Jason shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. He glanced around the office, looking to see if anyone else was listening. Once assured they wouldn’t be overheard, he lowered his voice and said, “This is personal, Stan. It’s not something I want everyone to know about.”
Stan closed an imaginary zipper across his lips, locking it with an invisible key. “My lips are sealed, Chief. Now give me the number.”
With the technical efficiency of youth, Stan sent off the fax with no further problems. When the paper fed itself into the machine and emerged on the other side, he whisked it out and handed it to Jason, not sparing it a second glance. “Here you go, Chief. All signed, sealed and delivered.”
“Thanks,” Jason murmured, folding his copy of the fax in half so that the fingerprints remained unseen. He took a second glance at his officer. “What brings you to the office this morning, Stan? I thought you were off duty today.”
“I didn’t have anything better to do,” Stan said with a shrug, his tone nonchalant. But Jason noted the agitated look in his eye and the restless tapping of his foot on the floor. He was anything but calm.
“Everything okay, Stan?”
“Everything’s just great,. Chief.” Stan’s attempt at a laugh fell flat. He stared blindly out the window, shaking his head at something only he could see. Softly he said, “The wedding’s less than a week away. She’s really going to marry the son of a—” He stopped, releasing a long, whistling breath.
Jason sighed, too. He didn’t need to ask who the “she” was. Knowing he was the last person who should be handing out advice to the lovelorn, he struggled to find the right words. “Stan, sometimes things happen...people do things we’ll never be able to understand. We just have to accept it and get on with our own lives.”
As he said the words, he realized that the advice was something for himself to heed, as well. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t solve all of the world’s problems. There was a real possibility he wouldn’t be able to help Maggie, either.
“I don’t know if I can do that, Chief,” Stan said, his troubled voice rousing Jason from his own self-absorbed musings. “I just can’t sit back and watch Jenny make the biggest mistake of her life.”
“You may not have a choice.”
Stan didn’t answer. He just kept staring out the window, refusing to meet his gaze.
Jason blew out a frustrated breath. “Look, I’m finished here. What do you say we go out and get ourselves an early lunch?”
“No, thanks, Chief. I’m not too hungry.” Stan slapped his thigh and pushed himself away from the cabinet. “I guess I’d better be going. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Jason nodded. “Take care of yourself, Stan. Stay out of trouble, you hear?”
“Sure thing, Chief.” With a mock salute, he strolled across the office and disappeared out the front door.
Jason headed for his own office. How could he expect his junior officer to listen to his advice when he wouldn’t even pay attention to it himself ? The smartest thing for him to do would be to let Maggie go...to give up on their future together.
But he just couldn’t do that. Jason sighed. When it came to the matters of the heart, he never had been too lucky. Or too smart. All he could do was follow his instincts and hope for the best.
For now, work would keep his mind off his problems. He intended to spend the rest of the day catching up on paperwork. Until he heard from Tom Burns and knew exactly what he was up against, he didn’t think he could face Maggie again.
It was late when Jason finally left work. Darkness pressed against the windows of his Jeep, heavy clouds blocking out any trace of moonlight. A damp breeze filtered in through an open window, doing little to soothe his frazzled nerves. Thunder growled in the distance, warning him of an approaching storm. He almost laughed. It seemed an appropriate end to such a dismal day. A day he’d spent unsuccessfully trying not to think about Maggie.
But she had invaded his thoughts at the most unexpected times. in the middle of filling out a tedious form, while fetching a drink from the coffee machine and while giving his officers instructions on how to handle a call, she had popped up in his mind, never giving him a moment’s rest.
Now he was on his way home, where less than twenty feet away Maggie would be asleep in her bed.
His headlights fanned the front of the house as he pulled into the driveway. He frowned as he caught a flicker of movement in the shadows of the porch. His cop instinct on full alert, he parked, turned off the ignition and waited. Once again, he saw the shadows move. Squinting against the darkness, he barely made out the shape of a person’s body.
Someone was waiting for him.
He rolled up his window and climbed out of the Jeep. His gun was in its holster at his hip. Within easy reach, if needed. But he didn’t feel as though he was in danger.
His instincts were proved correct when Maggie emerged from the shadows. Leaning against the porch railing, she watched his approach. Jason’s heart thudded against his ribs. She wore a white sundress, the color of innocence. And he realized just how much he wanted it to be true, just how much he wanted to believe she had done nothing wrong. He stopped a few feet away and stared at her, feeling rooted to the spot by uncertainty.
Neither of them spoke. Instead, they studied each other with equal amounts of wariness. The stillness of the night surrounded them, cocooning them in a false sense of peace, broken only by the rumbling of more thunder and the ragged inhalations of their breaths.
Lightning streaked the sky, startling them.
Maggie flinched, stepping back further onto the porch.
Jason shot a worried glance at the heavens. If he was a superstitious man, he’d say he’d just been delivered an omen. Pushing the thought from his mind, he directed his gaze to Maggie. “It’s late.”
“I know,” she said, finally finding her voice. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
The words were like a death knell, working to agitate his nerves even further. Judging from the somberness of her tone, whatever she had to say, he knew he wasn’t ready to hear it. “Where’s Kevin?”
