by Kat Martin
“I'd like you to stay but I understand if you don't want to.”
Marly made no reply.
Winnie's heart was aching but she let the subject drop.
Her girls were leaving. She had known the time would come. She had just been hoping so hard... Winnie turned away. The time with her girls was coming to an end. There was nothing she could do but accept it. Ignoring the lump in her throat, she pasted on a smile for Katie and walked back into the kitchen.
The next morning, Reed hammered on the front door of the gray frame house next door. He would have been back last night if it hadn't been for the hit-and-run accident down on West Adams across from the train station.
The victim, an elderly woman named Betsy Moses, was in the hospital. Fortunately, aside from a broken arm, it looked as if she was going to be okay.
One of his deputies, Patrick Murphy, had apprehended the driver of the old Ford pickup out on Highway 21. Frank Slattery had been drinking down at Al's Place. He was on his way home and didn't even know he had hit the woman. He was currently residing in the Dreyerville County Jail.
Reed took the steps up onto the porch two at a time. He had made himself wait until the respectable hour of ten a.m. before he'd come over but it had taken every last shred of his patience.
His instincts were what made him a good sheriff. Something had happened to close Marly off from him. Reed was determined to know what it was.
He hammered again and the front door opened. He'd been expecting Winnie but it was Marly who opened the door.
“We need to talk.”
“There isn't anything to say.”
He eased the door open wider and walked past her into the living room. “I'm not leaving until I know what's going on.”
She took a deep breath, looking resigned. She was dressed in jeans and sneakers and a pale blue cotton blouse. She looked beautiful. And tired. And he knew that somehow, he was the cause.
He glanced around the house, which seemed a little too quiet. “Where's Winnie and Katie?”
“Mother took Katie to the Farmer's Market.”
“Good, then we can talk right here.”
“I told you—”
“We’re too old to play games, Marly. Just tell me what's going on.”
Her chin firmed. She looked him dead in the face. “I found out about Emily.”
Reed frowned, not quite following the conversation. “Emily? Emily Carter?”
“How many of them do you know?”
“I don't understand. What does Emily have to do with this?”
“Look, Reed, we've only known each other a little while. You don't owe me anything except honesty. That you do owe me.”
“I'm lost here, Marly. I can't imagine what our going out has to do with Emily Carter.”
“You aren’t going to deny it, are you? Please don't do that, Reed. I've heard enough lies in my life. I can't take any more and especially not from you.”
He raked a hand through his hair, trying to sort things out. “God, I wish I knew what you were thinking. Emily Carter is Randy Carter’s widow. He was one of my deputies. About six months ago, he was killed in the line of duty. Are you thinking that something’s going on between Emily and me? Because if you are, it just isn't true.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts, which drew his eye in that direction and made him think of taking her to bed, which at the moment was not the right thing to be thinking.
“Come on, Reed. Everyone in town knows you're going to marry her.”
He started shaking his head. Maybe he should have mentioned his visits to Emily but it was just something he did for a friend and it never crossed his mind.
“Emily and I went to high school together. She has a little three-year-old boy named Timmy. I stop by to see them whenever I can, see if there's anything they need. The other guys do, too. I swear, that's all there is to it.”
Her eyes found his, searching for the truth. “Amy Singleton says Emily's had a crush on you since high school. She says you're just waiting for a decent period of time before the two of you get married.”
“I don't know how Emily felt about me in high school. It isn't important. What matters is that Emily is just a friend. I understand the kind of loss she must be feeling, so I try to help her.”
“That's it?”
“That's it.”
“Then you aren't in love with her?”
“Hell, no.” Since he rarely swore, her eyes widened. “Like I said, we're friends. Nothing more.”
Marly bit her lip. She had the softest lips. He tried not to think of the kisses they had shared. Or the one he wanted to coax from her right now.
“I want to believe you,” she said, a faint ray of hope creeping into her face. “I wish I didn't want it so badly.”
He reached for her, gently cupped her cheek. “I'm not like the other men you've known, Marly. I’m not like your father or Burly. If I tell you something, you can count on it with your life. I'm telling you I'm not involved with Emily Carter. She's a wonderful young woman and a dedicated mother but the only person I'm interested in is you.”
Silence hung over the living room.
She swallowed, looked up at him. “I don't know how it happened,” she said softly. “I didn't mean to let things go this far but I care about you, Reed. I care way too much. I wish I didn't, but I do.”
Relief and desire hit him in equal measures. Desire won out. Cradling her face in his hands, he bent his head and kissed her, just a tender melding of lips, a sweet sampling that only made him want more. When her mouth softened under his, the kiss deepened, grew more intimate, and he felt her tremble.
Marly might be tough on the outside but inside she was sweet and vulnerable and passionate.
“I wouldn't hurt you and Katie for the world,” he said softly, then simply gathered her into his arms. "We’ll figure all of this out. We just need a little more time.”
“We don’t have time,” she said against his cheek.
“We’ll make time,” he vowed.
He held her a moment more, then finally let her go but kept hold of her hand. “Leave your mother a note. We’re going for a drive. We’ll talk things over. From now on, if either of us has a problem, we talk about it. That work for you?”
