Pregnancy hormones already getting the better of her?
She would’ve assumed so, but then the woman abruptly stood before jogging to meet her. “Ms. Barnesworth?”
“Y-yes…” Eve wasn’t sure whether to talk to the woman or call for help. As the building entrance was full of people and the woman didn’t seem threatening, Eve asked, “Can I help you?”
“No. My name is Tina Northridge and I—I’d just like to pay my condolences. Your father once did me a great kindness and out of respect for him, since I thought I recognized you, I—well, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.”
The woman’s demeanor seemed off. She fidgeted to an abnormal degree. Nervous? “I, um, saw you with a man at the library last week. Find what you were looking for?”
Alarm bells rang in Eve’s head. “How exactly did you know my father?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Tina said with an exaggerated smile. “I should get going, but it was nice talking with you.” As suddenly as she’d entered Eve’s afternoon, she left it, scurrying off to a car far across the lot. Before Eve thought to get the tag number of the woman’s dark sedan, she was gone.
* * *
“SORRY TO DROP IN ON YOU without calling,” Eve said to Dina fifteen minutes later, “but I have to see Garrett.”
“Of course, come in.” She stepped aside, but not before casting Eve a worried look. “Everything okay?”
“Truthfully—” a small laugh escaped her “—I’m not sure.”
“We all have days like that. Garrett, honey? You have company!” Snatching a foil-wrapped chocolate from a bowl on the entry-hall table, Dina said to Eve, “I think he’s in the office—what’d he call it? Skipping with his friends?”
“Skyping?” Eve suggested.
“That’s it.” Even though Coral Ridge was experiencing Florida at her winter best, Dina had managed to make her home feel like Christmas. Beyond her two trees and the decorations she’d already had up the last time Eve had been by, she’d added a miniature holiday village complete with twinkling lights and twirling ice skaters. Cinnamon laced the air, making Eve’s typically nauseous stomach growl. “Did my son remember to invite you for Christmas dinner?”
“He did, thank you.”
“Well?” She knelt to pick up an ornament that’d fallen from her live tree. “Fat Albert thinks my decorations are his toys. Anyway, can I set a place for you at dinner?”
Eve knew the prudent answer would be no, but the house was so cozy and Dina so warm and inviting that Eve nodded. “Thank you. I’d love to share your meal.”
“Good.”
Was it? Especially considering the secret gift Eve carried? Dina would be elated to learn she’d soon have a grandchild, but fear kept Eve from sharing her news. She’d already lost three children and her heart couldn’t yet again bear that kind of pain.
“We’ll have fun. Plus, my sister’s making her cranberry cheesecake. It’s to die for— Garrett!”
“What, Mom? I’m on the phone!”
“Eve’s here!”
“If he’s busy I can…” Eve hooked her thumb over her shoulder, already turning for the door.
“Hey.” Garrett emerged from the hall wearing khaki cargo shorts and nothing else. His chest was broad enough for its own zip code and her mouth dried. “Let me grab a shirt and I’ll be right out.”
Was a shirt really necessary? “Okay. Fine.”
“Cookie?” Dina held out a tray of frosted angel-shaped cookies. Funny, though, how the naughty thoughts racing through Eve’s mind were far from angelic.
“Thank you.” Eve took two.
After having one for herself, Dina said, “Sorry to leave you, but I have a date with my most ornery flowerbed.”
“Before you go,” Eve asked, “should I bring anything on Christmas?”
Garrett’s mother ambushed Eve in a welcomingly tender hug. “Just your smiling self.”
“How long have you been here?” Garrett regrettably had added a white T-shirt to his outfit.
“Long enough for your mom and I to have a nice chat.”
He groaned. “That can’t be good.”
“It was.” She grabbed more cookies from the counter. “I’d forgotten how much I like her—and her sweets.”
“She likes you, too.”
Eve had hurried over to tell Garrett her news, but she now felt tongue-tied and awkward. Her attraction for him distracted her from her primary goal of finding their son. And it had to stop. Only with another child of his growing inside her, she not only craved being with him, but being held by him. Kissed by him. Made love to by…
Eve’s cheeks flamed.
“You overheated?” he asked. “With all of Mom’s Christmas gear going, it gets pretty warm.”
Hands to her cheeks, she shook her head. “No, that’s far from my problem.” Thankful for the segue, though not for any reason he might imagine, Eve relayed her interaction with Tina Northridge. “So you can see, when she asked if I’d found what I was looking for, why I’m wholly convinced she knows exactly what—or rather, whom—we’re seeking.”
“Whoa…” He stepped backward to lean against the kitchen island’s butcher-block counter. “Wish you’d gotten her license-plate number, but that’s okay. These days, practically all you need is a name to find out someone’s entire life story. Anyway—” His grin was already intoxicating, but then he pulled her into an impromptu hug. He drew back to face her, as if intending to further celebrate with a kiss, but then released her, combing his fingers through his hair. “This is huge.”
