"Edward, wait," Fritz called after him, but Edward didn"t hesitate. "Edward, I"m sorry. I thought-"

The slamming door cut him off.

Fritz bowed his head for a moment before joining Sam at the kitchen bar.

"I suppose you"d like an explanation," he said grimly.

"Only if you want to give me one," Sam replied in a soft voice.

Taking a deep breath, Fritz exhaled slowly. "At one time, Edward was one of my students and that piece was one of his favorites." He slammed a hand on the counter, startling Roxy. "d.a.m.n it, I should"ve shut it off the moment I saw him standing in the doorway."

Sam lightly touched his hand. "Fritz-"

"No, don"t say anything. It was inexcusable of me to even inadvertently remind that poor boy of what he"s lost."

"Don"t be so hard on yourself. You couldn"t have known Edward would drop by." Sam paused. "I know Edward was in an accident, but no one has ever said what happened."

"Car accident," Fritz answered, his tone short.

"And his arm was injured?"

"Yes, his shoulder. Alone, late at night, out on a gravel road-Edward ran a stop sign and was. .h.i.t broadside. The force of the impact sent his car into the ditch." Fritz took a step back, leaning against the counter. "He has never regained use of his arm. Due to the injury, he developed some sort of syndrome that affects his nerves and causes constant pain." He shook his head. "I don"t have a medical background, so I don"t understand what all his condition entails, but I do know he"s been tormented by it ever since."

Sam thought of her own medical problems, slight in comparison to Edward"s. She was lucky. She knew that her recovery was possible. Edward would never have that same gift-the gift of hope.

"How sad," she murmured. "I wonder how he"s kept his sanity."

"I don"t believe he has," Fritz answered slowly.

Chapter Twenty-four.

What are you doing home?" Caleb called from the living room as Anne walked in the front door. Joining him, she sprawled in one of the chairs.

"Sam gave me the morning off."

"Cool," he answered, not looking up from the magazine lying in his lap.

Anne studied him closely. He sat, leaning back against the couch with his long legs stretched out, resting on the coffee table. From her position, she couldn"t see the article he was reading, but whatever it was, it was engrossing. She sat forward. With a yip, she jumped up and ran over to stand behind him. Throwing her arms around his neck, she kissed the top of his head.

"Oh, Mom," he said, ducking to the side. "It"s just a catalog."

"For St. Michael"s University," she exclaimed as she peered over his shoulder at the brightly colored pages. "It"s an excellent school." Moving around the corner of the couch, she sat next to him and propped her feet on the edge of the coffee table. She leaned close and tapped the page. "Just look at the campus. Isn"t that beautiful? And there," she said, pointing to another picture. "Those dorm rooms look really comfortable."

"Here," he said with a lift of his eyebrow, and handed her the catalog. "Would you like to look at it?"

"If you insist," she replied with a wry grin and quickly began to thumb through the pages. "Caleb, are you seriously considering St. Michael"s?"

Leaning his head back against the couch, he closed his eyes and sighed. "I don"t know. A state university would be cheaper."

Dropping her feet, Anne curled her legs under her as she did some swift calculations in her head. She"d hoped her job with Samantha would last all summer, but the way it was going, she doubted it. Sam had been making remarkable progress, both mentally and physically, especially since she"d stood up to her father. Eyes focused on the pictures, Anne couldn"t help but wonder how much one played into the other. Had Lawrence Moore"s tight control over his daughter"s life been impeding her recovery? Shaking her head, she returned her attention to the catalog. Att.i.tude, it was all about att.i.tude.

As she flipped to the last pages of the catalog, her eyes widened at the sight of the cost per college credit. She"d managed to keep Caleb"s college fund intact, but that payment to the bank was looming. If Caleb was set on St. Michael"s, even with her paychecks from Sam, it wouldn"t be enough, and she wanted to avoid applying for student loans. She needed to get a second job at the care facility in Hankton. She could work for Sam during the day and the night s.h.i.+ft part-time in Hankton.

