Putting Out Old Flames (26 page)

“Hey.” Chance pulled back, looked his son up and down. Completely unharmed. The last of his tension rolled away. “I get to carry an axe sometimes. That's pretty cool.”

Josh considered that. His face lit up. “Jane!” he screamed. Right in Chance's ear. But he couldn't blame the kid. He got that excited when he saw Jane, too. His son twisted away from his grip, threw himself at her.

Jane grabbed him before he fell. “Hey, buddy. Quite an adventure, huh?” Gathering him close, she put her nose on top of Josh's head, placed a kiss on his hair.

“I'm going to be a cop when I grow up.”

Chance frowned. Josh obviously hadn't considered it as well as he'd hoped.

Jane laughed. “Whatever you do, I'm sure your dad will be very proud.” She hefted Josh up, settled him more comfortably on her hip. “And I'm proud of you calling 9-1-1. Again. You're a really smart kid for knowing when to call for help.”

“I know.” He wiggled down Jane's body and grabbed Chance's hand.

Chance rolled his eyes. He would have to work with his son on his modesty. But today he'd let him enjoy his due props.

“Dad, Mom's over there. Come say hi.” Josh started pulling, and reluctantly, Chance let himself be propelled over to her. He didn't even want to look at the woman much less talk to her. And nothing he wanted to tell her could be said in front of Josh.

Annette held an ice pack to one cheek and stood talking with a cop. She was pale, but her eyes warmed when they caught sight of Josh. And that right there was her sole redeeming quality.

“I'm sorry our afternoon got messed up,” she said to Josh. “I promise next time we'll have fun.”

Chance turned to the cop. “Can I speak with my ex-wife? Are you done taking her statement?”

The woman nodded. “She'll need to come down to the station to file a report.” Flipping her notebook closed, she pushed it into her breast pocket. “When you get down to the station, ma'am, ask for me.” She nodded at them both, smiled at Josh, and walked away.

Annette put down the ice pack, smiled as brightly as she could around her swollen cheek. “Well, who's for pizza? My treat.”

Chance clenched his jaw so tight he could have ground diamonds into dust. He bared his teeth. “Buddy, go hang out with Jane for a bit. I need to talk to your mom.”

Annette watched Josh run to Jane, a brittle smile on her face. “I know what you're going to say.”

“I don't think you do.” Chance forced his voice low. Josh couldn't hear all he had to say. “If you did, you'd be jumping in the back of that patrol car, begging the officer to get you away from me.”

Annette rolled her eyes, and Chance felt the heat and anger that had settled in his gut rise through his body like it was on an express elevator. It was such an odd feeling that Chance stepped back, took a deep breath.

“It wasn't that big a deal,” she said. “Josh shouldn't have called 9-1-1. There was just a misunderstanding.”

He jerked his head at her face. “The bookie slipped and he accidentally hit you? You walked into his fist? How is that bruise a misunderstanding?”

Annette nudged a leaf with the toe of her brown suede pump. “That . . .” She cleared her throat. “He got more upset than he should have. I told him I'd pay! But when he found out I was from California, he thought I'd skip.”

Which raised a gut-churning thought. “Why are you here?”

“To see my son. We've been over this.”

Chance crossed his arms over his chest. Kept them from wrapping around Annette like a python, squeezing the life out of her. “Doesn't explain why you're in Clarion Township. A city twenty miles from Pineville. Is it just because this is where your bookie works? And how you found a bookie in the few times you've been here I don't want to know. Or is it because Clarion Township is right next to the interstate? Just how far were you planning on going with Josh today?”

She shifted her eyes sideways.

“Son of a bitch!” Chance clenched his hands into fists. “I'm calling the cops back over here. You were going to kidnap Josh?”

Annette snapped her head up, poked a manicured nail into his chest. “He's my son, too. It wasn't kidnapping. You've had him long enough.”

“Not according to the California court system. And I can guaran-goddamn-tee that you will not be getting custody of Josh. Ever.”

