Not Without Her Family

by Beth Andrews

  She raced upstairs and Jack glanced out the window to see Kelsey pulling into the driveway. He wasn’t sure if the new information Amy provided would help him solve Shannon’s murder or not. Hell, it wasn’t much to go on, but he hoped the phone records would provide more insight.

  Though he had a few more clues, a few more pieces to the puzzle, he still had nothing concrete. Certainly nothing that would justify making an arrest. Only a gut feeling that he was getting close to discovering who the guilty party was. And that it wasn’t Dillon Ward.

  But was he having that feeling because of his instincts, or because he wanted Kelsey’s brother to be innocent?

  The doorbell rang. He opened the door and immediately noticed Kelsey’s nervousness. She clutched the strap of her purse on her shoulder, her knuckles white.

  Unbelievably pleased to see her, he grinned and stepped back to let her in. “Hey.”

  “Hi.”

  “Kelsey!” Emma cried from the top of the stairs. “What are you doing here?”

  Kelsey, in the act of taking off her coat, met Jack’s eyes. “You didn’t tell her I was coming over?”

  “And have her ask me every five minutes when you were getting here?” He took her coat and purse and hung them in the hall closet. “No.”

  Emma scurried down the stairs. She skidded to a stop in front of them and wrapped her arms around Kelsey’s knees.

  Kelsey patted her head. “Hey, kid. I thought I’d stop by, see what you and your dad were up to.”

  “We’re going to play a game,” Emma said, already dragging Kelsey farther inside the house by the hand. “You can play, too.”

  They went into the living room where Emma led Kelsey over to the cold fireplace. “You stand here. Don’t move. I’ll go up and get the game and be right back.” She looked at Kelsey. “Do you want to play Candy Land or Memory?”

  Jack turned his back so Emma wouldn’t see his lips moving. “Memory,” he whispered beneath his breath. “If you don’t want to spend the entire afternoon stuck in Molasses Swamp, then for the love of God, pick Memory.”

  Kelsey laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Emma wanted to know.

  “Uh, nothing,” Kelsey said. “I, uh, I’m just so happy you want to play Memory. It’s one of my favorites.”

  “Thank you,” Jack said after Emma had climbed the stairs. “Trying to draw a double orange card is its own kind of hell.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.”

  Their eyes locked and their smiles slipped away. Kelsey broke the spell by looking away.

  “You have a nice house. I mean, I know I’ve been in it before, but I wasn’t in it, just the kitchen and the…uh…” Her face flushed and he wondered if, like him, she was thinking of the laundry room. “I mean, not in this room—”

  “Thanks,” he said, taking pity on her. “We like it.”

  She nodded, turned suddenly and knocked over one of the framed photos on the mantel. “Sorry.” Since her hands seemed none too steady, he helped her right the picture. “Is this your wife?”

  He glanced down at the framed photo of a smiling Nicole and nodded.

  “She was very pretty.”

  “Yeah. She was.” He ran a finger down the front of the frame and realized that while he had no problem admitting he found his deceased wife pretty, he’d never gotten around to telling Kelsey the same thing. At least not when they were fully clothed.

  “You’re pretty,” he said. She raised her eyebrows. “I mean…you look pretty today. In that outfit.”

  Now she frowned. Glanced down at her jeans and gray sweatshirt. “You don’t have to say that, Jack. They’re just words. Words I don’t need—”

  Her voice dropped off when he cupped her cheek in his hand. Her eyes widened.

  “Even though you might not need them, I want to say them.” He stepped closer until their bodies brushed. He lowered his voice. “I think you’re beautiful.”

  Because she still didn’t look like she believed him, he decided to prove it to her. He bent down and gently kissed her, his eyes drifting shut, his heart stumbling in his chest at the contact.

  He kept the kiss soft. Tender. Loving.

  Jack lifted his head and forced his eyes open, saw his own confusion mirrored in the green depths of her eyes. He cleared his throat. “Kelsey, I—”

  “I got Memory.”

  Emma stood in the doorway, the card game in her hand, a huge grin splitting her face.

