by SUE FINEMAN
The girls were sleeping soundly, so Baylee went to her own room to change for bed. The suitcases sat unpacked on the bed, and a stack of her freshly washed underwear sat beside them. Setting Chance’s suitcase against the wall nearest the bathroom, Baylee unzipped her suitcase and pulled out something to sleep in. She’d planned to drive back to Houston tonight, but with a killer on the way, she didn’t especially want to be anywhere alone, not even in a car. Still, she didn’t intend to be here long enough to unpack.
Who was this Alistair person Emma fought with the night before she was killed? Chance seemed to think he was someone of importance, but Baylee had her doubts. Jack Blackburn had all but confessed to killing Emma. Funny how he’d stopped calling to bug Chance, stopped asking the witch Emma to call off the spell.
Stopped calling.
Had Black Jack finally caught on to their scam? Did he know Baylee was pretending to be Emma? Would it make any difference? He already wanted to kill her.
Rubbing the goose bumps off her arms, Baylee slid under the covers and turned off the bedside lamp. She was almost asleep when she heard a child calling, “Dad? Are you in here?”
Baylee sat up and turned on the lamp. Steven stood in the bathroom doorway. “Where’s my dad?”
“He’s downstairs with Uncle Greg and the FBI.” Seeing the scared look in the boy’s eyes, she said, “You know, it’s scary in here all by myself. Could I stay with you, so I don’t get so scared?”
“Yeah,” he said so quietly she barely heard him.
She followed him into the other bedroom, where he slid under the covers. She lay beside him on top of the covers. He was shaking, so she put her arm across his chest and held the slender young body. “That’s better,” she murmured. “I’m not so scared now.”
“Me neither.”
Steven was the oldest kid in his family, but he was still a little boy, and he’d heard some scary things tonight. How many other eight-year-old boys had their mothers murdered and then had the killer come after their dads?
The boy finally stopped shaking and fell asleep. Baylee lay wide awake for several minutes, understanding Chance’s devotion to his family. Shy little Sarah didn’t say much, but she craved attention, and Susie chattered and chattered. Steven tried to play it tough. An eight-year-old tough guy who wasn’t tough at all.
When Baylee was eight, Grandma made her wear jeans all the time to cover the scars on her legs and backside. When anything went wrong in the house, Grandpa blamed Baylee, and he liked to hit with the buckle end of his belt. On bare skin. She still wore the scars from those beatings.
Now another man wanted to hurt her. But Black Jack couldn’t get to her tonight, not with Greg and Chance here and the FBI hanging around.
Steven rolled over and sighed in his sleep, and Baylee closed her eyes.
Time to sleep.
<>
Chance walked upstairs to check on the kids. He was bone tired and didn’t look forward to sleeping in the same bed as his son, but every bed in the house was full. Maybe he could sneak into Baylee’s room. Would anyone know if he did?
He peeked in on the girls and then walked into his room. The bathroom light was off, so Chance flipped the light on.
Leaning on the doorframe, he stared at the bed. Steven sprawled over most of the bed, and Baylee clung to the side. What was she doing in here? It reminded him of when Steven was a baby. Emma used to bring him into their bed to nurse him, and then she’d leave him there after he fell asleep. Even then, he managed to hog the bed. Now he was a gangly eight-year-old, a kid who blamed himself for not protecting his mother from a killer.
Baylee yawned and sat up. “I got scared, and Steven said I could stay in here for awhile.”
Chance propped his hands on his hips, not believing a word of it. “Is that right?”
“That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Is the FBI still here?”
“Yeah. It’s a waiting game now. Greg went to bed, and Hudson sacked out in the family room for a few hours. Rolfs is keeping watch, and Greg has someone watching down the road.”
He walked toward her and tipped her chin up. “Baylee, we’re okay. Greg has people all over the area, and the FBI has a bunch of people hanging around. They’ll get Blackburn.”
Her arms snaked around his waist and his wrapped around her shoulders. He held her for several seconds before she sighed and said, “Goodnight, Chance.”
He kissed her lightly and released her. “Goodnight, Baylee.”
“Night, Baylee,” said Steven.
She leaned down and kissed his forehead, and then ducked through the bathroom and went back to bed.
So much for the idea of sneaking into her bed.
It wouldn’t happen tonight.
Chapter Thirteen
Three days passed, three days with little to do but cook and eat, talk with the various members of the Gregory family, and play with the kids. Neen and Greg had a nice house, but Baylee had a bad case of cabin fever. Greg took the kids to school and brought them home, while Chance and Baylee stayed hidden inside. The kids needed to go outside and run off some of their energy, but Chance insisted they stay in the house except for school and Steven’s baseball practice sessions.
Baylee and Chance spent very little time alone together in the daytime. After the kids were put to bed, they sat in Baylee’s room, talking softly. She longed for the closeness they’d shared in Houston, but she wouldn’t sleep with him with his mother and the kids in the house. Carol said the kids still had nightmares, and she didn’t want them walking in on her and Chance.
He’d told her his family had to come first, and seeing him with his kids, she understood. His mother was wonderful at soothing hurt feelings and handling disputes, but there were times when the kids looked at Chance as if their little hearts were breaking. Baylee felt so sorry for them, but nothing she could say or do would bring their mother back.
