She tossed her head. “He shared the same cell block as my Frank. Joe hated the cop as much as I did. He figured no one would ever link us because my name was different.”
“You didn’t share the same surname with your son?” Griff commented.
She raised her chin. “‘Harris’ is my third husband’s name.”
“How long were you married to Rankin’s father?”
“Too long.”
“There’s no record that you’re Rankin’s mother.”
His question infuriated her. “My second husband didn’t like kids, especially someone else’s. Few men want the leavings of another man. I knew Franklin would have a better life with his real father. I was a good mother.”
“Is that how you justified turning your back on your kid and walking away?” Griff asked, derisively.
“He understood. He knew I loved him.”
“I’m sure that knowledge was a great comfort to him.”
Any pity Maggie might have had for the bereft mother evaporated.
It amazed her that Mrs. Harris didn’t seem to sense her personal danger.
Griff’s tight-lipped expression revealed how much he was struggling to keep his temper under control as the older woman conveniently ignored any responsibility for her son’s behavior and tried to transfer the blame to others.
Griff had to despise his former landlady and her flimsy excuses, but he didn’t allow his personal feelings to show. Only Maggie seemed to see the effort it cost him.
Wylie stepped forward. “How did you get past the officer out front?”
The unrepentant woman sniffed. “Even the men in blue take potty breaks.”
“Too bad your cleverness will be wasted in prison.”
Mrs. Harris tried to sidestep Griff as Wylie handed him a pair of handcuffs. “I want to see a lawyer.”
“I’ll bet you do.”
Griff relinquished his former landlady to Wylie as a local deputy entered the cabin.
After Mrs. Harris was tucked into one of the waiting police cars, Wylie returned to the house. “Do you two want to stay here or head back to Pendleton?”
Without looking in Griff’s direction, Maggie said, “If my car is ready, I’m ready to leave.”
Wylie’s gaze flickered between them. “With that head injury, you shouldn’t be driving, Maggie. I’ll book Mrs. Harris and swing by to pick you up. That okay with you, Griff?”
Griff masked his feelings behind a stoic façade.
Maggie’s hasty desire to leave scraped his emotions raw.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. The job was over. She had no reason to stay.
They both wanted to reclaim the threads of their lives.
So why wasn’t he ready to let go?
Chapter 17
Wylie’s departure created a vacuum of silence between them as Griff and Maggie packed their belongings.
He’d tried to encourage Maggie to rest, but she’d refused to lie down on the bed again.
For the first fifteen minutes, they worked in separate rooms. Griff collated the files he’d spread across the coffee table. Maggie stuffed her clothes into the suitcase in the bedroom.
Griff took his time emptying the drawers and closets of the few items he’d brought with him.
He didn’t realize Maggie had returned until he bumped into her as she came abreast of the sofa. The suddenness of their collision nearly knocked Maggie off her feet. Griff’s hands automatically reached to steady her.
The firm swell of her curves undermined his resolutions.
“Maggie,” was all he could say.
Her startled, green-eyed gaze met his. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
She shook her head as if she didn’t understand the question.
Her hesitation was all he needed.
He pulled her to him as she lifted her mouth. Her scent, womanly and soft, stoked the fires he’d worked so hard to bank. She wore her old jeans and the long-tailed shirt. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more enticing woman. Beneath the shapeless clothing, his hands framed the gentle curves of her hips. His manhood responded.
Suddenly they were pulling at each other’s clothes.
Maggie’s arms looped around Griff’s neck as he picked her up and laid her on the bed. As he came down next to her, she reached up and stroked his face.
It was more than a starving man could stand. Griff found the curve of her neck and placed small kisses along the delicate arch of her jaw.
Maggie answered by threading her fingers through his hair and wrapping her legs around his torso.
“Your body should be put into protective custody,” he groaned.
“Why?”
“It’s too soft to be left unguarded.”
He didn’t want to think about what would happen after Wylie returned. Or the long, lonely months ahead. For now, this is where he wanted to be—in bed with the woman who’d staked a claim on his heart and his soul.
He’d learn to live with it later.
The packing forgotten, they explored each other’s bodies. Intent on revealing each of her secrets, Griff rotated his body and lifted Maggie above him.
She slid onto him and for a moment neither of them moved. The pleasure in her face matched his own exhilaration.
She ran her fingers down the center of his chest and traced the ridge of his rib cage.
He sucked in a sharp breath. The intense pressure swirled from the center of him. Heaven could never be so sweet. So hot. He wanted to commit each facet of her lush form to memory.
Somehow this woman had gotten underneath his skin. He wanted her pleasure more than he wanted his own. He had always been able to keep a distance from other women. But he knew that whatever barriers he’d had were long gone with Maggie. He didn’t even want to worry about tomorrow.
Maggie held nothing back, either. She moved slowly and made sure he was with her at every thrust of her pelvis.