“You're going to have me arrested for kidnapping my own son?” A tinge of hysteria wound through her words. “You can't do that.”

Chance looked over to where Josh and Jane sat on a bench. His son was head down over Jane's smartphone, but Jane watched them, concern and worry written all over her face. What would it do to his son if Annette was arrested? Would he have to testify against her?

Josh wiggled on his seat, pointed at something on the screen to Jane. Giving him a big smile, Jane put out her fist for Josh to bump.

No. Chance forced his swollen throat to swallow. He couldn't do that to his son. He faced Annette. “Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to call my divorce attorney and tell him that you left rehab, continued to gamble, and put our son in danger. Again.”

Annette started to protest, and Chance raised his hand. “Shut up,” he said. “That's all public record now and I want the police report here to show up in the custody record. But the attempted kidnapping”—Chance swallowed again, barely able to breathe around those words—“I'll keep quiet about.”

The strain in Annette's face dissolved. He didn't let her enjoy the moment long. “Provided you tell your attorney to write up the documents that give me full custody of Josh permanently.”

“But—”

He stepped close. “You've lost custody of Josh either way. This way keeps you out of jail. For once in your life, do the right thing. You're no good for him.”

The look she sent their son almost had Chance softening his words. Almost. He let a part of himself feel bad for his ex-wife. And he hoped that she'd work on her problems and end up having a role in Josh's life. But that role wasn't going to be full-time mother. Josh deserved better.

“I'll call my lawyer,” she whispered. “You'll have the papers by the end of the month.”

“Good.”

“Can I say goodbye to him?” Annette asked.

“Yes.” Chance waved at Jane, indicating they should come over. She leaned down, said something to Josh, and pointed his way. His son dropped the phone on the bench and tore over to them. Jane followed more sedately and stopped about twenty feet away, obviously not comfortable joining in.

Annette bent down. “I have to leave again. Go back home to California.” She gave Josh a peck on the cheek, a small squeeze around his shoulders. “Be a good boy for your father and remember I love you.”

“Why don't you just live here now?” Josh asked. “It's pretty nice.”

Annette ran her hand over a cowlick on Josh's head. It popped back up. “It's not that simple, baby. But I'll talk with your dad, try to work out a time when I can come see you again.”

Chance ground his teeth. He knew it was good for his son to know his mom cared, but he hoped she didn't call for a while.

“Okay. Bye.” Josh stepped to his father's side, hooked a finger in Chance's pocket.

Annette looked between the two of them, nodded, and walked away. Only one patrol car remained, almost as if the incident had never occurred. Chance thought about how everything could have gone differently, and he scooped Josh into his arms, held tight.

Instead of trying to wiggle away, Josh wrapped his chubby arms around Chance's neck, laid his head on his shoulder. The feeling was just about perfect.

He locked eyes with Jane, took a step toward her. She gave him a small smile and started walking to meet him halfway.

“You smell funny, Dad.”

Jane heard that from ten feet away, widened her smile.

“I was working out before I came to get you, buddy. I'll take a shower soon.” For his son to comment, a boy who'd once made a fort out of garbage, Chance must smell pretty ripe. Normally he wouldn't inflict his sweaty body on a woman. Right now, he didn't care.

Holding out his arm, the one not wrapped around Josh, he paused, waiting for Jane to take the final steps. She moved into his body, wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her head on his chest. Obviously, she didn't care either.

Chance looked down at his two armfuls. His son and the woman he loved. Their bodies nestled against his, warming him from the outside in.

This feeling was absolutely perfect.

J
ane stood in the shadows off to the side of a small platform in city hall. The mayor and Judge Nichols were speaking to the assembled audience, giving a rundown on the fundraiser, how much money it'd raised for their charity. Soon the judge would introduce her and Chance as the cochairs, and they, along with Chief Finnegan, would present the absurdly oversize check to the representative of the charity.

Jane had argued over the added expense of the supersized cardboard check, saying it was a silly tradition. The judge had been adamant. Some traditions weren't altered. So the thirty-dollar tradition rested behind the podium, awaiting its presentation.

