Baby Bootcamp

by Mallory Kane

  “Faith,” Matt said. “I’m going to turn on a high-powered flashlight. When I do, I want you to duck. Make yourself as small as possible and cover your head. Okay?”

  “Shut up, Soarez!” Rory yelled. “Stop talking to her. I swear I’ll shoot her. I swear!”

  “No, you won’t.”

  Matt’s voice was so calm, so assured. Faith hoped he was right. “Okay,” she said, her voice cracking.

  The light flared. Faith ducked and shrank down as close to the floor as she could.

  Rory screamed in rage and jumped up, shoving her out of the way. He raised his gun, but a shot rang out before he got his arm up. His scream of rage turned into a yelp of pain, and his gun hit the floor with a thud.

  At that instant, Faith’s world turned into chaos. People seemed to appear from every direction, pouring into her basement like floodwaters.

  Matt jumped down the stairs and grabbed Rory, who was still squealing and holding his bleeding hand against his chest.

  A pair of strong hands grasped her shoulders and set her upright, then handed her off to somebody else, who guided her to the stairs. Yet another hand led her up the stairs to the dining room.

  Once she emerged, she saw that the hand belonged to Deputy Appleton. Had he led her up the stairs? Or had he met her at the top? She couldn’t think straight. Her head kept echoing with gunshots.

  She tried to thank him, but she couldn’t speak. Every time she opened her mouth, she started crying.

  Chapter Fifteen

  As Sheriff Hale led Rory Stockett away in handcuffs, Matt pushed his way through the crowd of pajama-clad onlookers to the ambulance where Deputy Appleton had told him Faith was being examined.

  He grimaced with pain every time he put his weight on his right knee. He’d come down hard on it when he’d leaped down the basement stairs. As soon as he had a chance, he needed to ice it down.

  But right now he was worried about Faith. She’d already been through so much, and now she’d been taken hostage by the father of her baby, who’d held a gun to her head and threatened her life.

  Matt felt the unwelcome weight of failure on his shoulders. He should have been there for her. Sheriff Hale could have gone to Amarillo alone to question the suspect.

  As he limped toward the ambulance, the crowd parted, and he saw Faith sitting on the back of the vehicle with Kaleigh in her arms. The flashing red lights made her blond hair shine like spun gold. She and her baby looked like an exquisite, rose-tinted painting of a mother and child.

  Inside the ambulance, Glo was lying on a stretcher and complaining loudly to anyone who would listen that she was not an invalid and she did not need to go to the hospital. A tired-looking paramedic was trying to get an IV started in her arm.

  “Hey,” Matt said to Faith once he got close enough.

  She glanced up at him without speaking, then looked back down at Kaleigh.

  “Hey, Faith,” he said again. “What did the paramedics say?”

  She moved her shoulders in a tiny shrug and brushed her fingers across Kaleigh’s little forehead.

  Matt frowned. What was the matter with her? Was she hurt? Was Kaleigh? He glanced around and saw a second paramedic with a stethoscope slung around his neck, talking to Deputy Appleton.

  Matt went over to them.

  Deputy Appleton introduced him to the paramedic, whose name was Ed.

  “What’s wrong with Faith?” he asked without preliminaries. “Is she hurt? What about the baby?”

  Ed raised his hands, palm outward. “Whoa,” he said and chuckled. “Wait a minute. Faith, the young blond mother? She’s doing okay. Scared, maybe a little bit in shock. I gave her a mild sedative so she can relax and sleep tonight.”

  “She wasn’t injured? Stockett didn’t hurt her?”

  “She’s going to have trouble with her right hand for a while. Looks like he stomped on it, but that’s all.” Ed wiped his face. “Baby’s fine, too. Glo, the older woman, has a pretty serious concussion. We’re taking her to the hospital for observation.”

  “So can I take Faith and the baby up to her apartment? Is she free to go?” He addressed that question both to Ed and to Deputy Appleton.

  Both nodded. Appleton added, “I questioned her a little, but we can wait to do a formal interview.” He looked at his watch. “Maybe tomorrow?”

