by R. C. Ryan
“I saw your new shop.” Anita was smiling. “It looks fascinating. I can’t wait to find some time away from the clinic to stop by and browse.”
“Come by any time. And once we’re settled, I’m hoping to bring Kyle to the clinic for a well visit.”
“We’d love to see him.” Anita stooped down, so she was eye level with the little boy. “How old are you, Kyle?”
“I’m almost five.”
“Do you like picture puzzles?”
His eyes went wide. “Uh-huh.”
“Good. We have a table with several puzzles in our waiting room. And a prize for the first patient to complete one.”
“Oh, boy.” He turned to his mother. “Can we go there now?”
“Not tonight. But soon.”
Anita stood and winked at Ally, who was looking amazed at his reaction. “Call Agnes, our assistant, whenever you’d like to set up a time.”
“I certainly will.” Ally arched a brow. “Do you have children, Anita?”
“Not yet.” She cast a sideways glance at Colin. “Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re a genius at reading them.”
“All part of my training.”
Ally shook her head. “Some things can’t be taught.”
Colin caught Anita’s hand. “See? I’m not the only one who thinks that.” He turned to the others. “She’s got a special way with people. All people. And it’s a gift.”
Reed clapped a hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “I’d say you’re a lucky man.”
Colin beamed before nodding toward the ice cream shop. “Time for that fancy dessert I promised you.”
“Try the Kitchen Sink,” Ally said. “It was amazing.”
“Thanks.” Anita laughed. “Now I don’t have to agonize over all those choices.”
After calling good night, they parted.
Reed turned back to see his uncle and the doctor arm in arm as they entered I’s Cream Shop.
He and Ally walked along the streets, with Kyle between them, pausing occasionally to call out to someone they knew or to peer into the windows of shops along the way.
“Are you all settled into your apartment now?”
Ally looked down at Kyle’s smiling face. “We are. And we’ve found a nice rhythm to the days. While I work, Kyle has his own corner of the room where he can play. We’re able to eat our meals upstairs together most days, thanks to the bell on the counter. Whenever I hear it, I know there’s a customer downstairs. And then, in midafternoon, Gemma comes in and I get to take Kyle upstairs for some quiet time. It’s just so nice having precious time together.”
“And your uncle? Has he come by to see the place?”
Her smile faltered. “Not yet. But soon, I hope.”
“Is he cool to the fact that you’ve moved out?”
“I’m not sure how he feels.” She thought a moment before saying, “But I think, now that he realizes we’re really gone, he’s grateful to have his privacy back. I’m hoping the next step in our relationship is peace and, in time, friendship.”
“Sounds ambitious, but good. I know it’s something you want. I hope it’s something Archer wants, too.” He paused when they came to a crosswalk and, without thinking, he picked up Kyle before catching Ally’s hand when it was clear to cross.
When they reached the other side, he set Kyle on his feet, then continued holding Ally’s hand until they came to her shop.
“I like what you did with the entrance.”
Ally studied it with a critical eye. “Thanks. It certainly helps. As soon as I see more profit, I intend to paint the entire building. But for now, the bright entrance helps me forget how dingy the rest of the building looks.”
Kyle danced up to the door and waited while Ally fished out her key. “Can Reed come upstairs and see my pictures?”
Ally looked over. “If you have plans…?”
“No plans, except to see the two of you.” He held the door as they stepped inside. “I’d like to see your pictures, Kyle.”
The little boy raced up the stairs ahead of them.
Ally turned to lock the door and gave out a little hiss of surprise as a figure loomed in the doorway.
A man’s hand pushed against the door, shoving it inward.
“I’m sorry. I’m closed for the…” Ally’s words died in her throat. Her face registered a mixture of shock and surprise. “Glen? What in the world are you doing in Montana?”
The man, dressed in a rumpled suit and tie, looked beyond her to where Reed stood and shot him a dismissive look. “I came here to see you.”
Ally’s tone shifted from suspicion to anger. “But how could you find me? I didn’t tell anyone at work where I would be.”
“My specialty is security. Remember?” He reached out a hand. “Why don’t you send the cowboy away and we can talk?”
She shrank back, away from his touch.
Seeing her reaction, Reed stepped in front of her. “Reed Malloy.” He stuck out his hand, forcing the man to accept his handshake. “And you are…?”
“Glen Lloyd.” The man shook hands before folding his arms across his chest. “Ally and I worked together in Virginia. We go back a ways.”
“The lady doesn’t seem thrilled to see you.”
Glen’s hands suddenly fisted at his sides. “What’s that to you?” A sly look came into his eyes. He turned to Ally. “And you tried to paint yourself as that independent, I-can-go-it-alone chick. I’ll give you this. You had me fooled. And now you’ve already found some poor hick in this backwater town to be your champion.”
Ally sounded weary. “Go back to Virginia, Glen. If our supervisor knew you’d broken through security to find me, she’d have your job.”
His eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening to report me?”
Ally shook her head. “It doesn’t have to come to that if you just leave.” She opened the door and stood her ground until he walked outside.
Even then, she remained at the door, watching him walk away as she hugged her arms about herself, as though holding herself together by a thread.
