Maggie's Guardian (Harlequin Super Romance)

by Adams, Anna

  “Did she die owing someone money?”

  “That’s the only conclusion that makes sense to me.” She pulled out of his grasp. “I tried to pump Eleanor for information, but she thought I was accusing Joanna of stiffing me on a loan.”

  Noah considered their options. In the dim light, his expression grew hawkish again. He was a hunter on the trail of his favorite prey. “I think we have to ask Eleanor and Joe flat out. If they’re hiding anything, because they’re ashamed, they could be in danger next.”

  “They were here when the house was shot.” It was a relief to share her real suspicions at last. “And everyone knew I’d be at the service.”

  “But ‘everyone’ might logically have assumed you’d take Eleanor and Joe and Maggie, too.” He took her hand and rubbed his fingers over the skin he’d treated roughly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  She nodded. “It’s all right. Let’s just make sure Maggie’s safe from any crazy who might have a grudge against anyone in her family.”

  “I’ll help investigate, but that’s what we’re doing for Maggie. For us, I have to believe you trust me, Tessa, or I’m going to wait for you to leave me again.”

  “I left because I couldn’t reach you.”

  “Did you try?” he asked.

  She took a deep breath. Not wanting to be in the wrong, she had one answer, but it was a lie. “I didn’t try hard enough. I’m trying now.”

  “That’s all I’ll ask.” He turned to the bed and lifted the sheets, but all the passion had left his gaze.

  “You’re angry with me?” she asked

  “Wary,” he said. “But I’m telling you so. That’s a start, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know what to say. We aren’t going to argue?” Shouldn’t they at least talk until they reached an understanding?

  “You sound as if you expect me to leave you this time.”

  “I want you to care. In fact, I don’t intend to lie down beside you in that bed again if I don’t believe you care.”

  He muttered a word she couldn’t understand as he reached for her. This time he was gentle as he pulled her close. He brushed his lips against hers, teasing until she had to wrap her arms around his neck and urge him to deepen the kiss. When at last he raised his head, she hardly remembered what had upset her.

  “I care, Tessa. And you care. Every argument doesn’t have to be an ending.”

  She kissed him, claiming him. He wanted to belong to her. Together they fell onto the bed, but Noah lifted his weight off her.

  “Make me believe again,” she said.

  “All right, but remind me to call Weldon in the morning.”

  She laughed at the concept of having to remind Noah to do police work. Then his mouth on her breast made her forget everything….

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A STATIC-LACED GURGLE on the monitor woke Noah while Tessa still slept. When they’d had Keely, they’d had a deal—first one who woke got up with her. Because of that old habit, he reached over and turned off the monitor.

  Tessa muttered in her sleep. He couldn’t understand what she said, but her smile suggested repletion. Grinning with pure happiness, he dressed as quietly as he could.

  Maggie was bouncing in her crib when he opened the door. She stopped in midsong, clutching the crib rail to eye him with cautious welcome.

  “Morning,” he said. “What say we clean up and find something to eat?”

  “Eat.” She liked that word. It set her bouncing again.

  She was more of a morning girl than Keely had been. She chattered nonstop in her own language, requiring only the occasional grunt from him as he changed her diaper and dressed her in the overalls and sweater Tessa had laid out on the dressing table.

  Happily swinging her arms in an apparent demonstration of something she felt he needed to know, she let him carry her downstairs, and then beat a tattoo on his back as he started cereal and dished up the rest of some disgusting goo in two jars Tessa had left in the fridge.

  Maggie only proved obstinate when he offered her the first spoonful of cereal. She slammed her hands onto the table and closed her mouth. But her eyes sparkled naughtiness at him and he had to laugh.

  “Are you playing games, or do you hate this stuff?” He glanced from her to the spoon, and she pushed his hand toward his own face.

  “No, thanks,” he said. The cereal didn’t smell that bad, but it looked like wallpaper paste. Keely had eaten it cheerfully.