  Matt nodded and shook both their hands. Then he headed back over to the ambulance.

  “Faith,” he said, crouching down in front of her. “I’m going to take you upstairs, so you and Kaleigh can rest. Okay?”

  She nodded and stood.

  “Do you want me to take her?” he asked, straightening up.

  “No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “I’ve got her.”

  Matt put his arm around Faith’s waist once they got to the stairs. She immediately tensed. Something inside him twisted in pain. Was she afraid of him? What had gone on down there in that basement to make her wary of him touching her?

  Once they got to the landing, Matt pulled out his key and unlocked the door, then stood back to let Faith enter first.

  She turned at the door. “Thank you,” she said tonelessly.

  “Let me help you get Kaleigh to bed,” he said with a little smile. He moved to step forward into the doorway.

  “Please don’t,” she said more loudly. “Just leave me alone.” She shouldered the door shut.

  Matt stood there for a few seconds, stunned. He rubbed his eyes, then wiped a hand down his face. For a moment, he considered knocking and demanding to know what was wrong.

  But he didn’t. Faith seemed fragile, even breakable tonight. She obviously was traumatized by her ordeal. She needed to rest and mend.

  He headed down the stairs, noticing that his heart hurt worse than his knee.

  FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS, Matt’s waking hours were crammed with meetings, interrogations and more meetings. Bart Bellows insisted on a blow-by-blow account of the incident with Rory Stockett. Bellows and Sheriff Hale wanted Matt present every time Stockett was questioned. The Amarillo police questioned him extensively. The governor flew him down to Austin to brief her personally on everything that had happened

  Matt had almost no time to himself. On Saturday afternoon, between meetings, he ran by the hospital to see Glo and found her up and getting ready to leave.

  “They finally discharged me,” she declared. “And about time. I’ve got cats to take care of and a job to go to.”

  “I’m glad you’re okay, Glo,” Matt said. “You were so brave, to get Kaleigh away from the diner like you did, and you with a concussion.”

  “Well,” Glo’s cheeks turned pink. “I love Faith and Kaleigh like they were my own,” she said, her voice choking up. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to them.”

  “Have you seen Faith? Since the other night, I mean?”

  “She came by.” Glo shook her head. “Poor thing. Blames herself for everything.”

  “That’s nonsense,” Matt retorted.

  “I know that and you know that, but she’s got to work it out for herself. She needs time.” Glo paused for a second. “Speaking of time, when exactly are you planning to tell her—and the rest of us—just exactly who you are?”

  Matt felt his face grow warm. “Who have you been talking to?” he asked her.

  “Huh. The sheriff. The mayor. The dog catcher. Everybody knows you’re working for Bart Bellows and not on any construction project either.”

  “Does Faith know?”

  “I’d be real surprised if she didn’t.”

  “I know I screwed up, Glo. Do you think she can ever forgive me for lying to her?”

  Glo eyed him closely. “I’ll be damned,” she said. “You’re head over heels, aren’t you?” She grinned. “I knew you were attracted to her, and it’s obvious how much you love that baby, but this is serious isn’t it?”

  Matt nodded miserably. “I want to marry her, Glo. I want to take care of her and Kaleigh. I’m not sure how
I can live without them. But I’m afraid she thinks I’m worse than Stockett.”

  To his dismay, Glo didn’t disagree with him. “Let’s hope once she gets some rest and can think clearly that she can tell the difference between a silk purse and a sow’s ear.”

  Matt left the hospital as frustrated as he’d been before he’d talked to Glo. He’d hoped she’d be able to give him some insight about Faith.

  He almost went by the diner, but he was due back at the CSAI headquarters in an hour for a wrap up discussion about the latest threats to Governor Lockhart. When he finally saw Faith, he wanted to have plenty of time to talk to her.

  He needed plenty of time to convince her that she and Kaleigh should spend the rest of their lives with him.

