by Mary Brady
“You’ll need to get gussied up tomorrow evening. The undertakers are—”
“Funeral directors.”
“Are taking us out tomorrow night. They are taking us out to dinner.”
“Mother, one night you give me condoms and the next day you get me fixed up with another man.”
“I knew you wouldn’t use them.”
Abby almost wished she had used them at the time when she was still able to convince herself Reed was a hot guy and Jesse’s nice older brother, not a rat. “Then why—”
“A mother can always hope. Now, young Travis is just right for you. He’s quiet, dresses conservatively, has a good job, drives a nice new car and he lives right here in St. Adelbert. He’s a nice, responsible young man. What more could you want?”
A little sex appeal, some personality, less girth, like Reed, only the good, upstanding parts of Travis should be kept. “You can’t expect me to just drop everything to go out with a guy who asks at the last minute.”
“Yeah, and you with all your important things to do tomorrow. You gotta polish your hiking boots or something? Besides, I think Travis is so cute in his volunteer firefighter uniform.”
“Do they call those outfits uniforms? And he didn’t even ask me.”
“Who cares what they call them, and Kenny and I decided it would be best to just tell you and Travis you were going with us to the opening of the new restaurant in Franksville.”
“All the way over in Franksville? I can’t leave. What if Reed tries to take Kyle away while we’re out on a date? What would I tell Lena? How terrified would Kyle be to find himself whisked away to some strange place? When would we see him again?” Bleakness washed through Abby.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Reed’s been here for nearly a week and he hasn’t done a snatch and run. What makes today different?”
“He’s been—”
Her mother sucked in a long juicy breath between her teeth. “You did use the condoms! Who’d a thought? Are you falling for him? Is that it? You fall for a guy so you think he must be some creepy loser. The kind you always pick. That’d be my fault. God only knows I paraded enough dead beats in front of you and Lena.”
Abby knew she had fallen for Reed, but that was in the past. As long as Kyle was a child and as long as his mother was away, she would care for the boy, put him first.
“You’ve reformed, Mother. Kenny Fuller is a good man. Why don’t the two of you go out?”
“Kenny is only going so his son will go out with you. You’re a catch, you know, and don’t think I didn’t notice you dodged my questions about falling for Reed.”
“Why do we have to do this now?”
“Tomorrow is the ‘not to be missed’ grand opening of the new restaurant in Franksville, and when something new actually happens around here it should not be—well—missed. It’s what I used to convince Kenny we should all go.”
“I don’t know.”
“What makes you think Reed will take Kyle away even if he is the boy’s uncle?”
“I don’t know anything for sure, but…”
“Well, nobody can fix everything. Now, what all are you going to wear for our date?”
“Am I talked into going?”
“I know I’ve not been the best of mothers, but I’m trying very hard. For me, Abby. Do it for me.” Her mother fluttered her eyelashes and stuck out her bottom lip.
“You’re not fooling anyone,” Abby said as she gently tugged a lock of her mother’s thick hair. Her mother would kid and beg in a silly way and otherwise skirt the truth that she desperately wanted someone to grow old with, a pal, a buddy and a lover. Kenny Fuller could be just that and he’d been a widow for a year now—fair game.
“I have nothing to wear, Mother.”
“I’m sure wearing nothing would please Travis Fuller just fine, daughter. So you’ll go?”
Abby pushed herself up from the porch.
“I’ll go. What are you wearing, Mom?”
“I bought a new dress.”
“So sure of me, were you?”
“I’m your mom.”
“That you are.” She wanted to trust Reed as she had trusted him last night when they watched the meteors streak across the sky, when he had held her and understood there were too many unresolved issues for them to use the condoms…. “What if Reed takes Kyle?”
“We can fix that.”
“Are we going to tie him up?”
“Sort of.”
“Mother?”
“Abby. We’ll get him to babysit Kyle.”
“And that will help how?”
