One Daddy Too Many

by Debra Salonen

  Kate waited for him to elaborate.

  “I didn’t want this job. The Vegas office has had a lousy reputation almost since the day it opened, so being sent here was definitely a step down the ladder of success. I’m sure the senior partners expected me to quit rather than suffer the humiliation, but I’m a little too bullheaded for that.”

  She smiled. She’d been called that, too.

  “My plan was to whip the place into shape then get out. The fact that Mom lived here was a nice bonus, but not a huge motivating factor. We’re both pretty independent people. And I really haven’t had the time or inclination to date—until now.”

  “Do you mean me? No. We can’t date. I’m all wrong for you.”

  He could tell she believed that. But he also sensed a connection between them that deserved a chance—even if it went against every rule in his book.

  He looked around to get his bearings. They were midway between his place and the office. Two quick turns and they pulled into the parking lot of his temporary home. One well-placed tree offered enough shade that they could sit in the car without roasting.

  Kate pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and squinted at him. “Are you trying to corrupt me?”

  “Can you be corrupted?”

  “No. But thank you for asking.” The hint of humor in her tone gave him hope. He leaned over and kissed her. Quick, friendly, unthreatening. An invitation to play.

  She didn’t pull back. Or slap him. In fact, she smiled. “If I were at a different place in my life, I’d probably take you up on your offer, but…”

  “A little corruption might be just what you need. Lord knows I could use some.” Then, he kissed her again—the way he had in his dreams.

  The small car didn’t afford much room to maneuver, but he pulled her to him. She felt even better than he’d imagined. Warm, womanly. Her arms settled around his neck. He caressed her back. Lean but muscled from her work.

  Her scent was sweet and it touched a chord deep in his memory. “What kind of perfume are you wearing?”

  She startled, as if suddenly remembering where she was. She pushed back. “That would be eau de Play-Doh. I was helping Maya make a castle for her Little People this morning.”

  “That’s it,” he exclaimed. “I don’t think that smell has changed since I was a kid.”

  She cocked her head and ran her finger along the edge of his jaw. “You’re still a kid compared to me.”

  He nipped at her finger when it got close to his chin. “True. You’re practically ancient.”

  She frowned and poked him on the nose. “I’m four years older than you.”

  “I know. Which is why we’re going to bury—no, cremate—this nonissue here and now. Okay?”

  She didn’t look convinced, so he added, “Hey, my dad just married a woman nearly thirty years his junior. Didn’t seem to bother either of them.”

  “But—”

  He cut her off. “You’re not going to say something sexist about older men and trophy wives, are you?”

  The corners of her mouth curled up impishly. “Maybe.”

  “Well, forget it. According to Haley, she stalked Dad. She hunted him down and twisted his arm to go out with her.”

  “Why?” she croaked. “I mean, he’s an attractive man, but…”

  “LAFS.”

  “Laughs?”

  “L.A.F.S.,” he spelled. “Love At First Sight.”

  Kate’s chuckle turned to a belly laugh. The magical sound made his heart do crazy, almost painful, maneuvers. Since when had humor become such a turn-on? he wondered.

  “Well, I’m glad your dad and Haley got their storybook ending,” she said, sitting back, “but, I’m a single mom with a daughter who is scheduled to meet her parolee father in the very near future. The only happily-ever-after I can expect to see anytime soon will come at the end of the fairy tales I read to her at night.”

  She consulted her watch and told him, “It’s getting late. I enjoyed the house tour, but I’d better go home and change for work.”

  Rob didn’t argue, but a guy could dream. And tonight he probably would. X-rated, no doubt.

  Chapter Seven

  The next morning came a little too soon for Rob. He’d spent a restless night tossing and turning. A combination of guilt and regret stemming from his fizzled attempt at seduction and his ongoing frustration at work. Kate had been right to shoot down his suggestion. She needed to stay focused on Maya. He needed to keep his mind on his job.

  Simple.

  So when—if—he saw her this morning at swim lessons, he’d apologize for being an idiot.

