Chapter Twelve
Upset, Dana threw her phone down and started pacing.
She’d known getting involved with a Cavallo, especially this particular one, was a mistake.
But did she listen to her instincts? No, because her hormones had taken over!
Why her brain stopped functioning when he was around, she had no idea—it had never happened to her before. But ever since he’d kissed her…
It was minutes later before she became aware that she’d stopped pacing and was touching her lips. Fed up with herself, she rolled her eyes and picked up her phone again.
A car. She had to find one today, because she wanted to drive to Sam Jordan again. He was the only one with all the answers. She now knew where he lived; she didn’t have his cell phone number, but there was no reason why he wouldn’t open the door for her.
The number of the car salesman should still be on her phone. Surely he would have something she could afford? She could, of course, borrow her mother’s car, but she didn’t want to talk to her yet.
For that conversation she had to be calm, and at the moment she was still so angry and hurt. Why would her mother take her money when she had more than enough of her own?
She closed her eyes while listening to the ring tone. Her dad had helped her when she’d bought her first car; he’d helped her with all those forms and done all the talking.
Sniffling, she wiped her clammy eyes. She missed him dreadfully. He was the only person on whom she could depend.
But now she was on her own, and she could buy a car. And, damn it, she didn’t need a man to do this—how difficult could it be?
*
Caitlin sighed and patted the seat next to her on the couch. Irritated, David sat down. He’d been hoping for a quick answer on how to fix the thing with Dana, but if he was reading Caitlin correctly, it was not going to be that easy.
“You guys are used to buying your way into things. You pay people to do stuff for you, you pay people to work for you, you pay people. And it would seem, you pay women to be with you. We—and by we, I mean my sisters, Dana, and I—don’t operate like that.
It was something both Don and Dale had to figure out. ”
“I was just trying to help…” he began, frustration clawing at his insides.
“I know. And I think deep down Dana knows too. But she has other problems besides trying to figure out what happened to her dad…”
“What problems?” he interrupted.
“I don’t want to discuss Dana’s—”
Really worried now, he touched Caitlin’s arm. “What problems?”
Caitlin looked at him, a small smile hovering around her mouth. “Why do you want to know?” she asked.
“I… I…” He couldn’t find the right words. “What problems?”
Caitlin laughed. “I see.” She nodded and patted his arm. “I’ll tell you because you are my brother-in-law, and I know something now that you don’t know yet—”
“Caitlin, what are you talking about? Tell me, what other problems does Dana have?”
“She has spoken to her mother’s financial advisor.”
“I suggested that she do that,” he murmured.
Caitlin proceeded to tell him how Dana’s mother had apparently constantly been asking for money, even though she had more than enough.
“Wow.” He shook his head. “I can’t even begin to understand what Dana must be feeling.”
“And then on top of that news, she heard that you also disregarded her feelings and tried to pay for half her car.”
“I didn’t disregard her feelings—” he began hotly, but realized that was exactly what he’d tried to do. “Okay, yeah, I can see why she’d think that. But that was not what I was thinking!”
“I know,” Caitlin said in a placating tone.
He rubbed his face. “So how do I fix this?”
“You’re halfway there if you understand how your actions made her feel.”
David drove away from Caitlin and Don’s house scowling. Damn it to hell! Understanding women was obviously not a skill a man was born with.
*
Wednesday afternoon she had her car. The salesman had kindly brought her two cars in her price range to test drive. She’d decided on one and felt quite good about herself.
After he assured her what he was doing was standard procedure, she felt better about leaving him to handle all the paperwork and registration. All she had to do was sign the final papers.
She’d done it all by herself. She hadn’t needed David Cavallo. So why wasn’t she feeling more triumphant about the whole thing?
She sat down on a chair at the kitchen counter. Because she missed him. He’d been in her little house, and everywhere she looked she could still see him, see his smile, remember the gentle touch of his hand on her back, his searing kisses…
Aarrgghh! This was not helping! She looked at her watch. It was still early enough to take the drive she was thinking about. She was not going to phone anyone and would just hope to find them at home.
She still had to confront her mother, but at this point talking to anyone else seemed a better option.
*
“What the hell do you want now?” Sam Jordan snarled the minute he opened the front door. “I told you everything I know.”
