by Hope Ramsay
“Oh, it went as well as can be expected. Did you hear that we’re having trouble—” The vet stopped midsentence and glared at Mike. “What are you doing here?” He hadn’t noticed before, but she was kind of hot.
He gave her one of his careful smiles. “I live here. For the moment.”
“You do not. That’s Martha Spalding’s apartment. She’s in Tampa. How did you get—”
“Timmy acted as a rental agent for me. I’m subleasing for a while.”
Dr. Polk came up the stairs to the landing where the stairway divided. His sublease stood to the left, and evidently her apartment to the right. So they were neighbors.
“Subleasing?” she said.
“That means I’m making Martha’s payments and living here for a while. Hopefully just a short while, because I want to participate in the World Series of Poker coming up in mid-June. But Timmy has convinced me that I should stay until Rainbow gets to know him. And we’ll probably have to find a new home for Tigger, because Timmy is really allergic. Maybe you can help with that.”
“Tigger?” Elsie asked.
“That would be Rainbow’s cat,” Mike said.
Elsie squinted at him for a moment. “You know, you kind of look a little bit like Pastor Tim. Around the eyes. Even if you have redder hair and more freckles.”
“Yes, well, dear old Mom was a strawberry blonde.” Exhaustion weighed Mike down. He wanted to escape. Talking about Mom had always been a complete downer.
“Where’s the little girl?” Dr. Polk asked.
“She’s asleep. It’s been a long day. And I’ve dosed the cat and fed them both.”
The vet’s gaze landed on the flimsy trash bag in his hands. “On microwave pizza?” Her tone was accusatory.
Anger sparked, and he snapped a reply. “Back off. The kid won’t eat anything but pizza. I looked up every pizza place within sixty miles, and I would have had to drive all the way to Barnwell to find a Pizza Hut. I figured getting her and the cat settled was more important than going out to eat. So the microwave stuff had to do for tonight.”
“A child can’t live on pizza alone.” The vet crossed her arms over her boobs, blocking the spectacular view. She wasn’t intimidated by him in the least, was she?
“You think I don’t know that? But it’s what she’ll eat. Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have trash to take out.” He edged his way past the two busybodies and headed toward the Dumpster.
Apparently Last Chance, South Carolina, was the place everyone meant when they talked about that mythological village that raised children. Every darn female he’d met today had given him child-rearing advice.
This ought to have pleased him. But it didn’t.
“He’s not very friendly, is he?” Elsie said as she watched Mike Taggart stride toward the Dumpster. “But at least he’s good about taking out the trash. It means he’s almost civilized. I still have trouble getting Buck to take out the trash.”
Elsie turned and looked up at Charlene. “So how’d the AARC meeting go?”
“I don’t know, Elsie. This idea to have a bachelor auction doesn’t seem to be working very well. We’re having trouble signing up bachelors.”
“Who’s signed up so far?”
“I think we’ve got a couple of guys from the nursing home. And Roy Burdett, now that he’s separated from his wife.”
“Oooh. Not good.”
“I’ve been deputized to twist some arms.”
“If you want my opinion,” Elsie said, “you should try to get Pastor Tim to participate. Every single female in town thinks he’s a dreamboat.”
“I’m going to work on Cousin Drew and the Canaday twins first. And Dr. Dave.”
“Dr. Dave?” Elsie seemed surprised.
“He’s the main vet in town, and he’s not married. Of course I’m going to sign him up.”
“If you say so,” Elsie said in a skeptical tone of voice. “Well, I better get going. I’ve done my reconnaissance mission on Mike Taggart. All the gals are waiting for my report. We’re scheduled for a Skype session at ten o’clock.” Elsie watched Mike as he tossed his garbage. “Y’all might think about asking Mr. Taggart to be one of your bachelors. He’s nice looking, isn’t he? Maybe not as handsome as Pastor Tim, but still he’s kind of rugged and boyish, isn’t he?”
Yeah. Bad boyish. Charlene could imagine him wearing a pair of black leather riding pants sitting astride a Harley. He would be gorgeous. But she knew better than to get all hot and bothered by that fantasy. Been there, done that.
