It Takes a Baby (Superromance)

by Holmes, Dee

  His sudden change of subject made her mind dizzy. That was her real problem with Booth. She never knew where the most innocent of conversations would lead. “How did you know?”

  “The day you played for me? While you were changing clothes to go shopping, I saw the name Loretta Brown written on the covers. I just assumed that was her name.”

  Of course. Now she felt silly and paranoid. “It was hers. When she left my father, she took only a few things besides me, including her sheet music.”

  “Do you ever see your father?”

  “No. He resented my mother for leaving and resented me for going with her. He made it clear years ago that he wanted nothing to do with either of us.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  They were silent for a few moments. Booth reached across and squeezed her hand. “His loss, babe. He’s missing out on having an incredible daughter. Siblings?”

  She hesitated. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t connect her with Clarke, and Gary wanted no part of her for the same reasons her father didn’t. “I have two older brothers. But we’re not close, either.”

  “A family in name only.”

  “For a very long time,” she said sadly.

  “How old were you when your mother took you and left?”

  “Nine.”

  “Are you serious? How could your old man resent a nine-year-old torn between two parents?”

  “You don’t know my father. He’s very rigid and sees life only in black or white. No gray areas allowed, and God forbid that anything like emotion and caring and forgiveness could ever be part of his life.” Kathleen felt a deep sadness swamp her. Her anger had dissipated years ago. “I called him when my marriage was in trouble. He hung up on me. We hadn’t seen one another or spoken for years, and he treated me as if we’d had a major battle the day before.”

  Booth stood and drew her up from her chair. Without saying a word, he folded her into his arms. She lowered her head to hide the sudden moisture that sprang into her eyes. The pain should have left her years ago, but she still felt the sting. Perhaps her inability to put Booth and Lisa from her mind and heart resulted from her own deep need for family connections. She’d never found them with Steve, and she’d been unable to create them by having a child. Yet here was Lisa, motherless and so sweetly attached to her, Kathleen could almost allow herself to believe that she belonged here.

  She pressed her face against Booth’s shirt, finding a solid comfort that made her wish she could tell him about the rest of her life.

  Booth held her tightly in his arms, his voice low and steady. “Do you know that’s the most unguarded and straightforward you’ve been about your past since we met?”

  She knew it, had known it even as she talked, but the words had just kept coming. “It’s not a pleasant thing to talk about.”

  “But it tells me something about you. That being open is hard for you, because when you were open in the past, you were hurt.”

  Kathleen hated that once again she had to dodge the truth. She wanted to blurt out that being open with him was too easy—which was exactly why she’d be in so much trouble if she told him the truth.

  “You’re right,” she said softly.

  But even as he nodded, she wondered if this lie was the very worst one she’d ever told him. Not because the truth would get her arrested, but because the truth would take her away from him.

  HALF AN HOUR LATER, Lisa had awakened. She was still in her pajamas and finishing up her breakfast while Booth stacked the dishes in the dishwasher. Kathleen lifted the baby from the high chair and put her on the floor, where she promptly used the cabinet handles to pull herself to her feet. She turned back and grinned impishly at Kathleen.

  “Next thing we know, sweet pea, you’ll be walking.”

  Booth groaned. “Not yet. I’m not ready. She just started these trips around the furniture a few days ago.”

  “She’s growing quickly and getting more independent.”

  “And noisier.”

  At that moment Lisa pulled out a pile of pan lids from a kitchen drawer and dropped them on the floor. She clanged two together. Kathleen handed her a plastic spoon and demonstrated how to hit the lids. In a matter of seconds, Lisa was happily banging with the spoon.

  “You’re a big help,” Booth said, wincing.

  “Spoons and lids are part of being a kid.”

  Booth leaned against the counter, his eyes warm as he watched his daughter. “She is incredible, isn’t she?”

  “Absolutely. You’ve done a wonderful job with her.”

