by Iris Abbott
****
Gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands, Daisy closely watched the vehicle in front of her. It gave her something to concentrate on other than the nagging and growing worry for Lucas. She knew it had only been a little over twenty-four hours, but the wait and lack of information was killing her.
At least Carson had stepped up to the plate. Daisy wasn’t sure what she expected after last night. Part of her thought he might go back to ignoring her just as he had before the attempted bank robbery and Lucas’s kidnapping. The fact that he hadn’t ignored her, had even insisted they share dinner, relieved Daisy more than she could put into words.
Now that she’d agreed to have dinner with him, she was actually looking forward to it. Carson made her nervous, but in a good way. And he had the unique quality of getting her to live for the moment when they were together. Spending time with him might not be the smartest move on her part, but he was just too hard for her to resist. And she needed him now more than she’d ever needed anyone.
Having her nephew ripped from her home and her life was devastating. It lowered her guard, numbed her senses, and made her do things she would never have contemplated before. An intimate dinner for two on Carson’s home turf was asking for trouble. She didn’t usually go looking for trouble.
But she had already had a taste of the kind of trouble Carson dished out. He made her feel wanted, needed, even cherished. He chased away the demons of her worst nightmares, if only temporarily. Making love with Carson was a bright light in the darkness of her pain.
Spending time with Carson was also a welcome distraction. A distraction that was capable of easing the pain that had yet to dim in its intensity. She needed him and she was glad he didn’t seem to be walking away.
Daisy forced herself to take slow, measured breaths. She managed to calm her runaway thoughts and erratic heartbeat by the time they arrived at Carson’s house. She followed him into the driveway and parked the car. Wiping her suddenly damp palms on the side of her skirt, Daisy exited her car.
During the first visit to Carson’s house she’d been too worried about keeping up with an excited Lucas to absorb any details. Now, while she waited for Carson to join her, she took in her surroundings. The large two-story brick traditional home was nestled at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. They had driven quite a distance through the neighborhood, well away from the golf course.
While it was just on the other side of town, it seemed to be a million miles from Daisy’s small two-bedroom rental house. Surprisingly enough she felt comfortable there, maybe because it was far enough away from everyday life that it seemed more like a dream. Daisy would take anything dreamlike over the nightmare she was currently living any day.
Carson parked inside the spacious two-car garage and rejoined her outside. He waved an arm toward the front door. “Welcome back,” he greeted. “It’s a good thing we’ve already gotten the grand tour out of the way. Now all we have to do is relax. You can do that on the covered patio while I grill the steaks.”
“That sounds good,” Daisy mumbled. The thought of reentering his private domain made her nervous. Her knees knocked together in response. It was a good kind of nervous, however, filled with anticipation, not dread.
“Go ahead and make yourself at home. I’m going to change out of my suit. I’ll rejoin you in a few minutes.”
Daisy followed him inside and watched him disappear in the general direction of his bedroom. She gingerly sat on the edge of the couch, but she didn’t stay there for long. She heard barking coming from the backyard. Rosie must have heard their cars and she was eagerly waiting for Carson’s attention.
She got up and quickly walked to the backdoor. Rosie was pressing her nose against the door and gave a joyous bark when she recognized Daisy. “Oh no,” Daisy said to the tail-wagging canine as she opened the door. “You think Lucas is here. Don’t you?”
She scratched Rosie behind the ears. The dog was receptive to her touch. She even nudged Daisy’s leg with her nose. Daisy knelt down and wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck.
“I’m sorry, girl. It’s just me tonight.” She hugged the dog a little too tight at the thought of why Lucas wasn’t there. The dog whimpered but she didn’t try to get away. Daisy immediately loosened her hold but continued to hug the dog.
She was still hugging Rosie a couple of minutes later when Carson returned. “We can eat inside if she’s bothering you,” Carson offered.
Daisy gave the dog one more squeeze before standing up. She brushed her hands down the sides of her skirt. “She’s really not,” Daisy reassured him. She let out a big sigh. “She was so excited when she saw me, but I’m sure she was expecting to see Lucas too.”
“I usually take her for a walk as soon as I get home,” he explained.
“You should do that,” Daisy insisted. “I don’t want you to neglect her on my account.”
“Want to come with us?” He gave her his most appealing smile.
Daisy felt the heat of that smile all the way to her core. It was the kind of carefree look that made a girl feel like she didn’t have a trouble in the world. How could she say no to that? A small laugh escaped from her before she could stop it. Her hand flew to her mouth and she cut it off immediately.
As if he could read the guilt on her face, Carson wrapped her up in his strong arms. “It’s all right to laugh, Daisy. Lucas loves you more than anyone on this Earth. No matter what happens to him he would not want you to be sad all the time,” Carson emphatically stated without an ounce of doubt in his voice.
He held her close to his comforting warmth and strength. That warmth and strength bled into her, making Daisy feel more alive than ever. She took a deep breath, sniffed, and stepped away from Carson. “You’re right about Lucas. He’s the most unselfish human being I’ve ever met.”