“This can’t be real,” he breathed.
She stopped her movements. “I don’t think it is.”
“What is it then?”
Before he could catch his breath, she reached down and brushed a kiss across his brow. “Make-believe.”
He answered by easing his hands through the thick hair at the nape of her neck. “Nothing ever felt so good.”
“For me, either.”
Her admission cut the little resistance Griff had left. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her under him.
His thrusts deep inside her became more urgent. She shifted and took him deeper.
He was drowning and glad of it.
The explosion that ripped through him was like none he’d ever experienced as Maggie’s body stiffened and followed him over the edge.
Griff collapsed on top of her and together they rode the rest of the storm.
He didn’t know how long they lay in the tumble of sheets, their limbs entwined and their bodies still joined.
“Wylie will be coming soon,” Maggie finally broke the silence.
“Yeah.” He didn’t want to move.
Her finger skimmed his whiskered cheek. “You need a shave.”
“Are you volunteering to have another go at it?”
Her green gaze softened. “Hey, I didn’t do too bad for my first time, did I?”
“You were perfect.”
Hell, she was exquisite.
She suddenly lifted her head and propped her head to stare at him with sober eyes. “I wanted to hurt Mrs. Harris when she justified her actions for leaving her son.”
“Why?”
She shook her head. “All I could think about was your mother and wonder why she could have left you.”
Griff’s mouth dried. “Is that why you made love to me? For pity?”
A remote coolness shuddered her face. “Is that what you believe?”
He didn’t move for a minute, trying not to dwell on the sudden ache beating inside his chest. Why had she made love to him?
Not for love.
That was clear.
A cold fear descended over him. Why would he expect more? There were no commitments between them. What they had was a history of distrust and a phony marriage license.
Maggie pulled away. She found her clothes scattered across the floor but paused to look at him. “I think we’re both too scared to let go of the past.”
Then she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Was she right?
The past rose like a ghostly apparition.
Had Maggie made love to him to comfort him for his mother’s actions nearly thirty years ago?
Would it be so bad if she had?
Griff’s mouth twisted at the painful irony. He didn’t feel comforted.
He remembered little of his mother’s leaving. He’d made it his life mission to survive. And he’d done it.
But his mother’s betrayal paled in the face of the future without Maggie.
Unwittingly, he’d laid himself open to her and fallen in love. Now he was naked and his heart was bleeding.
Maggie leaned against the sink and struggled with ragged breaths.
What have you done, Maggie? How could you have placed yourself into such a vulnerable position?
She hadn’t made love to Griff because she pitied him. He’d never believe the truth, and perhaps that was for the better. The only thing they could give each other was hurt. He saw her as the woman who’d abandoned her father.
And she’d never put herself at the disposal of living with another cop.
It was only a matter of time before he returned to his job. His injuries were healing nicely. Even with his short cast, he barely limped. Nothing had hindered his lovemaking. There was little to delay his return to the Pendleton Police Department. He could oversee paperwork until he was cleared to resume his job.
She reached down and stepped into her pants, pulling them over her hips. As soon as she snapped her jeans, she slipped her arms into the sleeves of her shirt, avoiding the mirror until she finished hooking the last button.
She straightened and looked into the reflective glass. What she saw made her flinch. Her black eyes made her look positively ghoulish. But it was her swollen mouth, evidence of Griff’s thorough kisses, that drew her attention. Almost against her will, she lifted her fingers to her tender lips.
She didn’t regret making love to him. It would be something she’d cherish the rest of her life.
But even in the face of never seeing him again, she knew she had to keep her emotions in check so he wouldn’t suspect how much she was tempted to throw away the convictions that had taken a lifetime to build.
Would it be so bad to share Griff with his job? To plan a Christmas dinner and then eat by oneself?
A long-term relationship could lead to more than marriage. It could mean a child. She’d love to have Griff’s baby.
As quickly as the thought came, she blanched. What if she was pregnant? When they’d made love before, she’d been safe because of the time of month. But what about now?
The numbers weren’t lining up in her head.
What if she was pregnant?
A part of her wanted more than anything for that to be true.
And what about Griff?
He’d want the child. But what about her? She’d spent her entire youth feeling like unwanted baggage. Yes, her father loved her. But he hadn’t wanted the responsibility of her.
She couldn’t bear the idea of being an unwanted responsibility to Griff.
Maggie lowered her gaze from the mirror, feeling the dreadful weight of loneliness dragging down her shoulders.
Chapter 18
It was still dark when Griff woke in the small motel where he’d lived for three weeks following Mrs. Harris’s arrest. He could have stayed in the boarding house, but he hadn’t liked the idea of living under Mrs. Harris’s roof another day, even if she was behind bars.
The sun was just starting to rise, and he swung his feet to the floor.
