Later, when her temper had cooled and she could think back on the conversation rationally, she realized that at that moment, it looked as if a light in Dylan’s eyes had gone out. She ached for the unfair accusations she had hurled at him, but it was too late to take them back.
By then he was gone and she was all alone. Completely alone. The silence was deafening.
Only then did she hear the tiny, nagging voice in her head all but shouting that she had just made the worst mistake of her life.
Chapter Eight
Dylan dropped into a chair in Trish’s living room without even bothering to turn on the light. He was too exhausted to move, too drained to even drag himself off to bed. Kelsey’s charge that he’d let her down because of sympathy for her ex hadn’t been nearly as unfounded as he would have liked.
Oh, he had done his best to find Bobby. He’d left no stone unturned, no lead ignored, but he couldn’t honestly say he’d done it with enthusiasm. Not in the beginning. True, he had wanted Bobby reunited with his mother, a woman he’d come to care about more than he wanted to admit. But at the father’s expense? Even now, when he knew in his gut it was the right thing to do, the idea still brought up more bitter memories than he’d ever wanted to revisit. That was why he hadn’t been able to argue with the damning conclusions Kelsey had obviously jumped to.
He was still sitting there when Trish came downstairs at dawn to fix breakfast for Hardy, who was splitting his days between duties at the ranch and search parties that continued to comb half of West Texas looking for some trace of Paul James and Bobby.
“Dylan, what are you doing sitting down here in the dark?” She stepped into the room and took a closer look. “You look like hell.”
“Feel like it, too.”
“What time did you get in last night? I never heard you.”
He shrugged. He hadn’t looked at his watch. After he’d left Kelsey’s, he’d driven around for hours, then instinctively stopped in at the sheriff’s office to check in with Justin. There had been no news, no leads.
Trish sat down opposite him. “Okay, big brother, spill it. What’s wrong?”
“Aside from the fact that here’s no sign of Bobby and the fact that I’ve been fired? Aside from those two things, I’d say life is just about perfect.”
Trish stared at him with undisguised astonishment. “Fired? Why?”
“Your friend seems to think I might have a conflict of interest. I don’t suppose you’re the one who mentioned Shane to her.”
His sister flushed guiltily. “Yes, and I could see she was overreacting, but I thought I’d calmed her down. I had no idea she’d go off the deep end. You’ve worked your tail off on this case. How dare she fire you?” she asked indignantly. “Don’t worry, Dylan. I’ll talk to her.”
“No need. I’m not going to stop working, just because of a little technicality like being fired. I wasn’t planning on getting paid anyway. Are you going over there today?”
She nodded. “Right after breakfast.”
“Do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“See if you can find out what she’s holding back. There’s something she hasn’t told me. She almost let it out yesterday, but then Paul called and we got sidetracked. Before that she clammed up whenever I asked. I know she won’t tell me now, but I have a feeling it’s crucial.”
“Maybe Lizzy knows. Have you talked to her?”
“I tried. She was as evasive as hell, too.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks. I’m going to go up and grab a shower. Think you can have some lethally strong coffee ready when I get back down?”
“You got it, big brother.” She gave him a hug. “Don’t let what Kelsey did get you down. She appreciates your help and she cares about you. I know she does.”
“Sure,” he said grimly, thinking of the way she’d kissed him, the way she’d melted in his arms. She cared, all right. “She just doesn’t trust me.”
When he came back down, feeling marginally better after an icy shower, he found not only Hardy at the kitchen table with Trish, but Jeb. His brother, who was only a year younger, frowned at him.
“For a man in such a big hurry to get me over here, you might have stuck around last night to tell me what you need me to do,” Jeb noted without any real venom, spooning cereal into his mouth as if he hadn’t had a meal in a month.
Dylan winced. “Sorry. I got sidetracked.”
Jeb stared, clearly incredulous. “You? In the middle of a case?” He turned his gaze on Trish. “Did I miss the sky falling?”
