Toys and Baby Wishes (9 page)

***

The red truck that pulled into Lexa's driveway had a cover
on the back.  Josh always thought of everything.  He was so much fun, except
when he got that serious gleam in his eyes that said he wanted to get closer
"now".  She still had doubts.  Josh might like kids, but could he
love an adopted child as his own?  Memories of her stepmother were hard to
erase.  Even now, she didn't know why Loretta and her dad had gotten divorced. 
Lexa had been so relieved not to have to deal with the woman again, she hadn't
asked questions.

She'd never been hostile to Loretta.  But the woman had
constantly acted as if they were in competition.  Lexa had so little time with
her father that when he was around, she'd wanted to talk to him, be with him,
tell him her fears, hopes, and dreams.  Loretta had prevented that whenever she
could.  She'd said, "Your father's busy.  He can't be bothered." 
Eventually Lexa had believed her and turned all of her attention and energy to
Dani.

Would Josh feel he was competing with a child?  Would he
resent time she spent with a child?  And if not, if he could love an adopted
child as his own, how would he feel when he knew she couldn't have more
children?  So many questions without answers.

Josh was becoming dear to her.  Even when they weren't
together, he let her know he was thinking about her.  One day she'd retrieved
her messages, and one of her favorite downloads had played.  Another day he'd
sent her a bouquet of daisies.  Yesterday she'd received a box of imported
chocolates by messenger.  She'd never met anyone like him, so tender, gentle,
caring.  She didn't want to spoil or sabotage what was developing between them.

Lexa pulled on her down jacket and went from her kitchen to
the garage.  She carefully wheeled her bike from the front of the garage along
her car.  She pressed a button and her garage door opened.  She wheeled her
bicycle to the back of Josh's truck.

He was already opening the tailgate.  "It's a little
cold for a picnic lunch."

"Are you backing out on me, Flannigan?"

"Me?  I was just trying to give you a chance to change
your mind.  Just you wait until we start pedaling up those hills.  Then we'll
see who wants to back out."

She twitched her nose at him as he lifted her bike into the
truck as if it were a child's toy.  "I have to lock the house and I'll be
ready to go."

As Josh drove, he asked, "How did the meeting go last
night?"

"Great.  There are nine businessmen who are going to
buy the building.  The teen center is going to be a reality.  We're getting
together Monday evening to talk about the programs we want to set up."

"We?  What part are you going to play in all
this?"

"Besides setting it up, I thought I'd volunteer to
coordinate the hotline."

"Lexa, you're not serious!"

"Of course I am.  Why wouldn't I be?"  She only
had a few months to stay involved.  When the baby came, she or he would take up
all her spare time.

Josh's eyes left the road to glance at her sharply. 
"Because you could want to be somewhat selfish and take a few hours for
yourself."

"I am doing this for myself.  I like doing it."

She wasn't getting the point.  "I want time for us. 
Don't you?"

Silence had never been so loud.

"You said you admire what I do."

"I do."

"But you don't want me to do it.  You're no different
than--"

His hand tightened on the wheel.  "Don't compare me to
anyone else.  I'm me.  Period.  I want more time for us together.  I thought
you might want the same thing."

She did.  Yet she was afraid to pin all her hopes on a
relationship with Josh when she didn't know if they had a future.

Josh glanced at her.  "I want to know where I stand and
where we're headed."

"I care about you."

"What does that mean, Lexa?  Does that mean you're
willing to make a commitment?  Does that mean you'll make time for us?"

She didn't know what to say.  And her not knowing became a
wall between them.

Josh concentrated on driving.  After maneuvering around the
busy circular square in Gettysburg, Josh headed toward the Battlefield.  Red,
white, and blue flags flapped in the breeze as he cruised up a driveway to a
parking lot.  He climbed out of the truck without a word and unloaded the
bicycles.

Lexa was thankful peddling precluded conversation.  They
rode along the Battlefield's scenic auto route through a portion of the thirty
five hundred acre historic site, stopping at focal points, exchanging pleasantries
with a few tourists but not each other.  At the Pennsylvania State Monument, they left their bikes and walked up the steps.  In silence they examined the
life-size bronze statues and the ten foot high plaques engraved with name after
name of soldiers who had died in battle.

