Reluctant Dad

by Carla Cassidy

  Several moments later, Matt answered. “Matt, Dominic Marcola.”

  “Dominic, you just caught me. I was about to head home,” Matt said.

  “Would it be too much trouble for you to stop at Melissa Newman’s place on your way home?”

  “Another break-in?”

  “No, nothing like that,” Dominic said hurriedly.

  “Sure, I’ll stop by.” Matt’s voice was filled with curiosity. “I’ll be there in about fifteen, twenty minutes.”

  After hanging up, Dominic went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee, then sat at the table to await Matt’s arrival. He picked up the wedding photo that had been left on the table earlier.

  Who was the woman in the wedding dress? And why hadn’t Bill told his wife he’d been married before? Certainly they hadn’t been able to find any answers for the motive to his murder in his time in Wilford. Was it possible his past had come to haunt him, bearing a deadly weapon?

  Was it possible Melissa was telling the truth? If she was completely innocent of the murder, then was it possible someone from his past had returned with a score to settle?

  He frowned. Bill had lived in Wilford for over six years. It seemed impossible to imagine that something that had happened before that time could prompt his murder so recently.

  He traced a finger over the face of the woman in the photograph. Had Melissa’s face possessed that glow on her wedding day? He closed his eyes, his mind filling with a vision of her clad in a long, sweeping dress. The white silk would emphasize the blue of her eyes and the peach hue of her skin.

  He felt a stir deep within him as he remembered the kiss they’d shared. He’d not been surprised that her lips were velvet soft and sweet as honey. What had surprised him was the hunger—no, the apparent starvation he’d sensed as she’d clung to him.

  Melissa struck Dominic as a woman who deserved to be kissed deeply and often. He also had a feeling her husband hadn’t kissed her deeply or often enough.

  He tossed the wedding picture aside, irritated by the fanciful flight of his thoughts. He had to keep his distance from Melissa, not only for her sake, but for his, as well. He couldn’t handle another go-around with a woman who needed him only to get through a rough patch in her life.

  The doorbell rang, tugging him from his thoughts, and with a sigh of relief, he went to admit Matt. Dominic waited until they were both settled at the table, coffee mugs in front of them, before he explained to Matt what he wanted.

  “As I remember, you used to do a little computer work,” Dominic said.

  Matt nodded and flashed him a grin. “Yeah, I’m a hacker of sorts. Why?”

  Dominic didn’t immediately answer Matt’s question, but instead replied with one of his own. “Do you know if Mawlins has checked into Bill Newman’s past at all?”

  Matt shrugged. “I think he talked to a few of Bill’s customers, but I don’t think he dug too deep. Mawlins truly believes it was a domestic spat gone too far. Especially since he found out about Bill’s affair with Grace Harrison.”

  “What?” Dominic listened as Matt told him the latest that Mawlins had learned. “Are you sure Bill’s affair is fact and not just idle speculation or ugly gossip?”

  “The way I heard it, Grace herself came in and talked to Mawlins. According to her, Bill was supposed to leave Melissa and marry Grace as soon as the baby was born. Mawlins figured that provided the motive that had previously eluded them where Melissa’s guilt was concerned.”

  So that was why Melissa was arrested, Dominic thought. The missing piece of the puzzle for Mawlins had been provided.

  And now he had proof that the Newman marriage apparently hadn’t been a happy one. He wondered if Melissa had known about the affair. Somehow he didn’t think so. He remembered the look on her face when Dominic had shown her the wedding photo. Shock. It hadn’t been manufactured. She’d been utterly shocked. If she’d been aware of Bill’s affair, surely the old photo wouldn’t have been such a stunning surprise.

  “So, as far as you know, Mawlins didn’t check into Bill’s life before Bill came to Wilford six years ago?” Dominic asked.

  “Naw, Mawlins wouldn’t take the time or the trouble on a case he figured was already closed.” Matt sipped his coffee, studying Dominic thoughtfully. “So, is that what you want from me? A check into Newman’s background?”