A knock at her front door startled Anne out of her silent planning session.

"Caleb, answer the-" she began, turning to where he"d been sitting. He was gone. When had he meandered off? With a sigh, she uncurled her legs and, rising, crossed the room. Through the door"s window she spied a Scott County sheriff"s car sitting in her driveway, and Duane Parker, one of the deputies, standing on her front porch. Her stomach instinctively clenched only to relax at once when she remembered that Caleb was somewhere in the house.

Holding the door open, she smiled. "Hey, Duane."

"Anne," he said, twisting his hat nervously in his hands. "Miss seeing you at the hospital." He peered over her shoulder into the house. "Is Caleb around?"

Her stomach tightened again. "Yeah," she replied, glancing over her shoulder toward the kitchen. "Come in. I"ll get him." Letting the door swing shut behind him, she turned and strode toward the kitchen. Caleb was in his usual position, hanging on the refrigerator door and staring blindly at its contents.

"Caleb, Deputy Parker is here to see you," she hissed. "What have you been up to?"

Caleb shut the door, his eyes widening in surprise. "Nothing."

"Then why does he want to talk to you?"

"I don"t know."

"You"d better be telling me the truth," she replied in a low voice.

"I am. I swear."

She sighed and jerked her head toward the hall. "Let"s go see what he wants."

With Anne right behind him, Caleb shuffled out of the kitchen and into the hall, where the deputy waited.

She cast a narrow glance at Caleb as she motioned him and Deputy Parker toward the living room. "Shall we go in there?" she asked, trying to keep her voice bright.

Once Deputy Parker was seated on the couch and Caleb had plopped into an armchair, Anne seated herself in another chair and waited for the deputy to begin.

"Quite a thunderstorm last night, wasn"t it?" he asked, directing his question to Anne.

"Sure was," she replied, leaning back in the chair. "Why do you want to talk with Caleb, Duane?"

He tugged at his collar as he pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket. Scanning it quickly, he cleared his throat. "Ah, Caleb, we"ve had a complaint last night from a Dr. Jackson Van Horn-"

Anne drew back. "Dr. Van Horn?"

The deputy nodded. "I know you work for his fiancee, Anne." He glanced down at his notes. "As he was leaving his cabin last night, he saw two kids running down the road in the storm. Then, when he stopped at Dunlap"s to get gas, he noticed someone had keyed the pa.s.senger side of his car." He snapped the notebook shut. "Anything you"d like to tell me, Caleb?"

"No."

"Okay-well, when one of the boys pa.s.sed under the neighbor"s yard light, Dr. Van Horn saw he was wearing a red sweats.h.i.+rt." He paused. "Still don"t have anything to say?"

Caleb"s chin dropped. "No."

"The sweats.h.i.+rt had *Weaver" printed on the back."

"Caleb!" Anne gasped, shooting forward.

Caleb"s head whirled toward his mother. "I know this looks bad, but it wasn"t me . . . honest," he cried.

Anne"s lips tightened. "But you know who it was, don"t you?"

He seemed to shrink in the chair. "No-ah-I lost that sweats.h.i.+rt a couple of weeks ago."

"Where?" she asked, her eyes drilling into his.

Shrugging, he looked down and shook his head. "I don"t know."

"Okay, let"s try this," Deputy Parker said in a calm voice. "Where were you last night?"

Caleb shot a nervous glance at Anne. "It was raining so hard that I pulled over at Dunlap"s to wait it out."

"Did anyone see you?"

"Ah-no."

He"s lying, Anne thought as her temper began to flare. "If you know anything about what happened to Dr. Van Horn"s car, I suggest you tell Deputy Parker . . . immediately."

"I can"t-I don"t," he declared.

Deputy Parker slapped his legs and rose. "I guess if you can"t help me out, Caleb, I"ll just have to write up my report based on what Dr. Van Horn said." He lifted a shoulder. "Then, if he wants to press charges, it"ll be up to the judge to decide."

Anne, her mind numb, showed Deputy Parker to the door. When they reached it, he turned.

