Another sign of the healing in their relationship had occurred at the luncheon, when Dawn had opened one of her presents and found a ruby ring and bracelet inside that matched the necklace and earrings that Ty had given her. The card attached to the present had read, 'To Dawn, with love from Maeve and Sloan.' They had never gone together on a present for her before. So there was plenty of food for thought there. She wondered what the future held for Sloan and Maeve Lewellen.
Rafe came up the steps and joined them just then. Glancing down at the pool area and noticing the empty baby pool, Sloan said, “Where did Lotti and Echo go?”
“Echo decided she'd had enough, so Lotti took her in to give her a bath and change her. She said that they'll be back in a few minutes.”
After he'd had time to take a few sips of the martini that Sloan had poured for him, Dawn asked Rafe, “What were you and Lotti talking about? You seemed to be having a good laugh.”
Rafe shrugged his shoulders and replied, “We discovered that we both spent some time in Catholic schools. We were comparing experiences and trading war stories. Then she asked me about the class I taught last summer – the self-defense class for women. Apparently, Sloan mentioned it to her. She's thinking of signing up for the next one I teach.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Dawn commented. She was about to draw some more details out of him, but her attention was distracted by the arrival of Lee, who'd come up to obtain refreshments for Brody and Will so that they wouldn't have to negotiate the steps. After she'd delivered a martini to Brody and a soft drink to Will, Lee climbed back up the steps and leaned against the railing, laughing and talking to the two of them. Presently, Lotti returned with Echo, who was now clad in a pair of jean overalls with a matching red plaid skirt. As soon as she saw Maeve, Echo started squirming in Lotti's arms, stretching her arms out toward Maeve, who reached up and took her from Lotti, settling the baby on her lap. Echo curled up contentedly and amused herself by sucking on a set of plastic rings that Lotti had brought with her.
Looking at the two of them, Dawn thought about mothers. She watched as Maeve chatted with Ty, saw the love and pride in her eyes as she gazed at her son, all the while tenderly holding another child – this one not her own. She thought of Vivian Zarafin, whose obsessive desire to be a mother had led her to resort to kidnapping, and of Monieque Torrense, who had first idolized but then ultimately destroyed her own son. And finally she nudged open another inch the door in her mind behind which the memories of her own mother dwelt – memories too long closed off.
A pat on her knee drew her out of her introspection. Echo had escaped from the protective circle of Maeve's arms and toddled over to Dawn, arms raised in the universal baby signal for “up”.
Dawn looked down at Echo, then over at Lee, remembering another tow-haired child, once lost, but now restored to her, vibrant and alive and happy. And then, just as if she had done it a thousand times before, she reached down, secured a firm grip on the baby, and swung her high up into the air.
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When the Tiger Kills Page 29
