APB

by Julie Miller

  Perhaps she’d been referring to his brothers and sister sharing that kind of closeness with him. But the very next day, he’d met another new student on the playground, and the two of them had become good friends who’d gone through middle school and high school together. Although they’d taken separate college and career paths, he and Jack Riggins still kept in touch.

  The moment he’d picked up Tommy, Niall had felt a similar, irrational connection being made. Tommy liked him. Tommy needed him to be his friend. Whether as a doctor or rescuer or simply as an authoritative presence to quiet his tears, Niall Watson intended to be there for Tommy Kozlow—or whatever the little boy’s name turned out to be.

  Tommy’s real identity was only one of several questions Niall intended to find answers to today. As soon as he checked in with his grandfather at the hospital and reported any medical updates to his family, he wanted to assess Diana Kozlow’s fitness as a parent, determine whether the danger Lucy suspected was genuine and track down the missing mother. And, if Diana wouldn’t share the father’s name, or a birth certificate couldn’t be found, Niall planned to work out the legalities between guardianship and what was in the child’s best interest and obtain permission to draw some of Tommy’s blood to run his DNA to locate the boy’s father. Lucy had already put the paperwork into motion to secure temporary foster placement of the baby with her. Her permission would be enough to run Tommy’s DNA and give him his real name, so there was that conversation on his agenda today, as well.

  That should be plenty to keep him busy until he reported back to work at the lab tonight.

  Prepared with a plan for the next several hours, Niall ran a comb through his damp hair and picked up his mug of cold decaf off the dresser before heading out into the living room, where he’d left Lucy and Tommy sleeping a couple hours earlier.

  His structured day quickly hit its first glitch when he saw that the lamp beside the sofa was on and his guests were both wide-awake. Niall stopped, his eyes narrowing on the crown of Lucy McKane’s dark curls as she leaned over the baby in her lap. Nerve endings in his chest and thighs awakened with a mysterious sense memory, recalling the impression of soft curves pressing against his harder angles during that tussle in the hallway and that tumble across the grass last night. He was equally fascinated by her hands. Royal blue yarn dangled from her fingers as she deftly twisted knots onto the slender pair of knitting needles she worked. The glossy kinks of her hair bobbed against her shoulders and over the curves of the mud-stained sweater she still wore as she played peekaboo with Tommy.

  She knit several stitches, then clutched her work to her chest and teased Tommy with an “I see you” that made his little fists pump with delight. The baby gurgled and cooed when she brushed his nose and shook her hair against his fingers. Then he calmed when she went back to knitting and obscured her face again.

  Niall studied the interchange twice before Lucy looked up and smiled. “You know, you can stare at the details for so long that you miss the bigger picture.”

  He hadn’t missed a thing. Abandoned baby. A woman who was proving more intriguing to study than she should be, making herself at home on his couch. Apparently, despite his insistence that her apartment wouldn’t be safe for her and Tommy until maintenance could come and replace her locks, she’d sneaked inside a second time. “Excuse me?”

  Lucy cupped the half-formed cap she’d been knitting over Tommy’s head before tying it off and pointing to the wet bar. “Diaper. You don’t smell that? Our little friend here has been very busy since I gave him his last bottle. I left the changing pad over there and didn’t want to risk moving him in case he made a mess on your nice leather sofa. Your place isn’t exactly babyproofed.”

  Niall glanced at the stockpile of supplies his father had brought over and crossed the room to get the things she needed. “The sofa has no sentimental value. It can be cleaned. You should have called me if you needed help with the baby.”

  “You were in the shower.”

  He returned to the couch, nodding toward the basket of knitting supplies she’d retrieved from her apartment. “Longer than I thought, apparently. You went back to your place. After that incident in the laundry room last night, I thought we’d agreed that you’d stay put.”

  “No. You suggested it. I promised to be careful,” she clarified. “Tommy was sound asleep on the pallet we made for him, so I figured it’d be fine to go across the hall to gather up my knitting. I like to keep my hands busy. Especially when there’s a lot on my mind.” She thanked him for the supplies and set up a changing station beside her before moving Tommy onto the pad and dropping down to her knees in front of the couch. “I didn’t want to wake you because, well, I already woke you once, and I could tell you needed to sleep.” She turned her face up to his and winked. “You still look tired, if you ask me.”

  “I didn’t.” Niall picked up the soiled diaper and carried it to the kitchen trash. “I’m used to keeping odd hours. I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not,” she insisted, strapping a fresh diaper into place. “How can it be with everything you’ve had to deal with in the past forty-eight hours or so? I imagine your job is pretty stressful, but I’m guessing your weekends don’t always include a wedding, your grandfather going into the hospital, and the wacky neighbor lady and a baby taking refuge in your living room.”

  Wacky? His analysis of Lucy McKane had included terms like caring, vibrant, sensual. Although garrulous, stubborn and unpredictable were certainly apt descriptors, too.