  Dominic nodded. “That, and one other thing.” He picked up the wedding photo and showed Matt the printing on the back. “We know this photo was taken eight years ago. We know it was taken by a place called Dano’s Photography Studio, but we don’t know where this business is located or if it’s still in existence.”

  “Whew!” Matt whistled beneath his breath. “That’s a pretty tall order. Checking into Newman’s background should be a piece of cake, but tracking down a photography studio without a location might be a little more difficult.”

  “I’d appreciate anything you can do to help us out,” Dominic told him.

  Matt leaned back in the chair, his gaze still focused on Dominic. “You’re getting pretty involved personally in this, Dominic.” He paused for a moment, then added softly, “Is she worth it?”

  Dominic felt a flush heat his face, but he didn’t break eye contact with Matt. “I get personally involved when I think an innocent person is being railroaded for a crime.”

  Matt nodded. “You had a tough break, Dominic. You should never have been arrested for Abigail’s murder. But don’t let your experience give you tunnel vision about this case.”

  “I’m not.”

  “You thought you had a handle on Abigail before she up and married Morgan Monroe,” Matt reminded him.

  “There’s an important difference here,” Dominic countered. “I was in love with Abigail and I’m not in love with Melissa.”

  Matt stood and clapped Dominic on the back. “I just know you’ve had a rough time of it.” Dominic relaxed, realizing Matt’s words had come from friendship, not censure.

  “I appreciate you stopping by,” Dominic said as he walked with Matt to the front door. “And you’ll let me know as soon as you have anything.”

  “Definitely, although it might take a couple of days. I can only work on this in my spare time.”

  Dominic nodded, fighting an edge of frustration. Melissa had already been arrested. He wanted the information from Matt yesterday. Still, he fought the impulse to put additional pressure on Matt. “Thanks for coming by. I’ll be anxious to hear from you.”

  Nodding goodbye, Matt left, leaving Dominic alone in the silence of the house. Only his thoughts rattled discordantly in what should have been total tranquillity.

  Looking at his watch, he realized it was almost ten o‘clock. He’d heard nothing from Tyler and Samantha and assumed no news meant exactly no news. From that, he could also assume that Melissa wouldn’t be coming home tonight. It was still up in the air whether she would be coming home at all.

  A sudden, mewling cry from the nursery pulled Dominic down the hallway. Jamison always had his last bottle of the night at about this time.

  “Hey, little guy,” Dominic greeted the crying baby. “Shh, no need to work yourself up. I’m here, and I’m going to take care of you.” Jamison quieted, as he always did at the sound of Dominic’s voice.

  “We’ll get you a bottle, but first I think a change of diaper is in order.” While Dominic unsnapped the blue sleeper Jamison wore and removed a soggy diaper, the baby chewed on a tiny fist and his blue eyes gazed unblinking at Dominic. And in those bright blue depths, Dominic saw Melissa.

  He saw the sleepy blue of her eyes first thing in the morning...and the sapphire glow of love each time she gazed at her son. Those eyes of hers, reflecting a thousand different emotions. They’d been smoky blue when he’d kissed her, and he had a feeling that blue would deepen to midnight when she made love.

  He finished diapering Jamison and picked him up in his arms. The baby smelled of talc and innocence and the floral fragrance of his mother. In that m
oment Dominic knew he’d lied to Matt. He was personally involved in this case; in fact he was precariously close to falling in love with Melissa Newman.

  Chapter 10

  Melissa got out of Tyler and Samantha’s car, then watched as they drove off. They’d wanted to come in, talk trial strategy, but after a night and almost a full day in a tiny jail cell, all Melissa wanted was an evening of holding her son and spending time with Dominic.

  Before she could get to the door, it opened and Dominic stepped out on the porch, the late-afternoon sun casting shadows on his features. He held Jamison in his arms, as if he knew how much she would need to see him and hold him, the moment she got home.

  She ran toward him, and he immediately held the baby out to her. She hugged Jamison tightly, his wiggly warmth a soothing balm that banished momentarily the horrible night in the jail.

  She smiled at Dominic. “I’m home.”

