Interrupted Lullaby

by Dana R. Lynn

Dan bowed his head. He’d had no choice. He knew that, but taking a life was never something to take lightly.

  “Thanks for coming for me.”

  He lifted his head and saw the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The woman he loved was alive. He had saved her and made sure that the twins would not be orphans. That was something he could be proud of. Giving in to temptation, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. He stayed for a second to breathe her in.

  He still wasn’t worthy of her. He knew that now. But at least he knew she would survive.

  An ambulance was waiting to carry the women to the hospital. He held Maggie’s hand until they loaded the stretcher, then stood watching the road until the vehicle had disappeared.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  Jace had arrived. But something wasn’t right. His usually cheerful friend was wearing a grief-stricken expression. Dan’s instincts went into high gear. Someone had died. Who...? Oh, no. His gut clenched.

  “Tony?”

  Jace nodded. A tear wobbled its way down his cheek. He scrubbed the palms of his hands against his eyes. When he took them down, the tears were under control, but the sorrow remained in his expression.

  Dan wasn’t one to judge. He was fighting his own losing battle against his grief, and he and Tony were just friends. He knew that Jace had been very close with his brother-in-law.

  “When?” That was all he could manage. His throat was raw.

  “In surgery. He never regained consciousness. Irene...” Jace let the sentence fade away.

  Poor girl. Irene would be devastated.

  And he had considered telling Maggie he loved her? Now he was glad he hadn’t. He was surer than ever that she’d be better off without him.

  * * *

  Maggie wiped a tear from her eye. Tony Martello’s funeral was one of the saddest she had ever attended. He had been loved and deeply respected in the small community. The procession from the church to the cemetery had stretched for a mile.

  Irene was pale but seemed to be holding herself together. Her small sons held her hands, confusion written all over their freckled faces. At ages two and four, they were too young to understand what was happening.

  To her right, she could hear Tony’s mother sobbing uncontrollably. The sound ripped through her.

  She looked at her twins, nestled safely in her and her mother’s arms. They were unusually quiet today, as if they, too, were aware of the sadness of the occasion.

  Her eyes shot to the pallbearers. Dan, Paul, Jace, Jackson, Thompson and Olsen stood with their dress uniforms on. Their expressions were stern, but she couldn’t help but notice the grief shadowing their faces. It broke her heart to see the agony in Dan’s beloved eyes. He looked a little lost. What would this do to him?

  The past few days were already taking their toll. Despite the closeness they had initially shared following her rescue, an invisible barrier had gone up between them that was even harder to get past than when they had first met. Oh, sure, Dan was polite. But no more than that. When they met, he was distant. His smiles were infrequent and never quite reached his eyes. And they were all for her children, who continued to adore him.

  But he still watched her. She would look up and catch his unguarded gaze. Those gray eyes brimmed with a mixture of longing and despair. She knew he loved her as she loved him. She refused to believe she was wrong about that. But the events of the past few days had created such a wall between them that she wasn’t sure love was enough.

  What could she do? She couldn’t force him to face his demons. All she could do was turn it over to God. It still amazed her that she was praying again. She had lived so long without acknowledging God, sometimes she still felt guilty about asking Him for help. But, she reminded herself, He had never abandoned her. Just like she would never abandon her children. If one of them went astray, she would always accept them back.

  Her eyes flashed to her mother. Anna was living proof of this truth. Maggie had apologized several times. And had been met with love and tenderness. No reproofs or reprimands.

  God was like that.

  The funeral ended and the mourners drifted from the grave site. She had decided to approach Dan after the funeral. Not in a confrontational manner. More like “Hey, how are you? Want to grab a cup of coffee?” That sort of thing.

  Her eyes skimmed over the people still hanging around. Ah. There he was. He seemed to be in a pretty deep conversation with Paul. She mentally rolled her eyes at herself, calling the chief of police by his first name. But he had asked her to. Anyway, their conversation looked serious. She’d have to bide her time and wait until they were done.

  Her mother and Seth were walking together, showing off the twins and getting acquainted. That was a strange idea still. But Seth wanted to be a part of her life, so he insisted he needed to be friends with those she loved. And it wasn’t as though her mother had meant to come between his parents. If anything, Anna had been another victim of his father’s selfishness.

  Her eyes moved back to where Dan and Paul had been to see if they’d finished their conversation. Wait a minute! Where had Dan gone? Paul was still there, looking even sadder than before. He saw her staring and sighed. Then he started moving in her direction. Oh, no. Her stomach dropped. She desperately needed a glass of water, because her mouth was suddenly as dry as a desert. Whatever Paul was coming over to say, it wasn’t good.

  Instinctively, she shook her head in denial. He stopped in front of her. It seemed to take a huge effort on his part to speak, so she went first.

  “He’s gone, isn’t he?” Her voice was harsh.

  He nodded, his expression somber.

  She pressed her lips together so they wouldn’t tremble. Blinking rapidly, she focused her attention over his shoulder. Maybe she could find him before he got too far. A hand on her shoulder brought her back.

  “Let him go, Maggie,” Paul implored. “He needs time. A little space to get his act together.”

