by Cara Putman
Andrew looked around, even though she’d just told him not to. “Okay. You can’t really be surprised.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hayden, you’re a beautiful woman. Any guy who isn’t paying attention to you is half blind.” He stuck out his hand, and she looked at it before accepting it. “Let’s keep moving and see if he follows.”
She felt heat flare up her neck under his intense gaze. Then she glanced back to where the other man watched her, too far away to notice many details other than his focus. A photo could help. “Do you have your phone?” Hers rested in her purse, and by the time she dug it out, the man could disappear.
“Sure.” He tugged it from his back pocket, flicked a finger across the screen, and handed it to her.
Hayden quickly raised it and snapped a series of photos as the man’s scowl deepened. A cold sweat broke across her body. “Can we walk to the Jefferson? Quickly?”
There would be National Park Service employees there, the kind that could call Capitol Police if needed.
Andrew nodded, then took her hand and tugged her close to his side protectively. When she looked back over her shoulder, the man had disappeared. She must have relaxed, because Andrew slowed his clip to a more reasonable stroll.
“What was that about?”
“He was staring at me. Blatant about it. It wasn’t admiration.” She tried to slow her breathing and take in the beauty around her, but she found herself looking for the man in each group they passed.
“Got any clients that don’t like you?”
“None. I don’t work with at-risk clients like Emilie.” Or criminal defendants like Jaime. She shook her head to clear the last flash of adrenaline, then planted her feet. “Things have been odd at the firm, so maybe I’m transferring that here. I’m sorry.” She blew out a breath and forced a smile. “Let’s keep walking.”
“We could go somewhere else.”
The cherry blossoms didn’t feel like a safe canopy of beautiful blooms anymore. And the crowd felt like a threat waiting to erupt. Even the clouds conspired against her, scuttling across the sun and cloaking her with shadows that caused her to shiver.
What had felt like the beginning of a fun morning had turned into a cauldron of roiling emotions. Hayden longed for the safety of her case files. There she knew what to do, and how to stay safe. And yet . . . she didn’t want to lose this moment getting to know this man.
Andrew could sense Hayden withdrawing. He’d seen her do it in her home, and now, in what should have been a place of restful beauty, she retreated again.
He took one more look around, intently scanning those near them. Even though she’d told him not to look, he needed to know what had spooked her so he could protect her if he could. Reminded him of a horse he’d had as a teen, yet another gift to distract him from all the time his parents left him with an au pair. That horse had been beautiful, perfectly formed, but get it on a trail and the rustle of leaves could send it into a spooked gallop. As he scanned Hayden’s eyes, the same skittish look met his gaze.
“Let’s finish our stroll. You’ve really lived here all these years and never made time for this?” He widened his arms in a gesture designed to take in the full sweep of the Tidal Basin. “After you’ve taken as many photos of cherry blossoms as your phone will hold, I know just the place to grab a quick bite and cup of coffee.”
“Tea.” Hayden visibly relaxed in front of him, and a decision flashed across her face. “That sounds wonderful.”
She turned into a delighted tourist, one who stopped every fifteen feet to get another snap of the blossoms against a now perfect blue sky. The sun warmed them, with the perfect hint of spring. As they wound back around to the parking lot, he led her on a path to the George Mason Memorial, one of his favorite haunts. Emilie liked the statute of the man her law school university had been named after. Andrew liked the reminder that the man from Virginia had been a key advocate for the Bill of Rights. And if it was like most times of the year, the area around the memorial would be sparsely populated.
A cool breeze swirled through the trees, sending a flurry of petals to the ground like debris to be squished underfoot. One fluttered into Hayden’s hair, and Andrew reached up to pluck it out. Her gaze collided with his, and he felt the shock of it. He took a step back, creating space between them even as everything urged him to move closer.
