Prologue
Sarah Wells glanced around the room she was sitting in through the tears that would not stop. Her stomach felt like someone had stuck a knife through it. Her head pounded as her mind tried to register the unbelievable revelations of the past few hours. Eve, her four year old daughter had been taken somewhere, no one would exactly explain where,by a social worker. A social worker. As if she were unfit to mother her own child. More tears flooded her eyes as that realization disturbed her mind again.
She glanced down and noted the chair she was sitting in and the table it was half under were both bolted to the floor. This was like an interrogation room on a TV police drama...except this was real, and this was a room at a police station, probably exactly the kind of room she imagined it was right down to the mirror on the facing wall which she surmised was one way glass. In fact her imagination speculated that someone was probably watching her right this minute, although she had no idea why. She had done nothing wrong.
Yet this morning as she was folding clothes in the laundry room of her home and Eve was watching her favorite morning cartoon on TV there had been a loud rap on the her front door. A man outside yelled, “Greensboro Police, open up please, we have a warrant."
Shocked, she had run for the door and opening it found not one but at least five policemen visible on her lawn. Several squad cars on the street, their blue lights piercing the quiet neighborhood and drawing neighbors to their front doors and windows.
Her surprised expression when she opened the door was greeted with a scowl from the suited man who had apparently knocked on the door. "Are you Sarah Wells?" He read from an official paper he held in his left hand. Even startled as she was, she noted his right hand was on the holstered pistol that was attached to his belt. His sport coat also being held back by his right arm.
Sarah answered, “Y...yes?" By now she was scared, and totally clueless as to why the police would be at her home.
"Ma'am, I'm Detective Sergeant Reynolds of the Greensboro Police. We have a warrant to search your house, please step outside. Is there anyone else home?"
Sarah immediately feared for her daughter still watching TV. "My daughter. She’s watching television. I'll go..."
"Go get her please, and both of you come outside."
The man followed Sarah inside where she scooped Eve up from her position sprawled across an ottoman in front of a chair in the living room. Naturally Eve protested. "Mommy...I'm not through my show..."
"Baby, we've got to go outside for a while." Eve began to cry. Her routine was not to be toyed with by anyone. Never-the-less, Sergeant Reynolds took Sarah's arm and escorted her and her crying child right out of the house and into the yard, as his men proceeded to enter and fan out inside.
"What is this all about Sergeant?" Sarah was finally beginning to get her wits about her, and realized she was being treated harshly for no reason. She looked down at the paper in front of her which was indeed a copy of a warrant, at least that's what it said. She'd never seen one before. It had her address on it and her and her husband's name and a lot of legal looking paragraphs, signed by a Judge Cryer at the bottom.
"Ma'am we have reason to believe that you and your husband are selling child pornography. You have the choice of coming downtown with me or I can arrest you and take you downtown."
Sarah felt like she had been hit by a truck. How on earth could anyone even imagine that she and Carson could be involved with anything like that?
"Mommy what's wrong?"
Eve's cry made her realize that she had collapsed to the ground. Her legs had just given out under her. Eve's little arms went around her and Sarah hugged her child to her.
The Sergeant glared at the woman as if she was acting all of this out for her neighbors and he knew it. Sarah didn't even have shoes on, just a pair of yellow shorts and a white t-shirt. Strictly around the house clothes. She'd never go out dressed like this. "I'll go with you, but I've got to change. I can't go out like this." She answered. "I'll need to get Eve in something too. Her daughter was wearing pink shorts and a white t-shirt that still bore some of her breakfast mess on it.
"That won't be necessary...or possible." Reynolds countered. "You'll go like you are, and the girl will go with Ms. Parsons here. She's from Social Services."
"What!" Sarah exploded. Getting a second breath she got off the ground and glared up at the detective even though he was at least six-two, to her five-three. "You can't just take my child."
"Actually I can ma'am. If you'll look at the second page you'll see she's been remanded to Social Services until this matter is settled."
Sarah now felt the second truck hit her, but this time she didn't collapse. She flipped the stapled page and read the unbelievable words that said exactly what the Detective had said.
A middle aged lady in a pantsuit stepped up the lawn from the curb and held out her hand for Eve. Sarah felt the helplessness of the situation. She had to let her own child go to a stranger. Eve was not happy about it either. She cried "Mommy, mommy." As she was pulled away by the social services woman.
