Covert Cootchie-Cootchie-Coo

by Ann Voss Peterson

  Reed stared at the back of Josie’s head. He knew she’d ordered his mind off her feelings. But right now that was the only place it wanted to go. He didn’t know this woman. Hadn’t even met her until yesterday. Yet her obviously shabby opinion of him chafed like sand against tender skin.

  And he needed to figure out how to change that. “I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot here.”

  She didn’t turn around.

  “Is there something I can say to smooth things over? I’m trying.”

  “You’re just concerned that I’m angry, that I’ll leave and you won’t have anyone to take care of the baby.”

  “Look, maybe that’s part of it, but not all. I don’t understand why you’re so angry.”

  “Not angry. Sad. Disappointed. Frustrated.”

  He still wasn’t putting it all together. “Why?”

  “He might be your child. Your son. And yet you act like if you ignore him, he’ll just go away.”

  “And he might not be mine.”

  “So? That’s not the point.”

  “I guess I’m still not getting what the point is, exactly.”

  “If he is your son, you’re missing out on something precious. Something other people would give everything for.”

  “Something? Okay, I’ll bite. What?”

  “Spending time with him. Memories. Moments together.”

  “We’re together right now.”

  “No. He and I are together. You’re standing on the fringes watching.”

  He had to admit, the way she held Troy and talked to him, the way he looked up at her with those huge eyes while sucking on his bottle, they did seem like they were together. More together than he’d been with anyone in his life. But there was one thing that Josie didn’t understand. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just can’t.”

  She spun the bar stool around and looked at him as if he’d just spoken gibberish.

  “For you it’s easy, being with him like that. Connecting with a baby. With another person. For me…”

  “How do you know if you’ve never tried?”

  “I’ve tried.” He’d tried with all his heart, and he’d failed. And that was not a pain he cared to relive. Or share.

  “With Honey?”

  “No, not with Honey.” He hadn’t even realized how little he’d tried with Honey. Not until Josie had asked about the details of Honey’s life and he hadn’t been able to give her much for answers. It wasn’t that he thought more effort on his part would have changed things between him and Honey. Whatever it was that kept people together just wasn’t there between them. But he regretted not being able to give her what she really needed. Love. Security. Things she hadn’t enjoyed her entire life.

  “So if you didn’t try with Honey, then who?”

  He didn’t want to talk about this. Even the thought of saying the words made his stomach ache, like it had when he was a kid. “Not important. Let’s just say it was long before Honey. I’m not good at connecting. That’s that.”

  She shook her head. “Get over yourself. If this is your child, he needs you. And if he’s not, he still needs you. Until we find Honey, you’re all he has.”

  “He has you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. Lines dug into her forehead. Her mouth flattened to a hard line.

  The look he was starting to hate. “What can I possibly do that would please you?”

  The baby spit out the bottle, and Josie dipped her chin to focus on him. Her hair swung forward, hiding her eyes from him. “Never mind. You can only do what you can do.”

  It was true. Hadn’t he realized that himself? Hadn’t he resigned himself to it when he’d finally left Texas and moved here to get a fresh start?

  Josie murmured to the baby, communicating in sounds more than words, as if she’d forgotten Reed was even there. Eyes soft, she made shapes with her mouth, rounding her lips in an O, then smoothing them into a wide smile.

  Troy watched her as if she were the most fascinating thing in the world. He moved his own mouth, as if to echo.

  The empty ache spread upward to Reed’s chest, making it hard to breathe. He didn’t get it. He hardly knew Josie Dionne. He certainly had no reason to care how she saw him. Yet as much as he wanted to sweep her hard words and judgmental looks away, he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure why, but what she thought of him was important. A measure. Of what, he wasn’t sure. He just knew he’d tasted enough failure in his life. He didn’t want to fail again. “So what do you think I should be doing for him?”

  She looked up, her hair falling back from her face and cupping around her jawline. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, I want to know.”

  “Well, you could start by holding him.”

  That seemed simple enough. Definitely something he could handle. “Okay. What else?”

  The lines creasing her forehead seemed to soften just a little. “You could try feeding him a bottle once in a while.”

  He nodded slowly. He’d watched Josie and Missy feed Troy. It didn’t seem too tough to figure out. “I can do that. Piece of cake. What else?”

  The corners of her lips curled upward, not exactly a smile, but not a frown, either. “Okay, hotshot. You can change his diapers.”

  “Now, that might be taking this a little too far.”

  The curve to her lips flattened into a hard line.

  He held up his hands. “Kidding. I’ll try. I’ll learn. I’ll give it my all. By the time we find Honey, I’ll be an old pro.” And ready to fill the role of favorite uncle, provided the paternity test came back the way he hoped. The way it had to.

  BY THE TIME REED and Josie arrived at the lab, she was feeling rather embarrassed about her tirade back at his apartment. She’d let emotion get the better of her. Taken out her frustrations on a man she’d just met. He didn’t have to have the same desires as she did. She knew it took all kinds to make the world go ’round, kumbaya, and all that crap. She went to UC Berkeley, for crying out loud. Live and let live.

  Then why did his rejection of possible fatherhood bother her so deeply?