He bet she’d fit perfectly next to him when he tucked her under his arm, but now was the time for a safe distance. He had to be wary. He refused to build any thoughts of a future with a woman who would act as his parents had. He would not allow his children, if he ever had any, to be nice add-ons for the family Christmas card. At the same time, Hayden might be different. She seemed to want to make time for the things that mattered to her friends. If she actually followed through and helped with the fair for his kids, that would clearly illustrate her priorities.
“Andrew?” Hayden’s voice was quiet, concerned.
“Sorry.” He rubbed a hand across the top of his head. “Guess it was a longer week than I thought.”
“For both of us.” Her smile was reflected in her eyes. If she ever really smiled and let joy escape, he knew he was a goner. To his surprise, he heard himself say, “My father has a fund-raiser for his campaign next weekend.”
She arched her eyebrows and waited. A lawyer who didn’t have to fill every moment with commentaries and opinions. Interesting.
“I need to bring someone. I don’t suppose . . .” The words died as his throat became as dry as the Sahara. What if she turned him down?
“I’d like to come?” She glanced down at the ground, then back to his face with a shy smile. “I could be persuaded.”
“By what?”
“By a promise you’ll stay near me.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “I’m not used to fancy shindigs.”
Andrew held up three fingers in a Boy Scout’s oath. “I promise. Well, if my mother and father don’t insist on introducing me to everyone attending.” He quirked a grin, the one the ladies usually stumbled all over, and then felt a rush of regret. He was playing to her the way his father played to crowds. “But no pressure, if you really don’t want to.”
Hayden thrust her hands on her hips. “Wait a minute. It’s not every day I get invited to a froufrou fund-raiser.”
“Did you just call it froufrou?”
“Sure did.” Her chocolate eyes lit up. “I’d like to meet the new senator from the great Commonwealth of Virginia.”
“He’s not senator yet.”
“But he will be. All the pundits say so.”
“All right then. Let’s give them something to talk about.”
Especially if it didn’t involve his cartoons.
Her smile mesmerized him, and he found himself drawn a step nearer, then another. She shifted, and he reluctantly stepped back. “Want to walk around the basin again?”
“I should really head to the office.” She tilted her face toward the sky, letting the sun’s rays highlight her skin. “A part of me really wants to play hooky, but a louder part knows I have to get this case moving.” But she sank onto the bench next to the large George Mason statute as if she wanted him to talk her out of work.
He placed a foot on the bench. “Work will always be there. But this view, it only happens once a year.” He opened his arms expansively. “By next weekend it won’t look the same, and in two weeks the blossoms will disappear altogether.”
“In two weeks my job might disappear.” She pushed away the arm he waved in front of her and he fell to the bench next to her. “I can’t believe I haven’t made time to see this. It’s like walking through Narnia when winter finally leaves.”
Andrew nodded. “There’s nothing quite like it.” He shifted on the bench so he could look at Hayden rather than the Tidal Basin. “Is there anything I can help with?”
“Only if you share what had you so disturbed.”
“That might require a cup of coffee.” And he’d have to de
cide if he could trust her.
CHAPTER 21
The coffee shop crowd had thinned as Andrew and Hayden enjoyed a black coffee for him and a hot tea for her at one of the outside picnic tables. The conversation flowed easily between them, though Hayden sensed that something was bugging him on the edges. Maybe that e-mail he’d received. She wished he’d trust her with it, but she realized their friendship was new.
She relaxed in the spring sunshine, letting it lull her into a warmth-induced haze. This was a man she could thoroughly enjoy spending time with. Suddenly a woof shook her from her peaceful daze.
She looked up and laughed at the sight of Emilie being tugged down King Street by a large black Lab whose feet were big enough for shoes. The dog looked suspiciously like the one she’d seen playing with the kids along the Potomac.
Andrew groaned, though there was a playful light in his eyes. “Do you mind company? Emilie called me this morning and was adamant we needed to spend serious time on the fair plans. I was supposed to meet her here in fifteen minutes.”
