The Baby's Bodyguard

by Jacqueline Diamond

  She couldn’t be allowed to return to the cabin, even if she got out of jail. Casey would have to arrange a formal eviction—which shouldn’t be difficult, since it violated the lease to engage in illegal activities—and locate a new tenant. Perhaps she ought to put in a call to the local real estate office. Instead, she closed her eyes and pictured Jack.

  Instantly, his vibrant green eyes and wry masculine smile came to her. He must have arrived in Athens by now. What was he doing? How long would he need to stay?

  She missed him intensely. At the same time, he appeared to her so vividly that she couldn’t imagine he was more than a few steps away.

  Her spirit lulled by the reassuring image, Casey dozed off. The sound of footsteps woke her a short time later. She looked up to see Sandra standing near the bed, tears brimming as she regarded Diane.

  She’d lost a baby too, Casey remembered. But there was nothing predatory or resentful in her friend’s face, only longing.

  “I can have the staff take her to the nursery,” Casey offered.

  Sandra shook her head. “You don’t have to hide her from me. She’s a precious little girl and I’m happy for you.” She perched on the edge of the mattress. “When I heard what happened, I couldn’t stand it. That awful woman might have killed you, and I’d never have had a chance to apologize.”

  “For what?”

  “For poisoning my parents against you.” She cleared her throat. “I really did think Dad might be the guy you were looking for. Even though he wasn’t, there’s no excuse for the way I treated you. Yesterday, I confessed that you’d tried to help and I drove you away.”

  “How did he take it?” Casey asked.

  Sandra picked at a loose thread on the sheet. “He told me that when he went to visit my brother’s grave, he finally realized that it was his fault Little Al and I got so wild. When we made trouble, he always bought our excuses instead of holding us accountable. He said he’s glad I’m facing up to my problems.”

  “He’s not mad at me anymore?”

  Her friend smiled. “He said you’ve got two free passes to the movies and ten free DVD rentals. I couldn’t convince him to make it unlimited.”

  Casey laughed. “I wouldn’t expect that!”

  By the time Sandra left, they were exchanging jokes and planning to get together for lunch. It would take time to reestablish their friendship, Casey knew, but she was glad they’d made a start.

  Other visitors drifted in that afternoon and evening. Tactfully, they refrained from asking about Jack’s whereabouts. Apparently word had spread, and for once she was grateful.

  When Dr. Smithson arrived to examine Casey, he apologized profusely for hiring Gail. She assured him she didn’t hold him at fault.

  Through it all, she kept hoping the phone would ring and she’d hear Jack’s voice. No such luck.

  When it was time to go home, Enid arrived and helped her strap Diane into the car seat. She looked so tiny and helpless that Casey almost expected the nurse to say she couldn’t possibly release a newborn to someone so inexperienced. Instead, the nurse gave her a hug and told her she’d do fine.

  As they approached her house, a twinge of anxiety ran through Casey. The last time she’d seen it, Gail had been dragging her out the door.

  Outside, everything appeared normal. The reddish bricks and sloped roof sparkled as if newly washed—which in a sense they were—and she saw that the azaleas beside the porch were beginning to bloom.

  Inside, a vase of fresh flowers sat on the coffee table. Enid, to whom Jack had given a key, had done a thorough job of cleaning away any reminders of Thursday. She’d also stocked the refrigerator with fresh milk and other essentials.

  “I’ll leave you to settle in,” she said after making Casey a cup of tea. “Unless you’d prefer company?”

  “I need a nap,” she admitted. Also, she wasn’t eager for a witness during the still-awkward business of feeding her baby. “You’ve been wonderful.”

  “Are you kidding?” The retired teacher gave her a hug. “It’s a pleasure to be useful.”

  When Casey nursed Diane, she treasured having the baby to herself for the first time. “We’re going to be great buddies, you and I,” she told her daughter. “I might start reading to you. Not tonight, though.”

