If You Don't Know By Now

by Teresa Southwick

  Faith hopped back into her bed. “Is it okay that Jack was here, Mom?”

  No, it wasn’t okay, she wanted to say. What was she thinking? Maggie wanted to ask.

  “Why was he here?” Maggie couldn’t believe she hadn’t demanded this explanation from him. What kind of mother was she? The kind who was still easily distracted by the way her child’s father kissed.

  “Zoe Slyder was babysitting, but she had to leave. Her brother—remember he was the one who got hurt by the bull at the rodeo?”

  Maggie nodded. “I remember. What about him?”

  “He got out of the hospital. Her mom wanted her to be there when he got home. She wouldn’t have left, but Jack said he wouldn’t mind staying here until you got home.”

  “And whose idea was it for him to come over?”

  Faith met her gaze. “Mine. I figured it would be okay as long as I wasn’t alone. I remembered when G.G. Dot was alive and used to stay with me when you worked late. Then I remembered Jack. He’s a perfectly good babysitter and he’s right next door. Are you mad because I didn’t call, Mom?”

  Maggie had had the same thoughts about Dottie. How could she fault Faith for thinking the same thing? Although father and daughter didn’t know it, the child was still with family. She sighed. “It’s all right, Faith.”

  When had she learned to lie so well? Nothing was all right. In fact it couldn’t have been more all wrong.

  “I like Jack,” Faith commented.

  “I’m glad.” She tucked the sheet around her daughter. “What did you guys do?”

  Faith shrugged. “We watched some Disney videos. He fixed me hot dogs for dinner. And we played catch with the softball in the backyard before it got too dark.”

  “Sounds like fun.”

  “Yeah. He’s pretty cool.”

  Cool wasn’t exactly the way Maggie would describe him. He made her feel hot as a sinner on a preacher’s knee. She hadn’t felt like this since high school when she’d been head over heels in for bid den love. Until a few moments ago she’d thought nothing could be as out of control as what they’d done way back when. She was mistaken—and then some. But it ended here. She would put on the brakes. As soon as her daughter was settled back in bed, she would tell Jack in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t to kiss her ever again.

  “Go back to sleep, Faithy,” she said. She leaned down and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Good night.”

  “’Night, Mommy.”

  “Don’t let the bed bugs bite.” She stood and watched the little girl roll to her side, facing the wall.

  Maggie stood for a few moments watching. Then she sighed, realizing that she was just putting off the inevitable. Sooner or later she had to go back out there and face Jack and the fact that she’d come this close to making a fool of herself over him. Again. And she had to tell him it couldn’t happen again.

  It wasn’t bad enough that she didn’t know anything about him. But what made her kick herself from here to next Tuesday was the fact that he wasn’t staying in Destiny. Worse, he made no secret of the fact that he didn’t want to stay. He was bent out of shape because Dottie had backed him into a corner to keep him there. For a year. Then he would go back to what he was good at. Where would that leave her?

  High, dry and heart broken.

  She’d done that once. She wouldn’t do it again. No matter how good a kisser he was.

  She walked back into the family room, prepared to talk to Jack. But he was gone. Part of her was relieved. The other part of her cried out in protest at being alone. He’d turned his back on her again.

  “Oh, Jack,” she whispered. “I wish you could care enough to stay.”

  Chapter 6

  In the backyard under the shade of a spreading oak, Jack braced his feet hip-width apart for another go-round. He raised his arms even with his shoulders and slashed through the air with his right hand. Just call me grace, he thought dismally. The self-defense move was worse than a beginner, which he definitely wasn’t. He’d been working out all morning but his form and concentration had gone to hell in a hand basket. What was wrong with him today?

  Was it the Texas heat and humidity? The fact that he’d kissed Maggie the night before? Her daughter spying on him from the knothole in the fence between their pro per ties? Or all of the above?