  “Thank God they gave you bail,” he replied.

  She nodded. “We got lucky. The judge was an old crony of my father’s. He didn’t think I was a flight risk and took into consideration I had a baby here.” She leaned against the porch railing and breathed in Jamison’s sweet baby scent “Samantha and Tyler used the law firm to make my bail.”

  “Are you all right?” he asked softly.

  “Yes. Oh, I’m exhausted. I didn’t sleep very well, and I can’t wait to take a bath. I feel dirty, like all the grime and despair and hopelessness in that jail cell somehow rubbed off on me.” She looked at him curiously. “Was it that way for you?”

  “Yeah.” He frowned, as if remembering his days and weeks in a jail cell, incarcerated for a murder he hadn’t committed.

  She placed a hand on his arm. She felt his muscles tense beneath her touch. “I’m sorry. All this must be bringing back horrible memories for you.”

  “I can live with my memories, I’m just sorry you had to go through it.” He stepped back from her. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

  “Dominic, I can’t thank you enough for being here for my baby, for taking care of him,” she said, once they were in the house.

  He shook his head as if to dismiss her grateful words. “Ah, Jamie and I got along just fine. It was no big deal.”

  “Jamie?”

  Dominic’s smile widened as his gaze lingered on the baby in her arms. “Jamison is far too big a name for such a little guy. He told me he much prefers Jamie to Jamison.”

  Melissa smiled. Jamie. Yes, it felt right, much warmer and more informal than Jamison. “He learned to talk while I was gone?” she teased.

  “Only in tiny whispers that nobody except me can hear.”

  Melissa laughed, her laughter ending with a sudden sob as the stress of the past twenty-four hours spilled out. She drew a deep breath and swallowed hard against the emotion, refusing to give in to it. “Anyway, I’m set for trial in two months.”

  “Who’s prosecuting?”

  “Chester Sparks.”

  Dominic frowned. “The same man who prosecuted my case. He’s good, but I’m sure Richard Wallace is better.”

  Melissa flashed him a quick smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I need all I can get.” She sank into the overstuffed chair where Bill had sat every night to watch television. “Have you heard the latest?”

  “You mean about Grace Harrison?”

  She nodded and ran a finger over the slightly worn arm of the chair. “It’s funny, I was married to Bill for six years, and I’m finding out that I didn’t know him at all.”

  “You had no idea that he was having an affair?”

  “None.” Melissa bit back a burst of bitter laughter. If only she’d known. She’d worked so hard to make her marriage succeed, wanting to believe the vows of love forever. She’d endured Bill’s temper, overlooked his cruelty, believing that if she was a good enough wife, he would change and become the man she’d believed she’d married.

  She stood, not wanting to talk anymore, afraid she would spill the secret that would let Dominic know how stupid she really was. She didn’t want anyone to know about Bill’s abuse, but she especially didn’t want Dominic to know. “I’m going to put this little fellow down for a nap, then take a shower.”

  She left the room and went down the hallway to the nursery. She placed Jamison in his crib, smiling at him as he kicked his feet and waved his hands, his gaze seeming to focus on the mobile above his head. She reached out and smoothed a strand of his fine blond hair, her heart filling with love.

  Jamison had been the reason she’d decided to reconcile with Bill. He’d also been the reason she’d decided to leave Bill. The baby had given her the strength to make the final break from her husband and all the dreams she’d once possessed.

  Jamison was her strength, and her weakness. She had two months to spend with him before her trial. If she was convicted, she would miss all the important firsts in his life, would be only a peripheral part of his growing up.

  She fought the impulse to pick him up, hug him to her heart and never let him go. He was the one thing good that had come out of her marriage to Bill. She pressed a kiss to her fingertips, then laid it on his cheek.

  Moments later she entered the bathroom, instantly smelling the scent of Dominic. He’d apparently taken a shower earlier, and the fragrance of his soap and cologne still filled the small interior.

