Daniel's Desire (5 page)

“I can’t do that,” he said, a hint of regret in his voice.

“Because of Kendra,” she concluded, resigned.

He shook his head. “Not entirely. Because of you, too. I don’t want things between us to end like this.”

She almost smiled at that. “Like this? Daniel, they ended years ago. This? This is a piece of cake compared to the way they ended then.”

“Maybe they should never have ended at all.”

She stared at him as if he’d started spouting French or some other incomprehensible language. “You can’t mean that.”

He looked uncomfortable, as if he regretted saying it, but he wasn’t taking it back. She waited and waited, but he let the words hang in the air.

Maybe they should never have ended at all.

What was he thinking? Was he crazy? He was the one who’d ended it. He was the one who’d been so insistent that she and their baby would be better off without him. And now, when it was too late to matter, he was saying he’d gotten it all wrong?

She gazed into his dark-blue eyes and looked for the man she’d once loved, but she couldn’t find him. Didn’t want to find him. Not at this late date. It would make what had happened such a waste, even more tragic than it had been.

“Leave, please,” she all but begged. “Just for tonight, go.”

He lifted his hand, almost reached for her, then dropped it back to his side. “Good night, Molly.”

“Goodbye, Daniel.”

His lips curved slightly as he noted the hopeful distinction she’d made. “Not goodbye,” he said.

After he’d gone, she sank onto a stool at the bar and rested her head on her arms. How was she supposed to get through day after day of having him around, deliberately goading her, trying to get under
her skin, reminding her of what had once been between them?

There was only one sure way to get rid of him. She would have to turn over Kendra. But that was not an option. Molly had made a promise and she intended to keep it, even if she lost her own sanity in the process.

She lifted her head as Kendra quietly slipped onto the stool next to her. Her dark eyes studied Molly intently.

Molly sighed. “I thought you were with Leslie Sue.”

“I was, but it’s late. I came back. Seems to me like I got here just in the nick of time.”

“Why would you say that?”

“The guy was getting to you.”

Molly frowned at her, refusing to admit what was obvious not only to her, but apparently even to a thirteen-year-old. “Daniel can’t get to me,” she insisted.

“Yeah, right,” Kendra said, then fell silent.

The silence stretched out for what seemed like an eternity before Kendra said, “Tell me about this Daniel Devaney.”

Molly knew what she was really asking, but she said only, “He’s a child advocate for the state. That’s all you need to know.”

“He’s not hanging around here just because of me,” Kendra said with confidence. “He’s got the hots for you. And it goes both ways, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Not that I’m any expert,” Kendra said, ignoring her denial, “but it sure looked that way to me. You get all flushed when he’s around. And I saw that picture you were holding in your room the other night. It
was him, wasn’t it? He’s the guy who hurt you, the one you never talked things out with.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Sure it does,” Kendra insisted. “If you two had a thing once, it’s no wonder he gets you all worked up.”

“He gets me worked up because he makes me furious,” Molly retorted. “He think he knows everything. Have you forgotten that he’s looking for you? He wants to send you home.”

Kendra paled, and Molly immediately felt guilty for reminding the girl of the threat that Daniel posed, when Kendra was thinking only of his effect on Molly.

“Sweetie, do you want to talk to him?” she asked Kendra. “Maybe you could explain why you ran away. Tell him that your parents intend to send you away. Daniel would help. He wouldn’t make you go back, especially if your parents were about to abandon you. Believe me, he has some history that would make him very sympathetic to you.”

Kendra’s expression set stubbornly. “He doesn’t look as if he’d be all that sympathetic. Besides, you just said he’s here to send me home. I’m not going, not ever.”

“He’d only insist on it if it’s the right thing to do.” She met Kendra’s gaze. “Do you trust me?”

Kendra nodded.

“Okay, then. Here’s the honest truth,” she began, reassured by Alice’s expressed belief that this was the truth in her view, too. “Daniel Devaney and I have our issues, but when it comes to helping kids with their problems, he’s one of the best. No one’s better at defending a kid if the parents are being neglectful or mean. He knows what that’s like.”

Kendra regarded her with shock. “His parents sent him away?”

“No, that’s not exactly what happened, and it’s something he should tell you about, not me. But he
will
understand—I can promise you that.” She didn’t like giving Daniel credit for anything, but she’d seen him spend too many sleepless nights worrying about his cases not to believe that. That’s why his persistence now, as annoying as she found it, was both predictable and reassuring.

Kendra nodded slowly. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

“You could tell me the rest of the story, and
I
could talk to him, if that would be easier.”

