Expecting His Secret Heir(13)

Nothing he was going to like...but Sadie kept that thought to herself. Better not to antagonize him any more than normal.

"Unfortunately, nothing at the moment. My biggest lead was blown away  this morning." She explained how the newspaper article had laid out  bombing suspect Mark Zabinski's connection to the local airfield and how  his presence there would not have been questioned. This gave the police  reason to look into his possible sabotage of the containers on Zach's  plane. That meant Zach was innocent, and the crop poisoning couldn't be  used to disinherit him. She'd have to find something else. Victor's  curses rang in her ear even before she'd finished.                       
       
           



       

His voice rose in volume and ugliness with every word. "Then find something else. We're running out of time."

The sound of him slamming the phone down made her wince, but to her  relief he disconnected the call. Letting her eyelids drift closed, she  took a few moments to breathe. Her body and her emotions had been  through a lot in the past few days. She was exhausted. Her head hurt.  And she had to face the fact that she'd had sex with Zach, knowing good  and well she would betray him before her time here was over.

Having to deal with Victor on top of all that was more than she could  handle, as evidenced by the tremble in her fingers as she opened her  laptop and accessed the internet. By the time she went downstairs to  meet Zach outside, she knew exactly where she needed to go next.

* * *

"Would you mind if we went out to Callahan's before heading all the way out to the mill?"

Zach threw a glance her way but quickly returned his eyes to the road. "Sure. What do you need there?"

"Mr. Callahan can order a replacement for my camera. I'd prefer to get  it done as soon as possible." Who knew what she might get involved in  once she got to the mill? Plus, it was a long way from town. By the time  she got there and got her car, it could be late afternoon.

If there was one thing Sadie wanted almost as much as Zach, it was her  camera. Her fingers ached to curl around it once more. Only another  shutterbug would understand the feeling, but it was there nonetheless.

"I was surprised when you dropped it," Zach said, his tone more than  conversational somehow. "I knew before that your camera was your baby.  This one was really nice."

She wasn't going to pretend she hadn't felt a twinge as it left her  hands, because Zach already knew the truth in that. Still, she shrugged.  "In the end, it's just a thing." And she knew all too well how little  things meant in the long run. "Compared to a person...at least the  camera can be replaced."

"Won't that be expensive?"

Goodness, yes. "That's what credit cards are for, I guess. The insurance will eventually pay me back."

Until then, Victor better have it covered.

"Why are we even having this conversation?" she asked, not backing down  when Zach shot a glance her way. "Do you really view me as that  heartless of a human being that I wouldn't value Mr. Bateman's safety  over my camera?"

"No, but-"

"Wouldn't you drop whatever you were holding to push your sister out of the way?"

"Yes, but Bateman is a stranger."

"Who still has a family he cares about and who would miss him if  something bad happened to him. You may not approve of all of my actions,  Zach, but I still think I'm basically a decent human being."

"One who's grown a pretty decent backbone."

"I told you I was sorry. But I'm not gonna dissolve into sackcloth and  ashes or let you whip me with the past. That isn't good for either of  us."

She sucked in a breath, suddenly realizing the extent of her tirade. But  she couldn't finish without saying, "It won't change it, either, much  as I wish it could." Because in the end, honesty was important to her,  so she would honor that where and when she could without harming her own  family...

Zach didn't respond this time. Sadie's nerves tightened with every turn  of the steering wheel, but she wasn't backing down on this.

It wasn't until they reached the little camera shop on one side of the town square that he finally spoke.

"You're right, Sadie. My apologies."

She'd have been happier if his tone hadn't been so formal, but in the end, it was for the best, wasn't it?

The store had a checkered awning that matched numerous others around the  old-fashioned square, easily visible now that the leaves were mostly  missing from the Bradford pear trees lining the streets. Sadie wondered  what cute little Christmas traditions the town observed and whether  those bare branches would be wrapped in holiday lights. She wished she  could be here to see it, to walk along the sidewalks with Zach and soak  in the atmosphere.

But her life was elsewhere. So were the people who were counting on her.  She tried not to think about how quickly she might have to leave as she  stepped through the door into a camera lover's paradise.

"Hello, my dear Sadie," Mr. Callahan said. "What an unexpected pleasure."

"For me, as well," she said with a smile, allowing the dapper Southern gentleman to press a gentle kiss to her cheek.

She caught a glimpse of Zach's surprised look as she pulled back. Why  was he shocked? She'd made more friends than just him when she'd been  here before.                       
       
           



       

"That is quite a large bandage you have there," Mr. Callahan remarked. "Did you, by chance, receive that yesterday?"

"Why, yes," Sadie said. "A cut, but it will heal. What I'm really worried about is my camera."

He nodded sagely, reminding her of a benevolent, skinny Santa. "Yes, I heard about that, too."

Well, this was a small town... "I see." After all, what should she say?

Zach wasn't having any difficulty coming up with words. "She was very  brave, pushing Bateman out of the way of that falling debris."

For a moment, Sadie wondered why he was so open with Mr. Callahan when  he'd practically refused to talk to Gladys at the B and B. But she knew  it probably had to do with Mr. Callahan's integrity. He didn't need  gossip as a source of entertainment.

"I'm glad you came to see me," he said. "Though there is no hope of repair?"

"Since the camera is sitting under a pile of loose plaster and two-by-fours, I doubt it," Zach answered.

Sadie winced as she remembered her last glimpse of the camera. "I was  able to get almost all of my pictures off, since I download them to my  laptop every night. But I'll bring in the digital card and see if you  can get the ones from that day for me."

The gleam in the older man's eyes said he looked forward to the challenge. "It will be my pleasure."

"Until then, I need to order a new one."

Mr. Callahan moved over to a computer on the counter. "What kind?"

When she told him, he whistled. "You've stepped up in the world," he said.

"And now I'm in deep mourning." It was either brush it off or cry.

"Let's see if we can resurrect it," he said with a wink.

"The Blackstones would appreciate it," Zach said, surprising Sadie.  "She's using the camera to create a visual history of the mill's  resurrection."

That had the older man's eyes widening. "Are you now? I can't wait to get a sneak peek at the digital card."

"I can bring my laptop down here later this week so you can see what I  have so far. The building and people down there make fascinating  subjects." Especially certain people. She'd have to make sure those  photos were in a completely different folder.

"I imagine so," Mr. Callahan said, even as his fingers continued  clicking on the keyboard. "I've always been interested in the  juxtaposition of all that steel and metal with endless fields of cotton.  From what I saw yesterday when I drove out there, the damage is quite  picturesque."

He paused, staring into space for a moment. "Kind of interesting that  James Blackstone's empire suffers ruin just over a year after his  death."

"Was he the original owner?" Sadie asked.

"The original dictator," Zach scoffed.

Mr. Callahan agreed with a knowing look. "The original business was  built several generations ago, and added to through the years, but it  was James Blackstone who catapulted it into luxury quality linens."

"So he was a good businessman?" Sadie asked.

Zach was quick to answer. "Yes. And a miserable human being."

She studied his suddenly shuttered face. "That sounds like it comes from personal experience."

He simply shrugged and walked away, leaving her to wonder as he strolled around the length of the old-fashioned, quirky shop.