“We’ll promise Kyle that Reed will take him to the park again.” Delanna stopped Abby’s protest with a look. “When he’s gone we’ll park your car and his car in the garage, just in case it rains, of course.”
“Of course.”
“Resources around here are sparse, so it’d be several hours before he could have someone come and get him and I promise, we’ll have a quick dinner and get back before you know it. All we need to do is put your spare door opener and all the keys where Reed and Kyle can’t find them.”
“What if he breaks the door down and hot-wires the car?”
“Have you seen any hint that Reed Maxwell is a barbarian and a thug?”
“Hmm.”
Her mother, in turn, swatted her on the arm.
REED SAT ON THE PARK BENCH beside a woman and a tiny baby. The park teemed with kids trying to stuff a little more summer into their lives, running, climbing, shouting and occasionally coming over to a parent with an injury, real or imagined. Reed enjoyed the camaraderie of the adults as they kept vigil. They greeted him as if he belonged. He’d obviously been in town long enough for the parents to know who he was and he basked in the halo effect of his brother’s kind-spirited personality.
He thought he’d come to do guy things, but apparently, Kyle’s ploy was to leave Aunt Abby behind. So he’d been told to “sit there, Reed” and had obeyed. Who’d have thought Reed Maxwell of Maxwell and Anderson Investments, LLC would follow the commands of a five-year-old and then feel comfortable sitting on a park bench beside a woman feeding her infant.
Abby must do this all the time, bring the boy to the park. As he watched the children play, he realized how little credit he had ever given to people who took on the job of raising children. He wondered if he’d ever want to take care of a child.
He supposed he might, if the child were his and especially if he loved the child’s mother.
Abby holding a baby flashed into his mind. Yes, Abby Fairbanks would make a good mother. She made an excellent stand-in mother for Kyle.
Reed watched Kyle streak across the grass chasing the soccer ball with his friends. His blond curls bounced and flew around his face the way Jesse’s had. From his shirt pocket, Reed slid the supplies Denny had told him he’d need to collect a DNA sample from the boy. He already had one of Jesse’s.
He thought of the look on Abby’s face when she found out what he had done—and she would find out. He could collect the sample, but he couldn’t bring himself to try to coerce the boy into complicity. The best he could do was not to make a big deal out of collecting the sample and hope the boy didn’t mention it for a day or two, until Reed could plan what to do next.
If Abby found out, would she run?
“Reed. Reed, watch this,” Kyle called from out on the field of soccer play. He kicked and the ball flew past a short-armed goalie about Kyle’s size.
“You’ll block it next time, Angus,” the mother on the bench called to the goalie, who was now dejected and on the ground.
“They are so cute,” the mother said, addressing Reed.
“Earnest.”
“Yes, they are.”
And honest, Reed thought. And so was Abby—at least honest in her passion to protect Kyle, and that was why she wouldn’t run. She might think about it, but she’d weigh the reality of life on the run against life without the boy in it part-time. She would fi
ght him with every weapon she had and she was right—those were few.
Maybe she’d consider moving to the Midwest to be closer to the boy. He looked out over the mountains, inhaled the clean air. She’d be crazy to do that. Maybe she’d find a man here and have children of her own, lots of them and make her loss of control over Kyle’s life seem less dire.
She was absolutely right about one thing. Nannies were out. If he had to run his business from home, Kyle would have a relative with him, not someone paid to care for him, a someone who might change as often as the leaves on the trees.
Two days, Denny had said, from the time the samples hit the DNA laboratory—in two days he could have standard parentage DNA test results. He could stay in St. Adelbert for that long if he thought he had to for the boy’s sake.
THE FOLLOWING EVENING, Abby tried to feel comfortable on the ride to the next town for the not-to-be-missed restaurant grand opening. It hadn’t been hard to talk Reed into taking care of Kyle, and they had taken off down the street, holding hands and eating Tootsie Pops. Abby felt silly while her mother parked the vehicles in the garage and locked the door, but she couldn’t force herself to resist, either.
