Keeping Her Safe

by Sherry Lewis

  “Someone’s in the room with you?”

  “That’s right.”

  Another sigh. “I don’t care. Tell me what happened there yesterday.”

  Keeping his voice low, he turned away from Brittany to muffle the sound. “DJ and I were working in the rose garden when Larry Galloway stopped by to see her. He had a document and a picture—did Dodge tell you about those?”

  “No, but DJ did. She said Larry told her he’s her father.”

  “He did. Is it true?”

  “Yes.” The word came so softly, he almost didn’t hear it, but it hit him with as much impact as if she’d shouted.

  “Tell me about it. Why the secrecy?”

  “I can’t.”

  “If I’m going to do what’s necessary, I need to know everything.”

  “No.”

  “Ms. Prescott—”

  “No,” she said again. “I don’t want DJ to know. Ever. Right now, there are only three people in the world who know the whole story. I don’t see any reason to change that.”

  “Things are different now,” he reasoned.

  “No.” The word came out clipped and angry. “I refuse to discuss it”

  Adam knew she’d made a decision she wouldn’t back away from unless he could give her a compelling reason. Obviously, Larry’s reappearance in DJ’s life wasn’t compelling enough. But if not, why had she hired him? “All right,” he said at last. “I won’t push you—for now.”

  She drew in a shaky breath and waited a few seconds before going on. “I suppose I’ll have to assume that he didn’t do anything you could send him back to prison for….”

  “That’s right.”

  “What did you think of him?”

  Adam hesitated. He shouldn’t offer a personal opinion. Regulations required him to stick to the facts. But he glanced over his shoulder at Brittany and paced another few steps away. “I wouldn’t trust him—if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Not exactly. I don’t want DJ or Marissa hurt. Tell me honestly: Is Larry still violent? Is he capable of hurting them?”

  He couldn’t go that far. “He hasn’t done anything to give me that impression.”

  “I’m not asking what he’s done. I’m asking what you think.”

  Adam hesitated again.

  This time, Christina didn’t wait for a response. “I’m coming home.” Her voice trembled and he could hear a slight catch in it. “I’m catching the first plane out of here.”

  He lowered his voice another notch and leaned over the receiver. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?” she practically shouted at him.

  “For exactly the reasons we just discussed. I think Galloway’s volatile. I think he’s dangerous. But considering what I now know about your past relationship with him, I’d guess you’re more likely to be a target for his anger than either DJ or Marissa. Chances are, if you show up here, you’ll push him into something he might not otherwise do.”

  “My God.” She sniffled, and he could hear her pull a tissue from a box somewhere near the telephone. “I can’t leave DJ and Marissa there alone with him.”

  “They’re not alone,” he reminded her.

  “No, of course they’re not. But I can’t sit here, halfway around the world, knowing that…that psycho is there with them. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to either one of them.” She began to cry in earnest—huge, gulping sobs.

  Adam gripped the receiver tighter and flicked another glance at Brittany. She’d all but abandoned any pretense of studying, and he had no way of knowing how much of his end of the conversation she’d heard. “I won’t let that happen.”

  “You don’t know Larry. You don’t know -what he’s like—”

  “I’ve had experience with others like him. That’s why I’m here.”

  She sniffed again. “I need to be there.”

  “Like I said, coming here is the worst thing you could do right now.” He drew in a deep breath. “Ms. Prescott, I give you my word, nothing’s going to happen to them.” He knew it was crazy to make a promise like that, but she desperately needed reassurance and he absolutely believed that she’d help DJ and Marissa more by staying in London.

  She didn’t speak for a long time. He could hear her pacing, picking up an object, setting it back down again and crying softly. “I have to trust you, don’t I?”

  “Yes.”

  “You understand, don’t you, why I need someone to look after them?”

  “I do.”

  “And you’ll watch him? If he does anything to violate his parole, I want his butt back behind bars.”

  “I’ll watch.”

  She let another few seconds elapse. “Do you know how hard it is for me to stay away?”

  “I have an idea.”

  She tried to laugh, but the resulting sound was more like a sob. He could hear someone knocking on a door, and she swore softly. “Oh, God, they’re here to get me for a book signing—”

  “Go,” he said. “Do what you have to do over there. Take care of business, and I’ll do the same on this end.”

  He waited until she disconnected, then replaced the receiver. He just hoped the years he’d spent away from law enforcement hadn’t left him so rusty that his promise turned out to be a lie.

  DJ PUSHED A CART loaded with trees into a checkout stand and tried not to snap off any branches as she did so. For the first time in memory, she didn’t want to be at the store. She had no heart for it today. The customers’ questions annoyed her, the employees’ chatter irritated her and the noise level inside the store had cranked last night’s headache to full volume.

  Forcing a smile, she pulled a bottle from an end display and held it out for her round-faced customer to inspect. “You might want to put a little of this around the roots when you plant these trees,” she said. “It will help minimize the shock.”

  The man screwed his face into a frown as he studied the bottle. “What is it? Some chemical? Or is it organic? Will it hurt my wife’s cat?”