  Melissa stepped into the hot spray of the shower, her mind filled with thoughts of Dominic. He’d been on her mind the entire night. And each moment of those thoughts had been filled with regret. Regret that he’d entered her life at the wrong time. Regret that she might never get an opportunity to taste his lips again.

  But she had to be realistic. She was a young widow with a baby, and she was facing murder charges. This wasn’t exactly the right time to be thinking of an intimate relationship.

  Besides, she knew her meandering thoughts of Dominic and love were moot. Dominic was a good man who’d suffered enough heartache for a lifetime. He deserved a woman without baggage, a woman who could give him his own babies, not another man’s child. He deserved a strong woman, not a weak fool like herself, who’d remained with an abusive man for as long as she had because she was more afraid of being alone.

  She stood in the shower for a long time, letting the warm water cascade over her, allowing relaxation to replace stress. Other than the faint stretch marks that crossed her lower abdomen, her body had returned to normal, as if the birth had been years ago instead of just a month.

  Finally, hair squeaky clean and skin flushed, she turned off the water. She dried quickly, ran a brush through her hair, then pulled on a robe and went back into the nursery.

  She peeked into the crib and froze. Jamison was gone, his blanket tossed to one side of the empty bed. A flash of panic burst in her mind.

  But after checking the window, she saw nothing amiss. No alarm had rung. She swallowed against her fear and left the nursery. Before she reached the kitchen, she knew Jamison was safe in Dominic’s arms. As she walked down the hall, she heard Dominic talking to the baby.

  She paused, peeking into the kitchen. Her breath caught. Jamison was there, cradled against Dominic’s bare chest. Dominic paced back and forth, rocking the baby in his arms. Dominic’s deep voice cooed and whispered sweet words to comfort the fussy baby.

  Melissa leaned against the wall in the hallway, listening for a long moment. Her heart swelled. It was as if one of her dreams had popped out of her head and right into her kitchen. Of course, in her dreams, her son had been held in the loving arms of his father.

  Closing her eyes, she drew a deep breath as she realized she was on the verge of falling desperately in love with Dominic Marcola.

  Dominic turned as Melissa entered the kitchen. “He started crying while you were in the shower,” he explained. Warmth swept through him as he realized her gaze lingered on his bare chest. “He—uh—spit up all over me when I picked him up. I might have fed him too much right before you got home.”

  She smiled,
the warmth of the gesture curling Dominic’s toes. “Here, I’ll take him.” As she took the baby from his arms, her fingers brushed his chest. He fought a flinch, wondering if she had any idea how she affected him.

  She walked back and forth across the expanse of the kitchen, sweet-talking her son, kissing his forehead and gazing at him as if she might gobble him up. With each step she took, her robe flipped open, exposing her long, shapely legs.

  Dominic turned away, feeling as if the walls of the kitchen had closed in and the temperature had risen several degrees. He wasn’t sure exactly what was causing his pulse to race and his thoughts to turn carnal. Maybe it was because she looked so damned sexy in her peach silk robe. Or perhaps it was simply because he’d missed her presence and now was supersensitive to her closeness.

  “You hungry?” he asked as he opened the refrigerator door and peered inside.

  “No, but help yourself.”

  He closed the door. “Naw, I’m really not very hungry, either.” At least, not for anything that the refrigerator might contain.

  “You want to talk?” He needed something, anything to keep his mind off her fresh, clean scent and those sexy legs.

  “Not about the case. I’m sick to death of talking about it. For the rest of today, I’m taking a vacation from rational thought.” She sank down at the table and once again kissed the top of Jamison’s head.

  “It feels so good to be home. Did you miss me, sweetie? Did you miss your mama?” she asked the baby. “Oh, Dominic, look...he’s smiling.” Joy exploded in her voice, and Dominic came closer in time to see the little guy grin. “Did you see?” she asked, her eyes the neon blue of a late-summer sky. “It’s probably gas,” she finally said.

  “It looked like a real smile to me,” Dominic assured her.

  She gazed at him wanly, then looked back down at Jamison. “I want it to be a real smile. It kind of renews my faith, that in all the madness that’s been my life lately, this little guy can smile.”