  “She hasn’t been this happy in days.” He looked at Kathleen. “Do you think she knows she doesn’t have a mother?”

  Kathleen caught his gaze on her, it was one of both longing and vulnerability. “She has you, Booth. And she adores you. Plus she has a wonderful extended family—your mom and sister and others who love her.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not the same.”

  Kathleen glanced down at the very contented baby, at the same time appreciating the importance of a family with two parents. Lisa crawled over to her and pulled herself up beside her chair, then laid her head in Kathleen’s lap.

  Tears sprang into Kathleen’s eyes as she stroked the baby’s curls. This was the kind of image she’d fantasized about when she and Steve were trying to have a baby. How ironic that this child should inspire in her such a fullness of maternal love at a time when she couldn’t embrace it and treasure it.

  “Oh, Lisa, I wish I had—” She cut herself off, realizing almost too late that with a few words she would reveal too much.

  “Kathleen?”

  “Please don’t ask me, Booth.”

  “It wasn’t going to be a question. Just an observation.”

  “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “You wish you had a baby of your own.”

  She nodded. “But not just to have a child. To have a child in a happy and stable family.”

  “With two parents who love and honor each other,” he said softly.

  “Yes.”

  Their gazes collided and neither spoke. The moment seemed fraught with her old failures now fading beneath the onslaught of new possibilities. Kathleen felt as if her heart had soared into some new unexplored space—a place where she belonged, a place without regret or fear or deceit.

  Booth cupped her chin and tipped her head up. “There’s that elusive look again.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that visualizing ideals is hard when my life is so complicated.”

  “Maybe I could help if you told me what the complications are.”

  “They’re my problems. I have to figure them out for myself. Please just leave it at that.”

  He pulled back, his eyes shuttering. Lisa had gone back to banging with the spoon. Kathleen, glad for the diversion, stood and began to put away the lids. “Your daddy wants to go to sleep. How about we find a quiet game?”

  “Kathleen?”

  Warily, she glanced at him.

  “This isn’t finished.”

  She knew he was right, simply because she’d only added to his interest. Somewhere there had to be an end to this. She couldn’t hide out for the rest of her life. How could she ever have a life that had any meaning?

  Gail would be back in a few days. She’d talk to her, and between the two of them, surely she could find a way out.

  Now, she scooped Lisa up and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle. “You’re stinky.”

  Booth grimaced.

  Glad for the diversion, she said, “I’ll take care of her. Why don’t you go and get some sleep.

  “You know, sweet pea, I think a bath would be in order. Then we can read one of the storybooks and take a nice morning nap.”

  “Good luck,” Booth mumbled. “She’s refused to take a morning nap for the past week.”

  Kathleen tickled her and she giggled. “Your daddy’s going to take his nap, and you are going to be a quiet little kitty cat, aren’t you?”

&n
bsp; Lisa’s eyes widened and she pointed to the door.

  In a serious voice, Kathleen said, “Bosco is out on a mouse hunt. Maybe later we can find him and you can pet him.”

  Lisa’s grin became a giggle, and Kathleen hugged her close.

  Booth touched her back. “You know where everything is? Clothes, diapers, all that stuff?”

  “We’ll find everything. You go on to bed.”

  He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck. “Thanks, babe.”

  Kathleen shuddered, but Booth sauntered away, going into his bedroom and nudging the door almost closed.

  “Okay, Miss Lisa Rawlings. Let’s get you cleaned up and sweet smelling.”

  By ten o’clock, Lisa had been bathed and read a farm story about a pig and a rooster, and she was curled up, sound asleep with her blanket and a stuffed toy. Kathleen had straightened up the living room, fielded two phone calls and written down messages—one from the police chief confirming that Booth’s request for Saturday night off was covered, and one from Mavis.

  “How nice to talk to you, Kathleen. Has Booth recruited you into full-time baby-sitting? He mentioned to his mother that he would love to have you stay with Lisa.”

  She laughed. “I think Lisa’s charmed her way into my life permanently.”

