Whatever. She wouldn’t disagree with him…if this were a perfect world. But it wasn’t. And she’d had it with banking her future on men who couldn’t commit or love she couldn’t trust. She wanted to control her own life.
Unfortunately her brother’s refusal to help left her relying on good old-fashioned legwork to find Honey. And there were a sea of hotels in San Francisco that she needed to cover. She lowered herself to the corner of the queen-size mattress on a plain frame. The room looked like it belonged to a bachelor, all right. Rumpled sheets and tangled blankets. Bare walls. No furniture but the bed and a chest of drawers that had seen many coats of now-chipping paint. Not her idea of an adult’s bedroom. Not her idea of a functional office in which to work, either, but less distracting than sitting out in the living room with the baby and the television…and Reed.
He’d nearly begged her to come back to his apartment, to stay the night. Some sex-starved, hormone-driven part of her wanted to think he’d extended the invitation with hopes of passion igniting between them, but she knew the truth. He was afraid of being alone with the baby.
She supposed she had to give him credit for convincing the police that Honey had left the baby in his care and there was no need for child protective services to take over. He had even arranged for a medical exam while they were at the hospital, to make sure the baby was okay. But when it came to actually caring for little Troy, he seemed scared to death. Or maybe that part just took too much commitment and responsibility for him to handle. When she’d left to make the call to her brother, he’d been across the room from where she’d put the baby on a blanket on the floor, as if wary about getting too close. When she returned, he was in the same spot. “I need your help.”
“Sure.”
Troy lifted his head from the blanket and gave her a gassy little smile.
She knelt down and kissed his head, pulling the scent of baby shampoo deep. He sure seemed well cared for. From his personalized blanket to his freshly washed hair, Troy seemed to have a mommy who loved him. A mommy it was up to her to find. “I need to know more about Honey.”
“What about her?”
“First, do you have a picture of her?”
“Just a second.” He walked past her and disappeared into the bedroom. A few moments later he returned with a photo album. He flipped open the cover and handed the binder to her.
The first page featured snapshots of a gorgeous honey blonde. Tiny shorts hugged trim hips. Her belly stretched bare and washboard flat. The cropped skintight top showed off the perfect amount of cleavage. A combination of athletic, sexy and glamorous with just the smallest touch of girl next door.
It was depressing.
“There are more in there. Ones where she’s wearing normal clothes. If you want to take one, go ahead.”
Josie flipped the page. More photos of the stunning blonde stared back at her. Honey laughing. Honey sitting on a fence. Honey looking every bit as sexy in jeans and a T-shirt as she had in the skimpy outfit. “You have a whole scrapbook of her?”
“She made it for me when I moved. She said she didn’t want me to forget her.”
Josie almost guffawed out loud. As if that were likely. Josie couldn’t imagine any man forgetting that.
She slipped a snapshot free. She needed to get a grip. Focus on why she was here. She should find Honey’s looks encouraging. It would be mighty hard for anyone who’d merely passed her on the street not to notice. Her looks would make Josie’s job of finding her that much easier. But somehow handing the album back to Reed just made her want to fold her arms across her oversized chest and flabby middle and hide.
“Anything else?”
Josie took a deep breath and pushed her insecurities back from where they’d crawled. “Has she ever been to San Francisco before?”
“She was here with me before I moved. When I bought the boat.”
Great. Now if Josie wanted to be really pitiful, she could dwell on all the happy memories of Captain Gorgeous and the perfect woman right here in her hometown. “Where did you stay?”
“A friend’s apartment.”
“Where exactly?”
“Actually, this is the place. He moved, and I took over his lease.”
So much for the possibility that Honey had holed up somewhere she’d stayed before. “What areas of the city did the two of you visit?”
“I don’t know. We did the usual tourist things. We were only here a few days.”
“What things specifically?”
“The wharf, of course, and Alcatraz. Golden Gate Park. We ate at Cliff House. That’s about it, I guess.”
“What was her favorite?”
“That’s easy. Shopping.”
“Shopping? Where?” There were a myriad of places to shop in San Francisco. The where of it all depended on what one wanted to buy.
“She did a lot of window shopping in the Union Square area. But her budget was more Chinatown.”
“Okay, that’s in one area of the city. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“You think she’s staying near Union Square and Chinatown?”
“It’s likely. People usually stay in the places they’re familiar with. Especially a woman traveling alone with a baby.” Josie tried to think of the hotels in the areas Reed mentioned. All the ones that came to mind were pretty pricey. “You mentioned her budget. How much money might she have to spend on a hotel room?”
“I don’t know. Back when we were together, she was barely making ends meet. But right before I left, she seemed to have found a source of money.”
She couldn’t help but notice the way his voice dipped, as if he was embarrassed to acknowledge what that source might be. But she could guess. “You mean a sugar daddy?”
He gave a shrug that seemed a bit abrupt. “After I told her I was moving, she started seeing other guys.”
