He left the hotel, walked down Main Street and was about to go into the clothing store when he spotted Emma Rogers accompanied by a little girl, who looked as if she might be about six. Emma frowned when she saw him.
“Still here, Mr. O’Donnell?” Emma asked, her tone not especially friendly. “I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
“I’m afraid my business is taking longer than I’d hoped.”
Her gaze narrowed. “What exactly is your business?”
Before he could respond, Gina came darting out of the café across the street and pointedly got between them. Ignoring the two adults, she hunkered down to give the little girl a hug.
“Caitlyn Rogers, you are getting so big I hardly recognized you. How old are you now? Ten?”
The child giggled. “No, Aunt Gina, I’m only six.”
“I can’t believe it.” She leaned closer. “I think Stella has your pancakes on the griddle. Do you want to run on over there so you can get them while they’re hot?”
Caitlyn looked up at her mother. “Is it okay?”
Emma regarded Gina with amusement, then turned her attention to her daughter. “Go,” she said. When the little girl would have darted straight across the street, Emma reached out and caught her. “Hey, what do we do before crossing the street, even here in Winding River?”
Caitlyn regarded her guiltily. “Look both ways,” she said, then dutifully did just that.
“Okay then, now you can go.”
All three of them watched the child’s progress, then Gina beamed at Emma. “We should join her.”
“In a minute,” Emma said. “Rafe was just about to explain why he’s still in town.”
Gina gave him a sharp look. “Was he really?”
He grinned. “Emma was certainly hopeful that I might. In all honesty, I was heading for the store to buy some clothes.”
“You don’t look like a man who wears a lot of jeans,” Emma said. “In fact, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say you usually wear thousand-dollar suits. I recognize the type. I go up against them in court every day. In fact, again if I were guessing, I’d say you’re either a lawyer or a stockbroker, Mr. O’Donnell. Which is it? Or are my instincts totally wrong?”
Rafe looked to Gina for some sense of what she expected him to do under the circumstances. She sighed.
“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, he’s a lawyer,” she said with no attempt to hide her exasperation. “Now that we know you have razor-sharp instincts, Emma, can we please go get some breakfast? I’m starved.”
“Not until we clear up one more thing,” Emma said, her gaze locked with Rafe’s. “Why are you hassling Gina?”
“Maybe I’m just a suitor who won’t take no for an answer,” he said, enjoying the flash of indignation in Gina’s eyes. Apparently she liked that explanation even less than the truth.
Emma’s gaze turned to Gina. “Is he?”
“He’s the most annoying man I know,” Gina said with heartfelt sincerity. “And that is all I intend to say on the subject.” She latched on to Emma’s arm. “Let’s go.”
This time her friend allowed herself to be led away, but not before pointedly meeting Rafe’s gaze. “I’m keeping an eye on you,” she warned.
Emma and half the rest of the people in Winding River, Rafe thought with resignation. Would a thief inspire that kind of protectiveness and loyalty? He needed to ask more questions about Gina, but doing so would stir up a real hornet’s nest. She might never forgive him for unfairly dragging her friends and family into this, and for reasons he didn’t care to examine too closely, that bothered him way more than it should.
“So, I was telling Mommy that I think we should live here forever and ever,” Caitlyn told Gina, her eyes shining. “Grandpa has already gotten me my own horse.”
“Grandpa ought to know better,” Emma grumbled under her breath, then smiled at her daughter. “Darling, we live in Denver. You’d miss all your friends if we moved here.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Caitlyn insisted. “I already have a lot of friends here.” Her expression brightened. “And I have cousins here. I don’t have any cousins in Denver.”
“She’s got you there,” Gina said, grinning.
“Oh, stay out of it,” Emma snapped. “I don’t see you moving back to Winding River.”
“You never know,” Gina said. Of course, if Rafe was successful in his attempts to make her part of Bobby’s scam, she might be in jail instead, but it was seeming more and more likely that she was going to have to leave New York once this mess was straightened out. Customers could be fickle. If Café Tuscany’s reputation was tarnished, they would stay away in droves. Any chance she might have of paying off the old debts would vanish.
She sighed, then realized that Emma was staring at her with a shocked expression. “What?” she asked.
“You aren’t seriously considering coming back here to live, are you?” Emma asked. “I thought you had your dream job in your dream city.”
“I do, but things could change.”
“Does this have something to do with Rafe?”
Gina nodded. “Let it alone, though, Emma. You have enough on your plate without me dumping my worries on you.”
“Hey, we’re friends. Friends can always share their troubles with each other.”
“Then why don’t you tell me why you’re wound tighter than a string on Pete Sampras’s tennis racket?”
“Too much work, too little time,” Emma said succinctly.
“Mommy is never, ever home,” Caitlyn said. “She works really, really hard.”
Emma winced at the matter-of-fact assessment by her six-year-old. “It’s going to get better, baby. I promise.”
Gina studied her worriedly. “When? I know you’re thinking about taking on a big case here with Sue Ellen. How much time will you have if you’re commuting between here and Denver?”
“I’ll manage,” Emma said tightly.
“And Caitlyn?” Gina persisted gently. “Will she manage, too?”