Lexa's stomach began growling as they walked their bikes up
the hill to Devils' Den, a group of giant boulders from which the Union troops
had been routed.  They climbed up the natural stone steps and explored the
village of rock formations.  When Lexa's foot slipped on one of the boulders,
Josh caught her up against his side.  She stared up into his eyes longing for
the camaraderie and lightheartedness they usually shared.

Josh held her tightly for a few moments then released her. 
When her stomach growled loudly again, he gave her a wry smile.  "We'd
better head back to the truck.  I have a bucket of fried chicken and
biscuits."  He gazed at the sky that was getting more foreboding by the
minute.

In this historic place, going back in time, peering up at
the expanse of blue-grey sky, looking through the gathering fog to see the
beyond, Lexa suddenly felt very alone.  Tears pricked behind her eyes and she
suddenly didn't want any distance between her and Josh.

As if he sensed her emotion, Josh hung his arm across her
shoulders.  His eyes buckled to hers.  "Are we still friends?"

She nodded.

"More than friends?" he pressed.

"More than friends," she whispered.

His hand ran down the back of her hair.  It was becoming
softer and curlier in the dampness.  His arms encircled her in a nurturing
hug.  He murmured against her temple, "Let's go back to the truck before
we get wet."

They'd gotten comfortable, the basket of chicken on the
console between them when sleet began pinging against the windshield.  Lexa
licked off sticky fingers.

Josh leaned toward her and swiped a smudge of chicken
coating from Lexa's upper lip with his forefinger.  Then he leaned toward her
and kissed her full on the lips.

The kiss heated Lexa's cheeks and Josh smiled.  "You're
beautiful when you have that just-kissed look."  When her cheeks reddened
more, Josh reached for another biscuit.  "I have some news for you.  I
received information about Ted Stanley."

When Lexa had visited Stanley's office, he had handled
himself competently, seeming to know the ins and outs of financial matters. 
But she still didn't trust the man.  "What did you find out?"

Josh ate half the biscuit and swallowed.  "It's what we
didn't find out."

She was puzzled.  "I don't understand."

"Mr. Stanley doesn't exist.  He has no social security
number or birth certificate.  Despite what he told you, he never graduated from
Temple."  Josh finished his biscuit and brushed the crumbs from his
hands into the cardboard bucket.

"I don't believe it.  I mean, I don't like him but to
believe he's a total fraud...We've got to tell everyone."

Josh shook his head in warning.  "The only thing we can
do is tell everybody not to invest or to stop payment on checks.  We can't make
accusations we can't prove."

Lexa was almost bouncing on the seat as she curled one leg
under her.  "But you said there's no record--"

Josh cut in to explain.  "As thorough as Mark is, he
says he might have missed something.  He thinks this guy is a fraud but there
is a corporation on the record for Leisureville."

"So what can we do to prove he's not on the
level?"

"Mark suggested we get his fingerprints.  If he's a con
artist, he's probably done this before and he's using an alias."

"Can't we just give this to the police?"

"Mark says we don't have a case.  Believe it or not, Stanley doesn't need special credentials or a license to be a financial advisor.  The
corporation he's promoting is on the books.  It might be a dummy, but we can't
prove that yet.  There's so much red tape.  While Mark does more digging, we
could get lucky with the prints.  I have to figure out how to get them."

Lexa wiped her fingers on a napkin.  "I'll get
them."

Josh put the lid on the bucket with a thump.  "That's
not a good idea.  If he's shady and he suspects something, he could be
dangerous."

She smiled coyly.  "He won't suspect anything."

"Lexa, I don't like the idea of you--"

"It'll be simple.  There are so many excuses I can use
to see him again.  I can tell him I want to add to my portfolio."

"He might think that's strange."

"No, he won't.  Believe me, I can be very
convincing."

"And how are you going to get the fingerprints?  Steal
something from his office?"

"I could invite him over for a drink."

Josh scowled.  "No.  Don't even think about it." 
He turned Lexa's chin toward him with a gentle nudge of his knuckle. 
"Understand?"