  As he looked around Yetta’s backyard, he could see only men—and little kids, from toddlers in their fathers’ arms to a pensive-looking youngster Rob recognized from court. Mary Ann’s son. Luke? Lucas? Luca.

  Yetta joined him. “I hope I didn’t invite too many. Once I put the word out, men seemed to come out of the woodwork. I had no idea there were so many fathers who wanted to spend quality time with their children.”

  Rob had a feeling that was a lie. Yetta knew things. “The more the merrier, but since the pool is rather small, maybe we should break into groups by age and experience.”

  This proved to be no easy task, so he enlisted the help of Kate’s cousin, Gregor. The man had lost weight since Rob last saw him. He seemed to have grown up, too. Visiting your wife in a mental institute might do that to a person, Rob thought.

  “Do you know any of these people?” Rob asked.

  “Yeah, almost everybody. Most are shirttail relatives. That tall guy over there is my brother Enzo. He and his wife have three older kids, then out of the blue, Bubba, showed up.”

  “Bubba?” Rob repeated, squinting at the lad in his dad’s burly arms. The kid looked like a black-haired Pillsbury Doughboy.

  “His real name is Burdick Anders Radonovic. Don’t ask.”

  “Gotcha.”

  One by one, Greg identified the six fathers and seven children. Greg’s distant cousin Nathan, a mousy-looking fellow with a pronounced overbite, brought twins Gretel and Lucinda.

  Maya, Rob noticed, was MIA.

  “Gentlemen, front and center,” he hollered over a cacophony of high-pitched squeals. “Here’s the game plan.”

  Rob had rehearsed his speech in front of the mirror that morning. He’d even gone online last night to make sure the technique for teaching children hadn’t changed dramatically since his Red Cross training. One Web site he’d run across had intrigued him so much he’d ordered four copies of its book, Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim.

  I’m going to need more copies.

  He felt capable of teaching these dads and their kids, but the minute Kate and Maya walked out of the house to join the group, Rob’s confidence evaporated. The look Maya gave him made him want to flee to the nearest bar for a shot of liquid courage.

  You’re not a wimp. She’s a kid. Suck it up, man.

  The silent pep talk worked—or maybe it was the air of desperation he sensed in the fathers. They’d either volunteered for this task or—like him—could find no graceful out. They had kids who didn’t want to be here and they looked about ready to dunk said kids in the water.

  He yanked off his Old Navy T-shirt and marched to where Maya was standing, her fingers white-knuckled from her grip on her mother’s hand. He passed his sunglasses to Kate, even though the glare was almost enough to blind a person.

  “Maya,” he said, going down on one knee, “you’re going to turn five on your next birthday. That’s old enough to understand that being able to swim is very, very important. If you accidentally fell in the water and no adults were around to help you, you might drown.”

  She frowned and looked over the group of kids. “Bubba’s a baby. He doesn’t even walk.”

  “But he could still fall into the water.” Rob glanced at Kate. She had a rumpled, just woken up look that made him want to race back to bed with her.

  Maya kicked him squarely in the shi
n. Her bare foot didn’t hurt but it got his attention. “If you can kick that well in the water, you’re going to be swimming in no time.”

  “I already know how to swim,” she declared.

  “Prove it.” He put out his hand. “Come on. I dare you.”

  Kate watched the power struggle between Rob and her daughter with mixed emotions. She wanted Maya to learn how to swim and had been utterly stymied and frustrated by Maya’s fierce determination not to take lessons. She hoped Rob would be able to accomplish the task. At the same time, she knew this exercise wasn’t entirely about swimming. It was about trust. Or more specifically, about trusting a man.

  She stayed in the background as Rob organized the men and their children. Her mother came to stand beside her.

  “Relax, dear. He seems very capable.”

  Kate nodded but didn’t comment. To ease her tension, she looked around at the men. “Who’s that?” she asked, seeing one she didn’t recognize.