"She'll need her things." Sarah implored, but apparently that was not to be allowed either as Eve was taken to a car and put inside. Sarah's arm was taken by the Detective and she was urged toward an unmarked police car, it's flashing blue lights joining the others in painting a surreal scene on her front yard and home. He opened the rear door and urged her inside holding his hand to her head as she got in. A uniformed policeman handed her a pair of flip flops she recognized as hers. He had apparently been told to bring her some shoes from the house.
That was it. In no time at all she was whisked downtown in the car, and as they pulled away from the house she saw the Social worker's car with Eve heading off in another direction.
Now here she was, sitting in a room with bare walls except for the mirror. What had she done? What had Carson done? Why did the police think they had anything to do with child pornography? That was so the opposite of what they were and what they represented. The fear in her imagined all sorts of scenarios, but none came close to this being real. No, they had the wrong people. They had confused them with someone else. Any moment now someone would come through that door and tell her it was all a terrible mistake. Police do make mistakes right?
Could her husband be involved in something like this? She loved him, and he loved her, and they both loved Eve. He was a successful businessman. He ran an auto parts store, part of a national chain. He'd been the manager since before they were married. She knew he was a go getter, a good provider for their family. How could he possibly be involved in something like this? For heaven’s sake her father, the almighty Gerald King had introduced them at his church one Sunday, and before she could hardly take a breath they were married and soon little Eve was on the way. She had been just 19 when she wed. Carson had been 24 and already a success. Their marriage was in her mind perfect. It reminded her of her own mother's marriage to her father. Carson was like him in that he was busy and not home a lot. But Carson exceeded even her own father's attentiveness when he was at home. He spoiled Eve completely, and was always the perfect gentleman with Sarah. She even found their lovemaking much more exciting and fun then her own mother had brought her up to expect. No, Carson was the ideal husband. This all had to be a mistake.
Of course there was his office at home. Now that she was sitting here by herself, her mind searching for anything to justify her being here, that came to mind. One of the few fights they'd ever had revolved around her going into his home office one day when she had found it unlocked. It was nothing remarkable, just a desk with a computer. Some file cabinets, the usual. But he had always made it a point that that was his room and she should never go in, even if he was there. Their home had an intercom, and she should use that to reach him if he was in his office. At first she thought it strange, but until the day she found it unlocked and couldn't resist going in, she hadn't thought much about it. Carson had been livid, when she just mentioned offhand that evening, that she had found it unlocked and poked her head in before locking it. She had never seen him so mad before, and his harsh words had made her cry. Never again did she even try the door. He said it was business, and he wanted everything kept in order.
Now sitting here...waiting Sarah's mind began to find room to speculate that maybe, just maybe her husband was doing something wrong in that office. She didn't have enough experience to know if his behavior was any different from any other husband. Her life revolved around her father's church. Carson insisted that she not work outside the home, and aside from shopping the only other outside the home thing she did was church committees. Again he was insistent that she conduct herself this way, pretty much the same way her mother conducted her life. Aside from church friends she really had little contact with anyone else. She was looking forward to Eve starting kindergarten next year so she could finally make some new friends. Of course the church had a kindergarten and a private school. The same one she had attended, but there were always people from other churches that sent their children there, and she loved meeting new people with new ideas.
Sarah was restless. She had been told to sit here and someone would be in shortly. In her mind 'shortly' had long passed. She got up and walked to the door. Yes, it was locked. Another shot of fear surged through her. She felt trapped and her heart longed for her little girl. She had no idea where she was or who was taking care of her right now. Sarah looked at herself in the mirror. She had flip flops on; her yellow shorts were like gym shorts. Way too short for being out in public but they wouldn't let her change. Her top was just a white t-shirt, annoyingly a thin one that you could see her bra through. Her conservative upbringing made her extremely uncomfortable dressed this way here. She felt very vulnerable. She didn't even have her purse or phone. Wasn't she supposed to be able to call someone? She began looking at the mirror. If someone was in there watching her, she'd give them something to look at. She pantomimed holding a phone to her ear and said out loud, "I'd like to call my mother." She then wondered why she shouldn't call Carson, but she figured if she was sitting here in the police station, then he probably was too. Fear was now becoming anger. Sarah was not a person easily angered. She had a quiet rather submissive demeanor thanks to her upbringing, but where Eve was concerned she was like a mama bear, and this sitting here alone thinking of every awful scenario was now beginning to anger her. She rose and banged on the door and then the mirror. "I need to make a phone call. I need to see someone...NOW!" She yelled.
