by Unknown
“Luke won’t worry as long as you’re with me.”
Catherine glanced around sharply, but the other three women who were with them were across the street admiring Native American sandpaintings. “You’re doomed to disappointment. Nothing is going to happen between us.”
Ruth didn’t act surprised by her announcement, and Catherine liked her better for not denying what she had done. The older woman took Catherine’s arm and started walking down the narrow street. “Young people are so impatient. When you get older, you learn things take time.”
Catherine stopped. “I’m leaving Sunday after the Psychology Association Conference.”
“Sunday is a long way off. A lot could happen,” Ruth said, then continued before Catherine could comment. “I better go pull Amanda away or we’ll never finish the tour. She can put my daughter, Sierra, to shame when it comes to shopping. And that’s saying a lot.”
Shaking her head at Ruth’s singlemindeness, Catherine turned back around to look at the necklace. Her mother’s birthday was coming up. A thin black woman and little girl slowly walking toward her caught her attention instead. Their unsmiling, almost grim faces and slightly disheveled appearances stood out markedly in the sea of well-dressed, happy shoppers and vacationers. The woman noticed Catherine watching her, and immediately ducked her head and sped up.
“Mama, can we stop and eat? I’m hungry.”
The little girl in jeans and a blouse, sporting two fat pony tails on the side of her head, looked to be about four, and like most children her age, spoke in loud tones when tired or upset.
Biting her lower lip, the woman in a faded dress bent down to whisper something to the child, causing her to laugh. Straightening abruptly, the woman swayed, then steadied herself by bracing her hand against the wall of the boutique next to her.
Catherine rushed to them. “Are you all right?”
The woman’s sunken eyes widened. Catherine had seen fear before. “I only want to help.”
“I’m fine.” Pulling the little girl closer to her, she clutched the canvas bag in her hand and walked away. She had gone only a few halting steps when she swayed again. She reached out her hand toward the wall. It wavered without making contact, then the woman’s slim body went limp.
Catherine caught her and eased the unconscious woman to the sidewalk. Ruth and the three women from the League rushed over. Others followed. In seconds they were surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers.
The little girl started crying, her wails loud and piercing over her mother’s unresponsiveness. “Mamaaa. Mamaaa!”
“Catherine, what happened?” Ruth asked, kneeling by the child and trying unsuccessfully to soothe her.
“Her mother fainted,” Catherine said, glad to see the woman’s eyelids fluttering. Her pulse was steady. “Take it easy.”
The young woman’s eyes opened. They were dark brown and terrified. Frantic, she glanced around, discovered her child in the arms of a stranger, then reached for the crying child and pulled her to her chest.
“Do I need to call an ambulance?” asked a policeman.
The woman became even more frightened. “I-I’m fine.”
The officer observed the woman’s untidy appearance, her evasive eye contact, her agitation. “What’s your name?”
“I-I—”
“Can’t you see she isn’t well enough to talk?”
His attention switched to Catherine. “Who are you?”
“Dr. Catherine Stewart, I’m lecturing at St. John’s College.”
“Do you know this woman?” he asked.
Catherine didn’t like to lie, but neither did she like the sheer panic on the face of the woman. “Yes.”
“So you tell me her name.”
Caught, Catherine could only stare at the officer.
“I’ll vouch for both women if my word is good enough, Officer Byrd?” Luke said, crouching down beside a relieved-looking Catherine.
“You know it is, Grayson. You need any help?”
“No, thank you. We can manage from here,” Luke told him. “It would help if you could give us some breathing room.”
“You got it.” The policeman turned to the crowd. “Everything is under control. Let’s move back and give the woman some air. We don’t want to frighten the little girl.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Luke whispered to Catherine.
“Thank you, Luke. I don’t know what I would have done,” Catherine told him.
“You would have thought of something,” Luke said, then turned to the woman. “Do you think you can stand?”