  “Mac. He’s Zeke’s new protégé,” Yetta said. Blond and buff, he appeared to be quite young. His early twenties, Kate guessed. His swim trunks reached his kneecaps. He was carrying an infant, probably only two or three months old.

  “That’s a pretty tiny baby,” Kate said. “Does his wife know he’s here?”

  A low rumble of laughter sounded behind them. Kate turned to see Zeke Martini, the gray-haired policeman who had organized the undercover roust that had cost her family so much. Kate didn’t ask why he was here. She knew his children were grown and lived in California with his ex-wife. She knew that Yetta had gone to lunch with him a few times. The two had become friends.

  Personally, Kate was still a little wary of the man, whom it could be argued had used her Romani family to catch a master criminal, but her sisters seemed more inclined to forgive and forget. “Not much escapes Mac’s wife’s attention,” he said. “She’s a newspaper reporter. She told Mac this would be a bonding experience.”

  Kate looked at the young cop, who seemed very much out of his element. Scared even.

  Rob addressed his group. “It’s important to get your initial introduction to the water out of the way fast. The longer you have to fret about something, the more nervous everyone gets. Just pick your child up.” He demonstrated with Maya, who stiffened like a piece of wood. “And get wet.”

  He walked briskly down the steps, keeping his grip firmly on her daughter, even though Maya let out a howl and tried to climb up his neck. He bounced around and chattered to her, making goofy faces that distracted her enough to end the noisy tantrum.

  “Girl’s got a set of pipes on her,” Zeke said.

  “She knows how to say what she wants even if it’s not what she really wants,” Yetta replied.

  Kate looked at her mother, wondering if there was a message in that cryptic remark for her, but her attention was pulled back to the action as the other fathers entered the pool. Nathan was having a hard time of it trying to get the twins to stay separated. He wanted one of the little girls to sit in a chair while he worked with the other, but neither would have anything to do with that plan.

  “Maybe I should—” she started, but Zeke shouldered past her.

  “I guess I look enough like a grandpa to gain her trust.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open as he emptied his pockets and removed his shirt and belt. His khaki shorts rested on lean hips. He was thin but not skinny and still very muscular. He didn’t look bad for his age. She glanced at her mother, who had a funny look on her face.

  Once Zeke had made friends with the spare twin, he carried her into the water, making sure to stand right next to her sister and father.

  “Okay,” Rob called out. “That was simple. Now, we all know what comes next, right? You can’t swim if you don’t get your head and face in the water. People drown because they panic. As the law enforcement officers in our midst can tell you, the best way to diffuse panic is through experience and practice.”

  The pool was a bit crowded in the shallow end, so Rob stepped close to the invisible line where the deep end started. Kate’s heart rate sped up. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

  “Like I showed Maya a few minutes ago, we need to start by blowing bubbles.”

  The hilarity that ensued eased some of Kate’s anxiety. He’s actually doing this.

  After about five minutes, Rob whistled and said, “Next, we do this underwater. I’m from the blow-in-the-face school of thought, but you’ll figure out what works best for you. I do suggest you make eye contact with your youngster, then count and bounce. Like this. One…two…three.”

  Rob’s heart was pounding in his chest as he tightened his grip on Maya’s shoulders and sank under the water. He kept his eyes open and watched the surprise and abject horror in her eyes as he dunked her. But she didn’t gulp in air.

  He rocketed them out of the water.

  She sputtered and sucked in a breath that seemed primed to turn into an ear-splitting cry, but Rob spun her around and held her overhead, praising her nonstop. “Good job, Maya. You did it. You didn’t take in any water at all, did you? That was amazing. And brave. You showed all the kids exactly how to do it.”

  She closed her mouth and looked around.

  As it dawned on her that she was, indeed, the center of attention, she relaxed and tucked her head into his shoulder, shyly.

  The gesture, so small and yet so trusting, melted Rob’s heart. “Give it a try, everyone. One…two…” He felt Maya tense, but this time her fingers didn’t nearly pierce his skin. When they came up, she was laughing.

