The background noise increased. “I’m afraid that’s going to be a bit of a problem, Maggy. At least at the moment.”
“Why?” Maggy frowned. “Cody, what’s going on?”
“Now don’t get upset,” he cautioned.
“I won’t get upset,” she assured him. “Just tell me what’s happened.”
“Well, remember that restaurant you and I talked about?”
“Restaurant?” she repeated blankly, casting a quick glance at Bobby who was still sleeping. “What restau—?” Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you mean the Boom Boom Club!”
“You remember,” he said with just enough cheerfulness to make her mad.
“Do you mean to tell me you and my mother are at the Boom Boom Club!”
“No. Now you said you wouldn’t get upset on me, Mags,” he reminded her. “We’re not at the Boom Boom Club.”
“Good.” Maggy blew out a sigh of relief.
“Anymore.”
“Anymore!” she cried, her voice rising into the receiver. “Cody, where are you?”
“Jail.”
“What!” Her pacing grew faster. “Oh my God, Cody—what on earth—how did—when—Cody!” she cried again, twisting the cord into tiny little curls.
“Well, honey,” he was whispering now, obviously covering the mouthpiece with his hand, because she could hear every quick intake of his breath. “Your mother and I were just minding our own business watching the show—”
“You were what!”
“Watching the show,” he repeated calmly, as if they had been previewing Paris’s latest fashions, instead of the town’s own version of the Folies Bergeres, “and the next thing I knew reporters and the police were there along with a half dozen picketers. Anyway the police tried to stop the picketers, and well—your mother tried to stop the police, and I tried to stop your mother.” He paused for a breath. “Anyway, that’s the long and the short of it.”
“Oh Lord,” Maggy whimpered.
“Now you promised you weren’t going to get upset,” he reminded her gently.
“I’m not upset!” she yelled.
“Uh, Mags. We’ve got another little problem.”
“You call getting arrested a little problem?” Maggy shouted. “Losing a button is a little problem, Cody. Getting arrested is—”
“Now, honey, calm down,” he soothed. “Here’s the problem. Seems they won’t take a check for our bail money. Your mom and I—we need a hundred in cash—each—to get out of here, and I’m…ah…a little short of cash right now.”
“Cody,” Maggy said with a frown. “My mother should have enough cash—”
“No she doesn’t,” he said abruptly, too abruptly for Maggy’s peace of mind. She knew for a fact her mother never went out with less than several hundred dollars in her purse.
“What do you mean she doesn’t?”
“Well, she did have some cash, but she doesn’t anymore,” he repeated vaguely.
“Cody,” Maggy said slowly, trying to hold on to what was left of her patience—and her sanity. “What do you mean she did have, but she doesn’t?” This conversation was reminiscent of their initial one, Maggy noted, realizing Cody would get to the point in his own good time, despite the fact that she was ready to throw back her head and scream with impatience.
There was a long pause before Cody spoke again. “She kind of gave it to one of the…dancers.”
“What do you mean she gave her money to one of the dancers?”
“Well.” Cody paused again. “She tucked it into the waistband of his costume. Mags, you should have seen her! She was having such a good time. She was laughing—”
“She tucked money into a man’s…what!”
“Waistband,” he repeated quickly. “Now you said you wouldn’t get upset.”
“I’m not upset,” she cried. “I’m furious!”
“Mags,” he said, his voice low and soothing as if he were talking to two-year-old Bobby, and not to a fully grown woman. “Calm down. It’s not as bad as it seems.”
Oh Lord, it was worse!
“Does this mean you’re not going to bail us out?”
Maggy could hear the humor in his voice. Oh, how tempting!
Banishing the thought, she sighed heavily. “All right.” She rubbed a throbbing spot above her brow. “Cody, listen to me. You stay there. I’ll—”
“I don’t reckon we’re going anywhere.” He chuckled softly and Maggy scowled. She didn’t see anything particularly funny about the situation. But now didn’t seem the time to point that out to him. Right now she had to get her mother and him out of jail.
