Red Carpet Romance (18 page)

* * * *

The next morning, Quinn and Susanna
came down to the lobby with Junior. She had two bags, plus the baby’s
paraphernalia. She picked up the infant while Quinn collapsed the stroller and
kissed her.

“It won’t be long before this is
over. I promise.” He kissed her again.

Crash took the luggage and stroller.
Quinn went outside and was immediately surrounded by reporters. He stood
listening to their questions while slowly moving toward Seventy-Fifth Street,
bringing the knot of reporters with him. A black SUV rounded the corner and
pulled up in front of the building at an angle, blocking view of the vehicle’s
license plate. Quinn gave the thumbs up signal to Crash, who went outside and
loaded up the big car.

He opened the back door. Susanna
came out carrying Junior, turning her face away from the vultures lying in wait
for her. Quinn strolled closer to the side street, steering the men away from
the young woman and infant. She fastened the baby in the safety seat as fast as
she could and closed the door.

At the sound of the door slamming,
the journalists turned just in time to witness Susanna climb in the front seat.
The reporters took off running toward the vehicle, but the driver pulled away
from the curb a moment before they arrived. A couple of them chased the car,
hollering out a question or two, but the driver swerved her way through traffic
and turned the corner onto Seventy-Fourth Street, speeding toward Columbus
Avenue, leaving them in the dust. A few reporters swore as the car disappeared
from view.

A smile of satisfaction graced
Quinn’s handsome face as he turned to the crowd and shrugged. “Now isn’t that
just like a woman?” He asked, barely able to contain his glee.

* * * *

When they pulled onto the West Side
Highway heading north, the driver spoke for the first time. “I’m Maggie Carter.
Quinn’s sister. You must be Susanna Barnes?”

Two hours later, they turned into
the driveway of a farmhouse in Pine Grove, New York. The two women sat in the
car for a bit since the baby was sleeping.

“Your place?”

“It’s the house Quinn and I grew up
in. Our mother has moved into an apartment in Oak Bend.”

“Thank you so much for taking Junior
and me in. Quinn seems to feel there’s some danger?”

“I’ll let him tell you. He’ll be
here this afternoon.”

Susanna smiled. “He’s coming?”

“Don’t think he’d just leave his
girlfriend and a baby like that, do you?”

Susanna blushed.

“Not Quinn. He’s a very responsible
man. Come inside. I need a cup of coffee after that daring rescue. Makes me
feel like Joe Martin,” she chuckled.

Junior woke up howling, and Susanna
lifted him out of the car seat, holding him against her chest.

“He’s a cutie. What’s his name?”
Maggie ran her finger over his cheek. The baby stopped crying and focused his
attention on her.

“His real name? I don’t know. Quinn
calls him ‘Junior,’ so I do too.”

“You’re the nanny, right?” Maggie
looked Susanna over from head to toe.

She nodded.

“He sure got lucky with you—good
with the kid and damn pretty. Let’s go inside, Cal’s waiting with lunch.”

“Cal?”

“My husband.”

Susanna nodded and followed Maggie
inside. A tall, rangy man with thinning, brown hair going to gray stepped up
and extended his hand. “Cal Carter.” She slung Junior into a comfortable
position on her hip. His jeans and boots were worn, but his T-shirt looked new.
She clasped his strong, lean hand and gave it a good shake. “Gotta grip like a
dude,” Cal chuckled. Susanna blushed. “Got bags out in the car?”

Maggie nodded. “Come this way,
Susanna, let me get you and the little one settled in.”

“He’s mighty cute. Reminds me of
Jess when he was a baby.” Maggie smiled at her husband and stopped to give him
a quick kiss before leading Susanna up the stairs.

“This room is equipped with baby
stuff and a full size bed. Quinn is across the hall. Your sleeping arrangements
are up to you. None of my business.” She wiped her hands together. Cal followed
them and deposited their things in the room.

“Got sandwiches. You all must be
hungry,” Cal said.

“Ravenous!” Maggie laughed.

Hmm,
a man who cooks. Nice!
After lunch, Susanna put Junior down for a nap.
Maggie offered her another cup of coffee, and the women settled into rocking
chairs on the porch. The farmhouse was set back about sixty feet from the road.