Kendra shook her head. “You’ve been great. You’ve let me stay here and you haven’t asked any questions. Not too many, anyway.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I know you think I’m too young to be off on my own, but it’s better this way, believe me.” She swiped impatiently at the tears that spilled down her cheeks. “If I’m too much trouble, I can go. It’s just that this is the first place I’ve felt really safe since I left home. You and Retta and Leslie Sue, you’ve been like family.”

“Oh, sweetie, you could never be too much trouble. I just want to do what’s right. Your parents have to be sick with worry. And you’re missing school.”

“I’ve got books in my backpack. I don’t need some teacher to tell me what’s in ’em. Besides, if Mr. Devaney really knows I’m here, even though you haven’t admitted it, don’t you think my parents have been told I’m okay?” she asked.

“I doubt it,” Molly replied. “Otherwise your folks would be demanding to see you.”

Unless, of course, he and Joe Sutton knew more
than they’d been letting on. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t made a major issue of Kendra’s continued—if unacknowledged—presence. They could easily have served Molly with a subpoena for harboring a missing minor or used some other legal tactic if they wanted to play hardball. There had to be some reason why they hadn’t. Whatever their reason was, Molly needed to know.

Much as she hated the idea of getting drawn into this any more deeply with Daniel, maybe it was time she made an alliance with one of the men to protect this fragile young girl.

Kendra was watching her intently. “What are you thinking?”

“That maybe it’s time I got a little friendlier with the other camp.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Kendra said worriedly. “What are you going to do?”

“You know the expression ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em?”’

“Yeah, so?”

Molly gave Kendra a jaunty, reassuring smile and declared, “I’m going to make Daniel Devaney and Joe Sutton my new best friends.”

M
olly intended to start her new plan by going to see Joe Sutton. After all, Joe was about as close to a neutral party in this mess as she was going to find. But when she called his office at police headquarters, she was told he was out for the day on an investigation.

“If it’s an emergency, I can track him down,” the officer who’d answered his phone told her.

“No, thanks. I’ll call back later if I need him,” she said.

She hung up slowly and debated whether to wait for Joe or go to see Daniel instead. Because she didn’t like the nagging little voice in her head shouting that she was a coward, she decided to go to Daniel’s office. She wouldn’t call, though. She’d leave it up to fate whether or not she actually saw him.

And in case fate was feeling particularly whimsical, maybe she ought to put on something fancier than
what she wore to work every day. It always threw Daniel off-kilter when she dressed up, and she definitely wanted him off-kilter.

Her wardrobe didn’t run to anything too dressy, but she did have a couple of power suits she could choose from when she had to meet with the town muckety-mucks for various permits. Used to seeing her in jeans and T-shirts, the officials were pretty much rendered speechless by the power suits. And the suits gave her a confidence she needed when she was away from her own turf.

She had the choices tossed across her bed when Kendra wandered in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

“What’re you doing?” she asked Molly, flopping down on the bed and only accidentally avoiding the suits.

“Picking out something to wear to see Daniel Devaney,” Molly said, studying the suits with a critical eye. One was teal blue and fairly sedate. One was drop-dead red and had a neckline that plunged daringly. She usually wore it with a prim white blouse to negate the sexy effect.

Kendra, awake now, bounced off the bed and peered past her. “Red suit. No blouse,” she said without hesitation. “It’ll take him a week to get his tongue untangled.”

Molly stared at her. “I’m not entirely sure that’s the effect I ought to be going for. I want to project friendliness and reliability, not seduction.”

Kendra grinned. “Seduction’s always better.” She said it with the assurance of someone much older.

“How on earth do you know that?” Molly asked.

“I’m female and I’m smart.”

“So am I, but I didn’t know that at thirteen.”

“Maybe you weren’t as smart as I am,” the girl said, her expression suddenly turning oddly glum.

Something in her tone alerted Molly that the conversation had suddenly turned serious, though for the life of her she couldn’t detect why being smart would be a problem.

“How smart are we talking?” Molly probed carefully.

Kendra shrugged.

“Kendra?”

“They say my IQ is off the charts, whatever that means. I don’t see the big deal.”

“It’s something to be proud of,” Molly told her, though it was evident Kendra didn’t see it that way.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Another piece of the puzzle clicked into place for Molly. Not only did Kendra’s parents intend to send her away, but her friends at school were more than likely intimidated by her intelligence—assuming she actually had any friends other than kids who wanted to borrow her homework and have her help them cram for an upcoming exam.

“Does that have anything to do with why you ran away?” Molly asked.

“Never mind,” Kendra said, her expression pleading with Molly to let the subject drop. “We’re talking about you and that suit. Just wear the red one, okay? And I’ll fix your hair. That straight style is way too sixties.”

Willing to let the girl’s reaction pass for now, Molly asked, “What do you know about the sixties?”

“Duh! We studied it in history. Hippies. Free love. Vietnam demonstrations. Woodstock.”