  As soon as she lay down, she fell asleep. An uncharted time later, the ringing of the phone dragged her into wakefulness.

  Casey fumbled for it. “Hello?”

  “It’s Mimi!” Her caller didn’t waste time on pleasantries. “Turn on your TV!”

  “Why?” Puzzled, she groped on the bedside table for the remote control. Although Casey’s mother had installed a small set on a shelf facing the bed, she hardly ever used it.

  “Turn to Channel Six. My mom swears she saw Jack on an earlier broadcast. I didn’t believe her, but they just said something about an American security guard in Greece, so I think they’re going to repeat the item.”

  Casey scarcely noticed when her friend said goodbye and hung up. The images on the screen transfixed her.

  In front of a hotel, a group of protesters waved signs written in Greek and several Asian languages as well as English. One read, Don’t export our jobs!

  A couple of businessmen hurried out the front door, heading for a limousine. She spotted Jack near one of them, his gaze sweeping the crowd.

  “This was the scene today in Athens, where representatives of private companies from three nations conferred about a new manufacturing and trade contract,” intoned a reporter’s voice. “Although they claim they’ll be creating jobs, not destroying them, protesters showed up in force.”

  Abruptly, a man lunged from the throng toward one of the representatives, swinging a heavy picket sign. Leaping forward, Jack tackled him. The pair dropped to the ground and disappeared from view behind surging protesters.

  “An American security consultant fended off an attack on the conferees,” the reporter’s voice continued. Onscreen, Casey saw only confusion. “We don’t have his name but we understand he’s from a Los Angeles company called Men at Arms.”

  The camera cut to an anchorwoman seated at a desk. “So far, no word on whether the security guard was injured,” she said. “Now, this just in from London…”

  Casey watched for a while longer in case of a follow-up. At last she clicked off the TV.

  The memory of what she’d seen infuriated her. The attacker had endangered her husband! No matter what political point he wanted to make, he had no right to do that.

  Call me, Jack. Please let me know you’re not lying in a hospital in a foreign country with no one to look after you.

  Finally she got up and went to read the mail Enid had left on the coffee table. Much as she loved this house, it seemed empty without Jack. A lingering whiff of his aftershave lotion only made her more keenly aware of his absence.

  She finished the mail and had just eaten dinner, with Diane asleep in a portable basket beside the table, when Jack phoned at last. “Somebody told me I made the national news back home,” he said. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “I was getting ready to hop a plane and go bean that stupid picketer!” Casey declared. “I hope you socked him a good one!”

  He uttered a weary chuckle. “Let’s just say he got the worst of the bargain. How’s our baby?”

  From the basket, two bright blue eyes peered back at her. “She says she misses her daddy and wishes he’d called sooner.”

  “Tell her it’s the middle of the night here and this is the first spare minute I’ve had. Listen, I don’t know when I’m going to make it to Tennessee. Something’s come up in L.A. It’ll be at least a week before I’m free.”

  That sounded like forever. “Diane’ll be ready for preschool by then!”

  “She’s growing up that fast? It must be that weird weather you get in Tennessee,” he joked.

  Casey wanted to tell him what she’d learned about Gail and Owen, but someone called his name and he had to go. “I l
ove you,” he murmured.

  She barely had time to reply in kind before the connection broke.

  Although he’d done exactly what she’d hoped for by calling, Casey wanted to fling the phone across the room. Why wouldn’t the man listen to reason? Lots of people led happy lives in towns like Richfield Crossing. He could find something to do here if he tried.

  But their problem didn’t stem from the size of the town, she thought. Maybe it wasn’t even a matter of what kind of work Jack performed.

  He was pushing her away before she got the chance to hurt him. He’d said so himself a few days ago. He didn’t want to risk having his heart torn apart when someone he loved abandoned him.

  “He has no reason to doubt my loyalty,” she told Diane. “Why should he think I’d leave him?”

  Maybe, a little voice whispered inside her, because she already had. She’d packed her bags and filed for divorce.

