Something About Joe (6 page)

She ran toward him. “Where is Mitchell?” she
cried, as she reached him, gasping for breath. Joe met her gaze
calmly and she wanted to grab his book and hit him with it. “Where
is he?”

He got up.
“Over there.” He pointed to the children’s playground area. “With
his grandparents—”

Intent on reaching her baby, she was away
toward the playground before he finished the sentence.

Mitchell was on the other side of the
playground with a man and a woman. The woman was pushing the child
on a swing. As she got nearer, Allison could hear Mitchell’s
laughter. He was okay. He wouldn’t laugh like that if someone were
hurting him.

The man had his back to her but he turned
around as she drew near. It was her ex-husband Peter’s father.
She’d only met him once, at her wedding, but she recognized him
immediately. “Bill!” she gasped, scarcely able to push out the
word.

He looked
awkward. Even shamefaced. He glanced imploringly towards the woman
whom Allison now recognized as Peter’s mother.

“Nancy?” Allison looked in bewilderment from
Nancy to Bill and back again.

“Momma!” cried Mitchell joyously. Allison
snatched him off the swing and pulled him to her. He began to wail
at the shock of it.

Allison
found her knees were trembling but then Joe Martin was there, his
strong arm supporting her and Mitchell. Gratefully, she leaned
against his warmth and strength. Mitchell stopped
crying.

But she was too stressed out by what had
happened to relax. She twisted away from Joe, embarrassed at such
closeness.

He spoke first. “I called you back on your
cell to let you know I’d come to the park with Bill and Nancy.”

Her heart was still pounding. “A call came
but—”

“I couldn’t get through. Did you think I’d
let Mitchell go alone with anyone without your authority? Even his
grandparents?”

Allison clutched onto Mitchell, she was
still so breathless from her panicked run across the park it was
difficult to speak. “I was terrified. His grandparents have never
met him.”

“He was never in danger,” said Joe. “Not for
a second.”

Tears of relief threatened to engulf her and
she blinked hard against them. She started to shake. Then Joe’s
strength and warmth was there again as he pulled her and Mitchell
to him in a comforting hug.

Allison’s heartbeat accelerated again—but
this time it wasn’t from panic. She was intensely aware of how
close she was to Joe, of her body pressed to his. She breathed in
his scent—a heady mix of leather, spicy after-shave and something
uniquely Joe.

They stood without words. She forgot all
about Bill and Nancy, standing awkwardly by. Forgot about Peter.
Never gave a thought to the big deal she’d just run out on. There
was just her and Joe and Mitchell bonded in comfort and reassurance
and—for her—a stirring new excitement.

“
Group hug,”
said Joe with a laugh. Allison laughed, too, as they drew away from
each other, she with regret.

Joe glanced toward Peter’s parents, and
nodded to include them. “Bill and Nancy told me a little of their
story,” he said. “I knew Nancy must be Mitchell’s grandmother. He’s
the spitting image of her, except for the eyes.”

Allison
sniffed back the last of her tears. “I...I guess so. This is the
first time I’ve seen them together.”

“
Let me take
Mitchell, while you sort things out.” He swung Mitchell up into his
arms. “Come on, Tiger, let’s have some fun on that
slide.”

Allison
stepped closer to Bill and Nancy, uncertain of what to say to them.
The older woman
did
look like Mitchell, but her face was grim. “I
won’t say I’m sorry, Allison, we had to see him. He’s our only
grandchild. You’ve kept him from us long enough.”

Bewildered,
Allison shook her head. “But...but you wanted nothing to do with
him. Just like his father.”

It was the older couple’s turn to look
bewildered. They exchanged quick glances. Together, their voices
sad and disillusioned, they said as one voice: “Peter.”

Then Nancy told Allison how they hadn’t even
known of Mitchell’s existence until well after he’d been born. How
Peter had told them Allison didn’t want them in contact with
Mitchell. And how they’d sent gifts that had never been
acknowledged.

