Cross My Heart (3 page)

Clint didn't move. "That's not necessary. I'll wait.
There's something more I want to talk to you about."

Elyse opened her mouth to argue, but the bell rang again,
and instead she nodded and opened the door.

Half an hour later she said goodbye to the customer, who
finally decided to make a down payment on Little Bo Peep, complete with
lamb, and put it on layaway. Clint had joined in on the conversation,
pointing out some of the small details and superb workmanship, which
Elyse was too modest to mention.

Now Elyse held up her palms and shrugged. "I'm sorry it
took so long," she said. "Choosing a doll and then deciding whether
they want to spend several hundred dollars for it is a major decision
for most customers, and they take their time thinking about it. I
didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"You didn't," he said. "Actually, I was waiting for her to
leave so I could invite you and Janey to go out to dinner with me."

Elyse's eyes widened with surprise. "Take us out? Oh,
Clint, I don't know…"

"I assure you I'm a perfectly respectable lawyer with
nothing on my mind but hamburgers and french fries at Janey's favorite
hangout." A stab of guilt made him wince inwardly. He
was
a lawyer as well as a senator, but his intentions weren't quite so
honorable. They were only just getting to know each other well enough
that he felt he could ask more personal questions without having her
tell him it was none of his business. He couldn't leave yet. He'd have
no excuse for coming back.

Elyse grinned. "Oh, you mean McDonald's."

Clint made a face. "If that's what she wants, that's what
she'll get."

Elyse laughed. "Well, how can I resist such a generous
invitation? In fact, I'll even supply the dessert afterward. I have
three different flavors of ice cream and freshly baked peanut butter
cookies."

Janey was thrilled at the prospect of going out to eat,
and when they arrived they discovered the drive-in was having a
promotional affair, and Ronald McDonald, the clown, was there. Janey
shrieked with excitement when he came to their table and picked coins
out of her hair. But with all the commotion there was no chance for
Clint even to talk to Elyse, let alone question her.

Afterward they went back to the house, where she made hot
chocolate and served dessert.

When she got up from the table to put the dishes in the
sink Clint knew he couldn't prolong his visit any longer. He'd have to
convince her to see him again.

He looked at his watch and frowned. "I'm afraid I've
overstayed my welcome," he said, and stood. "It must be past the little
one's bedtime. I'd better leave."

Janey protested loudly, and Elyse's impulse was to do the
same. Then she remembered that Clint Edwards was a man she'd only met a
few hours ago. She really knew nothing about him, and it would be
unwise, if not downright foolhardy, to encourage him to stay any longer.

At the front door he picked Janey up and hugged her. "Good
night, sweetheart. Thank you for having dinner with me."

Janey, a naturally loving child, hugged him back.

Clint looked at Elyse and seemed to hesitate, then took
her hand. "I'd like to see you again, Elyse," he said. "Will you and
Janey spend tomorrow with me? We can go to Sacramento and take Janey to
the zoo and Fairy-tale Town. I'll even spring for lunch. A fancy one
this time."

Janey's happy face glowed. "Oh, Mommy, can we? Please say
yes! Please!"

She was bouncing around in Clint's arms, and he was having
a hard time holding on to her.

"Well, I…" This was all happening too fast.

Her feelings about him were ambivalent. He'd come in here
and spent the day charming the socks off her. Janey, too—and
that could lead to trouble. Since the child had no father she tended to
look for one in every man who was nice to her, and Elyse didn't want to
see her daughter hurt.

On the other hand, Elyse was almost sure Clint wasn't
acting or pretending. He'd seemed to truly enjoy the afternoon and
evening, and he'd been a perfect gentleman at all times.

She couldn't deny she was attracted to him, had been from
the moment she'd opened the door and seen him standing there looking at
her so approvingly. For the first time in five years she'd felt the
warm heady tingle of sexual attraction. Not that she hadn't had her
share of dates since Janey was born, but she'd never been tempted to
give more than a good-night kiss at the door. The attraction was doubly
exciting because it had never happened to her this quickly before, not
even with Jerry.

