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There was zero conversation as Cap headed out of Scottsdale and into Paradise Valley. Cap’s vibe was so off, my freakout was in overdrive by the time he hit his blinker to turn left into a neighborhood at the base of the mountains in Clearwater Hills.
A neighborhood that screamedMoney!
And part of the reason why I knew this was, I spied a security gate that had two men staffing it.
“Text your dad and tell him, if they stop him, he needs to share his name and that he’s a guest of Kai Mason.”
Oh God.
We were going to meet Stella Gunn.
That was huge, but she was a member of his family, so this couldn’t possibly be why Cap was acting so strange.
Again, I didn’t ask.
Without a word, I texted Dad immediately.
Cap turned left, and I looked back and saw Dad and Deb do the same. Then Cap stopped at the guardhouse even if they’d already pulled up the heavy-duty (but still attractive) arm of the stanchion in front of us.
“Morning, Mr. Jackson,” the guard said.
“The car behind me is with us.”
“Yes, Mr. Mason told us to expect you.”
Cap nodded and rolled through.
Dad and Deb rolled through with us.
The houses in this ’hood were few and huge. My guess, they were on three acre lots, at least.
Cap wound his way up to the top one, an enormous modern marvel of glass and adobe, including several outbuildings, as well as lots of patios and balconies with amazing views.
We pulled into a drive that had numerous cars in it.
Cap got out, I got out, and I didn’t know if my feeling was better or worse when I saw Shirleen open the front door of the house and stand in it.
I went to Cap, Dad and Deb joined us, and Cap took my hand and led us to Shirleen.
When we got to her, I couldn’t read the look on her face either, and not only because I didn’t know her very well.
But she didn’t hesitate to pull me in her arms and give me a big, tight hug, whispering, “Child,” in my ear.
Okay, suddenly, even though her hug was awesome, I didn’t like this at all.
I also didn’t want to do this, and I still didn’t know what “this” was.
She let me go and offered her hand to Dad. “Charlie.” After he took it she moved to Deb. “Deb.” They squeezed hands and she said, “Come in.”
We walked in, and I couldn’t dally to marvel at the bright, airy living room with white couches and rugs, accented in colors of sand and stone with touches of Hawaiian art carved in wood.
And I couldn’t do this not only because I wasn’t in the mood, but because Shirleen led us right through it, down a short hall that was lined in pictures of Mace, Stella with a little girl and a little boy, from the time they were babies to the girl being in her early tweens (the boy, it seemed from the photos, was still very young).
I knew this was bad when we hit what had to be the family room, which was sunken, much warmer, anchored by a very shaggy rug in a deep blue, the rest of it a wonder of the shades of the sea, the earth and the sky.
I took it in, and I didn’t.
Because hanging there were Mace, Lee, Vance, and Tex, and they’d been joined by four other guys. One of them had to be Lee’s brother. Two of the others also had to be related. The last one reminded me a little of Gabe.
