“Great. I owe you one, honey.”
Libby gripped the phone harder and turned her back to her audience. She pitched her voice lower. “Don’t call me honey.”
“It never bothered you when we were dating.”
She could picture the devilish grin on his lips, the gleam in his damnably seductive blue eyes. She counted to ten, refusing to rise to his bait. “That was then, this is now. Things are different.”
“That’s right—you’re my wife now, not my girlfriend.”
She sighed. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Was that regret she heard in his voice? Could Cal want to reclaim the affection they once shared? Libby’s pulse fluttered, and she tamped the irrational thought with a dose of cold reality. She reminded herself Cal had readily agreed to a celibate marriage. No more. That’s all she could allow it to be.
“Do you know where Ally’s preschool is?” he asked. “On Broad Street, by the post office?”
“I know the place.”
“Thanks, Lib. I’ll see you at home tomorrow morning when my shift ends.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
“I told you I’d have to pull an occasional night shift, working on overpasses and highways while the traffic’s low.” He paused. “So I’ll tell Renee to get in touch with you about Ally.”
When she’d agreed to marry Cal, she’d accepted the responsibility of having a stepdaughter. She refused to shirk that duty. Heck, Ally’s welfare was the reason she’d accepted Cal’s proposal in the first place. She just hadn’t counted on solo-testing her parenting skills quite so soon. After reassuring Cal she could handle Ally, she replaced the receiver and faced the weighted stares of her colleagues.
“Cal Walters.” Stan’s tone dripped disdain as he shook his head. “Have you forgotten what he did to you four years ago?”
“It was five years, and no, I haven’t forgotten.”
“Then you must have lost your mind. The man pleaded guilty to aggravated battery! You know what this man is capable of!”
Libby tensed. “Cal is not dangerous. I told you then, and I’ll say it now—Cal Walters does not have a vicious bone in his body. He was defending a woman, because that is the kind of man he is. A protector. A defender. Not an ogre.” She knew there was a reason Cal snapped that night, a reason the gentle man she knew would put another man in the hospital. And she knew he regretted his actions. She’d seen it in his face at his sentencing.
“Libby,” Stan pressed. “He brutally assaulted a man. He crossed a line. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?”
Lifting her chin defiantly, Libby doused her demon doubts. “I say. I know him. Brutality is not in his blood. That night was a fluke. I know it was.”
Someday she hoped he’d trust her enough to explain what had come over him that night in the bar. But until that day came, she knew deep in her heart Cal wasn’t the violent type. Knew it with a certainty that gave her pause, made her heart feel warm and full.
But if she was right, Cal had been unfairly accused….
Guilt yanked a knot in her throat, strangling her. Before Cal’s return, she’d been able to silence that murmur of doubt. He’d pleaded guilty, hadn’t he?
Stan glared at her, clearly unconvinced. “Have you considered that he could be your stalker?”
Libby snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would Cal want to stalk me?”
“Think about it.” Stan stood and began to pace, jamming his hands in his pockets to rattle his keys as he lectured her. “Walters showed up again about the same time this maniac started harassing you. And you have history with him. You know better than to believe in coincidence.”
Libby crossed her arms over her chest. “I know better than to believe wild speculation, too. And that’s all you have. He asked me to marry him, for Pete’s sake! Don’t you think stalking me would be counterproductive? Cal has no reason to stalk me, Stan.”
“Libby—”
She held up a trembling hand to cut him off. “Stan, don’t. I appreciate your concern, but I know Cal. And I know what I’m doing.”
I just needed time to sort everything out.
Libby rubbed the thrum of tension coiled at her temple. “Regardless of how you feel about him, he is my husband now, and I’ll thank you to stay out of my personal business.”
Stan’s jaw grew rigid, his eyes dark. “Fine. Have it your way, Counselor.”
Snatching a file from her desk, Stan stalked toward the door. Regret for her waspishness lodged like a fist in her chest. He did have her best interests at heart.
