The Stranger's Sin (9 page)

“Hey,” he said. “I didn’t see you there.”

She grimaced. “You weren’t supposed to. That’s why I didn’t turn on the light.”

He advanced a step. She was dressed for bed in an oversized T-shirt that he found oddly provocative, and her hair was charmingly disheveled. “Why exactly are you sitting in the dark?”

She sighed, then held up…an Oreo?

“I raided your cabinet. When I can’t sleep, milk and cookies are the only thing that work for me.”

He grinned. “That’s your deep, dark secret?”

“Don’t laugh. It’s a bad habit. Everybody knows whatever you eat before bed goes straight to your hips.”

He imagined her hips swaying gently as she walked. “Then keep eating those Oreos because your hips are perfect.”

Her eyes met his and she blushed before looking away quickly. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had gotten flustered when he’d delivered a compliment and found it oddly sweet. It caused her to seem younger than her years and lent her an innocence that made his previous suspicions seem crazy.

He wondered how she’d react if he remarked on how much he liked her T-shirt but decided instead to try to put her at ease. “You might try warming up the milk and adding honey next time. It tastes awful, but it helps with insomnia.”

She exhaled, her body visibly relaxing. She probably didn’t know that the material of the T-shirt clung to her, outlining breasts that were high, firm and just the right size.

“I thought people with babies were so exhausted they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow,” she said.

“I’m lucky. Toby usually sleeps through the night so I’m as prone to insomnia as the next guy.” He took the chair next to her and stole her last Oreo. “Why can’t you sleep? It wasn’t Toby, was it?”

“Oh, no. He was an angel. He went to sleep hours ago.” She held up the receiving end of Toby’s baby monitor. He could hear Toby’s deep, even breaths. “Since then, he’s been sleeping like, well, a baby.”

She laughed, the sound low and pleasant, then asked, “Did you hear from Teresa?”

“Yeah. Her granddaughter’s fine. She didn’t even have a concussion.”

“That’s good. How about you? How are you doing? Was it a tough night?”

“Tough enough,” he said. “People use the holidays as an excuse to drink too much. I hauled a couple of boaters into jail this afternoon, then had another DUI arrest tonight.”

“I’m glad you got ’em,” she said.

“Now are you gonna tell me why you can’t sleep?” He popped the entire Oreo into his mouth. She was right—the cookies weren’t nearly as good without milk. She pushed her glass toward him, wordlessly offering exactly what he wanted.

“Thanks.” He guzzled some milk, finding as he swallowed that he didn’t need words to know what was on her mind, either. “It’s because of Mandy, isn’t it?”

“It’s hard not to think about her when I’m sleeping in her room. That reminds me. I found this wadded up between the nightstand and the bed.” She unfolded a small T-shirt and held it up. It was pink with the image of a turtle standing on its hind legs, its front legs outstretched, its mouth open in glee. “Was it Mandy’s?”

“I don’t recognize it, but probably,” he said. “Why?”

“I guess I figured it might be a clue, but I’m grasping at straws.” She fingered the neck of the T-shirt. “It doesn’t even have a tag.”

She looked down at the table, then up at him, her eyes troubled. “Would you mind if I asked you a question?”

“Depends on the question,” he said, although at the moment he’d probably tell her anything.

“Did you know what kind of person she was?”

“You mean, did I know she was capable of stealing?” He thought of Mandy assuring him she was on the Pill, telling him she was pregnant with his baby, insisting she’d had a miscarriage. “I think Mandy is capable of a great many things.”

“Then why were you with her?”

There were two lights in the kitchen, but he’d only turned on the one beside the stove. Kelly was mostly in shadows, the fact that he couldn’t see her face clearly making it easier to answer. “Because she told me she was pregnant.”

She shook her head. “No. I meant before that. Why were you two together at all?”

“It was only for one night.”

“Oh,” she said, as though she understood.

He frowned. By telling her the truth, he’d misled her. “I’m not in the habit of having one-night stands. I like to get to know a woman before I jump into bed with her.”

“Then why…” Her voice trailed off. “Never mind, it’s none of my business.”

She was right. The reason he’d slept with Mandy mere hours after meeting her was intensely personal, something he never intended to share with another person, but he could tell her at least part of it.

“She was fun and funny and being with her took my mind off my problems.” He kneaded his forehead. “Hell, that sounded like an excuse. I didn’t mean it to be.”

“So when she got pregnant, you decided to marry her?”

“Who told you that?” he asked, although he could guess the answer.