  Behind him he heard leaves rustle in the tree limb that hung over the fence. Faith was getting brave. She’d been watching for a while now without saying a word but he almost felt her curiosity as a palpable thing. He sensed that she was finally going to say something.

  “Whatcha doin’?” she asked. “Looks like some kind of fightin’.”

  “It is.”

  He turned toward her and grabbed the towel he’d hung over the wrought-iron patio chair. After wiping the sweat from his face, he draped the terry cloth around his neck and walked over to talk to her.

  “Is your mom working?” he asked, looking up at her perched on the tree limb.

  “Yeah. How’d you know?”

  “Because she doesn’t want you climbing the tree.” He lifted his arms toward her. “I’ll help you down.”

  “Are you doin’ karate?” she asked without moving.

  He sighed and rested his hands on his hips. “Sort of. Is Zoe Slyder babysitting you?”

  “Nope.” She shook the dark curls out of her face. Then she scooted forward a bit and swung one small leg over the limb to straddle it on his side of the fence.

  “Is anyone at your house?”

  “Other than me?”

  She was something else. He raised one eyebrow that, in the military, never failed to intimidate whoever needed intimidating. “Yeah,” he said. “Other than you.”

  “Nope.”

  She wasn’t impressed. Apparently the eyebrow needed work. “Does your mother know you’re home alone?”

  “Nope.”

  “Where are you supposed to be?”

  “At day camp.”

  “Why aren’t you there?”

  “Logan Peterson was makin’ fun of me. I decided to walk home.”

  He had a feeling she’d left out a whole big part in the middle of that story. But that wasn’t his problem. What he had to worry about was getting her out of this tree without any casualties.

  She shifted her weight and wobbled precariously. His heart lurched as she grabbed at the branch over her head. “Do you have any kids, Jack?”

  “No.” A flanking maneuver and nicely done, he thought. “You need to call your mom? You can use my phone.”

  “Do you want kids?”

  Another parry. Again, nicely done. “I haven’t thought about it.” Much, he added silently. Never give the opposing force any quarter. No latitude for maneuverability.

  “Kids are a good thing,” she said.

  “I don’t doubt it.” He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead. “Now, about calling your mom. My phone is inside. Would you like to use it?”

  “Nope.”

  “Can you get into your house?”

  “Yup. Mom leaves a key hidden in the backyard. I was getting it when I saw you doin’ kung fu. Would you show me how?”

  “It’s probably not something your mom would want you to know.”

  “Sure she would.”

  About as much as she liked the language the kid had over heard him use, he guessed. Maggie had her hands full with this one. Anger welled up in him again for the guy who’d deserted and left her with a child to raise all by herself. Since the two were on their own, Maggie had to work to support them, leaving this independent little girl in the care of others. Who apparently weren’t watching her, he thought grimly. He wondered if anyone from the camp had realized yet that she was AWOL.

  “Do you know anything about your father, Faith?” Two could play this game, he thought, getting more curious.

  Her brow furrowed for a moment, then she shook her head. “Not much.”

  “What did your mom tell you?”

  “That he didn’t aban
don me.”

  “How does she know that?”

  She shrugged. The movement tilted her slightly off balance and she slid to the side. “That was close,” she said, righting herself.

  He’d reached his arms out to catch her, but he would have been too late. As his heart rate kicked up, he wondered just how long he should let this go on before he reached up and hauled her out of that tree.

  “You shouldn’t be up there. Your mom doesn’t want you in the tree.”

  “How do you know?” She held onto the branch with her hands and went backward, then let her arms dangle while her legs kept her from falling.

  “I heard her tell you to get down.”

  Faith’s black curls reached for the ground as she hung suspended like a monkey. “She worries too much. I’m fine.”

  Could a mother worry too much? Especially about a kid who was obviously in training to be a circus acrobat? He wouldn’t know. He’d never known his mother. She’d died when he was born. “So how do you know your dad didn’t abandon you?”

  “Because he didn’t know about me.”

