Alice Carpenter

by McKay's Heroine (lit)

  The little girl laughed with childish delight. "This is neat! Why do you call him Bunc? That’s a funny name."

  "Well, when we first found him we put him in a shoe box. He crawled out every time we put him in, so we put him in a bigger box. His eyes weren’t open yet, so it wasn’t safe to let him crawl around the house. Besides, we had to put a hot water bottle in his box to keep him warm enough. If he’d crawled around, he would’ve gotten too cold. Anyway, since he was so rambunctious, we called him ‘Bunc’ for short."

  Bunc finished his bottle and meowed again. "You’ve had enough, you little piglet. Wait until your tummy gets the message that it’s really full. You’re already too chubby." Nikki caressed the stomach that looked and felt like a bloated golf ball.

  Nikki held the kitten up to her cheek. He nuzzled her face, crawled onto her shoulder, and curled up amongst the red strands of her hair. He gave a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a nap.

  "How come he does that?" Briana questioned, as she watched the kitten who had started to purr softly.

  "I think it’s because the hair reminds him of his mom. My hair is the closest thing to fur that he knows of and it makes him feel secure."

  "Oh." And Briana was off again with her twenty questions. Nikki patiently answered them as Jarrod and Lainey cleaned up the dinner dishes.

  "Is anyone ready for cherry pie?" Lainey called through the doorway into the living room.

  "Me, me!" Briana abandoned Nikki and the kitten to run into the kitchen. "I want pie. I’m starved."

  Jarrod laughed. "After all that dinner you ate? I don’t think so."

  "Yes I am, my tummy’s hollow, see." And she sucked in her stomach to show him.

  Lainey laughed and held out two plates for Briana to carry. "Take one into Nikki, okay sweetie?"

  Briana took both plates and walked carefully into the other room. Both McKays raved about the delicious pie. Lainey made sure Jarrod and Briana knew that she had made dinner, but Nikki was the dessert maker.

  Nikki rolled her eyes at the Lainey’s obvious remark. Just what any man wanted most . . . a woman who could bake. There was more to life than desserts. She should know.

  Chapter 9

  Jarrod leaned back in the lawn chair with a sigh. It had been an extremely horrible, very long day. He took a long drink from the beer bottle then set the bottle on the deck. Briana was finally asleep. The sliding glass door was open so he could hear if she woke up from yet another nightmare.

  His hands tightened into fists as he thought about the bruise on his daughter’s small cheek. If he ever got hold of Davies, he’d kill him for what he’d done. If not for Nikki . . . A shudder ran through Jarrod’s body at the thought of Briana still in Davies’ hands.

  Unwilling to dwell on Davies and the things he’d done, Jarrod’s thoughts turned to Nikki. She was tall and beautiful with her long, curly red hair. and bright emerald green eyes framed in naturally dark lashes. Her hair was gorgeous, especially when it had been loose and flowed down her back. Her skin was the color of peaches and cream, and unlike most redheads, she didn’t have any freckles. There had been no sign of makeup on her fair skin. She didn’t need it.

  She had an hourglass figure. High firm breasts, a trim waist that flared out to rounded hips. Her legs, so long and graceful. What would she look like in shorts or a dress? She was more beautiful than the women on the covers of magazines at the checkout stand - and that was when she was bruised and mussed.

  What would it be like to kiss those lips and hold her in his arms? He pushed the thought firmly away. After what she’d been through, she’d no doubt never want to see either of them again. He grimaced as he remembered the way she’d acted after they’d had dinner and dessert at Lainey’s, then took another drink of beer.

  Despite himself, his thoughts immediately went back to Nikki. Besides her looks, she was as tough as she was gentle. Gentle enough to comfort a small child, and gutsy enough to take her away from her abductor. Tough enough to break the man’s nose who tried to kill her, and compassionate enough that her first question was about Bri’s safety.

  A woman in control. Of herself and her surroundings, Jarrod mused. An intriguing woman indeed. Does she have a steady boyfriend? I wonder what her voice normally sounds like? The husky voice had sent little shivers along his spine. It had been a long time since a woman made him feel so much. Nicole was the exact opposite of Chloe. Maybe that was what made her so appealing. His thoughts turned to his ex-wife.

