“Accessories,” Gianna announced, and Tori nodded.
“Like cute earrings? Scarves?”
“Exactly!” Gianna led the way to a fun little store down the mall but managed to stop by two separate kiosks, where Seth parted with more of the current week’s paycheck.
“This is cute, isn’t it?” He paused by a window where a store mannequin sported a stylish short jacket, a great scarf and a rippled headband. “Tori, what do you think?”
“I love it, but it’s expensive.” The moderate price tag made her shrink back. Her expression told Seth more about the past two years than he cared to know.
“I actually have an almost identical jacket in the store for less than half that price, Seth.” Gianna tipped her gaze up to his, and the moment she did, time slowed...
Then paused.
It paused for her, too. He saw it in her eyes, the soft intake of breath, the moment stretching into something beyond today.
She blinked, sighed, then turned her attention to Tori. “It’s a size eight, but I think it would work for you, Tori. And if we get the scarf here and use those cute boots we just bought—”
“The boots that are growing heavier as we speak,” Seth reminded them, but he smiled as he said it, because he couldn’t remember ever having this much fun on a shopping trip.
“Why don’t you take those things to the car,” Gianna advised him. “We’ll go in here and buy this scarf, and that should just about do it for today, don’t you think?”
“Pajamas.”
“Oh.” Gianna made a face. “I should have thought of that. Okay, Seth, meet us at Penney’s and we’ll make cruising the pj’s section our last stop before we stop by The Cakery.”
“After the lunch we had? Really?”
She sent a deliberate look to her expanded waistline and he backed off instantly. “Sorry, should have thought first. Cake is imperative. My bad.”
“I love babies.” Tori smiled softly as she acknowledged Gianna’s condition with a glance. “If I take a babysitting course this spring, can I maybe help you when the baby comes?”
“That’s a marvelous idea,” Gianna told her and she wrapped an arm around the shy girl in a quick hug. “And it’s two babies, so I’ll be needing help. If it’s all right with your father, of course.”
As if he had a choice. Seeing those two faces turned toward him, waiting for his answer, he had to nod, which meant he might have to practice saying “no” all over again. Right now, having Tori back in Western New York, all he wanted to say was “yes.” “I like the idea of a babysitting course,” he told them. “Money in the bank, kid.”
“I’ll save it for my first car,” Tori announced, and the fact that she’d be able to drive in four years was another reality shock.
Tori wasn’t a little girl any longer. The shopping trip from department to department made that apparent.
And she wasn’t sure of herself. She’d been a self-confident child before she’d disappeared. Now she seemed shy and nervous, carefully picking what to say and do. Seth was well schooled in victim mentality. He understood how victims would compromise as needed to stay safe. Stay alive.
That was what he saw in Tori, to a lesser degree. The relaxed and capable girl he’d helped raise had done as needed to stay off her mother’s radar.
Or the boyfriend’s radar. And that thought coiled Seth’s anger deeper and tighter.
But time and God could provide great healing. He believed that, and he’d do whatever he needed for Tori to see that, too.
By the time they pulled into his driveway, his parents’ car was parked in front of the garage.
“Tori!” His mother bounded from her car and grabbed Tori in a huge hug mingled with tears. “I’m so glad to see you. Oh, let me look at you!” She stepped back, marveled at how Tori had grown, then hugged her again.
“Jen, there is a perfectly good house we can do this in,” Seth’s father reminded them. “I’m gonna assume it’s warmer than standing out here, too.” But he stepped right up and took his turn hugging his beloved almost granddaughter. “Tori, we missed you.”
“Me, too, Grandpa.”
A mix of emotions surged through Seth, but the sound of Gianna’s motor pushed him to hand his mother the keys to the house. “You guys take the pizza in and get settled. I’m going to run across the street and thank Gianna again.”