  Niall shook his head, puzzled by how easily his thoughts seemed to derail around this woman. Perhaps the shower and shave hadn’t revived him as much as he’d hoped and he needed to switch to caffeinated coffee to unfog his brain. The important point here was that she’d taken another unnecessary risk, negating the whole purpose of him insisting she and Tommy take refuge in his apartment. He picked up a new outfit from the laundry she’d folded and carried it to the couch. “What if the intruders had come back?”

  “You mean Diana? Then I would have brought her here and helped her, too.”

  She was making assumptions that couldn’t yet be proved. “What if Diana had nothing to do with breaking into your apartment? What if hers wasn’t the woman’s voice you heard last night?”

  “Who else would kiss—”

  “What if someone took advantage of her connection to you, borrowed her toolbox and broke in to surrender a baby without any legal hassles?”

  “And knew where I hid some extra cash?”

  Fine. If Lucy was so certain Tommy was Diana’s son, he had a reasonable argument for that, too. “What if the threat that prompted Diana to abandon Tommy in the first place followed her to your apartment? What if those men you heard last night had come back for you? To finish something they’d started? You could have been seriously hurt.”

  Her fingers stopped. Everything about her seemed to pause for a split second before Lucy shook her head, spilling her hair over the neckline of her sweater. As quickly as she’d frozen, she went right back to changing the baby, lifting Tommy to position the new sleeper beneath his back. “I appreciate your concern. But I was only gone a few minutes—long enough to clean up the cookie dough spoiling in the kitchen and gather up my knitting. If I’d sensed anything was wrong, I would have come straight back. Nothing happened.”

  “This time.” Niall adjusted his glasses, averting both his gaze and the unexpected flare of curiosity about her reaction to the suggestion that she, and not Tommy or Diana, was the one in danger. Was it wrong of him to want to push her to reveal just what had caused her to hesitate like that? And he wondered if she knew she had a long tendril of hair caught in the nubby tweed of her sweater. He could easily reach down and free the strand for her. When he’d knocked her out of the way of that speeding car last night, he’d inadvertently discovered that her hair was as silky as it looked. That the ends w
ere cool to the touch and the length of it was as strongly resilient as the woman herself. His fingers itched to tangle in those curly locks again, to re-create the chance touch and confirm his observations. Niall blinked away the thought. That wasn’t on the agenda for today. She was changing Tommy’s diaper, for pity’s sake, not seducing him. “Lucy, I need to know that you’re taking this seriously. I believe Tommy was in grave danger yesterday. That means you could be, too. I need you to be able to take care of him so that I can conduct my investigation.”

  “So that we can conduct our investigation,” she corrected, as if he had misspoken. Lifting Tommy into her arms, she stood, cradling the infant against her chest and gazing down into his attentive brown eyes. “I appreciate more than you know that you and your father promised to help me find Diana and reunite her with her son. I’m grateful that you offered to let us stay with you until maintenance can replace the locks on my door. I wouldn’t have felt safe there.”

  “You weren’t. You still aren’t.”

  She looked up at him then. “I’m grateful that you probably saved me from my own impulsiveness last night. But don’t think for one moment that I don’t know how serious this situation is. If Tommy and I are in danger, then Diana must be facing something worse. If she has anything to do with those men I heard arguing last night, then I know she is. I know her better than anyone. At least, I used to. You need my help.”

  “And if I don’t accept it, you’ll go off searching the city for her on your own again, won’t you.”

  Lucy’s expression brightened with a wry smile. “Now that is an accurate conclusion, Dr. Watson.”

  Not understanding the giggle that followed, Niall simply nodded, conceding the wisdom of having someone with inside information on Diana Kozlow to guide his investigation so he could either confirm or rule out Lucy’s belief that Tommy was her foster daughter’s baby. It pleased him, too, to know that Lucy would have temporary custody of Tommy as a foster parent, keeping the little boy close by so that Niall could keep watch over him, too. “So we agree to work as a team. For Tommy’s sake.”

  “For Tommy’s sake.” She took a step closer, and Niall inhaled the scents of baby powder and something slightly more exotic that didn’t have anything to do with the infant she was pushing into his arms. “Since I’ve convinced you that we’re on the same side now, would you feel comfortable watching him for about ten minutes? That’s all the time I’ll need to freshen up and change so we’re ready to go.” Her fingers caught for a moment between Tommy and the placket of his shirt, and even through the pressed cotton, Niall’s stomach muscles clenched at the imprint of her knuckles brushing against his skin. But she pulled away to drape a burp rag over his shoulder, apparently unaware of his physiological reactions to her touch and scent. “You still want to drive us to my office to pick up a bassinet and some other supplies?” she asked, gathering up her boots and purse and sweater coat.

  “I’m the one with a car seat, so yes, I’m driving.” Niall shook off his weary brain’s inability to focus and shifted Tommy to one arm, catching the door as she stepped into the hallway. “I want to listen to that message from your foster daughter, too, before I bring you back here.” He entered her living room right behind her, frowning at how easy it had been for her to push open the damaged door. He plowed into her before realizing she had stopped. “What are you doing?”

  Her hands went straight to Tommy, even as she stumbled back a step. “What are you doing?” she asked. She released her grip once she seemed assured that there was no chance of him dropping the baby.

