Only Emma (18 page)

Harold Rhodes smiled. "You said tried to kill. He's still alive then."

It was a statement, not a question. Lissey cringed; she'd made a mistake. "I don't know. They're still missing."

Rhode's smile remained intact. The jerk.

"That was very unfortunate. Mr. Terrio should not have done that," Mrs. Simpson murmured.

"On that we agree," Lissey said.

"Won't you please sit down and listen to what I have to say?

"Save your breath. I know all about Mr. Wainright."

The woman patted the empty chair beside her. "Please."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Rising winds and churning seas greeted Lissey as she started back to Kikitap two hours later. She'd waited for Margaret and Harold, who it seemed was the lady's lawyer, to disappear in their rented golf cart before commandeering Sam's boat. Sam had been reluctant to see her go out in such weather, but she was nothing if not determined to get to Jake again that day.

Managing the boat in the rough conditions demanded her total concentration, which left Margaret's words floating untended in the back of her mind until she turned into Kikitap Harbor and the boat heaved sideways, slamming her against the cabin bulkhead. Her knee took the blow, the same knee she'd banged up when she ran out of gas that day in Louis's boat. She swore as the pain reached her brain.

Marcus met her as she tied up to his dock. "Are you crazy? What are you doing out in this weather?"

She grimaced and hobbled up the dock. "I'm on a very important mission."

"Nothing can be that urgent."

"Wanna bet?"

Marcus shook his head. "Can I give you a ride somewhere? That leg looks like it's about to dump you on your face."

She hobbled to his side and planted a kiss on his grizzled cheek. "Marcus, you're a dream. Thank you."

Favoring her aching left leg, Lissey limped into Jake's room at the hospital. His eyes widened when he saw her.

"What happened to you?"

"I banged my knee on the boat. I came—"

"On the boat? You came across from home in this weather? I can hear the wind howling outside."

Lissey grinned. "I live in these islands, remember? Wait 'til—"

"Did the Doc do an X-ray?"

"No, listen will you? I have news for you."

"Never mind, let's get that leg looked at. Hey Doc," he shouted.

"There's a push button for that. We do have some modern conveniences around here."

"Smarty pants." He searched around in the bed, found the button, pushed it, and shouted again, "Hey Doc."

"He's not around right now. Listen—"

"Where the hell is he? You shouldn't be walking on that leg. Sit down."

"Jake Wainright, will you shut up a minute," she bellowed.

He blinked in surprise, then carefully clamped his lips together.

"I came in this weather because I have news. Tidings from a summit meeting in my shop."

"What kind of a summit meeting? Oh I know, with your folks. I don't care if they want to sue me. I won't marry you."

"A meeting with Harold Rhodes and—"

"Rhodes? What's he doing here?" Jake struggled to sit up, grimaced, and fell back in the bed.

"He's representing your mother-in-law. She's here too."

Jake stared at her, concern written all over his face.

Lissey waited but he didn't reply. "She made an offer to end the custody battle."

"What kind of an offer?" he murmured.

"I turned her down. It was—"

His eyes narrowed. "You turned her down?"

God, he looked cute when he was upset. "Yup. It was too restrictive. We wouldn't have been able to live with it."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "
We
wouldn't?"

Lissey nodded. "Especially after we have our own children. When they're little, you know?"

"Oh, I know about that, of course. Lissey, I think you better start at the beginning."

"Well, they were waiting for me when I got back to the shop. Having lunch. My mom told me—"

"Okay, so you talked to them. What did they say?"

"I don't trust that man. You know, he reminds—"

"What did Margaret say?" he sputtered.

"You're getting awful grouchy. Take it easy, will you?"

"I can't. This is too important. What was the offer?"

A nurse entered the room. "You called, Mr. Wainright?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "This lady needs an X-ray of her leg."

"Hi Mary. It's my knee," Lissey said.

"Doc's not here but I can do it. You can obviously walk on it; you got here, right?" Mary said.

"It hurts though," Lissey said.

"Okay, give me a minute. I'll call you."

Jake studied Lissey, obviously waiting but he said not a word.

