A Stranger She Can Trust

by Regan Black

  Elaine was out of her chair in a shot, smoothing her hair and reaching for her jacket. “Of course! What an honor.”

  Lissa’s stomach bottomed out. She knew being the Baxters’ daughter hadn’t gone unnoticed when she applied for jobs, but it deflated her ego to see the affiliation in action and how much weight her genetics carried.

  “For everyone,” Lissa said, bitterness creeping into her tone. “They have great respect for this museum.” None for their daughter, but for the museum, definitely.

  “Lissa.” Elaine halted halfway between the office and the elevator. “I hired you on your merit alone.”

  The statement startled Lissa, and she eyed her boss with a wary gratitude. “I know they’re rock stars in the field,” she began.

  Elaine cut her off with a quick head shake. “Meeting them will be a thrill, I admit that. Having you on our team here is a point of pride for me. Never doubt it.”

  Lissa didn’t get a chance to reply as the elevator doors parted to reveal her parents.

  Drs. Vincent and Joyce Baxter had both gone gray and transitioned to bifocals years ago, but those were the only concessions to their age. They wore crisp khakis and matching black polo shirts with their business logo embroidered on the sleeves. Lissa just barely kept her gaze steady when she wanted to roll her eyes. Always building awareness, her mother would say.

  “Hello,” she greeted them as they stepped forward. “This is my boss, Elaine—”

  Her mother interrupted the introduction, pulling Lissa into a close hug. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do. She and her parents had never been particularly good at affection.

  Awkwardly she patted her mother’s back, uncertain how to proceed. When her mother released her, Lissa tried to make introductions again, only to have her father take his turn with a rib-cracking embrace.

  Had they been struck by lightning on the dig? Where were the aloof, distracted parents from her childhood?

  Elaine beamed at all of them and introduced herself, extending her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. We are thrilled to have Lissa on board. Would you like a tour of our space?”

  “Lissa?” her mother queried, with an elevated eyebrow. “You really shouldn’t encourage such a nickname.”

  Ah, the disapproval and subtle judgment was more familiar, and Lissa smiled. “We’re a pretty relaxed team here.” She repeated Elaine’s offer of a tour.

  “That would be intriguing,” her mother said. She exchanged a glance with her husband, one that communicated volumes and effectively eliminated anyone else’s input or opinion.

  Lissa deferred to Elaine, only half listening to the presentation that was similar to the tour used during her internship orientation. Elaine praised Lissa’s skills without going overboard, although Lissa knew the admiration mattered little to her parents. Until they knew Elaine better, they wouldn’t put much stock in her opinion.

  She saw her parents’ expressions change along the way and noticed a smidge of grudging respect for the team’s work. Wrapping up the tour, Elaine suggested Lissa take her parents to lunch and excused herself. Dr. and Dr. Baxter didn’t reply immediately, merely shared another long, speaking glance.

  “I’m sure you have other obligations,” Lissa said, giving them an easy out. “Thanks for coming by to say hello.” A short visit was more than she’d ever expected from them.

  “We’d like you to come with us.”

  To the obligation? “To lunch?” Lissa asked.

  “As a start,” her father said. He plucked a troll doll from its place of honor near her monitor and turned it back and forth, clearly stumped by the purpose of the spiky neon-green hair. “What is this?”

  She and Noelle had won those during one of their weekend jaunts to the Jersey shore. “It’s a memento of good times with a friend,” she said, returning the doll to its place. She had no expectation that her parents would recall the names she dropped in her occasional emails.

  “Not Noelle?” her mother asked, eyes filling with worry.

  “Yes, actually.” When her mother’s lips thinned in disapproval, Lissa’s patience snapped. “Why exactly are you here?”

  “To help you pack,” Joyce said. “We sent an email.”

  “When?” Lissa dropped into her chair and opened her email program, searching for this supposed notification.

  “This morning, before we boarded the plane.” Vincent cast a critical eye over her desk. “Come now, is anything here essential?”

  Naturally they’d made a decision and didn’t feel inclined to discuss it with her. Had they completely missed her transition to adulthood and her striking out on her own despite their delusional expectations?

  “All of it is essential right where it is.” Lissa bit back the tirade that begged to be unleashed, tamping down her temper. They hadn’t helped her move out of college, so disappointed in her when she’d refused to come back to field work with them. It didn’t matter that she’d considered fleeing from her current trouble in Philly. This was her place and her life. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You were attacked,” her mother said. “We won’t let you stay.”

  “People are attacked every day in cities all over the world.” She spread her hands. “You can see for yourself that I’m fine.”

  “I’ll feel better when you’re back on the site with us.”

  Absolutely not. “Where is this coming from? How did you even hear about Noelle?”

  “The papers,” her father replied with that icy calm. “We do pay attention to current events.”

  Lissa wasn’t buying it. “Dr. Anson called you, didn’t he?” Noelle’s father meant well by reaching out, but her parents couldn’t provide the comfort Lissa needed. This was not the conversation to have in an office. “Why don’t we discuss this over lunch?”