“Your father.”

He was glad he hadn’t told his father about Mandy faking the miscarriage. “Like I’ve said before, my father talks too much. But, yeah, I would have married her. Bizarre when you realize how little I know about her.”

“Is that why you haven’t been able to find her?”

“That’s right. I mean, I’m in law enforcement. You’d think I could track down the woman I used to live with, but she didn’t leave a trail I can find.”

“Your father said she wasn’t a good mother.”

“What else did he say?”

“That she didn’t try to make friends and that she wasn’t your type.” She wrinkled her nose. “At least I think he said she wasn’t your type, but that could be my conclusion.”

“Oh, yeah?” He raised his eyebrows. “Suppose you tell me what my type is.”

“Let me think about that.” A corner of her mouth quirked. It was a very pretty mouth, the lower lip slightly more lush than the upper one. “Well, she’d obviously have to love children because of Toby.”

“Obviously,” he agreed.

“She’d have to share your values. Truth. Justice. The American way.” She was teasing him, her eyes sparkling. “I see you with a nester. You’d never be happy with a flighty party girl.”

“Right again. Anything else?”

“It wouldn’t hurt if she thought your dad was funny.”

They smiled at each other, the darkened house and
the late hour causing the shared joke to seem intimate, but her assessment wasn’t far off the mark. Chase wasn’t in the market for a relationship after the mess he’d gotten into with Mandy, but if he were it would be easier if the woman got along with his father. And shared his values. And loved children.

And turned him on even when she wasn’t trying, just by sitting in the dark, wearing a T-shirt, with a plate of Oreos and a glass of milk.

“You know who you just described, don’t you?” he asked in a low voice.

She shook her head.

“You.”

“I didn’t,” she denied.

She polished off the rest of her milk and stood. The T-shirt fell to the middle of her thighs, leaving her legs bare. He could see the silhouette of her figure through the thin material. His mouth went dry.

Her brow knitted and he imagined she was replaying what she’d said. “Okay, maybe I did describe myself. Then I must’ve been wrong about your type.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He stood up, too. He’d taken off his shoes when he came in the house, but he still topped her by five or six inches. Taking her empty glass, he set it on the counter, his eyes never leaving her lovely face. “I think you got my type exactly right.”

Her throat constricted as she swallowed. She was nervous, he realized. Like her blush, her slightly uneven breathing made her more attractive. He should be exhausted considering the hour but his senses came screamingly alive.

Her eyes were huge in her pale face. Slowly he pushed the fingers of his right hand through her hair, cradling the back of her scalp. “I like your hair.”

“Thank you,” she said formally.

He grinned, charmed by her response.

With the index finger of his left hand, he traced the slope of her nose, pausing halfway down. “I like this little bump.”

She didn’t move. She didn’t even blink.

He lowered his finger, exploring the indentation between the bottom of her nose and her mouth. “And this little crevice.”

“It’s called a philtrum,” she said, her voice breathless. “I only know that because someone mentioned it once on a television show.”

“Okay, then I like your philtrum,” he said, testing the word. His fingers moved lower, to trace the outline of her lips. “But I love your mouth.”

His lips replaced his fingers, molding themselves to the sweet curve of her lips. She accepted the kiss, standing on tiptoe, anchoring her hands on his shoulders. Sensation swamped him, his body going instantly hard despite the kiss being almost chaste. Although their mouths were locked, inches separated their bodies.

She was the one to deepen the kiss, flicking her tongue lightly over the tip of his. He groaned, taking control of the kiss, switching from chaste to hot in an instant. She kept pace, twining her arms around his neck, plastering herself against his body so she couldn’t miss his arousal.

Their mouths mated, the way he wanted to join with her. And why not? They were two consenting adults
with the house to themselves. His initial reaction after Mandy had played him for a fool was to vow not to let any other woman take advantage of him, but it wasn’t in his nature to blame one woman’s actions on another. Kelly wasn’t Mandy.

Kelly made him feel things no other woman had.

Wonderful things.

The tinny sound of a baby crying intruded on his consciousness. The baby monitor. Toby. With great difficulty he called upon his willpower and pulled back. Kelly gazed at him, her lips parted, her face flushed, her eyes slightly glazed. He’d never seen her look more desirable.

“What’s wrong?” she rasped.

The sobs emanating from the baby monitor answered for him.

He leaned his forehead against hers, trying to summon the strength to leave her. “I have to get him.”

“I know you do.” Her lips curved in a shaky smile. “Then you should get some sleep. Don’t you have work tomorrow morning?”