"Where were we? Oh, the offer. It was very simple really. They were shocked Terrio had shot you. The police have been to see your father in-law."

Jake cocked an eyebrow at her. "What brought that on?"

Lissey gave him a big grin. "I suppose it could be because I told the constable Terrio claimed the man had ordered him to shoot you if necessary. Kirby, being Kirby, immediately decided to charge Mr. Simpson with attempted murder."

"How could he do that? Terrio must have denied everything."

"Yeah, but I said he admitted it when we first captured him. I said Louis and I would testify to it."

Jake frowned. "You could be charged with perjury."

Lissey laughed. "Only if we went to court."

"So you made my father-in-law sweat a little."

"Yup, and they don't want any more of that. So, they'd give up their custody fight if we'd bring Emma to see them once a week. I said no way."

Forgetting his wound, Jake threw his hands up in the air. He winced.

Lissey let a smile spread across her face. "We settled on once a month instead. With you present of course."

It took a second but then Jake gave her a frown. "Supervised visits, good, but I'm not sure we can trust them."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry. Margaret and I really hit it off. She was very sweet."

"Oh really. Sweet? I suppose that makes everything all right."

Lissey giggled. "Well, we had a little help from Kirby too, though he doesn't know it."

"What does that mean?"

Lissey cocked her head. "Somehow Margaret got the idea I could influence the constable and make the charges go away. Or not."

He chuckled. "Sounds like you covered all the bases. What do we do next?"

"You have to ask?"

"You still want to marry me?"

"Only if you want to," she murmured.

"You don't have to worry about Emma anymore," he said tentatively.

"I'm not marrying Emma."

"I'm ready for your X-ray," Mary said from the doorway.

"One minute, Mary," Lissey said. She hobbled to the bed, bent and planted a smooch of a kiss on Jake's lips.

                                          EPILOGUE

                         Baltimore, Maryland, three weeks later.

Jake gave Lissey a squeeze as he entered their hotel room.. "I've got a couple of bands we can check out for the wedding."

"Oh good. Now the only thing left to do is find a photographer."

Jake frowned. "Where's Emma?"

"Out shopping with my mother. She's so fussy. She wants the perfect dress for her daddy's wedding."

He laughed. "Takes after her new mother to be."

Lissey cocked an eyebrow at him. "A woman only gets married once."

"I hope so."

Lissey kissed him. "This one does."

He grinned. "Have you heard from your dad yet?"

"He called."

"And?"

Lissey frowned. "He doesn't know if he can make it. He said he might just go to the ceremony on the island."

Jake shook his head. "They've swapped roles. Your mom is gung ho now and he's acting like a bear."

"They have a lot to iron out. I think my mom wants to live in the States now that we're going to be here. She's planning on taking a train to New York next week to see a Broadway show."

Jake smiled. "Your dad better get his act together. She sounds pretty indomitable now."

Lissey grinned. "Like someone I know "

"Look who's talking."

THE END

HERE'S A SAMPLE FROM RC's NEXT BOOK

DANGEROUS DECISIONS

CHAPTER ONE

Springtime- late May

Megan loved taking Jordan to Anna's Temptations for lunch on Saturdays.  Once someone's home and later a radio repair shop, now a restaurant and antique shop, the place had an atmosphere all its own. She relished the soups and delicious pasta salads that were the highlight of Anna's menu and the lovely antiques and silk flowers on display appealed to her as well. That was when she wasn't as preoccupied as she had been recently.

Snippets of conversation rose above the murmur of voices in the dining room but Megan was oblivious. She stood at the counter, staring at the menu posted on the wall, her eyes blank, her mind and heart entangled with thoughts of Doug. Time was when she thought he loved her. When she thought he cared and she still had dreams. Her heart said she should leave him but his threat —

"Ma'am?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry. I was thinking," Megan said.

"That'll be $11.47," the young woman at the register offered.

A bell above the shop door jangled as Megan slid a twenty across the counter. In a mother's automatic reflex, she turned in time to see the door latch firmly shut. There was no little one behind her, no one else in sight at all.

"Oh no. Jordan, wait," Megan cried as she darted for the door.

