by Lori Wilde
“Hey,” he said.
She turned toward him. “Yes?”
“Thanks for being here. You were an enormous help.”
She felt as if she’d done nothing. She picked up Lucy and hugged her.
“You’re welcome. Anytime you need someone for crowd control, just let me know.”
His gaze lingered on hers, and he looked as if he was about to say something, but then he shook his head. “You’re an excellent sport, Ryan.”
Looking deeply into his eyes, Becky felt a stir of something potent. She didn’t know what it was, but this man fascinated her. He was such a contradiction. Big, tough deputy who was also a tender, doting uncle. Becky’s heart went all soft.
He took Lucy from her and lifted the baby onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride. Lucy let out a squeal of delight and grabbed fistfuls of hair in both hands.
“Ride him, cowgirl,” Becky said and headed back upstairs, feeling just the teeniest bit lonely in leaving them behind.
Becky spent the rest of the day doing things she wouldn’t have the time to do when she started her new job. She had an early lunch with a friend and then drove out to the farm for a visit with her family. She helped her mother can peaches from their orchard while they shared chitchat about their lives. But she didn’t tell Mom about Nate, although she wasn’t really sure why.
It was a delightful day and she would have enjoyed herself more, if she hadn’t been worried about Lucy and the babysitter that Nate had hired. Something about Mrs. Lorenzo bothered her, even though she couldn’t put her finger on what that something was.
The woman had accepted the job and she’d be there at three to watch Lucy while Nate went off to work.
By the time Becky got home from dinner with her family, it was after eleven p.m. From outside the Victorian, she could see Nate’s apartment was brightly lit. His car wasn’t parked in his spot; shouldn’t he be home by now?
Why was his apartment ablaze with lights? Did the new babysitter have trouble getting Lucy to sleep? It was none of her business, but as long as Nate wasn’t at home, she didn’t see any harm in checking on Mrs. Lorenzo to make sure everything was A-okay.
Softly, she knocked on the door, but it wasn’t the steel-haired babysitter who opened it.
Their landlady stepped out of the hallway and closed the door, but not before Becky got a glimpse of Lucy eating on the lap of an older, attractive blond woman.
“That so-called babysitter came to my apartment—leaving Lucy all alone while she did it,” Ms. Vander Polder fumed.
“Who is that woman inside?”
“She showed up after the other one—what’s her name—talked me into coming down here.”
“Mrs. Lorenzo.”
“That’s it. She said she had an emergency and asked if I’d watch the baby until Nate got home. Well, I wasn’t born yesterday. Emergency, my foot! Well, I finally got the truth out of her.”
“Why did she leave?”
“She got a call from her bookie! She swore she’d done nothing like this before, but she’d won some big money and had to collect it immediately. I suppose we’re lucky that she even bothered to come get me and didn’t just take off and leave the little sweetheart all alone.”
“Nate will be so grateful to you,” Becky said.
“If he wasn’t with the sheriff’s department, I’d be pretty ticked at him.” Mrs. Vander Polder sank her hands on her hips. “But it isn’t really his fault that Mrs. Lorenzo was such a flake.”
“So, who is the other woman in there?”
“She says she’s the baby’s grandmother, but I hung around anyway, just in case. You can never tell about people.”
“That’s for sure,” Becky agreed, wanting to throttle Nate for being suckered in by gray hair and brown oxfords.
What good were his police “instincts” if he’d hired a woman like Mrs. Lorenzo? Of course, he had been right to let Becky go instead of taking her to the police station when he’d caught her entering Green Thumb, so she couldn’t be too hard on him.
Mrs. Vander Polder yawned. “I’d dozed off in front of the TV when that Lorenzo woman came to the door. I like to watch Jimmy Kimmel, but darned if I can stay awake most nights. I need my beauty sleep.”
Becky got the message. “I’ll stay here until Nate gets home. You can go, Mrs. Vander Polder. You’ve been inconvenienced enough. Thank you.”