“Stan, wait…I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t forget our meeting with Roger at three.” With a tight-lipped nod to Helen, Stan stormed out.
Libby sank back in her chair with a groan.
“Well, I think it’s romantic that you and Cal are getting a second chance.” Helen picked up a stack of files in Libby’s in-box and tapped them into order. “Anybody who saw you two together back then could see how much you were in love.”
Libby peered up at Helen with a weary gaze. With her nerves already raw, the reminder of what she’d once had with Cal sliced especially deep.
“And I always did think he was pretty hot.” Helen fanned herself with the file in her hand and gave Libby a coy grin. “What is it about firemen?”
Libby pictured Cal as he’d looked last night, his muscled chest and bare feet. He oozed testosterone. Better to not go down that thorny path.
“I hate to disappoint you, but he’s not a fireman anymore,” she told Helen.
“Yeah, but I bet he’s still a hottie.” Helen wiggled her eyebrows.
Chuckling, Libby shoved away from her desk and gathered her briefcase and purse. “I have to go pick up Cal’s daughter. Do what you can to reschedule my afternoon appointments for Monday, okay?”
Setting her briefcase on the floor long enough to don her coat, Libby sighed. “I’ll be back at three for the meeting with Roger. You’re sure you don’t mind watching Ally for me?”
“Positive.”
Libby gave Helen a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
As she hustled out to her car, she glanced at her watch, noting she was already five minutes late. She told herself the time was the reason she hurried in the parking garage, and not any residual fear from the night she’d been followed. She didn’t want to give the stalker any control over her life, give in to his manipulation.
Down the aisle, a car door slammed. Libby yelped, her heart slamming against her ribs. So much for her denials. Until her stalker was caught, she’d probably never draw a completely easy breath.
Libby made a mental note to call the police department and see if they’d lifted any prints from the latest letter. All the others had been clean. Nothing helpful. A handwriting expert was analyzing the letters, too. Perhaps they’d find a match with something on file.
She fought the lunch-hour traffic through town and entered Ally’s preschool by twelve-fifteen. Ally’s teacher had already taken her to the office to wait, and thankfully, Cal had phoned the school to notify them that Libby would be picking up his daughter. After showing her ID, Libby was allowed to take Ally home.
As they walked across the parking lot toward her car, she felt Ally’s small fingers slip into her palm and cling. Libby’s breath caught in her lungs for a moment as her gaze darted down to their joined hands. Ally’s hand seemed so small next to hers. The blue-eyed gaze Cal’s daughter raised, as if asking permission to hold her hand, was so heartbreakingly innocent.
Cold fear rolled through Libby’s chest. Ally was depending on her to fill in the gaps that Renee’s drug use had left. Ally needed a mother. Needed warmth and security and love.
But giving this precious girl what she deserved meant putting her own heart on the line. She could tell Cal their relationship would be strictly hands-off. But how could she deny Ally a hand to hold, hugs and kisses and warm snuggles at bedtime? And why would she want to den
y herself those sweet indulgences with this raven-haired angel?
She couldn’t.
Libby squeezed Ally’s hand and flashed her a smile. “I bet you’d like a hamburger and french fries for lunch.”
The light of excitement filled Ally’s eyes, and she tipped a small grin at her stepmom.
Warmth unfurled inside Libby, filling her, expanding until her chest ached, chasing away the cold and doubt.
Libby’s smile spread. “Good. Let’s go. I’m hungry.”
With Ally, at least, she knew she’d made the right choice.
After lunch, Libby took her laptop to the living room, hoping to get some work finished before heading back to the office for her meeting with the D.A.
She’d only gotten one page of a brief read before Ally appeared at her knee. “What is it, honey? Don’t you want to watch Winnie the Pooh?”
Ally pouted and shook her head.
Libby’s shoulders slumped. So much for getting some work done while Ally watched TV. “What do you want to do?”
“Draw. I have some paper, but I don’t have a crayon.”
