by Jane Toombs
He dismissed the inner voice. Never was a long, long time. Now was now and she was in his arms, and for the moment, nothing else mattered.
Afterward, all he could think was that each time they came together was like the first, with that extra edge Amy brought.
“Your turn to take us back to Incline Village,” he told her near noon. Hoisting the sails, he regretted having to go back, to return to reality. This caused him to realize he hadn’t given a thought to his daughter since they’d left her with Amy’s brother and his wife.
“I hope Sarah wasn’t upset about us not getting back last night,” he said.
“She said it was okay,” Amy reminded him.
“But she didn’t know—”
Amy cut him off. “I told her ahead of time we might not be back until some time on Sunday. That’s why her pj’s and toothbrush, sleep pal and a change of clothes were in the little bag she and I packed. I said if she didn’t like the idea once she met Russ and Mari and Elias, she could let me know and we’d change our plans. That’s what I went over and asked her, while she was riding the pony, if she was comfortable with the idea of staying with them overnight.”
Though somewhat taken aback with how carefully Amy had planned this, he recalled Sarah’s parting words—“Have fun, Daddy”—and understood Amy hadn’t only been thinking of them, but of Sarah, too. Which was more than he had done until this morning. So much for his vow to protect his daughter, he told himself ruefully.
“Sarah’s gained so much self-confidence since she’s been with you,” Amy continued, “that I thought she could handle staying overnight with my brother’s family. I hope I wasn’t wrong.”
Still rattled by what he regarded as his own failure, he said, “I hope so, too.”
Not until they were well under way, sails billowing in the breeze, did he realize Amy’s continuing silence might mean she felt his words had been a criticism. He then realized they had been, in a way. Because she’d been more concerned about Sarah’s welfare than he had.
Trying to think of another subject, anything else, he remembered her murmured words last night. “Moon love,” he said. “What did you mean?”
She glanced at him. “It’s the name of one of those old songs on that CD.”
“And?”
Frowning, she looked away and said, “Sometimes I think lawyers pry more than shrinks.”
“Only to get at the truth.”
“Why don’t I believe that?”
“You’re prejudiced against lawyers. And you still haven’t answered my question fully. Those two words were the last you said to me before we fell asleep.”
“Maybe the moon does affect us more than we realize. A full moon has always been associated with romance.”
“Not to mention werewolves.”
“Werewolves? What a strange thing to bring up. What made you think of…?”
“No shrinking here, Doc. You’re dodging the question of what you meant by those words.”
She turned her head to look him straight in the eye. “Moon love isn’t real love, is it? Moon love is something brought on by chemistry plus a romantic situation.”
He digested this as he trimmed the sails a bit. “So you’re saying last night was moon love,” he said when he was done.
“Wasn’t it?”
What the hell kind of answer did she expect from him? Even using the word love made him uncomfortable. Love, the way she used it—real love—meant forever, at least that’s what he understood it to mean. Forever wasn’t something he could deal with. Hell, he hadn’t even made up his mind what to do for a living or, actually, where he wanted to live more or less permanently. Forever was so far off in the future it was out of sight. Last night was chemistry, yes. Romantic, yes. Real love—no. Moon love? He shook his head, not liking the words applied to last night, though he couldn’t explain why.
“Call it what you want,” he muttered.
For the rest of the crossing, no comments were exchanged other than about the great weather, the beauty of the surroundings, or requests from him to help with the boat. Once docked in Haskell’s marina slip, they worked together returning the sailboat to the way they found it.
“I wonder if I should clean out the refrigerator?” she said when they were finished, then answered her own question. “No, his housekeeper must take care of that.”
David nodded. “I left a note thanking Mr. Haskell for the use of the Frivolous. Ready?”
On the drive down the mountain to her brother’s ranch, Amy either dozed or pretended to. Once there, they collected Sarah, he told the Simons how grateful he was they’d taken care of his daughter overnight, and the three of them piled into the pickup. Sarah hung out the window to tell Elias she was going to invite him to ride a camel with her some time and then they were off.
Fortunately Sarah chattered all the way home about the fun she’d had at the ranch, because he had the feeling Amy and he would have had little to say to each other. How had things deteriorated so much from last night’s high?
