Hearts on the Line

by Margaret Daley

  Becca headed toward the table where the food was being put out. “Can I help?”

  Fiona glanced up from putting down a bowl of potato salad and smiled. That was when Becca realized her mistake. She’d gone from the frying pan into the fire.

  “Why, sure, hon. I still have a few more dishes to bring out from the kitchen in the barn.”

  Becca hurried away, thinking she had escaped an interrogation by a pro, when she found Quinn’s mother keeping pace with her. “I can get the items for you.”

  “Nonsense. With both of us bringing the food out, it’ll be on the table twice as fast. I have a feeling we have a mob of hungry people waiting for me to serve them.” She laughed. “But I’m used to that because of the café.”

  Becca opened the side door into the barn and came to a halt. She hadn’t come into the building yet and was stunned by its transformation. “Barn” was no longer a word she would apply to the structure. Yes, there was a big open space in the middle with offices opening onto it on the two floors. The building still retained a feel of a barn with its rustic decor and Western theme, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Everything else was modern and reeked of an office complex of a multimillion-dollar business.

  “It still surprises me,” Fiona said near her ear. “Quinn had been wanting to redo the offices for some time. Told his dad he wanted to bring the company into the twenty-first century. So I guess some good came out of the fire that nearly destroyed everything. Escalante didn’t count on that. The kitchen is this way.” Fiona preceded Becca across the large central area where several groupings of tan leather couches and chairs were arranged with large Navajo rugs adding a colorful richness to the decor.

  As Quinn’s mom opened the refrigerator door and began removing bowls, she asked, “How long have you known my son?”

  The woman’s tone was casual but behind the words there was a sharp interest in the answer. “I’ve known who he is for several years, but until last week we hadn’t seen each other much. As you know, I responded to the suicide at his construction site.”

  “Didn’t you used to work in missing persons?”

  “Last year. Not long after helping Sam with finding Jessica’s little girl, I transferred to homicide and have been teaming up with Sam as his partner.”

  “You’re in a dangerous profession. Quinn was engaged to a police officer a few years back.”

  Becca could see the wheels turning in Fiona’s mind as she tried to gauge how serious she and Quinn were and how her job would affect their relationship. “I didn’t know Maggie well, but she was a fine officer.” She paused, deciding whether to set the record straight or not. The concern in Fiona’s expression prompted Becca to add, “Quinn and I are just friends. He’s helping me with renovating my house, which sorely needs it. That’s all.” If Becca said it enough, she would begin to believe that was all they were, that the past few days meant nothing to either one of them, that they hadn’t shared a bond since that morning on the roof of the unfinished building.

  Fiona shot her another look full of questions. “Most unusual. Quinn hasn’t gone out with many women since Maggie’s death. So seeing you two together twice in a few days made me wonder if there was something going on. He was in a bad way for a long time. Like all mothers, it’s hard for me not to worry about my children.”

  Becca filled her hands and arms with as many dishes as she could manage. “I didn’t get to tell you the other night how much I enjoyed the meal at your café.” Knowing when she was being interrogated, she needed to change the subject. She certainly understood Quinn’s mother’s interest because she would be that way if her brother or sister were seeing someone.

  “Do you all need any help?” Quinn asked from the doorway into the kitchen.

  Becca whirled around and almost dropped one of the bowls she had cradled against her chest. “I didn’t hear you come in.” How much had he heard?

  Quinn hurried across the room and removed two dishes from her hands. “We’ve got a hungry crowd out there. I thought I’d see what was taking so long.” His penetrating gaze bore into hers.

  He’d heard at least part of the conversation, Becca decided, if his look was any indication.

  His mouth quirked up in a grin. He leaned close to her ear as he turned toward the door and whispered, “I thought you needed rescuing.” He sauntered toward the entrance.

  Becca watched him for a few seconds, her body reacting to his nearness in a traitorous, uncharacteristic way—sweaty palms, rapid pulse, heated cheeks. She wasn’t used to this happening to her!

  Fiona started forward. “Better not keep them waiting any longer then.”

  Fiona’s movement snapped Becca out of her daze. She gripped the bowls tighter, hoping she didn’t drop them, and followed the pair out of the barn into the bright June sunlight.

  Becca sat at a table under the tent, the late-afternoon sun hot, only a light breeze cooling the day off. Most of the guests had left, with only a few still at the barbecue.

  “I think this party was a success,” Quinn said, seated next to her.

  “It was so successful, especially the games for the children, that you’ve tuckered out my son.” Emily held Manuel in her lap, his eyelids drooping, then popping open only to shut again.

  “As usual he’s fighting sleep. He doesn’t want to miss any action.” Peter stood and took his son from his wife. “We’d better leave and get him home.”

  Sam approached the table. “Leaving?”

  “Yeah. Manuel loves sleeping in the car. If Emily and I are lucky, he’ll remain asleep when we get home and we can get some things done around the house.”

  Emily gathered up her diaper bag and purse. “Thanks for inviting us, Quinn. I’m so glad everything is back on track for you.”

