It Takes a Baby (Superromance)

by Holmes, Dee

  He liked having her with him. He liked having her there when he came home, having her in his arms before he was through the door. They could talk about anything. Kathleen had admired and asked questions about Angie’s miniature clock collection. Someday, Booth told her, he wanted to give it to Lisa as part of her mother’s legacy. He’d packed most of Angie’s possessions away in anticipation that someday they’d be given to Lisa. The clocks, however, had remained displayed exactly the way Angie had placed them—where they could be enjoyed. Kathleen offered to buy a glass case for them, where they would be safe, but placing them in a case bought by another woman made him uncomfortable. He knew it was asinine, but he couldn’t do it.

  “It’s better that they stay where they are,” he said to Kathleen. “They’ve been displayed that way since she started collecting them, and, well, it’s just difficult to make a change.”

  “I understand,” she said quickly, and busied herself doing something else.

  Booth left the issue there, but he was insightful enough to recognize that his hesitation had cut her out. She’d immediately withdrawn. Perhaps on some level he was putting limitations on his involvement with Kathleen, balking at a relationship he hadn’t been prepared to jump into. He’d made no promises or suggestions about the future. Nor had she given any indication she wanted anything beyond what they already had.

  And as if Kathleen were as aware of his thoughts, she was adamant about the move to the carriage house. Living with him would generate talk in the neighborhood. Then she’d mentioned his job with teenagers; he was a role model for good behavior, whether he liked it or not.

  He hadn’t liked it, and he’d told her so, but she wouldn’t budge. The fact that his mother had agreed with Kathleen and then chastised Booth for not appreciating what a wonderful and principled woman Kathleen was, hadn’t helped his case. Even his wild and ditzy sister had been impressed.

  Booth didn’t mention that he and Kathleen intended to continue their sexual relationship whether she lived with him or a thousand miles away.

  He’d figured he’d gotten past any more comments or lectures on his relationship with Kathleen until he’d run into Gail the day after she returned home with her sister, just before Kathleen took Gail to see the carriage house. Kathleen had mentioned she’d be staying with Booth for a few days, then shifted all the emphasis to her future home. Gail had nodded and smiled and saved her acid for Booth.

  While Kathleen had taken a sleeping Lisa upstairs, Gail had swooped down on Booth like a tornado funnel. Without any preliminaries, she’d warned him that if she learned he had sexually coerced Kathleen, he’d be roadkill.

  “I’m a cop with a kid, for God’s sake, not some scum from a back alley,” he’d snapped, immediately wishing he’d escaped with Kathleen and Lisa.

  “Right, a cop,” she’d retorted, as if there wasn’t much difference. Gail was tall and gangly with hair the color of canned salmon. She had a jutting chin that reminded Booth of a female lieutenant from his days at the police academy.

  Lt. Patsy Plockmader could bull’s eye the haunches on a buffalo nickel from two hundred yards with one eye closed, and she could peel the bark off a tree with her bare hands. How she did the latter had been a mystery, but she threatened to do the same to any recruit who made her training program look bad. No one had crossed her. Gail had a similar “I’ll peel your ass” look. He probably might have accorded her a grudging respect for her fierce loyalty to Kathleen, if something about her attitude didn’t bother him.

  “Don’t tell me. You don’t like cops, either.”

  She’d shrugged. “Kathleen has her own reasons, and all of them are valid. I don’t have anything against you personally, just cops and macho types, in general.”

  “I’m not dating you.”

  “I wish you weren’t dating Kathleen!”

  “Kathleen’s an adult. She can make her own decisions. She’s smart, and she’s the most cautious woman I’ve ever met,” he’d argued, not liking that he had to defend himself when he hadn’t done anything wrong. “She can take care of herself.”

  She’d leaned forward, and Booth had thought she was going to grab a handful of his shirt. Instead she’d just snarled, “Cautious or not, she’s my friend, buster, and she’s too damn good, sweet and vulnerable for her own good. If it weren’t for— Never mind. You just make sure you don’t hurt her. She and I have had our fill of bad-tempered men.”