For a few minutes nothing happened, but then finally, she could hear steps approaching the door and it opened. Two men and a woman came in. One was Detective Reynolds. He introduced the others. "Mrs. Wells, this is Amanda Copperfield from the DA's office, and this is special agent Bryan Donavan of the FBI." Both gave small nods to Sarah and then sat down as did Detective Reynolds. No one was smiling.
"Can I make a phone call?" Sarah blurted out before Reynolds had even opened the large file he laid carefully on the table. "This just isn't right. I've done nothing. My husband's done nothing."
Reynolds kept his stern look and said. "Oh I think we have all the evidence we need now to prove at least your husband has done plenty. We just have to determine how much you helped him."
If Sarah cursed, she would have right then, but she didn't. Even with all of this thrust upon her, she managed to keep her anger at bay. "What have I supposedly done that would allow you to take my child." She started to tear up at this point feeling more helpless than she ever had in her life.
Amanda Cooperfield's eyes made contact with Reynolds in a scolding manner and she pulled a tissue from her purse and gave it to Sarah. "Mrs. Wells, maybe it would be best if you just told us what you do know about your husband's activities."
Sarah looked bewildered. "He runs the auto parts store. He has since before we were married. He works hard, we go to church. He's a good father to Eve and a good husband to me. What else is there?"
Reynolds answered, "His other little business Mrs. Wells, his Child Porn business. Surely you don't think he makes all of the money he seems to have from running an auto parts store? You live in a damn fine home in a good neighborhood lady. Auto Parts managers don't make the kind of money to afford that."
Sarah was taken aback by the rough way he said what he said. She realized she had no idea how much money her husband made. He'd always had plenty. He tithed more than the expected ten percent to her father's church. She’d seen those checks as they went into the collection plate each week. He always took care of all of their bills and gave her what she needed to run the household. She supposed she would sound naive, but she replied, "I really don't know how much he makes. He handles the bills, everything really."
"Really." Reynolds said accusingly. "You mean to tell me that your husband has been running one of the largest child pornography businesses on the internet right out of your home and you expect us to believe you knew nothing about it?"
Sarah was stricken by the words he said. "He couldn't have. Not Carson." She fell into tears again. This could not be true.
"You had to have known." Donavan, the FBI agent finally spoke up. "He was selling nationwide lady. There's no way you didn't know."
Sarah shook her head and sobbed into her hands, “I don't know anything about this...nothing."
Amanda Copperfield looked at the two men and shook her head. She mouthed, "I don't think she knew." But did not say it out loud.
The two men shook their heads in disbelief. Reynolds touched Sarah's arm. "Mrs. Wells, I think you knew...because your daughter knew."
"WHAT?" The way she said that through her tears was as abrasive as a fingernail on a blackboard. "Eve?"
Reynolds pulled two photographs from his file and laid them in front of Sarah. They were her daughter. The poses unspeakable. She cried out in an almost animalistic way, "No...Nooooooooo."
At that point the interview was over. Sarah was destroyed, incoherent and uncontrollable. Paramedics had to be called to sedate her and eventually she spent the night in a hospital. When she woke the next morning her mother was in her hospital room and her world had changed forever.
Chapter 1
One Year Later
The rain pelted the windshield of the car with reckless abandon. She'd seen the thunderstorm's dark and restless skies long before she reached it, or it reached her. Sarah wasn't sure. She slowed her fourteen year old Accord even more as she traveled north on the thankfully mostly straight US13. The dark storm was becoming even darker since it was dusk, and being late May it was almost 8:30pm. She'd never make it to Gabby's place in Ocean City tonight. She was tired, and the traffic had been horrendous from Newport News all the way to Virginia Beach. If it was always like that during rush hour, she knew she could never live there.
A sudden whoosh and she knew she'd hit another patch of standing water on the highway. Her steering wheel pulled to the left whenever that happened. She slowed down some more and glanced in her mirror at Eve sleeping in her booster seat behind her. She had worn out an hour ago and drifted off missing the dramatic Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The weather had been perfect while they crossed that, but she could see the storm building over the south end of Virginia's Eastern Shore. It was a big one too and being dark she couldn't tell if it would end soon. The sky wouldn't lighten up until tomorrow morning now. If she could just find a motel. She still had one credit card that she could use and they would have one last night before she got to Gabby's and started her job hunt.