The fine hairs on the back of Jane's neck raised a second before a warm body pressed into her from behind.

“Those guys really like to talk,” Chance said in her ear. “And the mayor wasn't even involved with the fundraiser. How can he find so much to say about it?”

Jane smiled. “He's a politician. Even for the local ones, it's a required skill, the ability to jabber on and say nothing for half an hour.”

“Are they ever going to introduce us?” Chance sighed. “I'd much rather spend my time with you doing something else.”

A finger trailed from her ear, over her neck, and down her spine. She shivered at his touch. “It doesn't even sound like they're close to wrapping this up. If this is boring for us, Josh must be about to explode.”

“Your mom's keeping him entertained,” Chance said.

Jane sought her mother in the crowd. Sure enough, she and Josh sat, heads together, eyes on identical game consoles, their fingers flying over the small buttons. “Before she met Josh, I don't think my mom ever played a video game. Now she has her own Nintendo 3DS.”

Chance brushed his lips over her neck before heading back to her ear. “She said it's better for Josh if someone plays the games with him so it's not isolating. With all the babysitting she's been doing for us, getting her the game system seemed the least I could do.”

Jane wondered if this was something she should be concerned about. She didn't want Josh, or her mother, getting addicted to playing video games. But Chance played outside with Josh every opportunity he got, and Edith had other things to distract her.

Her primary distraction sat on a folding chair near the other end of the platform, looking uncomfortable in his dress blues. Chief Finnegan twisted his neck to look back at Edith with a mournful expression. It was clear he'd rather be playing video games with the two of them than taking part in the ceremony.

Since the two of them had gone public with their relationship, the chief had spent most of his free time at Edith's apartment, and helping her around her shop. Watching the huge Irishman try to explain the benefits of lavender oil to a customer had been the highlight of Jane's week. She and Chance had laughed so hard they'd cried.

“I don't like waiting,” Chance growled. His deep tone tickled her eardrum and did funny things to her stomach.

She huffed out a small laugh. “You're the king of waiting. If something's on your master plan ten years from now, you'll wait patiently for it to play out.”

“I don't know how true that is anymore, but speaking of plans”—Chance pressed closer into her—“I have a question for you.”

Jane leaned back, let her body relax into his. When would the mayor ever shut up? With Chance so close, she grew impatient, too. Their time could be much better spent doing other things. Naughty things. “If this is about that thing you asked me to do last night, the answer is still no.”

His chest vibrated with quiet laughter. “Not about that,” he whispered in her ear, “but I bet I can still convince you to do it.”

“Only in your dreams.” Maybe. Chance was awfully talented at convincing her to push past her limits.

“This is about the future,” he said. “I want to know how long it will be before I can propose without having you think I'm asking because of Josh.”

Jane's heart leaped around in her chest like a rabbit caught in a trap. Chance must have been able to feel it. He placed one hand on her hip, holding her to him like he thought she was about to run away.

Fat chance of that. If they hadn't been in a room full of people, Jane would have thrown her arms and legs around Chance and squeezed the breath out of him. He wanted to marry her. Her Chance. The man she'd thought she'd lost forever.

Sucking down deep breaths, she tried to calm her rioting emotions. She'd thought they might be heading in this direction. But thinking and knowing were two different things.

The mayor wrapped up his speech, and the judge stepped forward to introduce Jane and Chance. He raised an arm in their direction.

Not wanting to leave his embrace, but knowing she had to; Jane took a small step forward. She glanced back over her shoulder and caught his eye. A sliver of vulnerability crossed his face, but his eyes were full of determination. Once Chance set his sights on a plan, he'd do just about anything to make it happen.

She thought about teasing him. Making him work for it. But she was tired of games. She just wanted Chance. He was offering her a family, and she didn't want to live without it for one moment longer.

Grabbing his hand, she pulled him after her toward the stage. She leaned into him and whispered, “No time at all.”