A Leap of Faith, page 9
“No, I don’t think so, which is why we have to be very careful.”
“Look and listen,” Campbell reminded her, his eyes scanning the crowd. “Before we finish here today, we should have a thorough background on one Willard Watson.”
“Probably more information than we ever wanted to know,” Autumn said, chuckling.
“Yes, but this is just the beginning. I intend to do a thorough search down at the courthouse, too.”
“How?”
“Public records. If he has anything so much as a traffic ticket, it will help us. I’m going to check at small claims court, too. I have a distinct feeling that Willard has probably passed his share of bad checks.”
“You continue to amaze me,” Autumn said, shock clearing her face before she replaced it with a dainty smile. “I don’t even want to know how you learned all of this stuff.”
“Then I won’t tell you. Just keep smiling, princess. You look so natural doing it.”
“Why, thank you. And don’t call me princess.”
“Let’s not fight in front of the old people.”
“I’m not going to fight. But I will kick you in the shin if you mess with me.”
“You are one high-maintenance date.”
“And don’t you forget it. But we’re not on a date.”
“Part of our undercover cover, remember?”
“Oh, right. Okay, then I guess we are on a date, because I refuse to—”
“I know, I know. You won’t stoop to being deceitful.”
“That’s right.”
He didn’t bring up the fact that they were both deceiving themselves in trying to keep things between them strictly professional. Now probably wasn’t the time for that.
They both turned on smiles as yet another senior citizen introduced himself and started talking all about the courtship of Betsy and Willard. And teased Campbell and Autumn about their own obviously budding courtship.
Which neither one of them bothered to deny.
Chapter Nine
The sun was setting by the time Campbell pulled the big bike into the driveway of his house. Autumn waited, clutching his waist, as he shut off the motor then turned to her. “You looked wiped out,” he said, his eyes going a soft brown.
She tugged off her helmet, then stepped off the bike, thinking she needed to distance herself from the security of being close to him. “I am tired.”
He helped her to her feet, placing her helmet back on the seat. “We can do the rest of this tomorrow.”
“No, we do it now.” She started toward the cute white cottage. “I don’t want to forget anything since you were right about some of the men clamming up and acting strange. They definitely started acting erratic when I questioned them too closely. I think a couple of them knew things they didn’t want to speculate about. And I think I should call Daddy and give him an update.”
Campbell caught up with her by the wisteria vine. “Hey, hey, hold on.” He whirled her around. “Are you all right?”
Autumn wanted to scream out to him that she wasn’t all right. That being forced to spend a glorious fall Saturday with him had been sheer torture, a sweet torture that only made her want to laugh and cry at the same time because she had never, ever expected her feelings to be as swift and fast-moving as a waterfall.
They’d been in several public places full of people milling around, and yet, at times she’d felt as if it were just the two of them, staring at each other across the room. In spite of all the information she’d tried to digest today, Autumn couldn’t get the feel of being with Campbell out of her system. She’d liked it way too much to push it away.
Sending up a prayer for control, she said, “I’m fine. Just tired, like I said.”
He held her there, the soft golden dusk coloring him in rich hues of yellow and brown. “I really wanted us to have that long drive and a nice, quiet dinner.”
“I know,” she said, her imagination taking flights of fancy at just the thought of such an intimate setting. “But we’ve had a long day and we’ve worked hard. Maybe we can have that dinner after this is all over. Then I’ll be in the mood to celebrate.”
He wouldn’t let her go. “Are you uncomfortable, being here with me?”
Autumn couldn’t tell him everything in her heart. “I don’t know. Maybe. We could go back to my house to use the computer in my dad’s office.”
He looked down at her, compassion coloring his eyes. That and some other dark emotion that she didn’t want to read too closely. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Just let me grab a few files, okay?”
“Okay.”
He hurried to the door. “You can come inside and wait if you want. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Autumn took a deep breath, then followed him, her gaze taking in the starkly furnished little house. The living-room area held a futon-style couch and a television. A cluttered desk holding a state-of-the-art computer system sat in one corner of the tiny kitchen where a dining table should have been. A starkly rendered painting of a lone figure guiding a pirogue through a dark bayou hung over the sealed-up fireplace.
“You don’t seem to be settled yet,” she said, pointing toward the various boxes stacked here and there around the combination living room and kitchen. His house looked just like his office. Unsettled, unkempt, unorganized.
“I don’t intend to stay here,” he said over his shoulder as he disappeared into a room down the short hall.
Autumn’s heart halted at that declaration. So, the man who moved around a lot had already decided he wasn’t putting down roots in tiny Atlanta, Texas? But why had he said all those things to her?
“What do you mean?” she called, surprise and disappointment causing her question to sound shrill.
He came back into the room, a briefcase under one arm and a huge manila accordion file under the other. “Oh, I’m renovating a cabin out on Caddo Lake. I’ll be moving out there permanently just as soon as it’s finished. Didn’t I mention that to you?”
The relief that rushed through Autumn only added to her agitation. “Oh, maybe you did. That’s great. Wonderful.”
