Jack whimpered.
Right. The logistics of seducing a woman carrying a baby in her arms hadn’t occurred to him. Lars closed his eyes. He was way too old for hormonal attacks, and he was clearly losing his mind.
“Lars?” Jess’s voice was soft. “Is everything okay?”
He blew out a breath. “No, it’s not. We’ve got some crazy shit going on.”
And some of it’s between us.
Lars told his gonads to give it a rest.
“I know. Thank you for coming out here. It helped to have somebody I knew.” She glanced around the room again.
He really should be going. Lars knew it, but somehow he couldn’t seem to get his feet moving. “Would you like to stay somewhere else tonight? My brother and sister-in-law live in this weird house with eight or nine bedrooms. They could put you and Jack up.”
“Is that Docia and her husband?”
Lars blinked at her. “You know Docia?”
“She came by the house.” Jess shifted Jack to her other shoulder. “She said her husband could help me find a puppy. Sort of a junior watchdog.”
Lars nodded, feeling a little dizzy. His family was already two steps ahead of him, as usual. “Yeah, Cal could probably find you something. He runs this kind of pet adoption service on the side. So Docia came out here?”
“She wanted to see Jack. I guess Daisy’s been telling her about him.”
Right. Daisy would. Thus providing Docia with the perfect excuse to check Jess out. He was only surprised Janie hadn’t come with her. That would probably happen later.
“Docia and Cal live out on the edge of town. Pete and Janie live next door to me. And the offer’s still open. I could even bunk with Pete and Janie and you and Jack could take my house.”
Jess shook her head. “No, that’s okay. We’ll stay here. I’ve made sure all the windows are locked now, and I’ll lock the door behind you.”
Lars looked up at the dining room window—a square of dark night, showing nothing beyond it. It seemed amazingly fragile. “You’re sure you won’t be nervous?”
“Of course, I’ll be nervous.” Jess rubbed her hand across Jack’s back. “But I won’t let him drive me out of my own house. I’ve got a job to do out here—some guests will be showing up for the cabin tomorrow.”
Her hands tightened on Jack again, her jaw becoming taut. Another quick jolt of desire hit Lars.
Terrific
. Now he was getting turned on by her determination. Way past time to go.
“Okay,” he mumbled. “Call me if you need me. I’ll bring Daisy by later tomorrow so the two of you can sleep.”
Her smile turned dry. “Jack’s sleeping fine. I’m the one who’ll probably sit up all night.”
Lars paused in the doorway. “Offer’s still open. You can have my house.”
And me.
He gave himself a mental headbutt.
Totally inappropriate, Toleffson.
“Thanks.” She gave him another half smile. “I appreciate it.”
Lars backed out the door, trying for a friendly farewell grin.
Way, way, way past time to go.
The last thing he saw was Jess, framed in the doorway, Jack slack in her arms, as the door closed.
Lars headed slowly back up the drive, his gaze darting over the dark shapes of live oaks and cedar in the mini-forest that surrounded the cabin. Near the entrance to the highway, he saw a dim shape alongside the road. Adrenaline coursed through him before he realized it was a Konigsburg police car. He rolled down his window.
“Everything okay?”
Erik glanced at him. “Yeah. Thought I’d keep watch for a while. Just see if anything develops. I’m off-duty in another hour, and they can always call me if something comes up back at the station.”
Lars stared at him a moment, then shook his head. “So what do you think? Burglary?”
Erik shrugged. “That would be the easiest explanation.”
“But…”
Erik shrugged again. “But she doesn’t strike me as the most likely target. Something feels off here. You have any idea what your lady friend’s hiding?”
Lars thought about telling him Jess wasn’t his lady friend, but decided to skip it. “No. But you’re right. Something’s behind this, and I don’t know what it is.”
“If you think of anything…” Erik leaned back against his seat.
Ice slid down Lars’s spine again. A series of unpleasant possibilities flashed through his brain—robberies gone bad, thieves falling out, even kidnapping. Was Jack really Jess’s son? Was there any way he could find out? He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll let you know.”
Assuming that it wasn’t something that would get Jess Carroll thrown in the slammer.
Lydia suspected the call was supposed to wake her up. Other people were asleep at five in the morning. She’d been waking at four since before she’d turned sixty.
She picked up the cell on the second ring. “It took you long enough,” she snapped. “I’ve left four messages.”
“I do have things to do, Mrs. Moreland. Things relating to your grandson. Surely you’d rather I concentrate on them than spend my time on the phone with you.” The contractor’s electronic voice sounded less amused than annoyed this time.
Good. She had no intention of amusing anyone. “I want a report on your progress.”
“My progress is my business.” The voice was definitely annoyed now. “I’ll contact you when I’ve accomplished my objective.”
“Oh please—your progress is very much my business.” She took a sip of her coffee. The conversation was becoming amusing from her point of view, at least. “It involves my grandson. I want to ensure his safety.”
