From the way he stepped back, his jaw working as he shoved his hands in his pockets, it was apparent that his action had caught him off guard. But while Rio looked as if he wished he’d kept his hands to himself, Eve couldn’t deny the oddly calming effect the gesture seemed to have on her. Maybe it was because it had so abruptly shifted her focus. Or maybe it had been the gentleness of the contact itself. As big as he was, as strong as he was, he’d always been amazingly gentle with her.
The bang of the screen door was followed by a bellowed “Mommy? There’s nobody else playing outside. Do I have to come in now?”
Grateful for the distraction, Eve stepped back. “Yes, you do.” That was the rule. Molly could be on the porch only as long as other children were outside. “Bring in your dolls.”
Molly walked into the living room, her arms already laden with two Barbies and a bear. From her right fist dangled the dream catcher.
“I already got my dolls. Can he hang my catcher up for me now?”
He. Twice now, Eve had heard her little girl refer to Rio that way.
With anyone else, she would have pointed out that the man had a name and encouraged her to use it. But since this particular man’s name happened to be Daddy, and Eve was nowhere near ready to bring that particular subject up tonight, she let it go.
“Can he?” Molly repeated when her mother hadn’t answered.
Eve slid a hesitant glance toward Rio. He was waiting for an answer, too.
Chapter Five
Hanging the dream catcher didn’t require any special skill. It didn’t even require a hammer. Molly could have done it herself. But Rio had brought the child the gift, and since he’d offered to hang it earlier, Eve knew it was something he wanted to do. What made her feel like the Grinch was the fact that Molly wanted him to do it.
Jealousy was new to her. Hating it, but afraid to focus on the other feelings churning inside her, Eve stood in the doorway of the room that had once been her own and watched her inquisitive five-year-old direct the placement of the talisman. All the way up the stairs Molly had chattered away, wanting to know if the catcher Rio’d had when he was little was just like hers and if he had brothers and sisters.
The non sequitur was typical Molly. Her facile mind often took enormous, logic-defying leaps. But Rio took the jump in stride, seeming to have no trouble at all tracking her thoughts. No, the dream catcher wasn’t exactly the same, he’d told her, but it was close enough to do the job. And yes, he had a brother and a sister. He also had a mom and more nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles than he could count, he told her, then asked if she wanted him to hang her catcher high or low.
That’s what they were trying to decide now.
Molly sat on the edge of the bed, hugging Ted and contemplating the underside of the white eyelet canopy. Rio was stretched at an angle as he reached across the bed to secure his gift in the corner of the canopy frame, looking totally out of place in the overtly feminine room. Corded muscle shifted beneath his black shirt when he pulled back, his dark head reappearing from under the filmy white fabric.
“How’s that?” he asked the child.
Molly looked to her mom.
“How about there, Mommy?”
“It’s up to you, honey. If you like it there, it’s fine.”
“But I want you to see.”
Eve couldn’t see where “there” was from the doorway. Forcing back her reluctance, she stepped into the room, picked up a coloring book from the floor on her way and dropped it on the French provincial dresser by the old rocking chair.
“You know, Molly,” Rio said when Eve stopped next to the child. “Even without the dream catcher, you don’t need to be afraid when you sleep. I don’t imagine your mom is very far away.”
“She sleeps in there.” A small index finger pointed to a door kitty-corner across the hall. “It’s where she used to study. This is where she slept when she was little.”
The room, like its former occupant, had grown up over the years. But other than the bright art prints on the wall, there was nothing to reveal much about the woman herself. The storybooks and dolls all belonged to her daughter.
Rio seemed to sense that there was little here of the girl he’d once known. And all that was visible in the room across the hall was the corner of the rose-print coverlet on the daybed. So he didn’t bother to look around as he might have, searching for clues as to who Eve had become. He simply held her glance, watching her as if her eyes told him all he needed to know—that his presence here wasn’t as welcome as she let it seem.
He didn’t know quite what to make of her. For reasons he didn’t care to explore, it made him feel better to know she felt that way about him, too.
“She keeps the door open,” Molly added, ever so helpfully. “`Cept sometimes when I wake up at night, she’s not there. That’s when I get scared.”
Eve saw Rio’s wide brow lower just before she smoothed her hand over the little girl’s shoulder. “I always leave the light on for you,” she reminded Molly, more concerned with what the child had just revealed than with what Rio might think of it. “And you know I’m never far away. I’m usually right downstairs.”
Molly’s little mouth screwed up in one corner. “I know. But how come you always get up after you go to bed?”
She didn’t always get up. She distinctly remembered several nights where she’d simply lain awake staring at the shadows in the room instead of getting up to pace it. That had been before Rio had shown up, though. Since he’d reappeared in her life, she’d found herself too restless and worried to lie in the dark waiting for the oblivion of sleep. It was easier to numb her mind with late-night TV and fall asleep on the sofa. She couldn’t even concentrate to sketch or draw anymore. That had always been her escape before.
“I guess I have trouble sleeping sometimes, too,” she told the child, though she really wished she hadn’t had to admit that in front of Rio. To ease her child’s concern, she gave her a smile. “If your dream catcher works, maybe I’ll get one for me.”