Libby pushed off the couch and went in search of something the girl could use to draw. “Your daddy told me you like to color. Now where is the paper you found?”
Ally pointed across the room to a box of Cal’s things waiting to be unpacked.
“Aha!” Libby rubbed her hands together and wiggled her eyebrows for Ally’s amusement. “Maybe your dad has some crayons in there, too.”
Libby knelt by a box that held a few office supplies and dug into it. She rifled through Cal’s things, hoping Cal had bought some sort of art supplies for Ally, and finally came up with a box of markers. “Will these do?”
Ally nodded then grabbed out the paper she intended to color on.
A pad of blue stationery.
Libby gasped. “Ally…honey, can I see that paper, p-please?”
Cal’s daughter passed the pad to her with a worried knit in her brow.
“It’s okay, hon,” Libby said, wanting to reassure Ally, but fearing the worst. The hamburger and fries she’d shared with Ally sat in her stomach like a rock. “I…I just need to look at it for a minute.”
But she didn’t need more than a quick assessment to recognize the blue paper. She’d seen it too often in the past few weeks.
She flashed Ally a tremulous smile, feeling the muscles in her cheeks twitch. “There’s a…y-yellow note pad in my briefcase. Why don’t you get it, okay?”
The little girl gave her an uncertain frown, then nodded and scurried off.
Libby stared at the pad, her mind whirling and her heart staggering in disbelief. Stan’s voice filled her head. Have you considered that he could be your stalker?
Angling the pad into the light, she noted the indentations left by the last use.
Hands trembling, she scrounged in Cal’s box until she found a pencil. Gently, she rubbed the broad side of the lead across the page, highlighting the dented marks. Letters took form. Words.
Her heart in her throat, Libby tipped the pad to the light again and read.
run, but…hide jumped out at her first.
Bile burned her throat as she read on.
Next time…
…revenge.
Clapping a hand over her mouth, Libby bolted for the bathroom. She barely made it to the commode before she lost her lunch.
Chapter 6
Cal used his new key to Libby’s house and let himself in early the next morning then relocked the door. Jewel rubbed against his legs in greeting, and he bent to scratch the cat on the head. With a loud meow, she trotted across the room to sit by her empty food bowl.
“Hold it down, cat. People are sleeping.”
“Mrow!”
“Yeah, I’m hungry, too. Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
Bushed didn’t begin to describe how he felt. His muscles ached from wielding a jackhammer all night. His eyes burned from concrete dust, exhaust and lack of sleep. A gnawing hunger and pounding headache exacerbated his fatigue.
Food, a shower and some serious shut-eye were finally within reach. But first things first.
After draping his coat on the back of a kitchen chair, Cal crept quietly down the dark hallway to the guest room door and peeked in. In the watery gray light seeping through the blinds, he found Ally cuddling her scruffy teddy bear on the daybed. Just as he’d hoped.
A smile tugged at his lips, and a sweet ache filled his chest until he couldn’t breathe. Sneaking closer, he pressed a tender kiss on Ally’s brow, then silently backed out of the room.
And into a soft body.
Libby screamed.
Whirling around, Cal snaked an arm around her waist, steadying them both, and clapped a hand over her mouth. “Chill, Lib. It’s me.”
He felt the shudder that raced through Libby’s body and instinctively tightened his hold. “Sorry to scare you like that. Guess I should have told you I was home first.”
Libby grabbed his wrist and yanked his hand from her mouth. “Yeah. Guess so!”
He buried his nose in the cloud of silky hair at his cheek and inhaled deeply. After breathing exhaust fumes and construction dust all night, the floral scent of Libby’s shampoo and the hint of musk from her perfume smelled heavenly.
“Honey, I’m home,” he whispered in her ear. Her lush, womanly curves pillowed his sore muscles and stirred a different sort of ache near his groin. He had only a moment to savor the crush of her body against his before she wrenched herself free.
Scowling, she put an arm’s length between them.
“You can let go now,” she grumbled. Even in the dim hall, he could see the blaze in her eyes, the tension quivering through her muscles.