  “Will he come back?” she demanded. Part of her was amazed at her own boldness.

  “I don’t know.” Not what she wanted to hear. “I hope he will. He knows he’s welcome. There’s nothing more than that I can do.”

  She hesitated to ask the next question. Because really, what was the point if he was going to leave without even saying goodbye?

  “Do you know where he’s going?”

  “No. He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”

  So that was it. It was over before it had even started. But she knew she’d never forget him. He’d left and taken her heart with him.

  SEVENTEEN

  Maggie took one last look at herself in the mirror and decided she was ready to go. She grabbed her winter coat and her gloves and headed downstairs. Giggles and shrieks echoed through the house. She grinned as she entered the living room, where Seth was being tackled by two very wound-up toddlers. A grin she quickly repressed.

  “You know I’ll never get them to bed on time tonight, right?” She aimed a mock glare at her unrepentant brother.

  Seth beamed back at her. “Take it easy, sis. Uncle Seth will have these two munchkins clean and ready for bed when you get home.”

  She couldn’t help it. She smiled at him, her heart welling up with tenderness. She loved it when he called her sis. He had taken his role as brother and uncle to heart. Even to the point of acting as her babysitter when she needed to go out. He spoiled the kids, but Maggie didn’t have the heart to discourage him. She understood that part of his actions was making up for the times she had struggled without her brother to look after her. It was crazy, but it was always heartbreakingly sweet the way he’d taken brotherhood in stride. His father, or rather their father, was still trying to come to terms with the whole here’s-your-grown-daughter scenario. Although she no longer hated her father, she was still glad that he never
invited her to call him Dad. They both seemed to be satisfied with Joe.

  “Okay, I’m going.” Giving her kids a quick kiss and Seth a hug, she walked out to her car, noticing that Seth had cleared the snow off and started it for her. He’d shoveled the driveway, too. Her eyes grew damp. She just wasn’t used to anyone taking care of her.

  After getting in the car, she backed carefully down the driveway of the comfortable two-story house she lived in with the twins. The roads weren’t bad after the previous night’s snow, just a little wet. She steered cautiously onto the main road and headed into town. In a few hours it would be dark. The Christmas lights would come on. She should start thinking about getting a tree. Probably a fake one, since a real tree was a lot of work. Seth would be willing to help out, but it wasn’t his help she craved.

  Sighing, she pulled into the restaurant parking lot and turned off the motor. And continued to sit, her head bent. Two months. It had been two months since Dan had walked away. Two months without a word. Of course, her mother was always willing to listen to her when the sorrow overwhelmed her. Her friends had tried to be there for her, to support her. It was weird, but Mel and she had become close. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself the luxury of a best friend. In fact, with the exception of Wendy, it had been a long time since she’d had a friend at all. But even Mel couldn’t answer the questions she needed the answers to. How was he? Was he recovering? Would he ever come back?

  Every morning, she prayed for Dan. Sometimes she caught herself looking out the window and dreaming about him.

  Her twins helped her through the worst days. But when she was alone, the ache grew. She had loved her husband, but now she realized it was a selfish kind of love. It was a love born out of the need for human companionship. After finding out the truth about her father and blowing up at her mother, she’d needed to feel loved and valued by someone. If she had had the support of the friends that she had now, she may not have fallen for him. But Dan...Dan was the other half of her heart. She remembered how natural it had felt just to sit silently with him. How he would take her hand and squeeze it when she was upset or sad. She remembered how he had willingly put himself in harm’s way to protect her and the children. Every time.

  Enough! Throwing open the door of her sedan, she picked her way across the parking lot, taking care to avoid any black ice. She entered the restaurant and was greeted with the aromas of a variety of delicious foods. The warmth enfolded her like a hug. She’d often come to this restaurant before her troubles started. The young hostess smiled a greeting and seated her.

  “A woman is meeting me here,” she informed the hostess, accepting the menu she was handed. “My name is Maggie.”

  “Fine. I will bring your guest over when she arrives.” The hostess smiled again and left.

  Five minutes later, she returned with a tall, slim woman. Lily Klemz was just as Dan had described her. Glamorously beautiful, despite the long scar running down the left side of her face. Her blond hair was styled with casual elegance and her makeup was flawless. She settled herself across from Maggie. Both had yet to say a word. A bubbly waitress, most likely a college student, set glasses of water in front of them and departed again, promising to return soon for their orders.

  The awkward silence settled between them. How exactly did one start a conversation with the ex-wife of one’s dead husband? Maggie risked a glance at Lily’s elegant face. Any awkwardness she felt was overshadowed by the sympathy she experienced when pain flashed briefly across the other woman’s face. She wasn’t as calm as she looked.

  “Thank you for meeting me here, Lily.” Lily startled at Maggie’s softly spoken words, although she must have expected Maggie to say something.

  “I don’t know why you wanted to meet,” Lily blurted before her red-painted lips pressed together. Probably to disguise the fact that they were trembling.

  “I wanted you to have something.” Maggie reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, which she slid across the table. Lily slowly opened it and peered inside. She blanched and started shaking. In her hand she held a check. A very large check.

