His Touch (3 page)

Kara stalked down
the street, steam pouring from her ears. What a colossal waste of time and effort. Life-saving skills for parents, indeed! She had a good mind to write to the FDNY and the governor to report that paramedic for the deplorable way he conducted that class. Flirting with those three shameless women who only wanted to slide down a firefighter’s pole and then having the nerve, the unmitigated gall to ask her to leave only because of Nadia?

It was despicable.

Unconscionable.

It was—it was—oh, she was too mad to think up more words.

“Ma,” Nadia said with a pout.

“I know, honey,” Kara told her. “He was awful, wasn’t he?” Resolutely, she put the rude paramedic out of her mind. She had more important things to worry about, like how she was going re-juggle her already juggled schedule. She bit her lip and said a quick prayer for good news for Beth, whose mom had called her from a doctor’s office, begging her to come. The word
cancer
was mentioned and Kara’s stomach clutched at the thought. Her own mom had passed in the September 11th attacks and not a day went by that Kara didn’t wish she was still with her.

Her phone pinged, a text message from her three-thirty client asking to reschedule. Kara sighed in relief. That certainly made things easier. Okay, then. Thinking fast, Kara went through her mental back-up plan. She would take Nadia to her office and then call Elena. If her sister could rearrange her schedule, Kara would still be able to meet Mrs. Brewer at two. And if not, she’d ask Mrs. Brewer to come downtown, and pray that one of her coworkers would kindly mind Nadia while Kara helped Mrs. Brewer plan her estate.

A sudden fear swept through Kara. She had no supplies for her daughter. She quickly checked the bag that hung from the stroller’s handle. Cup, diapers, wipes, Cheerios container. No lunch.

Damn it. Okay, she’d have to stop at a market on her way to the office, pick up a few jars of Gerber, some yogurt—Nadia adored yogurt and some animal crackers. Kara picked up her pace and began walking downtown. It wouldn’t take long, maybe fifteen minutes or so.

Good thing she’d worn those flats today.

She darted into the first market she found, picked up lunch for both of them and continued her trek, happy the weather was cooperative, at least. The sun shone brightly, but the city’s infamous humidity wouldn’t reach its peak until July. It was a day for playing in the park and for a moment, she considered calling in sick so they could do just that.

But they were here now.

She negotiated Nadia’s stroller through the heavy glass doors to One Chase Manhattan Plaza and headed for the elevator bank. The offices of Gordon Brothers Financial Services were located on the twenty-first floor.

“Kara?” The receptionist smiled at Nadia. “Uh oh. Nanny problems?”

Kara nodded. “Beth’s mother had a medical emergency.”

Tracy, the receptionist, frowned. “Oh, no. Okay, well, I can mind her for you while you meet with Jonathan.”

Kara squeezed Tracy’s hand in gratitude. “Thank you so much. I’m going to get her settled first. See you in a bit.”

Kara turned down the corridor and then went east to her office. She quickly powered up her computer system, slid her laptop from its bag and connected it to the desktop. She noted the pile of messages on her desk—all of which she’d already seen on her cell phone and handled.

So far so good.

She reached into her desk drawer, grabbed the cosmetic case stowed inside and quickly reapplied deodorant. Next, she unpacked the food she’d bought on the way in. She tapped her sister’s cell phone number and put the phone on speaker while it connected.

“Hey, Kara, what’s up?”

“Beth had some bad news today and can’t watch Nadia. Do you have any time you can take this afternoon?”

“Sure. I can take a long lunch. Where are you?”

“My office.”

“Perfect. I’m at mine, so I’ll see you in about ten minutes.”

That was a stroke of good luck. Elena frequently worked from home, which was Hoboken, New Jersey since her wedding to Lucas Adair last Christmas. But her corporate office wasn’t far from Kara’s and the sisters often met for lunch.

“You are a life saver, Laney!”

She ended the call and scooped Nadia out of the stroller. “Nadia, want to see Aunt Laney?”

