.”

By this point
both John and Mitch stared at her, their mouths open in shock, their eyes wide
in disbelief.

Shannon now sat,
perched on the edge of the chair, her back ramrod straight, and her eyes nearly
black with anger. “I’m trying to feel sorry for you, John. But I’m having a
difficult time with it considering the circumstances leading up to this. When
you barged in here that day, did you ever take in anyone’s feelings but your
own?” She jumped up to her feet. She rarely lost her temper and it felt extremely
good to lash out at John, even though, in the back of her mind she knew she
would regret it later and owe him an apology. But for now, she’d let him have
it.

“Did you ever
think for one second your son might care for Cole, and that you were hurting him
and not just me and Cole?”

“Shannon I...”
John tried interrupting, suddenly looking pale and uncomfortable.

“Let me finish.”
Her eyes darted from John to her brother who also looked uncomfortable. “If
you’re worried I’ll embarrass you in front of Mitch, don’t be. I already told
him everything.”

John groaned,
looking even worse if that were possible.

“Cameron saw me
happy with Cole and he was glad for me. He could see what most people like you
can’t, he saw another human being. Cameron saw a person with flaws like
everybody else, but a man with strong convictions and strong morals. Cole has a
genuine kindness inside him, and he shares it with anyone willing to give him
the time of day. He’s also highly talented, intelligent and extremely shy and
embarrassed about his past. Embarrassed about the truth as well as the untruth,
he has one hell of a conscience.”

Shannon paused
to catch her breath. Her heart pounded ferociously and her whole body trembled.
“Did you know his wife cheated on him for years, and he never once broke his
marriage vows?”

John and Mitch
both continued to stare at her, words lost to both of them as they let her
vent.

“That’s why he
drank. He was humiliated. But you know what? He has more love and compassion
and goodness in his heart than anyone I know. I also know we’re not here to
discuss him, but I wanted you to understand how much he means to Cameron—” She
stopped and her hand flew to her mouth as she struggled to keep the sob from
escaping. “How much he means to me.” Her eyes suddenly flared. “And how could
you break your son’s favorite guitar? I gave it to him for his thirteenth
birthday. You had no right—”

***

She collapsed
on the chair, buried her face in her hands and cried. Mitch approached her, but
John waved him off. This was his doing, his fault and his problem. He hunkered
down in front of her and swallowed his pride. He’d been a jerk and he shouldn’t
have interfered, but he had been frightened. Frightened of losing Shannon and
losing his son to a man who could open doors and give him the world, the world
of his dreams, and the world of music. Something he could never do and it
burned inside him, eating away at him, and he wasn’t proud of it. He wasn’t
proud of his thoughts of jealousy and hatred toward another human being.

Yes, damn it,
he was jealous and he behaved spitefully and no one would ever know how sorry
he was for it. He’d made a huge mess of everything and because of what? His
male ego and pride felt bruised? He would have to share Shannon and Cameron
with another man? He had behaved selfishly and childishly and it was time to
correct it. He took a deep cleansing breath and forged on.

“Shannon. I’m
sorry. Sorry for everything.”

She lifted her
face and wiped her runny nose with her sweatshirt sleeve, and it nearly made John
smile. He took her hands in his and looked her in the eyes, her stunning blue
eyes, filled with moist teardrops waiting their turn to fall down her beautiful
face. How could he have intentionally hurt her? His heart split in two for her,
for him and for their son.

“You’re right. I
was an asshole. Not fit to wipe the dirt from the soles of your boots. I regret
everything. I was jealous, afraid and...hell...just really stupid,” he groaned.
“It’s your life. I shouldn’t have interfered.” He cleared his throat. “Now, can
I repeat my question from earlier without you jumping down my throat?”

That brought
the tiniest smile to her lips. “Sure.”

John let go of
her hands and sat back on his heels. “What are we going to do?”

***

Shannon closed
her eyes for a moment to bury the problems of the past several weeks with John.
And when she opened them up she once again thought of him as her best friend
since their days in school.

“I hired Scott
Danvers. He’s a private detective I’ve worked with in the past. He’s tracking down
Cameron as we speak.” She proceeded to tell John and Mitch what she learned
earlier in the evening from Scott. “I didn’t make the connection until now, but
Cole lives in Malibu. Cameron knows that. Do you think?”

“Maybe, it’s
worth a shot,” John said as he stood up and stretched. “Will you call him?” he
asked hopefully.