“At home. Jenny’s with him.” She drew in a deep breath, her full breasts rising and falling from the exertion. “She’s feeling a little jittery about the wedding and needed some company. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be, so she...she volunteered to stay the night and keep an eye on him.”
Jason gave himself a moment to digest the implications of her admission. “Have you been waiting long?”
“An hour or so.”
“Then it must be important.”
“Yes, it is.”
Jason allowed himself a resigned sigh. He felt a weariness in his bones that went beyond mere physical tiredness; it was a weakness of the spirit. Unable to fight the inevitable, he closed the distance between them and sank onto the top step of the porch. Glancing up at her, he patted the space beside him. “Have a seat.”
She hesitated only for a moment. The skirt of her sundress swirled against his thighs as she sat down. She stirred the air with her movements, and he caught the flowery scent of her perfume. Up close, her skin shimmered like fine porcelain in the dim light. His hands itched to reach out and touch her.
Not allowing himself the pleasure, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and clasped his hands in front of him. “Before you say anything, Maggie, I...I want to tell you that I’m sorry about last night. I never meant to hurt you. I don’t know what got into me.”
“It’s okay, Jason.”
“No, it isn’t.” He forced himself to look at her, to face the condemnation he knew must be in her eyes. To his surprised relief, there was none. “It was inexcusable. I promise you, Maggie, it’ll never happen again.”
“I know that,” she said, her voice whisper soft.
He gave a harsh laugh, shaking his head in disgust. “How can you know that? How can you trust me, trust any man after what you’ve been through with your husband? I don’t ca
re if he is dead. I just don’t want you thinking that all men...” He released a breath on a sigh. “That I’m like him.”
The strength seemed to go out of her body. Her shoulders slumped. She dropped her chin to her chest and stared at her sandal-covered feet. “That’s what I need to talk to you about—my ex-husband.”
Jason frowned, feeling confused. “Ex-husband? I thought you said—”
“I told you he was dead. But he isn’t. He’s very much alive and living in California.”
Lightning flashed, followed closely by an earth-trembling crash of thunder. Nature’s show of force went almost unnoticed as Jason stared at Maggie, not sure what to say. He didn’t know what he’d expected her to tell him, but it certainly wasn’t the resurrection of her dead husband. Silently he waited, giving her the time she needed to explain.
“Everything else I told you about him is the truth,” she said, still unable to look at him. Nervously she smoothed a hand along the skirt of her sundress, her fingers worrying over the pleated hem. “He’s a powerful, influential man. But he’s also very violent. For years I took the abuse he’d dealt out, believing that somehow it was my fault, that I wasn’t good enough...special enough to make him h-happy.” Her voice broke. And Jason’s heart clenched.
Swallowing hard, she continued, “It wasn’t until he started taking out his anger on Kevin that I woke up and saw him for what he really was—a bully.”
Unable to help himself, Jason reached out and covered her hand with his. To his relief, she didn’t push him away. She laced her fingers through his and clung to him, seeming to draw strength from the contact.
Her voice stronger, she said, “I divorced him. And that’s when the trouble really began.” Her eyes glittered with sudden tears. She blinked hard, not allowing them to fall. “He took me to court and sued for custody of Kevin. Not because he really wanted his son, but because it was just one more way to punish me.”
A strong wind swept the yard, bending the limbs of the trees. Jason frowned, ignoring the volatile skies. “Surely no judge would allow a man who has a history of domestic abuse to have custody of a child.”
“There was no proof of his attacks on me,” she said, her voice so quiet he almost didn’t hear her.
His frown deepened. “I don’t understand. Didn’t you report the abuse?”
The corners of her mouth lifted in a bitter smile. “Oh, I reported it all right. But like I said, my husband was an influential man. He had connections, both legal and illegal, that reached as far as the police department. For most of our marriage, my calls for help went virtually unanswered. Once the police realized who my husband was, they looked the other way. In court all the reports came up missing. In the end it was my word against his.”
“My God.”
“No, God had nothing to do with this. It was pure evil, corruption through and through. The judge was a friend of my ex-husband’s. He ruled in his favor. He gave him sole custody of Kevin.”
“Aw, Maggie,” Jason said, struggling to find the right words to comfort her, knowing, no matter what he said, it would be inadequate.
She shook her head. “You have to understand—I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t let him have Kevin.”
“Of course you couldn’t.”
“I didn’t have a choice. He’d already threatened to kill me. I have no doubt he would have hurt Kevin, as well.” Her voice shook with emotion. Her body trembled as the words spilled out. “There was no one I could turn to. No one I could trust.”
He touched a finger to her lips, stilling the disjointed words. He lowered his hand, rubbing a thumb along the delicate line of her jaw. Gently he said, “What are you trying to tell me, Maggie?”
The tears she’d been fighting so hard flowed freely down her cheeks. Looking him straight in the eye, she said, “In the eyes of the law I’m a criminal because I refused to turn Kevin over to his father. I spent time in jail for contempt. When they finally released me, I took Kevin away. I defied a court order and abducted my own son. For the past nineteen months, I’ve been running, because I’m sure there’s a warrant for my arrest in California.”