“She told you this?” If he had names, maybe they could figure out who had reason to come after Honey, or to come after the baby and, by default, Missy. “Do you know who?”
“No. Nothing like that. She didn’t say a word to me. Kind of did it behind my back. Truth was, we both knew it was over.”
“So how do you know there were others?”
“She suddenly had things. Jewelry. Clothes. Things she couldn’t afford on the amount of money she was making.” Another shrug, too stiff to be believable. “Even though Honey didn’t make the final cut and get on the cheerleading squad, she was still one of the finalists. Having a cheerleader on your arm in Dallas is a big deal. Cheerleaders attract a lot of guys.”
She’d bet Honey attracted a lot of guys whether she was a cheerleader or not. “Attractive women also attract enemies.”
Reed looked at her as if he’d never considered that before. “Enemies?”
“Did Honey have any rivals?”
“Tiffany Maylor. She was a cheerleader. Rich family. She said things that really upset Honey.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t remember. Mean things. Trying to humiliate Honey. Intimidate her. It just about killed Honey when Tiffany made the final cut and she didn’t.”
“Okay, Tiffany. Who else?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “Man, I don’t have a clue.”
“She didn’t talk about anyone else?”
“No. She didn’t have a lot of friends who were women, but she didn’t have a lot of enemies, either. I suppose if her sugar daddy had a girlfriend or was married, there might be a problem there. But I can’t help with that. I have no idea who was giving her those gifts.”
“Is there anyone else who would want to hurt her? People who had bothered her in the past?”
“Damn.”
“What?”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of him. Honey had herself a stalker.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “Tell me about him.”
“He was a damn Peeping Tom, always looking in her windows, following her. He was annoying, but he really didn
’t seem dangerous until he broke into her apartment.”
“He broke in? Did he try to hurt her?”
Reed shook his head. “He broke in when she wasn’t there. Stole some of her underwear.”
A shiver skittered up Josie’s spine.
“Sick, eh?”
“What happened?”
“The police caught him. Charged him with burglary. He made a deal with the prosecutor, but Honey had to go to a bunch of hearings to testify he was the same guy who was following her. I think he prolonged it so he could see her.”
“So he’s still serving time?”
“I don’t know.”
That would be easy enough to check. “Do you have a name?”
“I want to say Kinney. Neil Kinney. To check up on Tiffany Maylor and Neil Kinney, do you have to go to Dallas?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m not licensed in Texas, so if I go it would have to be as a private citizen.” She held up a hand. “But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. If we can find Honey here in San Francisco, we’ll probably be able to get our answers a bit sooner.”
“Well, let’s hope for that. I’m all for soon.” He glanced at the baby.
“You know, there are ways to find out if Troy is yours.”
“You’re talking about DNA?”
Obviously taking a paternity test had already occurred to him. She nodded. “I know a guy who works for a private lab that does that kind of thing. He might rush the results through as a favor.”
“That would be great.” His voice arched upward with hope. “If you could set that up, I’d really appreciate it.”
She looked back down at Troy. The little guy’s body twisted in an awkward attempt to roll over. “Funny. If someone told me Troy might be mine, I’d take it as fact and never give him back. And here you can’t wait to get rid of him.” She knew she shouldn’t have said it, but she wasn’t going to take it back. She’d do a lot for the chance to adopt a sweet baby like Troy. She had already done a lot, even though it seemed she was no closer to being a mother than she’d ever been.
“I’m…I’m not really a family guy. I’d only let him down.”
Josie nodded. That was what she needed to hear. The antidote to the jealous poison that had seeped into her the moment she saw Honey’s impossibly gorgeous face and figure. Reed wasn’t a family guy, and was more than willing to throw away the chance to be the father of this perfect little boy. As long as she remembered that, working side by side with him to find Honey would be fine. Even sleeping in the same apartment would be a piece of cake. Because as attracted as she was to him, he could never give her what she really wanted. She’d be far better off on her own. Waiting. As long as it took.
Now if she could get through this case without telling him exactly what she thought of his attitude, that would be the true miracle.
Chapter Five
Reed cracked an eye open and growled at the morning sunlight streaming between the blind slats. He hadn’t gone to sleep until the sky had already started to pink. Judging from the slant of the rays, that was hours ago.
The combination of the baby, the attack on Missy, and Josie Dionne sleeping in his bed…alone…had given him a hell of a case of insomnia. All night he’d been reliving what had happened on his boat, trying to figure out what he could have done differently. And in the end, he’d come up with nothing. But that didn’t change the fact that he’d put one of the sweetest women he’d ever known in jeopardy. Because no matter what the police said about there being many explanations for the attack, he knew it was related to Honey’s visit. It was all about that baby who might be his.
And then there was Josie Dionne. He could hear her moving around the kitchen now, probably heating formula for the baby. She wasn’t really his type. Not tall. Not glamorous, like Honey. And most of all, independent. He’d never met a woman who was so together. She seemed as if she didn’t need him at all. And that made her sexier than any cheerleader. But although he was pretty sure she was attracted to him, there was something else there, too. A disapproval he could sense. And he felt himself caring about her good opinion more than he should.
