She couldn’t imagine he looked at every woman with that raw male hunger in his eyes. He was just going to have to stop looking at her like that, she decided. That was all there was to it.
She glanced at her boys and felt her resolve harden. Joe Marino was only a man, nothing more or less. Surely she could handle him and those dark, smoldering looks of his for a few hours alone. Mattie swallowed hard, swiping her damp hands down her shorts.
She hoped.
Chapter Two
Thirty-three minutes later, Mattie pulled up right in front of Mama Marino’s Pizzeria, grateful that even during what would be considered the hours of rush hour, Healing Harbor had very little street traffic. She was able to find a parking spot right in front of the restaurant.
She’d insisted on driving herself to the pizzeria. This was a small town and if she was seen riding around town in the sheriff’s car, no doubt small-town tongues would start wagging. She wanted to stay below the resident gossips’ radar, at least for the time being.
As Mattie stepped out of the car, she took a deep breath, then ran a shaky hand down her jeans, then through her hair, which curled madly down and across her shoulders.
She’d changed into a pale yellow cotton sweater and a pair of old, comfortable jeans. Her feet were ensconced in a pair of espadrilles that gave her an additional inch of height. Right now, she was feeling so off balance she didn’t want to have to worry about her appearance, so she’d deliberately chosen comfort over fashion.
She’d refused to allow herself to fuss over her appearance, firmly telling herself this was not a date and she was not in the least bit interested in impressing Sheriff Joe Marino.
She was here to discuss her children. Nothing more. Nothing less. And she certainly didn’t need to look like a fashion plate in order to do so.
Swinging her purse strap over her shoulder, Mattie crossed around the front of her old, rather beat-up car, heading toward the pizzeria. A car was on the list of necessities she’d been hoping to buy this year, but with all the expenses of moving, she’d had to put it off for a few months. She only hoped her old beater would last until she could afford to replace it.
The sun was just setting, casting long, golden shadows across the pavement, basking everything in a soft warm glow. The sweet scent of lilacs hung in the air from a bush flowering wildly in the small patch of budding grass in the parkway. A bed of spring azaleas struggling to bloom lined the walkway all the way up and down Main Street.
For a moment, Mattie just stood there, glancing up and down the street, feeling a sense of peace and contentment that surprised her.
Until she’d actually moved to Healing Harbor, she would never have believed a peaceful little town like this actually existed.
The small pizzeria, the old-fashioned movie house that charged less than two dollars admission and offered real butter on the popcorn, free refills on soda and Saturday-afternoon cartoon matinees. The small diner on the corner with daily lunch and dinner blue-plate specials, where it seemed everyone in town congregated at some time during the day.
Smiling, Mattie waved to a group of men sitting outside the town’s only barbershop, drinking coffee and arguing good-naturedly over a checkers game. Down the block, and directly across the street from the sheriff’s office, she could see the town librarian sweeping down the steps before closing for the evening.
A dog barked somewhere in the distance, and a church bell pealed, signaling the beginning of evening services. Mattie stood there, taking it all in, breathing deeply of the clean spring air. This was the kind of town she’d always dreamed of living in. The kind of place where it was perfect to raise a family.
Glancing around, Mattie realized that she was content; she’d finally found that sense of peace and tranquillity that had eluded her for so long.
Here, in Healing Harbor, she’d finally begun to feel that she and the boys had come home. Here, she and the boys could have a real future.
With a happy sigh, Mattie blew out a long breath, grateful once again she’d decided to make the move. It had been a big step—a huge change and commitment, both financially and emotionally, accompanied by fear, doubt and a lot of plain old-fashioned worrying, and even though she knew that right now the move might be hard on the boys, what with meeting new people, going to a new school, trying to fit in and adjust, she was certain, in the long run this was the place they belonged.
The thought made her smile again as she headed toward the door of the pizzeria. Heavenly aromas assaulted her, and her empty stomach grumbled, reminding her she’d been so busy today, she hadn’t bothered to eat.