Molly brightened. “He could bring you one.”
Molly was pointing again. As a reminder that the gesture wasn’t polite, Eve curved her hand over her daughter’s. She was about to tell her, too, that it wasn’t polite to take a person’s generosity for granted when Rio crouched down by the bed and clasped his big hands between his knees.
“You know, Molly, these things don’t always work for big people.”
“They’re just for kids?”
“Yeah. Pretty much. But if your mom knows you’re sleeping all right, then she’ll probably sleep a little better, too.”
Molly contemplated his little revelation, looking quite serious when she told him she was glad she was a kid so it would work for her. Rio told her he was glad she was a kid, too, his attention divided between the little imp smiling at him and the graceful curve of her mother’s hand resting on her narrow little shoulder. Eve had beautiful hands, soft-looking, feminine. Her fingers were long and slender, and her perfectly manicured nails were painted a delicate shade of rose. He could well imagine the feel of those hands sliding up his chest.
Bracing his own hands on his knees, he straightened himself up and took a step back. He shouldn’t have touched her before. That one small indulgence had him itching to do it again. Only he suspected he wouldn’t be satisfied with a touch, and the thoughts of what he could do with Eve in bed to take her mind off whatever it was that kept her awake did nothing but guarantee another restless night for himself.
“I have to go,” he said, sparing the child a wink. “I’ll see you later. Okay?”
Molly gave him a nod and jumped off the bed, dragging Ted with her. She was already out the door when Eve turned to the stairway herself.
“I’ll walk you down.”
“Eve.”
With her back still to him, she quietly asked, “What?”
She heard him move behind her. A moment later, something brushed her shoulder. At least, she thought
she’d felt something. The touch had been so light, so fleeting, that she really couldn’t be sure.
“We don’t have to rush into anything here. I know we agreed to hold off telling her who I am until she gets used to me. But we won’t say anything until you’re comfortable with it. I know I’m not the only one who needs time here.”
She thought she’d see hesitation in his expression. All she saw in the hard angles of his face was a grudging sort of understanding. It was almost as if he knew how hard it was for her to let him into their lives, but that he would overlook her unspoken unwillingness if it would help make the transition a little easier.
Given the turmoil she felt, there wasn’t much for her to say just then that wouldn’t unleash too much of what she was trying to hold in. She couldn’t even tell him how nice it had been of him to say what he just had to Molly. So she settled for a quiet “Thank you,” and led him down the stairs and to the front door.
He called out “‘Night, Molly” just before he left, then walked away with both hands jammed in his pockets.
* * *
The dream catcher worked. That had been the first thing Molly had said when she’d come bounding down the stairs and screeched to a halt just before she reached the kitchen, because she knew she wasn’t supposed to run in the house.
“It caught the monster!” was the actual proclamation, and the child had been so excited that she’d practically danced around the room. “The monster didn’t wake me up at all!”
If she believes, it will be so.
Rio’s words drifted through Eve’s mind as she searched the breakfast area off the kitchen for her pearl studs between bites of yogurt. The phrase spoke volumes about the man, about the strength of his own beliefs, his own convictions. It also made her want very much to borrow that strength for a little while. She wouldn’t be opposed to thanking him for making her daughter—their daughter—so happy this morning, either.
The breath she blew out feathered her bangs. She had no business thinking about any of this right now. She needed to find her earrings so she could leave. She had put Molly on the bus for day camp five minutes ago, which meant she had four hours and ten minutes to do the things that were easier to do without one particular five-year-old tagging along. Not that Molly was ever really in the way. There were just some things that were easier for Eve to do alone. There were also some places that weren’t suitable for children.
Such as the attorney’s office. She had a nine-thirty appointment.
She found one earring under the manila envelope on the dining room table. Remembering that she’d set them there so she could put the papers she’d needed to take with her into the envelope, she slipped the earring in and proceeded to check her mental list. After she left the attorney’s office, she would run by an electronics store, then stop for groceries. Since she’d asked two of her mother’s friends over to pick out mementos for themselves, she wouldn’t have time to drop the Blu-ray player off at the fund-raiser chairman’s house today, but she could do it tomorrow before the real estate appraiser arrived. This afternoon, she’d promised Molly she’d take her to see the new Disney movie at the Northend Mall Multiplex.
The second earring had rolled off the table and was on the floor by a chair leg. Eve picked it up as the phone rang.
It was her brother.
“Eve,” Hal began without preamble. “Come by my office this morning around ten. No, better make it ten-thirty. I need to talk to you.”
She didn’t know which she disliked more. The demand in his voice, or the demand itself. There were a couple of things about last night that she’d very much like to clear up, but nothing seemed so urgent that she should do his bidding at the drop of a hat. He’d put off her requests to see him for more than a week.
“I’d love to talk to you,” she returned, suspecting he acted as he did because she’d refused to play the little sister role he’d apparently felt she should assume. Being a feminist’s son, he should have known better. “But I don’t have time to go to your office this morning. I can talk for about three minutes now, though. Are you all right?”