Nadia clapped her hands and Kara smiled. “Okay, she’ll be here soon. Let’s get you into a new diaper, okay?”

She kicked off her shoes and knelt on the floor, a fresh diaper and the package of wipes at her side. She unfastened Nadia’s diaper and just as she began cleaning the mess inside, a knock on her door sounded.

“Hey, Kara, are you—whoa.”

She looked up, found her boss standing there, his nose wrinkled in disgust. “Hi, Mr. Drew. Be done in a minute.” Her face on fire, she cleaned Nadia’s bottom in record time, making sure it was spotless before fastening the new diaper in place. She tucked the wipes inside the dirty diaper, wrapped it tightly into a ball and put it into a plastic bag she dropped into the trash bin under her desk. A quick squirt of antibacterial lotion on her desk and she was ready to face the world again.

“Aren’t we meeting?” Mr. Drew looked at his watch.

“Yes. My nanny had a family emergency this morning.”

“I see. So Mrs. Brewer’s estate planning…any progress?”

“Yes.” Kara slipped back into her shoes and sat Nadia on the floor beside her desk with a board book from the bag on the back of the stroller. That should occupy her for about sixty seconds. “I’ve discussed potential courses of action with Mrs. Brewer and based on her feedback, believe we’ve got a direction. We’ll discuss it further this afternoon.”

“Aren’t you meeting her today?”

“Yes, at two.”

“Why not have her sign papers then?”

“She said she wants to discuss the plan in person before we do that.”

“I see,” Mr. Drew said and stepped forward, his crisp dark suit barely moving. He sat in her visitor’s chair and Nadia decided that was an open invitation. She toddled to him and held out her book.

“Up.”

Kara’s face burst into flames but Mr. Drew just lifted her daughter to his knee without so much as a stutter in the directions she only just noticed he was giving her.

“…think we should consider some high-risk investments, as well.”

“Yes, uh, of course.” Kara made a note while he spoke. After they’d discussed every one of her clients, he shifted Nadia to his other knee and cleared his throat.

“I have a new client for you.”

Kara’s eyes widened. Of all the things he could have said, she hadn’t expected that. Since Nadia was born, she’d cut back her hours even though she knew that risked career growth, but right now, time with her daughter was more important than bonuses and promotions.

“What do you know about Ronald T. Saxon?”

Kara’s eyes went even wider. “Of Saxony House?” The Saxon family owned a string of high-end department stores, not to mention a variety of properties up and down the east coast.

“The same. Ronald T. asked for you personally. He’d like to meet you today.”

She almost winced. “Today’s not good, Mr. Drew. I have to arrange alternative care for Nadia.”

“See what you can do. He’s interested in wealth management and establishing a charitable foundation.” He stood up, put Nadia on the floor and grinned. “Any questions?”

Oh, boy. Oh, wow. Kara was practically dancing in her chair. “Yes, one. How does Mr. Saxon feel about kids?”

Mr. Drew grinned. “That’s what the charitable foundation is for.” He took out his cell phone, tapped the screen. “I’ll have the file sent to you.”

Kara nodded, knowing his assistant would do so in moments.

“Keep me posted,” he said with a nod and left her office.

“Oh! Excuse me.”

Kara bit back a curse when her sister, Elena, collided with Mr. Drew at the door. “Mr. Drew, this is my sister, Elena.”

“Miss Larsen,” he extended a hand. “Nice to meet you. I take it you’re called in on babysitting detail?”

Elena flicked a glance at her sister, who nodded. “Yes. The nanny had a medical emergency today.”

“Well, thank you for your fast response. I’m glad Kara has you to help.”

“Wow.” Elena shot her a sly grin after the office door shut behind Mr. Drew. “He’s quite the hottie.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Is that why you neglected to mention you’re Mrs. Adair now?” She asked, with a pointed look at the rings on her sister’s left hand.

“Oh, please. I only said he’s cute in that Wall Street wolf kind of way. I never said I was ready to leave Lucas for him.”

Kara considered that. Jonathan Drew was a handsome man but… aside from the fact that he was her boss and therefore, off-limits, she’d never thought of him as such.