“I do have work,” he said, “but I don’t need sleep.”

She laughed softly.

“Go comfort Toby, then get some rest.” Her breath was warm and sweet against his lips. “It’s tough to let you go, but it’s just as well. I was forgetting that I like to get to know a man before I jump into bed with him.”

He’d said something similar to her just moments ago. The philosophy usually made perfect sense, but not in this case. The hell of it was that he was absolutely certain Kelly felt the same.

Toby’s cries grew more insistent, rendering the point
moot. They wouldn’t be resuming their lovemaking tonight. Disappointment crashed through him with the force of an avalanche.

“Go to Toby,” she urged. “I understand.”

She wouldn’t be his type if she didn’t, which made climbing the stairs away from her all that much harder.

“O
NE
. T
WO
. T
HREE
. T
HROW
!”

“Catch those suckers!”

“Don’t let them splat!”

Squeals of delight and bursts of laughter pierced the late-afternoon air. The sounds emanated from the downtown park where two lines of children faced each other on a grassy field at a distance of about six feet.

Kelly had to give credit to Chase and the other man shouting encouragement. They really knew how to get the kids excited about an egg toss.

“Get ready for the next toss!” Chase’s partner yelled.

“Remember to cradle those puppies.” Chase demonstrated the fine points of how to catch an egg by cupping his hands with his palms facing skyward. “Soft hands are the key.”

Kelly smiled to herself. If Chase were competing, she’d put her money on him. Even though he had the slightly calloused hands of an outdoorsman, she knew from firsthand experience that they could be very soft.

“Ready! Set! Go!” the other man yelled loudly.

Eggs flew all over the field, some finding their marks, others hitting the ground and smashing, still
others breaking apart in the hands of the young participants.

The competition was part of the Indigo Springs Fourth of July festival, which had begun early that morning with a 5K race, continued at noon with a reading of the Declaration of Independence, then really got rolling in the late afternoon with a parade down Main Street.

Charlie had returned from his fishing trip just before noon, expressing little surprise to find Kelly at the house babysitting Toby.

He’d taken it for granted that Kelly would accompany him and Toby to the festival. So after the baby’s nap, they’d packed Toby and his assorted paraphernalia in the car, arriving just in time to watch the marching bands, floats, motorcycle cops and dancing teams commemorate the Fourth.

The children’s games portion of the festival was currently underway, with dinner and live music to follow. The entire event would be capped off with a fireworks show that event organizers promised would be spectacular.

“Chins up!” Chase told the disappointed duos who’d allowed their eggs to break. “You can’t let a little egg get you down!”

Even some of the disqualified children laughed at his comment. It was easy for Kelly to see why the festival organizers had deputized Chase and his friend to run the children’s games.

She leaned closer to Charlie on the bench they’d been lucky enough to find vacant. Not only was it in the
shade, but the spot had a clear view of the field. Toby sat on Charlie’s lap,

“Who’s the guy with Chase?” She indicated Chase’s tall, darkly handsome companion. With his very short hair and athletic build, he looked almost as good as Chase. But not quite.

“That’s Michael Donahue,” Charlie answered. “He’s in the construction business with the Pollocks. I think you might have met his fiancée, Sara. She’s a lawyer. Office on Main Street.”

“Oh, yeah.” Kelly took a quick look around, feeling herself relax when she didn’t spot Sara. In other circumstances she would have tried to befriend the lawyer, but Sara had been openly suspicious when Kelly had questioned her about Mandy.

“Michael’s great-aunt is on the festival committee,” Charlie continued. “When nobody stepped up to run the children’s games, she volunteered Michael. Poor Mike was so nervous about doing it himself that he bribed Chase to help him.”

“Bribed? How?”

Charlie chuckled. “He offered Chase a hundred bucks to be his wingman.”

“And Chase took his money?”

“Of course not. But Chase did get Michael to promise to pour us a new driveway.”

“For free?”

“Chase let Michael think so, but you know my boy. He’d never take advantage of a friend like that.”

Kelly did indeed have a hard time picturing Chase manipulating the situation to serve his driveway needs,
but something about the story didn’t compute. “Why would Chase need to be bribed? He looks like he’s having the time of his life.”

“That’s the really funny thing,” Charlie said. “Sara had already lined up Chase to help before Michael approached him, only Michael didn’t know it.”

Toby reached out and batted Kelly in the nose, smiling as though he was playing the carnival game Whack a Mole and her nose was the mole.

