Stone grabbed the one Baldwyn had called Sherrill before it hit the deck. The woman had Ariel’s smile. If Ariel were a doctor, it would explain several things, including why Tempest occasionally called her Sherry. And if this jerk was her ex, it explained why she would rather live with rubber furniture than accept child support. Stone thrust the picture back to Baldwyn.
“Is possible same?” Despite the rolling deck, the man didn’t show any intention of giving up.
Stone studied his reflection in the mirrored lenses, then laughed. “If you want a kid that bad, you need to talk to my partner. Much as Link loves his niece, I’m sure you could find a day where she frustrated him enough that he’d give Tempest to you.”
Baldwyn shoved the photos back in his pocket, turned and tracked more footprints across the once-perfect teak. The bastard was lucky he didn’t have his rifle.
As Stone repaired the damage, he alternately wondered if the jerk was actually Ariel’s ex and why he was tracking them. How had Ariel gotten involved with such a slimeball? Worse, why was he looking for them?
After he finished the deck the second time, he went below, picked up the phone and dialed.
“Hello.” His sister sounded cross.
“Hey, Windy.”
“Three calls in one week! What gives?”
“Did you find out anything?”
“The vehicle was a snap, but I can’t trace anything on the names other than what you already told me.”
“Is it possible that they changed their names?”
“Absolutely. People do it all the time.”
Criminals did, but after having met the ex, doing so just to evade him would be a valid reason. “Could you check out Baldwyn? Sherrill and Sabrina?”
“You sound tense.”
“I think I just met Ariel’s ex. God, what a creep.”
“Do I detect jealousy?”
Stone took a deep breath. “Let’s just say that I finally understand what you mean about meeting certain criminals and feeling like the hair on the nape of your neck is going to jump ship.”
“One of those charmers.” Windy’s tone was laced with sarcasm and sudden interest. “Does he have a first name?”
After giving her all the information he recalled, they discussed plans for their parent’s upcoming anniversary.
“You will be there.” The order implicit in Windy’s voice amused him.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Stone grinned. “If you think there’s any chance I’ll try to worm out of it, you can fly up here, handcuff me and haul me home while telling everyone you see that you’re taking a notorious felon back to Dallas.”
Windy laughed. “Deal.”
Stone spent the next thirty hours impatiently waiting for Windy to come up with more information than the odd bits, like a South Carolina State Trooper had purchased the Suburban at an FBI auction and resold it to a Blythe Danvers within twenty-four hours. Had Ariel used that name? Did the cop’s assistance with the Suburban have anything to do with his subsequent murder? If so, and his imagination wasn’t simply going overboard, after meeting Bladwin, what kind of man had she married? And were they in mortal danger, as the conversation he’d overheard, had suggested?
No matter how hard Stone polished Dolly’s brass, Windy never called. By the time Stone flew back to Fairbanks, he was torn between believing Ariel had been unable to work within the legal system to save Tempest from her pedophile-father, and believing she was a runaway wife from an abuser, who considered females inferior. He also started thinking he needed a reality check for himself.
As Stone secured the Cessna in the hangar, Wade sauntered over. “Good trip?” Stone nodded. “Your bird need any work?”
“Gas, of course, and do you have time to take another look at the altimeter? It’s still giving me indication problems.” Like telling him he was flying at forty-thousand feet, when he knew the mountain he was next to was only ten-thousand.
“I don’t do avionics.”
He knew that. “But you could schedule someone who is licensed to look at it and maybe do something temporary until that backorder finally get in.”
Wade gave him a thumbs-up, then tapped his curly blond head. “You know why the blond dyed her hair black?”
Stone shook his head.
“Artificial intelligence.” Wade cackled at his own joke. “Tell Link.”
Stone nodded then headed home.
As he entered the kitchen, Link was placing a bottle of Chardonnay in a familiar basket. “Let me guess. You’re on your way next door for dinner.”