The eye contact was brief. Without answering, the woman tried to stand and keep the child in her arms at the same time. A task that proved impossible. She would have never made it without Luke’s holding her arm and helping her. He frowned on feeling how slight her weight, how thin her arm. “My truck is just a short distance from here. Is there someplace I can take you?”
“No.”
“But, Mama, I’m tired of walking.”
Panic and something close to defeat revealed itself in the woman’s eyes. She bent unsteadily to the little girl. “It’s not much farther.”
“But I’m hungry,” the little girl wailed, tears filling her eyes.
Dropping to her knees, the frail woman pulled the child into her arms. “Shhhh. Mama knows.”
Catherine leaned down to the little girl. “How about a glass of milk and a hamburger?”
The woman’s reaction was swift. “We don’t need your help.”
Catherine ignored the anger. She had seen the love and helplessness in the mother’s face. “I was asking your little girl. You wouldn’t deny her, would you?”
The child’s eyes were huge. “Mama, could I? You could have some too if the lady doesn’t mind?”
Catherine felt her throat tighten. “I don’t mind.”
The woman’s head lowered, her chin almost touching her chest. Her body trembled.
“Mama?” the little girl said. “May I?”
The woman’s head came up, misery stared back at Catherine, then her gaze dropped. “Could we get it to go?”
“There’s a restaurant just around the corner,” Luke said. If he didn’t miss his guess, it had been a long time since either of them had had regular meals.
The woman stared into the hopeful face of her child, then back at Catherine, and stood. “She likes mustard.”
Catherine held out her hand. “My name’s Catherine Stewart.”
Hesitantly the woman’s lifted. “Naomi.” She moistened her dry lips. “Naomi Jones.”
“Mama, that’s no—”
“Kayla,” Naomi interrupted, her gaze skittering to Catherine. “You mustn’t interrupt when adults are talking.”
Kayla’s head fell. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
Naomi’s hand rested on her daughter’s shoulder. “I know, sweetheart.”
If her last name was Jones, he was Superman, Luke thought, but didn’t say anything while Catherine introduced him. He and the woman nodded. Catherine might be fooled, but he wasn’t. The woman was hiding more than her name, and until he knew why, he wasn’t leaving Catherine alone with her.
LUKE HAD A DIFFICULT TIME, BUT HE FINALLY convinced his mother and her friends that all of them would make the woman even more nervous than she was if they all followed her to the restaurant. The best possible person to handle the situation, whatever it was, was Catherine. He gave them the task of going ahead to the Red Cactus to put in an order for food.
Luckily on weekdays the restaurant wasn’t as crowded as on weekends. The woman hesitated on seeing where they were going, but Catherine, who had been telling the little girl the story of a fuzzy caterpillar who turned into a beautiful butterfly, reached for the child’s hand and kept walking. The mother had no choice but to follow.
After only a cursory glance, Nacona showed them to the family booth, then handed them menus, and Kayla crayons and a small coloring book. “What would you like to drink?”
Kayla gripped the brown color in her hand, looked at her mother, then at Catherine. “Is it all right if I have a orange soda instead of milk with my hamburger?”
“It certainly is,” Catherine said, charmed by the well-mannered child. “In fact, I think I’ll have one with you.”
“Make mine the same,” Luke said. “Mrs. Jones?”
Naomi put her hands in her lap. “Water.”
“Four orange sodas, chicken fingers, salsa and chips,” Luke said. “Brandon already has the food orders.”
“Be right back.” Gathering up the menus, the waitress left.
“What brought you to Santa Fe, Mrs. Jones?” Luke asked, feeling she wasn’t from around there.
“I’m just passing through.” She picked up a crayon, and began to color the leaves of the tree while her daughter did the trunk.
“Where are you heading?” Luke continued.
“Albuquerque.” She didn’t look up.
“Here you go.” The waitress set up the collapsible stand, then placed the large serving tray on top. Efficiently, she served their drinks, set the appetizers and chips within arm’s reach of everyone, then gave each one a small white plate. “Brandon said to tell you the food will be out in minutes. Enjoy.”