“No, no, sweetheart. We don’t play patty-cake with noses.” Kelly rubbed her smarting nose. With hand-eye coordination like that, she thought, Toby might be a ringer at future egg tosses.

The participants in the event had been dropping like the eggs they were tossing as Kelly and Charlie talked. Only two very eager teams remained.

“Didn’t that blond kid win the sack race?” Kelly indicated a lithe, handsome boy who had a knack for catching an egg.

“Yep. That’s Timmy Waverly. Eleven years old and already one of the best athletes in town.” Charlie inclined his head toward a cluster of parents in the distance. “See the blond guy with the chiseled features. He was a pole vaulter at Penn State. He’s Timmy’s dad.”

Timmy’s dad was also the man who’d waylaid Kelly when she’d gone to get some freshly squeezed lemonade during the Frisbee throw. He’d introduced himself as Jim Waverly, then barely took a breath before asking if she’d like to meet him for a drink sometime, the fastest come-on Kelly had ever experienced. She’d politely declined.

The two remaining pairs vying for the egg-toss championship title took another giant step backward. The four children practically vibrated with excitement in anticipation of the command to let the eggs fly.

Charlie paid little attention to the drama on the field, as he had all day. His eyes roamed the crowd, even though the cast of characters hadn’t changed much since the children’s games began. A throng of young mothers were standing together, some of them openly staring at Kelly and Charlie.

“Are you looking for somebody?” Kelly asked.

“No!” Charlie said quickly.

“Really?”

“Okay, you got me.” He sounded sheepish. “But it’s no big mystery. Teresa said she’d be here and I don’t see her. She’s a family friend.”

Amid more squeals, the two pairs vying for the win successfully completed their tosses and catches. The smallest girl, who wore pigtails and couldn’t have weighed more than sixty pounds, did a celebratory jumping jack.

“If you’re talking about Teresa Jessup, she’s probably still in Philadelphia with her daughter and grandchildren,” Kelly said.

“Teresa’s in Philadelphia?” Charlie sat up straighter. This time Toby tried to bop his nose, but Charlie dodged and the baby missed. Charlie didn’t even bother to reprimand him. “When did she go to Philadelphia?”

“Yesterday. Her granddaughter fell and hit her head and went to the emergency room. At first they thought it might be a concussion but she’s fine.”

“Is Teresa still there?”

“As far as I know,” Kelly peered at him, wondering whether Teresa was more than a casual family friend.

“Don’t let that little bugger drop!” Chase yelled, switching Kelly’s attention back to the egg toss.

“Get it in the hands!” shouted Michael Donahue.

Both children on the receiving ends of the high-arcing throws from their teammates followed the directions to the letter, catching the eggs cleanly. The pigtailed girl beamed but Timmy Waverly grimaced. He opened his hands. Egg yolk dripped onto the grass.

Letting out a high-pitched shriek of triumph, the girl held her unbroken egg in the air.

Chase whooped. Michael raised both his arms and the little girl and her equally young partner jumped up and down as if their legs were pogo sticks.

“Great job, everybody!” Chase yelled, awarding the participants with a round of applause. “Now on to the pie-eating contest!”

While Michael herded the children to the outdoor pavilion where the next event was being held, Chase jogged to the shady spot where Kelly sat with Charlie and Toby. He had on the same bright orange T-shirt as the other festival volunteers, but the color didn’t fare so badly when worn over a very nicely put together chest.

Because Chase had already left for work by the time Kelly woke that morning, this was the first time she’d been within six feet of him since last night’s kiss.

She’d half convinced herself she’d imagined the ex
citement that tingled through her whenever he was near, but the thrill was still there.

“I’m coming for you, Toby!” he cried before plucking the giggling boy from Charlie’s lap and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek.

Kelly thought Toby was a very lucky baby.

“You and your friend run a mean competition,” Kelly said. “Those kids are having a great time.”

Chase smiled at Kelly over the baby’s head. His brown eyes were warm, the smile intimate even though they weren’t alone.

“The kids aren’t the only ones having fun,” he said, “but I’m a little worried about the pie-eating. Seems Michael promised a couple of the kids we’d take them on.”

Charlie chuckled. “That should be entertaining. Aren’t the pie shells filled with whipped cream?”

“Yes. And you can’t use your hands.” Chase rolled his eyes and handed Toby back to his father.