  FAITH ROCKED KAYLAIGH and hummed a lullaby. The sweet baby powder scent of her daughter at her breast wafted around her. The moon shining in the window of the nursery made pale designs on the hardwood floor. She felt as content as she ever had in her life. Leaning her head back against the back of the rocker, she continued humming.

  Occasionally a thought would try to break through the melody, but Faith rejected it. She wanted nothing more than to be here in this moment, holding her baby. She was alive and well. Kaleigh was okay. Nothing else mattered.

  That thought tried to intrude again, but she hummed louder and sang the few words she remembered. Soon she would have to return to her real life, where her work began before sunrise and didn’t end until late at night, where not only did she have a café to run and bills to pay, she had a baby to take care of alone.

  Soon she’d have to face each long, exhausting day alone. Matt’s face rose in her mind—his shy smile, the way his brows drew down when he was worried about her, the feel of his lips on hers. Facing reality meant facing the rest of her life without him.

  And she couldn’t deal with that right now.

  She looked down at Kaleigh and touched her tiny cheek. Right now, the whole world consisted of Kaleigh and her. For a little while longer, she could stave off reality by humming a lullaby.

  THE FRONT OF THE CAFÉ was dark, but lights were on upstairs. Faith was still up. Matt had tried to wait until morning. Tomorrow was Monday, the one day of the week that the café was closed. It would make a lot more sense to go see her in the morning.

  But he’d spent the evening packing up his few belongings and cleaning the apartment. He’d loaded everything into his pickup and then realized he had nothing to do. He could either sit around an empty apartment or drive to his mother’s house in Amarillo.

  Or go see Faith. So here he was, gazing up at her window and wondering whether she even wanted to see him.

  He got out of the pickup and walked up to the front doors of the café. He could see Valerio in the kitchen. He rapped quietly. Valerio leaned around the kitchen door, glaring. Then his face lit up.

  “Matteo! Come in!” Valero gestured to him.

  He juggled his key ring until he found the key Faith had given him, unlocked the doors and stepped inside.

  Valerio came out of the kitchen to greet him. “Matteo, I was just finishing up for the night. I’m glad to see you. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s been a hell of a week, but we’ve—the police—have a strong case against Stockett. He’ll be in prison a long time.”

  “That is very good for Faith.”

  Matt nodded, glancing toward the stairs. “How is she?”

  “She’s been very quiet, spending all her time with the little baby.”

  “Do you think she’d mind if I go up?”

  Valerio shook his head. “There is no knowing what she or any other woman wants. Do you know that Glori-ah was insulted that I did not visit her in the hospital? Even though I was the only one keeping the café open? Why would she not understand that I was busy?”

  Matt grinned at Valerio. “Maybe you should ask her.”

  The older man untied his apron and hung it on the hook beside the kitchen door. “Maybe you should take your own advice,” he said. “I am going home. Tomorrow I’m taking my boys to Amarillo. They will be up by sunrise and wanting to know when we will leave. Good night, Matteo.”

  “Good night, Valerio.”

  Matt made sure the kitchen door was locked behind Valerio, then he walked up the stairs. As he got to the top, he saw that Faith’s apartment door was open. He could hear her soft, clear voice humming a lullaby.

  He stepped inside, following the sweet sound, and saw that she was in the nursery. The rocking chair was facing the window, so she was sitting in profile to him, holding Kaleigh at her breast.

  Love and longing overwhelmed Matt at the sight of her. Her head was bent, and she was singing to her daughter, who was greedily nursing. It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

  For a long time, he just stood there, letting the serenity and beauty of the lovely mother and child wash over him. Tears pricked at his eyelids as he realized he was in the presence of the very thing he’d longed for all his life. He had no idea if Faith could ever forgive him for his lies and deceit, but if she couldn’t, at least he’d been here. At least he’d had the joy of loving her for a while.

  The soft, pretty melody stopped, and Faith’s head turned. She’d become aware of him watching her. He froze, waiting for her reaction. God knew that he didn’t want to scare her.

  She glanced his way, then calmly and matter-of-factly she picked up Kaleigh and placed her on her shoulder, then covered her breast and buttoned her blouse. She patted Kaleigh on the back.

