Lethal Affair (20 page)

“
Ew, that's
gross.”

“
Don't knock it kiddo. Your
mother breast fed you until you were three months old.”

Max's eyes glazed. “You mean I...
I...”

Kylie rescued him. “You got the best
nourishment a mother can give her son, that's what. That's why
you're so strong right now.”

Max grinned and flexed his arm muscle
for her. She oohed and awed appreciatively while Will, in the
background, flexed his much larger, more impressive bicep, wiggling
his eyebrows.

“
I see you got your milk
too,” said Kylie, amused.

“
Didn't you know, I'm a body
double for Schwarzenegger; sometimes Stallone too.”

“
Yeah, right,
Dad!”

“
Don't believe me? Here,
feel this.” Max obligingly squeezed Will's arm. “Solid like a
rock.”

Max giggled. “Just like your
head!”

Will grabbed Max in a head hold and
reached around to tickle him mercilessly. Screaming and laughing
like a hyena, Max struggled in his Dad's embrace.

“
Do you give you little
ankle-biter?”

“
I give, I give!”

Will let go and Max collapsed onto
him, both still laughing.

Watching, Kylie felt her heart tumble.
This was how it should be between father and son. Clearly they
adored one another, a natural and healthy mutual love with jokes
and laughter.

Although park lamps lit the main
areas, nightfall had descended, bringing with it a chill. Tall firs
towered overhead blocking out the moon while an owl hooted
softly.

“
Okay,” said Will as Max
clung to his side, “it's time to go. Did you bring your car,
Kylie?”

“
No, I ran all the way from
the apartment.”

“
That's clear on the other
side of the park and then some. My Jeep isn't too far, we'll give
you a lift. And before you object, it's gotten a little spooky out
here so I insist.”

Compounding his words, a scuffing
noise emitted from the dense bushes behind them.

“
What was that?” Open wide,
the whites of Max's eyes glistened. He reached for his Dad's
hand.

Eerie silence.

“
Who's there?” Will called
out, pulling Max in close. He motioned for Kylie to follow suit and
took her hand in his free one.

Nothing. But the air crackled with
tension; someone was watching them.

“
Let's go,” said Will. They
took off at a fast pace holding hands, all of them glancing
back.

As they put some distance between the
zoo and the parking area, Kylie took one last look back. A man
stood in a pool of lamp light, watching them. She stopped as did
Will and Max and they all turned to see.

Kylie's stomach hitched. It was Drew.
She'd recognize that cocky stance anywhere.

“
Is that who I think it is?”
asked Will in a whisper.

Max heard him. “Who do you think it
is?” he also whispered.

Kylie blew out the breath she'd been
holding. “It's nobody,” she said for Max's sake. “Just some guy
looking for a cheap thrill.”

Max was puzzled. “What does that
mean?”

Will said, “It means he likes to scare
people. That's why I don't want you walking around on your own, not
just here but anywhere, got that?” He leaned over and whispered in
Kylie's ear. “And that goes double for you.”

“
Weirdo!” yelled Max, but
the man had disappeared.

*

Max sipped chocolate milk and watched a
cartoon on TV in Kylie's living room, while she and Will shared a
pitcher of iced green tea at the tiny dining table.

Will frowned. “So he's been harassing
you in the grocery store and at work, and now he's putting a damper
on your jogging. What kind of creep hides in the bushes outside of
a petting zoo for crying out loud.”

“
The kind who wants to make
my life a living hell.” She'd brought him up to date about Brad
Humphrey running interference for her. “I'm going to have to
confront him.”

“
Not alone, you don't. At
the very least do it with a lawyer beside you. The guy is fixated
on you.”

A small maniacal laugh slipped out.
“Jolene thinks I should tell him he's not the father after all. I'm
thinking there's some logic in that. But there's the issue of a
paternity test. He might insist on one.”

“
That's neither here nor
there right now. He can't do anything until the baby's born. Even
then he'll get stuck in legal red tape. The real problem here is to
keep him away from you. He seems to be running on some kind of
toxic mental fuel. You shouldn't be alone with him anytime,
anywhere.”

“
Agreed. Let me ask you,
what would you do if you found out you'd gotten someone pregnant
and she told you she didn't want anything more to do with you? That
she wanted to raise it on her own.”

To his credit Will didn't blurt out a
quick, tell-her-what-she-wants-to-hear response. He mulled it over.
“I'd offer to help pay for the kid's upbringing. Ask her to keep
her mind open to visiting rights.” He paused, then added, “But
first I'd have to know the kid wasn't going to be given up for
adoption or end up in a bad situation.”

“
Such as?”

“
Drug addiction, psychotic
behavior. Violence.”

“
What if you were in love
with her?”

“
Obviously it would hurt,
but if she didn't feel the same I'd have no choice but to move
on.”

“
So you and Max's mother are
tight?”

“
Not tight. Just easy going
friends with a mutual interest.”

Exactly how it should be between
single parents, thought Kylie. “I don't know how I missed this side
of Drew's personality before I was intimate with him.”

“
People with an agenda can
be sly. Once they get what they want their ugly side rises to the
surface. You're lucky this happened before you actually married
him.”

“
I'm a big believer in love
before marriage, and I'm not in love with him. He's a good looking
man and he literally charmed the pants off of me, but he's killed
any chance of love between us.”

Will felt for her. It was a
frustrating situation. With a baby on the way she needed
tranquility so she could get through the pregnancy in a healthy
state. “Have you eaten anything?” he asked.

“
No. Come to think of it,
I'm famished.”

He got out his cell. “I'll have Lyle
send us something over. Any preferences? Food
allergies?”