Campbell stepped close to her, his five o’clock shadow making him seem mysterious, the victory in his eyes making him seem smug. “You sure seem glad about that.”
“I just misunderstood what you said,” she replied, turning for the door. “I thought you were saying you weren’t going to be staying here in Atlanta, that you’d be leaving soon or something like that.” Her voice trailed off as embarrassment colored her skin.
He caught up with her as they came out onto the porch. “You don’t want me to leave, do you?”
Giving him a twisted frown, she slapped his arm. “Don’t make anything out of that, Campbell. I don’t want you to leave my daddy in the lurch, that’s for sure.”
He shifted the file, a knowing look on his face. “We’ll take the ’Vette this time.”
Autumn followed him, wondering why he hadn’t had a quick comeback for what she’d just said. The man always tried to have the last word. Now he was too quiet.
He loaded the file and briefcase into the trunk, then opened the door of the convertible for her. After watching her get inside the gleaming car, he shut the door then leaned over. “I don’t plan on leaving anyone in the lurch, darlin’. Especially you.”
With that he came around the car and hopped in the driver’s seat. “Wonder what your mother cooked for dinner tonight.”
Autumn wondered how she’d possibly get through even more hours spent with this man. None of this made any sense. He was reckless, impulsive, impossible and…adorable.
And I’m cautious, careful and practical, and so not adorable, she told herself. We don’t match at all.
But as Campbell put the powerful car into gear and they took off into the gleaming Texas-sized sunset, Autumn could only imagine what being with Campbell on a permanent basis might be like.
Things certainly wouldn’t be dull with a man like Campbell. Unexpected twists, impulsive side trips, surprising new revelations. Life with Campbell would be like riding a fast-moving roller coaster. It took her breath away.
But Autumn needed more. She needed security and hope and love and a firm commitment.
She’d always had to have proof of things. She’d always relied on her judgment and her intelligence to get her through life. When she stopped to think about it, in spite of being raised in a Christian family, she’d never really been tested on her faith. It was just there, inside her. Maybe she’d taken that faith for granted, knowing she’d never had to just go on faith alone before. Until now.
Now, as the wind played through her hair and the sun settled in mellow oranges and soft-hued pinks over the Texas sky, she had to wonder if maybe it wasn’t time to take a very big leap of faith.
“Okay, so let’s go over everything we’ve learned so far,” Campbell said to her a couple of hours later.
They’d had dinner with her parents and were in her father’s roomy paneled study, loading information into the computer for the file they were building on Willard Watson. After being filled in, Richard had wanted to “help” them, but thankfully, Gayle had steered him to the other side of the house to watch a movie with her.
Autumn had finished keying in most of what they’d found on their mission today. She leaned back in the squeaky leather chair that reminded her of sitting here in her father’s lap when she’d been little, fascinated by all his notebooks and ledger sheets.
Pushing those memories away, she said, “Let’s see. Betsy Mitchell met Willard Watson at the widows and widowers church social about three months ago. They hit it off just right, according to our friend Martha. We verified that with just about everyone we talked to today. Of course, we also verified that Willard seemed too good to be true at times, too. Some of the men today seemed a bit put off by all his charm and his know-it-all attitude. But not enough to open up to us, unfortunately.”
Campbell settled back against a massive oak table, his eyes scanning the computer screen. “All of our sources point to one thing. Willard went after Betsy with all the zeal of a man smitten.”
“Yes, smitten with her substantial bank account,” Autumn said, disgust evident in her words. “But then, we’d already figured all of this out. We really didn’t learn anything new today, at least not anything concrete that can help us track him down.” She shrugged. “While some of the people we talked to had their suspicions, that alone won’t hold up enough to build a case. We need Betsy to step forward and go after this man. It’s the only way.”
Campbell drained his coffee. “Well, we know he’s probably headed south, maybe to Mexico or South America. He has to hide out awhile until this blows over. Maybe we can convince Betsy to take action before it’s too late.”
“You want more coffee?” she asked, hopping up to grab his empty cup.
He held her arm. “No, I’m still full from your mother’s beef stew and biscuits. I think I’m in love.”
Autumn’s heart did that little thing, that little twitching thing that made her so aware of being near him. To hide that, she played along with him. “You’re in love with my mother?”
“I might be. Only she’s older than me and taken.” His smile was sheer enticement. “That leaves her very pretty daughter. Can you cook?”
“No,” she said, slipping back down in the chair, her knees going weak. “I’m more of a sandwich, salad or takeout kind of woman. Too bad.”
“Yes, too bad. I thought this might be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
“You really watch too many old movies, you know.”
“Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic at heart.”
She didn’t dare look at him. “Shouldn’t we get back to the task at hand, a romance that went bad because this scoundrel, bad man, ran off with Miss Betsy’s money?”
He whirled her chair around so fast, her head was spinning right along with her heart. “You’re so cute when you’re calling people names.” Then he turned serious. “We know what Willard did. We’ve talked to enough people to know exactly how he played it. He sweet-talked a lonely widow and she gave him information that she shouldn’t have given him. He convinced her that he could help double her finances, so she let him see her private records and the numbers in her bank account. Then he wiped her out and left her high and dry.”