“Go right ahead, we’ve got all this stuff.” Charlie grabbed hold of several shopping bags, Jenny retrieved the pizza and they made their way through the snow that had reblanketed the sidewalk while they were gone.
Seth jogged down the driveway and across the village street. “Gianna?”
She turned toward his voice with a sack full of groceries, and when she did, his heart did a happy dance inside his chest. “Hey.”
“Thank you.” He drew close and smiled down at her, wondering how anyone’s eyes could be so deep and dark and still shine so sweetly. “This shopping trip was destined for disaster until you came along. I owe you.”
“You don’t.” She puffed a tuft of windblown hair from her eyes, but the stubborn lock resettled exactly where it had been, across her eye and cheek.
Don’t do it.
He shouldn’t. He knew it. She knew it. A mix of emotions darkened her gaze, and the slight intake of breath said she should step back. Break the moment. Ease away.
But she didn’t, and Seth reached down to move the strand of hair back, behind her ear. The curve of his hand stayed right there, cradling her face, her cheek, the soft skin an invitation to linger.
“Seth, I—”
“I know.” She couldn’t, shouldn’t and wouldn’t, and because he felt the same, he understood, but his stubborn hand seemed quite happy where it was, tucked against the softness of her skin.
She flushed. Warmth stole beneath his palm despite the cold winter’s day. She raised her chin, and the pain he read in her face, a sorrow that bit deep, said too much. “It’s just—”
“I get it, Gianna.” He smiled down at her but then gave his hand and her cheek a quick look. “But this might be beyond us. Beyond reason. So we might just have to go with it. See where it leads.”
“It can’t lead anywhere, Seth. Not ever.” She did step away then. She turned her attention to his house and took another step back. “Go. Enjoy your daughter and your pizza. And thank you for a lovely afternoon.”
She moved inside, not allowing him to get the door for her, and she didn’t look back.
Not ever...
He’d heard the words. He’d read her gaze and the strength governing her intentions. She was right, too. He’d promised himself to avoid entangled situations after his disastrous marriage to Jasmine. He’d been careless about the legalities of parenting someone else’s child, and he’d paid the price with two years of aching loss. And he was currently reembroiled in the same situation. Tori was here, safe and sound, but she wasn’t his legally, which meant he could be setting himself up for a fall all over again.
But as he retraced his steps up his drive, the curve of Gianna’s cheek imprinted on his heart, he wasn’t any too sure what to do about that, because staying away from her held no appeal whatsoever.
Chapter Eight
“We have another consignment for the bicentennial.” Carmen waved a scrap of paper like the gold ring at a carnival attraction. “Two more officers.”
Gianna scrutinized the grand-opening sign she’d been stenciling on a painted plywood board before turning. “Are they coming in soon, and do we need to order fabric?”
“Yes and no.”
A pragmatic answer that revealed little. Gianna straightened up and walked away from the sign. Maybe it would look better if she absented herself for ten minutes and then looked with fresh eyes. “I’m confused.”
“They’re coming today, but they’re women, and women officers didn’t exist back then so we’re outfitting them in period costume.”
“Which period?” Gianna frowned. The thought of encumbering officers with clothes that could impede their progress during a problem didn’t sit well. “We’re not talking long dresses, are we? Because that’s not only stupid, it’s dangerous.”
“You are correct, of course. I was thinking something along these lines.” She handed Gianna two quick sketches she must have done that morning. “What do you think?”
“The halter-collar plaid shirt is great,” Gianna told her. “But I’m not a fan of the pants. What about a simple A-line skirt?”
“Or maybe breeches?”
“Yes.” Gianna tapped the sketch with a finger of approval. “The pockets would allow room to keep a weapon. We’re not putting cops on the street with no recourse if threatened.”
“Because town celebrations are a dangerous enterprise.” Carmen deadpanned the words, but her eyes said she understood.
“There’s danger everywhere these days, Gram.” Gianna stared outdoors and sighed. “Nothing is really safe, is it?”