  He tried again, and Maggie shook her head, pressing her lips together in a tight seam.

  He pried a little cereal out of the spoon and then dipped the tip into the fruit. When he offered it this time, Maggie partially opened her mouth and then leaned forward to snap up the mixture.

  “Careful. Tessa will have my hide if you hurt yourself on the spoon.”

  Feeding her went pretty well after that, though Maggie seemed sure he needed to join her in a bite or two. He offered her the spoon to hold, and she liked the process even better as he helped her feed herself. He managed to get close to the bottom of the bowl by leaning toward her as if he planned to take a bite, as well, from the spoon in her cereal-smeared fist. He loved her delighted giggle as she ate the cereal to keep him from having it.

  Suddenly the door opened, and Tessa came in, yanking a sweater over her head. A quick glimpse of pink flesh pressed against pale blue lace struck him silent and lustful. Her grin, as she popped her tousled blond head out of the top of the sweater, intimated she’d performed the show for his benefit.

  “I can’t believe you did that with Eleanor and Joe in the house.” He also couldn’t believe how deeply he didn’t want anyone else seeing her nearly undressed.

  With a pleased smirk, she ignored his complaint. “I called the D.A. and made an appointment to talk to her about drug activity in town.”

  “When?” He didn’t like the idea of her going out without him. If she was right about Eric, someone who liked a big knife was still roaming Prodigal.

  “I’m supposed to meet her in about twenty minutes at the coffee shop across from the courthouse. Could you look after Maggie?”

  He stared at the baby, who waved her cereal spoon at him as if it were a semaphore flag. “Yeah.” He wiped a glob of cereal and fruit off her chin. Meanwhile she grabbed his hand for a quick gnaw that left a deposit of cereal on his fingers and in his palm. “This stuff really feels repulsive.” He took a deep breath, guessing he was about to overstep their new limits. “Be careful. Make sure you’re not followed. Do you have your cell phone?”

  “You don’t have to worry, Noah. I’m scared. I don’t want anyone shooting at you and Maggie or Eleanor and Joe, or my house. I certainly don’t want to be shot. You don’t have to remind me to take precautions.”

  Grinning at her predictability, he nodded. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

  She scooped her hair over her shoulder as she leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Sorry. I overreacted.” Straightening, she wiped a spot of cereal from her nose. “Maggie’s food is—aromatic, too.”

  Hearing her name, Maggie cooed, making them both look her way. With a guttural sound that appeared to be language to her, she offered Tessa a spoonful.

  “You’ve got her feeding herself?”

  “She seemed to want to. She’s pretty good.”

  “And you’re going to clean the fallout, right?” Tessa stroked the baby’s hair and then gripped his shoulder, her smile open and yet a little anxious. “I am sorry about snapping at you. I know you’re concerned.”

  “Don’t apologize. We have to learn how to live with each other again, and we’ve changed in ways we might not have if we’d made our marriage work.”

  “What do you mean?” She let him go as if he’d accused her of something.

  “You’re still determined not to need me.” He offered a confession. “And I need to believe you do.”

  Tessa bit her lip, already swollen from the hours he’d spent kissing her as if he�
��d never touch her again. “I do need you,” she said. “I just forgot I’m allowed to again. We can’t change overnight.”

  He turned to Maggie. He’d changed. Where he’d felt grudging affection for her before, Tessa’s acceptance had freed his feelings for the baby. He wanted to do right by her. He wanted to be a father who might make up for the loss of David.

  Maggie beamed at him and pushed her spoon his way, whacking him with it and leaving his face full of slimy oatmeal.

  Her laughter, at his expense, was one of the sweetest sounds he’d ever heard. He turned back to Tessa, plowing the cereal off his cheek with his fingertips. “I think we have to make this work together.”

  Tessa shook her head at him. “When she grows up, I’ll have to thank her for showing me the key to your heart is in a bowl of tepid oatmeal.”

  “It’s her arm,” he said. “With that strength, she’ll be the first female pro pitcher.”