  Sam took the chair that Emily had vacated on the other side of Becca. “I’m glad nothing happened today. I get jumpy when a large group of Vances or Montgomerys get together.”

  Quinn frowned. “We can’t live our lives in fear of Escalante. If we do, he’s won.”

  “Just the same, I’ll feel better when I catch him. Did either of you feel like we were being watched?”

  Becca nodded at the same time as Quinn did. “I think he’s got us all jumpy.”

  “I had enough security here that if he had he would have been caught. Escalante isn’t a stupid man. I wasn’t gonna let anything interfere with this celebration.” Steel edged Quinn’s voice as determination lined his face. Rising, he continued, “I need to check with Mom and Dad about the cleanup crew, then I’ll take you home, Becca.”

  The worry in Sam’s expression caused Becca to ask, “What’s eating you?”

  “Now that we know for sure Escalante is alive, I need to tell you something that could be a problem. Peter and Emily’s child, Manuel, is Escalante’s son. He doesn’t know about Manuel, at least I hope not, but if we don’t find the man soon, he could discover he has a son alive. It’s not common knowledge. Only the immediate family knows. We didn’t say anything even when we thought Escalante was dead. Manuel doesn’t need that.”

  Becca shifted, facing her partner. “What’s Peter doing about it?”

  “He’s keeping a close eye on his son. He thought about leaving Colorado Springs until Escalante is caught and he may still. But he didn’t want to raise suspicion by leaving suddenly. He may, though, after Colleen’s wedding in a few weeks.”

  “Peter does have the know-how to protect his son. But we’ll just have to find Escalante. That way he won’t have to keep Manuel in a prison.”

  Sam grinned. “That’s my thinking. We need to put some pressure on Frost.”

  “We can make the case against him so strong that his only option is to make a deal.”

  “But that will take time.”

  And time was their enemy, Becca thought.

  “Ready to go?” Quinn asked as he came up to the table.

  Becca stood, placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “First thing Monday we’l
l start with each person we know who was working for Escalante. There’s got to be a clue to his whereabouts.”

  On the walk around to the front of the barn where Quinn’s truck was parked, he said, “You could cut the tension with a knife today at the party. Toward the end I think people were relaxing some, but I could tell each one was wondering what would happen next and to whom.”

  “Makes you wonder if creating tense anticipation isn’t part of Escalante’s plan.”

  “Well, if it is, it’s working.” Quinn reached around Becca and opened her door.

  “We’ll get him,” Becca said when Quinn climbed in behind the steering wheel.

  He tossed her a grin. “I’m so glad you two are on the case.”

  His compliment warmed Becca’s insides. She prided herself on doing a good job and now more than ever it was important that she solve these murders and catch Escalante. Quinn’s life could be in jeopardy if she didn’t. The thought of anything happening to him was unthinkable.

  When he pulled into her driveway, Quinn escorted her up to her front door. Although the sun was going down behind the mountains, Becca didn’t want the day to end just yet.

  “Want to come in? I have some lemonade and iced tea and I can still get to the refrigerator to get it.”

  “Sure. I’ll take a glass of iced tea. I had enough lemonade to float a boat today.”

  As Becca led the way into her house, she thought of her denial to Quinn’s mother that they were dating, and yet it felt as though they had been on a date. She’d even invited him in after going out.

  Determined to put a business reason to her invitation, Becca brought him a tall glass of iced tea into the living room and asked, “Do you think the hole in the bedroom ceiling will be fixed by the Fourth of July weekend? My sister will be home for a few days.”

  After she sat on the couch, Quinn eased down next to her. “I can do it any time you want. Let me get the kitchen a little further along and I’ll do it next.”

  My, the room seems awfully small suddenly—and warm. She resisted the urge to fan herself and instead drank deeply of her iced tea, relishing its refreshing peach taste as it went down. “I always knew there were a lot of Vances and Montgomerys, but I didn’t realize how many until I saw so many in one location.”

  “Wait until tomorrow. We take up quite a bit of the pews at the Good Shepherd Christian Church.” Quinn took a long sip of his drink.

  Church with his whole clan. She didn’t get intimidated by too much, but the thought sent a bolt of panic through her. “I doubt you ever get lonely with so much family here in Colorado Springs.”

  “Not for long. Do you miss your brother and sister?”

  “The house is certainly quiet. Neither lives too far away, but yes, there are times I wish the house was full of people.” She gestured around her. “This is a big house. Too big for just one, but it’s been in the family a long time, so I don’t see myself downsizing.”

  Quinn relaxed against the back cushion, running his arm along it and angling toward her. “I know what you mean. I bought my house with the idea of starting a family with Maggie. When she was killed, I seriously thought of selling the place. But it became one of the things that kept me sane. I threw myself into fixing it up. Some days I worked so long all I could do was fall into bed still dressed, but exhausted. I didn’t even have the energy to get changed. I didn’t have the time to dwell on my loss, either.”

  “You can’t run from a loss forever.” He was so near she could lay her hand over his heart and feel it beat beneath her palm. She wanted to, as if that would take his pain away from his loss, but instead she laced her fingers together in her lap.

  “I’ve dealt with Maggie’s death.”