“Very funny,” Dylan retorted. “Now if you’re finished trying to eat Trish and Hardy out of house and home, we can hit the road.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Trish said, motioning toward a chair. “Sit. You’re not leaving here until you’ve had coffee and breakfast. I’ll make you an omelet.”
Dylan knew better than to argue. Trish could nag worse than their mother, if she put her mind to it. Besides, he knew she wanted badly to make up for spilling the beans to Kelsey about Shane.
“I’ll take the coffee and some toast. That’s enough.”
“You’ll eat eggs and be grateful for them,” she countered, whipping the eggs with a whisk. She poured them into a pan sizzling with melted butter. “Jeb might be able to run all day on a sugar high, but you need protein.”
Hardy grinned at the display of bossiness. “You’re the ones who spoiled her. Thanks to you, she thinks she’s queen of the universe,” he reminded them. “Now it’s time for payback. I think I’ll just be running along while all her attention is focused on the two of you.”
Trish frowned at her husband with mock severity. “You’ll pay for that remark later.”
He gave her a hard kiss. “I’ll be looking forward to it, darlin’.” He winked at Dylan and Jeb. “See. Marriage has its rewards. You might want to consider it.”
“The man has all the fervor of a recent convert,” Dylan noted to no one in particular.
Jeb shuddered. “Marriage is definitely not for me. Women change once they get a ring on their finger. I’ve seen it too often not to believe in the phenomenon.”
Dylan didn’t really want to get drawn into that particular discussion. He concentrated all of his attention on the food Trish had put in front of him. He couldn’t help noting, though, that an image of Kelsey popped into his head at the mere mention of marriage.
“Hey, Dylan, I don’t hear you swearing off marriage,” Jeb said, studying him curiously. “Is something going on over here I don’t know about?”
“Nothing,” he said tersely, fully aware of the long, speculative look that his brother exchanged with Trish. He threw down his fork. “That’s it. Let’s get out of here.”
Jeb grinned at Trish as he dutifully stood up. “Guess I touched a nerve.”
“And if you’ve got a grain of sense in that hard head of yours, you’ll leave it be,” Dylan snapped back.
Jeb’s hoot of laughter trailed him to the car. He was inside with the motor running before his brother cracked open the door. “Is it safe?”
“As safe as it’s going to get.”
Jeb climbed in, snapped on his seat belt, then slid down in the seat before glancing over to gauge Dylan’s mood. “Does this pleasant frame of mind have something to do with the case or with the beautiful mother?”
Dylan’s frown deepened. “How do you know she’s beautiful?”
“Where you’re concerned, they always are.”
“Meaning?” Dylan asked darkly.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Dylan wasn’t buying the denial. “Are you suggesting I’m shallow?”
His brother heaved a sigh. “Okay, you asked for this. Under normal circumstances, no, you are not shallow. But ever since Kit divorced you, you’ve been more interested in beauty than brains. You haven’t exactly been looking for anybody with real staying power. Now that may be okay for me. I’m not the happily-ever-a
fter type. But you’re different. You want a home and a family. That’s what you deserve. Unfortunately, Kit did a real number on you and threw you off your stride. But this love-’em-and-leave-’em stuff is not you, Dylan. Your middle name should have been dependable.”
Dylan had had enough. “How the hell did we get off on this tangent, anyway?” he asked moodily. “I didn’t have you come over here to discuss my love life.”
“Hitting a little too close to home, am I?” Jeb countered. His expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe I guessed wrong about what’s going on here. This Kelsey is a pediatrician, isn’t she? Must be smart. Probably has some real substance to her. Am I right?”
“What you are is a pain in the neck.”
“Ah, brains and beauty,” Jeb concluded triumphantly. “Now we’re talking.”
“Do I need to remind you that the woman’s child is missing? We haven’t exactly been taking time out for a hot romance.”
Jeb studied him. “But you have kissed her, haven’t you?”
Dylan felt heat climbing into his cheeks.
Jeb hooted. “I knew it.”