Across the way was an overgrown
field dotted with blue and white wildflowers, and a house set way back, flanked
by two huge maple trees. The air was the freshest the young woman had breathed
since leaving Willow Falls on that fateful day with her father. The smells of
freshly mown grass and summer flowers tickled her nose.

The two women enjoyed the peaceful
songs of chickadees and the hum of bumblebees, plus the occasional visit from a
hummingbird at the special feeder on the corner of the porch. They shared
silence, not needing to fill the air with idle chatter.

Rescued from the never-ending sea of
reporters dogging her steps and intruding on her life, calm settled over
Susanna. Her muscles relaxed, her shoulders dropped, and her eyes became slits.
Maggie gently dropped a cotton throw over her guest’s lap and tiptoed back in
the house, the babysitter’s last image of Quinn’s sister as sleep came.

* * * *

Quinn had been detained in the city
until the next day. Susanna hadn’t realized how accustomed she was to having
him around until they were apart. When he finally arrived, she received a big
greeting, with a long hug. He even kissed Junior’s head. While Maggie and Cal
had tried to make her feel comfortable, it had been awkward to be there without
the love of her life.

Cal grilled steak and potatoes out
in the back while Maggie and Susanna made salad and set the table. When they
all sat down, all eyes turned to Quinn for an explanation. He told them about
Tiffany’s threat.

“Junior’s mom is coming in a week,
and this nightmare will be over.”

“He’s not a nightmare,” Susanna said
quietly, toying with her salad.

“No, he isn’t.” Quinn glanced at the
baby, sitting at the table in his highchair, watching the adults eat, and
toying with a few Cheerios. “But hide and seek with the press is driving me
nuts. Annemarie assured me she’d be back for him in six days.” Quinn cut off a
piece of steak.

“Annemarie? I should have known,”
Maggie sniffed.

Susanna’s ears pricked up.
His family knows Junior’s mom?
Suspicion
flew through her veins. They all agreed the sooner life went back to normal,
the better off they would be.
Except me.
I’ll be jobless and…maybe homeless? Will Quinn toss me out with the trash when
Junior leaves?
Susanna wondered what she’d do.

“Don’t go there, Maggie.” Quinn
turned toward Susanna. “I have a surprise for you tomorrow.” She raised her
eyebrows. “Annie asked me to—”

“Annie? You spoke to my sister
behind my back?”

“Not behind your back. I had to tell
her where I was taking you, didn’t I?”

“Why?” Susanna put a piece of potato
in her mouth.

“Because if you disappeared…” He
took a sip of his beer.

“Cell phones, remember?”

“You were in the paper today.
Splashed all over the pages of
Celebs R
Us
, fleeing in an SUV.”

“She can call me and…” She cut a
small piece of steak and stabbed it with her fork.

“And what will you tell her? You
don’t know anything.”

‘You’ve got a point.” She washed
down her food with a swallow of cool beer.

“Seems the lawyer for your dad’s
estate needs you to sign some papers, so we’re going to Willow Falls. I’d like
to see where you grew up.”

“And Junior?”

“Maggie’s agreed to take him for the
day.”

Susanna’s heart sang.
A date. Kind of a date. Just the two of us.
She
grinned. “Awesome.”

He joined his fingers with hers. The
table got quiet while Maggie and Cal stared at the two lovers holding hands.

After dinner, Susanna put Junior to
bed. The adults played a few games of hearts, where the competition between
siblings got fierce, and the teasing and gloating were hilarious. At ten
o’clock, she excused herself and went upstairs alone. Disregarding the
quizzical stare from Quinn, she marched up the stairs and slipped into the
comfortable double bed.

The room was a girl’s room. It was
painted pink with a pink, lavender, and white calico bedspread. Two fleece
blankets and two pillows invited her to rest her weary head and stretch out.
The ruffled café curtains added just enough privacy. Junior slept peacefully
under a baby blanket in a portable crib. She stared at the ceiling, which was
dotted with a few stick-ons of pastel-colored unicorns and shooting stars.

Quinn stopped by an hour later. He
eased down on the bed.

“I’m awake,” she said, rolling over
to face him.