Allison was
stunned by the pain in her former mother-in-law’s voice—a pain that
echoed in her own heart. She’d longed for Mitchell to know his
family, but she’d given up sending photos when Bill and Nancy had
never shown any interest. Photos sent to an address provided by
Peter. Somehow, Peter had manipulated things so that Mitchell had
been deprived of grandparents as well as a father.

“But we often thought about the baby,” said
Nancy. “Every time we saw a boy his age we’d wonder what Mitchell
looked like.” She explained that Bill’s health was poor and they’d
decided to travel from Adelaide to Sydney and try to see
Mitchell.

“I’m sorry we lied to your young man. But we
couldn’t go away without seeing our grandson.”

“
Th..that’s
okay.” Allison’s laugh was tinged with hysteria—not least at the
fact that her former parents-in-law obviously thought Mitchell’s
nanny was her lover.

She’d walked out of one of the most
important meetings of her career. Maybe even lost the deal that
would get her out of her financial hole. But it was okay. It was
worth it for Mitchell to discover his grandparents.

She glanced
across to where her tall, dark-haired nanny still played with her
son, effortlessly lifting him onto those broad shoulders and up the
ladder to the slide.

She cringed
with shame over the way she’d behaved toward Joe Martin—she’d
virtually screamed at him when she’d arrived at the park. Her near
panic was no excuse for such appalling behavior. What had happened
to all her management skills? She hadn’t given him a chance to
explain himself. It would serve her right if he quit.

She stood by
Nancy and Bill and watched Joe supervise Mitchell’s forays down the
slide. He was endlessly patient with her little boy. Mitchell would
tire of the game long after Joe. But Joe just kept on playing the
way she did herself when she took Mitchell to the park. If only
she’d met someone like Joe years ago. He’d make a wonderful
father
.
She reined in her thoughts.
Don’t go there—not even for a second.

Joe bent his dark head to Mitchell’s ginger
one to listen to her toddler’s few babyish words. His patience was
incredible. His ability to communicate so well with a child
Mitchell’s age was a real gift. It made her long to learn more
about Joe Martin.

Suddenly she found herself caring very much
that there was a good chance he was about to walk out of her
life.

W
arning! Warning!
Danger! Danger!
The alarm signals
reverberated through Joe’s head. He wished he could back away and
keep right on backing until he reached the harbor—then turn tail
and sail as far away as possible.

He didn’t
like messy, emotional confrontations of any kind. He didn’t like
dealing with women who came encumbered with ex-husbands; the
disaster with Deborah had wised him to that. Most of all, he didn’t
like the uncomfortable jolt to the heart he’d felt when he’d been
forced to watch Allison’s distressing encounter with her
parents-in-law.

Her face had been etched first with her fear
for her child’s safety, then her shock and bewilderment at the
unexpected meeting and the painful revelations it had brought.
She’d gone so white he’d thought she’d faint.

She seemed so smart, the ultimate boss lady.
But when it came to her kid she was as vulnerable as hell.

What kind of
a jerk was this Peter guy to leave her and the baby and then
deprive Mitchell of his grandparents? How could he leave his own
child? How could he leave an amazing, sexy woman like Allison
Bradley?

Allison and her parents-in-law were walking
towards him. The mother-in-law, Nancy, was obviously aching to take
Mitchell in her arms, so he handed the baby over. Allison made no
protest. The older woman’s face shone with joy when Mitchell
uttered a word that sounded very much like “Grandma” as he went
willingly to her.

Allison seemed to be finding it very
difficult to meet his eyes. She bit her bottom lip and twisted her
hands in front of her.

“I won’t blame you if you quit. My behavior
was completely out of line.”

A few minutes ago he’d been thinking exactly
the same thing.

She went on.
“I assumed
you’d just let Mitchell go off
with total strangers. But Nancy told me you were with them the
whole time. ‘Just staying discreetly at a distance while we got to
know our grandchild’ was how she put it.”

Joe shrugged. Be damned if he’d make this
any easier for her. It was only his concern for Mitchell that kept
him there at all.

“I’m sorry,” Allison said, lifting her gaze
to his, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears.

