“Well, I’m handy with a paintbrush and pretty good with a hammer.” He winked. “If you want my help, just give a shout.” He turned on his heel and in seconds was gone.
She blinked a few times, shaking out her hands. Hopefully she’d be able to relax a little in Rochester. Just then her cell phone buzzed. Her brother’s number flashed across the caller box.
“Hi, Pat! Did she have the baby?”
“It’s a boy,” he said. “A big one. Not sure Marci’s talking to me right now.”
“How big? And what did you name him? Come on, spill.” All the tension she’d built up in her body over the course of the last few days melted away at the thought of new life entering the world.
“Nine pounds, eight ounces, and his name is Nolan Jared O’Connor,” Pat said, proudly. “It was amazing. I was there the entire time, and Marci…God, I didn’t think I could love her any more.”
“I can’t wait to meet my nephew.” She relaxed back into her chair, letting the happy tears roll down her cheeks.
“I don’t have to stay at the hospital the whole time.”
“But you want to. And you should.” And she should go to Rochester with Jared. She’d be safer and maybe it would give the police a chance to catch the guy sneaking around Jared’s empty house. And no one besides her boss and brother knew she was leaving town. Not even Penny knew right now.
“Are you okay?”
She swiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m fine.” Hearing footsteps down the hall, she squared her shoulders and tried to peer out of her office. “As soon as…speak of the devil. Jared’s here.” She waved Jared into her office, trying not to gawk at him. He wore a pink golf shirt and black dress pants and he looked like a walking advertisement for the pro shop. “Marci had a boy.”
“That’s great,” Jared said. A small smile appeared on his paling face.
“Can we come see the baby?” Ryan asked her brother.
“See you in a little while. I love you, sis.”
“I love you too, big brother.” She hooked the phone back on her hip, then looked up at Jared. “Let’s hit the road.” For the first time in a week, she didn’t feel like the world had spun out of control, tossing her to the curb. “We don’t have to stay long, but I have to go meet my nephew. They named him Nolan, and do you know what his middle name is?”
“I don’t want to know,” Jared muttered, then uttered a curse. “I thought he was joking.”
“Let’s go, Godfather.” Ryan shook her head. Nothing could dampen her joy, not even a sour faced Jared.
* * * *
The entire ride to the hospital, Jared gripped the steering wheel. Over the years, he and Pat had been to hell and back together. Jared didn’t begrudge the man his happiness or his child. But there was a small piece of Jared that couldn’t help wondering where he’d be today if things had been different.
“What floor?” Jared asked as they got into the elevator. He hated hospitals. They smelled like death and sadness covered by antiseptic. Like having a clean environment where people fought for their lives would somehow make untimely death better.
“Five.” Ryan reached out and poked the button a few times.
“That’s not going to make the elevator go faster.”
She rubbed her hands together, while excitement sparkled in her eyes. “I can’t help it.” Her smile brightened the already well-lit space and melted his heart.
The elevator bounced at the fifth floor, then a bell rang out as the doors began to push back. Ryan wiggled her way though the small opening, then took off in the direction of Marci’s room as if she were running a marathon and the finish line was only inches ahead.
He shoved his hands deep in his pockets, following a few steps behind.
“Here.” When she glanced back at him, her hair bounced playfully at her shoulders. “Pat? Marci?” She tapped the half open door.
“Hey there.” Pat greeted his sister with a big bear hug, then reached out to Jared, yanking him in the room with his handshake. “Get in here.”
“I’m sure Marci doesn’t want me here. I’ll just hang out in the waiting room.” Jared’s pulse beat frantically at the sight of Marci holding her infant son.
“You will not,” Marci said. “I can’t believe how much he looks like Pat.”
“I don’t think Pat was that big.” Ryan reached out and rubbed her hand across the baby’s red hair. “And I think he was bald.”
Jared’s son had been bald, but he remembered the softness of his skin. The way he smelled and how fragile he looked. Those images he’d never be able to get rid of. No matter how hard he tried.
“Pat said the labor was…” Ryan began.
But Jared didn’t hear the rest of the words. Visions of a tiny casket being lowered into the ground engulfed his memory. His son’s mother nowhere to be found. His body flexed, but he felt like his legs would buckle at any moment.
“Jared?” A firm squeeze of his bicep jolted him from his nightmare. “Marci asked you if you wanted to hold your godson.”
“No,” he said quickly.
“Damn you,” Pat muttered, taking a step toward him.
“You can do this, Jared. Trust me,” Ryan said in a soft tone.
“Trust you?” He glared at her.
“You expect me to trust you when it comes to my safety. Well, I expect you to trust me about this.” She kicked the door closed with her foot, then glided across the room. With ease, she lifted the baby into her arms, kissed his forehead, and whispered something.
Jared stepped back, bumping into the wall.
He reached for the constricting button on the top of his shirt. Perspiration beaded across his forehead.
“Hey there, Nolan. Let’s go meet your godfather. The man who gave you your middle name,” Ryan said.
“Ryan, please don’t,” Jared whispered, rubbing his sweaty hands across his tense thighs. But she ignored his plea, lifting the baby up and pressing the tiny warm body against his chest.
Nolan’s hands flew up in the air, whacking Jared in the chin.
“It’s a startle reflex. He’s fine.” Ryan smiled widely, beaming with love and pride.
“I know what it is,” he grumbled, raising his arms and nestling Nolan’s head in the crook of his elbow.
Nolan sucked in his lower lip, then gasped a hearty breath and let it out with a whiney sigh.
Jared swallowed. He stared down at the precious bundle of life. He hadn’t held a baby since Johnny passed, and while part of his heart soared with joy, another part died again. “He’s…cute,” he said, trying to relax.
“Like Pat,” Marci laughed.