She pushed through the front door of the little pizzeria and hesitated for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness.
She heard a squeal and glanced up just in time to see a beautiful, pint-size brunette with a mane of black gypsy curls launch herself into Joe’s arms.
Stunned, Mattie’s mouth nearly fell open as the door slammed shut soundly behind her.
“Hey, handsome, you’re late,” the brunette complained, planting loud, wet kisses across Joe’s cheeks as she wrapped her slender arms and legs around him and hung on. “Where were you last night?”
Startled and more than a bit embarrassed, Mattie merely stood there, gaping at the two of them, feeling ridiculously like an unwelcome voyeur.
“I got hung up,” Joe explained, wrapping his arms around the petite brunette to hold her in place. “You know how it goes. I got busy and—”
“Excuses, excuses,” the brunette said with a saucy grin.
Annoyed with herself, as well as the situation she suddenly found herself in, Mattie glanced away, embarrassed for all of them. She should have figured that a man who looked like Joe would have a whole cartel of women throwing themselves at him.
But why on earth had he invited her here to witness this scene? she wondered in annoyance. She didn’t know, but she didn’t intend to stick around and find out.
Mattie started to turn on her heel, but Joe caught her arm before she could push the door back open.
“Hey, Mattie, where you going?” he asked with a frown, reaching out to snag her while still juggling the brunette in his arms. “Come here.” Ignoring her reluctance, Joe reined her in, shifting the brunette and dropping an arm around Mattie’s waist to prevent her from leaving.
She resisted the urge to shift and move away from him, refusing to be intimidated either by him or the feelings he aroused.
“I want you to meet my kid sister.”
Mattie merely gaped at Joe, a wild sense of relief rushing through her. “K-kid sister?” she repeated weakly, letting her gaze drift from Joe to the woman, then back again.
Heat crept up her face as she studied the other woman. Looking carefully now, she could clearly see the family resemblance. And felt ridiculously foolish about her initial reaction.
“Yeah, well, at least one of them,” Joe admitted with a laugh, setting his sister back down on her feet. “Mattie, this is Gina. Gina, this is Mattie Maguire.” He tugged Mattie still closer. The whole purpose in coming here was so that Mattie could meet his sister and see him interact with his family and some of the townspeople.
“Mattie and her twin sons are new in town,” Joe explained. “Hopefully they’re going to be playing on our T-ball team, so I thought I’d bring her in for a Marino special.”
“Great.” Gina wiped her hands down the white apron Mattie hadn’t noticed before. “The more the merrier.” Gina grinned, extending her hand toward Mattie. “It’s nice to meet you, Mattie. Mama Marino’s sponsors a few of the teams and my own kids play as well.”
“Great,” Mattie said as Gina gave her brother a sidelong glance.
“As for you, Joe, I’m going to be thirty on my next birthday, and have a husband and three babies of my own, so when are you going to stop calling me a kid?” Gina asked.
“Probably never,” Joe admitted with a laugh.
“Men.” Gina shook her head and rolled h
er eyes at Mattie in a gesture of female solidarity before turning her attention back to her brother. “So how come you didn’t come in for dinner last night?” Her eyebrows drew together. “I was worried about you.”
“Hey, worrying is my job, Gina,” Joe laid a gentle hand to his sister’s cheek in a move so tender it had Mattie’s eyes widening in surprise. “You’ve got more than enough to worry about.”
Any man who was so openly devoted to his sister couldn’t be too bad, Mattie decided, observing them carefully. Love and devotion shimmered between them. Watching him interact with his sister made him seem far less intimidating and far more human and Mattie found some of the tension leaving her.
“Did you even have dinner last night?” Gina asked with a knowing lift of her eyebrow.
“Nope,” Joe admitted with a sigh, rubbing a hand across his stubbled chin. “I really did get tied up at the office. A few weeks ago I gave Mrs. Petrie another ticket for speeding through town. And you know how she gets. She came in to pay her fine last night and felt it necessary to give me a lecture on respecting my elders—”
“She’s not still driving?” Gina asked, eyes wide.