Link cocked a finger at him and pretended to fire it like a gun. “Coming?”
Stone raised a brow. “You expect me to cook when I can eat and have great scenery?” Link shrugged. “Remind me to tell you the joke Wade told me.”
“The one about holding a flashlight up to a blonde’s ear and being able to see it from the other side?”
“No, but it’s on that line…” Stone chuckled. “Perhaps we should consider hiring a different mechanic. One with avionics expertise.”
“The altimeter is still off?”
Stone nodded. “Don’t take her out IFR.”
Link fired a second imaginary shot at him.
Stone grinned. “Ever considered dying your hair black?”
Link laughed. “I think Wade is the one who needs dye.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Hurry up or you’ll make us late.” Link gave him a meaningful look. “Megara’s close to whelping. May have already.”
Having checked her kennel before he came inside Stone, shook his head. “I’ll check her, again, after dinner,” he said, then he hurried upstairs to change into a fresh shirt.
As they ate desert, Stone and Tempest talked about raising dogs and the kid bounced with excitement about Megara’s imminent puppies. Stone studied her and thought about how good she seemed to be with the parrot, how much she loved playing with the dogs and how well she followed the rules, then he thought about what a chatty little thing she was, compared to her mom, and how it might be easier to get the answers that eluded him from her. “I travel about half the time,” he told Tempest. She nodded, as if she’d figured that one out long ago. He held her gaze. “Perhaps we can work out a deal.” Her eyes narrowed, in distrust. He hurried to finish his offer, “If you take care of the dogs and the puppies, once they get here, when they’re old enough, I’ll let you have your pick.”
Tempest looked like he’d offered her a million dollars. “To keep?” She leaped off her folding chair and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, thank you, Uncle Stone!” She planted a juicy kiss on his cheek and hugged him tight. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever offered me.”
“You’re welcome.”
Ariel cleared her throat. Tempest glanced over his shoulder and quickly stepped away from him. “But I can’t have a puppy. I’ll help take care of them as long as I can, though.” With that, she slumped into her chair. Eyes downcast, she blinked several times, then repeatedly stabbed her half-eaten slice of apple pie with her fork.
He turned to Ariel, but she pretended nothing had happened. A look at Link generated a shrug. Mozart ruffled his feathers and muttered something unintelligible. He focused on Ariel, “If you break it in young enough, it won’t bark at Mozart.”
“It’s not that,” Tempest muttered, her voice choked with tears. “Uncle Links says your dogs sell for thousands.” She peeked at him, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.
“I was offering it as a wage.”
Tempest blinked hard, then looked down. “I still can’t.” Her shoulders shuddered.
“Why not?” Because your mom doesn’t want it? Would the kid admit the truth?
“Because it’d break my heart when we have to leave and I won’t be able to take it with me.” Her comments were cut off with a sob.
Stone placed his hand over the one clutching the fork. “You don’t have to leave any time soo-“
Tempest leaped up, knocking her chair backwa
rd and dashed for the stairs.
A cold sensation swept through him. He turned toward Ariel for answers, but her attention was focused on her plate. He thought about Baldwyn’s veiled accusations. Did they know Tempest’s father had tracked them here? Were they planning to run, again or did they expect Tempest to be forced home?
He didn’t ask Ariel, because he knew she would only change the subject, so he wasn’t surprised when he was still wondering the same thing when he and Link returned home.
Sunlight glared off the windshield of an unfamiliar Ford Bronco parked a half block down the street. Worse, he thought he saw the dapper, dark haired man walking toward it. Had he led the jerk to them? He hoped Windy called with something solid, soon, because he wanted to help Ariel, but he couldn’t rely on gut instinct, he needed verifiable facts. Facts she obviously didn’t intend to share with him.
