Toys and Baby Wishes

by Karen Rose Smith

  "Even people over sixty might have to take risks to find happiness."

  Had Lexa Kittredge taken many risks in her life? He decided to find out more about her. But not now. His aunt was his primary concern. He didn't stand in Lexa's way when she started toward the den to tell Clare she was leaving. He watched the sway of her hips as she walked, and he made up his mind. No, he and Alexandra Kittredge weren't finished yet. Not by a long shot.

  ***

  After Lexa returned to her town house from Clare's apartment Sunday evening, she showered and made herself a salad. Wrapped in a chenille robe, she settled at her computer to skim the news feed. But her mind wasn't on the headlines.

  Joshua Flannigan was a force to be reckoned with. But Clare was independent enough to do what she wanted. Lexa felt a deep affection for her. Initially, she'd gotten involved with Clare because she needed something to keep her mind off the ramifications of becoming an adoptive mother. She was worried about Dani. Lexa desperately wanted her sister's child, but right now she was more concerned about her sister.

  The phone rang and she decided to let her answering machine monitor it. But when she heard Dani's voice leaving a message, she grabbed the phone on the end table.

  "Dani, I'm here." Lexa flicked off the tape recording and asked, "How are you feeling?"

  "About the same. The doctor says the nausea will pass in a couple of months. I saw a lawyer."

  "And?"

  "He doesn't feel there will be any problems as long as we're both sure this is what we want. He said to think about it for another month or so then call him and he'll start the paperwork. Lexa, are you sure you want to adopt? It's too hard to raise a child as a single parent. That's why I..."

  Lexa's heart tore as she heard Dani's anguish. At that moment she despised the man who refused to support Dani. "Honey, it's different for me. I have a sound income. I have access to good day care here in Chambersburg. You know, you could do it if you really want to. Dad would help you."

  Tears threaded Dani's voice. "I can't do it, Lexa. You're strong. I can't believe how you've done everything on your own without Daddy's money."

  "That was my choice. But you can accept his help."

  "I don't want to raise a child--not alone. And I can't believe you do."

  Lexa had loved and protected Dani since their mother died. "Did you tell Dad yet?"

  "No. Not yet. And don't you."

  "I won't. But you should tell him soon."

  "I will. Eventually. He'll think I should get married to save the family name or something. What a laugh. Marriage is the last thing Rob wants to think about."

  "Have you seen him lately?"

  "Yes. We argued again. Lexa, I love him but he doesn't want to get married. I told him you're going to adopt the baby. He thinks you're crazy."

  Lexa knew exactly what she was doing and crazy didn't enter into it. Because of a bout with endometriosis, she might never be able to have children. The knowledge had plagued her for the last two years. No one knew but her sister. When she learned Dani was pregnant but wanted to give the baby up for adoption, Lexa had jumped at the chance. "I can't tell you how thankful I am you're willing to let me adopt."

  "You've always been a terrific big sister even though I've wanted to pull your hair out more than once. And I know you'll make a great mother because you care so much about everyone."

  "Hey, you better stop before I get a swelled head." The teasing tone disappeared. "I only want you to do what's right for you. I want you to be happy. Okay?"

  "Yeah. I know. And after all we've talked about this, I'm sure it's what I want to do. Do you think you can drive up next weekend? My roommate's going home. You can stay in the dorm. Everybody will be at the football game on Saturday. I have tickets if you want to go."

  "Since Penn State's having such a good season, I might consider it," Lexa kidded. "We'll see what the weather's like. You don't want to catch cold."

  "Yes, mother."

  "I'm sorry."

  Dani's sigh came through loud and clear. "It's okay." After a pause, she asked, "What time do you think you can be here Saturday?"

  "About eleven-thirty? Twelve?"

  "The earlier the better. You're the only one I can talk to right now."

  Dani expected Lexa to be around whenever she needed her, and Lexa always was. "I'll get there as soon as I can. Take care. Okay?"

  "Will do. See you Saturday."