  DJ kept her voice pleasant as she answered, but she breathed a sigh of relief when the man placed the bottle on the cart.

  “Have you got somebody to cut these cans for me?” he asked. “And what about newspaper and rope for my trunk?”

  Under normal circumstances, DJ would have been happy to follow through on the sale, but she didn’t think she would survive one more question. She lifted a hand to catch Ramon’s attention, then smiled back at the customer. “Heather will ring all this up for you, and Ramon will help you get it outside. Let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with.”

  She turned away as Ramon approached. Rubbing her forehead, she closed her eyes and tried to will away the throbbing pulse at the base of her skull. But when she opened her eyes again, the light sent a shaft of pain through to the back of her head.

  She groaned softly and admitted defeat. She’d tried, but she couldn’t concentrate. She was no good to anyone—least of all to herself.

  For probably the hundredth time since hanging up on her mother last night, she told herself she would feel better once she’d talked with Laura. Even with the difference in their ages, they’d always been close. If DJ ever had a problem she couldn’t discuss with her mother, she turned to her sister. But Laura was still somewhere on Lake Powell, blissfully unaware that DJ’s world had been turned upside down by the one person she’d always trusted to keep it secure.

  She forced herself to focus on Heather and tried to smile, but she wondered whether her effort looked as unnatural as it felt.

  Heather leaned on the counter and tucked a stray lock of hair behind one ear. “Are you all right? You don’t look very good.”

  “I’m not feeling well,” DJ admitted. “I think I’ll get out of here for a while. Take a walk and get some fresh air. Page me if you need me, okay?”

  Heather nodded, swigged a mouthful of soda and reached for the telephone when it rang in her booth. “Goo
d morning, The Treehouse. This is Heather.”

  Taking advantage of the distraction, DJ slipped through the checkout stand and out the front door. Just escaping her responsibilities for a few seconds made her feel better.

  She stood for a minute in the autumn-crisp air and tried to decide where to go. She didn’t want to go home—at least, not yet. She couldn’t sleep even if she tried, and she didn’t want Marissa to see her frustration and pain. She couldn’t walk through the east tree lot—it had been busy all morning with sales of late-season stock, and she’d set a crew moving onegallon tams in the back lot. That left only the south lot empty if she wanted time alone.

  Turning away from the store, she walked slowly down the gravel road. Sunlight played across the ground and leaves danced from the trees in a graceful ballet. Usually she found joy in moments like this, but not today. Today, she couldn’t find pleasure in anything.

  She let her mind wander, and events from the day before replayed endlessly. She heard the sound of Larry Galloway’s voice and relived that horrible moment when he’d told her who he was. She heard her mother’s voice, denying and then admitting the truth and pleading for a chance to explain.

  Her stomach lurched as reality hit all over again, and she tried in vain to push the memories away. She didn’t know what to do next.

  She walked until she knew nobody could see her, then stopped in the middle of the road and tipped her head back. She let the autumn sunlight caress her face and shoulders as the silence closed in around her. She mentally calculated the days until Laura and Bob’s scheduled return. Ten. She’d counted them so many times last night, she couldn’t even imagine why she needed to do it again.

  She stood there for a long time, trying alternately to forget and then remember details of yesterday’s conversation with Larry Galloway. She lost herself so completely, she didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching on the gravel until they were almost upon her.

  Straightening, she blinked rapidly and tried to focus. A second later, Adam McAllister rounded a curve in the path. He wore faded jeans and an old sweatshirt and didn’t look as if he’d shaved, yet DJ found the combination oddly appealing.

  He managed a smile when he saw her. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Am I interrupting something?”

  She shook her head and stuffed her hands into her back pockets. “Nothing important.”

  “Good. I’m glad I ran into you.” He took a few steps closer. Concern darkened his eyes to a steel gray, and DJ wondered why she hadn’t noticed how extraordinary they were before now. “I’ve been wondering how you’re feeling today.”

  “So have I,” she said with a thin laugh. “I’m not sure.”

  He smiled in response. “You were up late. I heard you walking around.”

  “So were you. I saw you check outside.”

  His smile widened slowly, an incredible smile that made her mouth dry. “Yes, I did. I hope you’re not offended that I took it upon myself to do that, but it made me feel a little better.”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Good. Have you had a chance to talk to your mother yet?”

  “I called her last night.” She should have said more. After all, he knew nearly as much about Larry Galloway as she did. But she couldn’t make herself speak.

  Suddenly, he felt too close. His shoulders seemed too broad and his legs too solid. He had strong hands and an even stronger profile, and DJ’s reaction to him left her flustered. She turned away and took a few short steps toward the edge of the road. “Well,” she said at last. “Larry Galloway wasn’t lying. Mom admitted he is my biological father.”

  Adam didn’t move a muscle, but DJ could tell it took an effort for him to remain so still. “I see.” He drew in a deep breath, then released it. “How do you feel about it?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked away again. His eyes asked too much of her. “I don’t know,” she repeated.

  He crossed the road to stand behind her. “Did she give you any explanations?”