She sighed, knowing he was right, knowing she should play it
safe.  "I'll think of something."

Josh's knuckle slid up her cheek tenderly.  "We don't
know what we're dealing with.  I don't want you involved.  I'll find a way to
get his prints."

She covered his fingers with her hand and squeezed. 
"It's easier for me.  You might make him suspicious if you ask questions. 
What if he skips town with everybody's money?"

The beat of the sleet on the truck's roof was the only sound
until Josh said, "Okay.  Try to get the prints.  But do not under any
circumstances take a chance.  Agreed?"

"I'll be careful," she promised.

Josh inclined toward her, but the console and the chicken
bucket were obstacles between them.  He dragged his finger down her throat to
the V of her sweatshirt.  "Let's go home."  The element of husky
promise in his voice made excitement skip up her spine.

Josh packed the refuse from their lunch into the bucket.  He
was anxious to get Lexa to his dry and warm apartment to finish the
conversation they had started.  Maybe with a couple of glasses of wine, some
soft music, a cuddling atmosphere, she'd let her guard down and tell him what
she was feeling--exactly how she felt about him.

After they fastened their seat belts, Josh started the truck
and switched on the windshield wipers, but the sleet froze on the windshield
and visibility was poor.

Josh drove carefully under the speed limit.  The sleet
pinged against the hood and coated the road in the evening dusk.  The grinding
swish of the windshield wipers only intensified the tension driving in
inclement weather brings.  Lexa found her hands clenched into fists at her
sides and she consciously released them, taking a deep breath to relax.  Josh's
hands were competently guiding the wheel but the lines around his mouth showed
his intense concentration.

What happened next happened so fast it had a dream-like
quality.  One minute they were driving slowly, the next the car in front of
them spun in a circle.  Josh swore, sharply turned the wheel and pumped the
brakes.  His truck spun around and lurched onto the soft shoulder of the road,
angling unevenly.  Lexa's arm and shoulder had bumped into the door but her
seat belt kept her from flying forward.

She was trying to get her bearings when Josh's hand capped
her knee.  "Lexa, are you all right?"

Before she could get any words out, he had switched on the
inside light.  "Lexa, are you okay?"

She turned toward him.  "I think so.  How about
you?"

"I'm fine.  Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, just shaky.  What about the other car?"

"He's gone.  Since there was no collision, I guess he
felt there was no need to stop."  Josh unsnapped his seat belt and leaned
toward Lexa, examining her face, caressing her cheek.  She was trembling. 
"I've got to get the truck back on the road.  I don't want to cause an
accident."  He kissed her temple, moved away, and refastened his seat
belt.

The truck sputtered twice before it purred to life.  Josh
switched the heater on high and backed away from a fence post they had almost
hit head on.  "It's a good thing no one was behind us," he muttered
to himself.  He wanted to take Lexa's hand but after what had just happened, he
kept both hands on the wheel.

Josh decided to take Lexa to her place to make sure she
wasn't hurt.  When he pulled into her driveway, they both heaved sighs of
relief.  After they reached the dry warmth of Lexa's living room, Josh took her
in his arms and held her close.  Leaning back, he took her face between his
hands.  "Are you really all right?  If anything had happened to
you..."

She stroked his jaw.  "I'm fine."

He shook his jacket off, helped her with hers and pulled her
down on the sofa.  "Let me hold you."

Their emotions were running high and Lexa snuggled up next
to him.  "We could light a fire."

"We could.  But I don't want to let you go long enough
to do it."

His blue gaze was so intense, it scared her.  Her feelings
for him scared her.  When his lips came down on hers in a no-holds-barred kiss,
their passion scared her.  Their tongues met, detonating the fuse on a chain
reaction.  Josh's passion burned through Lexa's blood, passion that threatened
to burst whenever they touched or kissed.  She kneaded his shoulders, glorying
in the muscular strength under her fingers.  He smelled like rain and wind and
a much more basic aroma that was purely male and sense drugging.  She pushed
against him, needing more contact, wanting to get as close as she possibly
could.  He had a hold on her heart, a strong hold that made her want to give
more.