Gabby Hanson has been her best friend during high school. They had drifted apart after Sarah got married and Gabby had moved away. Strangely however, Gabby had called her out of the blue after hearing about her troubles from other friends at the church. They'd kept in touch, and Gabby had invited Eve and her to come to Maryland and stay with her while she tried to start over. Sarah knew she needed to distance herself from everything that had happened in the last year and after considering that she didn't have many options; she decided to take Gabby up on her offer.
Okay, this was ridiculous. The rain was so hard she couldn't see ten yards. She slowed to pull to the side of the road. Of course she couldn't see where a good place to do that was either. She pulled off happy that there wasn't any other traffic, but then her car started sliding to the right. Oh crap, she thought tugging the wheel back to the left toward the highway, but it just leaned to the right and came to a stop. Well, it came to a stop in the moving forward sense, but it still felt like it was sliding sideways away from the road. Finally it stopped. The car was leaning precariously. It was in grass; she could see that in her headlights but now she couldn't see the highway. All she could hear was the rain and it was coming down as hard as she'd ever experienced...maybe harder.
Sarah was worried. She had a bad feeling the car was not going to come out of wherever it was without a tow and with the rain was there a chance she was near the water? Would it rise to her car? Should she try to get away from the car? For some reason the song "Jesus Take the Wheel" popped into her mind. She was sure she was in the same place the girl in the song had been. After the last year she had to admit her faith had been stretched to its limits. Praying had once been a daily ritual for her, but after all that had befallen her it had become only an occasional thing, still if there ever was a time, perhaps this was it. The thing was that she couldn't see that she had done anything wrong to have deserved Carson's betrayal, her father's practically disowning her and the shame the entire affair had brought upon her. She had been a good girl all of her life. She had done everything her father and mother and even God had wanted her to do, yet she had fallen to the bottom. Now here she was trying to climb back up out of the darkness and she was stuck in a...she didn't even know. All she could ask God was why? Why her?
This was quite the storm. Alex Campbell drove along carefully in his Blue Crew Cab Silverado. It was three years old but he wanted to keep it nice. Next to him, his date Lanie Moss was more interested in the song she was trying to play through the sound system from her I-Phone than the raging storm outside. Alex wished she'd play some George Straight or even Eric Church, but she was intent on some rap thing that was louder than the rain coming down. He sighed. Their date had been all the way to Virginia Beach to a restaurant she had wanted to try. It was very fancy, but it was a place where the meal had to be presented in many courses, so by the time they finished they had to skip the movie he'd wanted to take her to see. He had an early morning fight and so they decided, no actually he decided...Lanie would have stayed at Virginia Beach all night. He decided to head back. They had hit the storm just out of the second tunnel of the Bridge Tunnel and he could tell it was a big one. Being a pilot Alex studied the weather constantly, he even had several apps on his phone that offered aviation radar in real time, well it could be delayed as much as 15 to 20 minutes, but it gave you a good idea of what was coming and in which direction it was going. He'd checked out this one, and it would be around for at least an hour, maybe more. He lived near Melfa, so he had forty some miles to go yet and he figured they'd be in this storm most of the way. Just north of Cheriton Alex saw something odd to the right of the road. A light or actually a light striking some trees through the tall grass. The land along US13 was farm land and forests, but there were lots of areas with drainage ditches between the highway and the crop land. Could that have been a car down in one of the ditches? He slowed noting no other traffic and did a u-turn much to Lanie's displeasure.
"What are you doing Alex?" Her eyes finally going to him instead of her I-Phone screen.
"Going back, I think I saw some headlights off the road over there." Indeed driving south he could just see the glow of some headlights and they looked to be in the ditch.
"Oh do you have to always be the Good Samaritan? Jeez Alex, if we had to drive back early, let's just get there already."
Ahh, the true Lanie came out when she didn't get her way. She was still miffed that he'd decide to forgo the movie and come back early. Alex smiled and wondered why he asked her out anyway. Oh she liked him. That was obvious, but she had lots of ideas about how she'd like him to be even if he wasn't. She was a doll, but he was sure they could never be a couple. They were just too different. Besides he wasn't looking for a girl friend anyway and certainly not a wife. He suspected Lanie wanted all of that and more.