For some reason Molly had a lot of trouble thinking
of the decade before she was born as being history quite as ancient as Kendra seemed to be implying. Still, it seemed as if that was yet another discussion it would be pointless to pursue.

For the next hour Molly put herself in Kendra’s hands. The girl seemed to be getting a huge kick out of playing beauty shop with a real-life woman to fix up. When she was finished with Molly’s hair, she stood back and studied her with a critical gaze, then grinned.

“Oh, yeah, Daniel Devaney isn’t going to know what hit him,” she concluded, then turned the mirror so Molly could finally get a glimpse of herself.

“Oh, my God,” she whispered, stunned. She actually looked as if she’d stepped out of the pages of
Vogue
or some other high fashion magazine.

The suit, which was dramatic enough with a blouse underneath, was a knock-out with a hint of cleavage showing. The skirt was just short enough to make her legs look very long and slender. Kendra had adamantly tossed aside her flats and picked out her one pair of strappy summer heels.

“Too bad there’s not time for a pedicure,” Kendra said, eyeing her critically. “You could use some red polish on your toes.”

“I think we’ve gone far enough,” Molly said dryly, still overwhelmed by the swept-up hairdo with blond tendrils curling against her cheeks. She’d insisted that Kendra use a light hand with the makeup, but it was still more than she usually wore and her pale-gray eyes stood out dramatically. Her lips looked soft, pouty and kissable.

“Now, remember, the lipstick is the kind that won’t
come off, so you can kiss him all you want,” Kendra told her.

Molly scowled. “I am not going over to his office to make out with him. I’m going to poke around for information.”

“Whatever,” Kendra said. “But you might as well use what you’ve got.” She grinned. “Let’s go show Retta.”

They went downstairs and walked into the kitchen where the cook was already working on lunch. She took one glance at Molly and dropped the spoon she was using to stir the chowder.

“Oh, my sweet girl, what have you done to yourself?” Retta asked, her eyes wide.

Molly faltered. “Too much?”

“Depends on what you’re after,” Retta said. “You want Daniel on his knees and weeping, I think you’ve got it just right.”

“I want him talkative,” Molly insisted.

Retta shook her head at that. “Doubt he’ll get a word out. Poor man. I’d like to be there when you walk through the door. He deserves to get hit with all you’ve got. Past time for him to realize what he lost the day he hurt you.”

Molly’s enthusiasm for the makeover was slowly climbing. She wasn’t entirely sure the approach was right, but she felt good. She felt like a woman for the first time in a couple of years now. And who better to use to get her confidence back than Daniel? Not that this meeting had anything to do with her. It was all about Kendra, she reminded herself piously.

Retta regarded her with concern. “You gonna be able to keep your head about you when that man starts drooling over you?”

“Believe me, Daniel can’t get to me,” Molly replied firmly.

“See to it that doesn’t change,” Retta said. “I’m not interested in picking up the pieces if that man hurts you again. This time I’ll just whip his sorry butt. I imagine Patrick will help me.”

“Yes, the two of you are quite formidable,” Molly agreed wryly. “I’ll remind Daniel of that if he gets any crazy ideas.”

“Oh, he’s gonna get ’em,” Retta said. “There’s not much question of that.”

Molly sighed. “I guess I’d better go. I hope he’s in his office after we’ve gone to all this trouble.”

“Maybe you should call,” Kendra said worriedly.

“Nope. I want the element of surprise on my side,” Molly insisted.

“Honey, we’re not talking surprise,” Retta said. “We’re talking shock. Once you’ve got him right where you want him and wheedled all that information out of him, you get right on back here and tell us every detail.”

“That’s right,” Kendra added. “We want details.”

Molly laughed at their enthusiasm. “I could always take pictures of his tongue hanging out.”

Kendra looked around eagerly. “Where’s the camera?”

“I was joking,” Molly said.

“I’m not. I think I deserve a picture,” Kendra insisted. “I could put a before and after shot in a portfolio and be a great movie makeup artist someday.”

Now there was a career for a girl with a self-proclaimed IQ that was off the charts, Molly thought. “Well, you can forget the pictures. Let’s try to re
member why I’m going to see Daniel in the first place.”

“To make the man crawl,” Retta said.

“No,” Molly retorted, scowling at her impatiently. “To make friends, so he’ll keep us in the loop on Kendra’s situation.”

Retta frowned. “Honey, if that’s all you want from the man, maybe you’d better put an apron over that outfit. No need to use flash and dazzle, when all you’re after is some itty-bitty fish. I thought you were hoping to catch yourself a shark.”

Molly hesitated. “Think I could catch a shark, if that’s what I really wanted?” she asked, an annoyingly wistful note in her voice. She didn’t want Daniel back. She really didn’t. She just had to keep reminding herself of that.