There was a lengthy pause on the other end of the line. For a moment, she wondered if the contractor had had the temerity to hang up on her. If so, that last expense check would be stopped immediately.
“You want to ensure your grandson’s safety,” the voice murmured. “Am I to assume you don’t feel the same way about his mother?”
Lydia’s breath quickened. Her fingers tightened on the handle of her coffee cup. She knew precisely what she was being asked. “His mother’s safety is her own affair,” she said carefully. “I have no interest in it one way or the other.”
“In fact—” the voice had taken on that irritating touch of amusement again, “—if his mother were to meet with an accident of some kind it would simplify things for you greatly, wouldn’t it?”
She swallowed hard. She really hated being this explicit, particularly on a cell phone. “I believe his mother has no living relatives. The Moreland family would, of course, assume responsibility for the child should anything happen to his mother.”
She heard a brief puff of breath, perhaps a chuckle, perhaps not. “Very well, then. I think we understand each other Mrs. Moreland.”
“Perhaps we do.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll expect another progress report tomorrow.”
After a moment, she realized she was speaking to empty air.
Chapter Nine
Jess spent what was left of the night on Jack’s floor, pretending she could sleep curled up in a blanket on the rag rug. Sometime in the early morning she slipped into a sort of semi-conscious state that was as much like sleep as she could get under the circumstances.
You could be sleeping in Lars Toleffson’s house, with Lars and Daisy right next door.
Her shoulders tightened. She’d come as close to trusting Lars Toleffson as she’d come to trusting anyone over the past two years. But trust wasn’t something she gave easily these days. Better to be untrusting if it kept Jack safe.
A combination of sunlight on her face and Jack’s excited squeals woke her at seven-thirty. Jack was clearly delighted to find his mother stretched out on the floor beside his crib. Giggling, he stretched his hands between the rails, trying to touch her face.
Jess pushed herself to her feet, straightening out the kinks in her back and legs. “Morning, kid. Nice to see at least one of us has no ill effects from last night.”
He pulled himself up on the crib rails and reached for her urgently.
“Okay, okay,” she muttered, yawning. “Let’s get you some breakfast.”
A hour later, she’d managed to wash her face and run a comb through her hair. Jack was in his “greet the day” mode. His face scrunched in concentration as he crawled across the living room floor, reaching for a sunbeam.
Jess checked quickly to make sure she’d removed any low-lying items that had gotten misplaced the night before. The length of his reach seemed to increase daily.
She’d just moved a stack of
Wired
past issues to a slightly higher shelf when she heard a car in the drive. Lars and Daisy.
She took a deep breath. At the moment she wasn’t sure she had enough energy to cope with Jack, let alone Jack and Daisy together. But it wasn’t like she had a lot of choices.
“Morning,” she sighed as she opened the door.
Daisy galloped past her, backpack bumping against her rear. Lars stepped inside. “Slow down, Daisy. Don’t run into Jack.”
“I won’t,” Daisy sang, ignoring both of them as she dropped to the floor.
Jack grinned at her and stretched toward her curls. Daisy feinted left, grabbing a handful of Legos.
“So.” Lars narrowed his eyes. “You look like you could use a few more hours of sleep.”
“And you don’t look like you have any you could spare.” Jess stifled a yawn. “I’m hoping Daisy and Jack will both take a long nap this afternoon.”
Lars nodded absently. “I wouldn’t count on it. Daisy’s revved up. Are you really interested in a puppy?”
“Yeah. Very interested. Particularly one that could make a lot of noise.” From the corner of her eye, Jess noted that Daisy had dropped the Legos and turned toward her father.
“Okay. Let me take you and the herd to Cal’s place this afternoon. I can tell him we’re coming.”
“A puppy!” Daisy’s voice rang out. “We’re getting a puppy!”
“Settle down,” Lars said automatically. “Ms. Carroll
may
be getting a puppy. And you have to show Jack how to treat it. You know what Uncle Cal says.”
“No pulling ears or tails,” Daisy repeated mechanically. “No screaming. No chasing.”
“No squeezing,” Lars added.
Daisy nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“All right then.” Lars turned back to Jess. “Would that work?”
“Sure, I guess. What time?”
“Around four, if Cal’s free. We’ll probably both be ready for a break by then.”
Jess was ready for a break by one. Daisy was bubbling with excitement both at the possible puppy and the trip to see her uncle. Jack fed off her mood and was burned out and cranky by lunchtime. Neither of them wanted to go down for a nap. Jess read what seemed like the complete works of Dr. Seuss before Jack dropped off and then another round of Winnie the Pooh to anesthetize Daisy.
Then she fell across her own bed and slept until Jack roused her a couple of hours later.