“Don’t you want to sleep in my
room?”

She shook her head. “I’m comfortable
here.”

“But we could make love or just
cuddle, if you want.”

“Nope. Seems like taking advantage.
Rude, on some level.”

“Hey, my sister was no angel. I could tell you stories—”
Susanna put her fingers on his lips. “Okay, okay. I get it. Her house, her
rules.” He said.

“She didn’t say I had to sleep here.
I’m more comfortable here.”

He leaned down to kiss her.
“Goodnight, honey,” he whispered, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders then
palming her cheek.

“Sweet dreams, Quinn.”

Susanna rolled over and closed her
eyes. Thoughts about spending the next day alone with him put a smile on her
face as she drifted off to sleep.

* * * *

Up at six, as usual, with Junior,
Susanna threw on jeans and a tank top and padded downstairs. After feeding him,
she strapped the baby in the stroller and headed for a walk down the quiet,
country road. Entertained by birdsong, she tried to name all the different
flowers growing wild among the weeds. She stopped after dandelions and Queen
Anne’s lace. The early morning air was cool and pleasant as it caressed her
skin.

Junior made talking sounds, kicked
his feet, and waved his hands. She was transported back to the days of her
youth when she’d leave for early morning adventures in the woods with her best
friend. Though only eight years old, the girls had roamed free, searching for
signs of wildlife, raccoon tracks, deer droppings, birds’ nests, and discarded
treasures.

When they returned to the house, she
was surprised to find everyone awake. Quinn was yawning over a cup of coffee in
the kitchen. Maggie looked bright-eyed.

“Gimme that little critter,” she
said, reaching out her arms. Susanna handed Junior over.

The expression of uncertainty on his
little face gave her pause, but Maggie cooed at him and started talking to him
in a calm voice. Fascinated by Maggie, he moved his gaze to her eyes from
Susanna’s.

“Like Cal said, reminds me of our
boy, Jess. He was the cutest baby. Became a hellion at thirteen, but he’s
calmed down now at sixteen.” She placed Junior in his high chair and scattered
some Cheerios on the tray for him.

“Where are your kids, Maggie?”
Susanna asked, sitting down next to Quinn. Cal reached into the cabinet for
another mug, filled it with coffee, and placed it in front of her.

“Summer camp. Jess is off to rodeo
camp. Julia and Merry are at a regular camp learning photography and swimming.”

“But you live here with all this
beautiful countryside.”

“They get bored in the summer and
complain their friends all go away. We balked at first. But now Cal and I look
forward to our summer honeymoon without the kids.” She blushed as she gazed at
Cal.

He chuckled. “Damn right. Nice to
have some peace and quiet and a little…uh…private time with my beautiful wife.”

He was right. Maggie
was
beautiful. At thirty-nine, she had a
trim figure, shoulder-length, glossy brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.
Looks run in their family.
Susanna
noticed a resemblance between gorgeous Quinn and his pretty sister, much his
senior.

“Go on, you two. Get dressed, hop
over to Sadie’s in Oak Bend for strawberry waffles, and get on your way. I can
handle this little guy.” She shot a loving look at the baby, who was stuffing
cereal in his mouth.

Within half an hour, Quinn had
Susanna’s hand in his, leading her through the underbrush behind the house.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” They came to a small
clearing then crossed the road. He stopped in front of a half-built log home
with a garage abutting Cedar Lake. “Well, what do you think?”

“What do I think about what?”

“The house?”

“It isn’t finished.”

“I know, I know, but do you like
it?”

She walked to the right, circling
around the house. “It’s charming.”

He grinned. “I built it. Not by
myself. Gavin helped me…taught me, actually.”

“You built this?” Her eyes widened.

“Yep.” His chest swelled with pride.

“It’s fantastic. Come on, take me
through it.” She tugged on his hand until he pulled keys out of his pocket and
unlocked the front door.

“Just a quick tour.” He glanced at
his watch. “We have to go.”

They strolled from room to room.
Quinn pointed out what still had to be done along with some of the special
details he had perfected. The kitchen had only a sink, with space for other
appliances. The bathroom had a sink and toilet. There were two bedrooms
upstairs and one downstairs with a large air mattress in the corner.