“Look, I’m doing the best I can, Gina, okay?” Emma stood up. “I have to get over to the jail. Will you take Caitlyn back to my mom’s?”
“Of course,” Gina said at once. She winked at the little girl. “But only if she’ll go to the toy store with me first. What do you think, Caitlyn? Want to help me pick out some toys?”
Caitlyn bounced up and down on the vinyl seat of the booth excitedly. “Who’re you buying toys for, Aunt Gina? Do you have kids at home?”
“Nope.” She grinned. “I guess if we find something really, really special, I’ll have to give it to you.”
Caitlyn’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Emma shook her head, looking amused. “You’re going to spoil her.”
“That’s what an honorary aunt is supposed to do, right, Caitlyn?”
“Uh-huh,” the little girl said solemnly.
“Okay then, have fun, you two.” Emma kissed Caitlyn on the forehead. “See you later, sweet pea.”
“Bye, Mommy,” Caitlyn replied distractedly. “Aunt Gina, I was thinking. There’s this really, really neat Barbie I’ve been wanting. Do you think maybe the toy store has it?”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll go find ourselves a computer and look for it online.”
Caitlyn bounded out of her seat. “I’m ready. Are you?”
Gina drank her last sip of coffee, then joined the eager child. Truthfully, she was almost as enthusiastic as Caitlyn. Henderson Toys had been one of her favorite places as a child. She would save up her allowance for a whole month, then go into the store with her mother and walk up and down the crowded aisles studying the dolls and the trains and the board games before making her selection.
Sometimes, between the cost of an item and indecision, it was several months before she made a purchase. One memorable year, she bought a miniature stove, in which she could actually bake cookies, albeit very tiny ones. Her excitement over that purchase should probably have been a clue about the directio
n her life was likely to take.
Back on the street, they ran into Rafe standing outside of Henderson’s his gaze locked on an elaborate train display in the window. The expression on his face was surprisingly wistful for a man whose every boyhood whim had probably been fulfilled.
Caitlyn slipped up beside him, her gaze every bit as fascinated as his. “It’s a really cool train, isn’t it?”
Surprised, he glanced down at her, then grinned. “It sure is. Do you like trains?”
Caitlyn nodded. “But I like dolls better. Aunt Gina is going to buy me a Barbie if they have the one I want.”
Rafe’s gaze shifted until it met Gina’s reflected in the window. “Is that so?”
“It’s not an expensive toy,” Gina said defensively.
He frowned at her. “Did I suggest it was?”
“No. Never mind. Come on, Caitlyn. Let’s see if they have the doll you want.”
The little girl gazed up at Rafe. “You can come, too, if you want,” she said politely. “I’ll bet they have lots more trains inside.”
“Maybe I will take a look,” Rafe said, ignoring the frown Gina directed at him.
Inside, Nell Henderson rushed out from behind the counter to give Gina a hug. “And this is your family,” she enthused. “How lovely that you’ve brought them in.”
“Actually, this is Emma’s daughter, Caitlyn. You remember Emma, don’t you?”
“Well, of course. The two of you were in here often enough, right along with Cassie, Lauren and Karen.” She beamed at Rafe. “They were some of my best customers, at least until they discovered boys. Then I lost them to the cosmetics counter over at the drugstore.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Rafe said. “They’re all beautiful enough without makeup.”
Nell chuckled. “Oh, honey, you have found yourself a jewel.”
“Rafe and I are not married,” Gina said irritably. “We’re not involved. We’re not anything.”
That threw the older woman for little more than a heartbeat. “Well then, you should work on changing that. A gallant man is a rarity these days. You should hang on to him if you’re lucky enough to find one.”
“Something to keep in mind,” Rafe said, regarding her with amusement.
Bored with the adult conversation, Caitlyn wandered over to the dolls. She was back in seconds, clutching a Barbie in a fancy ball gown.
“This is the one I’ve been wanting and wanting,” she announced to Gina.
Gina hunkered down beside her. “She is beautiful,” she agreed. “You’re sure this is what you want?”
Caitlyn’s head bobbed, then she cast a shy look at Rafe. “What do you think? Isn’t she beautiful?”
But Rafe’s gaze was locked on Gina, not the doll, when he murmured, “Yes, she certainly is.”
Gina’s cheeks burned. “I thought you wanted to look at the trains,” she grumbled.
“I’ll come with you,” Caitlyn offered, tucking her hand into Rafe’s. “I’ve been here before. I can show you where they are.”
Gina watched the two of them disappear at the end of the aisle, then sighed. When she looked up, Nell Henderson was grinning.
“Can’t say that I blame you for sighing over that one. If I were thirty years younger, I’d give you a run for your money.”
“There is nothing between Rafe and me,” Gina repeated very firmly.
Nell shook her head. “Then that’s a real pity, especially since the man looks at you as if you were the most fascinating creature he’s ever come across. I haven’t seen a look like that since the night my Herbie, God rest his soul, swept me off my feet.”
Gina recalled belatedly that Herb Henderson had died just over a year ago. “You must miss him,” she said sympathetically.