The big man was angry, but Dana was determined not to be intimidated.
She squared her shoulders. “I only need a few minutes of your time…” she began with a smile, but he started shutting the door.
“I don’t have anything else to say to you.” He proceeded to close the door.
Stunned, Dana put her hand out to stop the door. Why was he so angry? She only wanted to ask him a few questions.
“Can you tell me how the money laundering worked?” she managed to say and the door stopped a few centimeters from completely closing.
“Where did you hear about that?”
“Well, I also spoke to Toby Johnson…” she began, but Sam opened the door and pushed a thick finger under her nose.
“Don’t mess with things you don’t understand, little girl—go home.” He snarled again and shut the door in her face.
Shocked, Dana stared at the front door for a few seconds. Gone was the affable man with his evasive answers she and David had seen last Saturday. Today, Sam Jordan was upset, angry, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, he was threatening her.
Slowly, she walked back to her car. Toby Johnson had also tried to warn her when he’d said not everyone would like her asking questions about something that happened almost two years ago.
But, damn it, she had to know. She now had confirmation that her dad wasn’t part of Hastings’s scheme, didn’t sell his product. But his death still remained a mystery. It couldn’t have been suicide. She was even more certain of that than before.
But how did she prove it? Dejectedly, she got back in her car and drove away. She’d see whether Toby Johnson had anything else to add to his story.
It was another beautiful day, and the drive to Caledon should have been pure pleasure. But she was hurting. To find out her mother had used her, the guy she’d slept with had tried to dupe her—all in one day—was a bit much. And then, there was this constant need to prove her dad’s innocence.
Hopefully she’d find more answers in Caledon.
*
A brand-new car was parked in front of the Johnson house. She didn’t know much about cars, but this was a Mercedes. Caitlin drove one just like it. The Johnsons probably had a visitor.
For a moment, she was undecided. Maybe she should have phoned first. But, damn it, she was here. She needed to find out what else this guy knew. She got out and walked purposefully to the front door.
The door opened on her second knock. Toby Johnson stood there, the smile on his face vanishing quickly.
“What do you want?” he asked brusquely.
“I—” Taken aback, she stopped talking.
Something was very different from the last time she was here, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. The television was blaring in the background, and she glanced inside the house before she spoke to him.
“I was hoping I could talk to you again about my dad,” she began tentatively.
Before he could say anything, his wife appeared behind him and took his arm.
“My husband isn’t well enough to talk to anyone today. Please leave,” she said rudely and closed the door in Dana’s face.
Flabbergasted, Dana stared at the door.
What… Turning back toward her car, she noticed the Mercedes again. As far as she could see, there hadn’t been anyone else in the house.
Frowning, she got into her car and drove back. Pieces of a big puzzle tried to fall into place, but she felt like her head would explode, and she simply couldn’t grasp the final picture.
All she wanted to do at that moment was go back to her house and try to figure out what was going on. But there was still one more stop she had to make before she would be able to sleep tonight. Her mother.
*
David heard Dana’s voice floating through the open window as he was about to knock on her front door. He froze.
“Did you know about it?” she was asking.
Frowning, he listened to the one-sided conversation.
“I’ve just been to see her, and she eventually admitted she pleaded poverty so I would give her money,” Dana was saying again, a hitch in her voice.
“I spoke to her financial advisor,” she said, and David finally realized she had to be talking about her mother.
He shouldn’t be listening. He knocked on her door.
“Just a minute,” he heard her say, and the front door opened.
It was a completely different Dana from the one he’d left on Sunday night. There was no welcoming smile. Instead she was frowning, her red-rimmed eyes telling their own story. And she was very, very pale.
“I don’t want to see you,” she said and tried to close the front door in his face, but he stepped forward, and in a huff, she turned her back on him, resuming her telephone conversation.
“I don’t know. She said she’d pay me back, but…” Dana sat down on a chair and rolled her shoulders.
David’s hands itched. He so badly wanted to go to her and massage her shoulders, but the fed-up glance she was sending in his direction warned him not to even try.
“She’s our mother, so yes, at some point I will. But not right now. Okay, thanks.” She put the phone down and looked straight at David.