“I didn’t mind. It’s kind of like a soap opera around here.” Mrs. Vander Polder left.
Becky went into Nate’s apartment and quietly shut the door.
“I’m Margaret Dalton, Lucy’s grandmother,” the blond woman said before Becky said a word.
Becky didn’t know whether to offer her hand, bow, or run for her life. This woman was mega intimidating. At least now she knew where Nate—and his sister—got their good looks. His mother had wonderful bone structure. High cheekbones. Finely chiseled features. And a perfect oval face. Her eyes were a striking blue, and she knew how to dress to emphasize them. Her knit top was a soft periwinkle blue worn with a white denim skirt. The years had been kind, with only a few fine lines adding characters to her beautiful face.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Becky Ryan.”
“Nice to meet you, Becky. There’s no reason for you to stay. I can just take Lucy to my house. It’s only an hour’s drive away, and I already have a bedroom all set up with a crib for my grandchildren.”
“I’m sure Nate will be home any minute and he’ll want to see you.” She recalled how Freddie made it clear to Nate she didn’t want their mother involved in caring for Lucy. She didn’t really want to get into other people’s business, but she felt weird just leaving. Maybe the woman wasn’t who she said she was.
“Do you know anything about this missing babysitter?” Nate’s mother asked.
“Only what Mrs. Vander Polder told me.”
“How long had she been taking care of Lucy?” Margaret Dalton stroked her granddaughter’s head lovingly, softening her question somewhat.
“Today was her first day.”
“Where did he find her?”
“From an agency. She had good references.” Not answering was unthinkable. Mrs. Dalton was a professional; her interrogation skills unnerved Becky.
“Did Nate do a background check himself before hiring her?”
Becky shrugged, mentally at least. No one had put her in a position like this since she’d seen a couple of boys in her sophomore high school class spray paint a school bus during a football game. She had told the truth then, even though some kids called her a snitch the rest of the year.
“He needed someone right away,” she said, feeling defensive of Nate.
“His father and I just got home this morning from a month-long cruise through the Panama Canal. But Nate knows I wouldn’t let a little jet lag stop me from taking care of my granddaughter. He should have called me instead of trusting a gambling addict.”
The door opened and Nate stepped into the room. He couldn’t have been more welcome if he had been a knight in battle armor.
He stopped in the middle of the room, looking stunned to find both Becky and his mother in his apartment. “Mom—you’re back. Becky, what are you doing here?”
“We caught an earlier flight home,” his mother explained. “Good thing too.”
“Did you hear about Mrs. Lorenzo?” Becky asked.
“I saw her down at headquarters.” He looked uncomfortable. “She and her bookie walked into a sting operation—illegal gambling. She told me Mrs. Vander Polder was watching Lucy when I threatened to slap a child endangerment charge on her as well. I got home as quickly as I could.”
“That settles it,” his mother said, standing up and holding a sleepy Lucy against her shoulder. “Get her things together, Nate. Lucy is coming home with me.”
“Mom, I can handle this. Freddie left Lucy with me.”
“Because I was out of town. I’m back now. I’ll take her off your hands.”
Nate
was standing his ground, legs apart, hands on his hips. Becky sensed the battle of the titans and wanted out, but he was blocking her escape route.
“I’ve been over this with your sister before. A baby needs a stable home situation. Your father and I are best able to care for Lucy until Freddie does some growing up.”
Mrs. Dalton was trying to use Freddie’s absence to get custody of Lucy? The situation suddenly became crystal clear to Becky why Freddie hadn’t wanted her mother involved.
“Mom, I’m keeping Lucy temporarily for Freddie. She’s an exemplary mother—after all, she learned from you.”
Oh, that was slick, Becky thought. Flattering his mom.
“Do you even know where your sister is right now?” Margaret asked.
“Not exactly, bu—”
“And you…you left this child with a criminal!”
“I admit I made a colossal mistake. There’s a learning curve here.”