The double date had started off as well as could be expected. The Fuller men wore sport coats with string ties and jeans on their date. They looked quite Western, handsome even, for a pair of undertakers. Abby would have bet that they each had a Stetson at home somewhere or even in the trunk of the car. Delanna wore a simple but elegant black dress, and her favorite strappy black stilettos. Abby chose a white brushed denim skirt that fell a few inches above her knees and a bright green blouse to compliment her hair color, her mother’s idea, and a pair of comfortable sandals, her own idea.
They talked about things of general interest, but it wasn’t enough to distract her from what her mind insisted on returning to. Reed. He hadn’t left town as she suspected and he was especially nice to her and caring about Kyle. It was almost as if the difficulties were behind them and they could be friends now.
But was it real?
With every mile that took her away from Reed, she had to try harder to divert her mind, but whenever she thought she had been successful in temporarily forget ting the man, a flash of the two of them in crisp, unsettling detail brought it all back to her.
She smoothed the imaginary wrinkles from her skirt for what seemed like the hundredth time, and this time her date noticed and smiled kindly at her. Kindness. Travis was a kind man. Maybe she could learn to love him. For now, she’d have to find some other way to fidget.
In answer, her mind pulled up an image of Reed’s dark eyes sparkling with amusement as he stood in her kitchen soaked with rain, his deliberate, sexy grin when he was plotting to take her out to stare at the stars. The touch of his hand alone was memorable, never mind the sensation of his soft and then demanding lips.
What would life be like shared with the man Reed had been two nights ago. She had never felt so cherished, so important. He had treated her the way she imagined a man should treat a woman, but had always believed was some kind of fairy tale.
Maybe they could be friends, and lovers, and maybe they could even end up together. She saw herself flying across country to visit Chicago. Maybe they’d live in Montana. Reed could commute, conduct business from his plane so he wouldn’t lose a lot of time while traveling.
Sure, sure, they could have a dream life. And as soon as she got back to the clinic, she could have her head examined.
The car’s occupants laughed as if she had said the last thought out loud. Abby looked up and then looked back at her mother.
“We’re laughing at you, Abbs. Kenny asked you if you were going to compete in the county-wide bake off next week.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
“We know, because then I asked and then Travis asked.”
Abby felt her cheeks get hot. “Okay, you caught me. I was…” Thinking about the most intriguing man she ever met and wondering how she’d ever be able to settle for anyone else. I’m so very sorry, Travis, she thought. “Thinking about one of the patients at the clinic today.”
“So are you?” her mother prodded.
“I would, but I don’t have the time. Why don’t you enter, Mother?”
Before her mother could retort, a sheriff’s squad rounded the curve ahead with lights flashing. It whipped passed them at high speed and disappeared around the curve behind them.
“Wow!” Travis said. “He was in a hurry.”
“Yeah, I hope it’s nothing serious.” Kenny said aloud the thought they were all thinking. A racing squad car could mean a friend or neighbor was in jeopardy.
Abby wasn’t on call but everyone from the clinic would always volunteer to come in whenever something big happened.
A second squad car approached and passed at the same high rate of speed.
“That was the sheriff from the next county.”
Minutes later, Travis’s satellite phone rang. He pulled over and answered in clipped responses.
“I’m ten minutes out,” he said, and ended the call.
Abby held her breath.
“We’re going to move fast,” Travis announced to them, then brought the big Ford around and sped up toward town.
“What is it, Travis?” Abby asked.
“There was an explosion and now a fire at Fred’s shop.”
“Oh, no,” her mother whispered from the backseat.
“Mother?”
“Kyle was begging Reed to take him to see the tow truck.”
Abby looked at Travis, who handed her his phone without her having to ask. Abby dialed home—there was no answer.
“Well?” her mother asked from the backseat, even though it was obvious.