“Mr. Chase! Mr. Chase!” The two girls who’d won the egg toss ran up to them and flanked Chase, each taking one of his hands and tugging. The pigtailed girl was more persistent. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”

Chase winked at Kelly before he let the two girls drag him off, calling over his shoulder, “Gotta go and make a fool of myself.”

“This I have to see,” Kelly remarked to Charlie. “Are you coming?”

He hesitated. “I think I’ll just sit here in the shade a while longer with Toby.”

“I can take him off your hands if you need a break,” Kelly offered.

“You better not.”

She picked up on a strange vibe in his voice. “Why not?”

“Louise Wiesneski,” he said. “She’s the librarian who asked Chase a bunch of questions about Mandy the other day. She’s over by that tall pine tree. She’s been staring at us.”

Kelly turned her head in the direction he’d indicated, but couldn’t pick out which woman was Louise Wiesneski. “A lot of people seem to be staring at us.”

“They’re wondering who you are and where Mandy is,” Charlie said in a soft voice. “For Chase’s sake, don’t give them anything to gossip about. In fact, it might be best if you let them think you and Mandy are related. You sure look enough alike.”

Kelly chewed on her bottom lip, mulling over his suggestion. “Chase won’t like it if I lie to his friends.”

“He’ll like it even less if people start speculating that Mandy abandoned her baby. Then he’ll get it into his fool head that he has to go to DPW.”

“I thought he was going to do that anyway.”

“Not if I can talk him out of it,” Charlie said. “We don’t know if DPW would let us keep Toby so why ask for trouble? We’ll find Mandy eventually. If it takes a couple of months, it takes a couple of months.”

Kelly nodded her agreement because Charlie’s argument made sense. It seemed highly likely that Mandy wasn’t coming back for Toby, but nobody could be sure of that. If Chase could manage to stay away from DPW, he had the luxury of time to find Mandy.

Kelly didn’t.

She told Charlie and Toby she’d catch up with them later, then headed for the pavilion. While she walked, she chastised herself for forgetting, even for a second, why she was in Indigo Springs.

She should be spending every waking moment searching for clues instead of letting herself be lulled into the false notion that she could fit into Chase’s life.

Since yesterday, when she’d searched the bedroom where Mandy had once slept and found nothing except that useless T-shirt, she hadn’t done a thing to find the other woman.

That needed to change. Immediately.

One of the young mothers who’d been openly staring at Kelly was walking toward the pavilion ahead of her. Kelly considered picking up her pace so she could find out whether the woman had known Mandy, then remembered Charlie’s warning.

The woman could be Louise Wiesneski, the librarian. How could Kelly question her when her inquiries might bring Chase trouble?

Just as Kelly made the decision to hang back, the woman turned and spotted her. She slowed, waiting for Kelly to catch up. Tall and reed-thin, she had frizzy blond hair she wore in a ponytail.

“Hi. I’m Edie Clark,” she said, and Kelly relaxed. Edie resumed walking when Kelly fell in step beside her. “You’re new in town, aren’t you?”

Something about the quasi-casual way in which she framed the question warned Kelly that Edie could be as nosy as Louise Wiesneski. She decided not to pro
vide the woman with her last name. “I’m Kelly, and I’m just visiting.”

“I knew I hadn’t seen you around before when I noticed you over there with Charlie Bradford and the little boy. Is he your nephew?”

Edie evidently hadn’t heard about Kelly showing the sketch of Mandy around town. Just as obviously, she was fishing for information that she’d probably turn around and share with her friends. Kelly needed to tread carefully, exactly as Charlie had advised.

Kelly smiled pleasantly. “Why do you ask?”

“Why?” Edie seemed surprised by the question. “Because you look just like Mandy except for the hair color. Some of us have been wondering if you’re sisters.”

It was unlucky for Kelly that Mandy hadn’t kept the dyed red shade. If the kidnapper had been a redhead, the eyewitness would have been far less likely to misidentify Kelly.

“We get that a lot.” Kelly left her connection to Mandy purposely vague, but Edie nodded as though she’d gotten confirmation of her assumption.

“Thank goodness the two of you are related.” Edie abruptly stopped walking. Kelly did, too. “Now I can admit I was taken aback when I thought maybe you and Chase…Well, never mind that now. Not that I don’t believe what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

“Excuse me,” Kelly said, “but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Edie glanced left then right before lowering her voice to a stage whisper. “I really shouldn’t tell you.”

In other circumstances, Kelly wouldn’t ask. Edie was
clearly a terrible gossip, the kind of woman Kelly tried to avoid. But if Edie was privy to information about Mandy, Kelly needed to know what it was.