Page 38 of The Perfect Catch

“Cal, where is Josie now?” she asked, a hint of exasperation creeping into her voice. “What do you mean you let her go?”

The heat was frying him even in the shade with a ceiling fan, so he headed back toward the farmhouse, wondering what could be taking Josie so long. Needing to put this behind him before she had the chance to shred his heart any further.

“I mean she’s under criminal investigation, Mom.” He mopped a hand over his forehead as he climbed the steps to the back porch, the anger, frustration and hurt climbing right along with him. “You really need to do background checks when you’re hiring someone from outside the area—”

“So youfiredher?” His mother sounded outright indignant, her voice rising while the sheep or goats or whatever continued to make a ruckus around her.

Shoving open the door to the house, he stepped inside the air conditioning to wait for Josie.

“She could have a warrant out for her arrest, Mom,” he explained gently, knowing his mother only ever saw the best in people. “She was doing illegal contracting work—”

“I know, Cal,” his mother cut him off with a hint of impatience. “I hired her as a favor to my friend who lives in the building she manages.”

Dropping into a seat at the kitchen island, he tried to absorb that news.

“You knew?” Even so, that didn’t reconcile the fact Josie hadn’t been truthful with him about her past. And it sure as hell didn’t salvage the fact that Cal’s reputation would suffer at a time when he needed to keep his nose clean.

“Rita Gonzalez is the most kindhearted woman I met on last year’s mission trip.” More honking echoed in the background of her call. “So when she asked me about giving the young woman a job, I was happy to help. According to Rita, Josie takes good care of everyone in that building, people who wouldn’t have any kind of help otherwise.”

Cal’s temples throbbed harder, trying to put the pieces together. “You knowingly hired someone who was under investigation in another state?”

“There were no charges against her at the time, Cal.” His mom exchanged words with someone on her end, but he couldn’t discern what she was saying. Besides, he was too blown away by the knowledge that his mother had been perfectly aware of Josie’s background. When his mother returned to the call, she said, “Our bus is heading back to the village now, but it would mean a lot to me if you would assure Josie she can stay at the house until I return home. Whatever charges come up in Florida aren’t going to stick without getting her mother in significant trouble, too. You realize it’s her mother who is causing her all the grief, don’t you?”

Pulling himself out of the chair, he peered up the staircase to listen for Josie. What was taking her so long up there?

Cal couldn’t follow his mother’s logic since the problem seemed clear-cut to him. Josie had broken the law. End of story. Just like in baseball, the rules of life were clear. They were written down, and they applied to everyone.

“Mom, if she’s committed a crime—”

“She will get an attorney and argue her side,” his mother retorted with a sigh. “The bus is leaving now, but please keep in mind not everything is black and white, Cal. Sometimes doing the right thing—the ethical, moral right thing—puts a person in a difficult position. I believe Rita that Josie is a very good person who did her best in a difficult situation.”

In the background, Cal could hear the rumble of a diesel engine right before he lost the cell signal entirely.

Had he made the wrong decision to ask Josie to leave? His mother was one of the best people he knew. She’d taken the high road with Clint during their divorce, never bad-mouthing their father for his choices, and letting Clint’s behavior speak for itself—in public and in private with their family.

He trusted his mom’s moral compass as much as anyone’s and she’d been quick to defend Josie. The hell of that was, she didn’t even know Josie half as well as Cal did. The realization felt deflating. He’d seen what a good person Josie was with his own eyes. She’d kept track of Everett before Cal arrived home, visiting with him to talk about gardening. Baking him a pie. Studying how bees could best help the Rough Hollow crops and then ensuring the bees were delivered.

“Josie?” he called up the stairs to her now, needing to talk to her as he should have done before rather than just storming out.

Regretting that he’d been so rigid in his thinking, writing her off as a criminal for acts his mother considered “ethical and moral.” Was he that blind?

The answer hurt to consider.

When she didn’t answer, he pounded up the steps, needing to see her. Apologize for leaping to conclusions without listening to her side, really listening.

But once he was upstairs he knew right away she was gone. The dogs lay on the floor of the guest room where she’d stayed, as if waiting for her to return. Their heads popped up as he stepped over the threshold, tails wagging hopefully.

“Where did she go?” He turned back into the hall and that’s when he saw two figures standing on the gravel road outside.

Josie wore a backpack, her rolling suitcase at her feet. Beside her, a more stooped figure with a walker, his bathrobe and slippers too warm for the hot summer day. Everett Ramsey appeared to be giving her a stern lecture, standing between her and the road out of Rough Hollow.

Cal took the steps two at a time, all three dogs at his heels. On a mission.

Thanks to his grandfather, Cal might still have a second shot with the woman he loved.

*

Still stunned fromher phone call to the sheriff’s office, Josie was caught off guard when Everett Ramsey planted himself between her and her only escape route away from Cal.

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