She shook her head. “That doesn’t have to mean any thing, but I don’t know his cell number.”
From the backseat Kenny handed her Reed’s business card. “He gave them out at the diner the other day.”
Abby fumbled with the card for a moment, but quickly dialed.
Voice mail on the first ring. Either his phone was off or…
CHAPTER TWELVE
AS THE BIG BLACK CAR RACED back to town, Abby used the focusing skills she had learned as a trauma nurse in Denver to keep her mind from painting all sorts of disaster scenarios involving Kyle and Reed. Be prepared for anything, but deal with what’s real and in front of you.
She would never find the words to tell Lena if something happened to Kyle at home in Montana where it’s supposed to be safe. Both mother and son had to be safe. Please, come back to us, Lena.
While her mother and Kenny spoke quietly in the backseat and Travis drove with intent, she tried to picture the scene. How many people would have been at Fred’s? Maybe they had all gone home to dinner.
Please let Kyle be okay. Please let them all be okay. There was not a person in town whose welfare she did not care about. Even Reed. He might have her exasperated and frustrated in more ways than one and even frightened her a little when it came to Kyle, but she did not wish him any harm.
As they approached the edge of town, they could see flames licking up at the base of the column of dark smoke.
“Do you want to go directly to the clinic?”
Abby realized Travis’s question was addressed to her. The two buildings weren’t far apart, but minutes could make a huge difference in an emergency. Her heart told her to go to the explosion, but her logical mind told her the most seriously injured would already be or soon be at the clinic where the medical staff had the equipment to save their lives. If she were needed it would most likely be there. “The clinic, please, Travis, and thank you.”
Travis nodded. “If I hear anything about Kyle, I’ll get word to you.”
You’re a good man, Travis Fuller.
“I’ll see to Kyle when we find him,” her mother said.
“Thanks,” she said to both of them.
Travis soon stopped the big Ford in front of the Avery Clinic.
> “I’ll call you when I can, Mom,” Abby said as she hopped out of the car that sped away as soon as she slammed the door.
The clinic’s glass-and-aluminum doors slid open automatically and the angry crying of a baby greeted her.
People milled near the waiting room door, and Fred Nivens paced the length of the entryway. He looked unharmed, thank goodness.
She stopped abruptly to see if she could spot the area of greatest need.
The department was set up with a central control area and treatment rooms arranged around the perimeter. Most of the time, the clinic served non-emergency office visits, but when needed a doctor, a nurse and a tech were always on call.
Off to the left, in the major trauma room, Dr. Guy Daley and a nurse leaned over someone, a woman, and in the pediatric room, Dr. Maude DeVane, assisted by a tech, checked the angry, squalling baby. The baby’s mother, Angus’s mother, stood beside the exam table with tears streaming through the grime on her face. Another tech was in the adjacent room posing the portable X-ray equipment over a blond child’s lower leg. Kyle’s friend Angus. His father stood a watchful guard over the boy.
An EMT stood beside a man still on a transport cart, a gray-haired man holding a bandage to his head. Mr. Taylor from the drugstore. Mrs. Taylor at his side.
No Kyle. No Reed.
Best-case scenario or worst? The dead would be brought last or not at all—but she wasn’t going there. The uninjured would be sent home. Kyle would be at home and her mother would have hurried there by now. Reed would be with them. They would all be fine.
She’d hold that thought. Her heart couldn’t stand anything else.
She donned a disposable surgical gown and secured it to protect her clothes. Before she found a place to insert herself into the fray, the doors behind her burst open. Baylor Doyle in his firefighter’s gear and with a bandaged hand was leading Reed by the arm.
“Baylor. Reed.”
Abby grabbed a wheelchair and rushed toward the pair.
Baylor helped Reed sit.
“See to him, I’ll be all right,” Baylor said and then patted Reed on the shoulder. “Thanks for your help, buddy, and you might want to keep leaning forward a bit.”