On the fourth day, Bo brought Scruffy over and the kids raced around the house playing with Steven’s little dog. Watching the kids interact with their pet, Baylee felt the desperation in their too-tight hugs and the frustration that sometimes exploded into anger. The dog patiently tolerated everything the kids did to it, tail wagging happily, licking little faces and showing them unconditional love.
Chance spent time with each one of the kids, and Baylee read guilt and regret in his eyes every time they spoke of their mother. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was in worse shape than his kids. He blamed himself for Emma’s murder, but if he’d been in the house when the killer took Emma, Chance would have been killed, too.
FBI agents Rolfs and Hudson hung around the house, watching out the windows and talking on their cell phones. Greg was in and out, tending to the business of law enforcement in Caledonia County, but the man they were after had disappeared. Baylee knew he was around here somewhere, waiting for his opportunity. Jack Blackburn had a boiling rage inside him, yet he patiently waited for the right time. He’d killed his ex-wife nearly three months after he killed Emma Gregory. How long would he wait to kill her and Chance?
On the afternoon of the fifth day, Baylee received a phone call from Anne. She walked upstairs to talk in private.
“I hate to tell you this, Baylee, but Olivia has moved into the lake house.”
Baylee groaned. “How did she get in?”
“The cleaning crew was there and the door wasn’t locked. They didn’t think anything about it, since they’d seen her there before. Joe went by to mow and check on the house and he found her there. I had a long talk with her on the phone, and she claims she doesn’t have the money to get another place to live.”
“I wondered about that. She was counting on inheriting Bay’s estate.”
“Yes, she was.”
Baylee sighed deeply. What was she supposed to do? If she threw Olivia out of the lake house, would she go back to the apartment in New York? If she did, Baylee would have to evict her again. Her brothers didn’t have much to do w
ith her. They probably wouldn’t take her in. Didn’t she have any friends she could stay with?
“I shouldn’t feel sorry for her, but I do.”
“I know,” said Anne. “I feel sorry for her, too. Her mother indulged her and turned her into a whiny, needy little girl. Cody tried to turn that around, but his ex-wife had custody of their daughter, and there wasn’t much he could do.”
“Is her mother still alive?”
“No, she died years ago.”
Olivia never grew up. She was still whiny and needy. Cody had left his daughter a lot of money and she’d blown it all on a lavish lifestyle. Baylee could set up a monthly stipend, enough for Olivia to take care of herself, but there were so many other people more deserving. Still, she had to do something.
What would Bay do in this situation? Would she throw Olivia out in the street?
Anne asked, “What do you want me to do, Baylee?”
“I’ll take care of it, Anne.” She needed to get out of this house anyway, and Jack Blackburn didn’t know about the lake house. He might find the house in Houston, but not the lake house. She’d be safe there.
“Let me know if I can help.”
“I will. Thanks, Anne.”
How could she tell Chance she was leaving? Would he understand why she had to go? Would the FBI care if she left?
After she took care of Olivia, she’d fly back to Tacoma and take care of business there. With Jack Blackburn in Texas, what better place to go than Tacoma? Although she’d done her share of entertaining the kids, cooking, and cleaning up, she felt out of place here. Chance was trying so hard to establish a deeper bond with his kids, and he didn’t need her there, getting in the way.
She pulled her suitcase out of the closet and began packing.
Chance appeared in the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“Packing. I have to print out a map from here to the lake house. I wasn’t paying attention when you brought me here.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I have to, Chance. Olivia has moved into the lake house. It might take a crowbar to get her out, but I want to put that property on the market, and I can’t do it with her living there. She’s a slob.”
He pulled her into a warm hug. “Honey, I can’t leave right now.”
She closed her suitcase and sighed. “I know, Chance. Your kids need you here. I’ll be all right. There’s no way Jack Blackburn could know about the lake house, and as soon as I get things settled with Olivia, I’ll fly to Tacoma for a few days.”
He sat on the side of the bed. “I should go there myself and meet with my insurance agent.”
“I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave, and if you can get away then, that’s fine. If not, my pilot can take you when you’re ready to go, assuming I still own the plane then.”
Over the past few days, Chance had been increasingly distant. It was as if he’d sorted his life into boxes. His family was packed in the biggest, most important box. Jack Blackburn had a box, and Chance’s career also had a box. Another box held the problems with making a new home for himself and his children. Baylee felt like she’d been shoved into the smallest, least significant box, the box he could do without.
He meant everything to her, but the feeling wasn’t shared. If he loved her, he’d put her in the family box, not in the to-be-thrown-away box. Her heart felt heavy, but she couldn’t let him know how she felt. He had enough to worry about without a clingy woman begging him to love her. She didn’t belong here with him and his family.
He gave her hand a soft squeeze. “It’s not safe for you to leave now.”
“The FBI will make sure no one follows me. I’ll be all right.”
“But—”
“I’ll be fine, Chance. Agent Hudson said he’d follow me.”
Chance raked in a deep, shaky breath and blew it out. “I’ll miss you, honey.”