Another U-turn brought them back to the headlights in the ditch. Alex carefully pulled off the highway and put his four way flashers on. "Sit tight Lanie, I'm going to go check this out."
"You'll get drenched." She exclaimed
"I know, but if someone's in that car we can't leave them." With that he was out the door and immediately soaked. He had taken his flashlight and now he could see the path the car had taken thorough the roadside grass. The driver had gotten just a bit further off the road than he had and then the car just slid over into the ditch. That ditch was filling with water now. It was already up on the passenger side of the car almost covering the right hand headlights. The inside of the car was dark. He couldn't tell if someone was in it or not, but the lights were on. Alex carefully eased down the bank, glad he'd worn his cowboy boots and not city shoes tonight. He tapped on the driver’s window and a light inside the car came on. The face looking back at him looked terrified but at the same time he was instantly taken by the sad but startlingly beautiful face that stared up at him. For some reason he felt he was looking at his very destiny in those blue eyes. Shaking the strange feelings rushing at him from who knows where he motioned for her to put the window down. She did.
"Are you alright?" He asked huskily as rain water dripped in the car all over the driver.
"We're fine...but I don't know where we are. I pulled off during the storm and somehow ended up here...wherever here is."
Alex couldn't help but smile. "You're in a ditch ma'am, and it's filling up with water so I'd better get you out of this car."
Sarah couldn't believe her prayer had been answered. She had asked God for someone to find and help them and here he was...and that face. She had been startled at the knock on the window, but the man who knocked was...outstanding. A wash of...something washed over her that felt like a blush and heat all at once when she saw him. Sure he was rescuing Eve and her but something about him moved her down deep. She had never felt that feeling before.
Sarah opened her door with his assistance and she got out, the rain immediately drenching her blond hair and her short sleeve button up shirt. The jeans she wore were not originally tight, but the rain would not help them stay that way either. She opened the rear door and reached in for Eve, but the man gently pushed her aside and scooped Eve up like she was a feather. He held her to his chest with one arm and motioned up the hill with the other. Then he reached in the car, turned off the headlights, grabbed the keys and her purse and closed and locked the door. Sarah climbed using her hands as well as her feet until gaining the shoulder of the highway. She could see the man's pickup and its lights made walking easier since she could now really see where she was walking.
Alex, carrying Eve climbed up behind her and then led her to his truck. He opened the rear door and placed Eve in the center and then helped Sarah up into the truck. "I'll get everything all wet." She exclaimed.
Alex smiled at her, still somewhat spellbound by her and said, "It's gonna be all wet on my seat too. Don't worry about it.
While Alex walked around to the driver’s side Lanie turned to Sarah and remarked, "I guess you're just the luckiest thing out in this storm sweetie. It's such a good thing that we drove by. I told Alex, aren't those headlights in that ditch, and he just turned around and got you out of there"
"Thank you so much." Sarah answered using her hand to wipe some raindrops off of the still snoozing Eve. "I am so grateful to you both."
Alex heard the last part as he was getting in the truck, and wondered what Lanie had done during this episode, but he wisely didn't comment. "I'm Alex Campbell, and this is Lanie Moss. We're on our way to Melfa; it's another twenty miles north. Are you from around here or passing through?"
"Passing through, I'm Sarah...Wel...Maxwell, Sarah Maxwell and we were traveling to Ocean City."
"Oh, okay, then I guess a hotel would be in order until you can get your car out of the ditch."
"Yes, in fact I was looking for one when the rain chased us off the road."
"Well, Exmore's gonna be our best bet this time of night. We'll get you to a place there, then you can have your car pulled out in the morning."
"Oh thank you so much Mr. Campbell."
"No problem Mrs. Maxwell." He moved the truck out into the highway and they headed north.
Eventually they came to a town which he said was Exmore, and he pulled into a hotel. "I reckon I should have gotten your things out of your car Mrs. Maxwell, you won't have a thing to wear except those wet clothes." He had turned and was looking right at her.
"Oh that's okay, we'll manage. Just to be inside and able to dry off will be perfect." She paused and looked at his brown eyes studying her it seemed. "Ahh, its Miss Maxwell, in fact call me Sarah Mr. Campbell. You have been so wonderful to us, oh and this is Eve."