By the time she left, Kayla already had a chip in her mouth and was crunching loudly. She reached for another before she had finished the first.
“Slow down, sweetheart.”
Nodding, she reached for her drink.
NAOMI BRUSHED HER DAUGHTER’S HAIR BACK AND tried to relax. It was difficult with the powerfully built man watching her. He didn’t trust her. That was fine. She didn’t trust him either. Staying Kayla’s hand when she reached for a fifth chip, Naomi tried not to think that she had eaten only an apple today, a bite of Kayla’s sandwich the day before that, and the day before that, nothing.
She brushed her hand across her daughter’s head again. Kayla was eating and that was the important thing.
Catherine picked up a chip and munched. “Try one, Naomi. Kayla and I can testify they’re very good.”
“They sure are, Mama.” To demonstrate, she picked up one. A chicken tender was already in the other hand.
“I’m not hungry,” Naomi lied.
Luke braced his arm on the table. “Brandon is sure going to hate hearing that.”
“Brandon?”
“That’s me. Welcome to the Red Cactus.” He set the serving tray down and began placing food in front of Kayla and Naomi, who was sitting on the other side of the booth. “Here’s your salad. The vegetable soup is homemade. If you want seconds, yell, but I recommend you try the Cornish game hen first. I brought everything out so you could eat at your leisure. Here’s your hamburger, young lady, with mustard on the side and plenty of french fries.”
Kayla took her first bite without mustard.
Naomi didn’t notice, she was staring at the amount of food in front of them. “I didn’t order anything.”
“Luke did.”
Her startled gaze went to Luke.
“Now Kayla won’t have to share.” Luke slid out of the booth and stood next to his brother. “Excuse me, I need to speak to Brandon about something.”
“Me too.” Catherine scooted out behind him. “Kayla, finish all of your food and when I get back I can tell you about the adventures of the butterfly when he was free.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said around a mouth full of food.
Her mother released an audible sigh of relief as they left. Catherine wanted to help, but Naomi could tell Luke didn’t believe her. Although she hated lying, hated deception of any kind, she had to become better at both if she expected to keep them safe.
One slip and he’d be able to find them.
Nervously, she glanced around the restaurant. No one was paying any attention to her. They were all enjoying their meals. Her anxiety didn’t lessen. She had relaxed the other time and had lived to regret her mistake.
Staring down at Kayla, Naomi watched her daughter swirl a french fry around in ketchup. She wished she could hurry her along, but the first pangs of hunger had been satisfied and now she was eating more slowly. It had torn Naomi’s heart to see her daughter grabbing for a simple chip.
Her hands trembling, she put mustard on the bun, then cut it in half. How had she let their lives come to this?
“You want some of mine, Mama?”
“No thanks, sweetheart.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Kayla paused, waiting for an answer.
Luke had been right in that also. Kayla had taken to watching to make sure her mother ate. Leaning over, she kissed her daughter’s forehead, and said a silent prayer that she would be able to protect her.
“Yes, sweetheart. Mama is going to eat.” Naomi picked up her soup spoon, not knowing when she’d have the chance to eat again. She had exactly four dollars and thirty-three cents in her pockets and no hope for getting more.
CHAPTER NINE
CATHERINE FOLLOWED LUKE AND BRANDON AS THEY wove their way to the other side of the restaurant, then down a narrow hallway lit by heavy cast bronze sconces. On the stark walls were black and white photographs of famous people who had eaten at the restaurant. Catherine only had a brief glance at the smiling faces before Luke ushered her into a room behind Brandon.
The small office was a comfortable contrast of new and old. The computer was state of the art, but the desk it sat upon was an antique oak table. On the wall to the far left was a hand-painted mural depicting images of the Native American culture in vibrant reds, yellows, blues, and greens. Leaning against it was an antique, cottonwood pueblo ladder. From the ladder hung a vintage Pendleton blanket, and a tooled Muskogee medicine man’s pouch. On the shelves beneath were Indian pottery. Scattered on the sandstone floor were Navajo rugs.