Chapter Nine
Ally remained at the door until she saw Glen Lloyd settle into a nearby car and drive away. When she turned, Reed was silently watching her.
“You deserve an explanation, Reed.”
“Only if you want to talk about him.”
“I want to tell you.” She took a deep breath. “Glen was a coworker in Virginia. Other than a photograph of Rick and Kyle on my desk, I made it a point to keep my private life private in the workplace. But Glen noticed my lack of a wedding ring and started asking questions. I told him my personal information was off-limits.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “When word came that Rick hadn’t made it home from his last assignment…” She sighed. “Glen started coming on to me, saying now more than ever I needed a good guy in my life. A responsible, dependable guy. There was something…off about him. Something almost…creepy. The more I evaded, the more he pushed, saying he wanted ‘to comfort’ me.” Her eyes narrowed. “When I made the decision to move, I deliberately made certain Glen was kept out of the loop. I left without a word to him. It never occurred to me that he would break company rules and sneak a look at my personnel file.”
“Was Glen your reason for leaving Virginia?”
“No.” She gave a vehement shake of her head. “I certainly wouldn’t uproot myself and my son over him. I came here hoping to connect with family.”
“Now that Glen’s found you, do you feel threatened?”
She thought about it before looking toward the door. “I’m not sure how I feel. I’m still trying to process the fact that he went to so much trouble to find me. In Virginia I thought of him as annoying, but harmless.”
“Montana is a long way from Virginia. Any guy who would come this far shouldn’t be considered harmless.” Reed paused before adding, “I think you need to have a chat with Sheriff Graystoke.”
She blinked. “Isn’t he my uncle’s boss?
”
Reed nodded.
“I don’t want to do anything that could cause more friction between my uncle and me.”
“I guess you need to decide which is more important, your shaky relationship with Archer or your concern about a coworker who invaded your private files and followed you all the way from Virginia.”
Ally stood tapping a finger on her arm, a sure sign that her mind was working overtime. “I suppose, in the morning, I might…”
“Reeeed.” Kyle’s voice carried from above the stairs. “You coming up?”
“I’ll be right there, little buddy.” Reed turned to Ally. “You were saying?”
She shook her head. “I’ll sleep on it and hold off making a decision about talking to the sheriff until morning.”
“That’s your call.” He indicated the stairs. “Mind if I go up and see Kyle’s pictures?”
Without a word she led the way.
Kyle was standing impatiently in the doorway of his room. “Come on, Reed.”
Ally turned toward the kitchen. “You go ahead. I’ll make some coffee. That is, unless you want to leave. Maybe, after Glen…” She looked away. “Maybe now you’d rather leave.”
“I have all the time in the world.”
His words had her visibly relaxing.
When Reed stepped inside the room, the little boy pointed to the framed pictures hanging over his bed. “I drew them, and Mama put these…” He paused, searching for the right word.
“Frames. Your mom framed them?”
“Yes. And let me paint the frames red and blue, like my pillows.”
“Hey. These are good.” Reed moved closer to study the crude drawings of a red-haired boy in glasses wearing a cowboy hat and sitting astride a black horse, like the horse on his pillow. A second picture was of a boy and man standing in a meadow of green grass and bright flowers, staring at the sky, while above them hovered a drone being operated by the boy.
“That’s me.” Kyle pointed to the boy on the horse. “And that’s you and me with the toy in Mama’s shop.”
Reed ruffled Kyle’s hair. “Are you sure you’re only four?”
“I told you. I’m almost five.”
“I forgot. This looks awfully professional, even for a kid who’s almost five.”
The little boy was beaming under such rare and unexpected praise. “Mama, wait till you hear what Reed…”
He ran toward the kitchen, with Reed trailing behind.
Archer’s voice filled the room. “That coffee smells good. Were you expecting…?” The deputy’s voice trailed off when he caught sight of Reed coming out of Kyle’s room.
His friendly tone turned to a furious snarl. “I get it now. So I was right. This is why you were in such a hurry to move out of my house and into a place of your own.”
Kyle’s eyes went wide before he ducked behind Reed.
Reed stepped farther into the room. “Hi, Archer.”
The man ignored him.
Ally filled a cup with coffee and held it out to her uncle. “Here’s your—”
“Don’t play nice with me. Now that you’ve got your own little love nest, it’s party central.”
“Archer, it’s not what you think…”
He shoved her hand away, sending hot coffee sloshing over the rim of the cup. At the top of the stairs he pivoted. “A word of warning, Malloy. You think you’re such a hotshot. That entrance downstairs should have a revolving door. If Ally’s anything like my sister, you’ll just be one of many.”
His booted feet beat a steady tattoo down the stairs. Moments later the door slammed.
Without a word Ally set the cup aside and dropped to her knees, mopping up the puddle of coffee on the floor.
Kyle crept out from behind Reed and walked over to his mother. “Why was Uncle Archer so mad, Mama?”
She brushed at her eyes before managing a weak smile. “I guess he didn’t like my coffee.”
“That wasn’t nice. He was mean to you.” He patted her shoulder before climbing up to kneel on one of the kitchen chairs to sip the chocolate milk Ally had already set out for him.