  That unexpected comment had given Booth an opening he didn’t pass up.

  “Like Mason Knight?” he’d asked, watching her closely, hoping the name would garner a reaction. Any reaction.

  “Who’s Mason Knight?”

  “From Georgia.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  “Good.”

  She’d peered at him suspiciously. “Are you asking me if Kathleen was once involved with a guy named Mason Knight?”

  “Was she?”

  “No.”

  “Then we can both rest easier, can’t we?” He’d turned and walked away, leaving her staring after him. He was both pleased he’d escaped with the last word and disappointed that the name-drop had yielded nothing. At least Kathleen hadn’t lied to him, but that still didn’t explain her overreaction to the car.

  Leaning against the Explorer now, he watched her emerge from Gail’s and mentally counted the hours he’d have to wait before he could make a valid excuse to leave Mavis’s. Kathleen wouldn’t be staying with him much longer, and he didn’t want to waste the time in a crowd of people.

  “You look rather thoughtful,” she said, loading in the tote of toys and the diaper bag. She placed her sheet music flat on the floor and away from the food she’d already packed.

  “I’d rather be making love than traipsing off to some boring picnic.”

  She climbed into the back to rearrange a few items, and he had to clench his hands to stop himself from pulling her against him.

  She scooted out and dusted her hands together. When she looked up at him, he knew his dark glasses hid the depth of his need for her.

  She laced their hands together. “I want you, too. All the time. And that scares me.”

  “Babe, we could skip this.”

  “We need to do something besides make love.”

  “Why?”

  She grinned. “So we can think about how good it will be when we do.”

  “I don’t need to anticipate and neither do you. We know it will be great.”

  “Your mom wants to show off Lisa to everyone.”

  “So we can drop her off, then find a nice private spot where I can ravish you.”

  “You did that an hour ago.”

  “Seems like it was days ago,” he grumbled. Booth felt time was running away from him. He wanted her with him for more than a few days; he wanted her...forever? Too extreme. So what did he want with her?

  She palmed his cheek, her hand feeling warm and inviting. He snagged her wrist and tugged her against him. “Somehow you’ve managed to blow my life apart, babe. I can’t stop thinking about you or wanting you.”

  She brushed her mouth across his. her tongue dancing along the inside of his mouth for a few seconds. She had learned how to tease just enough to make him crazy.

  “We’re going to be late,” she whispered as she pulled away. “We can finish this later.”

  In the Explorer, Booth glanced back at Lisa. “What about it, kiddo, should we keep her around?” Lisa clapped her hands and laughed, kicking her chubby legs. “I think that was a yes.”

  Kathleen laughed. “Good thing. Without her approval, I’d be history.”

  THE COOKOUT WAS IN full swing by the time they arrived. The cake and bowl of fruit salad were placed on a table on the cool side of a redwood deck. Booth left most of the stuff in the Explorer, figuring they could get it when needed. Lisa was immediately stolen away by her grandmother. Kathleen was introduced to relatives, friends, a litter of brand-new puppies and enough food and games to exhaust the most ent
husiastic picnicgoer.

  . Booth was dragged into a game of softball that Kathleen and some of the other women watched. Darlene, Booth’s sister, arrived late on the arm of her fiancé and flashing a huge diamond ring. Kathleen recalled Booth saying his sister spent all her time getting engaged and was known around town as the local jeweler’s most frequent customer.

  Darlene Rawlings bounced rather than walked, wearing a green checked sunsuit and a brown Stetson that had a green-and-yellow scarf woven through the brim. The tails of the fabric fluttered down her back, catching the breeze. Her smile was vivacious, her grip on the man with her possessive.

  When she spotted Kathleen talking to Janet, she whispered something to her boyfriend and skipped over. She resembled Booth in that she had the same sensational green eyes.

  “You gotta be Kathleen,” she said enthusiastically.

  “And you gotta be Darlene.”

  Darlene slipped her hand through Kathleen’s arm. “We have to talk.”

