by Dana Mentink
He waved a hand. “Naw, I’m fine.” He smoothed a hand over his jaw. “But is it really necessary that we get to the office at six thirty when the party doesn’t start until noon?”
“Sorry, but yes. I have a million things to do. Can I make it up to you with a good cup of coffee when we get there? I’ve got my own special blend ready to perk up a pot.”
He smiled. “A good cup of coffee will get you plenty of forgiveness from this cop. Throw in a muffin and I’m your devoted servant for life.”
“You need to get yourself one of these brownies,” Vivienne said as she entered, holding up a napkin containing a half-eaten, gooey treat. “Wait until you taste these caramel thingies. Francine was a rock star to help out.”
He gaped. “My mom baked these?”
Vivienne grinned. “Yes and no. I got Penny the ingredients for her famous chocolate-caramel whopper bars and she mixed up two batches. Your mom baked them at her place since there’s no oven here. Didn’t you know?”
He shrugged. “I’ve been trying to follow up on some leads in the evenings when Rain is sleeping, so I’m kind of out of touch.” He raised an eyebrow at Vivienne. “Brownies for breakfast, Officer?”
Vivienne sniffed. “Life is short, Tyler. One must not turn down the blessed gift of a homemade dessert no matter when it’s provided.”
Penny laughed. “You are easily pleased, friend.”
“Never underestimate the power contained in a sweet treat made with love. I’ll get my pack. Be right back.” She popped the rest of the brownie into her mouth and disappeared into the bathroom.
“Vivienne is a good roommate,” Penny said fondly.
Tyler smiled at her. “It’s nice to see you looking so happy.”
She shrugged. “I love party planning. It’s going to be so much fun to see everyone having a good time together. Your mom and Rain are coming, right?”
“Mom will bring Rain over and drop her off with us on her way to get a tooth fixed and come back after to join us. They’ll be there at noon when it starts.” He yawned again. “I should just about be awake by then.”
“A shot of coffee and a couple of these brownies and you’ll be doing wind sprints,” Vivienne said, returning. She picked up a bag filled with party supplies and Penny and Tyler each carried a box. They paraded down to the back parking lot with the three dogs in tow. Tyler made them wait in the building while he checked the lot before he signaled to them to come out. Dusty and Scrappy sprawled contentedly in the back of Tyler’s car and Penny took a spot in the passenger seat.
Vivienne slammed the trunk closed and loaded Hank into her own vehicle. After a thumbs-up, she drove out of the parking lot first. Tyler waited a few moments for her all-clear report before he followed.
“My mom must really like you if she’s baking up your brownies.”
“I think she would do that for anyone.”
“She’s not much of a baker. There was one cake episode I recall from my childhood that wound up with a fire-department response. I’m sure she was extra diligent with your treats. Somehow I think she’d do anything for you.” He sighed.
“Because she’s trying to set you up with a girlfriend?”
Now it was his turn to look chagrined. “It’s her life mission to see me settled down. I told you before she feels responsible for how things ended with Diane. She got some worrying signals while we were dating, but she never spoke up because I was head over heels for Diane and I probably wouldn’t have listened, anyway. My dad was a powerful personality, and I think she learned how to keep her opinions to herself. We all did.”
She cocked her head in his direction. “That must have been difficult.”
He shrugged. “Dad was never comfortable showing emotions, except for disapproval. Mom was the nurturer and she was more patient than you can imagine with two boys. Since my brother is in the service, she’s focused all her energies on me and Rain. I’m grateful for that. I don’t know how I would manage the single-dad thing without her. Anyway, she’s determined to right the sinking Walker ship for Rain’s sake. I’m sorry if it’s made you feel awkward.”
“I think it’s had that effect more on you than me.”
“Maybe so. I’ve been gun-shy of relationships, so I have my radar up all the time.” He frowned. “Except when I’m with you.” His tone was puzzled.
