His Unexpected Family

by Patricia Johns

  For the first time ever, he felt a wave of desperate longing for the exact thing that he could not have. It was this—this right here. He wanted to do this every Sunday for the rest of his life, and he had a feeling that he’d never be able to sit in a pew again with the same sense of peace he’d had up to this point.

  He knew exactly what he was missing.

  Pushing himself to his feet, he discreetly followed in the direction she’d gone. She could competently change a diaper without his help, but he was definitely going to keep an eye on her. With some unknown man following her and too many unanswered questions for his liking, he’d feel better when this case was resolved. Then he could settle back into his routine and talk himself out of whatever it was he was feeling for her.

  * * *

  That afternoon, Emily and Greg ambled down a gravel side road by Emily’s house. Cora was cuddled into a snuggly on Emily’s chest, a warm breeze ruffling her downy hair. It felt comfortable walking this way, Cora in her arms and Greg by her side. Big, fluffy clouds tumbled across the blue sky, their shadows following them across the vast fields.

  “Who was that young man you were talking to after church?” Emily asked.

  “That was Vincent Pike. He’s Richard Pike’s son.”

  “Richard Pike, the football star who made you miserable in grade school?” she asked.

  “The one and only.” One side of Greg’s mouth twitched upward in a wry smile. “His son is a good kid, but he’s been bullied a lot in school.”

  “Oh...” Emily let her gaze wander over the fields, young wheat waving green and verdant over the gently rolling countryside. The mountains in the distance glistened with white, a silent reminder of the cool weather ahead. “That’s ironic, isn’t it? The bully’s son getting bullied?”

  “It is. It’s also really sad. Richard had no idea how to help his son through this. For the first year that it happened, Richard just told him to suck it up.” Greg frowned. “It wasn’t that Richard didn’t care. He just didn’t know how to help. He thought toughening Vincent up would fix things.”

  “That’s what my uncle Hank did to Jessica. Not toughening her up, exactly, but getting quite tough on her, trying to straighten her out. It backfired.”

  Greg nodded. “I’m not a dad, but from what I’ve seen in my line of work, it isn’t a tough parent that gets results. It’s a relationship.”

  “How is Vincent doing now?”

  “He’s doing really well. He found a group of kids he gets along with, and there is always safety in numbers, it seems. Richard asked if I’d—” he paused, shrugged “—mentor Vincent. I guess that’s the word.”

  “Hang out with him a bit and help him figure things out?”

  Greg grinned. “Something like that. He’s a good kid—smart, creative. All he needed was a group of kids who were like him, and he was able to really take off. I may have also shown him a couple little tricks to get a guy off his back.”

  Emily chuckled. “You taught him how to apprehend a suspect, didn’t you?”

  Greg laughed out loud. “I’m not admitting to anything. He now knows how to deal with a bigger assailant without hurting him...too badly.”

  “Vincent is lucky to have you.” Emily nodded, impressed. “Richard, too, for that matter. Was it hard to forgive him?”

  “It was a long time ago.” Greg shook his head. “I think being a Christian made it easier for me to let go of that, as well.”

  “I could see that,” Emily said softly.

  They slowed to a stop, and Emily inhaled the summer scent of dusty roads and fresh wind.

  “I’m sure your faith has changed your outlook, too.”

  “Absolutely.” Emily patted Cora’s back when she squirmed. “God gives strength, but I also think my faith keeps my perspective fresh. Every child is a child of God. There are no losers. There are no wastes.”

  “Amen to that. I’m willing to guess that in a few years, you’ll have some kids coming back to tell you that you made all the difference in their lives.”

  Emily blushed. “I don’t need to be all the difference, but a small difference would be gratifying.”

  Greg angled his head in the direction they had come. “Ready to head back?”

  “I think so. Cora will be ready for a bottle soon.”

  The gravel road crunched under their shoes, and she smiled up at Greg. “This feels more like a fun day together than a security escort.”

