his desk. Your assistant said she had it among Elizabeth’s things. It must have passed to her before anyone noticed what it was.”
“I’ll have to thank my assistant for being so good at her job.”
When Whit left, Carson turned back to the remaining attendees. He saw Georgia and Ruby stand from their chairs. Unlike her stepmother, Georgia was not all aglow over the outcome of the meeting.
“Mrs. Mason,” he said to Ruby.
“Please, call me Ruby.”
“Ruby.” Carson caught the roll of Georgia’s eyes. “As you know, none of us were aware that our father had another son. Your son.”
“Yes, that came as a shock to me. I was sure he’d have told you.”
“My father wasn’t the same man who married you.”
“So I’ve heard.” Ruby looked sad over that, as though thinking of what could have been had Jackson not been kidnapped.
“We need to go, Mother.”
“It’s all right, Georgia.”
“Whit and I have decided to take over the investigation our father was conducting to find your son, Jackson. We... I was hoping I could meet with you some time to talk about what happened. His kidnapping.”
Ruby’s face fell. She was still, even after all this time, distraught and quite possibly full of guilt.
“No. I won’t stand for that.” Georgia turned to her stepmother. “Mother, it’s bad enough you had to take their money. You don’t have to put yourself through that again.”
“Georgia, hush. If Mr. Adair can find Jackson, I want to do everything I can to help.”
Georgia pinned him with a ferocious glare.
“Please, call me Carson.” Carson met Georgia’s spitfire energy and found himself enchanted all the more. “You, too, Georgia.”
“Come by the hotel anytime,” Ruby said.
“I have a better idea. Why don’t I arrange for some rooms at our ranch. There’s plenty of space and we’ll have more time to talk.”
Georgia’s eyes rounded in horror as Ruby readily agreed. Then her mouth dropped open and she beamed accusation at Carson.
“It’s all set then. Carol has directions for you, and a car if you need it.”
“Why, thank you, Carson.” Ruby was all smiles.
Carson gave Georgia a slight bow, having more fun with this than he should. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you two lovely ladies tonight.” Saying farewell to Schmidt, he left the conference room with a chuckle he didn’t understand. Why was he so charmed? He didn’t have time for a girlfriend. Besides, Georgia had made it clear how much she despised the Adairs. Wouldn’t he be wasting his time trying to convince her she was wrong? She might not be wrong. He had, after all, just blackmailed Patsy’s attorney.
* * *
Georgia watched Carson leave the conference room and fought a mixture of awe and angst. He’d done what she’d least expected. She and Ruby didn’t have to fight for the inheritance. He’d made sure Ruby would have it, uncontested. Carson had become a hero for the day. But she could not allow him to suck her stepmother into a long, hopeless search for Jackson.
Schmidt was talking to Ruby about what to do next to get her inheritance. Georgia touched Ruby’s arm, interrupting them. “Wait here, Mother. I’ll be right back.” With Ruby’s perplexed look, Georgia hurried out of the room and went after Carson.
She armed herself against gushing gratitude and physical awareness—he was too handsome for her impression of him and his family. Inviting them to his family’s ranch was more in line with what she thought of them. It was more of a lure with the promise of pampered hospitality. He’d played Ruby, dealt her right into his hands. She wouldn’t know what hit her until it was too late. Why had he done it? So she’d cooperate and help him find Jackson? Everything this family did had to have a reward. Invite them to the big ranch. Wow them with generosity and extravagance.
Ruby had suffered a great deal after her son’s kidnapping. She’d talked about it enough for Georgia to know how deep her scars were. She’d loved Reginald and he’d turned his back on her. From the sounds of it, he’d turned his back on everyone. And raised his sons to be just like him.
“Mr. Adair!” She caught up to him at the elevator. In jeans and a long-sleeved Henley, he dressed casually for a man in his position at AdAir Corp. Short-cropped, light brown hair gave him a clean-cut, disciplined look, and those blue eyes dazzled, especially when he’d entered the conference room and seen her. He hadn’t just seen her, he’d touched her with his gaze, lingering on her breasts that were hidden behind the layers of her shirt and tailored jacket. Only she would know the tingle that had chased through her when he’d done that.
He held the door for her, surprise rendering him silent.
She stepped into the elevator. “You can’t involve Ruby in your new investigation of Jackson’s disappearance.”
He dropped his hand from the elevator door. “Involve her? Jackson is her son. She hasn’t seen him since he was an infant. And the investigation isn’t new. My father started it. Ruby is happy that we’re going to search for him. Why aren’t you?”
“She’s suffered such loss with the kidnapping. I’ve seen what it did to her. She’ll only be hurt more when you fail to find him.”
He cocked his head as the elevator doors slid closed. “You’re that certain I’ll fail?”
“No one else has succeeded in thirty-seven years. What makes you so special?”
He looked at her without reaction. Some men would be insulted, but not him. “My own mother is the prime suspect in my father’s murder.”
That gave Georgia pause. She looked up at the numbers as they rode the elevator to the parking garage level. He had justifiable motivation for trying to find the kidnapper. She couldn’t argue that.
“I will find Jackson. It’s only a question of when.”
“Do you think your father’s death is linked to Jackson’s kidnapping?” If Reginald had been investigating and discovered something, the kidnapper would have cause to kill.
“It’s possible. But not if my mother killed him.”
Ruby was an irrational woman. She could have any number of reasons for killing her husband.
She faced him, imploring with her eyes. “My stepmother is so vulnerable when it comes to losing Jackson. She lost a lot more than a son when he was taken.” Her entire life had been torn apart.
Carson’s eyes blinked in sympathy and understanding. He turned as she had, and now they faced each other in the elevator.
“It isn’t my intent to upset you or Ruby,” he said. “I want to help you both, not hurt you. Reginald was my father. Jackson