  “Yeah? Too bad she’s too young to use her arm to help you chisel the cereal off my floor, and you’d better get moving. I don’t want Eleanor to think we’re sloppy around here.” At the kitchen door, she turned back, frowning. “Noah, keep a close eye on Maggie while I’m gone.”

  What a crazy thing to say. But he chose not to overreact.

  SUNLIGHT ON CRUSTED SNOW blinded her. She slipped on her sunglasses as she turned out of the driveway. The streets were clear, two lines of black pavement between the dirty brown snow that had piled up beneath passing cars.

  As soon as she pulled away from the house, she scooped her cell phone out of her pocket. She still remembered Lucy’s phone number. She’d wanted to dial it often enough in the past eighteen months.

  Noah’s mother took her time about answering, and when she said hello, she sounded as if she might still be asleep. She had to say hello again before Tessa found the will to answer.

  “It’s me,” she said. “Tessa.”

  “Dear God.”

  Tessa smiled at the joy in Lucy’s voice. “Does that mean you’re glad to hear from me or you wish I hadn’t called?”

  “About time you called—nothing’s happened to Noah?”

  “No.” She hastened to reassure his mother. “He’s at home, looking after Maggie, David’s daughter.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear about him, sweetie. Are you all right?”

  “I’m getting there. Now.”

  “Meaning my son has something to do with your improvement?”

  “I think so. He said something this morning that made me think I should call you.”

  “I’ve been browbeating him for months to make you call. What was the magic word?”

  Tessa laughed. “He said we have to make this work.”

  “Make what work?” Lucy sounded anxious.

  Tessa felt almost as wary, but she refused to back down. “I’m not sure yet, myself, but I thought we’d need our family while we’re working.”

  “I’m glad, Tessa. I’ve missed you.”

  “Me, too, but Lucy, I just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable with Noah.”

  “No matter what happens between you and my son, Tessa, you’re my daughter. Don’t forget that again. I lost you and Keely when you left Noah.”

  Her simple statement struck Tessa like a sharp blow. “I never thought…”

  “We don’t have to dwell on it, but don’t cut me out of your life again.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Tessa asked.

  “I’m thinking this is the first day you could hear me and believe how much I love you.”

  Tessa nodded and then remembered Lucy was on the phone and couldn’t see her. “You’re right.” Noah had given her the confidence to believe in love again.

  Suddenly a male voice spoke in the background, and Tessa burst into laughter. “Is that Mr. Davis, Lucy?”

  “I’m afraid not. Mr. Davis got too possessive. You know I can’t stand that in a man.” As she seemed to have turned her face away from the phone, Tessa assumed Lucy was talking to her early-morning visitor. Lucy had her own quirks after losing her husband at such a young age. Noah had viewed her fear of commitment firsthand.

  “I should let you go.”

  “For now,” Lucy said. “But I’d like to see you.”

  “As soon as we find out what happened with David.”

  “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

  “I love you, Lucy.”

  “Love you, too, sweetie. Call me soon.”

  Tessa folded the phone shut against her coat. She’d bet Lucy called Noah before she got home.

  In the square downtown, work went on as usual. Bundled-up tourists wandered in and out of the antique shops. Local citizens, less bundled but more serious of expression, made their way in and out of the business offices. Everyone eventually trekked to the doughnut maker whose wares were known and most greatly admired from Boston to Bangor.

  Tessa found a parking spot just off the square and walked around the corner to the courthouse. As she crossed to the coffee shop, Jill Dayton, Prodigal’s D.A. waved from inside the wide glass front doors.

  Tessa hurried inside, clutching the sides of her coat together against the cold. They took a table, and a server came to settle silverware and coffee cups in front of them. Tessa hadn’t slept much the night before, and she asked for a double shot of espresso. When they were alone, she leaned across the table.

  “Thanks for making time to see me, Jill.”

  “I’m grateful someone’s willing to talk about drug use in town, and you’re an attorney. You have access to the people who can change things around here. I don’t think we have many offenders, but one child buying drugs is too big a problem for me.”