  Lexa put down the cordless phone, wishing she could protect her sister better...more. Not unlike the way Josh wanted to protect his aunt. But Clare was mature. Sixty-three years old. Dani was immature, sometimes irrepressible and rebellious even at twenty-one.

  Lexa's thoughts returned to Josh. The brilliance of his blue eyes and the strength of his chin remained vivid in her mind. If things were different, she might want to get to know him better. But getting involved with a man now was out of the question.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Monday afternoon, Lexa pulled open the glass door and stepped into The Toy Tank--Josh Flannigan's store. Looking around at the neat, organized displays, she had a hard time connecting the shaggy, beard-stubbled back-packer she'd met with the owner of this successful toy store.

  Clare had told her how Josh had majored in business management in college, worked six years for a retail chain, saving every penny he could, and at twenty-eight had put a down payment on this building and opened The Toy Tank. Now he had two stores--one in Chambersburg, one in Harrisburg.

  Passing down an aisle stacked high with Halloween costumes, Lexa smiled. At the service desk she asked for Mr. Flannigan and the employee pointed to an office at the rear of the store.

  Lexa walked toward it, feeling as if she was confronting the lion in his den. She'd thought a lot about Clare and her nephew and didn't want to come between them. If she had, she was sorry about it. But she wanted him to see his aunt as a capable woman who wanted to do things for herself. True, he'd always been an integral part of Clare's life, but Clare's life was changing. If only he could accept this change, see how much Clare's senior friends meant to her...

  Lexa stopped short when she saw him through the glass window. What a transformation! His hair was trimmed, but its thick waves denied attempts to be styled. His face was clean-shaven. Sexy in jeans, he was even sexier in his navy pinstripe suit. His blue shirt made his eyes a deeper blue when he looked up and saw her.

  The suspicion was still there.

  The door to his office stood open. She stepped inside. "Hi. Do you have a few minutes?"

  His expression was guarded. "Sure. Have a seat."

  He perched on the corner of the desk while she sat in the leather chair in the corner.

  "Clare called me this morning."

  He sighed. "To ask you to talk to me."

  "Yes, but I told her this was between the two of you."

  Josh's brows lifted.

  "I don't want to come between you."

  "But you are. Your name crops up every two sentences."

  Lexa shifted uneasily in her chair. "We've become friends."

  "Why?"

  "Because..." She couldn't tell him she looked on Clare as the mother she'd lost. Her stepmother had been a poor substitute. "We clicked the moment we met."

  Josh stood and went behind his desk. "I apologize for my attitude yesterday. I'd driven all day and was looking forward to taking Clare to dinner. When I found chaos instead..." He shrugged and smiled.

  It was a disarming smile. She'd known many men who didn't know how to apologize. She relaxed and smiled back. "I'm afraid I didn't help much. I'm sorry I...blew up."

  "Maybe I needed to hear what you had to say. I really do have her best interests at heart."

  Lexa sat forward, feeling she was making progress. "I know. She's told me you're more of a son than a nephew."

  He pulled out the swivel chair and sat behind his desk. "And what else did she tell you?"

  An imp made Lexa say, "Something about catching you skinny dippi
ng with your girlfriend after your high school graduation party. How difficult it was to teach you how to drive under the speed limit. How you traded two of her oldest silver dollars for a frog..."

  "Stop. Stop!" he pleaded. "Or you'll have me blushing before your eyes."

  "As if anything could make you blush."

  "I could think of a few things," he teased.

  That winsome smile of his could melt Antarctica. The character lines that crinkled around his eyes when he smiled added to his charm. "Clare said you and she had reached an understanding."

  He cocked his head. "We understand each other perfectly. She told me what she's planning to do and I gave my unnecessary stamp of approval because she would have done it anyway. If you hadn't noticed, she's a very stubborn woman."

  "I wonder if it runs in the family."

  He grinned. "You've noticed."