Chapter 21
Ariel daubed ochre on the caribou she was painting for Stone. Senseless as it was, she wanted him to have something to remember her by. She cleaned her brush, then picked up her detail brush and added a tiny touch of white to the eye. She didn’t know why she wanted Stone to think about her after she reneged on her rental agreement; after all, he was serious about Dolly, but no matter how illogical it seemed, she wanted to leave a piece of herself with him. The black plastic, which she’d placed over the blue carpet rustled under her feet, as she stepped back to survey the canvas. It stood proudly on its makeshift easel and dominated the corner of her bedroom.
“How ya coming?” Tempest leaned against the doorway, her hair standing on end as if she’d been electrified. Ah, the wonders of gel.
“You tell me.”
Tempest eagerly came into the room and stood next to her. She cocked her head to one side, as Mozart often did. “The baby looks good, but its Mama looks a lot like a really weird Siamese cat.”
Ariel grinned. “It does, doesn’t it?” She chuckled. “Until you pointed it out, I hadn’t noticed that caribou and Siamese are about the same color.”
“She’ll look okay once you get her antlers on. The bull looks really lifelike. How’d you get his eyes to make it seem like he’s looking at me?” Ariel shrugged. Tempest plopped down into a cross-legged pose. “I’m going to miss Uncle Link and the dogs like crazy.” She pouted. “Father ruins everything. I hate him.”
Ariel nodded. Ever since the Sunday evening, when Stone had returned from Valdez, the hair on the back of her neck had quivered and gooseflesh broke out over her arms whenever she went outside. Though she’d long since learned to listen to this subtle warning, this time she couldn’t decide if her reaction had something to do with Stone’s presence or if she was being watched. Was Stone the cause of her escalating paranoia? If so, why? She knew him well enough to know he was nothing like Peter Baldwyn, nor did she still believe he was one of Peter’s hirelings.
“Sherry?”
Ariel looked at Tempest.
“Are you going to miss them, too?”
“Definitely.” More than anyone would ever know. Almost as much as she missed her mother. “This is the first time in years that I’ve actually felt close enough to anyone, other than family, to consider them a friend.” Ariel sat down next to Tempest and took her hand. “I didn’t realize how much I'd missed that.”
Tempest squeezed her hand. “At least we’ve got each other.” She blinked away tears. “Sunday night, when Uncle Stone offered me a puppy, it was the hardest thing in the world to turn it down.”
“I know.”
“You don’t think he suspects, do you?”
“About what?”
“Well, I nearly told him that we’d have to run away.”
“I doubt if he understood it that way. Adults don’t listen to kids as closely as they do adults. Some of them don’t even listen to other adults and try to claim their own words were in the other person’s mouth.” Tempest gave her a strange look. “Sorry, just venting.”
Tempest’s expression became glum. “Maybe most adults don’t listen, but you and Uncle Link aren’t like that.” She frowned. “It almost seems like Uncle Stone sorta understood, though. He’s been real quiet and watchful this week. And have you noticed how he didn’t go to Val-wherever, like he usually does? Do you think that means something?”
“Aside from his dog being close to having her puppies?” Ariel asked. Tempest smacked her forehead. Perhaps his change of routine was why she’d felt eyes on her, but it didn’t explain why she’d had the sensation everywhere – home, university, even the grocery store. Worse when she glanced over her shoulder, she often saw someone turning away or ducking.
Tempest sighed. “Have you told them about the painting?”
Ariel shook her head. “It’s a surprise. Kinda like an apology for breaking our rental agreement.”
“It’s really good, you know. You’re good enough to go professional.”
Ariel laughed. “Do you want to live in a garret and starve?”
Tempest snickered and nodded. “I’m not sure where that is, but I know that I'd rather just stay here.”
“We’ve already stayed too long.”
“I know … Think Uncle Link and the dogs will miss me?”
“Of course they will.” Ariel assured her.
After a moment Tempest got up. At the door, she paused and looked back. “I know Uncle Stone will miss me, ‘cause he said so and he said it like he really, really meant it.”