“Every day of my life,” Nell agreed. “But I have my memories. That’s something you ought to think about. Grab as many memories as you can, Gina. They’re what carry you through during the difficult times. Otherwise, all you’ll have are regrets. You don’t want the last two words you whisper on your deathbed to be if only.”
Gina heard Caitlyn’s giggle, then Rafe’s lower rumble of laughter. They were sweet sounds. She was already regretting that she had no claim to Rafe or to any family of her own, for that matter. Lately, she’d had no time to think about any future outside of Café Tuscany. With the restaurant’s fate so much in doubt, she was forced to face the fact that without it her life would be unbearably empty.
She gave Nell’s hand a squeeze, then went after Caitlyn and Rafe. She found them both watching an intricate labyrinth of miniature train tracks as half a dozen tiny engines sped around them on what appeared certain to be a collision course. But of course it wasn’t. At the last second Rafe touched the controls and switched the tracks, sending the various trains safely past each other.
“Do you collect trains?” Gina asked him.
He shook his head and shut down those on the display. “Never had one.”
“Why not? It’s obvious you want one.”
“As a kid, there were better uses for our money. Now I don’t have the time to fiddle with a hobby.”
“You know what they say about all work and no play, don’t you?”
He regarded her seriously. “That it gets the job done?”
She groaned. “No, that it makes for a very dull guy.”
A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. “You think I’m boring?”
She knew exactly how he intended to prove otherwise, and a part of her wanted him to demonstrate, but there was Caitlyn to consider, and Nell. “Not boring, just limited. Under other circumstances, I might be tempted to try to change that.”
“Oh? How?”
“Let me think about it,” she said. “Maybe one of these days I’ll give you a list of my recommendations. Will you pay any attention to them?”
“I might,” he said solemnly. “What would my reward be?”
“More fun,” she said at once.
He grinned. “You’ll have to provide more incentive than that.”
“Such as?”
“Will I get the girl?”
Gina shuddered at the penetrating look in his eyes. “I suppose that depends.”
“On?”
“How badly you want her.”
“I’m beginning to wonder about that myself.”
He said it in a way that made Gina’s breath hitch in her throat. She was thankful Caitlyn chose that moment to reach for her hand and give it a tug.
“Aunt Gina, since you’re buying me a toy, why don’t you buy one for Mr. O’Donnell, too?”
“His toys are too expensive,” Gina said.
“That’s right,” Rafe agreed, his gaze locked with hers. “In fact, something tells me they’re priceless.”
Chapter Six
There had been times in her life—even after enduring Carlo’s possessiveness—when Gina had deeply regretted the lack of a man who’d be there when she woke up and when she went to bed at night, a man who cared more about spending time with her than about his career. Now it seemed she had one.
It wasn’t nearly as much fun as she’d anticipated.
Rafe O’Donnell was everywhere she turned, his expression remote, his gaze cool. The nonstop surveillance wasn’t exactly what she’d dreamed of. In fact, it was all too reminiscent of Carlo. The fact that Rafe was so blatant about it grated on her nerves. She hated that everyone in town knew he was there to keep an eye on her for some reason that neither of them had revealed.
Other than her one conversation with Tony, Gina had refused to discuss Rafe’s presence with her friends or her family. Only Lauren knew part of it—that she had to give a deposition when she got back to New York and that she wasn’t looking forward to it. Cassie, Karen and Emma were studying her almost as intently as Rafe was, but their motive was concern, his was distrust.
He’d been at it for nearly two weeks now, though he’d stayed true to his word and remained mostly in the background ever since that chance
meeting at Henderson’s Toy Store over a week earlier. For some perverse reason Gina found that even more annoying and nerve-racking than having to deal with him. She was constantly on edge, continually reminded of the times they’d kissed and just how much she wanted him to kiss her again. For a few minutes in his arms she’d been able to forget why he was here. In fact, she’d forgotten almost everything, including her name.
His unexpected admission that he, too, had been affected by those kisses, had thrown her. Not that it made any real difference. He might be attracted to her, but he wasn’t happy about it. In fact, Rafe didn’t strike her as the kind of man who would violate his own ethical standards on a regular basis. Kissing a suspect, no matter how unjustly accused, was bound to be a breach of those ethics. No wonder he was keeping his distance.
Right now, for example, he was sitting in the booth next to hers at the diner, sipping coffee and pretending to read the morning paper. She knew it was only pretense, because his gaze rarely shifted away from her long enough for more than a glimpse of the headlines. She sighed heavily.
“You might as well come over here and join me,” she said finally. Maybe they could discuss this like two reasonable people and find a way to peacefully coexist, since it was evident that nothing was going to make him go away.
He stared at her, clearly surprised by the invitation. “You sure about that?”
“Lately I don’t seem to be sure about much of anything, but you’re getting on my nerves over there, so, what the heck?”
A grin came and went so quickly she thought she’d imagined it. It was probably a good thing he didn’t smile too often. She had a hunch the effect could be devastating, even more devastating than the rare hint of vulnerability she’d seen on his face as he and Caitlyn had played with the toy trains. Wondering what that was about had kept her awake for several nights, despite repeated lectures to herself that Rafe’s past was none of her concern.
To Catch a Thief Page 7