  “Great.” Jack stepped back, shoved his hands in his pockets and told himself it was for the best. Until he knew for certain her brother was innocent, until he could prove it, what he felt for Kelsey, what he’d been about to say to her, was better left unsaid.

  THE KID WAS SOME SORT OF WEIRD cardsharp. They’d played Memory five times and Emma had won all but the last game. Kelsey wasn’t sure how she felt about a six-year-old having better short-term recollection than her.

  “Are you still pouting?” Jack asked as he rinsed a plate under the hot water.“I’m not pouting.” She took the plate from him and began to dry it. “I’m just curious how you knew where that last match was, when you spent most of your time making phone calls.”

  And she was curious what all those phone calls were about. Not that Jack seemed interested in sharing.

  “I have my ways,” he said with a grin.

  She snorted. It was his fault her concentration had been off, anyway. All she’d been able to think about was that amazingly sweet kiss he’d laid on her. Her heart still hadn’t recovered.

  “Kelsey, I made this for you.” Emma held up a drawing. “It’s you, me and Daddy.”

  Kelsey dried off her hands and took the paper. A lump formed in her throat to see three stick figures—one with a halo of yellow hair, one orange hair and a tall one with black hair. Every stick figure had a huge smile on their face, and to complete the picture, Emma had written her name and the word love across the bottom in careful letters.

  “Do you like it?” Emma asked. “I worked real hardly on it.”

  “It’s great,” she said, her voice husky. “Thanks.”

  “You can hang it on your ’frigerator.”

  “I will,” she promised, thinking of the minifridge in the kitchen above The Summit. “As soon as I get home.”

  Of course she’d have to stop at the store and buy a magnet first, but it would be worth it.

  “Do you like it, Daddy?”

  Kelsey forced herself to look up at Jack. He was staring back at her, his expression unreadable. “It’s terrific, squirt. A masterpiece.” While Emma beamed, Jack glanced at his watch. “Bath time, kiddo.”

  The phone rang. “I got it,” Emma sang out. She picked it up, said hello, listened a moment and then held it out. “It’s for you, Daddy.”

  He took the phone but instead of speaking into it, he covered the mouthpiece with his hand. “This might take a while,” he told Kelsey. “Could you help Emma get ready for bed?”

  “I don’t know how,” she blurted.

  Humor lit his eyes. “She’s old enough to do most of it herself. I just need you to keep an eye on her while she takes a bath and make sure she brushes her teeth.”

  Kelsey was all set to make up some excuse about how she had to get home and wash her hair, but Emma grabbed a hold of her hands and hopped up and down.

  “We’ll have a lot of fun,” Emma said excitedly. “And I’ll be really good. I promise.”

  Oh, man. “Uh, I guess I could help her.”

  “I appreciate it,” Jack said. “I’ll come up as soon as I’m done.”

  “Yay!” Emma pulled her out of the room. “Come on.”

  “I’ll be up to kiss you good-night in a little bit,” Jack called after them.

  As Kelsey stumbled up the stairs behind a chattering Emma she couldn’t help but hope he was talking to her as well as his daughter.

  JACK WAITED UNTIL EMMA and Kelsey had disappeared up the stairs before speaking into the phone. “What did y
ou find?”

  “The number you gave me had four incoming calls last Friday night,” Seth said. “Sorry, buddy. None were from Shannon Crandall.”With his free hand Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d been so sure this hunch would pan out. “Did you trace all the calls?”

  “Three were from his mother, which almost makes me feel sorry for the poor sap. The last one was from a cell phone, but the name and number aren’t local.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Tess Rennard from Tampa Bay.”

  Adrenaline zipped through his veins. “That’s our connection.”

  “What is?”

  “Tess Rennard is Shannon’s sister.” He grabbed Shannon’s file off the counter and searched through the papers until he found Tess’s personal information. “What’s the cell’s number?”

  Seth recited the digits. “He received the call at 12:13 a.m.”