“A curve I learned long ago. You know Lucy would be safer with me than with some stranger, Nate.”
“You’re a wonderful grandmother, no one is denying that. The best! But this is Freddie’s child and she trusted me with her care.”
“You always stuck up for your little sister, no matter what, but this time you’re wrong. Who will take care of Lucy while you’re working?”
“I will,” Becky piped up. She was meddling, interfering, sticking her nose where it didn’t belong, but she couldn’t stand by and not help Nate.
Nate’s jaw dropped and he looked gobsmacked at Becky’s offer.
“Um…who exactly is this woman?” Mrs. Dalton asked.
Lucy had gotten bored with the discussion and fallen asleep on her grandmother's shoulder.
Nate recovered quickly from his astonishment. “Mom, this is Rebecca Ryan, but she goes by Becky. Becky is my new—”
“You have a new girlfriend!” His mother was suddenly all smiles. “Well, why didn’t you say so? That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you.”
Becky was just about to correct her, but Nate jumped right in and slung an arm around Becky’s shoulder.
“Yes,” he said. “Becky is my new girlfriend and keeping Lucy will be great practice for when we have kids.”
“Oh, my! I’m thrilled. After what’s-her-name, I feared you’d never get back on the horse,” she said to her son.
To Becky, she said, “And what a pure delight to meet you, dear. I can’t wait to get to know you better. Please, won’t you come to dinner at our house on Saturday?”
“Um…” She searched Nate’s gaze. Things were getting sticky.
His eyes pleaded with her. Just roll with it.
Margaret Dalton didn’t seem to notice their silent exchange. “We’re having pot roast for dinner,” she said as if it was a foregone conclusion. “Come hungry. Apple pie for dessert.”
Becky searched Nate’s face, searching for a way out, but he tightened his grip around Becky’s shoulder. “We’ll be there. You can count on it.”
9
“Why did you tell your mother I’m your girlfriend?” Becky asked as soon as they were alone, and Lucy was asleep in her playpen.
Nate was wondering the same thing. He didn’t normally tell lies, not even little white ones, but when his mother had mistaken Becky for his girlfriend, he’d just latched on to that explanation like a lifeline. Anything to convince his mom to leave Lucy in his care. He’d promised Freddie and if he had to choose a white lie over breaking his promise to his little sister, so be it.
“Do you think my mother would have left quietly without Lucy if I said, ‘this is the woman I met when I nearly arrested her for breaking and entering’?”
“Entering, not breaking,” Becky clarified. “And you wouldn’t have to tell her about that.”
Man, but she looked so darn cute when she tilted her head at that angle, as if she was trying to puzzle out the inner workings of his mind.
“You surprised me by volunteering to take care of Lucy. My mother came here to rescue her and when my mother decides, it takes something major to distract her. You did that.” Dang, but he admired her for that.
“But why fib?”
“I thought she’d be more likely to let me keep Lucy if she believed I had a girlfriend who was willing to pitch in with childcare.”
“You’re scared of your own mother?”
He looked sheepish. “Not scared precisely…”
“Terrified.”
“Respectful.”
Becky laughed. “Okay, have it your way, but don’t be surprised if your mother hears wedding bells. Moms do that kind of thing.”
“What?” Startled, Nate blinked. “Huh?”
“She’s bound to have expectations. You’re keeping Lucy, you’re over thirty. I could see the ‘grandbaby’ cogs whirling in her brain.”
Yikes! Becky was right. His mother had been nagging him that it was time to think about settling down. He had thought none of this through, and Becky’s point was just now dawning on him. He hated lying and here he’d gotten Becky roped into a big fat one.
So why had he done it? For one thing, his mother was the only woman on earth who could intimidate him—well, except maybe Lucy—and he’d spent his childhood trying to win her over. Still, he’d gotten Becky involved in a family power struggle, and he shouldn’t have done that. “I’ll call her and tell her the truth.”
“And she’ll come back for Lucy.”
“Yeah.”
