His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family?

by Stella Bagwell

  Evan turned the vehicle onto a road that would eventually connect them with the highway leading back to Carson City. “You look like you haven’t slept in days. What’s wrong? You two been sniping at each other?”

  Sniping? Far from it, Vince thought. Since that night they’d kissed in his bedroom, everything between them had remained nice and polite. Vince had carefully kept a proper distance from her and Geena had come no closer than arm’s length to him. Each night he came home to find she’d cooked something for dinner. Not only that, she waited to eat her meals with him. He should be pleased that everything was going smoothly. Instead he was growing edgier with each day that passed.

  “No. She’s been pleasant and I—I’ve tried my best to be polite with her. There’ve been no arguments. It’s just that I—need my house back. My life back. I’m not used to sharing it with a woman. And I don’t want to get used to it—again!”

  He wanted to be able to go to bed at night and fall asleep, Vince thought. Instead of thinking about his ex-wife lying in the bedroom next to his.

  “Hmm. You and Geena used to share a house and a life together,” Evan said thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s the thing that’s bothering you. It’s too much like it used to be—before things went south and she started drinking.”

  Vince started to tell his partner he was way off track. But quickly decided he’d be wasting his breath trying to hide the truth from Evan. The other man knew him too well.

  “None of this should be happening, Evan. But I’m getting used to going home and finding her in the kitchen, stirring up something good to eat, to seeing her curled up on the couch reading a book or watching TV—it’s almost like she’s supposed to be there. But then I take one look at that mound of baby she’s carrying and the cold facts hit me. She belongs to another man. She doesn’t belong in my house. Or my heart.”

  Frowning, Evan glanced his way. “You sound like you wish she was still your wife. Do you?”

  Vince sighed. “I didn’t give Geena up all those years ago because I stopped loving her. I got the divorce because I realized I was making her unhappy.”

  “Well, what the hell was she doing to you?” Evan suddenly snapped at him. “Maybe you ought to remember she was spending her days throwing back scotch or vodka, or whatever the hell she was drinking, and crying for you to quit the police force. She should have been doing everything to support you. Instead, she was ruining herself and you! Surely you don’t want that kind of heartache back in your life.”

  Evan’s vehement reaction had Vince squaring around in the seat to look at him. “There’s no reason for you to be concerned. I have no intentions of getting Geena back in my life! Hellfire, the woman is married, along with being pregnant. She’s off-limits.”

  Sarcasm twisted Evan’s features. “You can verify that she’s married? You need to wake up, Vince. Just because she’s going to have a baby doesn’t mean she’s married or even engaged.”

  Damn it, that possibility had been going around in Vince’s head for days now. Practically since the first night he saw her lying in the hospital bed.

  “I’m not stupid, Evan. That notion has already crossed my mind.”

  Evan tugged at the brim of his cowboy hat. “I don’t have to tell you that you’re a brother to me, Vince. It bothers me to think of you pining for a wife who broke your heart a few years ago. I want you to find a woman who will appreciate you for the man you are.”

  “I’m not pining for Geena,” Vince said crossly, then let out a heavy sigh. “It’s just that being around her again is bringing up too many old memories. And the hell of it is, she doesn’t remember any of them.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing. In her situation, she doesn’t need to be distracted. She needs to be focused on the future and finding her home and family. Wherever that might be.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t seem to be making any headway in that department,” Vince said glumly. “It’s driving me crazy that we can’t come up with anything on her mother, Rhonda.”

  By now they’d reached the paved highway, and while Evan waited at the stop sign for the oncoming traffic to pass, he said, “From what you’ve told me, Geena was never that close to her mother. Even if we did locate this Rhonda, she might not have kept in touch with her daughter.”

  “You could be right about that. Geena loved her mother, but after her father died, Rhonda made the front door to their home a revolving door for men. By the time Geena and I divorced, she was on her third husband, and he was a real jerk. I wouldn’t be surprised if the woman has gone through two or three more husbands since then.”

  “Sounds like she had some serious issues,” Evan commented.

  “She did. But if she could give us some clues about Geena, I’d be willing to talk with her.”

  “I’m hopeful it won’t come to that,” Evan said. “We’ve been getting a lot of hits on the pic we posted on our missing persons site. I think someone will eventually contact us with the information we need.”

  And then he could say goodbye to her once and for all, Vince thought. Although it shouldn’t, the idea left him feeling strangely hollow. “She could go into labor any day now, Evan. How am I going to deal with a baby in the house?”

  Evan shrugged. “You’ll be a temporary daddy. It’ll be good training for when you have kids of your own. With the right woman, that is.”

  It was clear his partner didn’t believe Geena was the right one. Well, he could understand Evan’s thinking. The man only knew of Geena’s faults. He had no way of knowing she’d been gentle and loving and completely devoted to him. But all of that was irrelevant now.

  “Sometimes you can be a very funny guy without even trying,” Vince muttered. “Being a detective is the only job I want.”

  “There’s more to life than being a detective.”

  Geena had told him those very words an endless number of times, he thought. But he’d not listened. Not completely, anyway. In the end his job had torn them apart. And now, ironically, it had thrown them back together.