“Yes.” For so many more reasons than he thought. Mostly, she realized with a sad twinge, because as soon as they found their son, this forced closeness would no longer be necessary. And of course, he’d have a relationship with their new son or daughter, but that was far different from him sharing anything of true meaning with her.
* * *
“EXCITED?” GARRETT HAD ASKED an old football buddy of his who was a city cop to run Tina’s name. Now, the afternoon before Christmas, he and Eve stood on Tina’s front porch in Lakewood—a town fifty miles from Coral Ridge. Though they had her phone number, they’d decided an in-person meeting might prove more beneficial. “Our son could be inside.”
“I’m excited and a little scared—but mostly excited.” She visibly swallowed hard.
“Know the feeling.” Forcing a breath, he rang the bell. “Here goes…”
After a few minutes, the front door of the well-maintained two-story home opened as far as the chain latch allowed. All he could see of the woman before him was a shock of white hair, narrowed, wary eyes, a black Nike jogging suit and a bedazzled cane. “Yes?”
From behind him, Eve whispered, “That’s not her.”
“Ah, hello, ma’am.” Garrett had a tough time speaking past the emotional knot blocking his throat. He introduced himself and Eve to the elderly woman, then asked, “We’ve come to see Tina. Is she here?”
“All right.”
“Tina Northridge. This is her address?”
“That’s me. But I don’t know you, and I’m not looking to buy anything.”
“Oh, no, we’re not looking to sell. Just for some information.” He gave her the highlight reel. “So you can see, any help you might be able to give, we’d greatly appreciate.”
Still not fully opening the door, Tina said, “Sorry, but I don’t know anything about this woman using my name. Wish I did. You seem like a ni
ce couple and I’ve always enjoyed solving a good mystery.”
“Yes, well…” It took every shred of the manners Garrett’s mom had taught him not to punch the woman’s brick wall in frustration. “We’re sorry to have bothered you. Thanks for your time.”
In the car, silence hung heavy between him and Eve.
Ten miles down the road, she started crying.
Garrett knew he should pull over, comfort her with a hug, but he was upset, too. Just like he’d been when she’d taken off with his child in her womb and returned home with nothing—not even the smallest shred of sympathy for him and what he’d lost. From the first moment she’d told him they were expecting, he’d stupidly been happy. He’d believed the two of them could conquer anything together. And they could’ve. If only she’d given him a chance.
“W-we need to give up.” Crying all the harder, digging through her purse, then pulling out tissue, she blew her nose. “I can’t take this disappointment anymore. M-my chest felt near exploding from anticipation, and then bam—just like always when I w-want something, it’s gone.”
“I’m sorry, Eve, but knock it off. I’m not a quitter and neither are you.”
“You’re horrible.” She’d curled onto her side. She’d grown so thin, from this angle she could’ve again been that slight girl he used to love.
He tightened his grip on the wheel. “Maybe so, but there’s no way in hell I’m ever giving up on our son.”
“You think I want to?” She’d faced him, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.
Her frailty made him feel like the world’s biggest ass. Was he wrong to still be angry with her over something that’d been nearly as much out of her control as it had his? “My God, Garrett, cut me some slack. I’m not a freakin’ SEAL. It’s only been a few weeks since I lost my best friend and hero—only to find out Hal wasn’t anywhere near the man I’d built him up to be. I’ve got other things I’m dealing with, too, and most days I’m doing good just to get out of bed. I feel like an emotional leaf, on the verge of crumbling or skittering away in the wind. The last thing I need right now is your gung ho, hoorah I-don’t-quit crap.”
“Screw you.”
“Screw me?” She laughed, but the borderline hysterical sound made his stomach uneasy. He’d gone too far and he was sorry. “Oh, seems like we’ve already tried that a few times and it never really works out.”
* * *
EVE SAT AT THE SOLOMON family Christmas meal, mentally drifting as if in a dream. She wasn’t even sure why she’d come. Mainly because she’d told Dina she would and always honored her word. Then there was the fact that Juanita had been so excited to share this day with her family that the last thing Eve wanted was to hang around there being a wet blanket. Her housekeeper—her friend—would never have let her spend the day alone in her room, and the Solomon house, though by no means quiet, was infinitely more peaceful than the two Cuban bands Juanita had hired.
Bing Crosby crooned carols on the living-room stereo and since the day outside was gorgeous with temperatures in the mid-seventies, the only fire crackling played on Dina’s TV.
“So I was talking with another teacher on recess duty the other day—” Garrett’s aunt Carol leaned closer to Eve while taking a yeast roll from a basket “—and she told me the Barnesworth Shoe Factory was opening an outlet store for all those fancy designer shoes y’all are making. That true?”
“Sadly, no.” Eve used her fork to shuffle her green-bean casserole from one clear spot on her plate to another. Luckily, no one sat on her other side. “We only make the shoes for the big-name designers. We don’t own the actual shoes, which means we don’t have the right to sell them.”
