Finders Keepers (11 page)
Authors: Fern Michaels
“Senator, I can't cancel my plans. Sophie is graduating. We talked about this so many times. You cannot reschedule a graduation.”
The senator stared at her, his bushy eyebrows meeting in the center of his forehead.
“Your wife and son could take a taxi, Senator. People do that all the time. Or, you could engage a car service. The staff is needed here all day today. If you pull someone, things are going to get fouled up. You know how you like things to run smoothly. More coffee?”
The senator held out his cup. “Alexis in a taxi. By God, I'd love to see that. I suppose I could send the chauffeur and my car.”
“I don't think you should do that, Senator. Victor Grimes is on that watchdog committee for government waste and he's been in here three different times asking questions about your field trips and your personal car usage. As I see it, a taxi or a car service are your only options. I have to leave now, Senator, or I'll miss my flight.”
“Do you have time to make another pot of coffee before you leave?”
“No. Diane will make it when she comes in. I hope you have a lovely visit with your family. I'll see you next week and don't worry about anything. The staff, if they follow all my notes and my instructions, will have no problem. Don't forget you have a dental appointment this afternoon at four o'clock.” She waved an airy good-bye before she left the office.
Jessie was in the hallway when she remembered her personal log in the top drawer of her desk. She set the suitcase down to return to the office for the little book with her scribbled notations. It would never do for someone else to find it or look at it. Rule Number One, Agnes Prentis had said, was never to leave the log unattended and to be sure to take it home at night. She'd obeyed Rule Number One to the letter.
Jessie arrived at Dulles Airport with fifteen minutes to spare. She checked her overnight bag with her garment bag before she headed for the rest room. A shrill shriek of childish laughter made her turn to see a set of identical four-year-old twins barreling down the concourse as they sought to elude their harried mother. She had only a moment to try to sidestep the shrieking twins or be bowled over. She turned too sharply and lost her footing, her handbag flying across the floor as her high heels sought for traction. A heartbeat later, she felt strong arms under her own arms, and then she was right side up. She turned to see the white knight who had rescued her and found herself staring into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. Familiar eyes. Summer blue eyes. Then she almost fainted when the young man held her at a distance. “I think you're okay, just shaken up. Kids can be rambunctious. I wish you'd say something, so I know you're okay.” His tone was light, teasing, almost bantering.
She wanted to say something, she really did, but her tongue felt like it was three sizes too big for her mouth. She felt her head bob up and down as she tried to force her facial muscles into a smile. She failed miserably.
“For heaven's sake, Tanner, the young lady is fine. Stop
hovering
and let her catch her breath. Obviously she needs to catch a flight. Can you tear yourself away so we can be on our way?” It was all said in one long breath, in a tone that could have chilled milk.
hovering
and let her catch her breath. Obviously she needs to catch a flight. Can you tear yourself away so we can be on our way?” It was all said in one long breath, in a tone that could have chilled milk.
Tanner Kingsley, his back to his mother, winked at Jessie, and said, “She doesn't know that I thrive on saving damsels in distress. Is that your purse over there? Hold on. I'll get it for you.” His hand touched hers when he held out the leather purse. Jessie felt an electric current shoot through her body. “Have a good flight.” She nodded. A moment later mother and son were gone from her sight.
Jessie Roland was aware of two things at that precise moment. One, she had just met her destiny, and two, there was no time to use the rest room because her flight was boarding.
Her legs wobbly, Jessie boarded the airplane. Seated next to the window, she buckled up and leaned her head back on the headrest. She closed her eyes as she tried to conjure up Tanner Kingsley's face behind her closed lids. What she'd just experienced was such a strange fluke it had to mean something. The question was, what did it mean? A coincidence? Coincidences happened all the time. Fate? Was she meant to meet Tanner Kingsley in such an unlikely manner? Would she ever meet him again? She had the advantage over Mrs. Kingsley and her son since she'd seen their picture every day for three long years while they knew nothing at all about her.
She felt herself squirm when Alexis Kingsley's image surfaced behind her closed lids. She'd had only one brief glimpse of the senator's wife before her attention focused on Tanner. She'd been impeccably dressed and coifed. Sophie would have known to the penny what the woman's outfit cost. Where did the Kingsley money come from? The ranch? The senator's pay wasn't all that much, and he had to pay his living expenses in the city. She balanced his personal checkbook every month, and there was very little left at the end of the month. As far as she could tell, he had never sent any money back to Texas, which made her assume the ranch was self-supporting. Sable coats and Chanel handbags like the ones Mrs. Kingsley had cost a lot of money.
Jessie gave herself a mental shake. The Kingsley finances were none of her business. Balancing the senator's personal checkbook was just part of her job. She sighed. Moments later she was asleep. Hours later the flight attendant had to tap her shoulder to wake her. “We're about to land, miss. Fasten your seat belt and return your seat to the upright position.” Jessie did as instructed. A quick glance at her watch told her the flight was landing on time. She would have enough time to visit the rest room, comb her hair, and freshen her makeup before heading for the university. Sophie had said her apartment was on the way to the university, so she should have the driver leave her bags on the front porch.