  The young waitress came by. Mostly to give the other woman time to recover, Maggie ordered first. Just a Diet Coke and salad. Nerves were rumbling through her stomach like a power drill. There was no way she could eat much of anything.

  “And for you, ma’am?”

  Lily shook her head.

  The young girl waited. Really? She couldn’t see that Lily was distressed?

  “That’ll be all for now.” Maggie smiled at the girl, silently willing her to leave quickly.

  When she was gone, Lily lifted her head. Maggie’s heart went out to her. Lily’s blue eyes were swimming in tears.

  “What is this?” Lily managed to choke out.

  “Malcolm, the man I knew as Phillip, was a wealthy man by the time he died. I asked, and the money is clean.” Maggie reached across the table to touch Lily’s hand with her own. “Lily, I know you suffered because of our husband’s business, and so did I. So when the money was handed over to me, how could I keep it all?”

  In fact, she had kept less than half. It made sense to her, since she had already taken some when she had gone into hiding.

  “So, was it all for nothing?”

  Maggie heard the note of anger in Lily’s voice and frowned, puzzled.

  “Was what for nothing?”

  Lily waved an elegant hand at the envelope. “The second job, the trouble Malcolm got himself into. If he had so much money, why would he need to get involved in any of that? Why keep it from me?”

  “No, Lily,” Maggie hastened to explain. “Believe me, I asked the same questions. The money was made after all that. Part of it was that he saved everything he could while working at the job the Witness Protection people got him. He also did do some investing. Apparently, he would invest and pull his money when he had made a large profit. He did that for several years running. I can’t explain it any better than that.”

  After grabbing her water, Lily swallowed a couple sips. Maggie thought more to give herself time to think than because she was truly thirsty. Better let her have a moment, although it was difficult to sit and wait. Finally, Lily met her eyes again.

  “You could have kept it all. I never would have known anything about it.”

  She nodded. What else could she say? Besides, she didn’t think the blonde sitting across from her really expected an answer. Lily confirmed it when she continued without waiting for a response.

  “I appreciate it. I really do. Life hasn’t been easy, and this will help. So I thank you for your kindness.” Sliding out of the booth, Lily stood and buttoned her coat, then slid leather gloves onto her hands. Picking up the envelope, she slid it into her large purse.

  “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Maggie. I mean no disrespect, and I don’t hold a grudge against you. Maybe if we had met under different circumstances... Well, who knows? But the point is I think it would be best if this was the end of our association.”

  Nodding, Maggie watched as Lily turned and wove through the restaurant and out the door. She couldn’t blame her. Contacting her had definitely fallen outside Maggie’s comfort zone. Still, it had been the right thing to do.

  Her phone buzzed. She slipped it out of her pocket and saw she had a text from Seth.

  Kids clean n fed. Watching a movie. I win best uncle award.

  Maggie grinned and replied.

  Sure do. Mind if I do some Christmas shopping?

  Knock yourself out. My favorite color is green.

  Laughing to herself, she put the phone back in her pocket. As the waitress passed, she asked for the bill. The girl gave her a startled look. No wonder. She hadn’t even touched her salad. “And a doggie bag,” she amended. Maybe she’d eat when she got home.

  While waiting
for the check, she turned her thoughts to a more positive subject. Christmas shopping. Funny how last year she hadn’t even bothered. The twins had been too young to know any better, and she’d had no one else to buy for. This year she had a whole host of people. The kids, her mom, Seth, Mel and Jace, maybe even her dad, although she couldn’t really think of him as her father. And she’d have to find something that would travel well to send to Wendy, still away on her mission trip—with a new house sitter in place.

  A motorcycle outside the window caught her attention. Her breath hitched as memories of Dan again flooded through her. If only he had stayed, they could have celebrated the season together. Her first year as a believer since she was a child. Yes, if only...

  “Maggie.”

  Her heart stuttered, then started racing. Her hands grew cold. Even as she slowly rotated in her seat she scolded herself for being weak, for still wanting to believe that he would come back to her. He was gone. He wasn’t coming back...but there he was.

  Dan.

  * * *

  He drank in the sight of her. Black curls, wide blue eyes. Her face seemed a little pale, but it was still the most gorgeous face he had ever seen. How could he have ever been so stupid as to leave her behind? He had thought he was doing the right thing, but looking at her face, he could see his actions had built a wall between them. It wouldn’t be easy to break down her defenses.

  Good thing he wasn’t afraid of a fight. And she was worth it.

  Without waiting for permission, he sat down across from her. Her lips pursed and she raised her chin. Nope. She wasn’t going to make this easy.

  “I’m not staying. I was just on my way out.”

  Ouch. She could freeze a man with that voice. He winced.

  “Please, Mags. I know I messed up. I’m hoping to do better. Hear me out? Please?”

  Wariness battled with yearning on her face. His throat tightened. He had missed her so much. What if she didn’t feel the same way? What if she wouldn’t hear him out?

  He wouldn’t give up, he reminded himself. If it took him the next five years, he would pester her until she let him in.