  Very little shocked Jack, but that did. “How could he not know about you?”

  “Mom didn’t tell him. She said he left town before she could.”

  “She didn’t get in touch with him?” he asked.

  Jack was getting a feeling that made the hair at his nape prickle. He’d been in dangerous situations many times and had learned to rely on all five senses and another that was nothing more than gut instinct. It made his skin crawl, but more than once had saved his life. His skin was crawling now. Big time.

  Faith grabbed onto the branch and pulled herself into a sitting position, making him wish she was working with a net. “Are you hungry?” she asked. “I am.”

  He was hungry, all right. For information. She’d tapped into his curiosity in a big way.

  “I asked you a question, Faith. Your mother didn’t get in touch with your father?”

  “I guess not.”

  “She didn’t try?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m hungry.”

  She started to back away, sliding across the limb backward. When she was on her side of the fence, she executed an awkward turn. The next thing Jack knew there was a rustle of leaves, a frightened cry from the child and a loud thump. Then silence.

  “Faith? Are you okay?”

  No answer. Quickly he scaled the fence and dropped down beside the child who lay on the ground. “Faith!”

  If only his grand mother were still here. He’d missed her over the years, but never more than he did right now. His first-aid training kicked in and he ran his hands over her arms and legs to check for broken bones. There didn’t seem to be any, but she wasn’t moving. What worried him the most was that the little chatterbox wasn’t talking. Her eyes were open. That was a good sign. She looked scared.

  “Faith? Can you hear me?”

  “Can’t breathe,” she whispered.

  “You got the wind knocked out of you. That’s all. You’re okay. Relax.”

  Sucking in air, she grabbed for his hand. “You’re not— Don’t go—”

  “I won’t. I know this is a hard one for you, but don’t talk.”

  She nodded. Her face was white. The freckles marching across her little nose stood out starkly against the pale skin. He had to contact Maggie. But he couldn’t leave Faith alone. He checked her more closely, and saw a gash in her knee and a goose egg forming on her forehead.

  “Can you move your arms and legs?” he asked.

  She showed him that she could and he nodded with satisfaction and let out a long breath. Now what? He could call the paramedics and the child’s mother. But by the time help arrived, he could have scooped her up, driven her to Destiny and had her in the urgent care clinic, which was right next door to her mother.

  He lifted her into his arms. “Okay, Faith. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

  On the third ring Maggie picked up the shop phone. “This ’N That,” she said.

  “Maggie, this is Christy at Destiny Day Camp.”

  “Hi, Christy. Is something wrong?”

  “We can’t find Faith.”

  Maggie’s heart dropped. “Are you sure she’s not just hiding in the bathroom?”

  “She and Logan Peterson had a disagreement. We put both children in time-out. When we gathered everyone together for lunch, she was gone. Mrs. Shirley and I think she probably walked home again. We called the sheriff’s office. Sheriff O’Connor said he would ride around and look for her. Don’t worry.”

  “Thanks, Christy. I’ll close up the shop and go look for her, too.”

  “Is there a neighbor you can call to check the house?”

  Jack. Maggie’s heart plum meted for the second time in less than a minute. An instant visual of tangled arms and legs flashed through her mind. The last thing she wanted was to call him.

  “Yes. I’ll phone my next-door neighbor to have a look.”

  “Let us know if you find her. We’ll check the grounds here again in case we missed her. I’ll let you know when she turns up.”

  “Okay.”

  Maggie clicked the Off button and started to dial G.G. Dot’s number. She figured Jack probably hadn’t changed it. Then through the window she saw him coming from the direction of the urgent care clinic next door to her shop. He was wearing black sweat shorts and a camouflage T-shirt that molded to every last muscle on his chest. She was around the counter in a flash as he opened the door.

  “Jack, Faith’s camp just phoned. She’s gone. Have you—”

  He nodded grimly. “I was just coming to tell you. I brought her in to the doc.”