  Chloe had been petite, blonde and clingy. Chloe had also left Briana, only three-days old, alone in the house and moved out. Jarrod had come home to a screaming baby and an empty house. Well, not entirely empty - only everything of value that could be sold to buy drugs or alcohol. She’d also emptied the joint checking account.

  Luckily, Jarrod had known better than to let her have credit cards or access to the savings and business accounts. He’d still be in debt or trying to recover from bankruptcy if he had. It really amazed him how much of a user she had been. A user of people and substances, alcohol and drugs most of all.

  It was a miracle that Briana had been born healthy and intelligent. She had been a little underweight at birth, but she’d rapidly made up for that. Briana must have gotten more of my genes than Chloe’s. Thank God!

  Briana had been a planned event for Chloe and an unplanned event for Jarrod. Chloe claimed she was on the pill, Jarrod had made a serious mistake - he’d believed her.

  Jarrod ended their short-lived affair when he found out about her drug and alcohol addictions. Chloe turned up two months later and claimed the baby she carried was his.

  She only wanted money. He was still bitter. The only reason she had gotten pregnant was to try and get money. Basically, she sold her, our, baby.

  Unfortunately for her, Jarrod wouldn’t give her a dime unless she married him, signed a prenuptial agreement, and stayed clean. He wasn’t going to have an illegitimate, drug-addicted child if he had anything to say about it. He wasn’t naive enough to think she had remained clean the entire time they’d been married, but he’d certainly curtailed her habit with his rigid control of money. One thing he hadn’t been able to control was her tendency to sleep with any man who was willing, even when she was pregnant with his child.

  The day he brought his new daughter home from the hospital, Chloe had demanded her money. Since the blood test he’d insisted on proved beyond a doubt that Briana was his, he paid Chloe off. The next day he’d come home from work to find her, and most of the furnishings, gone.

  Jarrod had filed charges immediately with the police for abandonment and child endangerment. He’d also filed for a divorce on the same grounds. Since they lived in California you didn’t have to state a reason for your divorce, but he believed in covering all his bases. If for some reason Chloe did come back or tried to get custody of Briana at a later date, it would be ammunition to use against her.

  Chloe hadn’t come back, yet, which was for the best. As far as he was concerned, the only good thing to come out of that relationship was Briana. He and Briana were both better off without her.

  There were times when he got lonely and wished for a wife to share the load. His daughter could use the influence of a mother. But he had given up. The few women he’d dated since Briana’s birth had either ignored her totally, treated her like an unloved, unwanted pet, or been so overly friendly Briana hadn’t been able to stand them.

  The only woman whom Jarrod had been intimately involved with since Chloe left, had the gall to suggest they let someone else adopt Briana or send her to boarding school. Needless to say, the woman was the one that was gone. He’d give up Briana over his dead body.

  His thoughts veered back to Nicole. He already knew that she liked children, the most important thing, and that they were attracted to each other, the second most important thing. The second was absolutely no good without the first, he’d found that out the hard way. And, he reminded himself, he knew better than to get his hopes up. A
fter all, he’d just met her.

  He’d never had such an instant, almost overpowering reaction to a woman before. He had been aware of her since the moment he’d started to think again and not been running on fear because his daughter had been abducted. Her scent, light with a floral undertone, tantalized him. She had definitely reacted to him too.

  Granted, some of it was surprise at his height. He grinned again. He’d bet there weren’t too many men out there that made her feel petite. There was something that excited him about a woman that tall. He wouldn’t have to feel he was out with a child if he was with her.

  He’d also caught a flash of awareness in her eyes and something else. He frowned thoughtfully. Was it desire, wistfulness, fear? It had come and gone so quickly he wasn’t sure what it had been. She definitely was not indifferent.

  He slouched down in the chair even further and sighed. Right now the point was moot.

  * * * * *

  Nikki lay in her own bed and tried to sleep. She was exhausted, but sleep just wouldn’t come.