  “Well, I can’t think of a better person to charm. She needs some consistent care.”

  “We do seem to get along well.”

  “Booth could do with some care, too,” Mavis said with a coyness Kathleen found amusing.

  “Why, Mavis, is this a matchmaking attempt?”

  “Yes.”

  Kathleen laughed again, wishing things were as simple as Mavis made them sound. “At least you’re honest.”

  “And hopeful. Have you met Booth’s family? I told Janet—that’s Booth’s mother—about you.”

  “No, I haven’t met them.”

  “Well, what is that man waiting for?”

  “Booth and I aren’t serious in the way that would mean family introductions.”

  “Balderdash. You’re friends. Lisa adores you. And Booth’s family will, too. Although meeting his father will have to wait. Janet got her week on the Cape, but Doug bargained for his own trip to Alaska. He’s wanted to go fishing up there for years, so he and four of his friends left yesterday. Frankly, given his timing, I think he wanted to avoid my annual cookout on Saturday. Has Booth mentioned it? No? I don’t know what’s wrong with that man’s manners, but I’d love to have you come.”

  “It’s not Booth’s fault, Mavis. I’ve been busy, and to be honest, we haven’t seen a lot of each other.”

  “You’re not letting that kiss the neighbors saw bother you, are you?”

  “You know about that?”

  “Now don’t go getting upset. Talk spreads pretty quickly here in Crosby, like it does in most small towns. There’re a lot of us who think it’s about time Booth found someone to care for.”

  Gossip, Kathleen thought with a shudder. Just what she didn’t need.

  Mavis rattled on. “Booth needs to have a woman in his life. Angie isn’t coming back, no matter how much Gladys Hucklebee would like to think so. She’s been very critical of Booth, and frankly, I think it’s about time the old crone was put in her place.”

  “I met Gladys at the grocery store when I was with Booth and Lisa.”

  “Oh, dear, and she wasn’t pleasant, was she?”

  “I think maintaining Angie’s memory is important to her, and anyone who takes Booth’s attention from that is a problem.”

  “What a diplomat you are. I imagine Booth wasn’t quite as kind.”

  “Uh, no.”

  They chatted awhile longer, and Mavis again issued the Saturday invitation. “Please come.”

  Why not? Kathleen thought. What could it hurt? One picnic with people she liked. She was tired of hiding. More than six weeks had passed and no one had approached her, and thanks to Booth, she knew that “Kathleen Yardley” wasn’t on any nationwide list of wanted criminals. Yes, she was going to do this just because she was hungry for something normal and fun.

  “I’d love to come, Mavis.”

  “Wonderful. Give that precious Lisa a kiss for me and tell Booth to call me when he has a chance.”

  Kathleen hung up the phone, fixed herself a glass of iced tea and was about to curl up with her new sheet music when she heard a crash in Booth’s room.

  She walked quickly to the door. It was ajar, and she peered inside. The room was very dark, and icy cold from the air conditioning.

  She stood for a moment considering whether she should go in to see what had happened. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she took a deep breath and eased in quietly. Whatever had crashed evidently hadn’t awakened Booth. She took two steps sideways when she stumbled on the fallen item—a small table lamp.

  Picking it up and setting it aside, she noted Booth sprawled across the bed with a sheet tossed across his hips. Obviously he was naked. She moved to the window where the air conditioner hummed on the left side of the bed. She tiptoed, being careful not to trip on the spread dragging on the floor. Just as she passed Booth’s shoulder and reached to turn the doorknob, he grabbed her.

  “Oh!” She grappled for balance, but she landed on her back across his warm, rumpled sheets.

  One of his hands tangled in her hair, and his leg across hers prevented her from moving. Aroused and making no secret of it, he loomed above her, his eyes amused.

  “You tricked me.”

  “It’s the old ploy to get women into my bedroom. Knock something over and they come running. Works every time.”