He’d be cruel if he dragged it on any
longer. “Apology accepted.”

She smiled her thanks, a smile that tilted
her pretty mouth into an enchanting curve. He caught his breath. He
hadn’t seen Allison smile before. It transformed her from pretty to
truly beautiful.

You could forgive a woman anything when she
looked at you like that.

“So, what next?” he asked, schooling himself
not to show his reactions.

“Bill and Nancy are staying at a hotel in
North Sydney. They’re keen to get back, Bill is getting tired.”

“So you won’t see them again?”

“Oh yes. They’ll come to my house this
evening. We have to get to know each other.”

Nancy, too, sounded tired. “We’ll be off
then, Allison,” she said. She gave Mitchell a big hug and kiss and
reluctantly handed him to Allison. “Though I hate to say goodbye to
this little tyke.”

“This evening, I’ll keep him up especially
for his grandma and grandpa,” said Allison.

They all beamed. It seemed to give them
inordinate pleasure to say the commonplace words. Odd. This was one
sad story he’d somehow gotten caught up with.

He thought
of the wedding photos Allison displayed around her house. That’s
how he’d recognized the grandparents. She may be divorced on paper
but how divorced from her ex-husband was she in her
heart?

Warning
bells sounded in his head. Remember what Deborah did to you, and
your vow you’d never be caught like that again. When you settle
down, you want it to be with a woman unencumbered by an ex-husband
and a child.

Joe walked with Allison’s parents-in-law to
their rental car and joined in their farewells. He didn’t miss the
calculating look the mother-in-law gave him. He suppressed a grin.
The older generation weren’t used to the idea of a male nanny.

Hang on. He’d seen that kind of knowing look
before, in his mother’s eyes when she was summing up his sister’s
new boyfriends. This woman thought he was getting it on with her
daughter-in-law.

Think again,
lady. This gorgeous mommy was getting more and more off limits
every minute. Someone still entangled with her ex was the last
woman for Joe Martin.

A
llison waved her
parents-in-law—correction, her ex-parents-in-law—goodbye as they
drove off. She hadn’t given a thought to the fact that when she’d
divorced Peter, she’d also divorced Mitchell from his grandparents.
Now, thanks to their determination, they would be a part of her
son’s life. She rejoiced in that.

Her thoughts turned back to her situation at
work. “Joe, I’ve got to get back to work. Pronto.” She sighed at
the thought of what faced her. “I’ll walk with you and Mitchell to
the house, then I’ll grab a cab. We’d better make tracks.”

Joe took
off, pushing Mitchell and his stroller at NASCAR speed, even up the
steep incline away from the water. Allison had to run alongside to
keep up. “Whoa,” she said, panting. “I didn’t mean that fast.” Joe
slowed down to enable her to catch up.

She matched her steps to his long-legged
stride. Anyone seeing them, she supposed, would take them for a
happy little family.

Despite her
worry about work, she smiled. How incongruous they must seem, Joe
in his faded jeans with his long hair and earring, her in her
boss-lady suit. Then she sobered. What did she know of happy little
families? Her dismal childhood had taught her nothing.

As they
hurried along, Allison was conscious of how close she was to Joe.
When his body nudged hers, every now and then, tremors of awareness
shot through her. One part of her wanted to fight the feeling;
another just to enjoy it.

She glanced at her watch. Lunch would be
over, she’d have to head straight back to the office.

“Running late?” asked Joe.

Briefly,
Allison filled him in on what had happened. To her dismay, he
laughed. He didn’t take her dilemma with anything like the
seriousness she felt it warranted.

“Why do you take that kind of crap?” he
said. “You’re allowed to have a family life, aren’t you?”

“Not really,” she said, and realized she
meant it.

“Can’t you be a banker and a mother
too?”

“
There are
hundreds of men in our organization but very few woman at that
level of management. Some of them resent me; think I’m not part of
the club. I cramp their style. They believe I should be home with
my child, though they actually don’t come out and say that. I have
to act as if I have no family encumbrances if I’m to meet them on
their own ground.”