Ally rinsed the rag at the sink before filling two cups with coffee and setting them on the table and sinking onto a chair. Instead of meeting Reed’s gaze, she lowered her head and stared hard at the table.
The presence of the little boy had Reed fighting to bank his temper before crossing the room to sit across from Ally.
Kyle watched him take a sip. “Do you like Mama’s coffee?”
Reed managed a smile. “It’s perfect. Hot and strong, just the way I like it.”
“Reed likes my pictures, too. Don’t you, Reed?”
“Yeah, little buddy. You’re an artist.”
Kyle downed his milk in a few swallows and climbed down from the chair. “Can I go get my pj’s on?”
Ally roused herself. “Need some help?”
“I can do it.” He turned to Reed. “When I’m ready for bed, will you come and say good night?”
“You bet. Just give me a holler.”
When they were alone, Reed reached across the table to take Ally’s hand in his. “I’m sorry about my timing. I seem to be always in the way at the very time your uncle decides to show up.”
She pulled her hand free and shoved away from the table, her eyes narrowing to little points of flame. “Don’t you dare apologize for my uncle’s bad behavior.”
“Hey.” He rounded the table and caught her by the shoulders.
Embarrassed, she tried to push away, but he held on firmly. He could feel the little tremors rocketing through her, proof that she was fighting a war of emotions.
“You have a right to your feelings.”
“No. I’m not feeling…” She surprised him by bursting into tears.
Once started, she allowed the tears to flow until the front of his shirt was damp.
When she was done, he handed her a handkerchief. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, and knotted the handkerchief into a ball that she gripped in one fisted hand.
“Feeling better?”
She looked away. “I feel stupid. I never cry.”
He put a hand under her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Hey, Red. Talk to me.”
Her head came up sharply. Despite her anguish, a small smile curved her lips. “Red?”
“Sorry. I can’t help it. Every time I see that hair, I think of a red flag just teasing me to charge in and”—without realizing it, his voice lowered to a whisper—“devour you.”
His fingers plunged into a tangle of hair and a fierce look came into his eyes before he lowered his face to hers.
She remained perfectly still as his mouth covered hers in a kiss so hot, so hungry, it rocked them both back on their heels. There was nothing sweet or gentle about the kiss. It was filled with so many emotions. Anger. Anguish. All flash and fire that had them both reacting as though burned.
He lifted his head to stare down into her eyes and felt a wave of such tenderness. He found himself wanting, more than anything, to make her feel cherished. Protected.
He lingered over the kiss, allowing her to sink slowly, deeply, into the passion. He drank in the sweet taste of her and ran his big, work-roughened hands over skin that was as smooth as cream.
When he felt her gradually responding to his tender touch, he stepped back, his hands framing her face.
A hint of moisture glistened on her lashes, and he felt again the need to comfort. To protect.
This time, when he lowered his head and his mouth moved over hers, taking, demanding, she brought her arms around his neck and offered more.
“Do you know how long I’ve thought about kissing you?” He spoke the words inside her mouth as he took the kiss deeper.
He changed the angle of the kiss and dragged her roughly against him, needing to feel her in every part of his body. Her breasts were flattened against his chest. Her thighs pressed to his. Her mouth on his, opening to him, eager, avid.
His hands m
oved along her sides until his thumbs encountered the fullness of her breasts.
When she drew back, he brought his hands to her shoulders to calm, to soothe. “You feel so good in my arms.”
She drew in a long, shuddering breath. “Reed, you don’t know anything about me.”
“This is all I need to know.” His hands weren’t gentle as he dragged her close and pressed her back against the kitchen counter until their bodies were fused. The quick sexual tug was so compelling, dragging him down, down, until he was drowning in the taste of her, the feel of her, warm and willing in his arms.
He heard her sigh as her arms came around his waist, and he was lost. Lost in a kiss that spoke of hunger, and need, and a desperate desire to take and give until they were both sated.
He plunged his hands into her hair while he ran hot, wet kisses across her forehead, her cheek, her jaw, before returning to her lips. The most compelling lips he’d ever tasted. He wanted, more than anything in this world, to fill himself with her. And he knew, though it was nothing more than a few kisses, he could easily cross a line.
His heart was pounding in his chest, his lungs straining.
“Mama. Reeeed.”
The sound of Kyle’s little voice calling from his bedroom was a dash of frigid water on two overheated bodies. It was probably the only thing that could have brought Reed to his senses.
Two heads came up.
Twin sighs filled the air as they struggled to respond.
Ally was the first to find her voice. “We’ll be right there, honey.”
She put a hand to Reed’s chest, as though to steady herself.
“I’d say Kyle’s timing is as bad as mine. Or as good,” Reed murmured against her temple.
“I think it’s a good thing.” Her voice was shaky, revealing nerves.
When she was composed, she turned away and started from the kitchen, with Reed following. He paused in the doorway of the little boy’s bedroom while Ally walked to the side of his bed and settled herself on the edge of the mattress.
“I brushed my teeth.”
“You’re such a good boy.”
He looked over at the man standing in the doorway. “Want to hear my prayers?”