“Was it ever, darling?” Carmen put her hand on Gianna’s shoulder. “The Bible tells us story after story of anger and animosity. Jealousy. Greed. Man is as inclined to sin as the sparks to fly upward.”
“Then how do you avoid it?” Gianna asked. She passed a hand across her rounded belly. “How do I even think to keep these babies safe in a world filled with risk?”
“We do our best. And we pray. And this is a nice town, safe enough.”
“Nothing seems safe enough, Gram. Not anymore.” Gianna whispered the words, wondering again if she’d done the right thing. Two babies would come to her in a few months’ time. Was she strong enough? Stable enough? Quick enough to parent them both once they were old enough to dash off in separate directions?
Carmen interpreted the question behind the words. “Your options were guided by your faith and your belief in life, Gianna.” She took Gianna’s face between her strong and capable hands, hands that had shown Gianna so much in three short decades. “You chose life. Life is never a bad thing.”
A knock sounded on the side door. Gianna hauled in a calming breath, planted a smile of welcome on her face and went to open the door.
Seth stood on the other side. Tall. Strong. Vigorous. And in uniform.
Her heart clutched and refused to let go.
She knew he was a deputy sheriff. But the visual of Seth in uniform, looking strong and defensive, solid and reliable, rooted her to the floor. She tried to move and couldn’t.
“Gianna?” His voice held a question and something else. Concern? Of course, because she must look woefully foolish, staring at him.
“Seth, come in. I wasn’t expecting you because we already fit you. But I think I was expecting her.” She shifted her attention to the young woman in a similar uniform, and the woman’s bemused expression said she’d rather be anywhere else right now.
So would Gianna.
“Come in!” Carmen bustled their way, grabbed the woman officer’s hand and led her into the well-lit shop area. “I am Carmen Bianchi, and this is my granddaughter, Gianna Costanza. And you are?”
“Before I got told I needed to get trussed up in some kind of Barbie-doll getup for this summer? I was Deputy Sheriff Nikki Peters. Now I’m not sure who or what I am.”
Carmen laughed. “I do believe our Seth felt much the same way last month, but we will do everything we can to ensure your confidence, Deputy.”
The back door opened and another woman stepped in. She wasn’t in uniform, but her grin said she’d overheard some of Nikki’s spiel. “Make her wear a skirt, please. It will be the first time since her high school graduation gown.”
“I outrank you, and I’m armed,” Nikki reminded the other woman, but her shoulders relaxed. “Not a skirt, right? You wouldn’t truss me up in something that impedes my job, would you?”
“No, ma’am.” Gianna moved closer and handed her the sketch with the trousers crossed out. “Here’s what we’re thinking.” She then added a computer printout of a pair of loose-fitting and stylish breeches. “This halter top, the little jacket if needed, depending on weather, and the breeches. That way you can carry your weapon and anything else you need concealed beneath the jacket. We’ll make it lightweight and breathable so it won’t be any heavier than a summer-issue uniform, but sized to be worn over Kevlar.”
“Sign me up,” declared the other woman. She shed her jacket and hooked it on Gianna’s chair. “If Princess Nicola needs to go first because she’s on duty, I can wait. Hey, Seth.”
“Maura, how’s it going?”
“I’m ready for spring. Mother Nature isn’t. Same old, same old.”
Seth laughed and tapped his watch. “Thanks for letting Nikki go first. We’re on lunch but we need to get back in the vicinity of Clearwater in twenty.”
“Who am I to stand in the way of royalty?”
Nikki grumbled as she peeled off her uniform jacket, then the shirt, then the Kevlar vest.
“Are you really a princess in disguise? Or simply incognito?”
Nikki aimed a mock scowl at Maura and Seth. “Some silly distant thing between Greece and Denmark that included my great-grandfather’s scandalous liaison with a commoner. He was distant royalty, shoved into the armed services for his dalliance and killed in the Second World War. But when someone dug up this info and gave it to me, they leaked it to the rest of the sheriff’s office.” She narrowed her eyes at Maura, and Maura put her hands up in defense.