  She knew the answer, even if she really didn’t want to admit it. She liked him. More than she’d liked a guy in a long time. And not only did her blood feel alive whenever she was around him, he could potentially give her everything she wanted. If only he wanted the same thing.

  But he didn’t.

  And instead of accepting that and focusing on doing her job, she’d lashed out at him. For a woman who prided herself on being in control of her life, she really needed to get a grip.

  After her friend Simon swabbed the inside of Reed’s and the baby’s cheeks, and Reed signed a form allowing the lab to release the test results to only him or Josie, they made their way to the hospital. When Josie saw Missy sitting up in her bed like a queen with bandages for a crown, tears blurred her vision.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Missy held out her arms, and Josie let her aunt engulf her in a giant hug.

  When their embrace ended, Josie pulled back and looked Missy over. “How are you doing?”

  “Oh, you know.” Missy waved the question away and looked past Josie to where Reed stood holding the baby carrier. “So the two of you met. That’s good. I’ve been trying to make that happen for a long time.”

  Josie bit the inside of her bottom lip. The last thing she wanted to do was blurt out something about Missy’s matchmaking. She still wasn’t happy about it. Maybe even less happy than before her aunt was attacked. But after almost losing Missy, she wasn’t going to spend their first moments together being angry. Certainly not because of a man who didn’t want to be a father.

  Reed stepped closer and took Missy’s hand like a doctor with a well-developed bedside manner. “I hope you got my message.”

  “I did. And it’s totally unnecessary.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. But it’s taken care of all the same.”

  Josie looked from her aunt to Reed. “What are you talking about?”

  Reed shook
his head. “Not important. Josie is helping me find Honey and the man who attacked you, Missy. You don’t have anything more to worry about, so just focus on getting better.”

  Josie recognized a brush-off when she heard it. And she wasn’t about to let Reed steal control of the conversation so easily. She looked to her aunt. “What kind of a message did he leave for you?”

  “Josie is also helping me with Troy.”

  Missy’s face morphed into a wide smile. “How is the baby?”

  “He’s great.” Reed set the baby carrier on the floor and unbuckled the infant. “Do you want to hold him?”

  “I’d love to—you know that.” Missy reached out, and Reed put him in her arms. She settled herself against the raised back of the hospital bed.

  Josie blew out a stream of air. There was no competing with the baby for attention. Not where her aunt was concerned. The woman lived for babies. Sometimes Josie felt like she had more in common with her aunt than anyone in her family.

  “Oh, thank you for bringing him to see me. He’s the best medicine I could ever get. I’m so glad you kept that man from taking him.”

  Josie leaned forward. “You remember what happened?”

  The joy on her aunt’s face faded. “Of course. Every minute.” She shook her head with a little shudder. “A horrible man.”

  “What do you remember?”

  “He had blond hair and the meanest eyes I’ve ever seen. He walked into the boat like he belonged there. And when I asked him what he thought he was doing, he told me to shut my mouth.”

  Josie nodded, trying to encourage the memory. If Missy had had that much contact with the man, she might be able to give a better description than either she or Reed. “Have the police been here to talk to you?”

  “No.”

  A weight settled into the pit of Josie’s stomach. That was just what she’d feared. Too many cases and too few leads had pushed what the police suspected might be an interrupted burglary to the bottom of their priority list. “I’ll make some phone calls to people I worked with.” Whether they would do any good was another matter. It was hard to fight against the effects of budget constraints.

  “Tell them to hurry if they plan on visiting me here. I don’t plan to stay long.”

  “Mom said you’re planning to stay with her and Dad when you get out of the hospital, right?”

  Missy grimaced. “She badgered me into it.”

  “Aunt Missy, you can’t stay alone. Not until we find out who that man was.”

  “You’re right. You’re right.” She smiled down at Troy before returning her attention to Josie. “But he wasn’t after me.”

  “You don’t know that. I know the police think he was a burglar, but I just don’t buy that.”

  “Oh, he wasn’t a burglar.”

  “How do you know?” Reed asked.

  “He told me himself. He said he wanted the baby.”

  “He said that?”

  “Yes. He said he worked for the baby’s father. That he was hired to bring the baby home.”

  Josie glanced at Reed, but instead of the glee she expected to see on his face, his brows tilted low. “Did he say who the father was?”

  “No.”

  “Did he say how he knew this was the baby he was looking for?”

  “He didn’t explain any of it. And when I told him he couldn’t take the little sweetheart, he hit me. That’s all I remember.” She glanced from Josie to Reed and back again. “What kind of a father would hire someone like that?”

  “I don’t know.” But she knew of one way they could find out. “We need to find Honey.”

  “I think he was lying. That whoever hired him isn’t this little precious one’s father at all.”

  “Why do you say that?” Josie asked.

  “Because a baby this beautiful wouldn’t have a father who would hire someone like that. He’d have a daddy like Reed. Kind. Generous. And so handsome. Don’t you think, Josie?”

  Josie did her best not to roll her eyes. So Missy was back on her matchmaking kick. Josie had no idea how she’d thought a blow to the head would stop her. “Missy…”

  “It’s true. He’s even promised to pay my medical bills, did you know that?” She reached for Reed’s hand. “I know you didn’t want me to tell, but it’s just such a relief to me. I thought Josie should know.”