Lars pulled into her driveway at ten after four. “Cal says to come on over. He thinks he’s got just what you need. Of course, with Cal that could mean anything from a Shih Tzu with eczema to a timid Great Dane.”
Jess raised an eyebrow. “You want me to follow you in my car so you won’t have to carry the dog?”
Lars shrugged toward his SUV. “I’ve carried worse, believe me. Let’s all drive together. It’ll be simpler. Trust me—Daisy will want to ride with the dog no matter who’s driving.”
“And Jack will want to ride with Daisy. Okay, let me switch his car seat over to your car.”
Jess wondered if Lars would need to tie Daisy down—she was almost ready to fly when they reached the clinic parking lot. But once they stepped inside the large, open waiting room, she seemed to remember what her father had told her about behaving herself in the clinic.
“Hi, Mrs. Rankin,” she trilled to the woman in purple scrubs behind the front counter.
Mrs. Rankin grinned, pushing a strand of brown hair out of her eyes. “Why Daisy Toleffson, I do declare. You’ve grown two inches since you were in last month.”
“No, I haven’t.” Daisy looked offended. “I’m little. I play on the slipper slide.”
Mrs. Rankin glanced at the plastic play set tucked in a corner of the waiting area. “Of course you do, sweetheart. You’re just the right size.”
“Hey, Lars.”
Jess blinked. The man who walked through the door to the clinic area looked like a bearded, long-haired version of Lars Toleffson, just as the cop last night had looked like a rugged, several-years-older version of Lars Toleffson. Were they brothers or clones?
Lars turned toward her. “Jess, this is my brother Cal. Cal, Jess Carroll.”
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Toleffson.” Jess shifted Jack slightly so she could shake his hand. “You have a lovely clinic.”
“Thanks.” Cal Toleffson reached down to ruffle his niece’s hair. “It’s not all mine, though. I’m a partner with Horace Rankin, Bethany’s husband.”
Behind the counter, Bethany Rankin had turned her attention to Jack. “Hi, there, sweetie. What’s your name?”
“That’s Jack,” Daisy announced. “I’m gonna marry him.”
“Well, I can see why.” Bethany gave him a brilliant smile. “Hello Jack. Aren’t you a cutie pie?”
She stretched out her arms just as Jack made a lunge for her hair, grabbing double handfuls of brunette. Bethany leaned forward, laughing.
Jess pulled his fingers away. “Behave yourself, kid. You can’t go grabbing hair with everybody you meet.”
“May I?”
Jess turned to see Cal Toleffson extending his arms and smiling.
“He may go for your beard,” Jess cautioned.
“No problem. So did Daisy.” Cal swept Jack up to his shoulders and began walking back toward the animal area again, motioning for them to follow.
Jack grabbed double handfuls of coffee-colored curls, crowing with delight.
Cal seemed not to notice. “I’ve got a couple of possibilities for you, a puppy and a mature dog. Sometimes mature dogs don’t work out with young children, but this one might be okay.”
He swung open the door to a room lined with wire pens. Only two of them held dogs. Cal leaned toward first one, trying not to bump Jack’s head.
“Here.” Lars stepped forward and swept Jack off his brother’s shoulders. “You and Jess can look at the dogs. I’ll take care of the kids.” He put his hand on Daisy’s shoulder, pulling her back so that she wouldn’t rush the cage.
Jess felt a tightening in her throat. Would Barry have been as gentle with his son, if he’d ever had a chance to hold him? Probably, but of course he’d never had that chance.
Cal unfastened the cage, swinging open the door. A black mostly-cocker spaniel wandered out, looking up at Cal expectantly. “This is the mature dog. Bon Bon.”
Lars shook his head. “Geez, Cal, why do these dogs always have names like that? Don’t any of your clients name their dogs Shep or Lassie?”
Cal ignored him. “Bon Bon’s owner had to go into a rehab center after she broke her hip. She asked me to find the dog a good home. She’s very gentle, not too active, calm. A baby probably wouldn’t bother her.”
Bon Bon turned her huge chocolate eyes in Jess’s direction. She looked ready to cry.
“Can I pet her?” Daisy piped.
Cal nodded. “Gently, Dais. Let’s see how she feels about you.”
Daisy managed to keep her usual exuberance down to a slight bounce as she approached.
Cal put his hand on her shoulder. “Let her sniff your hand first.”
Daisy stretched her hand to the dog. Bon Bon sniffed her fingertips a bit suspiciously, then gave her palm a quick swipe with her tongue.
Daisy giggled.
Bon Bon looked vaguely affronted, but she allowed Daisy to stroke her head, glancing up at Cal with long-suffering eyes.
Cal shrugged. “Like I say. Calm. Sort of placid. Not likely to jump all over anything.”
Jess stared down into Bon Bon’s melancholy eyes again, wondering if she’d regard a prowler as just one more speed bump in her road of life. Somehow she couldn’t imagine the dog protecting Jack from anything more threatening than an éclair. “What’s the other dog like?”