  “Does it?” He chuckled. “Well, this has to be the most enjoyable police escort I’ve ever done.”

  His steel-blue eyes scanned the road, then his gaze swung around them.

  “Do you see anyone?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry too much. No one is getting to you on my watch.”

  His tone was low and gravelly, and when she looked over at him, his jaw was tensed and his gaze sharp. Just as she looked away from the road, her foot went into a dip and her knee buckled.

  Greg’s arm shot out and he caught her, easily lifting her back to her feet with his strong grip.

  “Whoa, you okay?” he asked, his arm staying around her waist as she steadied herself. Turning toward him, she found that direct, steely gaze locked on hers and she caught her breath. His eyes moved slowly over her face, and a smile tickled the corners of his lips.

  “I’m—” She swallowed, forgetting what she had started to say.

  Greg gently pulled a wisp of hair out of her eyes, then dropped his hand from her waist. He didn’t say anything, but as they continued walking, he scooped her hand up into his. His warm, strong fingers wrapped comfortably around hers, and she resisted the urge to lean into that hard, muscled arm.

  As they walked along, the wind sweeping over the rippling fields of young wheat, Emily settled into his pace, enjoying the companionable silence. He was so strong, so sure of himself, that she almost felt as if he swept her along with him in his slow, powerful stride. A hawk peered down at them from its perch atop a power pole, but she didn’t bother pointing it out. The silence was perfect, comfortable, and she didn’t want to shatter the moment and have him let go.

  The mile flew by, and when they approached her house, he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then released her.

  “Did you want to come in?” she asked softly.

  Greg looked down into her eyes, then slowly shook his head. “I’d better not.”

  “You sure?”

  He laughed softly. “No, I’m doing my best to keep things—” he shot her a bashful grin “—professional.”

  Emily shrugged her shoulders and smiled back. “Thought I’d ask.”

  “I’ve got a patrol car keeping a pretty close eye on your place,” he said. “But I’d better get going.”

  “I’ll see you later, I suppose,” she said.

  He nodded, his steely gaze meeting hers once more. “You can count on it.”

  As Emily walked back to her front door, she could feel his warm gaze enveloping her.

  Safe. He made her feel so safe, so protected. It was a shame they couldn’t make this into something more... lasting. When she unlocked the door and turned, Greg lifted a hand in a wave, then got into his car.

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Monday, Greg sat in the hum of the station that filtered through his closed office door and glanced at the clock on the wall. It always amazed him how much time red tape could take up in a day. Picking up the file from “that 11-80,” as it was being called around the station, he ran his finger down the page and stopped at a phone number. He hated making these sorts of calls—they were the kind that ended marriages.

  After dialing the number, he tapped his pen on a yellow legal pad, listening to the ring on the other end.

  “Hello, this is the Lindgren residence.” It was a woman�
��s voice, crisp and confident.

  “Is this Mrs. Lindgren?” he asked.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Your husband is Senator Charles Lindgren?”

  “Yes, he is. Who is this, please?” Wariness entered her tone.

  “This is Chief Taylor from the Haggerston Police. I have a few questions for you. Is this a good time to talk?”

  “The police?” He could hear the frown enter her voice. “What happened? Is something wrong?”

  “I’m investigating a highway accident that occurred a few weeks ago.” He leaned back in his desk chair with a creak. He looked out his office window, his eyes moving up toward the blue summer sky.

  “Oh, I see. Well, I have a few minutes. What can I do for you?”

  “Does the name Jessica Shaw mean anything to you?” He flicked open a pen and began to doodle on the legal pad, drawing a series of stars and filling them in with black ink.

  There was a pause. “No.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Another pause. “Should it?”

  “Not necessarily, but you don’t sound certain. Have you heard the name before? Anywhere at all?”

  “Did something happen to her?”

  “Do you know her?”