  BOBBY STOPPED IN FRONT of some fancy-ass department store and gazed at a mannequin in the window. An eye-numbing pink dress covered the white plastic body and one of the hands held a purse big enough to hold a good-sized weapon. Not that he was interested in fashion. Not even the kind that seemed practical. No, he was only pretending to look while he kept his eyes glued to the reflection of the man, woman and baby across the street.

  Especially that baby. The cash that kid would bring him could buy a lot of fancy dresses for a lot of fancy women, women who would be a lot more interested in him once they saw how fat his wallet had become.

  Learning where Reed Tanner lived and picking up his trail had been easy. Having the patience to follow him and the top-heavy chick and not just blow their brains out and take the kid required a little more effort.

  He’d had plenty of opportunities.

  The two had been distracted, more wrapped up in avoiding each other’s eyes than in what was happening around them. Walk up behind them, put two slugs in the back of their skulls, pick up the baby and he’d be home free. Only the possibility of a bigger payday had made him bide his time.

  It might be a guess, but if an old girlfriend had dumped a kid in his boat, Bobby would be looking for her. And although he wasn’t sure how the busty blonde fit into the picture, he would bet Tanner was doing the same thing. Patience. That was what he needed. And soon he would have the payday he deserved.

  Chapter Six

  By the time they had flashed Honey’s photo to a dozen desk clerks in half a dozen hotels, Reed’s feet hurt and Troy felt as if he weighed eighty pounds. Thankfully, Josie hadn’t said anything about him offering to pay Missy’s bills. He had asked the older woman to keep it quiet. And he’d thought she understood. But if there was one thing he’d discovered about Missy, it was that she did her own thing, for her own reasons. And she always seemed to be one step ahead of him.

  So far, her niece seemed to have the same talent.

  He turned his face into the brisk wind, hoping it would invigorate him into gaining a second wind of his own. “Maybe there are so many people that come through these hotels that Honey was just lost in the shuffle.”

  “Impossible. I doubt she’s the type of girl people would forget.”

  Probably true. He had to admit that when they were together, he’d enjoyed the envious looks he’d gotten from other men. But somehow he thought of Josie as being more memorable than Honey. Josie was a force. Like her aunt, but petite and cute and built like…

  “Might she have stayed someplace smaller? A bed and breakfast? One of those little boutique hotels?”

  He shook his head. “If Honey liked anything about San Francisco and about Dallas, it was the size. She liked to say it made her feel she was destined for greater things.”

  Josie nodded. “And a bigger hotel would be easier to get lost in, if she was trying to stay invisible.”

  He’d believed Honey was in trouble from the moment he’d seen the note she’d left. But hearing what Missy’s attacker had told her had brought that home. “Maybe she didn’t stay anywhere. Maybe she knew this guy was after her baby. Maybe she was in a hurry.”

  “You mean she went straight to your boat from the airport? I suppose that’s possible. And in that case, she’s likely not in San Francisco anymore.”

  Good point. Would she fly back to Dallas? Or somewhere else? Truth was, he didn’t know Honey as well as he’d assumed. Except for Jimmy, he didn’t know her friends. Except for Tiffany, he didn’t know her enemies. He didn’t know where she came from, and he damn well didn’t know where she was going. He didn’t know much about her at all
.

  He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, and imagined her in a plane flying to who knew where. His gaze landed on great arched windows towering over the city. A hotel that looked like a giant jukebox. “I remember an argument we had about that place.”

  Josie nodded, as if encouraging him to continue.

  “Honey heard it had a bar on the top floor. She wanted to check it out. She said she couldn’t wait to sip her wine and look down on the rest of the city.”

  “And did you go?”

  “No.” He’d ignored her request. Thought it was silly. He’d been more eager to visit the smaller, more quirky side of the city, and he’d enlisted his friend to help get his way.

  Josie craned her neck backward and stared up at the tower. “I think we’ve found Honey.”

  It didn’t take long for them to cover the four blocks to the San Francisco Marriott. The muscles in his shoulders felt stiff, tight, and he doubted it all had to do with carrying the baby up and down the San Francisco hills. Even though they’d finally found a direction, he felt uneasy. Like they were running out of time.

  As soon as the woman in front of them dragged her wheeled luggage out of the way, Reed stepped to the desk. “I’m looking for a woman I believe is staying here. Her name is Honey Dawson.”

  “Honey Dawson,” the clerk repeated in a voice that was a little too cheery to jibe with Reed’s mood. She punched in the name, then frowned at the screen. “It looks like you’re too late. She checked out this morning.”

  They’d missed her.

  Josie stepped to the counter alongside him. “We have some papers we were supposed to deliver to her, and I’m afraid we’re late. Did she leave a forwarding address? Someplace we can mail them?”

  “I’m afraid we don’t give out that kind of information.”

  “She’s going to be in big trouble if she doesn’t get these papers. Can you tell me if her flight has left? Did she call for a cab?”

  The woman pursed her lips and shook her head.