Kylie's stomach growled at the thought
of food. “Jolene says he makes the best curried chicken. What do
you think?”

“
I think it's coming right
up. Why don't you go shower and Max and I will get things ready
down here.” He made the call to the diner while Kylie went
upstairs.

In the shower she ran a hand over her
stomach and realized there was a slight bulge. The baby bump was
making its first appearance. Clearing the steam from the mirror she
stared at her reflection. She looked haunted. Well who wouldn't,
she surmised. She'd seen a ghost in the park tonight, one who was
hell-bent on materializing out of nowhere at her job and now during
her recreation time.

She heard the clatter of plates and a
child's laughter and it felt right to have Will and Max in her
home. Pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, she ran down the stairs to
the sight of Jimmy bringing in two large aromatic bags.

“
Hi Mr. Delaney.” He held
out his hand to Kylie, his eyes sparkling with intrigue. “It's
Kylie, right? We met at the barbeque.”

She shook his hand. “How are
you?”

“
Busy. Lot's of deliveries
so I've got to get going.”

Will grabbed Jimmy's hand, inspected a
fresh scrape across his wrist and knuckles. “What's
this?”

“
Just a scratch. Some
asshole in a silver convertible cut me off when I tried to pull up
in front and I nearly dumped the moped. He's still out there
sitting in his car, staring up at the building. Kinda
creepy.”

Will and Kylie exchanged a look.
“Probably just waiting for someone,” said Will. “Have Eileen clean
this up and put some iodine on it.”

Jimmy gave him a salute. “Sure thing,
boss.” With a wave he was gone. Both Kylie and Will moved the
window blind and peered out. Sure enough, Drew's car was parked
directly under the apartment.

“
You realize now that he's
seen you with me,” whispered Kylie, “you're officially
involved.”

Will looked down into her eyes as they
stood sharing the same peephole. Kylie felt her heart leap as her
nerve endings tingled to life. “I think I'm already officially
involved,” he said, his tone husky. She watched the blue in his
eyes soften to smokey gray as passion filled them.

“
What are you looking at?”
demanded Max.

Will blinked, then quickly shut the
blind and turned Kylie toward the kitchen. “We're just making sure
Jimmy doesn't wipe out on his moped.”

“
Jimmy promised me a ride.
He said he was going to ask you if it was okay. Is it, Dad? Is it
okay?”

Thank God kids are so easily diverted,
thought Kylie, listening as Will laid down rules involving the
right setting with a helmet. The table had been set and Will placed
several take-out cartons in the center.

They feasted on the best curried
chicken Kylie had ever tasted. It came with basmati rice and a
variety of miniature roasted vegetables with herbs. Dessert was a
creamy Neapolitan mousse that had Max licking his plate, with Kylie
doing the same in his honor. That earned her an appreciative laugh
from Max and a big grin from Will.

Afterward Will loaded the dishwasher
while Kylie pulled out her Monopoly board. They played a noisy,
raucous game that went on for over an hour. Thanks to some clever
coaching on Will and Kylie's part, Max came out the champion. High
fives gave way to sleepy eyes and Will laid Max on the sofa with a
pillow and blanket.

Kylie went to the window. Drew was
still out there, undoubtedly having worked himself into a state for
the past two hours. It made her stomach roil.

With Max hard asleep on the sofa, Will
joined Kylie. “I'd like to go out there and have a word with him,”
he murmured.

“
I'd like to go out there
and wring his neck. But that would make me just like him, wouldn't
it?” She turned, deliberately closing the blind slat. “He's reduced
my life to sneaking up fire escapes and looking over my shoulder.
I'm the one who needs to speak with him. I'm going to call him and
set up a meeting in a public place. That way he can't pull anything
physical on me and I can let him know in no uncertain terms that I
want him out of my life.”

Will saw resolve and determination
settle over her and realized she was a fighter who would stand up
for herself. She'd make one helluva great mother to the baby she
now carried.

Will handed her his phone. “Here, use
my cell. If he tries to return the call he'll be blocked
again.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure
you're going to block his number?”

“
I'll block it, don't
worry.” Just not right away, he mused.

She took the phone and punched in
Drew's number, went to the window.

He took a moment to answer.
“Yes?”

“
It's me, Kylie.”

She watched as his body went rigid in
his seat.

“
Who's phone is
this?”

“
Does it matter?”

He abruptly changed his tone of voice.
“I'm glad you called. I want to tell you how sorry I am, for
everything. Please, can I come up?”

“
That's a definite no. We
can...”

“
Why? You're not alone, are
you.”

There it was, the whining tone she'd
so recently been introduced to. Quickly he tried to retract it. “I
mean, you're entitled to have company.” Another head spinning
reversal. How could she have missed this so very crucial aspect of
him while they'd been dating?

“
Whether I have company or
not is none of your business. The point is, I want to meet with
you, Drew. I'll see you at The Dancing Pig in the Village in thirty
minutes on one condition: you leave now.” It was a thriving local
pub within walking distance for her but just far enough away so
that Drew would drive.

She ended the call and watched him
glance up at her window, then slowly pull away from the
curb.

“
Okay,” she said to Will,
“now's your chance to leave. Sorry, but you'll have to wake
up...”

“
It's mid week. The Dancing
Pig won't be that busy.”

“
Busy enough. I'll just have
a quick word with him and then come straight home.”

“
Are you taking your
car?”

“
I'll walk. That way I
can...”

“
...be a target for him when
he comes out all mad and wants to run you down. Kylie, think this
through. I could take you in my Jeep. You'd go inside, have your
say, then you'd come out and I'd drive you home. It's a safer
option.”