  Niall looked over the top of her head to scan the empty, seemingly undisturbed living room. “I want to check your apartment before allowing you to remain here for any length of time on your own.”

  She nodded her understanding of his intention and crossed to a lamp to flip it on and fill the room with light. She opened the powder-room door so he could see it was clear, as well. “Your dad said we have to wait twenty-four hours to file an official missing-person case on Diana with KCPD. I’m glad you both agreed that we could start looking for answers sooner.”

  He followed her to the kitchen and saw that, other than the dishes she’d washed, it, too, showed no signs of the intruder returning. “Tommy needs his mother. If we can locate her and reunite them—”

  “And make sure she’s okay—”

  “—and ensure she’s competent enough and able to care for him—”

  “Competent?” Lucy planted her feet, and Niall nearly knocked her flying again. But she put up a hand with a huff of exasperation, and it was Niall who retreated a step this time. “Diana would never abandon Tommy unless something was terribly wrong and she thought it was for the best. People like her and me, we have issues about family. When you’ve never had one, once you get one...you protect it with everything you have in you. I have to believe that, whatever’s wrong, she left Tommy here in order to protect him.”

  “Then why come back for him? If that was her in the laundry room last night.”

  “Her instinct may be to protect him, but giving up the family you love, especially your brand-new child... I can’t imagine how hard that would be. I don’t know if I could be strong enough to say goodbye to this little one.” Lucy reached out to stroke Tommy’s hair as if she’d already convinced herself that Tommy was her family now. A conclusion founded purely on emotions, no doubt.

  Niall—and the law in the state of Missouri—required more incontrovertible proof. “You told Dad your mother was still alive when he was taking down your personal history, asking about other people Diana might have contacted. You have family.”

  “Trust me, I don’t. Family are people who love you unconditionally. People you can trust and rely on. The man who sired me left before I was ever born, and my mother and I have been estranged since I emancipated myself at seventeen. She’s not a part of my life anymore. She never will be again.”

  “What happened?”

  Lucy curled her fingers into her hand and turned down the hallway. “Any number of things from not always having a place to live to the revolving door of men she did try to make a home with. But my breaking point was when we had a difference of opinion about my boyfriend.” Although she laughed, Niall was certain there was no humor in that wry sound. “It’s not what you think. I wasn’t some kind of teenage rebel wanting to date a bad boy. In fact, she did everything she could to encourage me to keep the guy I was trying to get away from.”

  “Get away from?” Niall wondered at the fist of suspicion that hit him as squarely as discovering a clue on his autopsy table. “Why? What did he do to you?”

  When she faced him this time, her eyes had dulled to a mossy shade of green. “Funny. My mother was more upset about what I’d done to him.” Niall waited for her to elaborate. Lucy didn’t disappoint. “Roger was Falls City’s golden boy—you know how it is in a small town—the high school’s star quarterback, Daddy runs the manufacturing plant that employs most of the town. But Roger and I weren’t a good fit.”

  “How so?”

  “No question is too personal for you, is it?” Her typically direct gaze dropped to the middle button of his shirt. Instead of giving an immediate answer, Lucy pulled a towel from the linen closet and hugged it to her chest before turning and tilting her gaze back up to his. “All that mattered to my mother was that Roger was rich. He was going to take over the family business one day. And if he was interested in me, then no matter how awful that relationship was I needed to suck it up and...” She paused midsentence to lean in and press a kiss to Tommy’s temple as the baby dozed in his arms. Niall felt that wistful caress as though her mouth had made the connection against his own skin. Before he could question his empathetic response, Lucy shook her head and headed into the bathroom to set the towel on the edge of the sink. “I realized I was just a tool for her. It was easier than I expected to leave her and move to
Kansas City. I’ve been on my own ever since. With the exception of Diana, of course. There’s no blood between us, but she’s family more than my mother ever was.”

  Niall considered the vehemence of her statement, detecting not one trace of melancholy or regret as he followed her into the small room. “And Roger?”

  Her slender shoulders sagged briefly before she straightened. “Testified against him. Sent him to prison instead of college.”

  “For what?”

  Her eyes met his in the mirror. “No more questions right now, okay?”

  Niall needed a last name. He intended to follow up on this Roger lowlife and decide if he had anything to do with Tommy’s abandonment—or even if he could be the child’s father. But he’d follow up on a different tack until Lucy opened up again. “I’d give anything to see my mother again.”

  “I have a feeling you were raised very differently than I was. Your father is funny and kind, and I believe he truly cares about Tommy and Diana, and maybe even me. The way he told me all about your brothers and sister and his dad?” She turned, sitting her hip back on the counter of the sink. She was smiling again, and for some reason, seeing the soft curve of her lips seemed to take some of the edge off the concern that wasn’t entirely professional. “I could tell that Thomas is really proud of each of you. And clearly, he loves you and supports you. It’s not every son or daughter who has a parent who drops everything in the middle of the night to do some emergency shopping for them. Even when you’re a grown-up. You’re lucky.”