  “No, I don’t know her, and no, I haven’t heard her name before.” She sighed. “But I’m also not a fool. Did something happen to this woman? How is this related to us?”

  “She’d dead.” Greg pushed himself back up with another creak and leaned his elbows on his desk. “She wasn’t a friend of the family, then?”

  “No, she isn’t.” The wariness was back. “She wasn’t.”

  “This is going to be difficult, Mrs. Lindgren.” Greg softened his tone. “I have to ask, though. Is there any possibility that your husband might have...had a friendship you weren’t aware of?”

  “My husband knows many people I don’t. He’s a politician.” Her voice was tired. “That’s part of the life. Chief Taylor, was it?”

  “Yes, Chief Greg Taylor.”

  “Well, it’s one of the things I’ve had to get used to, Chief.”

  “Affairs?”

  Silence. He hadn’t expected her to answer that one. She was a politician’s wife, and if she was putting up with indiscretions in her marriage for the sake of appearances and position, she wasn’t about to spill her secret sorrows to him. If politicians were smooth, then the spouses of politicians had to be smoother still.

  “Mrs. Lindgren, I don’t believe this young woman was murdered. It was a simple highway accident. There is no reason for us to believe otherwise, but I do have some questions I’d like to get answers to. I’d appreciate any help you could give me.”

  “Is this on the record?” she asked.

  “Madam, there is no reason for it to be. Anything you say will never be repeated to the press. I can assure you.”

  She had a decision to make. She needed to weigh the damage of saying too much against the damage of appearing to be uncooperative with a police investigation. After a moment, he heard her sigh.

  “My husband is a good man. He works hard. He cares about his constituents, and he is honest in his work.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “He is also...” She paused. “Our relationship has had its trials, Chief. He works long hours and young, pretty girls tend to throw themselves at him. So yes, there have been some affairs. If you decide to dig, and you very well might, you will come up with infidelity. I’ve forgiven him, though, and I don’t think he is being unfaithful now.”

  “How can you be sure?” he asked quietly.

  She cleared her throat. “I can’t be, can I? Not after a breach in trust like that, but things are different now. Back then, we were awfully distanced. He worked, and I shopped. Now we talk, and we’re much closer. I don’t think it’s possible right now. I’d know it. I’d feel the distance again.”

  Greg nodded. “Okay. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Lindgren. It is much appreciated.”

  “Please, Chief. Be discreet.”

  “You have my word.”

  As he hung up the phone, he tapped his pen on the legal pad again, pursing his lips. It didn’t seem likely that Jessica had been a surrogate mother for the couple. If she had been, there would have been a much bigger emotional response from Mrs. Lindgren, considering Cora would be her daughter by all rights, if that were the case. He had to mentally cross that option off his list. Either Mrs. Lindgren didn’t know Jessica Shaw, or she was a phenomenal actress. It was remotely possible, but not likely.

  On the pad he wrote in block letters: MISTRESS.

  He wasn’t as optimistic as Mrs. Lindgren. Or Emily, for that matter. Part of him felt as if he should apologize to Emily. She wasn’t going to want to see her cousin in that light, but more than that, the senator may well be Cora’s biological father, giving a rich and powerful man more right to the baby than anyone else so far.

  I can’t be the guy who crushes her with this...

  But the reality was that he had a job to do, regardless of his personal feelings toward Emily Shaw.

  * * *

  Emily looked out her front window as the police cruiser drove slowly by. It was a relief to know that the Haggerston police were looking out for her and Cora, and she was grateful to Greg. If he were a different guy, he would never have taken her seriously—but Greg was different in a good way. He was intuitive and gentle underneath that tough cop shell he held together so well. Haggerston was lucky to have him. She was lucky—

  She stopped herself. No, she didn’t have him. She was lucky to have a friend like him. That was a more honest statement.

  “I’ve been considering an epidural,” Beth said from where she sat on the couch, her swollen feet propped up. She flipped the page in a parenting magazine.