“Nothing cute about him.” Jared breathed slowly, using his training to keep as calm as possible. Feeling all eyes on him, Jared glanced around the room.
Ryan wiped a tear that dribbled down her face. Pat had seated himself on the edge of the bed next to his wife, dipping his head against hers and looking back at him with brotherly admiration.
As if on cue, Nolan squirmed.
“Okay, here’s your Auntie Ryan.” Jared fumbled as he handed the baby back to Ryan.
“Oh, my, God. I can’t believe he’s here.” Ryan snuggled Nolan in close. She deserved everything. Everything Jared couldn’t give her.
For the next hour, Jared fetched water, soda, coffee, and junk food. Anything to get out of the room of happiness. He couldn’t help but remember how different things were with Lisa when Johnny was born. Jared hadn’t been there when his son entered the world, but he was there when he left.
“I’m sorry, but we really should hit the road,” he said, trying not to sound too impatient. “Can I have a word with you, Pat?” Jared turned and stepped into the hallway. “Rory’s going to be working on the carriage house, along with his girlfriend.”
“I heard she’s some kind of private eye or something.”
Jared chuckled. “Something like that. Anyway, we want to make it look like Ryan’s there. Only her boss knows she’s coming with me.”
“I get to stay here at night, but tomorrow I’ve got to go to the bar for a few hours.”
Jared rubbed his jaw, then slid his hand across his neck. He didn’t think Marci and the baby would be in jeopardy. But if George was behind these attacks, who’s to say he wouldn’t turn on his other stepchild? Jared pulled out Frank Harmon’s business card. “This kid’s really good, and he’d do anything to help out. I’ve already asked him to keep an eye on things. He can come and plant himself here in the hallway while you’re gone.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put anyone out.” Pat shoved the card into his pocket. “But I’m worried.”
“So am I,” Jared admitted. “But Harmon’s already got instructions to be at your beck and call. Let’s go, Ry.”
Anger quickly replaced Pat’s concerned look. He gritted his teeth, then said, “That’s my sister.”
Jared nodded, but couldn’t form any words.
“You make sure nothing happens to her.” Pat glanced over his shoulder, then back, taking a step closer. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two, and I don’t want to know. But if you leave her heartbroken, I’ll hunt you down.”
“Oh, get over yourself,” Ryan said, slapping her hand down on Pat’s shoulder. “Not to be blunt, but I’d have to think of him as something other than a Neanderthal to have my heart broken. Now
Nolan
on the other hand.” Patting her chest, she rolled her eyes. “He’s a heartbreaker.”
“Watch your back,” Pat said.
“I’ll see you in two days.” Ryan planted a kiss on her brother’s cheek, then looped her arm through Jared’s.
Still seething over being pushed into things he didn’t want and being called a Neanderthal, Jared continued to frown all the way to the parking garage.
“See, holding Nolan wasn’t all that bad.” She smiled at him, slipping into the car.
It had been damn near impossible. “Don’t do anything like that to me again.” He still felt the cold chill lingering in his bones from years ago.
“My God. What’s wrong with you?” Tucking in her leg, she reached for the door handle. “Can’t you just be happy for them?” She slammed the door.
Happy for them? They had nothing to do with it. “For the record, I’m not a Neanderthal.” He turned the key and revved the engine while adjusting the stereo. While he loved his truck, there was nothing like the feeling of a sports car.
She swatted his hand, turning the volume back down. “You can’t possibly be mad at me for that?”
“That and forcing Nolan in my arms, when you know how I feel.” He popped the clutch and backed out. “I’m a big boy, and I can make my own decisions.”
She burst out laughing.
After paying the parking attendant, he glanced at her. She’d covered her mouth, but laughter still managed to seep out.
He shook his head, then headed for the highway. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”
“Welcome to my world.”
He shifted gears, then swerved out into the passing lane. “I didn’t appreciate you telling me what to do and how to handle my…oh.” He bit back a smile. “Well, I’m not a Neanderthal.”
She fidgeted in her seat, shifting her left leg behind her right. The knee length skirt she’d worn rode high up on her bare thigh.
Resting his hand on the gearshift, he focused his eyes back on the road.
“You think women belong at home, in the kitchen, waiting on their man, doing as they’re told.”
“I do not.” He furrowed his brow, giving her a quick glance.
“If you were to get married, you’d expect your wife to stay at home and do as you commanded.”
Tapping his finger on her exposed skin, he said, “First, I’m never getting married again. Second, if I were, I wouldn’t want a woman who was incapable of thinking for herself.”
“That’s such bull. You constantly bark out orders expecting the world to do exactly what you say.”
The softness of her skin was just too much to pass up. Opening his hand wide, he smoothed his palm across her thigh. “When it comes to my job, which I’m damn good at, well then yes, I expect people to do it my way.”
“I don’t work with you or for you, and you expect me to do things your way.”
“Because some psycho is threatening you.” He squeezed her leg.
“What about when I went to buy my car? You got all controlling and forced your help on me.” She gave him a playful poke.
“Car salesmen are the scum of the earth. I just didn’t want you to get taken for a ride.”
“Do you think I’m smart?”
He glanced out at the leafless trees swaying in the wind along the side of the thruway. Being smart had nothing to do with it. “Of course.”
“Don’t you think I’m capable of handling a simple negotiation?”
“Buying a car isn’t simple,” he mumbled, speeding out into the passing lane and flying by a few cars.
“If you do your research, check out pricing, and don’t buy the first car you look at, it’s not so hard. Besides, if you’re aware that some salespeople are idiots who try to take advantage of you, then you learn to avoid them.”
“Why are we talking about this?” Looping his finger in his shirt, he rolled his neck.
“Because you don’t think you’re a controlling shit.”
“You’re young and inexperienced.”