  Jack scanned the paper listing Tess’s address, e-mail address, home, work and cell numbers. “It doesn’t match the information I have, but the timing’s right.” He tapped the paper twice. “I need to get hold of Tess. See what she knows. Thanks for the help.”

  “No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Frowning, Jack hung up the phone. If his instincts were right, Serenity Springs was about to have one hell of a scandal on its hands.

  His brain went into cop mode. Now wasn’t the time for speculation. What he needed were facts. The phone call from Tess was a connection but it didn’t prove anything.

  It was up to him to find that proof.

  He picked up the phone and dialed Tess’s home number. “Ms. Rennard,” he said when she picked up. “It’s Chief Jack Martin. I have a few questions I need to ask you.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  KELSEY STOOD IN FRONT OF Emma’s closet and held up a bright-blue sweater. “How about this one?”

  Emma sat on her bed. Her forehead wrinkled. “No. I wore that the other day.”Kelsey tamped down her impatience and reached into the closet. Honestly, the kid was picky. Jeez, just throw something on. You’re six years old. Who cares what you look like?

  Emma had emerged from her bath slightly wrinkled, flushed pink, and—this was the important part—clean. She’d brushed her teeth without being reminded and had allowed Kelsey to pull a comb through her soft, damp hair.

  Then came story time. While having Emma curl up against her as they’d sat together on the bed had been okay, enough was enough already. Where was Jack?

  Kelsey pulled out the next shirt without even looking at it. “How about—”

  “Yes. That one.” Emma bounced on her knees. “I want to wear that one. Yellow is Brian’s favorite color.”

  Thank you, God. And thank you, Brian, whoever you are. “Great. Yellow it is.”

  “Brian is my boyfriend,” Emma said as she slid under her covers. “We’re going to get married.”

  Kelsey raised her eyebrows. Laid the shirt with the socks, jeans and shoes that were on Emma’s dresser. “Aren’t you a little young?”

  “We’re not going to get married now.” Her duh may have been silent, but it was definitely implied. “When we’re growned ups.”

  “Ah, well, drop me a line, maybe I’ll come to the wedding.”

  “You can be in it if you want and I can be the flower girl when you and daddy get married.”

  The air rushed out of Kelsey’s lungs. She tried to draw in a breath but her chest was too tight. “Jack and I aren’t getting married.”

  “You have to marry daddy so you can be my mommy.”

  Mommy.

  Oh my God.

  Kelsey’s knees gave out and she slid down to the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what’s given you the idea that your dad and I…that we’re going to—”

  “I saw you kissing.”

  Her heart drummed heavily in her chest. That kiss had been…well, she wasn’t sure what it had been. But it sure hadn’t been a marriage proposal.

  “Uh, you know, just because I kissed Jack—your dad—doesn’t mean…It isn’t…He was helping me get something out of my eye.”

  “No he wasn’t. He kissed you. I saw it.”

  “So we kissed. It’s no big deal. Sometimes men and women…grown-up men and women…What I mean is…” She was so not getting into a discussion about the birds and the bees with this kid. “Look, sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.”

  Emma blinked innocently. “When you marry Daddy, you can live with us and you could be my mommy and then you could get me a baby brother.”

  Oh. My. God.

  Emma, obviously unaware Kelsey was having a freaking heart attack, kept talking. “You could live with us and sleep with Daddy. Hayley said when her mommy and daddy lived together they slept in the same bed and that’s how babies are made.”

  That Hayley kid was chock-full of information, wasn’t she?

  “Can we name my baby brother Bob?” Emma asked.

  “Hey, whoa, slow down a minute.” Kelsey tried to swallow but her mouth was too damn dry. “I’m not going to marry Jack and I’m not going to be anybody’s mommy.”

  She would never do that to a poor kid. She’d make a terrible mother.

  What Emma needed was another mother like the one the girl had had. Someone sweet. Someone Jack could fall in love with, someone he wanted to spend his life with. Someone he was proud to share his life with.

  Not someone like her.

  “You don’t like me,” Emma said, her lower lip quivering, her big eyes filled with tears.

  Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. “I didn’t say that.” Okay, that sounded harsh. She worked on gentling her tone. “Of course I like you.”

  “Really?”

  Kelsey nodded, surprised and scared to realize it was true. She did like Emma. But that didn’t mean she wanted to keep her.

  “Really. But you don’t want me as your…to be your mother.” She forced back the sense of panic creeping up her spine. “I’d make a terrible mother. I have hair like a boy, remember? You don’t want a mommy who looks like a boy, do you?”

  Emma tilted her head, her eyes miraculously tear-free. “I like your hair.”

  She gritted her teeth. “I can’t cook, I hate to clean and I don’t like to do other people’s laundry.”

  “You don’t have to. Daddy has Mrs. Crawley come in and clean and sometimes she washes clothes, too.”

  “I don’t know anything about kids.” That much was true. The only thing she knew about kids was that they were small, smelled funny and needed a lot of attention. “I don’t have enough patience to be a mother. I don’t know any fairy tales or kid songs.”

  Emma sighed as she snuggled under her covers. “That’s okay. I can teach you some songs and you can help me make cookies.”

  The kid was totally missing the point. “I only know how to make one type of cookie, and…and I’d make you eat your vegetables. And clean your own room. And take out the garbage.”

  “That’s what all moms do.” Emma yawned. “And kids are supposed to eat vegetables. They’re good for us.”

  The kid had it all figured out. “I’m sorry but I just can’t be your mommy.”

  Emma peered up at her through heavy-lidded eyes and smiled. “Yes, you will,” she said with such conviction, Kelsey’s heart jumped. “Now you kiss me good-night,” Emma said, reaching out.

  Kelsey leaned over and kissed Emma’s puckered lips. Before she could straighten, Emma wrapped her arms around her neck and held on tight.

  Tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked them back and, as gently as she could, untangled herself from Emma’s grip.

  “Good night, Kelsey. Could you send Daddy up now?”

  Unable to force words past the lump in her throat, she nodded. In the hallway, she quietly shut Emma’s door, leaned back against it and closed her eyes.

  What was she going to do? Things were getting way out of control. She rubbed a hand over her racing heart. First thing she needed to do was tell Jack. He’d talk to
Emma.

  They were having a fling. The idea of them together forever, raising Emma, maybe having a few kids of their own, was ridiculous. Even if she could easily picture them all being together. Being a family.

  Not. She’d end up hurting the people she’d come to love.

  Love. She thumped the back of her head against the door. Oh, God. She couldn’t love Jack and Emma. She wouldn’t.

  She knew what she had to do. Kelsey opened her eyes and pushed away from the door. At the top of the stairs she heard a sharp knock on the front door followed by Jack’s low greeting. Unsure whether or not to interrupt, she paused midway down the stairs.

  A feminine voice told Jack, “I’m sorry, but my hands are tied. If you don’t arrest Dillon Ward tonight, you’ll be out of a job and could very well lose your badge.”

  JACK KEPT HIS VOICE SOFT, hoping Mayor Michaels would follow suit. “This investigation is ongoing—”

  “The council doesn’t want to hear that,” the mayor said. She sighed. “You should have arrested Ward right after the murder.”“I have a new lead. I can promise you there will be an arrest soon.”

  For a moment, the mayor seemed taken aback. “It’s too late. Mark Crandall has already called an emergency meeting of city council for tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. You need to be there.”

  “Jack’s doing all he can to find this murderer,” Kelsey said hotly as she descended the stairs and stood next to him. “Who the hell are you to be talking to him this way?”

  “This is Christine Michaels. The mayor.”

  Christine blushed, her eyes flashing. She turned her back on Kelsey. “She’s here? In your house? Do you think that’s wise when everyone in town already thinks you’re sleeping with her?”

  “I have nothing to hide, and let’s keep our voices down. My daughter is asleep upstairs.”

  “You should have thought of your daughter before you got involved with her.” The mayor sniffed. “Your relationship with her and your refusal to arrest Mr. Ward is the reason your job is on the line.”

  He gritted his teeth. “I haven’t done anything immoral or illegal.”