“I am calling Dad first chance I get and telling him you’re just itching to have more responsibility at the oil company,” Dylan vowed. “I might even recommend he make you vice president of something that will require oodles and oodles of paperwork, something with lots and lots of numbers.”
Unfortunately, his brother didn’t seem the least bit daunted by the threat.
“Dad knows perfectly well I can’t add without a calculator. He still has the accountant go over my checkbook because it’s such a mess. He’s not about to leave the company finances in my hands.”
Dylan sighed. “You have a point. Okay, enough sparring. Let’s talk about Paul James and where he could be hiding with his son.”
Jeb promptly straightened in his seat. “Tell me what you know,” he said with an eagerness he never displayed when talking about his work for the family oil business.
Dylan laid out the case point by point. For all of his carefree ways, Jeb had a quick mind. They were a good match. Dylan relished the details, the assembling of clues. Jeb could lay them out and see the big picture. When Dylan was finished, Jeb nodded.
“He wants something from Kelsey,” he concluded. “And he’s stringing her along until he figures she’ll be desperate enough to give it to him.”
“But what?” Dylan asked. “Obviously not Bobby. He has him and he hasn’t made a run for it. I heard him on the phone. I don’t even think it’s a play to get shared custody. It’s something else.”
“Money?” Jeb suggested.
Dylan considered it, then shook his head. “Kelsey’s not rich. She’s a small-town doctor. She probably has medical school bills left to pay. Besides, from what I gathered, Paul is a hotshot stockbroker. He’s the one with the bucks.”
“Maybe he played fast and loose with his ethics and got himself fired.”
“So he stole his kid to get back his credibility?” Dylan asked doubtfully. “I don’t think so. Besides, Justin talked to his boss. He’s expecting him back after his two-week vacation ends.”
“Maybe he’s just trying to jerk Kelsey’s chain. Maybe this is payback for her leaving him.”
Dylan had certainly heard enough taunting animosity in Paul’s voice to believe him capable of that kind of cruelty, but it still didn’t ring true. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he felt that so strongly. “No,” he said eventually. “It’s something else. And my gut tells me that Kelsey knows exactly what it is.”
“Then let’s go see the beautiful pediatrician,” Jeb suggested. “We can play good cop, bad cop with her. I’ll be the bad guy, since you want to have a future with her when this is all over.”
“I never said—”
“You didn’t have to, big brother. It’s written all over your face. You’re the transparent one, remember? That’s why Mom always knew you were the one who stole the cookies.”
“No, she knew that because the rest of you blabbed,” Dylan countered. “But you’re right about going to see Kelsey. It’s time to put an end to the evasiveness.”
“Don’t forget, though, I get to be the bad cop,” Jeb said.
If the situation hadn’t been so deadly serious, Dylan would have laughed at his brother’s eagerness. Jeb had obviously spent far to many hours watching shows like NYPD Blue. He had the typical amateur’s illusions about the glamour of police and detective work. And because he only popped in and out of Dylan’s cases at the most critical junctures, he had no idea how much nitty-gritty, boring legwork was required to get to that point.
Dylan approached Kelsey’s house with mounting trepidation. After all, she had fired him the night before. He doubted she was going to be overjoyed to find him still at work. Maybe the way around that would be to explain he had brought Jeb in as his replacement. Maybe she wouldn’t recall that Jeb had already been on his way to town before Dylan had been fired.
Women tended to accept his brother at face value. Jeb was a charmer with the kind of friendly, open demeanor that drew them in droves. They also tended to take advantage of his good nature, which Dylan believed was the reason Jeb refused to take any relationship seriously. He’d been burned so many times that he now made it a point to be the first to walk away.
“Why is it you look as though we’re about to stroll innocently into the lion’s den?” Jeb asked as they exited the car. “I thought you liked this woman.”
“I’m not exactly at the top of her hit parade at the moment,” Dylan admitted, surprised that Trish hadn’t explained the situation. “The truth is, she fired me last night.”
“She fired you,” Jeb echoed, shaking his head. “Now’s a fine time to mention that. Maybe you’d better be the bad cop, after all.”