"Say yes, Mommy. Please," Janey repeated desperately.

"All right," Elyse answered with a chuckle, reaching out
to take her bubbly daughter from Clint. "Are you sure you know what
you're getting into?" she asked him. "Energetic little girls can try
the patience of a saint."

His grin seemed a little strained. "Since I'm no saint, we
won't have to worry. I'll pick you up in the morning. About…
ten?"

Clint stopped for the light, then turned west onto the
freeway. Damn it all to hell! He'd almost been convinced that Mary
Elyse Haley was nothing like the airheads Paul was usually attracted
to. She was a talented, intelligent woman who ran her business and
raised her daughter with equal expertise. She'd seemed like the perfect
choice for his brother, but then she'd spoiled it by agreeing to go out
with him again.

Clint glanced at the speedometer and lightened his foot on
the gas pedal. If he got a ticket for speeding the reporters would be
all over him. Sometimes being a politician was a pain in the rear.

His thoughts returned to the young woman he'd just left.
She'd seemed remarkably mature for her age, and the investigation had
indicated a spotless character, unless an illegitimate child was
considered a demerit. She was even an active member of her church. But
if she was dating Paul on a steady basis, why had she agreed to go out
with another man? And worse, a stranger she'd met when Paul was out of
town? In fact, why had she agreed to spend the evening with him once
their business had supposedly been completed?

He felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment and swore
softly. Had he been so bewitched by the sexy innocence she projected
that he'd believed what he wanted to instead of what was?

If so, he was a fool. There hadn't been a woman in the
past four years who had aroused his emotions. His lust occasionally,
but never his emotions.

He was a one-woman man, and the woman he wanted now was
the one he couldn't have.

He'd come to terms with his exclusivity four years ago
when Dinah had left, and although he'd eventually managed to put her
out of his thoughts and get on with his life, he knew he'd never fall
in love again. He certainly had better sense than to get involved with
his brother's girlfriend!

Trying to think rationally, he admitted he really hadn't
given Elyse a chance to decline either time he'd asked her to go out
with him. He'd woven his plans around Janey, and the mother hadn't
wanted to disappoint her child.

On the other hand if Elyse were
his
love, he'd be furious if she went out with another man when he wasn't
around, no matter how much pressure was put on her. He knew Paul would
feel the same way.

Maybe spending another day with her was a good idea. If
she was intent on taking his brother for all she could get, then he
wanted to know it—now. If Elyse was trying to attach herself
to Paul for a reason other than love, she'd be smart enough to do a lot
more damage than just talking to the press if things didn't go her way.

Yes, he'd definitely see Elyse again, and this time he'd
find out just how far she was willing to let him go while her boyfriend
was away.

Sacramento is known as the city of camellias and trees,
and although there were only a few camellias still blooming, the lawns,
trees and flower bushes of William Land Park, where the zoo was
located, were green and thick with foliage. The weather in the valley
ranged from warm to hot during the months of March through October
before the rainy season took over and the temperature cooled.

On this bright and beautiful April Sunday afternoon,
Elyse, Clint and Janey had discarded their thin sweaters and were
wandering around the compact zoo with their bare arms exposed to the
rapidly warming air.

Clint held Janey on his shoulders so she could see the
monkeys cavorting around their island, and Janey laughed and clapped
her, hands at their antics. On the surface he, Elyse and Janey had
spent a delightful two hours watching the elephants, giraffes, bears
and more exotic animals, as well as the colorful birds, but Elyse
couldn't shake the feeling that Clint wasn't really enjoying himself.

Not that he'd said or done anything to make her think so.
When he'd picked them up at the house that morning he'd seemed in a
playful mood with Janey, but sitting next to him in the car on the
forty-mile drive to Sacramento, Elyse had become aware of a nebulous
tension in him. He'd kept up a conversation with her daughter but had
made little effort to start one with her.

She walked a few steps away from him and threw a handful
of popcorn in front of one of the tame peacocks that roamed the
grounds, then watched it peck at the food.

