Second Chances (15 page)

When Brian carried fresh coffee outside to the deck, he found his precious daughter sleeping, carefully protected in Karina's arms. His heart's defenses crumbled. How could he not care for such a woman?

Quietly, he placed the coffee beside Karina.

"Do you want me to lay her down inside?" he whispered.

No response. Perhaps he spoke too softly. He leaned closer to repeat his words when her even breathing caught his attention.

Both his angels were sleeping.

Brian stepped inside to pick up a cotton throw blanket from the sofa in the living room and brought it outside to drape over the sleeping beauties. He settled back in his own chair and sipped his coffee, content to watch over them, forever. He wanted Karina desperately. He wanted her in his bed, he wanted her in his life, but did he want her in his heart? Did he even have a choice any longer? He'd grown up a lot since university. Matured. Loved, married, become a father and divorced in the meantime.

It was far too late now, anyway. He wasn't going to move her out of his life. But maybe…he could move her into his house. It was the perfect answer. The real danger was, with her living in his house, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist having her taking up permanent residence in his heart.

And maybe that was okay too.

With an incredible feeling of rightness to his world, he settled back in his chair, enjoying the sunshine and warm breeze.

Marly arrived to collect Chelsea soon after.

"Your relationship is serious, isn't it?"

Marly's question surprised him, but it shouldn't have. She'd always understood him. "Yes, it is." He grinned sheepishly. "At least, I hope it is."

"Good, it's time." She led the way to the car.

He stared after her. The simplicity of her statement striking him. It was time. He'd been alone for several years now. Healed from his divorce and was ready to move on. Feeling more settled than he could remember in a long time, Brian carried the still-sleeping toddler to her car seat. He wasn't sure just how Chelsea was going to handle waking up and finding Karina gone, but his gut told him just how Karina was going to react. He'd just finished a second cup of coffee when Karina stirred.

"Good afternoon, beautiful." He said softly. "How was your nap?"

Karina smiled and stretched, pushing the blanket off her legs. "It felt wonderful, thanks."

Brian could tell the moment she realized Chelsea was gone. Her expression fell, and her usual bubbly effervescence disappeared.

"Chelsea…?"

"Her mom picked her up a little while ago."

"Oh."

Brian shifted his chair closer to hers and reached out to take her hand. "You're wonderful with her, you know. And she adores you."

Karina's answering smile was halfhearted. "She's easy to adore."

"I was thinking about something while you were sleeping."

Her gaze turned wary. "What?"

"There's a way you could see her more regularly. And, well, me, too, if you wanted." He took a deep breath. "What if you moved in here, with me?"

Shocked silence filled the air.

An array of emotions flickered over Karina's face before she hopped up from her chair, grabbed her purse and keys and headed off the deck toward the driveway. "I have to go. Thanks for lunch and the time with Chelsea."

He let her bolt. After all, he knew how to find her later. Besides, she obviously needed a little time to consider his idea. He rolled his eyes. Like more than a little.

***

"So what if I ran?" she muttered to herself. It didn't matter. But it did matter. She knew that. Brian's suggestion scared her. She hadn't seen it coming. Not from him.
She'd
thought of it, dreamt of it. But she wanted to move in permanently—not because he felt protective. Talk about pushing her buttons. She hadn't just run—she'd panicked.

Confused, Karina took the last corner to Sandra's house, relief filling her at the sight of the cozy, familiar home.

She pulled in beside Sandra, who was just climbing into her car. The twins came racing over to see her, and their cheerful greetings drained away her temper. Max danced in circles around them, barking playfully. She frowned at the dog. What was Max doing out? "Hi guys."

"Hi Karina. You left Max out! But that's okay, 'cause we're looking after him. We're going to soccer practice now. Can we take him with us?"

No, Karina hadn't left Max out. She knew that for sure. She was always careful that way. Both cats and the dog had been inside when she left. She took a deep breath and looked at her door. Nothing looked out of place.

"Sure. No problem, as long as it's okay with your mom."

The boys grinned and dashed over to their car, shouting, "Great! Come on, Max. Let's go."

Karina waved goodbye as the car pulled away, a careful smile pasted on her lips. Once they were out of sight, she walked slowly up to her door. She wanted to call Brian, but he'd use this as a perfect logic to ask her to move in with him again. And right about now, staring down at the closed door and worried what she'd find behind it, she'd damn near jump at the chance.

Should she even enter? Of course. There was a small chance that she really had left the dog out. Who could be sure? She'd been so excited for her date that it was possible…maybe.

Reaching a hesitant hand out, she turned the knob and watched in disbelief as the door opened. It was unlocked.

Her hand dove into her pocket for her cell phone. "Brian," she started without preamble. "My door is unlocked and Max was outside. I know I left him in and locked the door on my way to your place."

"Don't go in. I'm on my way."

When she didn't answer, his voice snapped through the phone lines. "Karina! Are you listening?"

She stared at her open door, dread building deep in her belly. "Yes. I'm walking back to my car. I'm scared." She turned and ran back to her car, getting in and locking all the doors.

"Good. I'll be there in a few minutes."

She desperately wanted to make sure her cats were okay…but a big part of her dreaded what she might find.

Brian had to have broken every speed limit because he came ripping around the corner in record time. "Oh, thank God," she whispered. She opened her door and ran over to him.