“Should I be flattered or disappointed?”
He flicked a quick glance at her before his gaze returned to the road. “I’m not sure I’m much of a prize.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Cop hours, single dad...” He hesitated. “Jaded older guy. Not the most attractive package.”
“You love your daughter. There’s nothing more attractive than that.”
He shot her a sidelong glance. “Do you really think so?”
She felt suddenly uneasy, and laced her fingers in her lap. She’d just told the man he was attractive. Her nerves fluttered. “I wouldn’t have said it if I hadn’t meant it.”
“I...” His eyes fixed on something in the rearview mirror, narrowing for a moment.
She could detect nothing but the normal New York traffic as they drove along, but his hands tightened on the wheel.
Her stomach knotted in an instant. “What?”
“Probably nothing. There’s a vehicle two car lengths back, a grey truck. Can’t see the driver. Could be purely innocent, but it’s been behind us for a bit now.”
Randall? Could he have gotten hold of another vehicle? Of course he could—he was capable of anything. She forced her fingers to loosen their death grip. In the side mirror she could barely see the truck. The memory surfaced of being locked in Randall’s trunk, hands bound and mouth taped, utterly helpless.
Not helpless, she told herself sharply. You kicked out the taillight and helped Tyler find you.
But if he hadn’t...
If he’d been a moment later...
She remembered the glint of the knife as Randall ran toward her. His green eyes had told her with absolute certainty that he intended to kill her.
She tried to push down the rising wave of panic. Cold sweat prickled her neck.
Tyler pulled down a side street. Her pulse hammered as she watched out the side mirror. The seconds ticked by, and the grey truck did not follow.
Tyler turned left and left again, circling back as traffic allowed. There was still no sign of the truck.
“Looks like we’re clear.” Tyler offered a reassuring smile. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The profound relief dizzied her. “Better safe than sorry.”
“Right.”
But she noticed that Tyler still did not appear quite as relaxed as he had before. Guilt rose alongside the relief. He was on edge and it was because she’d insisted on having the open house. She kept telling herself it was for the officers and their families, how disappointed they would be if the event was canceled. The reality was that Penny would be the most devastated of them all.
“Tyler, am I being selfish?” she blurted out.
He blinked at her. “About what?”
“Insisting on staying at work? Going forward with this party?” She looked out the window rather than at him. She could not bear to see condemnation. “The open house could have been postponed, or...” She swallowed. “It could have happened without me.”
“No,” he said, taking her hand. His hands were strong and warm. “It couldn’t. No cop in the unit would consider canceling. It’s important to you and you’re important to all of us. You’ve helped make us a family, Penny.”
She blushed. “You’d be a family without me.”
“No. A family needs a rallying point, someone to remind them that relationships are the most important thing. You do that for us.” He paused and his voice pitched lower. “You do that for me.”
She knew her face was pink with pleasure. Was that what he really thought? Could she actually be the person he saw? A woman who helped glue their police family together? She went warm all over at his last words.
You do that for me.
But confusion seeped in through the pleasure. Did he mean friendship? Or did his heart beat with something much deeper, as she felt hers doing? She had no idea what to say.
“I know this is a bad time in your life, but after it’s over, you’ll be free to go after your goals. What do you want, Penny?”
“A family,” she said instantly. “That’s what I’ve always wanted.”
His hand squeezed hers and he started to reply when his radio crackled and he released her.
Could she possibly be a part of Tyler’s family one day? It made her breath catch to think of it. She wanted to mull over his words and hold them up to the autumn sunlight, examine them like the spectacularly colored fall leaves, but they’d pulled into a spot in front of headquarters and her musings would have to wait.
Hurrying inside, she plunged immediately into preparing the coffee and putting out the brownies. The treat quickly drew the early shift personnel, who seemed to share Vivienne’s idea that brownies were a perfectly acceptable breakfast food. Everyone volunteered to help with the setup and she put them to work.