Mike had “jerk” written all over his beautiful body. He couldn’t have been less like the caring and kind Dr. Dave. She needed to remember that.
“No one in town is going to be interested in buying that guy. He’s from out of town and he’s…” Charlene ran out of words.
“I think the word you’re looking for is hot, honey. That man is hot, and dangerous like a dog on the prowl. I have no doubt that someone would want to buy him. But maybe not for dinner.”
“He’s probably not going to be here all that long, anyway. So it’s idle speculation.”
“Probably, but if you’re looking for bachelors, I suggest you add him to your list. He’d probably get you top dollar. You take care, hon. I have a Skype call to make. The gals are going to be talking about this for weeks.” Elsie headed down the stairs, and Charlene turned toward her apartment door.
She had just slipped the key into the lock when Mike’s footsteps sounded on the stairs behind her. For some reason, her heart kicked into overdrive. And in her haste to get through the door, she managed to jam the lock, which had been malfunctioning for about a month. She was simultaneously wiggling the key and pulling on the door when Mike Taggart spoke to her back, making her jump a little.
“I’m not a criminal, you know.” His voice sounded as deep as the ocean, his accent definitely from somewhere else.
She turned, her hands suddenly sweaty. He stood on the landing. The exterior spotlight lit up his hair like a flame and cast shadows across the sharp hollows and planes of his face.
She straightened her shoulders. “I never said you were a criminal.”
“No, I guess not. You judged me from the beginning, didn’t you?”
Her whole body flushed. She had judged him. And she’d been worried about the little girl.
“I didn’t think it was appropriate for Rainbow to hear how you plan to abandon her.” Why did Charlene’s voice wobble like that? The idea of the child being abandoned ripped her heart apart. “And with a person who doesn’t even know her.”
The corners of Mike’s mouth tipped with a self-assured grin that folded two sets of laugh lines along his cheeks. His deep-set eyes crinkled at the corners. “She doesn’t know me all that well, either,” he said. “I’ve seen her twice in her life, and she’s been in my custody for only a few days. So it’s not exactly like she’s formed any kind of attachment to me. And besides, I’m not here to abandon her. I’m here to find her a family.” He leaned back against the banister and shoved his hands into his pockets. He had an attitude a mile wide and a big, fat chip on his shoulder. He also had a sharp blue stare that unsettled Charlene.
Unlike Dr. Dave, he definitely noticed her new sweater, and he seemed to be appreciating her narrower waistline, too.
“Good night, Mr. Taggart,” she said, turning back to the stubborn lock that refused to budge.
Mr. Taggart bounded up the stairs behind her. He cast a dark shadow over the door and radiated heat up her backside. “Here, let me,” he said, his breath feathering against her ear. Her insides went all squishy.
He batted her hands away from the lock and with a forceful twist he had it opened in a matter of seconds. “It’s all in the wrist,” he said, backing up, taking his heat with him.
“Thank you,” she said in a near whisper and hurried through her door, oddly annoyed that she’d let a person like Mike Taggart get under her skin.
CHAPTER
5
&nbs
p; Wednesday didn’t get off to a stellar start.
Mike awakened Rainbow at eight-thirty a.m. and fed her a slice of cold pizza. Then he dressed her in a threadbare pair of blue jeans and a faded Chicago White Sox T-shirt that had the name “Nathan” printed in indelible marker on the inside neck. A quick check of Rainbow’s wardrobe revealed numerous and varied boys’ names on the necks and waistbands of her jeans and shirts. The kid didn’t own a dress or anything in pink.
Had Angie intentionally dressed Rainbow like a boy? The thought disquieted him. He knew all about the dangers of living in subsidized housing. Predators preyed on women and girls in those places. It broke his heart to think about what Rainbow had already been through.
But things were different now. They weren’t in Chicago anymore. They were in a podunk town that looked like something from the cover of Southern Living. Rainbow needed to be a whole lot cuter. And that called for new clothes.