Oh, yeah—her no touching rule.
He scoffed and raised his palms. “Geez, taking your hands-off thing to the extreme, aren’t you?”
Without answering, she stalked toward the kitchen and flipped on the light. He followed, bemused by her drastic reaction to their collision.
“Hey, come on, Lib. I said I was sorry for startling you.”
Her back to him, she jabbed on the coffeemaker and yanked open the cabinet above her. “I’m fine.”
Her stiff, jerky movements said otherwise. Cal pinched the bridge of his nose, too tired to get into a fight with her over something so trivial. So much for the lighthearted, albeit awkward, mood they’d enjoyed Thursday night.
He sighed. “Did the school give you any problems about picking Ally up?”
She took out a mug and thunked it onto the counter. “No.”
“Did Ally give you trouble?”
“No.” She marched to the refrigerator and snatched it open.
Noticing Jewel still waiting by her bowl, impatiently twitching her tail, Cal searched the cabinets for cat food. “Did Renee call? We’re still keeping Ally this weekend, right?”
“No.”
Cal gritted his teeth, determined to keep his tone even, calm. “No, Renee didn’t call, or, no, we don’t get to keep Ally today?”
Libby spun around and crossed her arms over her chest. “No, she didn’t call. I assume, since she never arranged to get Ally from me yesterday, we’re to keep her as planned. But why don’t you call her and ask?”
He gaped at Libby, stunned by her snappy tone. “Fine.”
“Fine.”
He studied her flashing eyes and the flush of color in her cheeks. With her arms crossed, her breasts swelled against her thin nightgown as she drew deep, ragged breaths.
Damn, but she was beautiful when she got angry. His nerves hummed with an urge to channel her fury into a round of wild and passionate sex.
But he knew how his overtures would likely be received and knew his daughter was asleep in the next room. He’d have no satisfaction this morning for the desire pulsing through him in hot waves.
He ground his teeth until his jaw hurt. Damn squared.
He tore his eyes away from the tempting view, shoved his need bac
k down and resumed his search for Jewel’s food. “So where do you keep the cat’s chow?”
Pushing him aside, Libby grabbed the box from the shelf and slapped it against his chest. “Here.”
He sighed wearily and crossed the room to pour Jewel her breakfast. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting just a bit? I said I was sorry for startling you.”
“That’s not why I’m upset.” Her tone could have cooled a chemical fire.
At that moment, he’d rather have faced a blazing ammunition factory than get into a heated argument with Libby. But his fatigue made his tongue work without thinking. “Then why are you mad?”
“I’m not mad.”
He snorted. “Coulda fooled me.”
She strode to the other end of the counter and swiped up a blue notepad. “What do you know about this?”
He arched an eyebrow, completely lost. “What about it?”
“Is it yours?”
He hesitated, knowing his answer mattered a great deal to Libby, but for the life of him not understanding why. Maybe she wasn’t angry, but she was sure edgy as hell. “I, uh…don’t think so.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh? It was in one of your boxes.”
Okay, wrong answer. He tried again.
“Well, it could be, I guess. What’s the big deal?” He crossed the kitchen to pour Jewel her breakfast.
“Then you don’t deny it? You admit the paper is yours?”
He tensed and shot Libby a wary glance. How could he have forgotten he was dealing with a lawyer? He smelled a trap. “Care to tell me what it is I’m charged with here, Counselor?”
“Just answer my question.”
“All right, no! No, it’s not mine.” He returned the cat food to the cabinet and met Libby’s glare evenly. “I’ve never bought colored paper in my life. It’s too…feminine for my tastes. Why does it matter?”
“I just had to know for sure.” She took another step toward him, her body quivering. Emotion swirled in the depths of her mahogany eyes, making her look so…vulnerable—not a word he thought he’d ever use in connection with Libby.
Something definitely wasn’t right here. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. Libby seemed…scared.
To Love, Honor and Defend Page 8
