by SUE FINEMAN
“Not even your boyfriend?”
“Former boyfriend. When I found out he had a wife, I threw him out. I hate it when people lie to me.”
Was that why she was so down on men? Because a man lied to her? “In case you were wondering, I never cheated on my wife, and as far as I know, she didn’t cheat on me.” If only it had been that simple.
“Then why did you divorce?”
“Because she tricked me into having another child and instead of talking it over and resolving our differences, I went out and had a vasectomy. By then we were barely speaking.”
“You didn’t want kids?”
“Not especially. I gave her two to make her happy.”
“How many did she want?”
“Six.” He didn’t even want three. Although he loved his little Susie, he couldn’t forget that he didn’t want Emma to have her.
“Did she want a divorce so she could marry a man who could give her more kids?”
“I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter now.”
Baylee turned the radio back up. When a commercial came on, she asked, “Did you still love Emma when she died?”
Nothing like asking the hard questions. “No. She was a good mother, but I didn’t love her.” If Emma hadn’t had the kids, their marriage would undoubtedly have ended much sooner. For him, marriage was about love and companionship. For Emma, it was all about the kids. He was an essential element, but only for as long as he could impregnate her.
They rode in silence over the mountains and down into the desert side of the state. There were few trees on this side, mostly dry hills and flat, irrigated farmland.
Chance took the turn-off for Yakima, and they stopped there for gas. It was pretty apple orchard country, nothing like the Puget Sound area with its green rolling hills.
Once on the road again, Baylee put her head back and dozed off. They’d both been up late last night, and she was up the night before listening to the police reports. Add the tension of the past two days, and she must be wiped out.
As he drove south across the Columbia River and into Oregon, Chance thought about Melissa Blackburn. After her husband went to prison for attempted murder, she volunteered every spare minute to helping other battered women. Emma volunteered during the day, and Melissa worked the evening shift, after she got off work. The two women had helped so many others, yet their murders had probably frightened some women into staying with their abusive husbands or boyfriends.
Chance had often taken pro bono cases at Emma’s request, battered women she’d met at the shelter. Most of them got their divorces and moved on with their lives, including Melissa. Or at least she had until her husband was released from prison. He’d publicly stated that he’d get her when he was released, yet they’d let him go. They had to. After he’d served his time, the prison system had no legal right to keep him. He hadn’t been given time for good behavior, he wasn’t paroled, and he wasn’t on probation. He’d served his full sentence. Five lousy years for nearly killing his ex-wife. It wasn’t nearly long enough. Twenty years wouldn’t be long enough for a man like Jack Blackburn.
Baylee shifted a little and blew out a soft sigh. She had a light, clear complexion, and her long eyelashes feathered over pink cheeks framed by bouncy blond curls. Beauty emanated from her, yet she acted as if she didn’t know she was beautiful.
Emma used to read Baylee’s columns and comment on them over breakfast, yet Emma had never met Baylee. Chance had seen her in the courtroom on more than one occasion. He knew she was a reporter, yet until the night at the bar, he didn’t know who she was.
He’d had too much to drink that night, but not so much he couldn’t appreciate the gift she’d given him. Remembering her long legs wrapped around him and the gentle way she touched him made him want to peel her clothes off and start over, but this was the wrong time to get involved with any woman. And if he touched her that way again, he’d want more than one night.
Adjusting his pants, Chance tried to pull his mind from the woman sitting beside him.
Baylee yawned and stretched her arms in front of her. Rolling her head, she stretched the kinks out. “Where are we?”
“The state line is up here.”
“Oregon?”
“Idaho.” He shot her a little smile. “You slept through Oregon.”
“Yeah, well, girl reporters need our beauty sleep.” She checked her watch. “If you can find a gas station or a park with a restroom, I’ll get lunch out of the back.”
“You made lunch?”
“Leftover turkey sandwiches, apples, and I think there’s a box of cookies back there somewhere.”
“Cinnamon or chocolate teddy bears?”
“Chocolate.”
“Sarah’s favorite. Susie likes the cinnamon bears better, and Steven thinks he’s too grown up to eat teddy bears. He’s eight.”
Baylee laughed a little. “Chance, I’m not too grown up to eat teddy bears.”
She was grown up all right, a beautiful woman with a body made for loving.
<>
They stopped for the night in Boise, Idaho. Chance asked for adjoining rooms, but they didn’t have any, so he took one room with two beds. Baylee might not like sleeping in the same room, but he didn’t like the idea of her staying anywhere alone. Blackburn had to know by now that Chance had left Tacoma, and he might have figured out Baylee was with him.
After the incident with the cougar, he was afraid she’d freeze up if she saw Jack Blackburn up close and personal. If she hesitated for one second to defend herself, it could be too long.
Early the next morning, while Baylee slept, Chance pulled on his gym shorts and a T-shirt and walked down to the lobby to ask if they had a gym. The clerk was busy, but a pretty redhead dressed in a leopard print leotard said, “I know where it is. I’ll show you.” She flirted all the way down to the gym. The woman had huge breasts and long, slender legs, but the upper part of her face didn’t move, like she’d had one too many plastic surgeries.