Elena angled her head. “There’s no spark. No look.”

Yes! Kara nodded. That was it exactly. He was just another human in the same orbit. They didn’t have any connection beyond that. Since Nadia was born, Kara hadn’t felt that spark with anyone and sometimes wondered if it was gone for good.

Suddenly, Elena gasped and her face split into a wide grin. “There’s my girl!” She bent over and snatched a squealing Nadia from the floor, pressing loud kisses to her chubby cheeks. “So how’s Beth?”

“Beth’s fine, it’s her mom. She’d been having some pain in her abdomen and went to see the doctor. They suspect cancer.”

“Oh, God, no.” Elena’s eyes shut and she held Nadia just a little bit closer. It had been years—more than a decade—since they’d lost their own mother, but the wound still ached.

“Laney.” Kara moved closer, squeezed her sister’s hand. “I am so glad you’re home.”

Elena’s eyes filled at that. Elena had come back to New York for the first time since their mother’s death when Kara was expecting Nadia. Kara hadn’t known it at the time, but her sister felt responsible for Marie Larsen’s death, had been blaming herself for it since 2001. They’d had a huge argument, a loud and bitter fight that ended when a teenaged Elena had spitefully screamed, “I hate you! I hope you drop dead!” to her mother.

That had happened on September 10th. And on September 11th, Marie Larsen went to work early that morning…and never made it home.

It had taken a lot of effort to convince Elena that Kara needed her. The day she’d arrived in Manhattan—in fact, merely a minute or so after she’d stepped out of the car in front of Kara’s building, Elena had met Lucas Adair, a man she was convinced her mother had sent to punish her. It took even more effort to convince Elena that Luke wasn’t her penance, but her forgiveness.

That Christmas had been good to all of the friends in their circle. Sabrina, Cassandra, and Jade—the sisters of her heart. Besides Nadia’s birth just a few days before the holiday, Sabrina reunited with her first love, Jake Killen, her daughter’s father. Cass reunited with her Irish musician, Sean McKinnon. And Jade found love with the boy who had once been her best friend, Ben Stephens and would be marrying him this summer.

Kara had been happy and excited for them all. And she was thrilled to once again have her sister back in her life. But deep down in a secret corner of her heart, she wondered why her mother hadn’t sent
her
a good guy.

And then she gave herself a good swift mental kick for that thought. She had a perfect baby girl.

Who needed anything more?

‡

T
he night was
long.

Reid woke while it was still dark, scrubbing his nose with his knuckles. He swore he could smell her—baby powder, no-more-tears shampoo, and apple juice all at the same time.

Erin
.

His entire body shook and trembled with the need to see her, to hold her, to have her alive.

He sat up in bed, swung his legs to the floor and forced deep breaths in and out of his lungs. His daughter was gone. Dead.

Dead, dead, dead
.

The word echoed inside his skull, every reverberation a hammer strike to his heart.

It happened every time he saw a baby that reminded him of Erin. He’d be fine as soon as his cold heart accepted what the brain knew. He got up, padded on bare feet to his bathroom and opened the lid on the toilet—an old habit Lynn had impressed on him. His marriage had crumbled soon after they’d buried Erin, but Lynn had hated the toilet open. Well, at least she’d taken those stupid wooly covers with her when she’d left him.

He flushed and ran the shower as hot as he could stand it. Slowly, the ache deep inside his core subsided. Oh, it never disappeared completely. But it was bearable once again. He slung a towel around his hips and stumbled to the kitchen to put the coffee on. He hated single-serve cups and let Lynn take the Keurig while he kept the old-fashioned percolator. He’d measured everything out the night before and plugged the pot into the outlet while he returned to the bathroom to finish his morning routine. The slow thrum of the coffee perking helped to steady him and the aroma that quickly filled his small apartment cleared the fog from his brain. Just as he was about to pour a cup, his cell phone vibrated.

“Bennett,” he answered.

“Good morning, Sunshine. It’s Carrie.”