  No man's smile had ever made her feel so...unsettled. She straightened and got to the point of her visit. "There's a meeting tonight at the senior center. I thought you might want to come and see what goes on. I'm sure Clare would like you to meet her friends, too."

  Josh looked at Lexa strangely, as if he couldn't figure her out. "What time?"

  "Seven."

  "I'll be there."

  His blue gaze was too penetrating. And she had more work back at her office than she wanted to think about. She stood. "Good. I'll see you there."

  Josh nodded.

  After Lexa left his office, Josh leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the desk. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, worrying about Clare, wondering what to do about Ms. Kittredge's influence. She seemed so damned honest...

  sincere. He glanced toward the store and saw the top of her curly blond head as she passed down the aisle.

  He'd spoken to his lawyer this morning. And the real estate agent. Clare would lose money if she dropped out of the sale. Josh intended to inspect the property himself after work with a contractor he knew to see if the investment was sound.

  And as for Alexandra Kittredge, there was only one way to find out her motives. He'd go to that meeting tonight and he'd get to know her better. If she was sincere and if she truly was Clare's friend, he wanted to find out how much influence she had over his aunt and whether it was good or bad. He'd neglected his aunt too much in the past year. That was going to stop.

  He owed his aunt. Without Clare, he would have ended up in a boys' home or on the streets. Yep. He owed her big and he'd protect her whether she liked it or not. Whether Alexandra Kittredge liked it or not.

  ***

  Lexa opened her the back of her SUV as Josh walked toward her in the parking lot of the senior center. He must have been watching for her.

  "Clare told me you'd have cartons to carry in." He reached into the back of the vehicle and stacked one box on top of another so he could carry both.

  "Thank you." She shut the back door.

  As they walked toward the building, he asked, "What's in these?"

  "Pirate treasure."

  He smiled. "Not heavy enough for that."

  "Would you believe Halloween costumes?"

  "For seniors?"

  Like so many people, Josh must think people over fifty-five didn't enjoy the same things the younger population did. "They're having a party."

  "What have you got?"

  "The usual. Clowns, gypsies. What's your favorite?"

  "Dracula," he drawled with an accent straight from Transylvania.

  She laughed and opened the door for him.

  Once inside the one-story building, Josh followed Lexa so he could observe her. The coat she wore was beige cashmere and she wore it as if she was used to quality. She greeted the groups scattered here and there who were talking and sipping coffee or punch. Everyone seemed to know her well.

  From across the room, a crusty looking bald man called, "Did you find me a gorilla suit? At least I'll have hair for one night!"

  Lexa called back, "We love you the way you are, Joe."

  One of the ladies nudged Lexa's arm and whispered, "Isn't Clare's nephew cute?"

  "Cute?" Josh mouthed at Lexa as he deposited the boxes on a cafeteria style table.

  She laughed. "Does that offend your macho sensibilities?"

  "I much prefer hot, sexy--"

  "Humble?"

  "Once every decade or so," he acknowledged, his smile reaching his eyes.

  A wiry-haired woman at the front of the room banged a gavel on the podium and asked, "Can everyone please be seated? We have a lot of ground to cover tonight."

  Sitting in one of the back rows, Clare waved to Lexa and Josh. She squeezed Lexa's hand as she sat down and whispered, "He came!"

  On Lexa's other side, Josh didn't seem to hear. Before Lexa could answer Clare, the woman up front said, "There's someone I'd like you all to meet. He's new to Chambersburg and I think he could be of help to many of us. He's a financial advisor. I'd like to introduce Mr. Stanley."

  Lexa whispered to Clare, "We'll talk later."

  A man in his late forties or early fifties stood and walked to the podium from the first row. "Thank you, Edna. How do you do, everyone? My name's Ted Stanley. When Edna came to see me, I told her what I could do for her. When she mentioned the senior center, I asked her if I could talk to all of you. Let me give you a thumbnail sketch of what I can do for one of my clients. I'll begin by saying that the elderly in this country are outliving their incomes. Social security isn't enough. Many of you have no private pensions--that's particularly true of widows."