"Sorry to see you again under these circ.u.mstances," he said softly. "Caleb"s a good kid and it"s hard for me to believe he keyed Dr. Van Horn"s car." He shook his head. "But I do think he knows who did. If he wants to talk about it, give me a call. I"m on duty all day."

Anne laid a hand on his arm. "Thanks, Duane. I"ll let you know if I find out anything."

After shutting the door, she marched back to the living room and over to where Caleb was still sitting. Towering over him, she fisted her hands on her hips. "Unless you want to be grounded for the rest of your life, you"d better start talking."

He shot out of the chair. "I can"t-I won"t-I"m not a narc." Pulling his fingers through his hair, he walked around her and headed for the kitchen.

Anne followed, stopping at the doorway. "You can be charged as an adult."

"I"m sorry someone did that to Dr. Van Horn"s car, Mom, but it is just a misdemeanor," he said, yanking a cabinet door open. "If Deputy Parker doesn"t find out who did it and they blame me, all a judge would do is give me community service."

"Have you got s.h.i.+t for brains? Allowing yourself to be charged for something you didn"t do?" Anne screamed, then thought of Sam"s reaction. "I could even lose my job over this!"

Caleb slammed the cabinet shut and rested his forehead against the door. "I"m sorry, Mom."

Taking a deep breath, she crossed the distance between them and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I"m sorry, too. I shouldn"t have sworn at you," she said, trying to keep her voice gentle, "but if you know who did this, you have to tell the authorities. If you"re found guilty, it will be on your record."

Caleb lifted his head. "I don"t know for sure if he did it."

Anne"s fingers gripped his shoulder. "Who?"

He spun away from the counter and began to pace. "I gave a couple of guys a ride home from Dunlap"s last night." He hesitated. "I think my sweats.h.i.+rt might have been in the backseat."

"And one of them took it?" she prodded.

"Maybe-I didn"t check."

Placing her palms on her cheeks, Anne shook her head. "Who were the guys?"

He stopped his pacing and stared down at his feet.

"Who were they, Caleb?" she asked again.

"If I tell, you"re going to call Deputy Parker, then they"ll know I ratted them out."

"You"d rather face charges?"

"I like having friends, Mom, and if I get branded as a rat, I won"t." He pulled out a chair and flopped down. "I don"t want my car keyed and I don"t want the inside of it smeared with Limburger cheese." He buried his head in his hands. "That"s what happened to Joey last year after he told them that Te-" He clamped his lips shut.

"That Teddy was the one who set the boats adrift," Anne said, finis.h.i.+ng for him. "You gave Teddy a ride home from Dunlap"s. Was Joey the other guy?"

He nodded.

"And Teddy took your sweats.h.i.+rt?"

"Probably-Joey was in the front with me."

She crossed to the table and placed both hands on its top, leaning forward. "Look at me, Caleb," she commanded. "You"re old enough to do the right thing, but if you don"t, I will." She glanced up at the clock. "I"m going to Hankton to see about a job. You"ve got until I get back to think about it."

The interview had taken place in the administrator"s office, and Anne thought she"d made a good impression. The job itself was up in the air. Her availability was in question, but to determine that, she needed to tell Sam of her plans. Surely Sam wouldn"t object to her moonlighting. And that"s exactly what it would be, since she"d be working the night s.h.i.+ft. She hated leaving Caleb alone every night, but he was a big boy. He should be able to take care of himself. If only she could trust him to stay away from Teddy Brighton.

She gave her head a quick shake. She had to trust him. This second job meant sending him to St. Michael"s-the first college Caleb had shown any interest in. She"d have faith that he"d behave, and she"d make the sacrifice of working eighteen-hour days. After all, who needed sleep?

Anne had reached her car and was unlocking the door when a blonde walking across the parking lot caught her eye. She"d recognize that bouffant anywhere.

"Alice," she called out to the woman.

The woman gave a hurried glance over her shoulder then picked up her pace.

"Alice," Anne called again, but the woman kept walking.