She just nodded but there was the sweetest smile on her face. Something expanded in his chest. He was in big trouble here. Four years had passed since he had cared about a woman the way he did Marly Hanson. He hated to be thinking the L-word so soon but he had a feeling that this was where he was headed.
He wanted her to stay in Dreyerville, to give them a chance to see where the attraction between them would lead. But there wasn’t a chance of that happening unless she made peace with her mother.
Reed vowed he would help her find a way.
10
When she couldn't stand the house a minute more, Emily took Timmy shopping. They started downtown, stopping for a moment in front of the newspaper office to read the headlines of the Morning News, peering into the window of Tremont’s Antiques, picking up from Culver’s Dry Cleaning a favorite pair of slacks that had gotten a stain she couldn't remove. Careful to avoid Suzy's Boutique, she made a stop at Brenner's Bakery instead.
As usual, Mrs. Culver, silver-blond hair pulled back with combs on each side of her narrow face, stood behind the counter. Doris always had a smile for her customers and an especially wide one for Timmy, who loved the bakery's glazed donuts.
“It’s nice to see you, Emily,” Mrs. Culver said. “When you worked at Suzy's, you came in all the time, but we don't see you much now that you're a homemaker.”
“It keeps me pretty busy.” That was a lie. She spent hours trying to figure out what to do with the long days she spent at home.
“You two having your usual? A glazed and a raisin bran muffin?”
She glanced down at Timmy, who was grinning and pointing through the glass at the donuts.
“Absolutely.”
Mrs. C
ulver reached into the case and pulled out the baked goods. Emily reached into her purse and dug out her wallet to pay for the food.
“They sure do miss you over at the shop,” Mrs. Culver said. “You haven't thought of going back to work, have you?”
“Not really.” She let go of Timmy's hand long enough to hand him his donut, which he immediately stuffed into his mouth. “I've just got so much to do taking care of my son.”
“I guess so. Still... seems like, you know, with everything that's happened, it would be good for you to get out and about again.”
“You've never had kids, Mrs. Culver. You don't realize how time consuming they can be.”
“I guess that's true.” Mrs. Culver went to work wiping off the counter and Emily led Timmy over to one of the wrought-iron tables. She lifted the little boy into one of the chairs and sat down across from him.
Mrs. Culver didn't say any more but as Emily ate the muffin, she couldn't get the notion of returning to Suzy's out of her head. First Patrick Murphy. Now Doris Culver.
What if they were right? What if she could be a mother and still have a job? Randy didn't believe it. He had wanted her home every day. But when she was young, she had dreamed of being a fashion designer and working in the boutique was in some small way a fulfillment of that dream.
Emily sighed. As soon as they finished eating, she wiped Timmy's hands and face with a napkin, tossed it into the trash can, and left the bakery. She was still not ready to face the empty house. Instead of going home, she drove to the mall just outside the city limits.
The parking lot was always busy on Saturdays but she finally found a spot. Taking Timmy's hand, she led him through the automatic doors into the interior. She passed the Payless shoe store and Harvey's Sports. There were three ladies' dress shops, two on one side and one on the other, and she wandered in that direction.
Sarah's Trunk came first. It felt good to stroll among the dresses and scarves and ladies' handbags. The smell of leather mixed with the fragrance of perfume and the fresh scent of the starch in the garments. Pausing for a moment at the jewelry counter, she studied a rack that held earrings and necklaces in the new spring colors.
Yellow and pink were big this year, she saw, wishing she had a few new things in her closet. But all she really needed were a couple of spring scarves and a few new pieces of jewelry to update her wardrobe, and maybe a big summer purse.
She was looking at an oversize canvas bag in a bright shade of yellow, examining the zipper and the handy interior pockets that would be perfect for her lipstick and car keys, when the salesclerk walked up to the counter.
“May I help you?” She was twenty-two or -three, far younger than Emily's thirty-three years, tall and slender, with very short red hair and big hoop earrings, a look that was trendy and a nice change from the conservative styles most people wore in rural towns like Dreyerville.
“For the moment, I'm just looking,” Emily said. Holding on to Timmy's hand, she tugged him over to a rack of dresses marked down 50 percent. One was a smart little paisley print that stood out among mostly heavier clothes left over from winter. Emily lifted it off the rack and held the hanger up in front of her, turned to survey herself in the mirror.
The sound of a woman's heels clicking on the floor drew her attention.
“Oh, what a darling little boy.”
Emily looked up to see a woman in her early fifties, well dressed in a simple blue gabardine pantsuit, attractive except for a faint scar that ran across her forehead near her hairline and trailed down to her temple. She smiled at Emily, then returned her attention to the child.
“Hi, sweetie, what’s your name?''
“His name is Timmy,” Emily said when her son just stared silently up at the older woman with his big brown eyes.
The woman knelt down to the little boy's height. “Hello, Timmy. My name is Anna.”
Timmy turned away, clung to Emily's leg. “He's a little shy sometimes.”
Anna rose. “I'm Anna McAllister.”