He hugged her fiercely. "Let me take a look, if there is something wrong, I'll call Markham."

"I want to go in."

"I'm going in first." He set her back slightly to look down into her face. "If it's fine, then you can come in. If it's not, then we call Markham. Okay?"

She firmed up her lower lip and nodded. "It's Misty and Mugs I'm worried about."

He gave a curt nod. "I'll go check."

He strode toward her door and she followed a few steps behind. She chewed on her bottom lip when he pushed the door open with his foot and disappeared inside. "Oh, please let the cats be fine," she murmured.

Brian came to the door and waved her in. "There doesn't appear to be anything wrong, but there's no sign of the cats."

"Oh no." she ran inside. "Misty! Mugsy? Where are you?" She walked toward her bedroom. "They hate strangers. They accepted the boys right off the bat and I'd never seen that before."

"Hating strangers is probably a good thing. If Ian was here, then they'd have hid from him."

She ran to her bedroom closet and pushed the door open. "Misty, baby? Are you in here?"

A tiny plaintive mewl came from the back. "Oh, thank God. Come here, baby." Karina reached up and tugged the cat down from the closet shelf, cooing to her all the while. "Where's your sister, huh, baby?"

Just then, Mugsy twisted around Karina's ankles, having appeared from the bottom of the closet. "Oh here she is." Karina smiled with relief. Ignoring the cats' complaints she scooped the second one into her arms and carried them both to the kitchen where she opened up a can of food for them. Once they were eating, she looked over at Brian. "So…he didn't break in?"

"We need to look around and see." Brian closed the door so the cats wouldn't go out. "Let's do a tour and see if anything is missing. It might have been the twins too, you know."

"No." Karina immediately shook her head. "It wouldn't have been. I have rules and they respect them."

"And they are kids. Rules are very bendable at that age," Brian replied.

The kitchen looked normal and so did the living room. The suite was small enough that it didn't take long to go over every inch. Once back in the living room, she turned to Brian, feeling very puzzled. "I don't see anything wrong."

"Good. Then we don't need Markham to stop by."

She shrugged. "I guess not. It's very odd, though. And disconcerting." She hated the sense of violation mixed with her fear that she'd brought this on herself. What if she'd been in such a rush she had forgotten to lock to the door, maybe she hadn't even shut it properly. Max was a smart dog. If it had opened even a crack, he'd have easily gotten it all the way open.

She turned around to see Brian testing the couch. He stretched out full length, his feet dangling over the arm. Karina stared at him uncertainly. "You're too big for that couch." She realized immediately the lameness of her words. She obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

He chuckled quietly. "Maybe, but if I'm staying here, I doubt you're ready to invite me to your bed. Or am I wrong?" He raised a questioning brow.

"No! No, I'm not." Her cheeks tingled and felt hot, and she knew they were bright red. "You're staying here?" She was both delighted and confused.

Brian stood and walked toward her. He pulled her stiff body into his arms. With his chin resting on top of her head, he held her, waiting for her to relax. "I'm not trying to upset you. I'm trying to keep you safe."

"You aren't sure that Ian wasn't here, are you?"

"No one can be sure. I know that you would have most likely locked the door." He squeezed her a little bit tighter, letting the implications soak in. Then he added the final touch. "Let's not have something bad happen to someone else we care about, like Sandra and the twins, because we didn't do enough to keep
them
safe."

Finally, very quietly, she whispered, "All right."

But what would this step mean?

"Your place or mine?" Brian asked quietly.

"If we're doing this to minimize the danger, then we should be as far away from Sandra and the twins as possible." Karina suggested carefully. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to them. Ian hasn't targeted them but if he comes here, the twins are liable to cross his path and who knows what he might do."

"Then my place it is."

Karina headed into her bedroom. She forced herself to do the job at hand and not think too far ahead. Clothes for a week. She could always come back and get more if she needed to. Right now, she needed essentials. She hauled the large suitcase back out to the living room, then returned to her dresser and pulled open the top drawer.

And jumped back.

"Brian!"

He came running.

She pointed to the mangled rose on top of her intimate clothing. And the picture taken inside of her store.

***

Two hours later, Brian honked the horn and waved at the boys before driving down the road. Karina sniffled. "You're not saying goodbye forever, you know," he said.

Karina smiled, albeit a little tearfully. "I know that. It's just that they've come to mean so much so quickly. I'll miss them. And Max." Sandra had agreed to keep the dog. In truth he belonged to the twins already. The cats were in their cage in the back seat. Instead of their usual howling, they'd gone completely silent. Maybe they were as anxious to get shut of that place as she was. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to return.

And even if she wanted to, she wasn't allowed in until Markham was done anyway. A good enough reason to move in with Brian—at least for a few days.

"We can invite them over for a BBQ on the weekend." He smiled. "They could bring Max, too. Besides, the twins will have lots of fun on the beach."

Karina jumped at the chance. "That's a wonderful idea. How about Paul and Susan and their kids? Chelsea will love them too." She paused. "As an afterthought, maybe we'll invite Susan and her family on a different day. It might be easier on Chelsea if there aren't so many strangers at once."

"Did I mention inviting Chelsea?"

"No, but get used to it." She tossed him a warning look. "Even if I am living in your space then I get to do some of the things that I want to do," she added defiantly. "That means spending lots of time with Chelsea."

"She can be quite a handful."