When had they had this conversation? With a sigh, she got up and cleaned her brushes, and then she headed to the grocery store to get a special desert to go with the salmon dinner Link had invited them to. Link was always the one who issued the invitations. Would Stone miss her? Would he have invited her for dinner, if Link hadn’t beat him to it?
As she backed the Suburban onto the street, a dark Ford Bronco pulled out of a parking slot a block away and followed her. She checked her rearview mirror for it several times, but two turns later, there was only a dump truck behind her. Ariel shook her head and muttered, “Peter doesn’t need to kill me – I’ll kill myself with stress.”
Hours later, she juggled an overflowing bag of groceries and pressed Link and Stone’s doorbell with her elbow.
“Come on in. It’s open,” Stone called from somewhere within. She made a sound of exasperation, but managed to get the door open. As she kicked it shut, she heard The Moody Blues, Elizabeth's favorite band, playing in the kitchen. Stone was singing along and he sounded great. Worse, she could imagine him being her knight in white satin.
How could one man have such a peculiar effect on her?
No matter how much she dreamed about calling what she felt love or pretending that he was the one, she knew it must be simple lust. She felt heat rise up her neck and onto her cheeks.
As she entered the kitchen, Stone poured batter into a steaming cast-iron pan. She plunked her bag on the counter. “Smells good. What are you making?”
“Johnny cake.”
Ariel raised a brow.
“I thought either you or Tempest said that you’d lived in the South. Don’t tell me you’ve never had it.”
What all had Tempest told him while she petted dogs? “I’ve never seen it made.”
He placed the hot pan in the oven. “Mom always made it this way.”
She chuckled. “I like the fact that you still call your mother Mom.”
He turned toward her. “Family tradition. Just like the way you call each other by your first names.” Ariel blinked. Stone gave her an easy smile. “Tempest calls you by your given name and you call your mother by hers.”
He must mean Elizabeth. Ariel smiled and nodded. “Do you have a large family?”
“We’re pretty average. Mother, father and two younger sisters.” He set the oven timer. “How about you?”
“Just a step-brother and sister.” The truth popped out before she could dodge it. “What can I do to help with dinner?”
“Nothing. I’ve got it under control.”
&nbs
p; “I expected Link to cook.”
“He got tied up, so I volunteered.” His chuckle did funny things to her heart. “It’s fun to cook for a change. I never get to at home and when I’m at Dolly.” He shrugged. “Take out is easier.”
A discussion about his girlfriend was the last thing she wanted to hear. “Tell me about your family.”
“What do you want to know?” Less than two feet separated them. She couldn’t think, let alone breathe. Ariel shrugged. His lips twitched into a crooked smile. “My father raises beef and horses. It keeps him tied down most of the time, but he loves working the land … we never got many vacations when I was young. I guess that’s why I wanted to see somewhere new.”
“Living in one place sounds like heaven to me.”
He cocked his head to one side. “The grass is always greener, isn’t it?”
Ariel nodded.
“Where all have you lived?”
She should have kept her big mouth shut. “My father was a geologist and moved all over world. My mother and I went with him.” She gave Stone a lopsided smile. “Was your mother a homemaker?”
“Hardly. Mom was – is – a scholar. Her passion is ancient civilizations. She teaches Medieval Studies at the University of Texas, Dallas campus.”
“She sounds interesting. It must have been great to grow up with her.”
“It had its moments, but most of the time, I halfway resented her eccentricity.”
“Why?”
“My name for one thing.” He grimaced. “Windy and Brit feel the same way.” Ariel waited for him to explain. He frowned. “Don’t you think Stone is an unusual name?”
“Not especially. I like it and figured it was a family name or something.” She shrugged. “Perhaps a Stonewall Jackson sort of name.”
Stone chuckled. “His parents really socked it to him, didn’t they?” Ariel didn’t know what to say. “My actual name is Stonehenge. Windy is Gaelic and Brit is simply Brittany.”
Chapter 22
Fatal Attractions Page 20