A squeal of delight from Janey brought an answering laugh
from Clint, and Elyse frowned. Was she being too sensitive? He sounded
happy enough, and he'd certainly been attentive. He'd bought them
popcorn and Cokes and even a stuffed bear for Janey, and he'd answered
all their questions.

She shook her head as if to dislodge her nagging doubts.
She hardly knew the man. It was presumptuous of her to think she could
read his thoughts.

He turned to her as she moved back to his side. "It's
nearly one o'clock," he said. "We'd probably better go somewhere for
lunch, then come back to tour Fairy-tale Town, don't you think?"

Elyse hesitated for a moment. He was probably getting
bored. Most bachelors did after several hours with a small child. She'd
let him off the hook.

"I think we'd better have lunch and then go on home," she
said. "Janey takes a nap, and if she misses it completely she's cranky
and difficult. She's enjoyed the zoo, and I can take her to Fairy-tale
Town some other time."

Engrossed in the monkeys, Janey had missed the
conversation. Clint eased her off his shoulders and stood her on the
ground. "Come along, honey, we've seen all there is to see here. Now
we're going to have lunch."

Elyse noticed he hadn't objected to cutting the day short.

She was surprised when he shunned downtown Sacramento and
drove twenty miles east of the city before stopping at a restaurant in
the small historical town of Folsom. It was in one of the old restored
buildings on Sutter Street, the town's second attraction. The first was
the aging, federal maximum security Folsom Prison, which sat bleak and
forbidding on the hill.

Sutter Street was a restoration of the gold rush era. A
three-block-long recreation featured restaurants, boutiques and
museums, with gaslight streetlamps and a small theater where
old-fashioned melodramas were performed to the encouragement of hisses
and cheers from the audience.

The cafe Clint had chosen was on the second floor, and
they found a table on the balcony, which overlooked the scenic street.
Sunday brunch was still being served, and while they ate, he finally
seemed to relax, and became more talkative.

"I'd like to thank you for spending last evening with me,
Elyse," he said as he cut a bite-size piece from his thick slice of
ham. "I don't imagine you have many Saturday evenings free. A lady as
young and beautiful as you must have a busy social life."

Elyse laughed. "Well, yes, I suppose so, if you consider
singing in the choir at church and helping once a week in the
cooperative nursery school Janey attends 'social'. Running my own business and raising a small
child by myself doesn't leave a lot of time for partying."

Clint didn't join her merriment. "Come now, surely you
have dates?"

She could see he was serious. "I date now and then," she
said, "but certainly not every Saturday night."

He frowned. "You mean there's no special man in your life
right now?"

For the life of her she couldn't understand why this
conversation seemed to be upsetting him, and he was venturing into
areas that were none of his business.

"Not now, and not since Janey's father died." There was a
chill in her tone. "Is there some reason you're asking?"

Clint knew he was handling this wrong, but he couldn't
seem to help it. Damn her, she was lying to him. The operative's report
had stated that Paul and Mary E. Haley spent a great deal of time
together, and knowing Paul, he'd take her to plenty of parties. He and
his friends were always carousing.

Clint tried for a nonchalant shrug that didn't come off.
"Not really," he answered. "I just find it hard to believe that you
spend all your evenings sitting at home, reading nursery rhymes to your
child."

Elyse blinked and looked genuinely hurt. "Believe what you
want," she snapped, then pushed back her chair to stand. "I'm sorry to
rush you, but it's past time for Janey's nap. I'd like to go home."

As they pulled out onto the freeway and again headed east
toward Placerville, Clint swore silently to himself. So much for the
investigative skills that had earned him such a fine reputation as a
lawyer! He'd botched this from the minute he'd laid eyes on his
brother's latest lit-tie beauty. He'd taken one look at her and let his
emotions get involved. Which was sheer lunacy, since even if he wanted
her—which he didn't—and she were as pure as the
dolls she created, he still couldn't have her. Paul had first claim,
which he apparently had no intention of relinquishing. At least not yet.