No One But You (Silver Springs #2)(61)

“We’re not together, Alex. I just work for him,” she reiterated.

“Seems to me like you’re pretty set on helping him.”

Even Dawson could hear the skepticism in Alex’s voice.

“Because Dawson hasn’t killed anyone,” she said, her tone turning defensive. “He’s a nice guy.”

“Then I hope Sly doesn’t kill him.”

As angry as Dawson was, at the police, at Sly, at the vagrant who murdered his parents—at the whole world right now—he almost wished Sly would come after him. He craved the opportunity to put Sly Harris down in any kind of meaningful way. Sly deserved it.

Except he knew Sadie’s ex wasn’t the type who would ever fight fair.





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. She just wished she’d managed to save more of her and Jayden’s belongings. She’d been afraid the electrical box or something else would explode, or she’d get blocked in if she lingered. “But...I don’t really have the money right now. And what little I do have I need to reserve for Jayden.”

“We’ll get him some things, too. There’s a ‘nice twice’ place for kids a few blocks off the main drag.”

“I’m familiar with it.” That was where she’d purchased most of his things since leaving Sly.

“We’ll go there next.” He lifted a hand. “No need to worry about the money. I’ll front what you need as an advance against your wages.”

Problem was, she’d need every bit of those wages for other things—like car insurance, day care, rent and utilities, so she could move out of the farmhouse and get back on her own two feet. She hated having to lean on someone she hadn’t known all that long, someone who had enough of his own problems.

But what could she say? She and Jayden were wearing what they’d slept in. At a minimum, they’d need underwear and socks for when they bathed or showered later. Which meant she had to buy them.

“Okay. Thanks.” She scooted out the driver side right after he did and would’ve walked around to get Jayden, but Dawson beat her to it, and Jayden didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t reach for her once, didn’t even look over at her as he would have if his father were carrying him. She found it so ironic that they both trusted Dawson more than they did Sly—intuitively—in spite of how everyone else felt about him.