Sophie was graduating
summa cum laude
six months ahead of schedule, and, to boot, was valedictorian. It was mind-boggling.
summa cum laude
six months ahead of schedule, and, to boot, was valedictorian. It was mind-boggling.
Sixty minutes later, ticket in hand, Jessie followed the throngs of parents entering the auditorium. Front row, center. Now how had Sophie managed that? She took her seat, aware of the empty seat next to hers. She looked up and down the row. Couples. Fathers and mothers. The empty seat must have been reserved for Janice Ashwood. In her heart, Jessie knew Sophie's mother would be a no-show. How awful for Sophie. She would be forced to stare at the empty seat when she gave her speech.
Did Jessie dare ask someone to remove the chair? Should she volunteer it to someone who didn't have a ticket? Was it her place to do anything? No, no, no to all of the above. Where Sophie was concerned, hope would always spring eternal. Jessie folded her bulky coat and purse and placed them on the chair. It was all she could do.
The auditorium lights dimmed as the graduates marched down the center aisle. Jessie craned her neck to see Sophie. Her heart swelled with pride when she saw her friend take her seat.
She looks different,
Jessie thought. This last year had obviously wrought changes in her friend. She hoped they were all to the good. The insane desire to smash the empty chair next to her was so strong that Jessie clenched her fists and bit down on her lower lip.
She looks different,
Jessie thought. This last year had obviously wrought changes in her friend. She hoped they were all to the good. The insane desire to smash the empty chair next to her was so strong that Jessie clenched her fists and bit down on her lower lip.
Jessie's mind drifted as the dean took the podium and droned on and on about the graduating class and how hard they had all worked to arrive at this day. She was back in the airport staring into Tanner Kingsley's summer blue eyes, eyes all the more startling because of his bronzed complexion capped off by sun-bleached blond hair. He had seemed incredibly tall and muscular. A bronze Adonis. She felt a curl of heat work its way up to her chest and neck at the thought. She wondered if she looked as flushed as she felt.
“Sophie Marion Ashwood.”
Jessie jerked herself back to reality as Sophie walked to the podium. Where was her speech? There had been nothing in her hand. Trust Sophie to wing it. She sucked in her breath when she saw her friend, her eyes bright with unshed tears, stare at the empty seat next to Jessie. Her gaze swiveled to Jessie, who mouthed the words, “It doesn't matter. I'm here. Get on with it.” Sophie smiled and nodded.
“I hate your stinking guts, Janice Ashwood, for doing this to Sophie. I hate you as much as I hate Thea Madeline Roland,” Jessie muttered under her breath.
Jessie listened in awe to Sophie's passionate speech about building bridges to the future, her voice ringing through the auditorium. With a five-second pointed stare at the empty seat in front of her, Sophie finished and walked from the podium before the audience could grasp that she'd finished her speech. The applause was polite. Sophie deserved more.
Jessie had to do something, and she had to do it now before the moment passed. Without a second's hesitation and in the blink of an eye the bulky coat and purse were on the floor and she was standing on Janice Ashwood's reserved chair. She was probably going to make a fool of herself. It didn't matter. Whatever it took to make this day memorable for Sophie she was willing to do, even if she made a fool of herself in the process. Her clenched fists beat the air as she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Yay, Sophie! Yay, Sophie!” Then she turned and shouted. “That's my friend Sophie. She completed the program in four and a half years instead of five to graduate first in her class. She deserves more than that polite hand-clapping you did a few minutes ago. Now, let's hear it for my friend Sophie!” She whistled between her teeth the way Sophie had taught her when they were little, her arms pumping up and down as she shouted, “Hoo, hoo, hoo!”
The audience laughed in delight as they followed suit. Sophie ran across the stage and leaped downward, her gown flapping around her legs as she made her way to Jessie. “I'll be damned. You are a serendipity if I ever saw one.” Tears streaming down her face, Sophie climbed up on the chair, and shouted, “Thank you. Thank you.”
To Jessie she said, “C'mon, we're out of here. I can't believe you did that. Where in the damn hell did you get the guts to do something like that? You hate speaking in front of people, you hate being on display.”
“I didn't want them to forget you. I wanted this to be a memorable day. I know how hard you worked. I also know what that empty chair meant to you. Look at it this way, if someone had been in the chair, I wouldn't have been able to do it. I didn't think about it. I just did it.”
“You sure as hell did. Did you see me bound off that stage?”
“Yes, and I saw your underwear, too. And to think I had to twist your arm to even attend this graduation. You wanted them to mail you your diploma.”
Outside in the clear evening air, Sophie turned to Jessie. “Do you have any idea how much your friendship means to me, Jessie Roland? I've been in a dither for weeks worrying about the senator giving you the time off. If there had been two empty seats in that auditorium, I would have cut and run. I just want you to know that.”
“I do know that, Sophie. Your friendship means as much to me as mine means to you. So, how are we going to celebrate?”
“Let's go home and drink some good wine and catch up. It's been over a year since we've been face-to-face. Tomorrow we can start doing things. I'm leaving next week for Costa Rica.”
“Sophie! That's a world away. Why? For how long?”
“Three years. It's my internship. I couldn't pass it up. You can come and visit.”
“God, I miss you already.”
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