He snickered, "Eve is a great sleeper."
Sarah smiled and stroked her daughter's head. "She is. She won't remember one thing about tonight. She slept through the entire thing." As she stepped out of the truck Sarah noted the rain had stopped.
Alex escorted her inside even though Lanie gave him a displeased look. "Here are your keys Miss...I mean Sarah. You'll need these tomorrow."
"Oh thank you again Mr. Campbell..."
"Alex. Please call me Alex."
"Oh alright, Alex then. Thank you so much. I think I may have interrupted maybe your date with Lanie. I'm so sorry."
"I'm not Sarah. It was very good to meet you. He offered to hold Eve while Sarah dealt with getting the room. The little girl was finally stirring in his arms.
"Who're you? An impertinent voice half whispered in his ear.
"I'm Alex and you must be Eve."
"Where are we?"
"At a hotel. Your mommy is getting you a room right now." He pointed out Sarah who was, he thought, looking concerned as she passed the clerk her credit card.
"Are you going to stay in our room too?" The question totally startled Alex. Why would a child ask that? Did it have any meaning? From what he had been able to discern, Sarah was a very respectable woman. She had told him she was a Miss not Mrs. That didn't explain Eve, but heck; it was none of his business. But he couldn't deny that he cared. He wanted her to be as perfect as she looked. What was it about her? She was still drenched from the rain, her blond hair had curled and while totally unkempt it gave her a pixie look. He also noted that if she had on any makeup, he couldn't see it, yet she looked as fresh and vibrant as could be. There was also a sadness about her, a nervousness that was just under the surface. He also couldn't remember ever studying anyone as closely as he studied her and he was a bit uncomfortable with his thoughts.
"Well, are you?" He had forgotten there was a child's question hanging out there.
"No, No of course not. I helped your mommy when your car broke down and brought her to this hotel, that's all."
"You can stay, you're comfy." She settled back onto his shoulder and her eyes closed as if all was right with her world.
Alex smiled at the thought of him holding this, what five year old? He also smiled at her mother when she glanced over at them. Oh God...the smile she gave him was mesmerizing. She was so beautiful.
"I've got the key card. I'll take Eve now, and thank you Alex, for everything."
Reluctantly he passed Eve to her mother. "You have a safe trip now." Alex didn't want to leave, but he couldn't think of any reason to stay. For some reason he was totally blown away by this woman, and he was never affected by women this way, never.
When he got back in the truck Lanie had something to say. "I have never seen you gush over anyone like that Alex Campbell. I'm glad you could rescue her and all but good grief, walking her into the hotel was a bit much. Now get me home, and maybe I'll let you come in for a while when we get there. Why I could dry off your clothes for you."
Alex knew right then that he wouldn't be going in her apartment tonight. He would go home and dream of the blond and her daughter that he'd found along highway 13.
Sarah finally laid down on the other bed by herself. Naturally after sleeping through the entire run-off-the-road-and-then-get-rescued episode Eve had become wide awake after getting in the hotel room. Sarah on the other hand was exhausted. It took nearly an hour to calm Eve back down and get her to sleep in just her undies. They both had to get out of their wet clothes, and Sarah was wrapped in a towel. The few glances she dared take of herself in the bathroom mirror didn't look good. She thought she looked like a wet poodle. So why then was that guy...Alex paying so much attention to her? Perhaps it was just the fact that he'd come to their aid, but he stirred up all sorts of strange feelings in her. Lying here now, she could just picture his face when she'd smiled at him. This wouldn't do. She could not become attracted to a man. She didn't trust them or anyone in fact. No, she had to get her car towed out of the ditch tomorrow and continue on her way to Ocean City and Gabby's. She wouldn't see Alex again anyway. That settled, she closed her eyes...and still all she could think about was him smiling back at her.
She wasn't the only one affected by their meeting. Alex spent a restless night thinking of Sarah. First of course he'd had to take Lanie home, and she wanted him to come in. He'd refused even after she'd become pretty explicit about what they could do while she dried his clothes. Again Alex pleaded he had to be at work first thing in the morning, and finally he got away from her. He noted the pouty face she gave him when he gave her just the cursory peck on the cheek. No, Lanie was not the girl for him. Not that he was looking, but damn...he could be persuaded if Sarah was interested.