During breakfast, he made it clear at least five times that they were going shopping and that the cat had to stay home. But the moment breakfast ended, Rainbow disappeared. Mike spent a frantic few minutes searching for her until he found her curled up in a bedroom closet with a death grip on the cat.
The cat looked up at him with one of those big-eyed adorable looks. Tigger sure knew how to be cute when she wanted to. Why didn’t the kid?
“We’re going, now.”
Apparently not. It took him a good five minutes to separate the girl from the cat. And by the time they hit the front door, Mike had hoisted Rainbow over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She kicked and cried, and for the first time in days, she made some noise. A lot of it, actually.
And, wouldn’t you know it, the moment he opened the door, there stood his busybody neighbor looking lovely and judgmental in a tight red sweater, a pair of pants that showed off every one of her bodacious curves, and a frown on her beautiful face.
“It’s not what it looks like,” he said defensively. He paused to let Dr. Polk precede him down the stairs.
Rainbow let out a high-pitched wail that echoed around the apartment complex and probably wakened all the rest of his busybody neighbors.
“And what exactly is it?” Dr. Polk asked over the kid’s screams. They had reached the sidewalk.
“We’re going shopping.”
The vet blinked. Obviously the idea of a little girl pitching a temper tantrum over a shopping trip threw her for a loop. It was a new one for Mike, too. Which probably explained why Dr. Polk wrinkled her brow and said, “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”
“Yes, I do. She’s a different kind of kid. And she’s mostly annoyed because I made her leave the cat behind.”
“Oh?” The skepticism practically dripped from her voice.
The woman seriously ticked him off. He steadied the howling child on his shoulder. “Butt out, Dr. Polk. You don’t understand what’s going on here. I stupidly lost Rainbow’s cuddle toy in the airport, and she has transferred her dependence to the cat. But, obviously, she can’t drag a cat around with her like a stuffed animal, can she?”
Dr. Polk’s dark eyes warmed, and he could almost feel her attitude unfreezing. “Poor child.”
That did it. He didn’t want Dr. Polk’s pity, either. So he let her have it. “Yeah. It sucks to lose a parent.” He turned away and strode off to his car, annoyed at himself for letting anger get the best of him. He shouldn’t give a flying fart what she thought about him. But for some reason he did.
He fought Rainbow into the booster seat he’d bought before embarking on this odyssey. But did the good doctor even notice that he was buckling the kid into an age-appropriate safety seat?
No. Dr. Polk continued to level a judgmental stare at him that practically burned a hole into his backside. She stood there, arms folded, watching his every move until he got behind the wheel and peeled out of the parking lot. He hated the fact that his neighbor had made him feel so guilty for doing something that he knew was right.
Rainbow needed new clothes.
He expected Rainbow to give up her stubbornness once they got to the mall in Orangeburg, but the kid proved him wrong. She certainly had staying power, he’d give her that.
He had to fight her out of the booster seat, and then she loudly refused to try on clothes, especially the cute pink ones he picked out. She didn’t like dresses; she didn’t want new shoes. He couldn’t even talk her into a replacement stuffed elephant or a McDonald’s Happy Meal with a Hello Kitty toy inside.
He failed on every level.
By the time he got back to the apartment, he wanted a good stiff drink. But it was only two o’clock in the afternoon. He collapsed in front of the television and watched CNBC, while Rainbow retreated into her room with the cat.
He sucked at this. The sooner Timmy took over, the better all the way around.
His frustration mounted an hour later when his cell phone rang. He checked the number—Paul Kozlowski, his agent. He punched the talk button.
“Hey, Paul, what’s up?”
“When are you getting back?”
“I don’t know. There’s been a little snag.”
“A snag?”
“Yeah, but I’m working on it. What’s happening?”
“Look, Mike, you need to get your ass back here. I’ve got interest from Jimmy Huang of Dragon Casinos, and I think, if you could play a few preliminary rounds in the World Series of Poker next week, we could score a sponsorship for the main event, with maybe something longer term.”