“I'm Emily Carter. It's nice to meet you, Anna.”
Anna studied the dress Emily had forgotten she still held in her hand.
“That's a really nice dress.”
“It's half price.”
“Well, you've found a real bargain there. Why don't you try it on?”
She wanted to. She hadn't had anything new since Randy died and she had quit her job at Suzy's. She didn't really have a place to wear it but she loved clothes and at 50 percent off, the dress really was a bargain.
“I think I will.” She tugged on Timmy’s hand, trying to urge him toward the row of dressing rooms against the wall, but he was fascinated by the bright-colored jewelry on the counter and refused to budge.
“Come on, sweetheart.” She tugged again but his face crumpled. It looked as if any moment now, he was going to start crying.
When Anna handed him a string of yellow beads, he instantly brightened, smiling up at her with one of his endearing, crooked smiles.
“Go ahead,” Anna said. “I'll watch him for a minute while you're gone. I raised two children of my own. I won't let him get into trouble.”
Emily glanced toward the dressing room. It was only ten feet away. And it wouldn't take long. “Are you sure you don't mind?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks, I'll be right back.” Slipping quietly off so Timmy wouldn't realize she was gone, she hurried over to one of the three dressing rooms and darted inside. It didn’t take long to get her jeans and sweater off and pull the pretty little paisley dress on over her head.
It accented her curves and floated like a dream to just below her knees, which made her legs look really good. And at the markdown price, she could afford it. She told herself she didn't need it, that there was no one who would even notice the way she looked in it.
She twirled in front of the mirror. Maybe it was time she left behind the dark colors she had been wearing since Randy had died. For an instant, Patrick Murphy’s face popped into her head, the wide smile he seemed to reserve especially for her, the concern she always saw in his eyes.
Horrified that she would think of him at all, she shook the image away, took off the dress, and hurriedly pulled on her beige slacks and pale blue, cotton knit sweater.
She couldn't have been gone more than five or six minutes when she returned to the jewelry counter. She was smiling, thinking that maybe in buying the dress, she was making the first step in regaining some kind of normal life. Then she realized Anna wasn't in the spot where she and Timmy had been standing.
Emily turned to survey the dress shop, certain the woman would be no more than a few feet away. Her gaze searched the narrow shop from one end to the other but she saw no sign of Anna or her son. Her heart was pounding, beginning to throb in that painful way it had when she had been married to Randy.
She rushed over to the salesclerk. “There... there was a woman... Anna McAllister. She was watching my son while I... while I tried on this dress.” She held up the dress and realized her hand was shaking. “Did you see where... where they went?”
“The lady with the little boy?” the clerk said. “They were standing here a minute ago. When I looked up they were gone.”
Emily was sure she was going to faint. “Please... you have to call 911. Call Sheriff Bennett. That... that woman... she stole my little boy.”
The salesclerk’s face went paper-white as she ran for the phone and Emily raced for the door leading into the mall. Maybe they were waiting right outside. Maybe Anna was just a few feet away, looking into the window of another shop.
But no matter which direction Emily looked, there was no sign of Anna or her boy.
“Timmy!” She raced toward the far end of the mall. “Anna!”
She was out of breath and feeling light-headed when the security guard ran up to her. “What is it? What's happened?”
Emily's vision blurred with tears. “A lady named Anna McAllister... she... she’s taken my son.” And then
the floor rushed up and the world went black and she didn't have to think that Randy had been right all along.
11
It was late Saturday afternoon. Reed sat across from Marly out at the lake, both of them cupping mugs of hot chocolate to warm their hands. It was colder today, still too chilly to sit out on the deck, but it was cozy inside the restaurant with a warm fire blazing in the big stone hearth.
Reed smiled at Marly, who smiled back at him over the rim of her cup, and his chest expanded. For hours, they had driven around just talking. It felt good to spend time with a woman after so many years. It felt particularly good to spend time with a woman he found so appealing.
He was grinning at her in a way he was sure made him look like a fool when his pager went off. Then his big, blocky cell phone sitting in the middle of the table started to ring.
Reed picked it up and held it against his ear. “Sheriff Bennett.”
“Reed, its Millie. There’s been a kidnapping out at the mall. Or at least that’s the way it looks. It’s Emily Carter’s little boy.” Reed’s stomach went cold. “Emily says a woman named Anna McAllister took him. Deputy Wilcox responded to the call. And Deputy Murphy is on his way, as well. He insisted on going. I don’t think a herd of wild horses could have stopped him.”
“What have you got so far?”
“They found a car registered to Robert McAllister out in the parking lot. Robert is the woman’s son. Since she didn’t take the boy in the car, we think she’s somewhere in the forest behind the mall. A female shopper on her way to her car confirmed it. She said she saw a woman and a child heading into the woods. She thought it was odd at the time. Patrick thinks we should ask for volunteers to help with the search.”
“Good idea. Put the word out. Get the TV and news stations involved. Tell Murphy to start setting up a command post in the parking lot.”
“Will do.”
“I’m heading there now.” He signed off and shoved back his chair.
“Something’s come up. Might be a kidnapping.”