Her next job was decorating the conference room, and she firmly put out of her mind the horrible puppet box delivered to the police station. Nothing like that would happen again. Randall was not welcome in her thoughts. Today would be a celebration, a time to enjoy her police family. Tyler’s earlier words came back to her.
A family needs a rallying point, someone to remind them that relationships are the most important thing... You do that for me.
A little wisp of pleasure circled inside her as she covered the tables with festive fall cloths and added the tiny hay bales and smiling scarecrows. Jackson and Vivienne started prepping a lavish luncheon buffet in the kitchen so families would have plenty of choices. There would be everything from vegetarian lasagna to crispy fried lumpia. The dessert table was already crowded with pies and homemade fudge. Gavin’s wife, Brianne, had brought two dozen of her famous caramel apples, spangled with sprinkles and chocolate chips. The pot of apple cider she’d set simmering on the stove would be the crowning autumn touch.
Another room was set up with activities for the kids. The pumpkin-cookie decorating station and dress-up clothes promised to be a hit with all the youngsters, especially Rain, she thought. And if all else failed, there was her surefire party pleaser—puppies.
Dr. Gina had already gated off a corner for a puppy play area and Brooke and her fuzzy babies were snoozing in an untidy pile of fat tummies and curvy tails. Gina had tied fall handkerchiefs around each animal’s neck. Purely adorable, Penny thought. If that didn’t make everyone stop and enjoy the party, nothing would.
Penny noted Gina gazing at the happy canines, a little crease between her eyebrows. She was probably wondering if Joel Carey would show up with proof that he owned the dog family, like he’d promised. Best not to dwell on that possibility at the moment.
The phone at her desk rang and she scurried to answer it. Technically, the office was not open for business matters on Saturday, but she was expecting a call from the local homeless shelter confirming that they would pick up all the leftover pumpkins to distribute to the children staying there.
“Brooklyn K-9 Unit,” she said.
Silence.
“Hello? Is there anyone there?”
The connection ended. Her phone flashed the number from where the call had come. Local area code. Should she be worried? She no longer had the ability to distinguish worry from paranoia.
Henry called to her from the doorway. “Penny, where do you want this hay bale?”
“It’s for the photo corner. I’ll show you.” After quickly texting Tyler about the hang-up call, she scurried back to the party plans.
* * *
“My guys are trying to get a location on that call,” Caleb said. “Just in case it was Randall.” Tyler found it disconcerting to talk to the FBI agent while he was dressed in overalls and a straw hat. Penny and Vivienne had talked him into being Farmer Black in the small pumpkin-patch area where the kids would be able to choose a pumpkin. “Beat cops are checking the area. No sign of Randall Gage.”
“Could be unrelated,” Tyler mused.
“Could be.”
Lani appeared at his elbow. “Gavin pulled an extra unit to patrol the block until the party is over as a precaution.”
Tyler relaxed a fraction. The building was secure. Even if it was Randall calling, he was not going to get anywhere near Penny, Bradley or anyone else. Still, he would keep his antenna on alert for the first sign of danger.
The office was buzzing with activity. A feeling of longing poked at him as he watched families arriving, moms and dads leading their excited children by the hand. Willow and Nate led Lucy in.
Tyler bent down to greet her. “Hello, Lucy. I’m so glad to see you. Rain will be here soon, and she’d love to play with you.”
The child pressed her cheek into Willow’s thigh.
“She’s a little shy,” Willow said.
“Totally fine.” The girl had a right to be withdrawn. He saw in her what Penny might have been like as a child. Already the victim of neglect and then to become an orphan after witnessing her parents’ execution? At least Lucy had an amazing couple to adopt her, as Penny had. He watched the threesome walk by. Nate hoisted Lucy up on his shoulders. Her squeak of laughter penetrated the party noise. A perfect family, he thought.