  Her mind replayed the evening’s events. The McKays had gone soon after dessert was finished. Briana’s lower lip had started to quiver when Jarrod said it was time to go. She hadn’t wanted to leave. She wanted to sleep over at Nikki’s.

  When were they going to see Nikki again? When could she feed Bunc again? Could Lainey make them hot dogs and French fries next time? Could Nikki make chocolate cake? Nikki had tried to put her off gently to no avail.

  She cringed when she remembered how Jarrod’s eyes had turned to ice. He obviously thought she just tried to brush them off. He had ordered, not asked, Nikki to bring the estimate for the car repair to him. Eyes glinted when he had insisted that he would pay for the damages, he didn’t want her insurance rates to go up because of what had happened that day. All the while he’d looked right through her as if he were disappointed in her behavior.

  Nikki sighed and rolled over carefully. She just couldn’t get comfortable. Her ribs and head hurt too much. It was really better this way, she tried to convince herself. She would have gotten in way over her head with the McKays. If he was mad at her, he wouldn’t bother to come around. That assumed he was ever interested in the first place.

  If that’s what she wanted, why did it bother her so much? She shouldn’t feel sad that she’d never see Briana’s smile or Jarrod’s scowl again. With a sigh, she rolled over once more.

  She really had to get some sleep. She had some new ideas for Carl Jacobs’ proposal. Tomorrow she’d have enough time to work on them and get them ready for Friday’s meeting. She’d have to call Saul and make sure the car was taken care of. He’d give her an estimate for the damage. Maybe she’d mail it to Jarrod instead of dropping it by his office like he’d ordered.

  Nikki dropped off to sleep eventually. But Lainey woke her up every hour or so to check for signs of concussion, so she felt as if she didn’t get any sleep at all. Just before dawn the nightmare came again. Screams. Blood. Pain. Fear. No, Daddy, stop! Mommy! I want my Mommy!

  She sat up straight in bed, her heart pounded, and she was covered with sweat. Unsteady hands pushed the hair away from her face and snapped on the lamp. Stiffly, she got out of bed and walked around the room as she tried to get the sight of all the blood out of her mind once and for all. It wouldn’t work. She knew that from experience. She’d had the nightmare off and on for the last twenty-one years.

  She turned on lights as she went into the living room then switched on the TV. She wouldn’t get any more sleep tonight.

  When sunlight poured through the slats in the blinds, she sat up on the couch. She still felt tired and too sore to want to move. She crawled off the couch with a moan and wished for the hundredth time that she had a hot tub.

  As she soaked in a too short bathtub of hot water and scented bubbles, Lainey popped her head around the edge of the door. "I thought I heard you up. I brought you some hot chocolate." She handed the cup over and perched on the closed lid of the commode, obviously ready for a chat. Nikki stifled a groan as she waited for the interrogation to begin. She’d told Lainey all about the chase and the fun that had taken place at the police station. As usual, Lainey wanted more details.

  "Briana sure was a sweet child, wasn’t she? And that Jarrod seemed like a very nice man. Wasn’t he handsome? And tall. My word, he reminded me of a giant redwood tree. And so well mannered, too." Lainey chattered on, seemingly oblivious to Nikki’s reluctance to speak about either of the McKays.

  Nikki sighed and wondered if Lainey would get the hint if she slid under the water to drown out the voice. "And redwood trees have notoriously shallow root bases, don’t they?" she finally replied.

  Lainey stopped suddenly and looked at Nikki’s resigned face. "All right. Why don’t you tell me why you don’t want anything more to do with the McKays."

  She looked into Lainey’s eyes, plainly startled. Though Lainey could talk a blue streak and seem vague at times, she could always see right into the heart of the matter. She always had a way to pry information out when Nikki didn’t want to give it. It had been that way since she was a little girl.

  Nicole sighed heavily and rubbed her face with her wet hands. "Besides the fact that they’ll probably never want to see me again you mean? Do you think he’ll take her to see a therapist?"

  Lainey blinked, startled at the second question. "I don’t know, dear."