The woman couldn’t keep up with Chance on the other treadmill, so she went over to the stepper. At least he didn’t have to listen to her chatter anymore.
A few minutes later, Baylee walked in. She wore no makeup, her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, and she looked as if she could barely walk, let alone exercise. Ignoring him, she walked over to the other stepper and struck up a conversation with the redhead.
Chance had his T-shirt off, and sweat rolled down his body when he turned off the treadmill and went over to the weight bench.
“Who’s the hunky guy?” Baylee asked the redhead, and Chance pretended he couldn’t hear their conversation.
“Hands off,” said the redhead. “I saw him first.”
“You can have him,” said Baylee. “I saw him kissing some guy last night.”
The redhead gasped. “He’s gay?”
Baylee shrugged. “Maybe he’s bi. You never know about these pretty guys.”
“What a waste,” said the redhead. She took a long look at Chance and left the room.
“I’ll get you for this,” he said to Baylee.
She faked a gasp. “You heard?”
“You know damn well I heard.” He jumped off the bench and strode toward her. She backed up a step, but he grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder.
“Put me down, you beast.”
He swatted her behind, then stood her on the floor. “I’ll see you back in the room, Miss Big Mouth Reporter. And this morning, I get the first shower.”
She grinned, and before he knew what happened, she’d floored him with a karate move and run out the door.
A couple walked in, and from the smirks on their faces, they’d seen what happened. “That’s some woman,” said the man.
“More like a wildcat,” Chance muttered. He took his time, wiping off the sweat with his towel and pulling on his T-shirt before walking back to the room. Baylee was already in the shower, so he stripped off his clothes and s
tepped into the tub behind her.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Taking my shower. Do you want to wash my back for me? Or my front? Or…anything?”
He took the soap from her hands, rubbed it into a lather, and smoothed the lather over her breasts until her nipples stood at attention.
“I-I already washed there.”
“Then you wash me.” He took her wet hand and put the soap in it.
She hesitated briefly and then said, “Turn around and I’ll wash your back.”
He felt her gentle hands massaging his back and neck and shoulders. “That feels good, honey.”
She let him get under the stream of water, and he finished washing himself. He thought she’d get out, but she didn’t, so he turned to face her again. She glanced down at his erection and her face turned pink. “The redhead did that to you?”
“No, smacking your tush did that to me. Seeing you naked and wet did that to me.” He cocked his head. “Are you going to let me go through the day like this, or do you want to take care of it?“
“In your dreams, counselor.” She stepped out of the tub, wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body, and left the bathroom.
He followed, but before he could do anything about his state of arousal, his cell phone rang. He and Baylee both froze and stared at each other. Finally, he grabbed the phone and answered, “Gregory.”
“Call her off,” said Blackburn. “Tell her to stop the spell.”
“No can do,” Chance said and snapped the phone closed. “Apparently your power of suggestion is doing things to our killer. He wants you to stop the spell.”
Sopping the water from her hair, Baylee said, “Maybe we could lure him into a trap.”
“Not we, honey. If he sees you, he’ll know, and he’ll kill you on the spot.”
“But if we—”
“I said no,” he snapped.
“Who put you in charge of my life?”
“I did, when I stopped the little kitty cat from eating you for breakfast.”
She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.
So much for the sensual mood they’d created in the shower.
“Shit!”
Chapter Four
Chance dressed quickly and packed his bag. Never had a woman frustrated him like this one. Emma had never refused him when he wanted sex, but Baylee… First she acted like she wanted him and then she didn’t. What was with her anyway? She made him feel like a pimple-faced teenage boy with a crush on the head cheerleader, only this cheerleader wouldn’t have anything to do with him.
When she came out of the bathroom, he didn’t look at her. He couldn’t. Dating in high school wasn’t this hard, and it was awful. No matter how old he was, rejection still stung. At least she didn’t slap him like Stacey Whatshername had in high school. His first car date, and when he got a little too friendly, she let him have it. Baylee didn’t slap him. She didn’t have to. He got the point. She couldn’t forgive him for his behavior in the past, therefore she didn’t want anything to do with him now.
He zipped his suitcase and carried it out to the car. They’d get two rooms from now on, and he’d keep his distance. If the woman in the gym this morning was any indication, he shouldn’t have to worry about finding another woman.
Did he want another woman?
He rearranged some of the boxes in the car, making room for Baylee’s bags. Everything personal he owned was in this car. His house was gone and he’d sold his law practice. There was no reason to return to Tacoma now. The insurance company would take care of the house and contents, and his car. He should get a settlement check, and that money should get him by until he got back to work. All those years building a law practice, and he had to start over.
Baylee stood in the motel room door. “Chance, do you want my suitcase now?”
“When you’re ready. No hurry. I thought we’d get breakfast before we checked out.”
“Okay.” She disappeared inside, leaving the door slightly ajar, so he didn’t have to use his key to get back in.