“Have a seat,” Brandon said, indicating the red leather chairs in front of his desk. Behind the desk were certificates and awards from noted cooking schools and culinary magazines.
“No, thank you,” Catherine said and turned to Luke. “I appreciate everything that you’ve done, but you’re frightening her with all your questions.”
“She’s hiding something,” he said.
“Yes, she is, and she’s not going to tell us after knowing us for only a few minutes, and certainly not if you’re badgering her with your suspicions,” she told him. “They’re both hungry and tired. Let’s help them first, and if Naomi wants to tell us, fine, if not, we still help.”
He stared down into her worried face. “Picking up more strays?”
She placed her hand on his chest. “Some are not as strong or as fortunate as others.”
His hand caught hers, his thumb absently stroking the back of her hand. “You can’t save the world.”
“I’d settle for a few.”
“I thought that would be your answer.” Lightly he touched her cheek with their joined hands. “Go on back out there before they skip out on you.”
Her brown eyes grew large and liquid. “I’m not sure they have any place to go.”
“I’m not giving up my bed.”
Catherine felt heat spiral all the way to her toes. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Good.” He led her to the door. “I’ll be out there in a minute.”
Brandon had watched the exchange with curious interest. “Almost the entire time you two were together, one of you was touching the other. I’ve never known you to be the demonstrative type.”
“You must be mistaken.” Luke crossed the office.
“I’m not, but I’ll let it slide for the moment,” Brandon said. “Now that Catherine is gone, do you mind telling me who that woman is and what is going on?”
Luke picked up the phone on the large hand-carved table and punched out a number. “I don’t know, but I will shortly, I promise you.”
CATHERINE ARRIVED TO HEAR NAOMI COAXING KAYLA to hurry up. Luke had been right. “I’m back. Sorry that took so long.” She slid into the booth.
>
Naomi’s nervous gaze swept to her, then back to Kayla. “That’s all right.”
Catherine noted with pleasure Kayla and her mother had eaten a good portion of their meal. “Would you like anything else?”
“No, thank you.” Picking up a napkin, she cleansed Kayla’s face and hands. “We’ve taken enough of your time.”
“Not at all,” Catherine said. “I’m actually in the city on business for a conference. So you’re actually doing me a favor.”
“I’m all finished, you’re gonna tell me the story of the caterpillar,” Kayla asked excitedly.
Naomi was already scooting out of the booth, taking her daughter with her. “Maybe another time. Honey, we have to leave.”
“Mama, I wanted to hear the story,” Kayla wailed.
“Another time, Kayla.”
“When?” the little girl asked in a loud, carrying voice.
Naomi glanced around nervously. People were turning to see what was going on. More than fear of embarrassment was fear of discovery. “Honey, please just come on.”
“Naomi, you don’t have to leave. I want to help you,” Catherine told her. “If not for yourself, then for Kayla.”
Her words had the desired effect. Naomi stopped trying to leave, but her eyes were wide. She looked as if she would bolt at the least provocation.
Catherine leaned over and spoke softly. “I’m not here to judge or preach. I just want to help.”
“I really appreciate all you’ve done, but—”
“Naomi, you have nothing to fear from me.”
“What about him?” She nodded in the direction Luke had taken.
Catherine smiled. “He takes a while to get to know, but he’s a good man.”
“Your man?” Naomi asked, her tone worried.
Catherine flushed. “I’m not sure.”
Naomi’s face tightened. “Be sure. Be very sure.”
Now Catherine was positive a man was the reason behind Naomi’s fear. “I will be. But now we need to talk about you and what’s best for Kayla. If you want to tell me what’s going on, fine. If not, fine. I’ll still help in any way I can.”
Some of the wariness left Naomi’s face. “You really mean that, don’t you?”