But damn it, he had dealt with Kettle two years ago, so it really didn't matter if he quit now. Another scumbag convict from his past could always come back to haunt him. He had pissed off plenty of law-breakers in the last decade. So, honestly, the only safe bet for Willow would be to take him out of the equation all together.
Bile rose in this throat again and he closed his eyes, heaving nothing but air. He didn't notice he had company until his stomach had stopped contracting. Seeing movement from the corner of his eye, he jerked up and stopped cold.
"Oh, God," he gasped.
Judge DeVane watched him, his hands in his pockets and his eyes passive and free of any kind of sympathy or even hatred. Raith straightened and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He wasn't ready for this confrontation. He didn't want to hear her father rant and rave about him staying away from her. He already knew he had to leave. He couldn't put her in harm's way again. He had to cut his losses and move on. Then she and Bubble could be safe.
"Look," he started, holding up a hand to ward the judge off. "Just—"
Just what? He had no idea what he wanted to say. He wanted to apologize, he wanted to beg for forgiveness and tell the judge he never should've gone anywhere near Willow, but he was too selfish to regret what they'd had together.
"Willow's looking for you," the judge said before Raith could spill out any kind of apology.
Raith blinked. "What?"
"I said Willow's looking for you."
Raith shook his head. "But—" This wasn't right. The man was supposed to curse and yell and warn him away from his little girl.
"What did you think I was going to say?" DeVane asked, sounding amused. "Think I was going to tell you to stay away from her?"
Well, yeah.
The judge finally let out a fleeting smile. He shrugged. "Sorry, but despite what I think about you impregnating her and then not speaking to her for weeks afterward, you're the one she chose. So it's my job to make sure you don't run away again."
Raith's mouth fell open. Huh?
The judge sighed and frowned as if weary with dealing with him. "Let me tell you a little story, Malloy."
"Your Honor, I don't think—"
"Shut up and listen."
Raith shut up and listened.
"A long time ago," the judge started, "right before I married Willow's mother, there was a man in this county who beat his wife to death and was sitting in jail, waiting for his hearing. I was the county attorney at that time, and I fought to get his bail denied, but the judge said no, and the piece of trash got out on bond. Just as I predicted, he jumped bail and skipped out of his trial." The judge shrugged, looking beaten down all of the sudden. "While he was on the run from the police, he raped one woman he thought I was interested in before he realized Brenda was my true soft spot."
He paused significantly and stared Raith straight in the eye to make sure he had the younger man's attention.
A shiver of dread raced up Raith's spine. "What'd he do to her?"
"He shot her," the judge answered simply. "Only caught her in the leg. But still..." Fisting his hand, he continued, "He tried to kill my Brenda... because of me. So don't think I don't know what you're going through right now, kid. I know. I've been there and stood in that waiting room, wondering if the woman I loved was going to die or not… because of my stupid job. I know exactly what you're thinking."
"You can't honestly tell me Willow would be safer with me around her."
DeVane pierced him with a probing stare. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Raith shook his head, but Willow's father spoke before he could voice his argument. "I know this is hard. You're thinking you need to stay as far away from her and the baby as you can get. None of your enemies can hurt them if they don't know you care. They'll be safer that way, right? Or you're thinking you could quit your job and everything will be fine. But it won't. Evil will always roam this world and people will try to hurt her no matter what you decide. So… don't you want to stick around, fight the bad and protect her as much as you can? Or do you want to run and risk letting her and the baby face it all by themselves?"
Raith didn't answer.
"Think about this too," the judge added. "If I'd left Brenda when I'd thought it was the best thing for her, if I'd stayed away, we never would've married. Willow wouldn't exist today. None of my children or my grandchildren would've been born. I would've missed out on the best years of my life.
"Your father was a very good and brave man, Malloy. I'm sure he never would've wished the misery of his tragic death on you and your family. But he took a chance, and your mother told me at his funeral she was grateful to have known such a wonderful person. She was thankful for the time she had with him."
Shaking his head, Raith said, "How does that have anything to do with—"
"Don't cheat my daughter out of any happiness you can give her."
"Hey. What's going on back here?"
The judge turned and eyed his daughter as she joined them. Then he grinned and looped an arm around her shoulder. "Did you know this fiancé you picked out had such a weak stomach?"
Willow frowned in concern and started forward. "Raith?" she said, going straight to him. "Are you okay?"
He rubbed a hand over his belly.
"I think you passed your morning sickness off to him," her dad teased.
Willow rolled her eyes. "I wish."
She didn't notice how he melted out of the picture and left her alone in the alley with Raith. She was too busy lifting her hand to his forehead. He sighed in delight at the cool touch of her fingers.
"What's wrong?" she murmured, concern evident in every crinkle marking her brow.
He spurted out a surprised laughed. "Are you kidding me? You just scared ten years off my life, woman. What do you think's wrong?"
Puzzled, she cocked her head to the side and sent him a perplexed look. "You threw up because you were scared for me?"
Raith shifted uncomfortably and glanced away, unable to keep eye contact. "It was better than breaking down and bawling like a little girl."
Willow grinned. "I like the idea of you crying over me." She brushed a hand over his hair.
Emotion swelling tight in his chest, he tugged her into his arms and crushed her in a rib-breaking hug. Willow sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm glad you're okay," he breathed out the words, ruffling her hair as he spoke. "Oh, God. I'm so glad."
Smiling, Willow moved closer only to pause when her hip brushed against something hard. Eyes flying open, she lifted her face.
"Raith Malloy," she scolded. "You nasty horn dog. I can't be around you for two seconds without you getting turned on, can I?"