"I'll bring your food," the woman called.

Megan dashed out and halted on the wooden porch, panic rising in her breast. "Jordan, where are you? Wait for mommy, Jordan."

Heart pounding, she flashed a quick glance down the driveway toward the Post Road. Heavy traffic lurched to a start then lumbered to a stop as the light down the street changed, but there was no child in sight. She let out a breath. Turning toward the parking lot, she scurried to the outdoor tables in the restaurant yard. Groups of women, and a few men, eating and chatting, crowded every bit of space.

"Jordan! Where are you?"

Blonde ringlets popped up at a table occupied by a total stranger.

"Here, Mommy. I got a seat," Jordan cried.

Thank God. Independent as all get out, her daughter had no sense of danger. Jordan needed a good talking to but not this minute. Not in front of some guy she'd never seen before.

"Jordan, wait. Let's not bother the man," she said as she reached the glass-topped table.

She searched the patio in Anna's yard one last time. Every table was occupied, even the ones bathed in sunlight and the clunky wooden picnic table near the building. What the heck, Jordan's lecture would have to wait.

The man glanced up with an easy smile. "I don't mind. It's crowded here today."

Thirtyish like her and nice looking, his gaze met hers, direct and intense. His smile widened. Startled, she hesitated then let herself breathe again. She almost announced they'd find another table, but he turned back to his food. No matter, his soup bowl and juice bottle were close to empty. He'd be leaving soon.

"Thank you," she said and sat down beside Jordan.

The guy nodded. "No problem."

"What's your name?" Jordan piped up.

He gave her the nicest smile. "Wade. What's yours?"

"I'm Jordan. I'm four."

"Jordan, please. Don't bother the man," Megan hissed. Talking to strangers too, that lecture would have to be a good one.

Wade gave a casual wave of his hand, brushing off her words. "Not a problem. It's nice to meet you, Jordan. What are you having for lunch?"

"Mac and ice cream."

He grinned. "That sounds interesting."

"You have soup," Jordan said, her elbows on the table, leaning over to peek at the bowl in front of him.

"Yup. Clam chowder." He spooned some into his mouth.

"Would you come live at my house?"

Choking, Wade spit a bit of soup back into the bowl. He coughed mightily and glanced up, his eyes bright with amusement. Or was he embarrassed. Megan couldn't tell.

"Jordan, here's your macaroni salad," she said as the waitress appeared with their food. "I'm sorry. She just says whatever comes into her head."

Wade wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and offered her a lopsided grin then turned back to Jordan. "Your daddy wouldn't like that very much."

Jordan shook her head. "Daddy works all the time. He doesn't care."

The smile left his face. He went very still and Megan's breath caught before she carefully tried to control herself. The man would think Doug was a horrible father.

"I’d say your daddy is a very silly man," Wade said softly.

"He's no fun," Jordan insisted.

Wade reached out as if to pat her on the head but withdrew his hand instead. A helpless expression adorned his face when he turned back to Megan. The man obviously had no clue what to say next.

Megan frowned. "Jordan, that's enough. Eat your lunch or you won't get any ice cream."

She glanced at Wade and shrugged. What could she say to him, a perfect stranger? Her daughter hadn't been unfair to Doug at all, but her face still burned with embarrassment.

A frown flashed across Wade's face, followed by another easy smile.

She didn't want his sympathy. No relationship was perfect. Doug's insane devotion to his work wouldn't go on forever. It simply couldn't.

"Recent?" Wade murmured.

Recent? "What?"

He blinked. "I thought… Never mind. Good luck." He hesitated, his eyes on Megan for a moment before he reached out and ruffled Jordan's hair with his fingertips. "Hey Tiger. Enjoy your macaroni."

Jordan peeked at Megan then bobbed her head.

"Nice meeting you. Bye." Wade picked up his bowl and bottle and strode off.

A familiar ache settling in her heart again, Megan watched him go. He'd been sweet. There was something about him, kindness, or simple gentleness perhaps, along with good looks. A woman could fantasize about a man like him, oh yes. She winced. Two seconds of attention from an anonymous stranger was nothing to get excited about. He'd left, never to be seen again. She laughed softly. That was good, actually. Life was complicated enough at the moment. She'd confront Doug about his devotion to King Lucre, among other things, when he came home.