“Is it?” Retta asked, her expression suddenly fiercely protective. “Despite all those protests a minute ago, are you thinking of giving that man another chance?”

“No,” she said at once, her resolve reinforced by Retta’s obvious dismay. “Of course not. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Retta nodded approvingly. “That’s better, then. You go along. Kendra and I will hold down the fort till you get back.”

“Whatever you do, do not let Kendra serve alcohol,” Molly said.

“You think I don’t know any better than that?” Retta retorted. “I kept you away from the taps all those years, didn’t I? Your grandfather always thought you looked real cute filling up an iced mug from one of those big old kegs.”

Molly turned and went back to envelop the woman
in a hug. “I love you, Retta.” And because she caught the wistful expression on Kendra’s face, she hugged her next. “Be good.”

And then she went off to jump right into the tank with the biggest shark she knew.

Daniel looked up from the file he’d been going over for an afternoon court appearance to find Molly standing in the doorway of his office. For the first time he could ever remember, she looked uncertain. Maybe that was because she was dressed in an outfit that promptly sent his blood pressure soaring into the stratosphere. He swallowed hard and tried to pretend that he wasn’t getting aroused just looking at that low-cut neckline and that endless exposure of her long, slim legs. For her to go to this much trouble, she was after something. Too bad it wasn’t him.

“What brings you to enemy territory?” he asked, fighting to keep his tone casual when he wanted to leap out of his chair and sweep her into his arms and devour her. That glossy lipstick she was wearing all but shouted for a man to kiss her senseless.

She frowned. “Is that where I am, Daniel? Are you the enemy?” she asked bluntly.

“I’m not yours,” he assured her.

“And Kendra? Are you
her
enemy?”

Her expression was so worried, her tone so serious, that he resisted the urge to smile. “We’ve been over this, Molly. I’d like to believe I could be the best friend she’s ever had, if only she’d trust me.”

Molly inched into his office and sat gingerly on one of the hard wooden chairs opposite him. She started to cross her legs, saw the hem of her red skirt climb
and kept her feet firmly planted on the floor instead. Too bad, Daniel thought with real regret.

“Can she trust you? Can I?” she asked him.

“Only if I know what she’s afraid of.” He studied her face. She’d done something new with her makeup, too. Her eyes, which he’d always thought beautiful, seemed bigger, the fringe of lashes darker and more dramatic. But right now her eyes were troubled. “Do you know what’s bothering her?” he asked. “Are you at least willing to admit to me that she’s hiding out at your place?”

He could see the internal war she was waging over the direct question, but she finally made a decision. “Yes, she’s with me, but you’ve known that all along.”

“I have,” he agreed. “But it’s nice to have you trust me enough to tell me.”

“I don’t trust you, Daniel. Not entirely. But right now you’re all we’ve got. We need you on our side.”

He noted that she’d deliberately formed an alliance between herself and Kendra. He was going to have to keep that in mind, however he chose to handle things.

“Why did she run away, Molly? She must have told you by now.”

To his surprise she shook her head. “She hasn’t said much, not really. I just know she’s terrified of going home. She flatly refuses to consider it. I tried to talk her into calling her folks to let them know she’s safe, but she’s refused to do that either.”

He wasn’t entirely convinced that was the full extent of Molly’s knowledge, but he let it pass for now. “What’s your instinct telling you? Has she been abused?”

“Not physically,” she said at once. “She was adamant about that.”

“You asked?”

“Of course, Daniel,” she said with a trace of impatience. “I want to get to the bottom of this as badly as you do.”

“And you’re convinced she wasn’t lying?”

“Not about that. I’m sure of it. She looked absolutely horrified that I’d even asked.”

“There are all kinds of abuse,” he pointed out.

“I’m aware of that. Hasn’t Joe discovered anything?”

“He says that on the surface everything at home looks picture perfect. She’s from a nice middle-class family. She’s the oldest. She’s always had straight As, gotten involved in a lot of activities, seems popular enough.”

“Then why hasn’t he forced the issue?” Molly demanded. “You’ve both known she was with me for more than a week now. If things are so rosy at home, why haven’t the two of you swooped in to take her?”

“Chalk it up to an abundance of caution.” Daniel met her gaze. “Because it doesn’t add up that a kid in that situation at that age would take off just for the thrill of it. There has to be a reason, at least one that seems valid enough to her. Joe’s with the parents today. Depending on what he uncovers, we could be at the end of the line unless Kendra can give us some real reason for not taking her back. Can you talk her into meeting with me? I promise I won’t pressure her. Maybe the three of us could have dinner, someplace away from the bar. Having you there might make her feel more comfortable. This is important, Molly. It can’t be put off.”