  Lexa saw many heads nod up and down.

  "Is he the one you sent Clare to?" Josh asked, watching Lexa as she listened to the speaker.

  "No, I sent her to a woman I knew was reputable."

  That note of sincerity again. Were his doubts uncalled for?

  As Stanley droned on about turning around negative credit ratings, getting loans even over age sixty, generalities about investments that could provide steady interest payments, Lexa took out a pencil and paper and made some notes.

  Josh elbowed her arm. "Thinking of investing?"

  "No. I want to check out his credentials. I don't like the idea he's targeting senior citizens." She seemed genuinely worried.

  "What's unusual about that?"

  "Maybe nothing. But I want to make sure he isn't unscrupulous." Almost to herself, she murmured, "I don't like his eyes."

  Josh leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Any reason in particular?" Her scent wound around him and he enjoyed the closeness for a moment.

  "No. It's just a feeling."

  "Do you always judge people by their eyes?"

  She stared straight ahead. "Most of the time."

  "What do you think about my eyes?"

  She turned her face to his to see if he was serious. Her lips were a half inch away from his. She cleared her throat and jerked her head back.

  Josh whispered again, "Well?"

  "I like your eyes," she admitted hoarsely.

  He felt the same awareness that had made her voice husky. And reminded himself, No way, Flannigan. She's a career woman through and through. He'd done some checking. Lexa was involved with the senior center; she'd been instrumental in getting it started.

  She'd established her job counseling service six years ago. According to Clare, she was also involved in Project Literacy and the YWCA. He didn't know how Lexa found time to brush her teeth. He'd been involved with a woman a few years ago who couldn't make time to have dinner let alone a relationship. Josh knew exactly what he wanted--a woman who knew how to play and did so on a regular basis.

  A person needed time to play. He bet time was a precious commodity to Alexandra Kittredge and he still wondered why she'd make time for his aunt.

  Stanley ended his spiel with, "I will be glad to see any of you who want to talk to me. Just call my office."

  Lexa tried not to be so aware of Josh. But it wasn't easy. His cologne reminded her he was there, as did the pressure of his elbow aga
inst hers. She looked straight ahead.

  Edna thanked the financial advisor for coming and turned to the rest of the agenda. "Lexa brought costumes for anyone who might need one for our Halloween Party on October thirtieth. Now I need a list of people to bring refreshments. Who's first?"

  Edna formulated a list ranging from hot hors d'oeuvres to brownies. The group discussed plans to visit nursing homes with favors for Thanksgiving and Christmas, dates for social events in November, and the agenda for their next meeting. After Edna had taken notes, she asked, "Is there anything else we need to discuss?"

  A woman in the third row raised her hand and stood. "I heard about a program in Carlisle. The senior citizens offer time to answer phone calls acting like Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus. The numbers are published in the paper and on the news, and children can call during certain hours. Is anybody interested?" Several people raised their hands and she said, "See me after the meeting and we'll talk about it some more."

  Lexa raised her hand, was recognized, and stood. "I want you to know the stores in the malls are hiring extra security guards for Christmas. So if any of you are interested in temporary work, let me know."

  "Are they hiring women?" a woman with a blond rinse asked from the far right.

  "If you can do the job, I don't see why not," Lexa answered with a smile. "You can always threaten to sue for discrimination if you have the qualifications and they won't interview you."

  "Is there anything women don't want to do?" a gruff old gent who had served in the military for forty years grumbled.

  He was answered by a lady three seats down the row. "Yeah, mister. Dishes. I've had enough for a lifetime."

  Everyone who heard the exchange laughed. Lexa grinned and said, "I do have openings strictly for men. Some of the stores need Santa Clauses."

  Josh's baritone rang out. "Mine included."

  Lexa looked at him with surprise. He shrugged and stood up. "My name's Josh Flannigan. Many of you might know my Aunt Clare." Several heads bobbed. "I own the Toy Tank and I do need a Santa Claus. So if anyone's interested, see me after the meeting."