  “Just because you and Noelle want a passel of kids doesn’t mean I do.”

  Evan made a scoffing noise. “Sometimes I wonder how you and I ever became friends. You have a weird sense of humor, you watch too much damned basketball and you eat way too much junk food. You don’t know the back end of the horse from the front and you think a tapadero is some kind of dance. But somehow you’ve managed to become my brother.”

  “Gee, what an honor,” Vince joked.

  Evan scowled at him. “Brother or not, though, I’m giving you two weeks to get rid of that blasted relic in the office. And if you don’t I’m going to throw it in the Dumpster!”

  Feigning ignorance, Vince asked, “Relic? What are you talking about?”

  “You know damned well what I’m talking about. That antiquated percolator of yours that I’ve had to put up with ever since I got promoted to detective. When I want coffee, I don’t like being forced to wait thirty minutes until I can pour myself a cup.”

  “Instant gratification,” Vince grumbled. “That’s what’s wrong with people like you. You don’t understand that getting the best is worth the wait.”

  Evan glanced over at him and slowly began to chuckle. After a moment Vince found himself laughing along with him. Through the years, whenever things got too serious, Evan never failed to bring up the issue of the percolator. And every time the two men ended up with the chuckles.

  “One of these days I’m going to surprise you and get a new coffeemaker,” Vince taunted.

  “You do and I’ll kick your butt.”

  *

  Back in Carson City, at Tahoe General Hospital, Geena had just finished her checkup with Dr. Dunlevy and gone down to the cafeteria to meet Marcella for lunch. The nurse was fast becoming a good friend, and Geena didn’t want to think of the time she’d have to say goodbye to the woman.

  Now, as they sat a table positioned near a wall of plate glass with a view of a small landscaped courtyard,
Marcella plied her with questions.

  “So what does the doctor think? Is he concerned that you’ve not remembered anything yet?”

  Geena swallowed a bite of chicken sandwich before she answered. “He says amnesia is unpredictable. From what he says, my concussion is healed and I might be unconsciously blocking out thoughts of my past because I’m comfortable with things as they are now. Honestly, I’m beginning to think he’s a quack. Why would I be comfortable with this hellish limbo I’m stuck in? I want to go home. I want to be with my baby’s father.”

  Marcella forked a French fry to her mouth. “Is it really that hellish? You have a nice home to live in and a strong, handsome detective to look after you. Most women would consider that heavenly.”

  Frowning, Geena reached for her glass of milk. “That’s just it, Marcella. So I guess in a way Dr. Dunlevy is right. Living with Vince has gotten to be—well, pleasant. And I—this is going to sound awful—but I’ve been having strange feelings about the man. They’re soft and sexy and—I should be ashamed of myself.” She groaned as a blush stung her cheeks. “I only hope that once I get back with the baby’s father, I’ll forget all about Vince.”

  An empathetic smile crossed Marcella’s face. “Don’t worry about it. Right now your body is on hormone overload. It’s only normal for you to look at Vince and feel a little hot and bothered.”

  Normal? There was nothing natural about the way her heart pounded every time she got within ten feet of the man. And there was nothing ordinary about the way she’d kissed him or the way she’d been dreaming about doing it again. But she couldn’t make that confession to Marcella. It was far too embarrassing.

  “So Vince and Evan haven’t unearthed any new information concerning your situation?” Marcella asked after a moment.

  Geena let out a hopeless sigh. “No. And you want to know what I’m beginning to think?”

  A vague smile crossed Marcella’s face. “You mean besides having erotic daydreams about your ex and deciding your neurologist is a quack?”

  Grimacing, Geena used her fingers to tear off a bite of the sandwich. “Yes, besides those things. It’s becoming fairly obvious to me that I don’t have a family.”

  “Oh, Geena, that can’t be right. I mean, look at you. You had a serious connection to a man.”

  “Obviously. But think about it, Marcella, several days have passed since my accident, and no one has bothered to look for me. No one has reported me missing. No one has called the sheriff’s department asking about a pregnant woman. If I had a family, some of them would’ve been aware that I was traveling and where I was headed. A man, whether it be a boyfriend, fiancé or husband, wouldn’t need to be some sort of Sherlock Holmes to track me here.”

  Regarding her thoughtfully, Marcella leaned back in her chair. “You are making sense, Geena. Except that everyone has relatives of some sort.”

  “According to Vince my father died when I was child. And I wasn’t very close to my mother. I had no siblings. So that only leaves distant relatives that I didn’t associate with.”

  “I see. So you’ve talked to Vince about this?”

  “I’ve told him I believe there’s no one out there looking for me. But he—well, I honestly don’t think he wants to accept the idea. After all, he doesn’t want to feed and house me forever.”

  Leaning forward, Marcella gave her an encouraging smile. “Well, you shouldn’t worry about any of that now. The most important thing is the baby. Have you seen the OB that Dr. Merrick referred you to?”

  Geena nodded. “I went to his office yesterday. He said everything seems normal and in his opinion I could go into labor any time now.”

  “That’s so exciting! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll have the baby before something or someone pulls you away from here. I want to be able to spend some time with the little guy before you go.”