He propped himself up on his elbows to see what had made the sound. Or who. Josie stood at the stove, looking fresh and far more ready for the day than he was. So that’s what had awakened him.
He forced himself to sit up on the couch. The sleeping bag he was wrapped in fell to his waist, as if he were some sort of moth shucking his cocoon. “Sleep okay?”
“Yes.” She looked up at him. Her eyes widened slightly, then combed over his bare chest. “Um, you?”
“Fine,” he lied. He was glad she hadn’t looked at him like that last night. He wouldn’t have gotten any sleep at all. Even now he was going to have to wait a few minutes for his blood to settle before he stood up. “How long have you been awake?”
“A couple of hours. My phone is dead, and I forgot my charger. I used your phone to call my mom. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. I did just about kidnap you to help me with the baby last night. I owe you more than your fee.” He spread his arms in an all-encompassing gesture. “Whatever I have is yours.”
Her gaze skimmed down his chest to the sleeping bag; then she looked away.
He hadn’t meant the comment to be suggestive, not at first. But he had no problem standing by the invitation. Still, he’d better play it a little safer until he figured out where she was coming from. He needed her help, and making her feel uncomfortable was not the way to get it. “Did your mother have any news about Missy?”
Josie looked at him again. The relieved smile on her face told the whole story. “She regained consciousness late last night. She’s in a room now. They think she’ll probably be released tomorrow or the next day.”
He was sure his grin resembled hers. “That’s great.”
“She’s going to stay with my parents, so she won’t be alone. The attack really shook her up.” She let out a breath.
The attack had shaken Josie, too. And him. “Have the police told her anything?”
“No. Not that she shared with me, anyway. But she was so beside herself with worry about how she was going to pay the hospital bill and who was going to run her shop, she didn’t get into much else.”
“She doesn’t have insurance?”
“She has it, but it doesn’t cover much, as it turns out.”
He hated thinking of Missy having to wrestle with finances when her focus should be on recovering from the attack. There had to be something he could do. “I just have to jump in the shower and make a few calls, and we can get out of here.” He pushed the sleeping bag down his legs and stepped out. The air felt cool against his bare legs.
Josie’s gaze skimmed over his boxers. Then she turned away as if fascinated with the hands on her watch. “Good. You have an appointment to get swabbed in an hour.”
He grabbed his sweatpants from the chair where he’d tossed them and pulled them on before she could notice what havoc her latest glance had caused. “Swabbed?”
“It’s not a big deal. They’ll run a cotton swab on the inside of your cheek and the baby’s. Then they compare the DNA.”
And he would know if he was a free man or his life had changed forever. “How long will the results take?”
“Hard to tell. My friend said he’d try to rush it, but it’s still likely to take quite a while. Maybe weeks.”
“Even a day seems too long.”
The corners of Josie’s mouth turned down. She tilted her chin back and peered down her nose.
He could feel the chill across the room. “So I’m not eager to be a parent yet. What’s the problem?”
“No problem.”
“I can feel the ice in your stare from here.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were looking at me all hot, and then the kid comes up and blam. You can’t stand to be in the same room as me.”
“I wasn’t looking a
t you all hot.”
He shook his head. He’d said too much. Way too much. But since he’d already crossed the line, there was no reason to stop now. “You don’t have to be afraid to tell me how you feel.”
“How I feel?” Her tone took on a knife’s edge. “Okay, I’ll tell you how I feel.”
He took a deep breath, already starting to regret his remark.
“I feel it’s stupid for you to be so afraid of a baby. I feel Troy deserves to have a daddy, even if that daddy finds having a baby not convenient. I feel like you should grow up and show some responsibility. Be a man.”
He held up his hands. He regretted it, all right. “It’s not as simple as you make it seem.”
“Oh? You make a baby. You do right by him. How is that not simple?”
“First off, we don’t know that he’s mine.”
“Honey trusted you with him. He’s your responsibility whether he’s your son or not.”
She had him there. “And I’m taking that seriously.”
“By getting Missy to take care of him? And now me?”
At the mention of Missy, he felt a niggle of guilt deep in his gut. “I know when I’m in over my head. I needed help. I asked. And you and your aunt were kind enough to come to my rescue. If I’d known someone was after the baby, I’d never have left Missy alone with him.”
She didn’t answer, but judging from the flat line of her lips, she wasn’t changing her mind about him, either.
He’d let a lot of people down in his life. He should be used to it. But Josie didn’t know him. And her reaction had him baffled. She’d seemed to like him one minute and come at him like a lioness the next. He had to wonder what he’d done to cause it. “I don’t know why you feel so strongly about—”
“I’d suggest you get your mind on Honey, not on how I feel. After we stop at the lab and the hospital, we’ll retrace her steps. And we need a place to start.” She grabbed the bottle, plunked herself on a bar stool and started feeding the baby.
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