Then he got in his car and headed for the assisted living home. He wanted to talk to Debra Carson one more time. This time, he was going to flat out ask about her husband. If his gut had been off and she was guilty of running off with her husband’s family heirlooms, well then, he’d decide what to do then.
But he had a feeling he knew damned well where this was headed. And he didn’t like it one bit.
Chapter 31
Kaeden held Jane’s hand while Samantha did her thing on the laptop. It had taken only minutes to fill Samantha in and she’d known right away how to help.
“Okay,” Sam said, “the facility your mom is in hosts tours for prospective clients on Tuesdays and Saturdays of each week and they log all of those visits in their computer so they can follow up. It’s a pretty exclusive place. You have to fill out a form to get the tour.”
Kaeden squeezed Jane’s hand as she nodded at Sam’s explanation.
“In the last three weeks, there have been several people on the tours, but no one matches this guy’s story. There was a couple looking at the home for their daughter who needs long term care, three older couples looking for themselves, and a woman looking for her mother. No single man looking for his mother.”
Samantha looked up from her computer. “And there’s no one scheduled to move in other than an elderly man and a couple. Nothing that matches his story.”
“Oh God.” Jane covered her mouth with her hand and sobbed as Kaeden rubbed a slow circle on her back.
“We need to get there now, Sam,” he said.
Samantha nodded and went back to her computer screen. “On it.”
Kaeden turned to Jane. “I’m just going to grab my wallet and pack a change of clothes. I’ll be back before Sam can finish getting us tickets.”
He was glad when she didn’t try to fight with him on going with her. He didn’t know why he’d thought he could keep from trying to help this woman. Yeah, the shit had hit the fan and he’d failed spectacularly the last time he’d tried to help someone, but he’d have an easier time stopping his own breath than he would walking away from Jane in that moment.
She needed him and he was going to be there.
He grabbed a few things and shoved them into a bag, hoping he could get one of his coworkers to pack the rest of his shit up and take it back with them.
Then he was back by Jane’s side as Samantha started reading off flight details.
“There’s one leaving in two and a half hours. If you get in the car right now, you can just make it.”
The door to the cabin opened and Jack, Logan, and Chad walked in.
“Sam filled us in,” Jack said, with a nod to Sam. “We’ll take our rental.”
It took Kaeden a second to process that each man had a bag slung over their shoulder.
“What?” he asked stupidly, looking to Samantha.
“I’ve got you all tickets, but you need to leave now,” she said, exasperation plain in her tone.
Jane looked from Samantha to the other men and then over to Kaeden. He shook his head at her. He didn’t have a clue what was happening.
“We’re not going to let you go this alone,” Jack said to Jane. “Either of you.” He shifted his gaze to Kaeden. “The rest of the company will stay here and head back to Connecticut when the week is up, but we’re going with you guys. Samantha will coordinate from here. She’s got some contacts in New Jersey who might be able to help.”
Kaeden was dumbstruck. This was the kind of backup he’d foolishly thought he might get from his buddies in the Marine Corps years before. And he had from some of them. For a while, anyway. But when push came to shove, they hadn’t backed him or Alyssa when their platoon leader said they were making up the charges against him.
Jane took over for him, standing.
“Thank you,” she said, looking from Samantha to the men and back. “I can’t tell you what that means to me.”
Kaeden could hear the shaking in her voice. She was as close to losing it as he was.
And then there wasn’t time for the emotions anymore. They had to get to that flight so they could get to her mom. Nothing else mattered right now.
Jack drove with Logan in the passenger seat and Chad in the middle row. Jane and Kaeden took the third row of the SUV and he pulled her to his side as soon as they were on the road.