She’d miss him, too, but she had to take care of the problem with Olivia. And he had to take care of his kids.
Disappointment shone in his mother’s eyes and in Neen’s, and Susie cried. Baylee dropped to her knees and hugged the little girl and talked to her until she stopped crying. Sarah stood across the room until Baylee motioned her over for a hug. Adam gave her a hit and run kiss, and Steven said, “Bye, Baylee.”
“Bye, Steven. Good luck in your game Saturday. I hope you pitch a no-hitter.” He gave her a little smile and then ran after Adam, who’d swiped his Game Boy.
After Chance spoke with Hudson, he walked Baylee out to the car and gave her a long, warm hug. “Hudson said he’d follow you. Call if you see or hear anything from Blackburn.”
She nodded, gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, and climbed into the Jag. With a wave to the rest of the family, she drove down the long drive to the street, turned left, and headed for Houston. One of the FBI agents followed her through Caledonia and a few miles down the highway before turning back.
After all the goodbyes, Baylee felt numb. She was alone again, as she had been for most of her life. She should be used to it by now, but after spending this time with Chance, after experiencing the incredible sex they shared, she felt lost without him. Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. This was no time to cry. She had things to do, an estate to settle, real estate and an airplane to sell, and a job and apartment in Tacoma.
But first, she had to figure out what to do about Olivia Wheeler.
<>
Chance watched Baylee drive away and part of his spirit went with her. Under other circumstances, he might have asked her to marry him, but he couldn’t expect her to take a mother role with his kids. They were a handful right now, and they wouldn’t understand how he could replace Mommy so soon after she died.
He’d been trying to keep his distance, to soften the blow of her leaving, as if anything could make him miss her any less. In a few short weeks she’d become an essential part of his life. He tried to tell himself he’d see her again someday, but unless she came back to Caledonia, that wouldn’t happen.
Steven said something, and Chance snapped at him. The boy jumped back as if stung, and Chance apologized. “Sorry, Steven. What did you say?”
“Is Baylee coming back?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
The kid cocked his head. “I thought you liked her.”
“I do like her. I like her a lot, but she has things to do, and we have to find a house to live in, and we need to buy furniture and stuff.”
“Did our house really blow up?”
All the air left Chance’s body. He’d tried so hard to hide this from the kids. “You heard something?”
“Yeah,” he whispered.
He had to have a long talk with Bo about the kids overhearing things. “Yeah, the house blew up. I brought the pictures and important papers and some of your mother’s things with me, but the rest is gone.” They really were starting over. Without Baylee Patterson.
Greg walked in the door yelling, “Chance, you idiot. How could you let her go?”
“It wasn’t my choice.” He followed Greg into his study and pulled the doors closed behind him, so the kids wouldn’t hear. “Olivia is at the lake house, and Baylee wanted to—”
“So what!” Greg dropped his voice. “There’s a killer out there somewhere.”
“Hudson said they’d keep an eye on her.”
Greg opened the door and yelled for Hudson, who’d followed Greg through the front door. “Who’s watching Baylee?”
“I followed her for a few miles. She should be at her destination by now.”
“Which is where?”
Hudson stared at him. “A lake near Houston. We have people in Houston.”
“What’s the address? Is there an agent with her?”
“No, but I understand it’s a gated community and there are guards at the gate round the clock.”
Chance leaned back against Greg’s desk and listened to Greg ream out the FBI agent for not being more informed and for not providing protect
ion to an intended target of the man they were after.
“We don’t have enough people to watch every intended victim,” Hudson said. “He’s more likely to come here or go to the house in Houston, so that’s where we—”
Greg interrupted to yell again, and Chance walked out of the room. He intended to call Baylee and ask her to find armed guards to watch the lake house, and he couldn’t talk on the phone with Greg yelling in his ear.
They obviously couldn’t depend on the FBI to do it. If he’d known they weren’t watching Baylee, he would have insisted she stay another day, until they could get security in place. The agent in charge of capturing Blackburn had lied. Hudson didn’t care about protecting potential victims. He only cared about catching the killer.
<>
After giving her name to the guard at the gate of the exclusive community of lake homes, Baylee followed the directions on the map to a sprawling one-level home. The lush landscaping was gorgeous, as she somehow knew it would be. Joe had a magic touch with green things.
She pushed the button on the visor and the garage door opened. Parking beside a vintage pickup, she turned off the engine. Was that Olivia’s truck? Or did Bay have a vehicle here?
Baylee called Anne. “There’s an ancient pickup in the garage here. Is it Olivia’s or mine?”
“It was Cody’s, but I don’t think it runs. He liked to tinker with it in his spare time. I thought Bay sold it years ago.”
Still sitting in her car, Baylee pushed the button for the garage door to close behind her while she talked with Anne. “Would you find a real estate broker and check into condos in Houston? See if you can find a nice one- or two-bedroom condo within walking distance of shopping.” The money Baylee had inherited from Bay had come from Cody, and Olivia was Cody’s daughter. No matter that she was a royal bitch and had spent all her own money. The woman needed a place to live, and she wasn’t equipped to provide for herself.
“How much do you want to spend?”