He knew she was still attracted to him—they were both attracted—but she’d made it clear she didn’t want a short-term relationship. In other words, no casual sex. Okay, he could handle that. He’d have to handle it, because he couldn’t make any promises for the future. Not now. He had other priorities, like getting his kids through this hard time, finding another place to live, and meeting the requirements for practicing law in Texas.
He’d need his family’s help, especially his mother’s, with the kids.
<>
After breakfast, Baylee put her suitcases and tote bag in the car and slid into the seat beside Chance. He hadn’t said two words at breakfast, and the silence had grown so big it filled the car. He was clearly angry with her, and she was angry with herself for blowing up at him. He wanted sex, and she’d bruised his ego by pulling away. Seeing his buff body in the gym and then in the shower, knowing what it felt like to have his hands and lips on her body, she wanted him so much, she ached with longing.
The night at the Twilight Zone, if she hadn’t come on to him, he wouldn’t have given her a second glance. It was the first and only time she’d ever picked up a man in a bar, but she’d watched Chance Gregory so much in the courtroom, he didn’t seem like a stranger. Now Chance was coming onto her, but she’d never be satisfied with one night together. She’d want more, and he wasn’t willing to give her more. Better not to let it begin than to start something they couldn’t continue.
Watching Chance drive out of the motel parking lot, she knew he had better things to do than put up with her. He didn’t need to drag her all over the country. If she had the money, she’d take a bus back to Tacoma, but she couldn’t go home to her apartment, and the killer might be watching the newspaper office. What else could she do but stay with him?
As he pulled out onto the highway, Baylee said, “I hate running like this.”
Ignoring her comment, he asked, “How far do you want to go today?”
“Whatever you want, Chance. You’re driving.”
“Do you want to drive?”
“Not especially.” Had she paid her car insurance this month? She couldn’t remember.
It grew quiet in the car again. She stared out the window at the rugged terrain outside Boise. It had a certain stark beauty, but it felt so lonely. It wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. She’d been alone for most of her life. Even as a child, she’d spent most of her time alone.
Her track record with men wasn’t good. When she found Chance in the Twilight Zone, she thought she’d finally found a man she could love, a man who could love her back. Was she ever wrong! He might as well still be married to Emma, because he was still emotionally tied to his ex-wife.
She shouldn’t have called Chance when she heard about Melissa’s murder, and she really shouldn’t have come along on this little road trip. If not for McBride, she wouldn’t have left Tacoma, and if not for the hungry cougar, she would have stayed in the mountains. If she had any sense, she’d find another solution. But all her sense sprouted wings and flew out the window when she was around Chance.
“From now on, you can get your own room,” he said without looking at her.
“I wish. My credit card is maxed out and my bank account is empty. I gave my last paycheck to a woman at the shelter, so she could take her kids to another state. She would have ended up like Emma and Melissa. Her husband reminds me so much of Black Jack, they could be brothers.”
“One of him is enough. Where did this woman go?”
“I don’t know. An underground network helps battered women who need to get lost. I hope she and the kids will be all right.”
“How did you get involved? Did you have an abusive boyfriend?”
“Grandfather. He didn’t like kids, so I spent most of my childhood hiding in my bedroom. He was a mean old bastard. I have scars on my backside where he hit me with his belt buckle. He knocked my grandmother
out once, and I thought he’d killed her. Scared me half to death.”
“How old were you?”
“Around six. She wasn’t much better. Grandma had a nasty temper, probably from living with him.”
“Where were your parents?”
“I don’t know. My birth certificate says my mother’s name was Lila Patterson, and I don’t know anyone by that name. My father is listed as ‘unknown,’ which could mean anything. Did she not know, or did she not want to name him?”
“Did you do any research on your family?”
“Sure. Grandpa had been married seven times. He fathered a bunch of kids, but my last name is Patterson, not Lawton. Patterson was the name of Grandma’s previous husband. Bay Patterson is Grandma’s child by a previous marriage. I was named after her.”
“How many kids did your grandmother have?”
“Only one that I know of. She lives in Houston. I haven’t seen her since I was in junior high school. She came out for Christmas one year. She wasn’t there a whole day when Grandpa said or did something and she stormed out of the house. She told Grandma she wouldn’t come back until Grandpa was dead, but he outlived Grandma. Bay didn’t even come out for Grandma’s funeral.”
“Is he still alive?”
“No. He died a couple years ago. I often wondered if he treated his kids the way he treated me.”
“You didn’t ask your grandparents about your parents?”
“Of course I did, but I never got an answer that made sense.” Baylee remembered the last time she’d brought up her parents. She was fifteen, and she wanted to take drivers’ education in school. Grandpa refused to sign the permission form, and she told him if she had real parents, they’d let her take it. Grandpa slapped her so hard, she had to stay home from school for three days to give the bruise on her face time to heal. She never asked again, and she moved out the day after her high school graduation. A boyfriend taught her to drive.
After high school, Baylee shared a dumpy little apartment with three other girls. She worked at Taco Bell for two years and then worked her way through college. She’d done it all on her own, without one ounce of help from her family.
