The Perfect Couple (Last Stand #4)(29)
Author: Brenda Novak

"Do you want the people who are interested to call you?" she asked.

Why be bothered by twelve separate interruptions when he could make his grand impression all at once? "No, we’ll meet in the parking lot at Sierra College, eight o’clock Saturday morning."

Her eyebrows knitted. "But that’s two days away. What if she’s found before then?"

Samantha would never be found. Not alive, anyway. But he’d tripped on his own confidence. He had to be more careful.

He pushed a notebook toward her. "Have everyone who’s coming sign up with their name and phone number. I’ll contact them in the event the search is called off."

"I hope she’s returned to her family long before then."

Knowing how much Zoe would love him for arriving with the calavry made him smile. She’d been so grateful last night. He’d never forget the charge that went through him when they made physical contact.

"Me, too," he said.

Overcome by sheer exhaustion, Zoe fell asleep almost before they could taxi down the runway, and she didn’t move during the flight. But it was only an hour later that they landed in Los Angeles, and an hour wasn’t nearly long enough to give her the rest she needed. Jonathan regretted having to wake her, but he couldn’t very well carry her off the plane.

"Zoe?" He nudged her. "We’re here."

Her eyes opened to reveal irises that were dark-brown in the center and light-brown at the edges with varying shades of amber in between. He’d halfway expected her to be confused after coming out of such a deep sleep, but she wasn’t. She winced as if she didn’t want to face the burden that awaited her. But once the aisle was free, she stood and marched off the plane.

They had their luggage, so Jonathan led her directly to a counter where he could rent a car.

"Why don’t we take a cab?" she asked.

"It’s not the best way to travel when you need to be mobile."

"Are we going somewhere besides the trailer park?"

"If we have to. We’re down here to do whatever we can. I have no idea how hard or easy that’ll be, but we need to plan for the worst."

He took out his Visa and rented a Prius, and soon they were heading for Mount Vernon Mobile Home Park. They had to fight through congested traffic, but the clear blue skies and sunny, eighty-degree weather made Jonathan wonder why he hadn’t settled farther south.

According to the GPS he’d rented with the car, they’d have a thirty-minute drive, but Zoe was already digging at her cuticles as if dreading the moment they’d arrive.

"You okay?" he asked, drawing her attention from the window.

"As okay as I can be."

"What’s wrong? Besides everything," he added.

She managed a chuckle. "It’s been so long and yet–" she stared up at the palm trees that lined the road "–the memories are as vivid as though I never left."

Those memories were painful for her. She didn’t want to come back.

She was only doing it for Sam. He regretted being the one to ask for yet another sacrifice, but he had to do his job or they might never recover her daughter.

"Where’s your mother from?" he asked, hoping to distract her from her nerves.

"Alabama."

He checked the GPS as they came to a large freeway interchange.

"Where’d your parents meet?"

"Here, at a club."

"How old was she?"

"Eighteen."

"What brought her all the way from Alabama? College?"

She laughed. "No. The same thing that brings a lot of young girls to L.A.–the dream of becoming a movie star."

He sensed a measure of disgust in her voice, but if her mother had Zoe’s looks, Jonathan could understand why she’d believe she might have a shot…. "Did she get any parts?"

"She once had two lines in a Dukes of Hazard episode. And she was an extra in Little House on the Prairie."

Not an impressive resume. "I can’t imagine that paid very much."

"No."

Half wishing he’d rented a convertible, he adjusted the air-conditioning vents. It was that kind of day. "How’d she get by?"

"From what my father told me, she worked at various low-paying jobs and lived with whatever man would take her in."

What a history. Jonathan was almost sorry he’d asked. "Is that how she came to know your father?"

"He was making good money back then."

A definite attraction for a struggling actress. "What was he doing?"

She arched an eyebrow. "He says he was operating a perfectly legal transmission-repair business."

"But…"

"I’m pretty sure it was a chop shop. In any case, he served two years for grand larceny, my entire fifth- and sixth-grade years, so…draw your own conclusions."

"Nice," Jonathan said with a whistle. "Who’d you stay with while he was incarcerated? Your mother?" She’d already told him her mother had never been part of her life, but maybe that wasn’t as unconditional as it sounded.

Shifting in the seat, she pulled her seat belt away from her body as if it was too constricting. "No, she was long gone by then. I stayed with his girlfriend."

The GPS said they had ten minutes before they reached their destination. "Was she nice to you?"

"Nice enough. But she was the one who got my father into drugs, so I don’t feel too friendly toward her."

"She was an addict?"

"One of the worst. I’d be surprised if she hasn’t overdosed by now."

"The relationship didn’t last, I take it."

"No. They broke up shortly after my father got out of prison."

Jonathan drove in silence. After several minutes, he asked, "How long were your parents together?"

"I doubt they were ever officially a couple. He provided a place for her to sleep and she provided…" Her voice dropped. "Well, I’m sure you can guess what she provided. That’s how he ended up stuck with me."

Stuck with her? "When did she leave?"

"Before I was born. But she came back, long enough to dump me on his doorstep with a note saying she wasn’t about to let an unexpected pregnancy ruin her career."

Apparently, Zoe’s mother was even more irresponsible than her father.

"What happened to her from there?"

"I have no idea. We never heard from her again."

"Are you ever tempted to track her down? See what’s become of her?"

That was the type of thing he did for people all the time. He could help her, if she wanted, but she didn’t hesitate before responding.

"No."

Her life had been the exact opposite of his, he realized. He had supportive parents and the best big sister a guy could ask for. "What about extended family?"