  “She tried to claim she lied to protect me.”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  DJ managed a harsh laugh. “Believe her? How can I? The man’s my father, but I didn’t even know he existed until yesterday.”

  “What reasons did she give for hiding the truth from you?”

  “Just that. To protect me. But she won’t say from what. She wants me to wait until she comes home to talk about it.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  DJ shook her head quickly and glared up at him. “Why? No matter what happened between them, there’s no excuse for what she did.”

  He considered that, tilting his head slightly as if he needed to give her answer some thought. “So, what are you going to do?”

  She sighed heavily and shivered in the breeze. “I don’t know. I can’t concentrate. I can’t work. I’m not even sure I can be a decent mother to Marissa until I get my head straightened out. What do you think? How would you feel?”

  “You want me to tell you how to feel?” He pulled back a little, as if he found the idea unappealing.

  In spite of her inner turmoil, she couldn’t help but smile at his stricken expression. “No. Not really. I guess I just need a listening ear.”

  He looked greatly relieved. “I’ve got one of those,” he said, and waited for her to speak again.

  But faced with. someone willing to listen, she couldn’t speak.

  “Maybe your mother will call back after she has a chance to think things through,” he suggested.

  “I don’t think so,” she said with a laugh. “I hung up on her last night, and I’ve left the answering machine on all day. You know how she is.”

  He lifted one shoulder but didn’t say anything.

  “There’s nothing she can say that I want to hear, anyway. She hasn’t tried to call you while I’m at work, has she?”

  He looked startled by the question. “Me? No.”

  “You can’t blame me for being suspicious,” she said. “She might have called and asked you to talk some sense into me.”

  Adam shook his head and grinned. “I’d have refused. Too big a job.”

  She made a face at him and looked away again. She didn’t want to make light of this horrible situation. “I can’t decide how I feel about my mother and what she did. I don’t want to think about her. I don’t want to speak to her. I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

  “Maybe—”

  “I have a father,” she said, raising her voice as if that would make him understand. “After all these years, I have a father. But he’s a stranger to me. I don’t know anything about him. I don’t know what he’s like or what he does or whether he’s married again. Do I have brothers and sisters somewhere? Nieces and nephews? Grandparents? I don’t even know where he’s been or why he left in the first place.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I want to get to know him—can you understand that? But if I do, my mother will be hurt.”

  “You don’t think she’ll understand?”

  “My mother? After everything she’s done to keep him from me?” She shook her head and looked back at him. “You know her. Do you think she’ll understand?”

  An expression she couldn’t read flitted across his face, and he shook his head. “It’s hard to say.”

  DJ sighed and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. “You know, I’m really not sure why I care about her feelings after what she’s done. But she’s my mother—” Her voice caught and tears suddenly filled her eyes. She looked away quickly and hoped Adam wouldn’t notice.

  “Forget your mother for a minute,” he said softly. “What do you want to do?”

  She took a moment to pull herself together. “I want to know my father. I think I deserve to know him.”

  “What if you find out things you’d rather not know?”

  She slanted a glance at him. “Like what?”

  “Whatever it was that made your mother lie to you in the first
place.”

  “Maybe I need to find out. Maybe it’s time to get the whole story out in the open.” She paced away again, then pivoted back to face him. “I’m not a child. I need to know the truth.”

  He nodded slowly. “Okay.”

  “I need to know my father.”

  “Probably.”

  She glared at him and refused to tear her gaze away from his. She challenged Adam as if he were her mother standing there. “There’s only one way to do that,” she warned. “I need to spend time with him.”

  “Do you want me to tell you not to?”

  “No!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.”

  “Then what’s holding you back?”

  “My mother.” She sighed heavily.

  He shook his head slowly. “I don’t believe you.”

  “I don’t care whether you believe me or not. I don’t want to hurt my mother’s feelings.”

  He dipped his head and lifted one shoulder as if he couldn’t wholeheartedly agree. “Maybe you’re afraid to find out about him.”

  She snorted. “That’s not it.”

  “Really?” He moved a step closer. “What if you don’t like him? What then? You won’t be able to walk away.”

  She planted her fists on her hips and met his gaze. He looked back, wide-eyed and innocent, but she couldn’t rid herself of the feeling that he wanted to lead the conversation somewhere.

  “Just what do you think I’m going to find out?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Have you asked anyone to check him out? Do you know anything about him?”

  The questions hit a nerve, but she refused to let him see that. “When did I have time to do that?”

  “Yesterday after he left,” Adam said unreasonably. “Or earlier today—”

  She blew out a heavy breath and turned away again. “In my spare time? My job isn’t like yours, McAllister. I have to work certain hours. I need to be available for my customers, and when I’m not working, I have a daughter who needs my attention. I don’t intend to make those kinds of calls when she’s listening.”

  “You could still find some time to make a few inquiries.”

  Her patience evaporated and her temper soared past the boiling point. “Don’t,” she said quietly. “Don’t even start that sort of thing with me. You don’t have children. You don’t have to answer to anyone. You can work when you want, make calls when you want—”