Keeping Katie (A Mother's Heart #1) (24 page)

“No. Not now.” Her words agreed, but her eyes and lips said otherwise. They enticed him, inviting him to continue. He was tempted. It would be so easy to drown himself in her, to take what she offered until he lifted her in his arms and carried her into the woods to satisfy them both.

“Not here,” he said aloud. Smiling, he took one more taste of her honey-sweet lips, one soft, gentle sip, and then reluctantly released them.

She smiled and rested her head against his chest. Removing his hands from the smooth skin of her back, he lifted one to cradle her head against him.

“This doesn’t change anything,” he said after long minutes of sweet silence. “I can’t let you go out there.” He kept his voice soft. “It’s too dangerous.”

Sighing, she nestled closer against him. “That’s why I have to go. I’m concerned about Tommy.”

“I’ll go and check on the boy.”

She raised her head to look into his eyes. “He won’t talk to you. I’m his friend. He trusts me. And I promised.”

“Do you have any idea how serious this is?” Annoyance crept back into his voice. The woman had no idea what she had walked into out there. “Bud’s not just letting his son drive without a license, he’s illegally trapping big game. That’s a criminal as well as a civil offense. And you know about it. What’s to keep him from shooting you for trespassing?”

“He won’t be there,” she insisted. “I go on Sundays, and he’s never there. I don’t know how he even found out, unless he discovered the deer and Tommy told him. That’s why I have to talk to Tommy—just to make sure he’s okay.”

Alan released her and turned away, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe how obstinate she was being about this. She planned on going out to Simmons’s place again. And it seemed nothing he could say would change that. Turning back to her, he searched her face, looking for some way to break through her stubbornness. He saw none. There was only one way to make sure she was safe.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll take you.”

His offer seemed to throw her off, and for a moment, she didn’t seem to know what to say. Then she shook her head. “That would only make things worse. Bud will think you’re coming out to arrest him or something.”

“I thought Bud wasn’t going to be there.”

“Well, I can’t guarantee it, and if he is—”

“I’ll be there to make sure he doesn’t shoot you.”

He’d stumped her, and he could see she wasn’t happy about it. In fact, she looked pretty irritated. But that was just too bad. “Okay,” he said, considering the discussion closed. “I’ll pick you up Sunday morning. Around nine.”

She looked ready to argue again, but then resignation set in and she nodded. “Okay. But you have to stay away from Bud.”

“Don’t worry about me.” Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her lightly. “Then we need to talk about us.” Releasing her, he turned to walk away but changed his mind. “One more question.”

Maureen stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “What?” She smiled, and he almost lost his resolve. Then he forced himself to remember the one thing he’d promised himself he would ask.

“Why do you color your hair?”

Shock registered in her eyes. Her hand flew first to her chest, then fluttered to her hair. “My hair?”

“Yeah.” Alan nodded, holding his breath.

She glanced sideways and dropped her hand, wrapping her arms about her waist. “How did you know?”

“A wild guess.”

She still didn’t look at him. Instead, her gaze skipped over inanimate objects: the porch, the sky, the trees behind his back. “Premature gray runs in my family,” she answered after a moment’s hesitation.

“Premature gray?” She was lying. A queasiness began in the pit of his stomach, making him wish he hadn’t asked the question. Maybe it was better not to know.

“Yes.” She met his gaze for a moment then looked away again. “I mean, who wants to be gray at thirty-five?”

Maureen shut the door behind her and collapsed against its solid frame. Her hand drifted to her hair again. He knew she colored it. She’d been so careful about it, making certain her light roots never showed. What else did he know? He’d had a strange expression on his face just now that frightened her beyond reason. He had looked disappointed.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She felt as nervous as she had when she’d first come to town three months ago. She’d been a woman running scared, jumping at shadows, shying from every badge she saw. Except now she had cause to be frightened. If Alan suspected her of something and checked up on her …

No. She pushed the thought aside. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t investigate her behind her back. After all, they’d become friends—and there was this other, stronger emotion between them.

On the porch, when he’d taken her into his arms, she had finally understood that she loved him. She wasn’t sure when it had started. Maybe it was the day of the festival, or the afternoon they had sat and watched the sunset at Cliff’s. Possibly she’d fallen a little in love with him the first time she’d watched him bounce Katie around Rita’s living room. When didn’t really matter. She loved him. It was as simple—and as complicated—as that.

And she knew he felt something for her, too. The thought warmed her. Whether he was in love with her, she couldn’t say, but he cared. She’d felt it in his arms, seen it in his eyes. He wouldn’t, couldn’t go behind her back.

But what if he did?

Fear chilled her. She knew this man and his view of right and wrong. He would never understand about Katie. If he found that Maureen was wanted for kidnapping, she wasn’t sure he would even bother to let her explain before arresting her. The way he felt about Katie, she doubted it. He’d turn Maureen in first and ask why later—if he ever bothered to ask why at all.

It was time to go. No more stalling. She and Katie would leave tomorrow on the first bus.

“Maureen dear, are you all right?” Rita’s voice snapped her back to the present. “Alan didn’t upset you, did he?”