  Tessa sat back. “I hope I didn’t mislead you, because I’m not sure what I can do to help you.”

  “You handled family law in Boston. What happened?”

  The answer was too private, but Tessa was getting used to baring her soul. “My daughter died. SIDS. I couldn’t face families without her.”

  Jill seemed willing to respect the pain behind her clipped response. “But you know what these families face when their children get involved with drugs?”

  “I’d be glad to help, and I promise I’ll do whatever you ask of me, but right now, I have to ask you an awkward question. The answer might be in David’s files, but I haven’t had time or access yet to go through them, and you know what goes on in this town.” She couldn’t mention David’s client by name. “You may not understand what I’m trying to say, but can you think of anyone who’d be willing to kill if a customer didn’t pay up?”

  Jill sat forward in her chrome-plated chair. “Are we talking David Howard? I heard rumors about Joanna, but never David.”

  “What do you think?”

  “They’d try to scare someone, but murder?” The other woman plucked at her auburn braid. “These are small-time guys. They like the money and the monopoly they have in such a limited area, but I don’t see anyone killing a customer.”

  “How about killing someone else, as a warning to other customers?”

  Jill shook her head, but then she seemed to reconsider. “I guess times and drug business could change, even here in Prodigal.” She pulled her napkin over and fished a pen out of her purse. “Give me your number. I’m going to check anyone David defended and I’ll move out from there. I think I should warn Weldon to keep looking outside his holding cells.”

  “You’ll have to beat my ex-husband to the punch.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I told him about this last night, and he’s planning to talk to the chief today.” Tessa thought of her broken promise, of the friendship she’d had to betray. “But you’re right about talking to Weldon. Can you ask him to keep any investigation quiet until he has some evidence?”

  Jill looked up, her pen poised, suspicion imprinted on her face. “Keep what quiet?”

  Tessa licked her lips. It was one thing to tell Noah, but a stranger? And Jill would see to it that everyone
in Prodigal with any power found out that Joanna Howard had fallen prey to drugs again before she died.

  Tessa smoothed her fingers across her own napkin. Letting people see David’s wife as an example furthered Jill’s own plans for stopping the problem, but Tessa couldn’t forget what David had reluctantly admitted—that Joanna had mistaken Tessa for a rival, in her depression after Maggie’s birth.

  “Keep what quiet, Tessa?” Jill said again.

  “Joanna.” Saying the name put both her friends in the past. Promises that might hurt Maggie weren’t worth keeping now, and she hadn’t come between David and Joanna. David had loved his wife.

  She opened her purse and slipped a business card out of a pouch. “This has my phone numbers on it. If you find out anything, you’ll call me?”

  Jill nodded, studying the card. “I’ll start with a quick search on David’s cases. He argued Hank Sloma’s case against me.”

  “And what did you think? Was Sloma guilty?” She wished she’d asked David that question at the time.

  “I didn’t agree with giving him probation, but he hasn’t taken a step wrong since David got him off.”

  Tessa glanced at the other woman, a little peeved. “David didn’t ‘get him off.’ He did his job, and he was an honorable man.” Jill widened her gaze, and Tessa remembered the D.A. didn’t share her deep grief. “Sorry. I just miss him.” She closed her purse. “And I need to talk to Joanna’s parents before you get in touch with Weldon.”

  “No problem. Why don’t you call me after you talk to them?”

  “Thanks.”

  Jill glanced at her watch. “I say we get that coffee to go.”

  Tessa nodded and signaled their server. “I need to stop by David’s house and pick up his mail before I go home, but I should be able to call you within a couple of hours.”

  “That sounds good.”

  Tessa put on her coat and paid for the coffee. She and Jill shook hands at the door, and she started across the street to find her car. As she reached the sidewalk, she looked up and saw Noah striding toward her. Noah, with his coat rounded and a tiny pink knit cap rising out of his lapels.