Dwelling on Lucas made her unbelievably sad. She quickly changed gears. “I’d love to go for a walk with you and Rosie. It’s a good thing I wore flats today,” she joked.
The corner of Carson’s mouth twitched and then turned into a full-blown smile. “Me too,” he agreed.” He took Daisy’s hand and they started walking toward the front door.
He patted his thigh twice. “Come, Rosie!” The dog immediately followed behind its retreating owner and guest.
They stopped next to a foyer table. Daisy’s hand slipped from his. She waited and watched his interaction with the dog.
“Good girl,” he praised his pet. He clipped on the leash then turned his attention to Daisy. “Ready?”
Daisy nodded. This time she was the one to place her hand inside of his. When the door shut behind them, Daisy couldn’t help but feel like she was shutting the door on her past, and moving forward with her future. It was a positive thought amidst all the negative ones floating around inside her mind.
****
After dinner they crashed on the couch to watch the evening news. Minute by minute, inch by inch, Daisy slowly made her way closer to him. In an exhausted voice she asked him to hold her. Of course he couldn’t refuse. He’d been cuddling with her ever since.
But now it was getting late, almost midnight. They couldn’t stay on the couch all night. Carson tried moving without jostling the woman in his arms. He didn’t want to startle her awake. No he had a better idea.
He pressed his lips to hers and gently kissed her. She kissed him back and pressed closer to him. “Time to wake up, sleeping beauty.” He kissed her again. She responded right away this time, telling Carson that she was at least partially awake.
“Mmm, I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you,” she confessed in a sleepy whisper.
Carson wanted nothing more than to fall asleep with Daisy in his arms. He lowered his head and brushed his lips across her forehead. “You’re more than welcome here anytime, sweetheart. It’s off to bed we go. It’s been a long day.”
The mumble of Daisy’s agreement warmed his heart and his body. It was going to be torture sleeping next to her
and holding her without making love to her. But she was dead tired and she needed the rest. Carson was willing to make a sacrifice for the woman who was quickly coming to mean the world to him.
TEN
The pale light of dawn filtered through the curtains hanging over the windows. It wasn’t a lot of light, but it was enough to make Daisy sit up in bed. She looked around carefully, not recognizing her surroundings right away.
Bits and pieces of the night before flashed through her memory and she realized she was in Carson’s bedroom. She could hear the muted sound of running water in the background. Carson must be taking a shower. The sound of water abruptly stopped.
Carson stepped into the bedroom. The only thing hiding the glory of his naked body from her sight was a bath towel loosely wrapped around his hips. Daisy couldn’t help it. She stared, hard.
Carson didn’t seem to notice. He walked right up to her side of the bed and leaned in for a kiss. “Good morning, sweetheart.”
“Good morning,” Daisy mumbled the automatic response. “I’m sorry if I fell asleep and was a bother last night.”
“You were no such thing,” Carson insisted. “It’s still early. Why don’t you take a quick shower? Then I’ll drive you by your house and you can change clothes before we go to the bank.”
Daisy crinkled her brows. “My car’s here. I can drive myself to work.”
“Of course you can, but you don’t have to. I’m offering to do it for you. I know you don’t like being at your house alone. And you shouldn’t have to be, not at a time like this.”
“But…” He put a finger to her lips to stop her before she could say anything else. Daisy was so surprised she immediately stopped talking and listened.
“No arguments, Daisy. We’re good together, that was proven the other night at your house. And we want to be with each other. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be.”
Daisy could think of one very important reason. She was desperately afraid Carson would be singing another tune when Lucas returned. But he was right about one thing. She did want to be with him. She wasn’t strong enough to fight the attraction between them, so she didn’t even try.
“Being surrounded by people at the bank beats moping around alone here or at home alone. Let me take a quick shower and then we can leave.”
Carson nodded his approval of her agreement. “I’ll walk Rosie while you’re getting ready.” He moved to the closet and started pulling out clothes.
Daisy took just a moment to watch him dress. He had a gorgeous, well-toned body that she could watch all day long. She wished she could say her feelings for him revolved around his body and lust. It would be a lie, however, and Daisy wasn’t very good at lying. Her heart and mind yearned for him just as much as her body.
Love had snuck up and hit her hard. It was too late to guard her heart. She’d already fallen. It was complicated, and the timing couldn’t be worse. But you couldn’t control love. It did as it pleased.
****
Forty minutes later they were in Carson’s car, headed for her house. Daisy turned on her mobile phone. It wouldn’t power up. “The battery is dead,” she said in exasperation. “I forgot to charge it last night.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were exhausted and your body obviously needed the rest.”
“That’s no excuse,” she retorted a little too sharply. She immediately put a hand on Carson’s arm.
“I’m sorry. None of this is your fault and I don’t mean to take my frustrations out on you.”
“Go ahead and use my charger. It’s universal and should work for your phone.” He took a deep breath.
“You don’t have to apologize,” he said, to break the thick silence between them. “I know you’re worried sick about Lucas. And if snapping at me keeps you from beating up yourself, I don’t mind taking the heat. I can handle it. And I would gladly do it for both you and Lucas.”