Cal shooed Bon Bon back into her pen, then walked a little further down the room. “It’s a young dog, just past the puppy stage, so it’s a little more, well, energetic.” He unfastened the pen door.
The moment the door was open, what looked like a black-and-white spotted ball seemed to roll out. The dog managed to land with its feet on the floor, then promptly flopped over on its side, righted itself again, and started galloping in Daisy’s direction, yelping ecstatically.
Cal reached down and grabbed its collar. “Whoa! Pull yourself together, pup.”
The dog’s feet looked to be about the size of dinner plates, out of all proportion to its relatively short legs. Its ears flopped around its head as it shook itself. Its ultra-long tail thumped against Cal’s leg.
Cal scratched its ears and the dog settled, closing its eyes in bliss.
“What kind of dog is it?” Jess ventured.
“Mostly blue tick coonhound. He’s got the snout and the ears and the feet. The body’s a little heavier than most hounds, though. Probably some lab in there somewhere. These days there usually is in any mix.”
The dog turned toward Jess, giving her a doggy grin and yipping.
“Can I pet him?” Daisy cried.
“If I can get him to stand still long enough.” Cal knelt beside the pup, pressing down gently on his rear quarters. “C’mon, pup, sit.”
Lars raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t this one have a name? Lord Ainsley Pupworth or something?”
“This one’s the last of a litter from Dick Coverdale.” Cal held the dog firmly in place. “His prize blue tick got out of her pen and got busy. Dick wanted them out of his sight.”
Daisy approached carefully, her hand extended. “Nice doggy.”
The puppy sniffed at her fingers and then pulled urgently against Cal’s hand, whimpering.
Daisy leaned closer.
The pup’s head shot up and he began licking her face enthusiastically. Daisy pulled back, lips quivering.
Jess held her breath, waiting to see how Daisy would react. Beside her, Jack squirmed in Lars’s arms reaching eagerly toward the pup.
After a moment, Daisy leaned forward again, earning ecstatic doggy kisses all over her cheeks. She threw her arms around the puppy, burying her face against its neck. “Oh, sweetie,” she cried, “I love you.”
Beside her, Jess heard Lars sigh. If she ended up with Bon Bon, she had a feeling the Toleffsons would soon be adopting a blue tick hound.
She chewed her lip. Bon Bon was probably a very nice dog. She’d make some retiree a great companion. On the other hand, the blue tick was going to be a major pain in the rear until he settled down. But Jess was absolutely certain he’d stick to Jack like glue.
“We’ll take him,” she said.
“Great.” Cal stood, towing the blue tick back to its pen. “He’s had all his shots, and you can bring him back when he’s a little older to get him neutered. That’s all part of the adoption.”
“What’s the fee?” Jess did a quick mental review of her cash on hand.
Cal shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I just want him to have a good home. Have you had dogs before?”
“When I was growing up. My dad raised Weimaraners.”
Cal grinned. “Okay. So you’ve got hound experience. That’s good.”
“Yeah, once upon a time I even knew how to do basic obedience training. I may have to bone up on the essentials, though.”
Beside her, Jess was suddenly aware of Lars watching her. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned her dad.
Don’t talk about the past. Keep the personal information to a minimum.
“Any advice about how to get him used to Jack? And vice versa?”
“Get him set up in his own area, with his own bed. He’s already house trained, thanks to Armando, our night guy with a lot of time on his hands. Do you have a fenced yard?”
Jess nodded. “Not a big fence, but it’s got one.”
“Well, if his barking bothers Jack, you can put him outside while Jack’s sleeping. But a lot of babies get used to the barking fairly quickly.”
“Okay.” Jess bit her lip, thinking. “You know, we might not be able to take him until tomorrow. I didn’t remember to pick up a pet crate before we got here. Or dog food.”
Daisy stared up at her with wide eyes. “We could take him home, couldn’t we, Daddy? Uncle Cal could give us a box.”
Cal grinned at Lars’s stricken expression. “I’ll loan Mrs. Carroll a crate, Daisy. Your dad can bring it back sometime. And we’ve got dog food here.”
Jess collected a collar and leash, immunization tags and a sack of dog food, then let Cal and Lars wrestle the pup into the crate. Once inside, he pressed his nose against the door, whining piteously.
Daisy knelt beside the crate. “Oh, sweetie, don’t you cry. You won’t have to stay in there forever.”
“But he does for now,” Lars said briskly, picking up the crate in one hand and grabbing Daisy’s hand in the other. “Come on, everybody, let’s head out.”
Jess picked Jack up, reaching for the bag.
“Let me help you with that.” Cal swung a giggling Jack back onto his shoulders and headed for the door. “Any idea what you’re going to name your pup?”
Jess sighed. “Sweetie. What else?”