  Casey scowled. They’d broken up because he’d refused to have a child. She would never give up her baby.

  But, the voice murmured, Jack didn’t expect her to. He loved their daughter. Yet she still refused to return.

  Didn’t she have a right to be surrounded by people who cared about her? Casey thought angrily.

  But military wives spent months and even years alone. Didn’t she love her husband just as much?

  She glanced out the window toward the west, where the sun was setting behind the pine trees in a blaze of pink and gold. She loved this rugged landscape and this kitchen, with its warm memories of her parents.

  She thought about the Spring Fling and the square dance. The church and the eager faces of her Sunday school class. Enid and Matt, Bo and Rita.

  In L.A., she’d have to pack Diane into the car and drive to a park if they ever wanted to see a squirrel. No one would notice when she started walking or said her first word.

  No one except Jack. Assuming, of course, that he wasn’t halfway around the globe.

  Casey buried her face in her hands. She had to make a decision. But she couldn’t.

  If only Jack were here! When he came, they’d talk it over. Seeing him might be all she needed to make up her mind.

  Surely he’d arrive in another week. She could wait until then.

  * * *

  APRIL TURNED INTO MAY, the days overflowing with sunshine. Two weeks passed, then three.

  In the woods, purple passionflowers and white Queen Anne’s lace overshadowed the shy violets. Pushing Diane in her stroller along the curving drive one morning, Casey spotted a fawn at its mother’s side and a couple of baby squirrels scampering in a clearing.

  Gail’s attorney had arranged to remove her possessions. She noticed that the young couple who’d moved in had planted flowers around the porch.

  Jack had called every few days, first from Greece, followed by Japan—to which he had to make an unexpected trip—and again from L.A. Catching up on paperwork, he said.

  He made a point of talking to Diane through the receiver. From the way she brightened when she heard her father’s voice, Casey felt certain their daughter actually recognized it.

  Reluctantly, she wheeled the stroller into the carport and removed her daughter. The day seemed so beautiful, she hated to drive into town, but she had a checkup with Dr. Smithson.

  As she steered, she wondered if Jack was coming at all. True, he’d promised, and he always kept his promises, but what if it took months?

  The longer he stayed away, the more chance of his old demons seizing control. Why risk loving and losing when he could keep tabs on his daughter by phone and reassure himself that Casey had everything she needed?

  But she didn’t.

  After Dr. Smithson finished the exam and declared her in excellent shape, Casey asked if Diane was old enough to travel. “We need to fly to Los Angeles,” she told him.

  “I’d recommend waiting a while.” He leaned against the counter. Casey found herself still half expecting to see Gail pop into the room, but pushed away the thought. “If it’s urgent, a newborn can fly at one week, but it’s better to wait until they’re four to six weeks old.”

  “Why?” In the hallway, she heard women’s voices in passing. One, with a charming Virginia accent, belonged to the new nurse he’d hired and the other, she presumed, to a patient.

  “First, it’s a good idea to make sure there aren’t any underlying health issues that might cause difficulty, although I don’t see anything,” the doctor said. “Second, babies catch germs easily because their immune systems haven’t matured. Although it helps that you’re breast-feeding, don’t forget that the air on those planes is recycled, which means you get multiple exposures to whatever bugs the other passengers are shedding.”

  Casey wrinkled her nose. “Sounds charming.”

  “I’d advise you to give yourself longer as well. You’ve been through a lot.” The doctor’s words carried the weight of experience.

  “Would five minutes be long enough?” she asked. “That’s longer than I usually wait before making a decision.”

  He didn’t bat an eye. “Yes, I get that impression. But in the past month, you’ve undergone a traumatic experience at home, followed by childbirth and the challenge of caring for a newborn. And you still haven’t recovered your full strength.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to L.A.,” she blurted. When he failed to react, she guessed he was waiting for her to reconsider. Was she really so predictable that everyone knew she changed her mind a lot? “Okay, maybe not right away.”