Dylan chuckled. “Nah. You do it so well.”
He rang the bell and waited. When Lizzy opened the door, she regarded him with shock. “I thought you’d been—”
“Fired?” Dylan supplied.
She nodded.
“I was,” he replied cheerfully. “So I hired him.” He gestured over his shoulder. “You remember my brother Jeb.”
Lizzy stared. “Jeb. Of course. I thought you were in the oil business.”
“I’m a man of many talents,” he said. “Dylan likes to call on me when he’s in over his head.”
“Very funny,” Dylan muttered. He stepped past Lizzy. “Where’s Kelsey?”
“In the kitchen. I’ll get her.”
“Never mind,” Jeb said. “Well go in there.”
“Don’t mind him,” Dylan said. “He’s hoping there will be leftovers from breakfast. He’s a bottomless pit.”
“Then he’s in luck. I’ve been baking again. Cinnamon rolls this time. It keeps my mind off of things and I keep hoping the aroma of all that sugar and cinnamon will get to Kelsey so she’ll eat something.”
“She’s still not eating?” Dylan asked.
“Not so you’d notice. And she can’t afford to lose any weight,” Lizzy said.
Dylan thoroughly surveyed Kelsey when he walked into the kitchen and spotted her bent over, scrubbing out the refrigerator. Obviously, she was on another cleaning binge. He found himself agreeing with Lizzy. Even after a few days, her clothes were looser. More important, when she glanced up, her face looked drawn and pale.
Seeing him, though, put bright patches of color on her cheeks, right along with a frown. Dylan badly wanted to kiss her to heighten that color even more, but decided against it. To many fascinated onlookers. Instead, he opted for going on the offensive before she got any brilliant ideas about tossing him right back out the door. He pulled out a chair, then gestured toward it.
“Have a seat,” he suggested.
Kelsey didn’t budge. In fact, her chin lifted a defiant notch. She pinned his brother with a look. “Who is he?”
“This is my brother. Jeb, this is Dr. Kelsey James.”
“I’m sorry about your little boy,�
�� Jeb said.
“Thank you.” Her gaze shifted back to Dylan. “I thought I’d made myself clear last night. I don’t want you on this case.”
“Which is why Jeb is stepping in.”
“He’s a private investigator, too?”
“Part-time,” Jeb said, before Dylan could respond. “I ask the tough questions that Dylan’s too nice to ask.”
She blinked rapidly at that. “Oh?” she said, visibly nervous.
Jeb nodded, his expression still deceptively cheerful. “Such as, what is your ex-husband really after?”
“Excuse me?” Kelsey’s voice faltered. She sank onto the chair Dylan was holding. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“Sure you do,” Jeb corrected. “You’re a smart woman. It’s bound to have occurred to you that your ex-husband hasn’t taken Bobby so he can bond with the boy or go off on some grand adventure.”
“I suppose,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Well, then, why has he taken him?”
“Because he’s not a very nice man,” Kelsey snapped.
“I think we can all agree to that,” Dylan said. He rested a hand on Kelsey’s shoulder. The muscles were tight with tension. His touch didn’t seem to be helping. If anything, she stiffened more.
“Does he want money?” Jeb persisted. “After all, you’re a doctor. You’re friends with the most important family in town. He’s got to figure you’d be good for some cash.”
“This isn’t about money,” Kelsey said tersely.
The quick negative responses proved to Dylan that she knew exactly what Paul did want.
“But you do have something he wants, don’t you?” Jeb prodded.
His gaze met hers with the kind of direct, penetrating stare that few people could ignore. Kelsey was no exception. Dylan felt her tremble, even though she held her own gaze defiantly steady.
“Don’t mistake me for my brother, Kelsey,” Jeb said, his gaze hardening. “I’m not going to let you off the hook. I’m going to come at this from a hundred different directions, if that’s what it takes to get you to open up. We’ll try the direct approach one more time. What does Paul James want from you in return for giving back your son?”
Dylan and the Baby Doctor Page 10