Mike squeezed his eyes shut. He’d been waiting for a call like this for at least three years, ever since the U.S. government shut down online poker. Murphy’s Law had struck again. “I don’t know if I can get back by next week.”
“What?” Paul sounded ticked off.
“Look, I’m sorry. You know damn well that my sister was murdered. I have to deal with her kid, Paul. I can’t just walk away from this, even if you want to nail down a deal.”
Silence beat at him from the other end of the line. “You could bring her back with you,” Paul finally said.
“No. Vegas is no place for a kid.”
“Are you serious about your career?”
“Paul, don’t give me that BS. You know I am. I need a couple of weeks. I promise you I’ll be back for the main event. And if I don’t get a sponsor before that, I’ve already got my stake all saved up.”
“You’re a fool if you turn this deal down, Mike.”
Of course Paul wanted him to grab that sponsorship. Paul would make 15 percent of any signing bonus. And in Paul’s world, money was everything.
“I’m no fool. I’ll be back in a week or two.”
Paul grumbled at him for a few more minutes before Mike finally got him off the phone. The idea of a drink sounded better and better.
He had just about decided that a beer would be okay when his doorbell rang.
“What now?” he muttered as he opened his door to find Elsie Campbell with a Tupperware cake container in her hands. “Hey there, handsome, I told you I’d bring you a cake.”
“Thanks, Elsie.”
He started to reach for the cake container, but Elsie had other ideas. She marched right into his apartment and headed for the kitchen. “You look like you need a pick-me-up,” she said. “I’ll just get some coffee going.”
He opened his mouth, intent on telling her that he didn’t want coffee, but then he changed his mind. She was a busybody all right, but that meant she also knew a thing or three about Timmy’s life.
His half-brother had been stingy with information when they’d worked out their little arrangement. And Mike didn’t really blame him. After all, Timmy didn’t remember anything about him. But Mike remembered Timmy. He remembered showing him how to kick a soccer ball. He remembered playing Matchbox cars with him. He remembered the way Timmy climbed into his bed whenever Mom and Daddy started arguing.
He remembered a lot.
So Mike sat himself down at the litt
le kitchen table and let Elsie have the run of his kitchen. Which was sort of difficult for her because Tigger decided she liked Elsie. She came in from the living room where she liked to sleep and proceeded to rub herself up against Elsie’s leg, while simultaneously letting forth a bunch of loud meows.
“You are a friendly one, aren’t you?” Elsie asked in one of those silly, high baby-talk voices. She bent over and scratched the cat’s ears. The cat closed its eyes and looked like it had entered some altered state.
“Nice cat, Mike.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Elsie gave him the evil eye. “You don’t like cats?”
“I never had a cat before. But that particular cat is possessed.”
Elsie laughed. “Why do you say that?”
“Up until this moment, I truly thought she was a one-person cat. She’s okay when I feed her, but otherwise she has her claws out whenever I’m around.”
Elsie put a huge slice of coconut cake in front of him and then sat herself down. The demon cat hopped right up onto her lap and made herself comfy. Clearly the cat liked women better than men.
He took a bite of cake. Wow! Elsie sure hadn’t spared the sugar. “Elsie, this is terrific,” he said, hoping that the frosting wouldn’t make his teeth hurt.
Her face lit up. He’d obviously made her day. Which kind of lifted his spirits, too.
“Thanks, hon. I reckon a single man like you doesn’t get much in the way of scratch-made cake very often.”
“No, I don’t.”
“So you live in Vegas?” she asked.
He proceeded to give her the Cliff Notes version of his life, starting at the moment when Colin Lake walked out with Timmy on his hip.
“Bless your heart, y’all have been separated for all these years?”
“Yes we have. And I don’t know much about him. I mean, once I got older I looked him up and learned that he was in seminary so I knew that much. But you probably know more about him than I do.”
“Oh, well, I don’t know about that. He’s pretty new in town.”
“Elsie, I’ll be honest with you, what I really want to know is whether Timmy has any girlfriends. I mean, I want Rainbow to have the best possible mother.”