  “If I hadn’t heard the crash—”

  “Let me guess. You thought I fell out of bed?”

  “No. I just thought...” What had she been thinking? Had she been curious? Wanting to see his bedroom? Wanting to see him? Wanting this? All of the above, and more. He intrigued and fascinated her; he made her too aware of her loneliness and too mindful of how he had insinuated himself into her life. Not by choice or even by chance, but by the simple, natural attraction between a man and a woman.

  He brushed his mouth across hers, lightly and softly, like the fanning of feathers. “Be honest with me, babe. At least about this be honest.”

  “I feel as if I was asking for it.”

  “And why shouldn’t you?”

  “Because I’m not usually that forward and obvious.”

  “I like you with your guard down.”

  She slipped her arms around him. “Yes, I imagine you do.”

  His hand fell to her breast, working open the buttons of her cotton blouse. Her bra was old and plain, not lacy and sexy, and she suddenly wished it were more provocative. But he murmured how pretty she was, then opened the front clasp with a dexterity that surprised her. He palmed her nipple, and instinctively she pressed forward into his hand, her breath coming in a pant.

  Booth moved, and she felt his hardness against her lower belly. She touched his chest, sliding her hand across the mat of hair that felt rich and dark and sexy. When he lifted her and rolled beneath her to pull her up so that she straddled him, she went willingly.

  “You have too many clothes on,” he murmured as he dispensed with her blouse and bra. She sat above him, her knees hugging his sides, wriggling to relieve the pressure that surrounded her lower body.

  “I think we put this off for too long,” he said, opening her shorts and sliding his hands around her to tug them down.

  “Booth, this is crazy. Sex is too serious to just do it.”

  “Too serious not to do it,” he replied. He slipped his hand between her legs, pressed lightly, and Kathleen, to her total horror, felt a surge of arousal that made her hot and wet. “Nice.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “This isn’t like me.”

  “I’m honored.”

  “You must think—”

  “That you’re beautiful, lonely, and sexy without knowing it, and best of all, you just might be attracted to m
e.” Booth held his hand against her, pressing, releasing, and Kathleen felt her response build.

  She tried to pull away, but he held her fast.

  “Easy. Easy.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening to me.”

  “That you want to have sex with me? Why?”

  “Because it’s been so long since I’ve felt anything like this.”

  “No one since your divorce?”

  “No.”

  “Your husband must have been a real bastard.”

  She didn’t want Steve here—neither the memory of him nor any sexual comparisons to him. She placed her hands on Booth’s cheeks, her thumbs coaxing at the corners of his mouth. She leaned forward, her breasts brushing his chest, and then she kissed him.

  He groaned, pressing his palm more urgently against her, finding the most sensitive area, and Kathleen couldn’t suppress her shudder. His mouth absorbed hers, their tongues tangling, tastes mingling, and deep inside her body sparkled and bubbled.

  Booth felt it, too, for he turned her onto her back, took off the rest of her clothes and settled between her thighs. His hardness found her softness and slid in deep.

  “God, you feel good. You fit around me like you’ve belonged there for a thousand years.”

  Kathleen sighed. “You’re too good at this.”

  “And you’re too desirable. Lousy foreplay on my part, babe.”

  “Next time,” she murmured, not even thinking about the ramifications of her words. “Right now, this feels too good to stop.”

  His mouth covered hers as they began the ancient rhythm that increased and took them higher and higher.

  “Booth! Booth, where are you? The door was unlocked.”

  Kathleen froze.

  Booth swore.

  “Booth?” the female voice came again, closer this time.

  Kathleen struggled to get out from beneath him. He rolled onto his side, holding her still, putting his mouth against her ear. “It’s my mother.”

  “Oh, my God!”

  “Take it easy.”

  “Easy? Easy!”

  He clamped his hand over her mouth. “Shh...”

  He threw the sheet over her, rose from the bed and found his jeans. He had just pulled them on when the door opened and the light from the hallway poured in.