  Her mother nodded. “We can take sandwiches to your apartment and pack while we catch up.”

  “Sandwiches at my apartment.” Which was still a repair in progress. “We’d have more fun with a picnic in Liberty Bell Park,” she countered.

  “We aren’t here as tourists, Melissa.” Her father clasped his hands behind his back. “We’ve indulged this diversion long enough. You can be more help to us on the dig site, and we can see that you’re sufficiently protected.”

  They could pull and prod all they wanted. She would not budge. “Why now?”

  Behind her stylish glasses, Joyce squinted, clearly baffled by Lissa’s question. “You’re our daughter.” Her nose wrinkled as she gazed around the wide room. “This isn’t where you belong.”

  “But it is. It’s exactly where I want to be, Mom. I appreciate your concern. I’m sure it was a difficult time for you both to leave the site, but I’m staying.”

  “Melissa.” Her father used the disappointed tone.

  “I love you both.” She startled all three of them with her sincere declaration. Losing Noelle had brought that urgency of life right to the front of her mind, her heart. “If you have time for lunch, I would enjoy catching up.”

  Another glance between them ended with a distinctly unenthusiastic agreement. She knew the relocation conversation wasn’t over, at least not on their end. They opted for the museum cafeteria rather than a restaurant and took the food outside to have a picnic in a shady spot on the grounds. As they ate, Lissa shared some recent project successes and listened to her parents gloss over the details of their latest dig. It was the communication pattern they all understood.

  Finally they circled back to the issue that brought them and confirmed Noelle’s parents had notified them of the trouble. “It’s a beautiful day,” she said. “Why don’t we take a walk?” It would buy her some time to present logical arguments for staying.

  Her first attempt to point out she was a capable adult fell on deaf ears. On her next
attempt, she emphasized her commitment to her work. That one might have been more successful if she hadn’t spotted the man who’d tried to drug her at the Escape Club. He was matching their pace on the opposite walkway.

  This was the man half of the Philly police department was searching for. She pulled out her phone and sent a group text message to the detective, Carson and Grant, just to cover all her bases. She rejected the urge to panic. She wasn’t alone, and there were people nearby watching out for her. She simply had to stall and give authorities and Carson time to arrive. And she had to do it in a way that wouldn’t reinforce her parents’ notion that Philly was all wrong for her.

  Realizing she’d walked a bit further without her parents, she turned back, catching them in a heated, nearly inaudible discussion.

  Her father linked his hands behind his back. “We’ve danced around this long enough, Melissa. You need to tell your boss today is your last day.”

  Her shoulders sagged and her gaze darted to the man shadowing them. It occurred to her that other than bumping into him outside the museum her first day back, she’d never seen him work alone. Now she searched every face, looking for the woman. “That’s ridiculous and hypocritical. I’m well aware you both hold a low opinion of anyone who quits without notice.”

  “In normal situations, that’s true. If you’ve been honest with Elaine, she will understand you cannot stay in the city another moment,” Joyce said. “Dr. and Mrs. Anson assured us you’ve done all you can for their daughter’s case.”

  Her mother droned on, and Lissa tuned her out. She’d given the detective everything she could remember, but for some reason, the drug crew hadn’t given up on her.

  “Are you listening?” Vincent demanded, giving her shoulder a shake.

  “Yes,” she fibbed. The contact had jarred something loose in her memory. Too flimsy to hang onto while her attention was divided, but an important detail. “Were the Ansons worried for me?”

  Her mother scowled at her. “They are concerned this isn’t a safe place for young single women.”

  “Did they say why?” she pressed. Maybe Noelle had left them a message of some sort and they didn’t recognize what it meant.

  “We’ve wasted enough time. You’re leaving with us. Today.” Her father took her by the elbow and started marching back to the museum. On the other path, the man followed their movements.

  Lissa dug in her heels at a park bench. “Please sit down. I’m staying right here until we come to a reasonable agreement.” Her phone buzzed with a message, and she glanced down to see the detective’s reply that uniformed officers were on the way.

  “You must understand we only want what’s best for you,” Joyce said calmly.

  Lissa laughed. Why was Carson’s calm voice reassuring and her mother’s so aggravating?

  “She’s hysterical, Vincent.”

  “I should be furious,” Lissa said, keeping tabs on the man. “I want you to understand that what’s best for me is this job in this city.”

  “You were raised for more important endeavors,” her father said.

  Lissa watched a patrol car cruise by on the route that circled the museum as another turned down the street near the river. The man hurried away and, with any luck, into custody.

  “You used to approve of my work,” she said.

  “We approved of your major,” her father corrected her. “In fact, we’ve gone to great lengths to secure a new post for you at the Smithsonian in DC.”

  “Your father and I have rearranged our schedules so we’ll be working there, as well. Two years as adjunct professors. It will give us long-overdue time with our lab research.”

  Her first thought was how her parents would wither without the sunshine, air and pervasive grit of a dig. Her second thought was how much she’d miss Carson if she followed them to DC. As she’d told him, they loved her. They just had a strange, unsupportive way of expressing it.

  “You really shouldn’t have made those plans without talking to me about it.”