  Matt tentatively moved closer, as if he were trying to rescue a frightened kitten.

  “Come in, Matt,” Faith said.

  “Hey,” he responded, walking over to her and brushing his fingers across Kaleigh’s forehead, feeling her fuzzy baby hair.

  For a few seconds he stood there, listening to Faith rhythmically patting Kaleigh’s back. Then he pulled the armchair closer to the rocker and sat.

  “How are you doing?” he asked quietly.

  Faith nodded without speaking. Kaleigh burped and hiccupped.

  Matt smiled for a second, then took a deep breath. “I have to apologize, Faith. I had a job to do, and part of that job was to pretend I’d drifted into town looking for work. I never meant to deceive you.”

  “It’s okay, Matt,” she said, but her voice was too calm. Almost distant.

  “I want you to understand why I couldn’t tell you what my real job was. I work for Bart Bellows.

  “Not doing construction. He hired me as a surveillance expert and assigned me to Freedom to keep an eye out for anyone who might mean Governor Lockhart harm. I couldn’t tell you—couldn’t tell anyone. Sheriff Hale is the only person in town who knew who I really was.” Matt shook his head. “I didn’t want to lie to you.”

  “I know,” she said in that same calm voice.

  “Faith, listen to me. This is important. I want you to know me. I want you to meet my mother and my sisters. Faith, I want you too—”

  “Matt,” Faith said, holding up her hand for silence. “It’s okay. Really. I understand. You had a job to do and you did it. Kaleigh and I are just fine. You don’t have to worry about us anymore.”

  Matt stood abruptly and paced. He made a conscious effort to keep his voice low and even. “Give me the baby,” he said. “I want to talk to you.”

  “I can hold her while you talk,” she said. “She’s falling asleep.”

  “But I want to hold her, if you’ll trust me.”

  Faith’s eyebrows went up, and she met his gaze. After a couple of seconds, she nodded. “Of course I trust you.”

  He bent and lifted Kaleigh to his shoulder. Her sweet baby powder scent filled his heart with so much love that he felt it would burst. He tucked her into the crook of his left elbow and patted her tummy until her eyes closed and her lips parted slightly in sleep. For a moment, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. Then he walked back over to the rocking chair and held out his hand.

  Faith took it an
d let him pull her to her feet. She looked a little scared and she opened her mouth, but he put two fingers against her lips.

  “No,” he murmured. “Don’t say anything. Let me get through this.” He pulled her closer, until the baby was snuggled between them. “I want you and Kaleigh to marry me.”

  Faith’s face went white. She opened her mouth again, then closed it, pressing her lips together. “Matt, I—”

  “Shh. I’ve got really good credentials. I’ve got a decent job—a permanent job. I like babies, and I’ve recently learned a lot about the restaurant business.” He held up three fingers, then a fourth. “And I come equipped with five babysitters.”

  “Five baby—?” Faith started.

  “My mother and my four sisters, although Estella and Inez will be busy with college for a while. Still, they can babysit on weekends.”

  “I don’t understand—”

  He put his finger against her lips again. “Don’t answer right now. I know this is sudden, and I understand that you’re probably not happy with me right now, but I’m willing to wait.”

  He almost choked on the last word. His throat was closing up—with fear? With love? He figured it was probably both. His heart was pounding so hard he was surprised it didn’t bounce right out of his chest. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  She shook her head, and his heart sank to the floor. But then her mouth slowly stretched in a grin.

  “Okay,” she said, laughing. “You had me at five babysitters.”

  Matt stared at her, unsure if he’d heard correctly. “What? Really? You mean you will? You’ll marry me?”

  Faith’s grin faded to a smile that carried a hint of mischief. “What woman in her right mind would turn down five babysitters? But I do have one requirement.”

  He couldn’t wipe the smile off his own lips, even though he was a bit apprehensive about her one requirement. “What is it?” he asked. “Anything at all.”

  Faith’s eyes sparked. “I think we should make sure we’re compatible.”

  Matt frowned. “Compatible?”