“What time is
it?” she queried.

Mitch looked at
his watch and replied. “It’s almost midnight.”

Shannon picked
up the handset to the house phone and dialed Cole’s cell phone number. The phone
rang until his voice mail message came on. The sound of his voice had hers
nearly faulting.

“Hi. It’s me,
Shannon. I need to talk to you. When you get this message, I don’t care what
time it is, call me.”

She pushed the
off button and glanced at John, her body more weary than ever. She needed sleep
to re-energize and think clearly. She opened her mouth to speak and had to
force the words out, “What now?”

“We get some
rest and call the detective friend of yours in the morning.” John kissed
Shannon quickly on the forehead and bid her and Mitch goodnight.

***

Cole’s long
fingers gripped the armrest on his seat like a vise as the plane rocked from
some of the worst turbulence he had ever experienced. At one point the plane
had taken a sudden nosedive. It lasted probably only a few seconds, but to
anyone on the plane it seemed like an eternity.

Would they
crash?

Die?

Survive?

It went through
his mind and he was quite sure it went through everyone else’s on that plane
bound for LAX. First class had been full, so Cole sat in coach and he could
hear the screams of the children. It tore his heart out at how terrified they
must be as the drinks and peanut packages flew through the air.

He himself had
just ordered a coke and it had landed in his lap. The flight attendant, a male,
probably somewhere in his late twenties, had landed in the lap of the woman
across the aisle from him. Now the flight attendant was safely buckled in his
pull down seat. Cole peered through first class and stared at the locked
cockpit door wondering what was going on up there.

Cole was not
afraid to fly, nor was he afraid to die. It was just he had unfinished business
and now would not be the most convenient of all times to die. Just then the
captain addressed them over the plane’s intercom.

“This is
Captain Gauthier, we’re experiencing extreme turbulence and for the time being
no one is allowed out of their seats. Please observe the seat belt sign. I’m
sorry for the recent sudden decent. I don’t anticipate it happening again. If
anyone needs assistance please let your flight attendant know. Please try to
relax and enjoy the rest of your flight.”

Enjoy. Was he
kidding? There wasn’t a single soul on this plane who would relax or breathe
easy until they landed safely, including himself.

The turbulence
didn’t let up, in fact, Cole thought it might be getting worse, and he wanted
to do something, anything to ease the fear plastered on the passenger’s faces. He
glanced up to the overhead compartment holding his guitar. If he could get it,
he could play and maybe he could take some people’s minds off the rattling and
banging of the plane.

Cole looked
toward the flight attendant. “Excuse me, do you think I could play my guitar. It
might help calm some of the passengers.”

The attendant
looked confused and uncertain. “It’s not something that’s usually done, but
under the circumstances, I don’t see why not.”

Cole sat in the
front row on the right side of the plane. The one seat next to him was empty. He
quickly unbuckled, reached over his head, unlocked the compartment and pulled
down his guitar case. Once he removed his guitar, he shut the case back inside
the luggage compartment.

When he was
buckled back up, he began to play. It felt awkward playing on a plane, and he
wondered how many people could actually hear him. He played a soft, soothing
ballad he had yet to record. Halfway through the song he became so engrossed in
his music he never noticed how hushed the plane had become.

When he
strummed the last chord, the passengers clapped and Cole’s heart dropped. He
asked if anyone had a request. A young mother several rows to his left, flying
with her two young children, requested a hymn.

Fortunately for
Cole, his mother had been a Christian, and he’d gone to church regularly
growing up. As he played, it all came back to him, including the words, and the
young mother sang along with him, surprising him with her lovely voice.

Cole continued
to play until the turbulence faded and the seat belt sign blinked off. He
replaced his guitar and went to the bathroom at the back of the plane. The one
closest to him was reserved for first class passengers only. On his way back,
many people thanked him for what he’d done and Cole’s face warmed with each and
every compliment.

The young woman,
who had sung with him, hugged him, and he found out she sang with a famous
choir. She introduced herself as Katie Devers, and she didn’t bat an eyelash
when he introduced himself as Cole Jackson.

“It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jackson. I love your music. And thank you. My
children were truly frightened and your playing helped calm them immensely.”

Cole smiled at her.
“I think it was their mother’s voice doing the calming. You have the voice of
an angel. If you ever care to work with me, please give me a call.”