  Her father steepled his fingertips and tapped them together repeatedly. It was a dead giveaway he’d lost his patience. “Why not?”

  No sense repeating arguments that hadn’t worked a few minutes ago. “I love you both,” she said instead.

  They gawked at her in tandem as if she’d dropped the Rosetta Stone.

  “Yes, there’s been some trouble. My best friend was murdered,” she said quietly. “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My injuries were minor, aside from brief amnesia, and I’m recovering.

  “My work matters. Not just to me, but to my team. I’m not walking out on that, or on what I’ve built here.” She turned to her mother, hoping her next tactic hit home. “I’ve fallen in love with a great guy,” she said. “And his home is here. I believe if I have any hope of finding the amazing lifelong partnership like you have with Dad, it’s here with him.”

  Behind her someone coughed, sputtered, then said her name. She twisted around, mortified to come face-to-face with Carson. “Hello.”

  “Hi.” He’d obviously overheard everything. Heat rose in her cheeks and ears like a pot ready to boil over, while her fingers and toes went numb. She hadn’t really embellished her feelings for him, but she hadn’t intended to share them yet, either.

  As much as she wanted to blame this on the untimely visit of her parents, she couldn’t do it. Since going to college, she’d been making strides to overcome the reactionary remnants of their carelessness and her insecurity.

  She greeted him with a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, noting he’d come straight from a construction site. “What a nice surprise.” She’d managed to get the words past the lump in her chest as she sent him a pleading look. Please don’t dump me right here, she thought, making the introductions.

  “My parents heard what happened and came to check on me,” she explained.

  God bless him for keeping his cool when her stomach kept turning inside out. He didn’t give the slightest indication that her declaration of love was news to him, or that trouble had been as close as the sidewalk a moment ago. If that wasn’t heroic compassion, she wasn’t sure how to define it better.

  Chapter 11

  Carson followed her lead, greeting her parents, who eyed him as if he was the lowlife the police had just chased out of the area. Lissa behaved with such composure, he might have thought she made a habit of identifying criminals while showing her parents the sights.

  They walked back toward the museum while Vincent and Joyce sought his support in moving her out of the city immediately.

  There was not a chance in hell he was letting that happen. He couldn’t believe their blatant disregard for her thoughts and feelings. She’d just said she was in love with a great guy—with him—and wanted to stay here, and they responded as if she were twelve, incapable of knowing her heart or mind. He had the ironic pleasure of thinking he’d never met two more detached people. No wonder she craved stability and connection.

  “Where are you staying?” It was the most polite diversion he could come up with as the three of them quietly argued about Lissa’s resignation.

  “We’re in town only through tomorrow,” Vincent replied.

  When they were back inside the museum, Joyce nudged Lissa aside for a private word. The tension from both women was unmistakable. Carson took the opportunity to speak with her father. “I know you’re concerned for your daughter, Dr. Baxter, but she’s recovering well, and she loves Philadelphia.”

  “How long have you known my daughter, Mr. Lane?”

  Carson noticed the emphasis on the mere Mr. and smothered a smile. He suddenly realized how long he’d known her paled in comparison to how well he knew her. The Baxters didn’t understand her at all. “Not long,” he admitted. “She’s a fighter, isn’t she? You must be so proud of her accomplishme
nts.”

  “Graduating college with top honors was hardly an effort for her.” Dr. Baxter flexed his bushy gray eyebrows. “She has so much more to offer than dusting off parchment and assessing lighting conditions.”

  “You’re right about that,” Carson said. “Wherever her work takes her, she will excel. You should ask her to take you through the museum galleries. Her knowledge brings it all to life.”

  “We saw that she had the best education, even out in the field.”

  Education, sure, but no sign of respect or affection. The Baxters loved their daughter, just as she’d said. They just couldn’t seem to separate love from credentials.

  Lissa and her mother returned, both of them blushing. He’d ask about that later. He announced, “Lissa is staying with me while her landlord sees to a few repairs at her apartment.” He ignored the collective gasp from her parents. “Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?”

  He hoped that was amused gratitude flashing in Lissa’s dark eyes as he waited for an answer.

  Joyce handled it while Vincent’s complexion turned a deep crimson. “We’ll let you think things over tonight,” her mother said to Lissa. “You can give us your decision in the morning.”

  “What’s with the high-pressure questions lately?” he asked as Dr. and Dr. Baxter walked out of the museum.

  Lissa blushed and pushed the button for the elevator. “Mom doesn’t want to take no for an answer, but since I told her I’m sleeping with you, she’s giving me until morning to decide which I want more, a danger-filled life with you or safety with them.”

  “A sex test?” he whispered at her ear. “Again, no pressure.”

  She burst out laughing as they stepped into the elevator. “You’re the only person, besides Noelle, who has ever made me laugh when my parents are around.”

  He pulled her close and kissed her before the chime sounded on her level.

  “Did they catch the man following me or the other two?” she asked.

  “Not yet.” He hesitated as she stepped out of the elevator to return to work. “Grant’s man followed him for a few blocks before he had to bug out.”