Jason’s world tilted. His head reeled with the news. “Your name isn’t Maggie Conrad.”
“No, I’ve been using a fake ID,” she said, shaking her head. “My real name is Margaret Stuart.”
“And your job? Have you always been a waitress?”
She sighed. “Being a waitress is convenient. It’s a job that’s easy to find when you’re new to a town, and the pay’s all right. But no, I was an emergency-room nurse in California, before I married my husband.”
The last pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Now it all made sense. No wonder she was so frightened when she first saw him standing on her doorstep. She probably thought he was there to arrest her, not welcome her as a new neighbor. Her reluctance to get to know him was a matter of self-preservation, not a reflection of her true feelings toward him.
The realization did little to comfort him. He’d gotten his wish. He finally knew the truth.
In doing so, his worst fear had come true.
Maggie was a fugitive from justice. And it was his duty to uphold the law. But if he carried out his duties and turned her over to the authorities in California, he’d be putting her life, as well as Kevin’s, in jeopardy. Whatever chance they might have had for a future together would be gone. Their only chance at happiness would be over.
The wind gusted, sending fat drops of rain splattering against the sidewalk. The sky had finally opened up, releasing its burden. He barely noticed the wet drops dampening his skin, making dark splotches on the legs of his pants and the sleeves of his shirt. He felt too numb to feel anything.
“I’m sorry, Jason.” Maggie tore her hand from his, pushing herself away and rising to her feet. “I shouldn’t have told you. I should have just left—”
“Maggie, wait.” He rose to his feet, as well, stopping her. He gripped her shoulders, holding her tight, afraid to let her go.
She looked at him, her eyes so wide and trusting he felt lost in their depths. “I—I didn’t know what else to do, Jason. I just couldn’t lie to you anymore. I wanted you to know the truth. Whatever you want to do, how you want to handle this, it’s up to you. All I ask is that—” she swallowed hard “—if you decide to turn me in, you’ll give me enough warning. My ex-husband can’t find us. I won’t...I can’t lose Kevin.”
“Maggie...” Jason shook his head, unable to form the words for what he felt inside him. He felt as though he were being ripped in two, torn between his job and the woman he loved.
“Maggie, I...” His throat tightened, robbing him of his voice. And then he knew what it was he had to do. There was no other choice. No other course for him to follow.
With a frustrated growl of resignation, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, letting his actions speak his decision for him.
Chapter 13
The wind gusted, whipping the skirt of Maggie’s sundress around her legs. Rain fell from the heavens, splattering her upturned face, her skin. Yet she barely noticed as she stood with Jason on the steps in front of his house, locked in an intimate embrace. The fury of the storm that surrounded them paled in comparison to the passion churning in their hearts.
Yet Maggie felt no fear. Not from the weather. Not from the man who held her. Deep inside, she felt a release. A sweet letting go of the fears that had haunted her most of her adult life. For the first time she allowed herself to hope, to wonder at the possibility of a happy future.
Breathlessly Jason tore his lips from hers. Lightning streaked the sky, and the electricity was reflected in his pale blue eyes as he searched her face. He stepped back, putting an unforgivable distance between them, and held out his hand. “Come with me.”
The simple request sent a shiver down her spine. Slowly she shook her head. “Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
“It’ll be all right,” he said in a voice s
o calm, a tone so certain, she couldn’t help but want to believe him.
Fate had dealt her one too many blows. Stubbornly she held her ground. “How do you know?”
“I’ll make it right.”
Maggie stared at him, at the hand he extended. Stinging drops of rain pelted her skin, chilling her. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. Then, wordlessly, she reached out and accepted his hand.
Together they dashed up the stairs, finding safety from the storm in the covered porch. Her heart in her throat, she watched as Jason fumbled with the key to the front door. Soon the door swung open and they stepped into the quiet of the night-darkened house.
He flipped on a switch and the living room emerged from the shadows. Briefly, as he led her through the room, she noted an oversize couch, books stacked on a pine coffee table, CDs scattered nearby. Unlike his kitchen, the room had a comfy, lived-in look. She could almost see him stretched out on the couch, book in hand, relaxing as he listened to soft music after a long day at work. The innocent image, the insight into his private life, was almost provocative, heightening the intimacy of the moment.
They entered a narrow hall. The wooden floorboards whispered a protest beneath their feet, setting Maggie’s heart pounding.
He dropped her hand as they stepped into another dark room, which she assumed must be a bedroom. She hesitated in the doorway, watching as he strode across the room and switched on the bedside lamp, the pale light illuminating his large body.
Wordlessly he unbuckled his holster. Wrapping the leather straps around the gun, he tucked it into the drawer of the nightstand. The bedsprings creaked beneath his weight as he sat down on the edge and took off his shoes. His socks soon followed. He stood, then slowly unbuttoned his wet shirt, his eyes never leaving her face.
An erotic thrill coursed through her veins as she watched him slip the shirt off his shoulders. Her body trembled—from the chill of her damp clothing or from anticipation, she wasn’t sure which. She clung to the door frame, needing its support.
Her Second Chance Family Page 18