Why did he keep picturing himself and Penny squiring Rain around the festivities? Since Diane had left, he’d written his single-dad identity in stone, but something was chipping away at that stone at an ever increasing rate. A certain red-haired, freckle-faced, tenderhearted woman. She wanted an intact family, and so did he. She loved Rain, like he did.
But the rules...the solid reasons he’d pondered why dating Penny was a bad idea.
He blinked. “I need coffee,” he said aloud. He’d turned in that direction as his mother arrived with Rain in tow. Thanks to Grandma, Rain’s yellow pants and sweater actually matched and her hair was neatly contained in two curly pigtails. He was getting to be pretty masterful at wrestling her curly mop under the control of a half-dozen barrettes, but he was a long way from conquering pigtails. Babby was clutched under Rain’s arm. She immediately reached for him. “Daddy.”
Francine handed her over. “Be good, baby. See you soon.”
Daddy. How he relished hearing that word. Someday she would look around and wonder why she didn’t have a mommy like the other kids. That thought struck him hard until he reminded himself that for the moment Rain wanted him, adored him, favored him out of all other people in the world. That made his heart swell, until Penny walked in and Rain immediately stuck out her arms in her direction.
“Enny,” she said.
Penny laughed and Tyler handed over his daughter, mildly offended and thrilled at the same time. It was clear that Rain adored Penny. That thought made his nerves tumble. His daughter was not afraid to open her heart fully to this woman. Should he follow suit? Embrace the images his imagination supplied of the three of them together, enjoying life? But what about his list of excellent reasons to shy away? And what if down the road Penny decided she did not love him enough to stay, just as Diane had concluded? His skin went cold.
“Earth to Tyler.”
He jerked from his thoughts as Caleb shoved a large cardboard carton at him. “Congratulations, Detective, you’ve been nominated to go lug the other box of pumpkins from the storage room and bring them here.”
Tyler chuckled. “I have? Why don’t you do it? You’re the big burly farmer.”
“I know, and my muscles are way bigger than yours, but I’m busy pulling weeds a
nd keeping the crows out of my pumpkin patch and that’s a full-time job. Hop to it, Walker. The kids are waiting.”
Tyler saluted. “Yes, sir, Farmer Black.” He turned to Penny. “Is it okay if Rain stays with you for a while?”
“Of course. I’ll help her decorate a cookie.” She snuggled Rain close, and Tyler noted how his daughter relaxed in her embrace, cheek pressed close to Penny’s. Two peas in a pod, his mother would say.
Best not to think about that. In the storage room, he located the box of pumpkins and hauled it where he’d been directed. He, Caleb and Vivienne laid them out in the pretend pumpkin patch to the delight of the waiting children. Caleb, grinning from ear to ear, took his spot next to a bale of hay.
“All right, children,” he announced in a booming voice. “Who would like to pick out one of my prize-winning pumpkins to take home? You won’t find a finer set of pumpkins anywhere, I guarantee. Best pumpkins in the whole state of New York, maybe even the world.” There was a chorus of excited voices and several children trotted happily into the patch.
Vivienne eyed her husband adoringly. “He’s really getting into the role, isn’t he? I even saw him looking at tractors online.”
“Watch out or you’ll be trading in your badge for a pitchfork,” Tyler warned.
She laughed. “If that’s where life takes us, I’m in. Police work or pumpkins. As long as we’re together, we can do anything.”
He felt the swell of longing again as he watched Vivienne join Caleb and press a kiss to his cheek. Tyler searched for Penny and Rain.
He spotted Penny at the decorating table, helping Rain select a sugar cookie from the pile. Of course, his daughter had picked the one on the bottom, so Penny was delicately rearranging the tower of treats to accommodate.
His cell phone buzzed with a text from Bradley. Call me. His heart ticked up a notch. He caught Penny’s eye, gesturing with his cell phone that he needed to make a call. When she nodded, he stepped out and went to his cubicle. Dusty followed along.