  “Your mom said something about you not having dated much since Maggie died. She wanted to know if we were dating. She definitely wants those grandchildren.”

  Quinn groaned. “Sorry about that. I knew she was gonna quiz you about us when I saw her heading into the kitchen with you. I tried to get in there but Dad stopped me.”

  “You should have a house full of children. You were great with the kids today.” The memory of him refereeing the games only emphasized that in her mind.

  “And as I told my mother, one day I will. I want a large family.” He grinned, a dimple appearing in his cheek. “After all, I have a large house that needs to be filled.”

  “A full house?”

  “At least three, maybe four.”

  Three? Four? Becca gulped, her throat suddenly parched. If she had thought there might be more between her and Quinn, that pretty much took care of that notion. If she ever married, the most children she would want was one, and only after several years without any.

  “How about you?” Quinn asked and downed the last of his tea.

  He would have to ask. But then it was probably best to make her position clear. “Maybe one when I’m older.” Until recently she hadn’t even thought she would have one child. What had changed? “Of course, I need to have that husband first.” She laughed, a shaky one at best, not sure she liked what was happening to her. If she stayed around Quinn too much longer, she would declare she wanted to have a whole basketball team of kids, then be faced with having to raise them.

  “You’re so good with Sam’s twins. You handled Isabella’s crying like a pro. Some single people run for the hills when a baby does that.”

  “Jessica was busy feeding Dario, and Sam was nowhere to be found. Besides, I helped raised my brother and sister from when they were babies. I was quite a bit older and loved to help my parents even before they died.”

  His eyes gleamed, focused totally on her. “I could tell you had a lot of experience.”

  The air in the room seemed to be sucked away. She drew in a breath but couldn’t get a decent one. Her lungs burned from the probing of his gaze as though he sought to know the inner her. Very few people knew the real Becca because she didn’t trust easily. Yet with Quinn she found herself telling him things she didn’t talk about with others, especially someone she hadn’t known for long.

  “You could say that. I was basically my siblings’ mother from twelve on, ever since my sister was born. Mom was…fragile. Dad did what he could but he worked a lot. Then when my father died, my mother fell apart and couldn’t handle much. She got sicker and depended on me even more.”

  “So you didn’t have much of a childhood?”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I love my brother and sister and wouldn’t have changed my time with them for anything, but no, I didn’t do all the things my friends did. I didn’t go on my senior class trip. I didn’t date. I didn’t have time for extracurricular activities at school.”

  Quinn cupped her cheek, bending toward her, his gaze locked on hers. “So it’s your time now?”

  “I think it’s a little late for me to go to my prom, to go out for cheerleader or to join a club.”

  “No, I meant date.”

  The air completely left her lungs or so it seemed. Words flew from her mind. Suddenly all she could think about was his hand gliding through her hair and gently urging her toward his lips.

  Vaguely she thought: Too dangerous. Pull away before you lose your heart to him!

  She didn’t, couldn’t. His mouth settled over hers, and she felt as if she had come home. He wrapped his arms around her, drawing her even closer until she was sure he could feel her heart hammering against her rib cage. As he deepened the kiss, all the reasons a relationship with Quinn wouldn’t work in the long run fled her mind. All she could zero in on was the touch of his lips on hers, the warmth and comfort of his embrace.

  When he finally pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, his ragged breathing mirrored hers. In that moment she knew he had been as affected as she by their first real kiss. That revelation was heady—and frightening.

  “I’d better leave,” he said into the silence that had descended between them as they both tried to gather their composure.

  “Yes,” she mu
rmured, wanting his mouth caressing hers again and feeling bereft it wasn’t. “I had a great time today. The food was wonderful, but then your mother was in charge of it, so of course it was. But having fun can be tiring.” She was babbling, she thought, aghast at herself. She didn’t babble! She didn’t fuss over how she looked, either. Quinn Montgomery was throwing her life into chaos in more ways than just in her kitchen.

  He unfolded his long length and stood. “I’ll pick you up at ten tomorrow morning.”

  “Yes, ten,” she murmured, already trying to decide what to wear. It had been years since she had gone to church.

  Quinn took her hand and led her toward her front door. “It’s casual attire,” he said as though he could read her mind.

  She swallowed the gasp his words produced, amazed at his ability to be so attuned to her.

  When he stepped out onto the porch, Becca followed. Night had settled over the landscape while Quinn was visiting. The street lamp illuminated his truck in her drive for all the world to see. It looked so right parked there.

  He started down the steps, stopped and turned back to her. Tugging her against him, he planted a quick kiss on her mouth, then proceeded toward his truck, leaving her stunned by its powerful effect.

  When he reached his pickup and opened its door, the interior light lit the area up. That was when she saw his back tire.

  “Quinn, you’ve got a flat.”

  He jerked around. “What?”

  “Your back tire is flat.”

  He left his door open and investigated while Becca walked to him. When he straightened, he said, “Someone slashed it.”

  He went around his truck, checking each tire. Becca ran her hand over the rubber and felt the knife gash.

  “All of them have been slashed. This one even has the knife still in it.”