  Geena smiled. “It might be a little girl.”

  The nurse’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Oh, did the doctor do an ultrasound and tell you the gender?”

  “He did an ultrasound, but I told him I didn’t want to know the sex. I want it to be a surprise.”

  “Hmm. So you’re an old-fashioned girl.” She grinned. “Have you picked out names?”

  Geena turned her gaze away from the partially eaten sandwich on her plate, to the courtyard outside the glass wall. Presently summer was in full swing, but where would she be by the time autumn began to tinge the leaves with bright reds and golds? Cold weather was a few months away yet, but the uncertainty of her and her baby’s future was already leaving a chill in her heart.

  “If I had picked out names before the accident, I don’t remember them. I have no idea if I’d planned to name the baby after a relative or some other person I was close to. Dear God, I didn’t realize a person’s past had so much influence on the future.”

  Marcella reached across the small round table and touched her hand to the back of Geena’s. “Don’t let it get you down. Heck, what’s in a name anyway? I’d just be thrilled to have the baby.”

  She turned her attention back to the nurse’s kind face. “You say that like you want more children. Would you like to have siblings for Harry and Peter?”

  Marcella’s blue eyes grew soft and misty, and in that moment Geena was reminded that she wasn’t the only woman to encounter a troubled spot in the road. The nurse’s life hadn’t exactly gone down a path of roses.

  “I couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful. But I seriously doubt that will ever happen. There’s not many men around who’d be willing to saddle himself with a woman who already has two kids and wants more.” She shook her head with certainty. “No, I expect the dream of me having more babies is probably over. But at least I have my two sons.”

  “Never say never, Marcella. You might meet the perfect guy for you and the boys.”

  Marcella chuckled. “Believe me, I’m not holding my breath.”

  For the next few minutes the two women turned their attention to the food on their plates until Marcella broke the companionable silence.

  “Geena, I notice you’re often touching the silver cross you’re wearing. Is that something you bought for yourself? I don’t remember it being in the few pieces of jewelry Lilly sent to you.”

  Unaware that she’d been fingering the cross, Geena dropped her hand. “Actually, other than the clothes I had on, this is the only thing I have from my other life. Vince found it at the accident scene. It was caught on a piece of sagebrush. Funny thing, when he first showed it to me, I recognized it.”

  “It must have held a very special meaning for you,” Marcella remarked.

  “I think so, too,” she murmured. “But right now I don’t have any idea who gave it to me or why.”

  “Maybe the answers to those questions will get you on the path to your real home.”

  Her real home. Yes, she had to keep reminding herself that Vince’s place was only her temporary home. And sooner rather than later she was going to have to move on.

  *

  It was very late that night before Vince finally let himself into the house. When he walked into the living room, he discovered the TV was playing with the volume on low and Geena was lying on the couch sound asleep.

  For long moments, he stood staring down at her and thinking back to the times he’d come home late from work and found her asleep. In those instances an empty cocktail glass had always been sitting close by. Tonight there was nothing but a milk glass resting on the coffee table.

  No doubt the years they’d been apart had changed her for the better. Which only proved to Vince that he’d done the right thing by letting her go. Still, there were moments like this when he looked at her quiet, lovely face and the ache of losing her very nearly choked him with pain.

  Determined to shove the dismal thoughts away, he switched off the TV and then picked up a small blanket off the back of the couch and carefully spread it over her. She didn’t stir, and after one last glance at her sleeping fac
e, he walked out of the room.

  A few minutes later, after changing into a pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt, he was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a plateful of chicken and rice, when he heard her footsteps.

  Looking up, he saw her yawning and wiping her eyes as she entered the kitchen.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hello. Sorry I woke you.”

  She came over to the table and pulled out the chair next to his. “You didn’t wake me,” she said as she took a seat. “My back did. It feels like I’ve been mopping floors all day.”

  “It’s almost midnight. You should go to bed and get some rest,” he told her.

  “I will—in a few minutes.” She gestured to his plate. “I see you found the chicken and rice. There was tossed salad in the fridge.”

  “Thanks, but this is plenty.”

  She glanced at a small digital clock sitting on the cabinet counter. “It’s after midnight. You must’ve had a busy day.”

  “Very. A cutting horse was stolen off a ranch near Storey County. Evan and I had to make a trip out there to investigate. That took most of the afternoon. Tonight we were going over evidence.”

  “You spent that much time over a horse?” she asked with surprise.

  “The stallion is worth six figures. Not counting the money the ranch makes in stud fees. Our initial thoughts are that the theft is an inside job. But Evan and I will have to come up with the evidence to prove it.”

  “I have every confidence that you will. From what Marcella tells me, you two guys have solved some high-profile crimes around here.”

  Vince made a scoffing noise. “She’s exaggerating. Probably to make you feel like your case is in competent hands.”

  She shook her head. “I understand that my sort of problem can take time. No one called into the department today about me, did they?”

  “That’s why I was late coming home. I wanted to check all the media postings and phone calls. Sorry to tell you, but nothing today.”

  She left the chair and collected a small glass from the cabinet. After she filled it with orange juice, she returned to her seat and slowly sipped the drink.