  Some kids weren’t. The baby was choking. Rob trotted over to help. Maya laid a hand on the child’s chest and the baby stopped sputtering. “She’s okay.”

  Rob felt a shiver travel up his spine. He looked toward the house where Kate had been standing. She wasn’t there. He’d ask her later. Does your kid have special powers? Oh, yeah, that would go over well.

  KATE HID OUT in the kitchen until the noise out back subsided. In theory, handing your child over to someone else for swimming lessons was a good thing. But actually watching Maya being dunked by a man she barely knew and who made her want things she really had no business wanting was too much. She did what she always did in times of crisis. She cooked.

  “What are you doing in here?” her mother asked as Kate pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven.

  “Treats. I think the kids and the dads are going to need nourishment, don’t you?”

  Yetta didn’t answer, but she took a plastic plate from the cupboard and arranged a heaping mound on top of it.

  “There’s fresh lemonade in the fridge,” Kate said.

  “I can only carry one thing at a time. If you don’t bring the drinks out, I’ll send Rob in.”

  Kate stifled a groan. Her mother was playing matchmaker. And none too subtly. But, despite the tingle she got behind her knees every time Rob kissed her, Kate wasn’t going to follow through on the attraction. She couldn’t. Maya was her predominant concern at the moment and Maya didn’t like Rob. After this morning, she probably wanted him dead.

  Or not, she thought a couple of minutes later when she went outside carrying a tray laden with ice bucket, plastic glasses and a pitcher. Maya was sitting on Rob’s lap at the table under the umbrella. The other fathers were gathered around, too. Half the children—the boys mainly, were playing in the covered sandbox with Mary Ann’s son, Luca. The girls were either with their dads or in Maya’s playhouse.

  Luca’s little sister, Gemilla, was perched on Gregor’s lap. That’s why she’s still with Rob, Kate decided. Maya was very sensitive to other children’s needs and poor Gemilla had had a difficult time adjusting to her mother’s absence.

  “Anybody thirsty?”

  Kids surged around her. Rob stood up, setting Maya in the chair, before he reached out to help. The courtly gesture touched her.

  “Everyone survived, I take it?”

  His expression went from happy to wounded so fast she almost laughed. “Of
course. Did you doubt me?”

  As she poured lemonade into wobbly cups, she said, “Don’t take that the wrong way. Each of my sisters tried to get Maya to dunk her face and failed miserably.”

  “Ah, well, Maya wasn’t four and a half then. She’s grown and matured, right, Maya?”

  The little girl nodded. “But I don’t want to do it again today.”

  Rob laughed. “Not a problem. But after a few more lessons, your mother won’t be able to keep you out of the pool. But always remember that you can only go in the water if an adult is watching you, right?” he added his tone stern.

  Kate stepped back to observe Rob interact with the fathers. For a guy, who—according to Maya—didn’t like kids, he seemed like a natural. Relaxed and gregarious. She found it hard to believe that he didn’t have a family of his own.

  An hour later, when she walked him to his car, she asked him about the odd dichotomy. “How come you’re not married with two or three kids?”

  He shrugged, which made the gray T-shirt he was wearing emphasize his great chest. “Law school. It’s a commitment even more demanding than a wife.” He winced. “Not that all wives are demanding,” he quickly qualified, “but most relationships require time and energy, and when you’re studying and writing papers and taking tests, you don’t have the oomph to do much else.”

  She smiled at his gaffe. She understood what he meant. He wasn’t a chauvinist. Not like Ian. “Was your last girlfriend the closest you’ve come to marriage?”

  He nodded. “I didn’t date much in college. How ’bout you?”

  “I apprenticed in a male-dominated profession. If you’re a woman, fairly attractive and single, you get asked out a lot.”

  “And since you’re gorgeous, you must have had to fend off advances left and right.”

  Embarrassed by the compliment, she said, “I always made sure the person I was flirting with understood the ground rules. I didn’t sleep around. I had one disastrous experience early on and that taught me a valuable lesson.”