  “Oh?” Emily turned around and shot her friend a grin. “What made you change your mind?”

  “Terror.” Beth turned another page.

  “What does Howard think?”

  Beth looked up from the magazine and cast her an icy look. “Howard will be grateful when I bring this child into the world and shut his mouth about the rest.”

  Emily laughed and held her hands up in defeat. “Getting nervous, huh?”

  Beth nodded. “I’ve been watching natural-childbirth videos online.”

  “Oh, bad idea!” Emily grimaced. “Even I know that.”

  “Yeah, well, I think I want to be numb from the waist down, thank you very much.”

  “No judgment here.” Emily looked toward Cora, nestled in her bassinet and sleeping deeply. She envied Beth, even with the labor and pain she had to look forward to.

  “Now, about that baby shower.” Beth looked up with a twinkle in her eye. “How do you think Greg will fare?”

  “He’s pretty resilient.” Emily chuckled, but a mental image arose of Greg very uncomfortable and irritated at being in the middle of baby talk and silly games. She suddenly wasn’t so sure.

  “Oh, he’ll be fine.” Beth seemed to read her mind, or perhaps the deflated look on her face. “It’s a couple of hours in the afternoon. Besides, he wants to keep an eye on you, doesn’t he?”

  “True, he does, but I’m probably safest in the middle of friends at a shower, don’t you think?”

  “Definitely, but he agreed to this long before that creep ever showed up.” Beth grinned over at her. “There’s more to it than protecting you, and you know it.”

  Emily laughed. “You want this to be more serious than it is, Beth.”

  “I know, I know.” Beth turned her attention back to the magazine. “I think you’re both stubborn.”

  “You can’t force things, Beth.” Emily sighed.

  “If you could see things the way everyone watching you sees them...” Bet
h looked up with an amused smile tickling her lips. “But never mind. You’re a big girl and don’t need me meddling.”

  “Thanks.” Emily rolled her eyes and laughed. Beth was well-intentioned. She wanted to see Emily married to a great guy and settling into a domestic life like she had. But not everyone was so lucky to find the perfect man for her in high school, get married and have his baby.

  “We need cookies,” Emily announced and, pushing herself back to her feet, she escaped to the kitchen to find them.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Greg couldn’t help but smile when he saw Emily standing in her doorway in a red polka-dot dress, her dark hair pulled back into a glossy ponytail and a friendly twinkle in her eyes.

  “Hi, Greg.” She stepped back to let him in with a bright smile. “Thanks for being such a good sport.”

  He looked at her uneasily. “What am I expecting, exactly? Can’t say I’ve ever been to a baby shower before.”

  “Oh, some silly games, some snack food, some cake. It won’t be too terrifying.” She cast him a teasing glance as she bent over Cora to pick her up.

  “Somehow I don’t feel so reassured.” He laughed. “So where are we headed?”

  “The Cedar Glen Elementary School. They’re holding it in the gym there.”

  Greg nodded, then he inwardly grimaced as he thought of something. “I was supposed to bring you a present, wasn’t I?”

  Emily turned around, the baby in her arms, her bright eyes meeting his with an easy smile. “Greg, you coming with me to this thing is my present. Trust me. Thanks for just coming along.”

  He smiled back and gave her a shrug. “My pleasure.” He resisted the urge to pull a strand of hair away from her forehead. “Ready?”

  She picked up a diaper bag and grabbed her keys from a bowl by the door. “Ready.”

  Putting the car seat into the back of the vehicle was much easier this time around, and before much time had passed, they were pulling out of her drive and heading back toward town. The scent of Emily’s light perfume filled the car, and he leaned his head back as he drove, enjoying her company. She had no idea the kind of effect she had on him, he knew. How could she? He’d never told her that she calmed his nerves by just being there, that her smile made him want to grin like a teenager and that he thought about her during the day far more often than was prudent for a man trying to keep things uncomplicated. But there it was.