He had to find another place to live. The boarding house had been put up for sale to pay for Mrs. Harris’s legal bills.
There was little he missed about his former lodgings. It had been merely a place to rest his head at the end of each day. The four pale green walls had never been a real home, which had suited him fine for the eight months he’d lived there.
He’d never wanted a home, believing it was better not to put down roots and build expectation.
But that was before Maggie.
Funny how he now associated the word “home” with Maggie.
He rubbed his head and reached for his pants. He should be looking forward to returning to active duty, but he wasn’t.
Why?
Maggie. He couldn’t stop thinking about Maggie.
He hadn’t seen her since they’d left the cabin, and Mr. Beckwith and his wife had adopted Lucky.
According to Wylie, Maggie had left town two weeks ago, after the doctor gave her a clean bill of health.
Griff had promised to take care of the annulment, but he hadn’t made any effort to initiate the proceedings.
First he’d made the excuse that he wanted to wait to get rid of his cast and he could drive his own car. But now, he admitted to himself that he hadn’t made the effort because he didn’t want a divorce or an annulment.
He lowered his face into his hands and rubbed his forehead. How many times would he relive every moment they’d spent together?
Each morning he awoke with the taste of Maggie on his lips, as he dreamed about making love to her. It wasn’t until this morning that it suddenly occurred to him that they hadn’t used any form of birth control.
Could Maggie be pregnant?
Maybe it was wishful thinking.
He hadn’t brought birth control protection with him to the cabin. Hell, he hadn’t needed it for months.
When they’d made love, he hadn’t even thought about taking precautions.
He shook his head. How could he have been so irresponsible to put Maggie at that kind of risk?
He doubted that she’d been using any contraceptives. When would she have had time? They had been engaged and were an exclusive fictitious couple. Neither of them dated anyone else during those short months.
He envisioned in his mind’s eye Maggie as a mother-to-be. She’d be beautiful. Soft and happy.
Griff lifted his head from his hands. Hope cut a swath through the despair he’d been fighting since they left the cabin.
If she was pregnant, they’d have to stay married. She didn’t want to be a mother without her child having a father. Isn’t that what she’d told him?
If they stayed married, then he’d have the time and proximity to make her fall in love with him.
For the first time in weeks, a slow honest-to-goodness smile broke out across his face. He hadn’t felt so good since Maggie left.
Chapter 19
Two weeks later, Griff drove through the relatively quiet streets of Somerstown.
It had taken him a week longer than he’d planned to tie up all the loose ends in Pendleton.
After stopping at a convenience store to ask for directions, he found Maggie’s shop situated between a souvenir store and a leather outlet.
He angle parked his Bronco and got out. The small community of ten thousand looked like the perfect place to settle down and have a family.
Walking up to the front door of the shop, he spotted the sign on the glass announcing the store’s opening on Thanksgiving weekend, three weeks from now.
He knocked on the door and peered inside. When no one responded, he tried the door handle. It twisted easily beneath his grasp.
Making his way past a hodgepodge of wooden boards, cartons of merchandise and a long counter with a cash register, Griff followed the hum of the sewing machine to a room toward the back of the building.
He stopped at the threshold and soaked in the sight of the woman who had haunted his dreams for too many weeks.
Maggie had foregone her usual man’s styled shirt for a bright purple sweater and a pair of black knit pants that hugged the calves of her legs as she fussed over a porcelain doll nestled in her lap.
“Hi, Maggie.”
He saw her swallow before she looked up. “Griff. What are you doing here?”
His gaze skimmed the loose-knit sweater. “Looking for you.”
She set down her doll and stood up. “I’m not pregnant, if that’s why you’re here.”
He blinked, having to take a moment to absorb the sudden pain. He exhaled slowly. “What makes you think that’s why I’m here?”
“Because you knew neither of us used birth control and you wouldn’t abandon an unborn child.”
“You’re sure about the pregnancy?”
The glimmer of sadness that flickered across her face gave him hope. “I took a pregnancy test and had my doctor check to confirm it. If I had been, I’d have told you.”
Maggie forced herself to stay where she was as Griff digested the news. He didn’t try to hide his disappointment. Griff was a man who needed a family, even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“You could have called and saved yourself the trouble of driving here,” she said.
“That wasn’t the only reason I came.”
“You wanted me to sign papers for the annulment?”
He took another step into the room, and she automatically moved back. “No.”
“Are there problems?”
“Not in the way you mean.”
“What then?”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “If you’d been pregnant, this would have been so much easier.”
She wrapped her arms protectively over her stomach. “Easier? Why?”
“To convince you to marry me. For real.”
Her sudden laugh sounded flat and humorless to her own ears. “Is that why you really came? Or do you just feel responsible?”
He didn’t flinch. “Is that a ‘no’?”
“Yes.” She lifted her head and braced herself against the inevitable hurt of watching him walk out of her life for good.
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