“Any chance she gets.” Joe turned to Mattie to explain, his arm still comfortably around her waist. He liked having her so close to him, he realized. It sent an awareness tingling through him, a distinct male awareness he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. One that would have normally alarmed him and sent him packing. “Mrs. Petrie, she’s, uh…one of the town’s matriarchs. Unfortunately, Mrs. Petrie is also half-blind, deaf as a fence post and has two lead feet that she likes to keep pressed to the gas pedal.”
“Isn’t that a tad dangerous?” Mattie asked with a slight frown. The feel of his hard, warm masculine body so close to her was wreaking havoc with her pulse, to say nothing of her concentration level.
“That would be an understatement,” Joe admitted.
“She also has a stubborn streak a mile wide,” Gina added.
“And a history of temper tantrums that would put a two-year-old to shame,” Joe added, trying not to grin. “But since she’s the widow of the town’s longtime former mayor, she refuses to believe that laws were meant to apply to her. Especially traffic laws. She tears through town in this pristine ’53 Cadillac as if the hounds of hell were after her.”
“But usually it’s just my brother,” Gina confided with a laugh. “When he can catch her.” Gina muffled her smile at the look her brother shot her. “What I can’t understand, Joe, is why she’s still driving. She must be eighty-five if she’s a day.”
“Eighty-eight if her driver’s license is to be believed. And my ears are still ringing from the tongue-lashing she gave me last night in a decibel guaranteed to shatter glass.”
Gina cocked her head, looking at her brother with concern. “Joe, I thought after the last ticket you gave her you were going to talk to her son about getting her to stop driving.”
“I did.” Wincing, he shook his dark head. “Big mistake. Mrs. Petrie did not take too kindly to what she referred to as the ‘interference of a young whippersnapper not old enough to be dry behind the ears.’ It’s a good thing I’m fast, or I would have lost a couple of toes to Mrs. Petrie’s cane.” He chuckled suddenly, glancing down at Mattie. Something about her was distracting him, he realized. Probably that seductively sweet feminine scent she’d put on. It was one of those kind that snuck up on an unsuspecting man, then just lapped at the corner of his senses, teasing him, and leaving him wanting—aching for more.
“You poor thing.” Gina gave him a soothing pat on the shoulder while trying to muffle a laugh.
“Yeah, well, I plan to make up for it tonight.” Joe glanced around the dimly lit restaurant that had started to fill up with the dinner crowd. “You got a booth for us?”
“In the back, Joe. I set up the family booth after you called. You should be able to hide out there without getting bothered, at least through dinner. Oh, and the pizza you ordered should be delivered just about now,” Gina added, glancing at the large black-and-white clock behind the small bar that wound through the middle of the restaurant.
“Thanks.” Joe looked at Mattie. He hadn’t realized quite how small and petite she really was until this moment. She barely reached his shoulder and yet seemed to fit him perfectly. “I called ahead and had a pizza delivered to your aunt and the boys. I know how wound up they were, I figured a pizza in front of the TV might be just the trick to calm them down.”
“T-thank you,” Mattie stammered. The man thought of everything, apparently.
“Gina, why don’t you send over some appetizers and maybe a pitcher of soft drinks?” He glanced at Mattie. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m still on duty.”
“No, soft drinks are fine,” Mattie said. “Besides, I’m driving, and I’m a driver who likes to stay on the good side of the sheriff.”
“Good point.” Their eyes locked for a moment, then he reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Come on, let’s go sit down before someone corners me.”
Leading the way, Joe hustled her through the restaurant, around several small tables, waving and greeting people as he wound his way to the back of the room to their booth. It was tucked into a corner and partially hidden from most of the rest of the diners, affording some quiet and privacy.
“Have a seat,” he said, ushering her into the booth. She slid in, grateful he was no longer touching her or standing so blasted close to her.