  “Definitely,” Kathleen replied, liking her immediately. Suddenly she felt secure and fortunate to know such terrific, openly friendly people. It was such a change from the closed, insular life she’d lived in Wyoming.

  Darlene bent her head close to Kathleen’s. “First we get ourselves a couple of mudslides, and then I’m gonna tell you just how to handle my brother.”

  A few moments later, the two women were lounging on matching chaises on the deck, sipping the cold potent mudslides. The sun was high and warm; the sounds of laughter and baseball and children squealing spiraled around them, making the summer day all the more special.

  Booth slid open the screen door, saw his sister and tried to retreat.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Darlene said, leaping up and grabbing his arm.

  “No lectures, muskrat.”

  Instead she scolded him for not introducing Kathleen to her sooner.

  “We’ve only been seeing each other for a short time. Besides, when did you become the benchmark for family introductions? The last time I saw you, you were clinging to Barry, now it’s—What’s his name?”

  “Gavin Bryson. And it wasn’t Barry, it was Larry.”

  Booth peered at her hand. “I will say this. The stone is bigger. Sure it’s not a zircon?”

  Darlene gave him a friendly punch. “You are so nasty. I picked it out myself, and Gavin promised me matching earrings for my birthday.”

  Booth looked at Kathleen. “Fat chance. Her birthday is in October. She’ll never make it.”

  “I’m very serious about Gavin,” she said with a sniff, then grinned. “At least for a while.”

  Booth rolled his eyes. “I’m going to get a beer. I see Darlene is feeding you mudslides. Careful, they’re potent.”

  “And yummy. I’ve never had one.”

  “Leave it to my sister to further your education,” he muttered.

  Darlene kissed his cheek. “Run along. She’s staying with me so I can tell her all your flaws and shortcomings.”

  “That should take all of three seconds.”

  She leaned close to Kathleen, talking in a stage whisper. “Trust me. I know enough to get him arrested. Run along, big brother, us babes are gonna dish the dirt.”

  He dropped a kiss on Kathleen’s mouth. “Yell when the shit gets too deep, and I’ll come and rescue you.”

  Kathleen played along with Darlene. “Oh, I don’t know. It sounds pretty interesting to me. Especially the ‘arrested’ part.”

  He managed an offended look that was about as deep as a wading pool.

  Kathleen loved all the sibling teasing. It was so obvious that Booth and Darlene loved and respected each other enough to toss out barbs with easy assurance. Each knew the rules, the comfort levels and the permissible degrees of mockery.

  Kathleen whispered, “I’ll see you later.”

  “Behave yourself, Darlene. No dirty jokes.”

  Darlene laughed and tossed her arms around Booth’s neck. “You look so good and so happy and I love you bunches.”

  He tweaked her nose. “You, too, muskrat.” Booth sauntered off, with Kathleen admiring what she’d begun to think of as the sexiest, most lethal walk she’d ever seen. He joined three other men, and they headed toward the barrel of iced beer.

  Darlene said, “You know, you’ve accomplished the impossible in snagging Booth.”

  “I don’t think he’s quite snagged.”

  “Oh, he is. He just doesn’t know it. Angie was cool, I liked her, but she was so perfect that poor Booth has been forced to stay married to her long after she died. Never has dated anyone here in town. Not once. And now to be with you, and bring you here and not give a damn what anyone thinks... Not that anyone is critical. Unless it’s Gladys Hucklebee.” She glanced around as if the woman were hiding there to spy on them. “She isn’t here, is she?”

  “I haven’t seen her.”

  “Bless Mavis.” Darlene took a long swallow of her drink. “I think your being with Booth is terrific.”

  “Actually I think it’s pretty terrific, myself. You have a wonderful family.”

  “Sure wish Dad was here to meet you. He’s a lot like Booth. Laid-back and thoughtful. Mom and I are more gregarious, and Dad rolls his eyes a lot. He wanted Booth to go with him on this fishing trip to Alaska, but Booth didn’t want to take the time off work. Personally, I think he didn’t want to leave Lisa. He always feels he doesn’t spend enough time with her.”

  “He certainly is a proud and devoted father.”