Carol smoothed butter onto her roll. “Well, if any accidentally fall off a conveyor belt, you know where to find me.”
“Sorry to disappoint you again,” Eve said with a faint laugh, “but they’re all handmade.”
“That’s what I figured, but it never hurts to try.” She closed her eyes while enjoying her roll. “Mmm. Dina makes the best rolls on the planet. Want another?”
“No, thanks.” Since her latest round with Garrett, Eve’s appetite had been even less than normal. Worry for her baby—his baby—consumed her. She couldn’t live through losing another child. Part of her wanted so badly to tell him about her pregnancy, but why? He’d proven during their visit to the wrong Tina he couldn’t be depended upon for support.
That’s not fair.
Damning her conscience, Eve’s mind regretfully replayed the times Garrett had been achingly sweet and supportive. The afternoon he’d carried her from her father’s funeral and held her while she cried in the shower. Garrett was a good man—just not for her. The two of them were too different in too many important ways.
She looked at him, thankfully seated two chairs from her on the opposite side of the table. Engrossed in a conversation about the latest Middle East peace treaty, his expression was as serious as it had been the other day in his car. Though he was handsome in any situation, she liked him best smiling. Cupping her belly, she warmed. This little life inside her just had to live.
“You all right?” Carol took her third roll. “You’re awfully quiet over there. Need more green beans or ham?”
When Carol offered to serve her, Eve shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m already stuffed.”
“You’ve hardly eaten. Ask me—not that you did—you’re a little on the thin side.”
Eve wasn’t sure how to reply.
“Funny thing about you, Eve, I think the whole town feels a little proprietary and protective. Your dad having been mayor for so long, with you always at his side, you’ve grown up in front of us.”
Again, Eve was speechless.
“Lay off, Mom.” Carol’s son, Zane, wadded his red cloth napkin, pitching it at her from across the dining-room table. “You spend too much time meddling in everyone’s business.”
“I do not,” Carol argued. “Is it wrong for me to care?”
Down the table, Garrett had his phone in hand. “Excuse me. I have to get this.”
With Garrett out of the room, his mother said, “I’m worried sick that’s his team lead. He’s been on the phone with him a few times in the past couple days.”
Eve’s throat tightened.
It was one thing knowing Garrett was a SEAL, but with him safe in Coral Ridge, the reality of what that meant hadn’t sunk in.
“Eve?” Dina rose. “Honey, you look—”
* * *
THOUGH IT’D BEEN A FEW HOURS since his mom had screamed for him to come quick, Garrett still sat on the living-room sofa with sleeping Eve’s head resting on his lap.
All present had wanted to call an ambulance—at the very least take Eve to the E.R.—but she’d insisted her fainting spell was due to a lack of food and sleep. Toss in her father’s death and the search for their son and she was admittedly having a rough time.
Garrett stroked her hair.
He should never have gone off on her the way he had after their encounter with the wrong Tina. Not that it was an excuse, but he was so damned frustrated with everything. Not just the half-dozen false leads they’d trailed, but his whole relationship with Eve. After all they’d shared, he’d hoped they could at least be friends, but even that seemed in jeopardy.
And now he’d been called out on a mission.
And for the first time since earning his trident, he didn’t want to go.
Chapter Eleven
While
the rest of his family helped Garrett’s mom clean the kitchen, Eve stood with him on the front porch. Not only was she still consumed with embarrassment over fainting at the table, but she was also filled with fear. First thing in the morning she’d camp at her doctor’s until there was an opening in her schedule. Until then, the news that Garrett was headed into the heart of danger wasn’t setting well. As much as she’d be almost grateful for him to be gone, she’d also be worried for his safety.
“Promise you’ll start taking better care of yourself.”
She nodded. “You, too. Know how long you’ll be gone?”
“Nope. Even if I did, I couldn’t tell you.”
“Okay, then…” She edged toward her car. There was so much she wanted to say, but didn’t know how. Considering the danger factor of his job, she should tell him they were having a second baby, but the words wouldn’t come out. As desperately as she wanted—needed—this child, what if he didn’t? What if he did and that opened a whole new can of custody worms? Worst of all, what if she told him, then lost the baby? No. It would be best to keep this to herself for now. With all her heart, she fought a crazy yearning to crush him in a hug. “I’m going to let you get packed.”
He walked her to her car. “Eve?”
“Yes?” She met his gaze, but he looked away.
“Nothing. Sorry your holiday was cut short. If you’d like, I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind you staying. We usually play board games after dinner. Trivial Pursuit. Monopoly.”
From somewhere inside, Eve found her smile. “Thank you, but I’m going to turn in early.”
“Probably a good idea.”
There was so much more she wanted to say, but even if she had the courage, now wasn’t the time. He needed his mind clear to come safely home to his mother, hopefully his son, his new child.
And her?
The SEAL's Stolen Child Page 12