“I’ll be right down. Cody, please,” she implored, knowing she was wasting her breath because he probably wouldn’t listen to her anyway. “Don’t talk to anyone. And don’t let Mother talk to anyone, either.” His soft laughter filled her ears.
“What do you suggest I do, gag her?” Maggy seriously considered the idea. For a moment.
“No. Just tell her I said not to talk to anyone until I get there.”
“See you in a bit then.” The phone went dead, and Maggy slammed down the receiver. Her own mother in jail! Lord, Miss Barklay would have a certified fit if she learned about this!
“Mother,” she raged, shaking her fist impotently in the air. Realizing she didn’t have time to stand there lamenting, Maggy raced through the house, rummaging through her purse to see how much cash she had available.
One hundred and eighty-four dollars. “Damn!” she muttered, biting her lip and wondering what she was going to do.
Rushing to her bedroom, Maggy headed for the corner where a heavy jar filled with coins sat. Her father had taught her early in life the value of saving for a rainy day. Ever since she was a child she had been saving coins. Pennies, primarily. She looked at the jar carefully. There had to be at least a hundred dollars in change—probably more. The jar was too heavy to lift and her eyes darted around as she tried to figure out what to put the money in. Yanking down a large straw bag from her closet, Maggy began scooping coins out of the jar and shoving them in the bag. Satisfied she had enough, she slung the bag over her shoulder, raced through the house, grabbed her car keys off the table and slammed out the front door.
A moment later she was back. Lord! She had forgotten about Bobby.
“Sport,” she whispered, shaking him gently. “Sport?”
Bobby’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked at her as if he’d never seen her before. “Da-da?”
“No, not dada,” she whispered, kissing him gently before scooping him, blankets and all, into her arms. “It’s Maggy, honey. But we’re going to go get your dada.”
“Da-da,” he repeated sleepily as she tried to maneuver him, the bag and herself to the car. Once set tled, she strapped Bobby securely in the front seat, where he promptly snuggled in and fell right back to sleep.
Sighing in mock despair, Maggy maneuvered her car through the now quiet city streets. Her mother, in jail! How on earth could Cody have allowed this to happen?
In the space of a few hours a big, burly, devilish rogue had invaded her quiet life, upset their peaceful existence, made ridiculous demands, and now had somehow managed to get her mother thrown in jail. When she got her hands on him—well, Maggy wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do, but surely she would think of something!
She made the half-hour trip to the police station in record time, parking right in front of the building, despite the fact that it was a no-parking zone.
Blinking sleepily once or twice, Bobby offered no resistance as she lifted him from the car and carried him into the station along with the bag of pennies.
The station was in chaos. Obviously the raid had netted a lot more people than just her mother and Cody. Scantily clad men and women paraded around, laughing and talking. Picketers, still waving their signs, vied for the attention of the reporters who had gathered to duly report all the goings-on. Deliberately Maggy ducked her head and evaded a reporter with a ca
mera. The last thing she wanted was her picture in the paper. Maggy stepped behind a rather rotund man in a wild print shirt, hoping that the reporters wouldn’t pay any attention to her.
“Da-da,” Bobby whimpered, and Maggy stroked his head gently, comforting him in low, soothing tones. Obviously he wasn’t used to so many people and was growing more agitated by the moment.
The rotund man finally finished at the desk and moved aside. Maggy, juggling Bobby in one arm, lifted her purse and the straw bag to the counter in order to count out the money.
“Rob the kid’s piggy bank?” the officer on duty asked with a smile. While she struggled to keep Bobby quiet and happy, the officer at the desk counted all the change. Finally, satisfied that the exact amount of the bail had been paid, he handed a slip of paper to another officer, who headed down the hall.
“Send out Magee and Cody,” he shouted, and Maggy winced as she moved to one side to wait for her mother and Cody. If she’d wanted her mother’s name broadcasted all over the police station she would have rented a bullhorn! Right now all she wanted was to get her mother and get out of here. Cody, on the other hand, was another matter. She had quite a few things to say when she got her hands on him!