“Don’t look at me.”
“And I’m oblivious to most everything,” Seth added, and hearing his voice, knowing he stood just a few feet behind her, close enough to touch, made Gianna sigh inside. But then Nikki spoke again, and Gianna swallowed her sigh and put her silly dreams on hold.
“Speaking of your oblivion, Friday night is fine with me. What time do you want to head out?”
“I’m off at two and Tori’s home from school by three, so three-thirty?”
“Perfect. That will give us the entire evening, and it doesn’t look like we’ll be having a significant thaw between now and then.”
“Those of us who don’t ski hope you’re wrong.” Maura slipped off her coat as Carmen motioned her over. “Although the romance of a ski lodge isn’t lost on me.”
Romance? Ski lodge? With the tall, trim and absolutely gorgeous sheriff’s deputy?
Turning abruptly, Gianna’s rapidly expanding belly nudged a small stack of patterns to the floor. She bent to retrieve them, but Seth beat her to it. “I’ve got these.”
She didn’t dare speak, not just yet. Dark emotion swam upward, a combination of Seth in uniform, gorgeous, slim female deputies and her wide girth that allowed little freedom of movement these days.
“When is the baby due?” Nikki asked, but before Gianna could answer, Seth spoke up.
“Babies. Twins. Mid-June, right, Gianna?”
She pressed her mouth into a tight smile and acknowledged the time frame with a quick nod.
“Twins? Really?” Maura laughed as Carmen made short work of measuring her. “That’s going to be an adventure.”
“You can say that again.” Carmen directed a smile at Gianna. “We’ll have our hands full, but I expect we’ll be surrounded by family come summer and that will lighten the workload.”
“Boys? Girls? Did you find out what they are?” A hint of feminine curiosity deepened Nikki’s voice.
“One of each.”
“How perfect.”
Gianna wanted to dislike this woman. Her physical attributes were cover-model friendly. Her gorgeous skin tone made Gianna’s more olive complexion seem mottled. And her strong, take-charge attitude left Gianna�
��s questioning nature in the dust. But something about Nikki Peters said they should and could be friends. Except that Nikki was going on a date with Seth on Friday while Gianna sat in the shop running seams and watching the snow fall.
Self-pity snaked up her spine. Time for a change of subject. “How’s Tori doing in school, Seth? Is she transitioning well?”
His nod said yes, but his expression marked the situation as “pending.” “She loves being back in Kirkwood, but I think she’s having a problem fitting in. She missed a lot of school time while she was with her mother.”
Gianna’s heart ached for the child. She’d been thrust into a situation by no fault of her own and now bore the brunt of the adult decisions surrounding her. “If I can help at all, just let me know. Sometimes kids get less frustrated accepting help from people who aren’t their parents.” She’d lost her father when she was close to Tori’s age, and she understood the difficulties of being different. Conformity ruled the day in junior high. When an entire family suffers a grievous loss, it was hard to support one another. She’d thanked God for Carmen’s commonsense advice and love. How would she have gotten through those bitter losses without her grandmother’s steady presence?
Your faith. Your beliefs. Your strength comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
She’d sidestepped issues of faith while single in New York. Sunday work precluded church services, even though bells tolled a welcome each week.
Gianna had ignored the invitation.
And then when she and Michael married, the church service was little more than a nod toward family decorum and a glorious backdrop for pictures.
Something had changed when she’d lost Michael. A stirring of her soul, a quest for meaning beyond the every day.
She’d hunted for God and found Him, and that growing faith had helped her make the decision to have these babies, to give them their singular chance at life. Right or wrong, she’d quietly taken a side road that would put her mother in a temporary uproar, but eventually—she hoped—Sofia Rinaldi would come around.
Loving the Lawman Page 10