“No.” Her answer was automatic. Funny how she’d learned to lie without giving it a second thought. “I’m fine.” She pushed away from the door and crossed the room to the older woman. “He was angry, but it’s okay now.”

“What happened?”

“Just what you predicted.” Maureen smiled and thought how much she would miss Rita. She had become more than a friend—she was more like the mother Maureen had always wished for. Rita would never have left her alone to deal with her domineering father. “He got all angry and gruff and told me not to go out there again.”

Rita laughed lightly. “And …”

“He’s going to take me out to the Simmons place this Sunday.” At Rita’s surprised expression, Maureen added, “Just to make sure Tommy’s okay.”

It was a couple hours later, after explaining everything to Rita, before Maureen had time to think again. She lay in bed next to Katie and tried to put her thoughts in order.

She and Katie couldn’t leave tomorrow.

Katie was invited to a birthday party on Sunday. It was her first. Tod, the little boy whose mother watched her while Maureen worked, was turning five. Katie had talked of nothing else for days. How could she explain to the child that she would miss the party because they were leaving? It was going to be hard on her anyway, but it might be a little easier after the party.

Besides, she couldn’t leave Tommy without saying goodbye. Sometime while talking with Rita, she’d realized that in order to leave tomorrow, she would have to break her promise to the boy. At first, she’d pushed the thought aside. She had to think of Katie. Tommy would be fine. Maybe Alan would go out and see the boy on his own now that she’d alerted him to the possible danger. But the thought nagged at her, and she knew she had to go out to the Simmons place one more time.

It was Friday. She would just have to take her chances that Alan hadn’t quite gotten to the point of checking up on her. But first thing Monday morning, she and Katie would be on their way to Seattle.

T
he harsh buzz of his private cell brought Jacob Anderson awake with a start, his heart pounding. A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand told him it was the middle of the night. Grabbing the offending instrument, he didn’t try to hide his displeasure at being so rudely awakened.

“What is it?”

“I found her,” said Cooper’s disembodied voice.

Jacob bolted upright as a surge of hope streaked through him. “Where?”

“Washington State. Northeast of Seattle. A place called Wyattville.”

Jacob took a moment to calm himself. Then, reaching over to the nightstand, he switched on the lamp and grabbed a pen and paper. “Never heard of it.” In neat block letters he wrote the name of the town.

Cooper chuckled softly. “I don’t think many people have.”

“Is she okay?”

“Fine. She’s been here awhile. Working in a local diner and living in a boardinghouse.”

“And the girl?”

“Good. They’re here to stay.” Cooper paused before going on. “It even looks as though your daughter has something going with the local sheriff.”

“Something going?”

Cooper let out another short laugh. “Yeah. According to the local gossip mill, the two of them are a real item.”

“Does he know about her?” Having Maura involved with a local lawman complicated matters.

“I don’t think so. From everything I can gather about the guy, he’s a straight arrow.”

Jacob wondered what the hell Maura was thinking of to allow such a thing to happen. If the man knew who she was, then he was as guilty as she. And if he didn’t … well, she was skating on thin ice. But that was only part of the problem, Jacob realized. Because now that he’d found her, he wasn’t sure what he should do about it.

“What now?” Cooper asked, as if reading Jacob’s mind across the miles.

“Let me think.” Jacob sat lost in his own thoughts for a moment.

His first impulse was to catch the next flight to Seattle. But he had no idea how Maura would react to finding him on her doorstep. And what would he say to her? “Hello, dear, remember me? I’m the reason you’re in this mess. The person who turned his back on you. Your father. But now I’ve come to help. Now that your husband’s dead, now that they’re trying to take your baby away from you, I’m here.” He wouldn’t blame her if she slammed the door in his face.

He would have swallowed his pride anyway and taken the chance, if not for another possible problem. By going to Seattle and then on to Wyattville, he could be leading the authorities straight to her. And although he knew he could help her if she turned herself in, it had to be voluntary on her part.

“Anderson?” Cooper’s voice once again pierced Jacob’s thoughts, but he didn’t answer immediately. Making decisions usually came so easily for him. But not this time. It was an odd and unsettling experience.

“Watch her,” he said at last. He needed time. “Don’t approach her, but don’t lose her again either. I’ll get back to you.” He disconnected without waiting for the other man’s response.

With a sigh, Jacob leaned back against the headboard of his bed. Thank God, Cooper had found her. Closing his eyes, he once again considered his options. None of them seemed a clear choice. He couldn’t go to her. And if Cooper approached her, she might run again.

The dilemma pulled at him.

Somehow, he had to let her know he could help. He needed to convince her to give herself up and put herself in his hands. He knew time was running out. If Cooper found her, the authorities might be right behind. Or her boyfriend, the sheriff, might turn her in if he discovered her identity.

No, either Cooper or Jacob had to convince Maura to trust him, he realized.

With a derisive laugh, he shook his head. That wasn’t likely. And who could blame her? At least there was the note, he remembered. He’d thought far enough ahead to send something in case Cooper found her.

Jacob couldn’t remember the last time in his life when he was so unsure of his next move.