  “I have confidence that you’ll give my advice due consideration,” said Dr. Smithson.

  “Thanks,” she replied. “I will.”

  On the way home, she bought groceries and borrowed her first free DVD from Al Rawlins, who seemed less gruff than usual. “Cute baby,” he said as he finished the checkout process.

  Casey thanked him. She wished she could think of something else to add, but all that came to her was, “Say hi to Sandra for me.”

  “I sure will.” He strolled across the store and held the door for her. For him, that bordered on effusiveness.

  “We’re going to have a big exciting night,” she informed the baby while strapping her into the car seat. “We’ll be watching Baby Boom.”

  Diane formed a large bubble of spit that surely indicated unusual control of her lip and tongue muscles. She’d probably learn to talk early, Casey thought, although she suspected she might be guilty of bias.

  At the entrance to the Pine Woods Court, she retrieved her mail and sorted through it. Baby coupons, bills, a promotional magazine for new moms. Oddly, she realized that she was dragging her feet about returning home.

  It seemed so empty these days. Nothing was the same since Jack left.

  Oh, stop moping! She got into the car and drove around the curve toward the house.

  In front sat a neutral-colored sedan with plate frames bearing the name of a car-rental agency. Her heart rate quickened.

  He was sitting on the porch, his long legs outstretched, his eyes half-closed in the sunlight. When she pulled into the carport, he got up lazily and strolled over, acting as if it had been hours and not weeks since they’d seen each other.

  “How’s my favorite girl today?” Jack peered into the back seat at Diane.

  “You should have told me you were coming,” Casey grumbled, although she couldn’t have been more pleased.

  “As penance, I’ll carry the groceries inside and let you take the baby,” he offered.

  Casey wasn’t that cruel. Besides, he looked so splendid that she wished she could haul him inside, strip off his sports jacket and make another baby.

  “Never mind,” she said. “Let’s see you undo those straps on her. It’s a test of your fitness as a father.”

  “Piece of cake.” Despite his words, he made several unsuccessful attempts before finally figuring out the latch on the buckle. He also needed another minute to work out how to raise the protective shield without removing part of Diane’s
nose. “Why do they make these things so complicated?”

  “You got me.” Hefting a sack, she preceded him along the walkway and unlocked the door.

  As soon as she deposited the groceries in the kitchen and he gently laid the baby in her basket, however, they flew into each other’s arms. It took a lot of hugs and kisses before they separated.

  For the next hour, Jack told funny stories about his adventures overseas and listened with interest to news of Mimi and Royce’s budding romance and Sandra’s decision to volunteer at a drug-prevention program for teens. But Casey hadn’t yet shared her biggest news—her decision to join him on the West Coast.

  Her hands got tingly as she tried to figure out how to bring it up. What if he didn’t want to resume their marriage after all? What if he’d gone ahead and signed the divorce papers?

  Before she could broach the subject, Jack went out to his car and came back with a rectangular package. “I nearly forgot your present,” he said, and presented it to her with a flourish.

  “It’s beautiful.” As she admired the shiny red paper and smart black bow, Casey wished he’d brought something smaller—specifically, one of those little jeweler’s boxes containing a special locket or a ring to wear when they renewed their vows.

  Instead, it must be some knickknack he’d bought overseas. She braced herself to show pleasure, and then found she couldn’t open it yet.

  “Jack?” she said.

  “Hmm?” Perching on the couch beside her, he slipped one arm around her waist. “You can sit on my lap while you open it.”

  “Jack!”

  “What?” He didn’t let go.

  “I have something important to tell you.”

  A trace of uneasiness dimmed his expression, but he didn’t loosen his grip. “Go ahead.”

  “I’m moving to Los Angeles.” Seeing his blank reaction, Casey elaborated. “We’ll figure out the details as soon as Diane’s old enough to travel. I’ll arrange to sell the Pine Woods.”

  “May I ask what inspired this decision?” He gave no sign of his reaction.