“Does your family usually put you in these kinds of tough spots?”
“No, no, this is unique.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“It’ll be fine,” he said, as much to convince himself as Becky.
“Is denial your go-to defense mechanism?”
“What? No. All we have to do is stall until Freddie shows up, which I pray will be sooner rather than later. Maybe before Saturday night.”
“And maybe not. For all you know, Freddie could be in the wind, happy to be childless and free.”
She had him there. His sister hadn’t given him a clue when she’d return. He only hoped that Freddie would miss the baby so much she’d come running back shortly.
“She wouldn’t abandon her baby.”
“Um, she already did.”
“Not, not really. She left her with me.”
“With no explanation or timetable for her return.”
“You meant it when you said you’d help?” he asked, skirting her very valid point.
She smiled softly. “Yes, but just until my job starts two weeks from Monday.”
“That’s understood. I’ll pay you, of course. Five percent above the standard rate, if that’s okay.”
“What are we going to do about our sudden couplehood?”
“Keep it short?” Embarrassed, Nate grinned.
He’d goofed big time, twice in one day. Becky urged him not to hire Mrs. Lorenzo, but he ignored her advice. Now he was waiting for her to rub it in about the babysitter. This wasn’t the first time he’d stuck out his neck for his ditzy sister, but this time, the results were worse.
Suddenly, he had a pretend girlfriend and a baby to take care of, not to mention his parents were probably dancing with joy at the prospect of marrying off their rogue son. Freddie better have an excellent reason for getting him into this. No, that was blaming Freddie for the situation he’d gotten himself into. He was the one who’d lied, and he was ashamed of himself for it.
You could call Mom and come clean.
Later. He could tell her that he and Becky weren’t really dating after Freddie returned and that would be that.
“One good thing,” he said. “I think my mother is secretly relieved that Lucy will have good care without her having to assume responsibility. She looked exhausted after her trip.”
“You didn’t have to say that it would give me good practice for when we had kids.”
He sent her a lopsided grin that he hoped said, aww shucks, could you forgive me? “C’mon,
I had to sell it.”
“You can remind her of that when I break your heart.”
She was already crafting their breakup. Touché.
“I’ll let her down easy,” he said. “Maybe your long-lost husband, who’d been presumed dead, could show up.”
“Sure. You can explain how he was trapped in the belly of a whale until the impressive beast burped him up on a deserted island in the South Pacific.”
“I like your creative imagination, but we must work on your story.” He met her gaze and lowered his tone. “Seriously, Becky, I really appreciate your offer to watch Lucy. Freddie and Mom are often at odds, and whatever this is about between them, it could get dicey if I don’t keep the baby the way Freddie wanted.”
“You’re letting them put you in the middle.”
“I know, but there’s Lucy to consider.” At the thought of his little niece, Nate’s heart lit up. The kid had a way of softening all his rough edges, and while he’d had a steep learning curve into instant daddyhood, he’d already come to enjoy having her around.
That surprised him.
“Lucy shouldn’t be a tug-of-war toy between your sister and your mother.”
“Exactly! That’s why I wanted to keep her and—”
Becky was staring at him, wide-eyed with a dreamy expression on her face.
Wait, what? She was looking at him the way a gal looked at the cowpoke she was aching to lasso and drag to the altar.
Nate slipped this thumbs through his belt loops and pulled his shoulders back and down, straightening his spine and his posture as a pleasant tingling zipped through his nerve endings.
“And?” She canted her head and lowered those long lashes and leveled a glance back up at him. Coy. Cute. Irresistible.
And every rational thought spilled right out of his head like rainwater out of a cowboy boot. Instead, he thought, I wanna kiss her so hard right now.
She pursed her lips. Holy smokes, she was hot.
Whoa, Dalton. Slow that pony down.
Becky cleared her throat. “There’s something I want to make clear.”
“All ears.” He cupped his hands behind his ears and that made her laugh, which made him stupidly happy for some unfathomable reason.