He frowned and pulled back. "Huh?"
Willow glanced down at the lump in is his pants and noticed it was shaped wrong to be what she'd originally assumed. "What is that?" She reached for his pocket before he could stop her.
He grabbed her wrist, but she'd already latched her fingers around the velvet box. Mouth falling open, she yanked it out into the open, flipped up the lid, and gaped at her engagement ring.
"Will you put that back?" he snapped, reaching for it.
Willow turned, holding it away from him so she could continue to stare. "Why? It's for me, isn't it?"
She liberated the jewel. But before she put it on, Raith covered her hand. Scowling, she lifted her face.
"I caused that man to come after you," he said.
Willow sighed and rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious," he growled. "I piss off a lot of bad people every day. Being with me is going to put you in danger."
Willow merely searched his eyes before she smiled softly. "Bring it on, big boy."
Raith sucked in a breath, "Are you sure?"
"Will you just put this damn ring on my finger?"
He grinned. "Jesus, woman. Don't push. I'll get there when I get there."
Willow rolled her eyes again, "Oh, brother. You are the most pigheaded, stubborn—"
"Will you shut up so I can propose already?"
Grinning, she shut up and held out her hand for him to slide the ring on.
Sighing, he obligingly took her finger and held the ring on the tip before slipping it all the way on. "Once this thing goes on, it doesn't come off," he warned. "Because once I saw you, I could only think of you. Once I had you, I knew I could only be with you. No one else. I love you, Willow DeVane."
For once, Willow was speechless. She blinked back the moisture gathering in her lashes and beamed up at him, her finger outstretched and waiting.
The ring went on. And it never came off again.
Epilogue
Dragging a garden hose across his yard toward the driveway where his new Ford sat anticipating its first official washing, Raith paused when the front door of his house opened. The female who emerged grinned when she saw him, her face lighting up with pleasure. Her long hair, its natural silken red and brunette highlights reflecting off the sun, flowed over her shoulder as she bounded off the porch.
He scowled back. "Oh, hell no. You're not wearing that out of this house."
She paused, the smile freezing on her face. Glancing down, she asked, "Why? What's wrong with my outfit?"
"There isn't one; that's what's wrong. Now go inside and put some damn clothes on."
Shoulders sagging, she sent him a dry look. "Dad, it's like a million degrees outside." She rolled her eyes, emphasizing her annoyance. "I know you always want me to be covered from neck to ankle, but seriously, I'll melt to death if I put on any more than this."
"Then go inside and stay in the air conditioning until the weather cools," he suggested, just as dryly.
"Can't." She looked smug as she skipped closer. "Noel's going to be here any minute to pick me up."
Raith went very still. "Who?" His mood, which had been wonderful a minute before, altered from sour to downright ominous. But the very name Noel tended put him in a bad temper. "Just where do you think you're going with him?"
"There's an ice cream social on the square this afternoon."
Folding his arms over his chest, he arched an eyebrow. "We talked about this, Tessa. No dating until you're sixteen. And last I checked, that's still three months away. If you think I'm going to allow you out with some boy any earlier, you're—"
"It's not a date." Her impatient sigh sounded excessively like her mother's. "I'm meeting a bunch of friends there. Noel just happens to be going too. He said he could stop by and give me a lift." Crossing her own arms over her chest, she mirrored his intimidating stance. "His sister's going too. She'll be in the car with us the entire time. And besides, Mom already said I could go."
Raith gritted his teeth. Damn Willow, anyway. She was too much of a pushover, always letting Tessa run wild in the big, bad world. He hadn't sweated through fifteen years of raising their one and only daughter, just to let her prance off and get herself hurt by some dirty-minded boy. He knew exactly what kind of thoughts ran through the minds of horny teenagers. They were exactly like the very thoughts running though his own mind when the front door opened again and his wife stepped outside, wearing about as little as his daughter wore.
After fifteen years of marriage, she was still heart-stoppingly beautiful.
Willow quirked a brow when she saw the hose in his hand. "Are you playing with your new truck again? I swear that hunk of metal sees more attention than I do." Though she set her hands on her hips in a stern manner, the twinkle in her eyes revealed her teasing.
He opened his mouth to tell her he'd give her some attention when a car pulled into the drive behind his truck, its loud bass pulsating through the air and vibrating the windows of his new Ford. Already prepared to despise whatever he saw, Raith turned slowly. The tiny souped-up foreign car with tinted windows, lightning stripes painted up the sides and a lowered frame, did not ease his reservations in the least.
"Oh, hell no," he repeated, swallowing because he already knew he'd be outvoted no matter how much of a stink he made.
"Relax, Dad." Tessa patted his arm, though her glowing smile was all for the Mazda as the driver's side door opened. "He's an honor student."
Raith didn't much care if Noel was a rocket scientist. Einstein had probably spent his fair share of time chasing tail and trying to get laid, too.
The kid who appeared from behind the tinted window of the opened door made Raith growl under his breath. A little disappointed the boy didn't sport a rash of tattoos, clothes that advertised green-leafy substances, or hair dyed all colors of the rainbow, Raith grew even more upset. Damn it, the little shit actually looked like an honor student with his pressed khaki shorts and collared shirt. He made it hard for Raith to find a reason to complain.
Tessa skipped toward him, looking way too eager to ease her father's worries. Noel glowed in return, his face lighting up with utter adoration.
Raith wanted to remove the boy's pearly white teeth.
One at a time.
With pliers.
"Ready?" Noel asked Tessa.