Keeping Katie (A Mother's Heart #1) (31 page)

She pulled away from Alan then, sitting upright in her seat while slipping her hands from his. “He refused my call,” she said in a stoic voice that defied the strong emotions Alan heard in her words. “Not once, but several times. I tried him at his office and at home. Finally, his secretary asked me to stop bothering them. I didn’t call again.”

She didn’t say anything else for a few moments, and Alan sensed the pain in her silence. He suspected her father had hurt her deeply. Despite her talk about their disagreements, all her brave words about how she’d defied him, Alan guessed that she loved the older man more than she would care to admit. When he’d refused to help her, it must have broken her apart.

“Anyway,” Maura said, interrupting his thoughts. “That’s why I didn’t call him when Katie’s birth mother sued for custody. I thought he’d refuse me again, and I couldn’t …” She didn’t finish her sentence, but Alan heard the words she didn’t say. She couldn’t handle another rejection from her father, a man she obviously loved deeply, so she hadn’t even called him.

Alan pulled Maura back against him, pressing her head down on his shoulder. She didn’t resist. She remained silent after that, her words obviously dried up. After a while, she fell into a restless slumber.

Alan couldn’t sleep. Not at first.

His thoughts stayed with Jacob Anderson. Anger built inside him as he considered what Maura had told him about her father. Alan wanted to throttle the man for hurting her, but he pushed the pointless emotion aside. Anger wouldn’t do them any good. He had a fair idea what lay ahead of them in Miami and knew it could get rough. And as much as he wanted to protect Maura and Katie, there would be little he could do. Unfortunately, their fate rested in the hands of Jacob Anderson and his skill at negotiating the legal system. Still, Alan wasn’t at all sure they could trust the man. And he sure as hell didn’t like him.

He shifted in his seat, and Maura murmured sleepily against his chest. He touched her cheek gently with his free hand and kissed the top of her head. With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes.

He couldn’t lose her.

As the plane headed east into the rising sun, Alan slept fitfully. He dreamed of cold, impersonal courtrooms and a tall thin stranger with hawk eyes and silver-tipped hair. His head dropped forward and he woke with a start, relieved that he still sat on the plane, with Maura tucked against him. Then he fell again into a light slumber, and he was back in that courtroom, searching for Katie, hearing her cries but unable to find her in the crowd of people, all with blank gray eyes and hard faces.

Both he and Maura awoke as the pilot announced their final descent into Miami. Maura moved over to sit next to Katie for the landing. Once they were on the ground, Alan set Katie on his lap, and the three of them waited for the rest of the passengers to disembark. When everyone was off, Maura met his gaze and there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.

Neither of them knew for sure what lay at the other end of the jetway. Would there be child welfare people waiting to take Katie away from them? Would the police be waiting to arrest Maura? Or would there just be Jacob Anderson?

Alan reached over and took Maura’s hand. “Whatever happens,” he tried to reassure her, “we’re in this together.”

She nodded, but he could see the effort it cost her to keep her fear under control. “Promise me you’ll make sure Katie’s okay,” she said. “Don’t let them put her just anywhere.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“Promise me.” She squeezed his hand tight to emphasize her words. “I might not be in any position—”

“Hush.” He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “It will be all right. I promise.” With Katie balanced against his chest and Maura’s hand in his, he stood. “Come on, we’ve got to go now.”

Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she nodded and let him lead her off the plane. They walked silently down the jetway, hand in hand, and came to a halt as they stepped inside the terminal building.

The gate area was almost empty of the plane’s other passengers, and no police or officials waited for them, waving legal papers in their faces. They made their way to baggage claim, and there Alan spotted a tall, blond, muscularly built man leaning against a wall. Alan recognized him immediately. Wrapping his free arm about Maura’s shoulders, he maneuvered her toward the other man.

“Cooper,” Alan said. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find you here.”

“No more than I am to see you.” Cooper met his gaze for a moment, and then turned to Maura. Alan instinctively tightened his hold on her. “The name’s Sam Cooper, ma’am. Your father sent me to fetch you.”

Maura glanced quickly at Alan, then turned back to the other man. “Where is he?”

“Taking care of some legal matters.” Cooper smiled knowingly. Then, reaching over, he relieved Maura of her suitcase, leaving her to carry Katie’s stuffed elephant. “Now, if you’ll come with me …” With a gesture for them to follow, he turned and started toward the exit.

Alan hesitated only a second before saying to Maura, “It’s okay. We’ve met before. Let’s see where he takes us.” Releasing his hold on her, Alan adjusted Katie in his arms as they started walking.

When they caught up to Cooper, Maura asked, “Where are we going?”

“Your father’s arranged a place for you to stay.” Then, with a quick glance at Alan, he added, “But I don’t think he was counting on the sheriff here.”

“I guess he’s in for a surprise then,” Alan said.

Cooper chuckled softly. “Can’t wait.”

By the time Cooper loaded the three of them into a waiting limo, Maura felt ready to collapse.

They drove north.

Maura wanted to close her eyes, but fear and uncertainty wouldn’t allow it. Not to mention Katie, who had come fully awake as they made their way through the Miami airport. First, she explored the inside of the limo with all its various buttons and compartments. Then she discovered a new audience in Sam Cooper. She happily scrambled from one window to the other, from Maura’s lap to Alan’s, just to see Cooper’s response. To Maura’s surprise, Sam Cooper didn’t let the little girl down. He laughed and talked to her while pointing out sights the child couldn’t possibly understand. And Katie would ooh and aah and giggle, and Sam would laugh with her.