“I wonder what happened to her plans for the parade.” Hayden grinned as the dog dragged her roommate to the next light pole. “As long as the sun’s shining and you keep the tea coming, I’m good. Who’s the beast walking her?”
“That would be my dog, Zeus.” He held up his almost empty mug. “Don’t ask. It was a crazy phase that may have had something to do with Percy Jackson.”
Zeus pranced up to Hayden and promptly sat on her feet, looking at her with adoring eyes.
“Hey . . . Zeus . . .” Emilie’s words were exasperated and slightly out of air.
Hayden laughed and leaned down to rub the dog’s ears. “You’re a sweet thing, aren’t you, boy?”
“Something like that.” Andrew grinned up at his cousin. “How’s life, Emilie?”
“Other than the deadline this beast kept me from making and my date dumping me for the parade? Hunky-dory.” She handed the leash to Andrew. “I gladly relinquish control of the monster to his rightful owner.” She flopped down in a chair and took Andrew’s mug. She sipped from it and then sputtered. “I insist on real coffee. A white chocolate mocha, please.”
Andrew looked from her to the leash with a comical air. “I’d love to do your bidding, but . . .”
Hayden laughed. “I’ll grab it, Em.”
When she returned to the table with Emilie’s drink and a refill for herself, Andrew and Emilie had their heads bent over a spreadsheet and calendar. Emilie accepted the drink with a smile of thanks, then launched right back into her explanation. As she gestured wildly, Hayden was tempted to reclaim the coffee before it sloshed all over the plans.
“Sure you have time to do all this, Em? I don’t want you biting off too much.”
“I’m not.” Emilie mock-frowned at him, daring him to disagree.
Andrew met Hayden’s gaze. “What do you think?”
“She hasn’t, Andrew. Not this time.”
Hayden smiled, and Andrew’s mind froze. She was beautiful all of the time, but when she smiled the world slowed. She quirked an eyebrow at him, and time restarted.
Andrew swallowed. “I appreciate the help, because I’ve had something come up that is claiming time.”
“Em’s had fun planning the fair.”
“That’s what this is? Fun?” Emilie grinned with a carefree toss of her hair.
Andrew pulled one of her waves as she squirmed in her chair. “I already knew you were amazing, Em.”
They spent the next thirty minutes fleshing out more details, though Hayden frequently twitched and looked at the time on her phone. She seemed determined to stay there and make sure he and Emilie got along. By the time they finished, he knew the fair would be a success. “This is awesome. I can’t wait to show the kids the great time you’ve got planned. They’ll be psyched.” He looked at the map of the games and hot dog tent. “It better fit by the fire station, though. That’s the only location in Fairlington for this.”
“It will. I promise. You wouldn’t believe how many people wanted to know what I was doing with a tape measure along that intersection.”
Andrew’s phone rang before he could reply. He glanced at the screen, and then frowned when it flashed up as the Alexandria City Police. “Sorry, gals, but I need to take this.” He turned slightly away and swiped the phone. “Andrew Wesley.”
“Mr. Wesley, we have a young man here named Jorge Rodriguez who asked us to call you.”
“Yes?” Andrew stood and began to pace. Jorge was not a kid he expected to get into trouble.
“His mother has been attacked, and he needs a place to stay. We can’t send him home, and he asked us to contact you rather than social services.”
“Where should I meet you?”
“We can bring him to you.”
“All right.” Andrew relayed his information, then paused. “How is his mother?”
“She’ll be kept at the hospital at least overnight, maybe longer. She was beaten pretty badly. Looks like a burglary gone bad.”
“Can they return to their apartment?”
“Likely, but not sure. We’ll have Jorge to you in fifteen.”
Andrew hung up, a knot in his gut. Had it really been a random burglary? But if not . . . why would someone target Maricel?
He turned back to the table, and Hayden stood. “What’s wrong, Andrew?”
“The mother of one of my kids was attacked in a burglary. The police are bringing Jorge to me, to keep him out of the system.” He didn’t want to think what that would do to Jorge, who was doing so well.