  "He should." Nikki trailed her fingers through the bubbles thoughtfully. "Yesterday there were times she had a death grip on him like she’d never let go. Then she’d act like she didn’t even care if he was in the room or not." She sighed heavily. "It would be better if he took her, even just a few times, to make sure she was okay. That Davies was a real basket case. He was enough to cause nightmares."

  "You had that nightmare again last night, didn’t you?" Lainey asked shrewdly. When Nikki nodded Lainey continued thoughtfully, "When you drop the estimate by his office, maybe you should make the suggestion that it might help her to see a therapist. But what does that have to do with your not wanting to have anything to do with them?"

  "Two reasons. The first one is that I’m not so sure that it would be good for Briana to be around me."

  At Lainey’s raised eyebrows, she elaborated, "A constant reminder of her abduction might be harmful to her. I’m not ready to take that risk."

  Lainey nodded wisely. "That would be something Jarrod could ask a therapist, if he took Briana to one. What’s the second reason?"

  "I’m afraid." Nikki said bluntly. "The potential for heartache is too great." She sighed. "After Richie . . ."

  "Richie was a toad and you know it. He expected you to stay home barefoot and pregnant and cook and clean after you got married. He didn’t care about your career or your wishes. He sabotaged your career, if you remember correctly. That wreck was no accident and you know it."

  Nikki closed her eyes in remembered pain. "Yeah, I know. I didn’t want to believe it, but there was no other logical explanation. And then he had the gall to admit it."

  "You know Jarrod isn’t anything like Richie. Don’t you?" Lainey asked persistently. Nikki nodded slowly in agreement at her aunt’s prompt. "I never thought I’d see the day when my goddaughter and niece was a chicken. After all you’ve been through, you’re afraid of love?" Lainey scoffed harshly.

  "You’ve never been inclined to fall in love with someone. Have you? No real surprise there, though. Look what love got my mother! Don’t get on my case when you’re just as afraid as I am," Nikki said angrily. She stood up stiffly, managed to suppress the wince from her sore body, then proceeded to drip water and bubbles all over the carpet as she grabbed a towel and stalked to her bedroom. She slammed the door behind her. Damn Lainey anyway! Why couldn’t she just let things be?

  She angrily dried herself off and dressed in sweats, cut off into shorts, and an old T-shirt. When she emerged from the bedroom, Lainey had drained the tub and gone back to her side of the duplex - and shut the connecting door firml
y behind her.

  With another heavy sigh, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately, Nikki walked into her office. She hated arguments with Lainey. But she wasn’t going to let anyone talk her into doing something she didn’t want to do. She sighed again and booted up her computer. Time to get to work.

  Saul called just before noon to tell her about the car. The police had called him and told him he could come pick it up early. The frame wasn’t bent, but the door and fender were going to have to be replaced and repainted. The problem was that the car was rare and got rarer every year. The door, especially, would be hard to find. She thanked Saul and asked him to write up an estimate. She’d pick it up tomorrow and take it over to Jarrod.

  She ate dinner alone because she and Lainey still hadn’t talked. It took forever to fall asleep. The pain from her neck had radiated down into her back, she slept poorly again that night. Then the nightmare returned. After she finally fell asleep again around dawn, she slept through the alarm and woke up late, which didn’t help her mood any. After she had a quick shower and dressed quickly, she placed the proposal material in her briefcase, grabbed her laptop and purse, and headed out the door.

  Lainey had taken her own little blue two-door Neon, so Nikki was stuck with her other vehicle, a truck. It was a new emerald green Ram extended cab pickup, the color almost matched her eyes, but it was high off the ground and awkward to get into. Nikki swore and gritted her teeth as she got settled. Her ribs really throbbed today. At least the truck had an automatic transmission so it would be more comfortable to drive than the stick shift of the ‘Cuda.

  She stopped by Saul’s body shop and picked up the estimate. She almost cried when she saw her car. Granted, it wasn’t as important as a human life, but she really liked that car! She’d spent months to rebuild the original engine and transmission herself and made sure everything worked correctly. Saul had done a perfect job on the body work and paint. It would several weeks to find the correct parts and get the car back on the road again.