Maura suspected that Cooper was the man who had delivered her father’s note to Rita. Possibly, he was responsible for finding her. She knew her father often employed an assortment of nontraditional individuals to assist with his cases. Men with unique skills. She’d never met any of them, but she would have pictured them much differently than Sam Cooper. She would have thought them harder, more remote. And she never would have imagined one of them enjoying the company of a child.

Along with her surprise at Cooper, the sight and sounds of her daughter’s happiness did strange things to Maura. She knew she should be enjoying this time with Katie. Yet the thought that Katie might soon be taken from her was a weight about her heart.

Forty-five minutes later, the limo pulled up to the guard gate of one of Miami’s more exclusive neighborhoods. The driver lowered his window and nodded to the guard. The gate opened immediately.

“Your father doesn’t mess around,” Alan commented, taking Maura’s hand in his.

Maura shot him a shaky grin, but it was Cooper who answered. “The man has a way about him.”

Leave it to her father to put them up in an estate, Maura thought a little bitterly. No hotel room or small apartment for Jacob Anderson. He’d rented a million-dollar showplace right on the Intracoastal Waterway.

It didn’t take long, however, for Maura to forget her disgruntled thoughts about her father. The house offered cool refuge from the thick Florida heat and a welcoming housekeeper, Mrs. Berd, who took immediate charge of Maura’s energetic three-year-old. Then Maura caught sight of the large bed in the room made ready for her and wanted nothing more than a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. She knew it would work wonders for the way she saw the world.

After making sure Katie would be properly fed and looked after, Maura left the men on the patio, retreated to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. It felt like heaven. Even so, at first she thought she wouldn’t be able to shut off her thoughts and fears. But her exhaustion, the comfortable bed, and the soft hum of the air conditioner combined to prove her wrong. It only took a few moments for her to fall into a deep sleep.

Hours later, Maura awoke slowly to the feel of a hard thigh pressed against her side. Gentle fingers caressed her cheek. Opening her eyes, she warmed to the love reflected in Alan’s features.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

He answered her with the lightest brushing of his lips against hers. “Feel better?” he asked softly.

“I do now.” She lifted her hands to his face and deepened the kiss, wishing the moment could last forever. But the tendrils of reality crept back into her thoughts even before their lips parted.

“Where’s Katie?” she asked.

“In the living room. With your father.”

Maura pulled herself to a sitting position. “He’s here?”

Alan nodded. She glanced toward the door and then back to Alan.

“It’s okay,” he said.

Maura swung her legs off the bed. “I need a few minutes to get cleaned up.”

“Sure.” Alan stood and headed for the door. Then he stopped and seemed to study her before asking, “Are you all right?”

Maura forced a smile. “Sure. I’m fine.”

“Okay.” He hesitated a moment longer before opening the door. “I’ll be in the other room if you need me.”

Maura waited until he’d closed the door before dragging herself to her feet. Catching sight of herself in the vanity mirror, she almost moaned out loud. She quickly grabbed a brush out of her purse and ran it through her short dark hair.

What would her father think when he saw her? What would he say about her hair? Shaking her head, she turned away from the mirror. Funny—after all they’d been through and all that lay ahead of them—she still cared about her father’s opinion. The thought irritated her for reasons she didn’t bother to dissect, and she tossed the brush back into her purse.

It took her a few more minutes to freshen up. At the door to the room she stopped, suddenly unsure of what she would find on the other side. It had been ten years since she’d seen her father. Nearly five since she’d spoken to him. Bracing herself, she turned the knob and stepped into the hallway.

She followed the sound of voices until she came to the living room. For a moment, she stood on the threshold, watching. Alan saw her first. He stood with his back to the room, staring out a set of sliding glass doors that opened onto a lush pool area. Evidently sensing her presence, he turned and met her gaze. He offered so much with just a look. Love. Compassion. And strength. She smiled softly, gratefully acknowledging his gifts. Then, in silent communication, they both shifted their attention to Katie and Jacob Anderson.

Jacob had Katie on his lap, an open picture book in front of them. Maura experienced a tinge of jealousy. She couldn’t remember her father ever reading to her when she was a child. He’d always been too busy. There had been a string of nannies, and then, when she was older, governesses. But here he sat with his granddaughter, attempting to entertain her in a way he knew nothing about. Her jealousy vanished. He was trying, and she’d never known him to do even that before.

He looked up and met her gaze. “Maura.”

In that one word she heard so much. Or was it in his eyes? There was love and sorrow, pain and apology. Could her father have really changed so much?

“Mommy, you’re awake.”

Katie’s words diverted Maura’s attention. She smiled and laughed lightly. “It looks like you’ve been kept busy enough.”

Katie smiled in return, and Jacob stood, setting her on the floor. The child carried the picture book over to Maura, who squatted down to look at it.

“Look what Grandpa Jacob bought me,” Katie said, showing her mother the book. “He’s been reading it to me, too.”

“Wow. That was really nice of him. Did you thank him?”

“Uh-huh.” Katie nodded.

“Good girl.” Maura pulled the child into her arms and gave her a hug. Then she looked up and met her father’s gaze. He stood across the room, in front of the chair where he’d been holding her daughter. There was an uncertainty in his eyes and stance that she’d never seen before.

Rising, she took a single step in his direction—unsure herself of how best to greet him. Then suddenly, without knowing who had moved first, she was in his arms. For a few moments, she forgot why he was here and what they faced in the weeks to come. She only knew that she finally had her father back.