  Maggie felt the blood drain from her face. “Oh, God. What—”

  He was beside her in two strides, his big warm hands on her upper arms. Holding her. She was sure if it hadn’t been for that, she would have fallen in a heap.

  “I don’t think it’s serious, Mags. But I decided the fastest way to get you and help for Faith was to bring her into town.”

  “What happened?”

  “She fell out of the tree.”

  “Oh, God—”

  Maggie started to shake from head to toe. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pulled herself together with an effort. If she lost it, she’d be no help to her daughter.

  “Okay,” she said. When she opened her eyes, she looked into Jack’s concerned blue gaze. He was there. God help her, she was glad he was there. “I’m all right now.”

  She grabbed her purse from the drawer of her computer desk and fished for her keys. After putting the Closed sign in the shop window, she locked up. Hurrying next door, she went into the clinic and up to the reception desk.

  Without waiting, she slid back the glass. “Addie? Where’s Faith?”

  Addie Led better, the plump, orange-haired nurse/office manager met her gaze. “In the exam room. Come on back, Maggie. Doctor Morgan is with her now.”

  Hannah Morgan had come back to Destiny to visit her mother. She’d filled in for Doc Holloway at the rodeo and was also seeing patients in his office while he was away on a family emergency. Faith had never been examined by anyone besides Doc. He had a lot of nerve being gone when they really needed him.

  She followed the nurse down the hall, frantic to see her daughter, to see for herself that her child was all right. Addie opened the exam room door and stood aside for Maggie. Faith was lying on the paper-covered table, looking pale and pathetic.

  “Faithy, sweetie. Are you okay?”

  “Hi, Mom. I’m fine. Jack said the doctor should check me as a ‘caution.’”

  “Precaution. And Jack is absolutely right.” Maggie glanced over her shoulder. He’d followed her.

  “Jack put me on the table and said I’d suffer dire consequences if I moved before you got here and the doc said it was okay.”

  Maggie made a mental note to grin about that just as soon as she knew her child was okay. On that same list, she m
ade a note to ground Faith for the rest of her life for disobeying a direct order and scaring her mom to death. But that was for later. Now she needed to be supportive. And there was something else she had to do.

  She glanced at Jack, who ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you,” she said.

  He met her gaze as he folded his arms over his chest. “You’re welcome. For what?”

  “The camp counselor called and told me she was missing. When you came into the shop I was just phoning you to see if you’d seen her lurking around the house. Thanks for bringing her here. It was quick thinking.”

  “No problem. I tried to get her out of the tree. I knew you didn’t want her climbing. I wish she hadn’t fallen. If I’d only been more—”

  He looked so worried and guilty. Both characteristics of a parent—a father. A wave of guilt washed over her that had nothing to do with Faith’s accident and everything to do with telling him the truth. Which she would do very soon. But now wasn’t the time.

  Maggie put her hand on his arm. “At least a hundred times a day I wish I was more.”

  Before he could answer, the door opened and in walked a young blond-haired woman wearing a white lab coat, a stethoscope draped around her neck. She held out her hand to Maggie.

  “Hi. I’m Hannah Morgan.”

  “Hi. I recognize you, Doctor,” she said, shaking the other woman’s hand.

  “Addie pulled Faith’s chart for me.” She flipped some pages and said, “Dr. Holloway saw her a few months ago for stitches in her chin.”

  “That’s right,” Maggie confirmed. “She’s sort of a regular.”

  “Well, let me take a look at our little dare devil. Hi, Faith. I’m Hannah.”

  “Hi,” the little girl said.

  “What happened?”

  “I fell out of the tree.”

  The doctor shone a light into the girl’s eyes, and examined the bump on her forehead. “Did she lose conscious ness?” Hannah asked, looking at Maggie.

  Guilt washed over her again as she realized she couldn’t answer the question. She looked at Jack. “Did she?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I was over the fence in seconds and her eyes were open.”