Jordan stabbed her fork into a piece of macaroni.

She had to say something, but Jordan was too little to understand the embarrassment she'd caused so she conjured up a smile. "You're really something, missy. You shouldn't talk to strangers that way."

Jordan chewed, swallowed, and shook her head. "He was nice."

"Yes he was, but that's no reason to ask him to come home with us. You can't ask people things like that."

"Why not?"

"Because." If only life were that simple. Megan sighed. Darn it. Being alone all the time was not only the pits, it was making her crazy. A trifle horny, too, if truth be told. She bit down on her chicken salad sandwich.

"Can we get Sparky after lunch?" Jordan asked.

"I'm going back to the dog pound while you're at Henry's party." She brushed a strand of hair from Jordan's eye and kissed her brow. "I'm sure she'll be there."

****

She groaned as she drove down the narrow dirt road cut through a stand of scrubby pines. If only Jordan would be more careful about letting the dog escape. As wild and independent as her daughter, Sparky dashed outdoors every chance she got. Hopefully, the dogcatcher had her tucked away in a kennel by now.

The animal shelter had been deserted earlier that morning. This time the warden's truck sat parked next to the low concrete building, with a battered old car right beside it. Good, the old man wasn't out chasing strays somewhere. She parked and slid out of her BMW, sneezing in the dust that trailed her down the road.

Dogs milled about in the outdoor run cages, yipping and barking at the sight of her. She studied them, searching for a glimpse of Sparky, but none of the dogs looked familiar. Maybe Peter had her inside with him. A tinge of anxiety pricked at her belly as she strode toward the building.

She tried the metal office door. Locked? What in the world? Someone had to be inside- the old TV set Peter kept going to pass the time blasted away loud enough to be heard outside.

"Peter," she shouted and banged on the door.

No one responded to her efforts. That was worrisome. Peter might have had an accident or even a heart attack. She had no idea of his actual age, but he certainly had a few years on Aunt Harriet and she'd left middle age behind some time ago. She had to make sure the old man was all right. Pounding on the door brought no response again.

A gate at the back of the fence caught her eye. Maybe she could get in that way. She picked her way through the weeds surrounding the complex, trying to avoid the sticky little cockleburs that clutched at her clothes. The darn things hurt when they rubbed against her legs.

A thick wire twisted around the fence post secured the gate. Thank goodness, it had long stiff ends she could use to undo the twist. A minute or two of mangling her fingers, a few soft curses under her breath, and the gate swung open. She stepped inside only to be surrounded by half a dozen excited dogs. Luckily, they were friendly and not too big, so she petted a cocker spaniel then moved off to find her way into the building.

Pushing open a door, she entered a room filled with cages. Lights glowed faintly against the ceiling, but her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness after being outside in the sun. A new sound reached her, the swish of water being played over cages and the floor. She started down the center aisle.

His attention focused on a kink in the hose, a man stepped into the passage. A blast of water swung her way and drenched her clothes.

"Hey, watch out with that," she cried as the water turned away. Before she could take a breath it came back again and smacked her full in the face. She gasped and blinked, trying to clear her eyes. "For crying out loud! Stop that, will you?" she shouted.

A bare ceiling bulb cast deep shadows on the individual standing beneath it. His mouth opened in a ghoulish grin that made him look grotesque. But, he turned the hose away and disappeared from sight. Seconds later, the water shut off, he reappeared.

"Where the devil did you come from?" he demanded.

"You're not Peter," she snapped, wiping water from her eyes. Oh dandy, wet clothes clinging to her body were sticking to her breasts, and the guy wore only a pair of cutoff jeans and old rubber boots. Nothing else. His shoulders filled the space between the cages. His bare chest seemed immense.  Wonderful, she was alone in a dark empty building with a half-naked man who could do anything he wanted at the moment. Her stomach tensed. Then she got a better look at his face as he stepped away from that single glaring bulb. It couldn't be. She almost giggled with relief.

"Wade? Are you Wade?"

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