“From what we heard at that last restaurant, that was his modus operandi. He’s probably left a few other women reeling, too.” She looked down at her hands. “I can’t believe he took all of them to the same places, plying them with dinner and flowers. Did he think no one would notice? It sounds as if he had special places for just this type of thing, from what that hostess told us.”
“Yes, the man had his game down pat, and we’re lucky that someone did notice.” Campbell still held his hands on the chair, his eyes moving over Autumn’s face. “Now we have to prove all of this. We have to dig into files and find some way to nail this….”
He didn’t finish. Instead he leaned down and looked into Autumn’s eyes. She looked up, holding his gaze, her heart hammering a beat that matched the clanging strokes of the grandfather clock out in the hallway. “What are you doing?”
Campbell’s smile was soft and sweet, breathtaking in its confidence. “I’m tired of talking about Willard. I was tired of talking about Willard about six hours ago.”
She tried to get up. “Well, why didn’t you say so? You should go on home and rest.”
“That’s the problem,” he replied, pinning her there. “I don’t want to go home. I only stretched this little recon mission out all day so I could be with you.”
She had to swallow. Where was that glass of water she’d brought in here? “So you aren’t really worried about Mrs. Mitchell?”
“Oh, I’m worried about her. I told you I’d get this man. I intend to do that. But…I’m more worried about you.”
“Me?”
“Well, more like how you drive me crazy with that gentle little laugh of yours and the way you pull your hair back with that ridiculously proper silver clasp.”
She touched her hair in defense. “It keeps my hair out of my face.”
He touched her hair in defiance. “It keeps my hands out of your hair.”
The next thing Autumn knew, he had the clasp in one hand and her hair in the other. Somehow, the clasp clattered to the floor while he pulled her up out of the chair, his eyes locking with hers as he lowered his head to kiss her. And while he kissed her, he ran his big, warm hands through her hair, tousling it, tangling it, touching it. Autumn felt as if she’d melted into a puddle of sun-drenched water, felt as if she’d been a leaf falling from a tree, out there floating around on the horizon, just waiting for a spot to land.
She held on to him, sure that she’d never really been kissed before. This feeling encompassed everything her heart was telling her: security, fear, elation, doubts, trust and warnings. Warnings everywhere.
Those warnings caused her to push at his chest and lean back to stare up at him.
His eyes moved over her face again. “You are so pretty. And kissing you is so much fun. And so much hurt.”
Autumn couldn’t breathe. No one had ever told her these kinds of things before. She’d tried being fashionable and glamorous, but April and Summer had dibs on those attributes. She’d tried being smart and accomplished, but that only scared men away.
But not this man. This man seemed to see her for herself, and he seemed to enjoy celebrating her true self. He didn’t seem threatened or intimidated by her, and he sure wasn’t put off by her plain looks or her rigid manners.
In fact, Campbell Dupree was the kind of man who not only echoed her own heart, but reveled in accepting the challenge of…her. His eyes, his kiss, made her heady with delight and paralyzed with fear. Her prayers were being answered, but Autumn had to wonder if she’d asked for the right things. Was wanting this man wrong?
He was standing here in her father’s study, his hands trapped in her hair, telling her she was pretty. Kissing her as if she truly was pretty, while he told her it both felt good and hurt at the same time.
“Say something,” he said, his head dipping as he kissed her on the nose with a delicate, delightful peck.
“I’m not used to this.”
“To being kissed?” He did it again. “It takes practice, is all.”
“No, I mean I’m not used to being the one.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow. “The one?”
“The one who’s with the man. You know, the one who’s kissing the man. I’m usually the one who’s giving advice to the one who’s kissing the man.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
She touched a hand to his face. “Ah, you see, that’s what I’m trying to say. None of this makes any sense.”
He danced her around the desk. “Is it so impossible to see yourself as pretty, as attractive, as someone a man could be interested in?”
“Yes, it’s impossible. This is impossible. You and me, we’re supposed to be professionals. We agreed to be professional. We work together, for my father. And he’s already given you the speech. I don’t see how—”
“Don’t think so much. Just relax and kiss me again. You know what they say—practice makes perfect.”
She did kiss him again. Several times. Until the clock in the hallway struck ten and caused her to let go of him and move away to the other side of the room. “I think you’d better go, Campbell.”
He looked at her, a reluctant resolve settling over his features. “I know this is confusing. I’m confused. I know all the rules, Autumn. But I can’t help what I’m feeling. I can’t help breaking some of the rules, because I think you’d be worth it.”
“I understand,” she replied, bobbing her head as she wrapped her arms against her stomach. “I understand. I’m just not—”
“You’re just not ready to accept this,” he finished. “Okay, I get it. You kissed me like you’re ready, but you still have doubts. I can respect that.”
“Campbell, I—”
He held up a hand then started putting files back into his briefcase. “I’m going to get right on hacking into Willard’s affairs. I’ll trace his latest movements through public records and that sort of thing. We have old addresses on him, but I’m pretty sure he’s used different names for different places.”