Her pulse jumped as she caught sight of him. He was hard to miss, since he stood head and shoulders above everyone else. He was lumbering down the hall with her mother tucked securely under his arm. At least neither of them looked any worse for their experiences, Maggy thought in relief. Bobby spotted Cody and immediately began to wail. Cody’s face lit up when he caught sight of her and Bobby.
“Da-da,” Bobby blubbered, struggling to get free of Maggy.
“Hi, Mags.” Cody flashed her a blinding smile and lifted the baby into his arms. Maggy glared at him. He was not going to charm his way out of this little fiasco!
“Don’t you hi me,” she hissed out of the corner of her mouth, resisting the urge to give him a good whack just for good measure. “Cody, how could you?”
“Now, you promised you wouldn’t get upset.” He leaned down and pressed his face close to hers. “You’re not upset, are you?” He grinned into her furious features.
“I’m not upset!” she lied, clenching her teeth in an effort not to yell at him. She was more upset by his nearness than by anything else at the moment. “How could you do this?”
He reached up and scratched his eyebrow, grinning sheepishly. “It wasn’t all that hard—”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maggy cried, annoyed that he didn’t appear to be the least bit concerned about the evening’s events. “Do you realize that in the—”
“Dear.” Elizabeth sighed dramatically and patted Maggy’s arm. Maggy wasn’t sure if her mother was trying to divert her attention or stop her tirade. “How nice of you to come down and get us! This really is an awful place,” her mother announced with unnecessary loudness. “The accommodations here are absolutely dreadful. Why, you should see the colors of the walls! It’s so depressing—”
Maggy let out a long sigh. “Mother, this is a jail, not a country club. I’m sure no one really cares that you find the color of the walls depressing.”
“Well,” her mother huffed “Someone should care.”
“Mother, please?”
“And there’s no privacy,” her mother went on, totally ignoring Maggy’s exasperation. “We really must speak to the legislators, perhaps a march on Washington—”
“No!” Maggy said quickly. “We’re not going to speak to anyone about anything!” She could just see her mother organizing a march on Washington! Hadn’t she had enough excitement for one evening? Maggy had to nip this in the bud, or before she knew it she’d be seeing her mother in leg irons on the evening news! Maggy rubbed her aching head. “Could we discuss the penal accommodations some other time? I’d like to go home now.”
“Why, of course dear.” Elizabeth smiled. “I’m a bit tired, anyway.”
Taking the arm Cody offered, Elizabeth swept out the door. Staring glumly at their retreating backs, Maggy turned on her heel and followed them out, muttering under her breath.
“Here, Mags.” Cody tried to hide a smile as he slid something across the windshield toward her. Glaring at him, Maggy snatched the piece of paper out of his hand and groaned. On top of everything else, she now had a parking ticket! All these years of driving and she’d never been ticketed until now! Clenching her teeth, Maggy climbed behind the wheel and started the car.
She was silent on the way home, preferring to concentrate on her driving rather than dwell on what she was going to do to the dangerous duo when she got them home.
Cody and her mother chatted amiably, and Maggy deliberately kept her eyes fastened on the road. Occasionally she glanced in her rearview mirror, but every time she did, Cody’s mischievous eyes seemed to be waiting for her. It was clear that neither her mother nor Cody saw anything unusual about their evening’s activity. Maggy wasn’t certain what bothered her more, the fact that they’d been arrested or the fact that neither of them seemed in the least bit concerned about it!
Once inside the house, Maggy dropped her keys and purse on the table, and waited until Cody had Bobby safely tucked into his temporary crib on the couch before confronting them.
“All right, I want to talk to both of you,” she said, trying to drag up some of her anger again. She looked from one to the other, and they exchanged furtive glances.
“What about, dear?” her mother inquired innocently, and Maggy struggled to hold on to her patience.
“May I ask just what the devil you two were doing at the Boom Boom Club?”
“Before or after the police came?” her mother asked, and Maggy gnashed her teeth.