  Darlene nodded, then took a sip of her drink. “So where’s your family?” she asked bluntly.

  It was the most direct and unexpected question that Kathleen had had about her past in some time.

  “We’re sort of scattered. My mother passed away a number of years ago, and I haven’t seen my father since I was about nine.”

  “Bummer. No husband and no kids, huh?”

  “No. Two brothers. One I haven’t seen in years, and the other is in California.”

  “Okay. So why are you here? I mean, it’s cool for Booth, but this ain’t exactly Boston or Hartford. Excitement in Crosby is when two dogs pee on the same fire hydrant.”

  Kathleen giggled, probably too long. The drink was already making her silly. “I have a college friend who lives here.”

  “You’re just visiting? But you have a job and you’re moving to that cool carriage house.”

  “I like it here and I decided to stay.”

  Darlene shrugged, gave an enthusiastic wave to someone passing by, and added, “Well, that’s as good a reason as any.”

  Kathleen took another sip of her drink. It was cold and potent and delicious. “So tell me about Booth’s arrest record.”

  Darlene sat forward on the cushioned chaise, anchored her drink between her legs and started counting on her fingers. “Well, here’s one that I thought was really cool. One September he stole some beer kegs from a storage room. He’d bet some guys that he could lift three of them into his pickup in three minutes. It was pretty tense for a while, cuz Mr. Beasley—he was the owner—showed up unexpectedly. But Booth waited. That’s the thing about him, he’s patient when most guys would be itchin’ and hoppin’. Poor Beasley, he never did figure out how those kegs were where he’d left them when he went in to take a leak and gone when he returned.”

  Kathleen laughed, which only encouraged Darlene to tell more. Most of the stories sounded like mere pranks and mischief. A half hour passed, and Kathleen was about to get up when Darlene launched into the last story.

  “There was the time he and two girlfriends were caught naked in the mayor’s pool. Dad had to do some fast talking about that, cuz they’d gotten through some elaborate security system that was connected to the police. Dad being the chief and all made it look suspicious.”

  “So how did Booth do it?”

  “He figured out the coding and jammed it. It didn’t do any damage, but proved that if a kid could get into the pool area, then a burglar could get into the ho
use.” She took a long swallow of her drink. “He’s always liked to prove he could do things that were supposed to be impossible. If he can’t figure it out, he waits and studies and examines it from every angle until something triggers something else and he’s got it. Guess it’s like loving a challenge. Tell him he can’t, and he’s determined he can. Kathleen, are you okay? You look a little pale.”

  She managed a thin smile. “I’m fine.”

  “Let me get us fresh drinks.” And before Kathleen could protest, Darlene had scooted off the chaise, hugged a passing guest and gone over to the makeshift bar.

  Kathleen sat transfixed watching a volleyball game that was going on some distance away. She had to be crazy to be here, to be with Booth, to have let all of her past slip to the side as if it were no longer relevant. “He waits and studies and examines it from every angle until something triggers something else and he’s got it.” Here she was, yearning to get started on a new life, but realistically she was still in danger, still living with a time bomb.

  Booth was just biding his time, looking, watching, waiting until some unfiltered word or passing comment lit up all his buttons and pushed the pieces he already had into a whole picture.

  She took a deep breath. Okay, stay levelheaded. Don’t go off on some tangent. Get through today, and than.... But suddenly she realized she’d trapped herself. The lease at the carriage house and the arrival of her piano had created joyous anticipation but now they felt like millstones, capable of drowning her.

  Darlene returned, handed Kathleen a second mudslide, and the subject shifted to local gossip and Darlene’s latest engagement. Thirty minutes later, Kathleen had finished her drink, deciding that her earlier alarm was probably unwarranted. When Booth swooped down and kissed her, murmuring that he hoped she didn’t take all of Darlene’s exaggerations seriously, Kathleen said no.

  “How many of those things did you drink?” Booth whispered as he led her across the slope of lawn and away from most of the guests. Lisa was still entrenched amid various aunts and cousins, and had them all wrapped around her finger.