The man was definitely a toucher, she decided after watching him interact with his sister. But she wasn’t accustomed to being…touched. Especially by a man. Let alone a man she barely knew who could start her heart two-stepping just by one quick brush of him—any part of him—against her skin. It was easier to think when he was safely ensconced in the seat across from her.
“This is a very nice place,” Mattie said, glancing around and wondering what on earth she should say to him. Small talk wasn’t high on her list of necessities in life. “I didn’t make the connection before. Mama Marino’s as in Joe Marino? Is this your family business?”
“Yes and no.” Joe hesitated, waiting while a waiter set down a pitcher of soft drinks, then filled their water glasses and set down a basket of fresh-baked bread. He gave a nod of thanks before continuing.
“It’s Gina and her husband Paul’s,” Joe said, taking a sip of his water. “After my mom died, Gina took over all the cooking for the family. She always was a fabulous cook, even as a kid, so opening up a restaurant just seemed natural. Fortunately, her husband loved the idea and they opened this place together about six years ago.” He glanced around, his face beaming with pride. “I guess you can say it’s also become the official Marino family hangout since we all usually end up here sometime during the day.”
Fascinated by the changes in his face, Mattie leaned forward, watching him. That face, she thought with a little sigh, was gorgeous. It was the little crook in his nose, she decided, that had saved him. Otherwise he might have been just too pretty.
Listening to him talk about his family, his features softened and his eyes lit with unabashed love. He seemed far less threatening and intimidating.
This was a man who clearly valued family and all it entailed and wasn’t afraid to openly show it. His behavior was both surprising and endearing and lowered her defenses several notches.
“Gina and Paul have really made a success of the place.” Joe looked around the restaurant as he relaxed against the booth, stretching his long legs out under the table. “Of course, considering it’s the only Italian restaurant and pizzeria in town, it would be hard to do otherwise. But the food really is spectacular,” he reiterated just as Gina approached, holding a tray laden with overflowing platters of food.
“Here’s some appetizers to get you going.” Gina expertly juggled the heavy platter. “We’ve got some homemade minestrone to start.” She set a steaming bowl of rich, red broth simmering with vegetables and pasta in front of Mattie.
“It s
mells heavenly,” she said, inhaling deeply. Her stomach rumbled again, making Joe smile.
“And some toasted raviolis with a little marinara on the side, some baked mozzarella and some fresh tomato and garlic bruschetta. I picked the tomatoes fresh myself this morning right from my garden.” Satisfied, Gina frowned as she wiped a splash of sauce off the table with the corner of her apron. “Your pizza will be ready in a few minutes.” She turned to go, then hesitated. “Oh, Joe? Don’t forget Angie has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon at one.”
“I know.” Joe patted his shirt pocket. “I’ve got it marked down in my pocket planner so I wouldn’t forget, and Clarence has already agreed to cover for me so I can take her.”
“I figured as much,” Gina said with a smile, giving them a little wave before heading back toward the kitchen.
“Angie’s my youngest sister,” Joe explained as he picked up a piece of baked mozzarella from the appetizer platter and popped it into his mouth. “She’s expecting her first baby in a few months, but since last fall she’s been going it alone. Her husband, Jeff, is a navy pilot and he was shipped overseas.”
“I’ll bet that’s been hard on her,” Mattie said. As she knew all too well. Being alone and pregnant was not something she’d ever want to do again. Nor would she wish it on any other expectant mother.
Picking up her spoon, Mattie blew on her steaming soup to cool it before sipping it carefully. She nearly swooned in pleasure as the flavors and textures exploded in her mouth.
“Yeah, it is hard,” Joe admitted, chewing thoughtfully. He picked up his napkin, wiped his hands, then surveyed the appetizer platter again, trying to decide what to choose next. He dabbed at his mouth with his napkin before continuing. “I remember when Gina was expecting the first time. She was a nervous wreck, too, and Paul was right here. Angie’s pretty much the same nervous wreck, but even more so because her husband’s not here. So, we’re all just pitching in, trying to take her mind off things and make life a bit easier for her.”
Daddy Patrol Page 4