Daisy sucked in a sharp breath of air. “You sound like you mean it.” She plugged her dead phone into the charger and tried once again to turn it on.
“I do, Daisy.” He opened his mouth to say more, but before he could get out the words Daisy’s phone started beeping.
The annoying sound went on and on. Daisy glanced at it and then frowned at Carson. “Oh no! I have six messages,” she told him in a voice heavy with worry. “Something must have happened! I never get that many messages. How could I have been stupid enough to let my battery die?”
Carson turned into the nearest parking lot and stopped. He reached a hand out to Daisy and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Better find out what’s going on,” he said in an encouraging voice. “And no matter what it is, remember you are not alone,” he stressed.
Daisy wasn’t even listening to him. She started pushing buttons as fast as she could, in order to listen to the first voicemail message. Daisy put the phone to her ear and waited. “It’s from Derek,” she whispered. “It must be something about Lucas!”
After a few seconds of silence she hung up and looked at Carson with large eyes full of fear. “Derek wants me to call him back. He says it’s urgent. Oh God, Carson. What if something terrible has happened to my nephew?”
Carson put the car in gear and pulled out into the early morning traffic. “Your house isn’t that far from here. Go ahead and call Derek back, and find out what’s going on. Whatever the problem is we’ll deal with it together.”
It was still early and she’d be surprised if Derek was already at work, but that didn’t stop her from making the call. She dialed the lawman’s cell phone number and waited. He answered before it could ring twice.
“Derek! Hello, it’s Daisy. I’m sorry it took me so long to return your call. I was staying with a friend and my battery died.” Her voice grew a little frantic. “I listened to your first message but that is as far as I got. I thought I should call you right away instead of wasting time listening to the others.”
After Daisy’s initial greeting and questions, she stopped talking and intently listened to everything Derek was saying. A few seconds into the conversation she sucked in a sharp breath of air and blindly reached for Carson. She felt his strong fingers close around hers and instantly felt some of his strength seep into her body.
Knees weak from the conflicting emotions of relief and shock, Daisy was glad she was sitting down and that she wasn’t alone. Her grip on the phone tightened. She didn’t want to drop it and lose the connection with Derek. “Is Lucas all right? Where is he now? How soon can I see him?” She fired off the questions in quick succession as soon as she found her voice.
“He’s with the caseworker that social services assigned to him as soon as the neighbor contacted them yesterday.”
A stifled sob forced its way through Daisy’s tightened lips. “He must be traumatized.” Fear and worry were quickly turning into a simmering rage. “I don’t understand that woman at all,” she angrily exclaimed. “Why did she go to so much trouble to uproot Lucas from a safe and loving home if she was only going to abandon him again?” A wayward sob managed to escape this time. “Anyone could have found him wandering around in a strange city by himself!”
The car came to a stop. Daisy glanced around and saw that they were parked in her driveway. It was a crisp, autumn Texas morning. The hum of the car’s engine, and Daisy’s harsh breathing were the only sounds that could be heard for several seconds.
She was vaguely aware of Carson’s presence and the comforting arms he wrapped around her shoulder. She leaned into him, hoping to absorb some of his strength. Then she returned her concentration to what Derek was saying.
“Thank goodness it was a concerned police officer,” the SWAT captain agreed. “And as for his mother and her motives, well... Who knows what is going on inside that brain of hers? Maybe she truly thought she was ready to be a mother and it just proved too much for her. Or maybe she had no idea what she was getting into and couldn’t handle it. Your guess is as good as mine. Her motives aren’t really important
. Lucas is what’s important.”
“Well, of course,” Daisy agreed. “I just can’t believe she left him alone and then just disappeared. Again!” The arm around her tightened enough to remind her that Carson was still there.
“That’s the best we can determine right now,” Derek answered. “When the Dallas police went inside the apartment to have a look around all of Amy’s personal belongings were gone. It doesn’t look like a simple case of neglect with her leaving Lucas alone for a matter of minutes or hours. It appears to be full abandonment.”
Her heart ached for the sweet little boy who had now been abandoned by his mother twice now. Her fingers gripped the phone so tightly they ached, but she was scared to loosen her grip. The other hand slipped down to Carson’s thigh. She needed all the contact she could get. “What do I need to do to get him back here to Rancher’s Bend where he belongs?”
“I’m already working on it. RBPD is working with DPD, and Kyle Manning has been in constant contact with a friend of his from law school. He practices in Dallas and has dropped everything to take care of any paperwork in your absence”
“I won’t be absent for long,” she insisted. “I’m taking the first flight to Dallas. You tell them I’m coming for Lucas and I’ll be there as soon as I can get there.”
“I know you miss him, but Lucas is in good hands. Don’t get in an accident trying to get to Dallas, that won’t do you or Lucas any good.”
“He shouldn’t be surrounded by strangers,” she adamantly stated with a conviction that would not waver. He needed her and she had every intention of being there. “I should already be on my way there.” Guilt at not getting Derek’s message as soon as he called was eating her alive.
“I’ll get to Dallas as safely as I can,” she promised. She hung up the phone and turned to Carson. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could.