He didn’t seem to expect her concern. Or her refusal. “No, I’m not all right.” He paused, seeming to regroup. “What’s with you and Redtree?”
Considering what Hal had concluded last night, Eve figured he had every right to ask the question. Working on her earring, she sank into the wing chair.
“We were friends,” she explained, deciding that was definition enough. “I never said anything to anyone but Mom about who Molly’s father is because I didn’t think it was anyone else’s business. Rio didn’t even know about her until last week. We’re…”
“I mean with the investigation. Why was he talking to you about the Hanson woman?”
His impatience was as much a surprise as his dismissal of what she’d just admitted. “I’m answering questions for him about people Mom knew, and he’s keeping me informed about what’s going on. What’s wrong with that?”
He hesitated. “What kind of questions?”
Far more generous with her information than he’d ever been with his, she told him what Rio had asked, starting with the questions he’d posed about the night Olivia died. When she got to those he’d asked last night, however, it was her turn to pause.
“He asked me about you, too,” she finally said, feeling like a traitor but not at all sure why. She’d never told Rio she wouldn’t say anything to Hal. He hadn’t asked her not to, for that matter. “He wanted to know how you could afford that new car. I told him I didn’t know where you got your money.” She twisted the phone cord around her finger. “I don’t know what a city councilor makes, but, Hal, Mom couldn’t even afford to live where you do.”
She hated the doubt in her voice. Hal was her brother. The only family she had left. She needed to believe in him. But after Rio had raised the questions, she couldn’t help wondering herself how he could afford the expensive clothes he wore and the house her mom had said he’d bought last year. The Heights was the most exclusive area in Grand Springs. It cost a small fortune to live there.
From the other end of the line came the sound of breath being slowly expelled.
“Mom didn’t believe in taking chances with her money,” Hal finally muttered, sounding more than a little weary of defending himself. “You know from dealing with the bank on her estate that all she ever invested in were a few long-term CDs and a nice, safe little money market account. I took a few big risks when the market was down a couple of years back, and they paid off well. I’ve been playing the stocks ever since. That’s where my money comes from.”
“I thought it must be something like that.”
“Sure you did.”
“Hal, don’t. I know you’re upset about a lot of things right now, but I’m on your side. Stop trying to punish me because Mom made me executor instead of you.”
“I don’t give a damn about that.”
“Sure you don’t.”
Hal didn’t seem to know what to say to that. So, like the good politician he was, he simply sidestepped it.
“If you’re on my side, stay away from Redtree. If you want more information, talk to me.”
“I’ve tried, but you haven’t told me anything.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I know that,” she replied, calling on the patience she often had to use with her daughter. “Rio is—”
“Rio is a reporter,” he interrupted, cutting her off. “I can’t believe how gullible you are where he’s concerned. That man is positively ruthless, Eve. I know a lot of people around here are fooled by that quiet act of his, but he’ll do anything for a headline. Including seducing you. Again. Can’t you see he’s using you?”
As indignant as Hal sounded, Eve almost expected him to say that he was going to tell Rio to stay away from the lot of them—something that, until last night, she would have thought completely out of character. Hal was a charmer, not a fighter. He picked the battles he could win o
n wit and diplomacy alone, and left the nastier skirmishes to those who didn’t mind dirtying their hands. He’d been criticized for that in the past. On more than one occasion, their mom had alluded to his approach not being aggressive enough for some of his constituents. But Olivia had felt the world could use another pacifist. At least, Eve could recall her mother once feeling that way. Other than for the pleasure Olivia had expressed at Hal’s engagement and her disappointment in him for opposing her on the mining issue, her mom hadn’t said very much about him in the past year.
Eve didn’t know whether Hal had started to change long ago or if the current pressures on him were forcing the metamorphosis. What she did know was that this was the first time he had ever come to her defense.
She couldn’t help being touched by that brotherly show of support, misinformed though it was.
“I know what I’m doing where Rio is concerned,” she gamely assured him. Seduction was not on the man’s mind. It was as clear as her Mom’s best crystal that he didn’t trust either her or whatever attraction he felt. “He’s been completely up-front with me from the beginning. He wants Mom’s murderer found as badly as we do. If I can help him, I’ll do it. I have to,” she stressed, certain he would understand. “As for Molly, he and I will just have to work that one out together.”
She checked her watch and grimaced. “I’ve got to go, Hal. I’m meeting the attorney and I’m late already. He thinks we should be ready to file for probate by the end of next week. Do you have any questions you want me to ask him?”
Hal’s pause was brief, just enough time passing for Eve to wonder if he wasn’t considering one last shot at Rio. He must have decided he’d be wasting his breath.
“No questions,” he finally said. “You’re doing a good job, Eve.”
As grudging and unexpected as it was, the compliment pleased her. Not because her brother seemed surprised that she could handle the responsibilities she’d inherited, but because it meant she wasn’t bungling the tasks as badly as she sometimes felt she was. She was flying blind with just about everything in her life right now, and praying hard that she wouldn’t crash and burn somewhere along the way. The confident front her mother insisted all women needed was just that. A front.
Father And Child Reunion Part 2 (36 Hours Serieal Book 6.2) Page 3