Hayden’s brow furrowed. “Jorge Rodriguez? The boy I saw with you at the ice cream shop?”
“That’s the one.” Then he realized . . . “That’s right, his mother . . .”
“. . . is my client.”
Emilie looked from one to the other, then at Zeus, who had stood and now paced between Hayden and Andrew. “I’ll take Zeus home with me. You guys do what you need to.”
The minutes stretched as they waited for the police to arrive with Jorge. As she waited, Hayden pulled out her phone and tried to reach Maricel. Surely a mistake had been made. Yet as the phone continued to ring without an answer, Hayden’s heart sank. Something had happened.
Could it really be a burglary? Or was it somehow tied to Miguel’s case?
The thought should strike Hayden as crazy, but in her two conversations with Maricel, the woman seemed to always have one eye focused behind her. Who was she so afraid of?
Hayden shivered and rubbed the gooseflesh that had erupted on her arms. Someone was chasing her client and had caught her. Unfortunately, her client hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her who. And because of that, Hayden had nothing to tell the police.
An Alexandria City Police cruiser pulled up in front of the coffee shop. An officer stepped from the driver’s seat and opened the passenger door, and a shaking young man slid into view. The boy looked like he’d bolt at the least provocation.
The officer glanced up and down the sidewalk, then walked toward them, his hand resting on his gun. “Andrew Wesley?”
Andrew stood. “Thank you for bringing Jorge.”
The officer nodded, and Hayden wished she could see his eyes behind the reflective sunglasses.
“He’s spooked, but I’ve assured him his mom looks worse than she is.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a card. “This is my number. If he thinks of anything or you have concerns, call.”
“Yes sir.” Andrew turned his attention to the young man. “Ready to go to my house, Jorge?”
The youth gave a quick downward jerk of his chin, but didn’t meet Andrew’s eye.
“All right.” Andrew placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and waited until he looked up. “You are safe, Jorge. I promise.”
Jorge’s chin trembled, and Hayden expected him to disagree. Instead he searched Andrew’s face before giving another quick nod.
“Looks like you’ve got everything under control.”
The officer walked back to his cruiser, then turned back before climbing in. “Call me if he remembers anything.”
Andrew gave a curt nod. Hayden stepped closer to Jorge and led him to a chair. He eased down as if afraid he would break it.
“Jorge, did you grab anything at home? Clothes? A toothbrush?”
He shook his head.
She squeezed him around the shoulders, and he trembled beneath her arm. “It’s a short walk to my condo.” She pulled her keys from her purse. “I’ll grab my car and go to Potomac Yards and grab essentials for Jorge while you get him settled. Then I’ll check on his mom.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“We’ll see how Jorge’s doing first.” She nodded to his young charge, who stared into space somewhere across the street. “Let’s get him to your place and feeling safe. I’ll meet you in forty minutes.”
Jorge seemed glued to Andrew’s side as they walked down the street to his Jeep. She’d never seen a kid look quite that lost and shell-shocked. What condition must his mother be in?
CHAPTER 22
Mrs. Bradford waved from the side yard where she was watering her hyacinths and tulips, but Andrew kept Jorge moving. The kid acted like he was a zombie trapped in some horror flick.
Jorge stumbled up the steps to the second-floor condo, then waited as Andrew unlocked the door and spread his arms wide. “Welcome. Mi casa es su casa.”
“Gracias.” The boy headed to the couch and plopped down in a heap on one end.
Andrew watched him a moment as he weighed his best approach. The officer had made it clear they needed to know what Jorge had seen. Yet as he studied the kid, he knew it was too fresh. The boy was in a state of shock. Andrew entered his galley kitchen and returned a moment later with two glasses of ice water. He handed one to Jorge and then sat beside him.
Jorge gulped the water, then set the glass on the coffee table, his hands trembling. Andrew placed a hand on his shoulder and gripped it a moment. “I’m here, Jorge, and I’m not going anywhere.”