“Now, Mags,” Cody said, dropping down on the sofa right next to her. Bobby was at the other end, which meant that Cody sat closer to her than she would have liked. He was so close that she could feel the warmth of muscular thigh pressed against her. It raised a rash of goose bumps along her skin. “Don’t be mad. It wasn’t your mother’s fault. It was mine.”
“Nonsense!” Elizabeth interjected, giving her daughter a haughty look. “If you want to blame someone, Maggy, you might start with yourself.”
“Me!” She gasped. “Are you trying to tell me it was my fault the two of you got arrested?”
“Frankly, dear, yes.” Her mother looked at her intently. “If you had agreed to help Cody none of this would have happened. It really was your fault.”
“My fault!” Maggy burst out, unwilling to let her mother pass the buck this time. “What on earth does Cody finding a woman have to do with you getting arrested?” She couldn’t wait to hear this explanation!
Her mother let out a put-upon sigh. “Well, dear, if you had agreed to help Cody find a woman, then I wouldn’t have had to.”
“Mother,” Maggy said slowly, her tone incredulous. “Are you trying to tell me that you went to a—a strip joint in order to find a woman for Cody!”
“Of course, dear. Why else would we have gone there?” Elizabeth asked, still managing to look quite innocent. “Someone has to help Cody. And if it’s not going to be you—” her mother paused to sniff delicately “—well then, I guess it’s just going to have to be me.”
Maggy rolled her eyes toward the heavens. Her mother’s performance was worthy of an award, but this time it wasn’t going to work.
“Mother,” Maggy said, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to break loose. “Cody is a big boy. I really don’t think he needs our help.”
Her mother perked up. “Well, dear, of course he does!”
“Now, Maggy,” Cody said, sliding his arm across the back of the couch behind her and giving her shoulder a pat. “I had no intention of coming here to make trouble between you and your mother. I agreed to take her to the club only because she wanted to see it. You yourself said she hasn’t been out since your father—well, in a long time. I didn’t see any harm in taking her somewhere I knew she’d enjoy herself.” Cody gave her an impish
grin. “We really did have a good time. Didn’t we, Elizabeth?” His eyes twinkled with delight, and Maggy turned to stare at him. Her suspicions grew; her mother and Cody were feathered from the same flock. All the more reason to stay away from the man!
“But you got arrested!” Maggy cried incredulously, causing her mother to snort.
“Minor detail, dear. Minor detail. We could have outrun the cops,” Elizabeth insisted. “And we wouldn’t have gotten caught if I could have got my leg up over that brick wall. But my dress—” Elizabeth stopped abruptly as she caught the stunned look on Maggy’s face.
“Mother,” Maggy said carefully. “Why were you trying to climb over a brick wall?”
“I think I’ll go to bed,” Elizabeth said abruptly, jumping to her feet.
“Mother,” Maggy said sternly, unwilling to let her mother off the hook so easily. “I’m not done talking to you.”
Elizabeth deliberately ignored her. “Good night, dear,” she said, bending to kiss Maggy’s cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Elizabeth moved toward Cody. “Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes twinkling. “I don’t know when I’ve had such a good time.” Her words brought a soft chuckle from Cody, who sobered instantly at the look Maggy gave him.
“And I’m not finished with you, either,” Maggy warned Cody, just in case he had any ideas of getting up and waltzing off without letting her have her say.
Cody’s brows rose and he gave her a devilish smile that sent her pulse racing. “Good,” he said, gently touching her cheek. “Because I’m not finished with you, either.”
Now what was that supposed to mean? Maggy wondered with a frown, deliberately avoiding his gaze. His implication was clear, and Maggy realized if she had any sense she would head for the door. His words lay between them, full of promise. If Cody was trying to distract her from her anger, he had done a good job. He was looking at her in a way that made her feel very self-conscious, and very aware of him as a man.
Through the screen of her lashes, Maggy could see Cody’s strong profile and lean features. She felt his eyes caress her, causing her anger to crumble like an overbaked cookie. Maggy heaved a soft sigh. Oh, how this man could complicate her life! No, her mind corrected. How this man was complicating her life.
Baby Makes Three: Heartwarming Love and Laughter Page 5