It seemed a real anticlimax to pull into Tourmaline and, at the same time, a relief. Amy would go to her own apartment and Sarah would be eager to play with her kitten, leaving him the time he needed to himself to sort through his mind’s confusion.
The sight of the white Mercedes in the parking lot didn’t register, not until Sarah cried, “That’s his car,” and burst into tears.
He parked the pickup and tried to calm Sarah down, but she sobbed harder. Finally Amy said, “Why don’t I bring her with me while you talk to them?”
Since Sarah immediately began to cling to Amy, David decided to go along with that plan. He saw the two of them to Amy’s door and then went back down the steps to deal with Iris and Murdock, who were now walking toward him.
“I know we should have phoned ahead,” Iris told him, “since we originally weren’t going to be here for another week.” She laid a hand on Murdock’s arm. “He’s such a naughty boy, he drives way too fast and we forgot to call.”
“That Mercedes,” Murdock said. “Just can’t keep her throttled down.”
“Sarah’s upset that you didn’t let us know,” David said bluntly. “She started crying so hard that Amy took her upstairs to get her calmed down.”
Iris raised her eyebrows. “Well, she knew we’d be back sometime.”
“Why don’t we go to my apartment,” he said.
Iris glanced at Murdock. “We’ll go get a bite to eat somewhere,” he told David. “That’ll give you a chance to get the girl’s things together.”
“What a good idea,” Iris said. “Say an hour or so?”
Watching them walk away, David clenched his fists as Murdock’s “the girl’s things” echoed in his head. Couldn’t the creep even call Sarah by name?
Turning, he ran up the steps to Amy’s apartment. As soon as Amy let him in, Sarah flew into his arms. “Daddy, don’t make me go with him,” she begged, fresh tears starting. “He’s going to send me away to someplace he calls a boarding school. I heard him talking to Mommy about it and she said it was a good idea. I want to stay with you and Amy.”
David looked over Sarah’s head at Amy, who seemed as appalled as he was, to judge by her expression.
“No,” he muttered.
Sarah pulled away to stare up at him piteously. “You mean I can’t stay here?”
“That’s not what I meant,” he assured her. His no had been an involuntary exclamation, meaning Sarah would be sent off to boarding school over his dead body.
“Your father is going to talk to your mother and stepfather before you go anywhere,” Amy said.
His heart lifted just a little as he realized Amy knew how he felt.
“Mommy says I can’t hate him because hating is bad. But I do.”
“Hating hurts the one who hates,” Amy told her.
“I don’t have to like him.” Sarah’s voice was defiant.
“No, you don’t,” David told her. The way he felt about Mur
dock, he couldn’t bring himself to tell her she should try to like him.
“Is he out there?” Sarah asked.
“He and your mother went to eat at a restaurant.”
“He’s coming back, though, isn’t he?” Sarah’s lip began to quiver.
“How about some coffee for us and chocolate milk for Sarah while we wait?” Amy asked. “I’ll make the coffee and Sarah can stir the chocolate syrup into her milk.”
“Go ahead,” he told Amy. “I’m going to make a phone call.”
Taking Amy’s phone into the living room, he called Gert and explained the problem. “You’re an old friend of Judge Maguire’s,” he said. “Considering it’s Sunday, what are the chances he’d take it in stride if you called him at home right now?”
He listened, nodding. “Good.” He explained the problem ending with, “I want you to ask him if I can get a temporary injunction tomorrow to keep Sarah here since I believe—and it’s also Amy’s professional opinion—that it would do my daughter real harm to be shipped off to boarding school while she’s in therapy for emotional problems.”
When he returned to the kitchen, the coffee was brewing and Sarah was concentrating on pouring the right amount of syrup into a glass of milk. He waited until she’d finished and was stirring the mixture with a spoon.
“You won’t be going anywhere tonight, Sarah, except home to sleep in your own bed.”
Her face brightened. “You mean I can stay with you?”
“Tonight for sure. What happens after that hasn’t been settled yet.”
“Oh.” She sighed.
“Your father is going to do his best for you,” Amy said.
“You mean it’s like maybe?”
When Amy nodded, Sarah smiled. “When Daddy says maybe he usually means yes.”
When he finished his coffee, David left Sarah with Amy and went to his own apartment. Hobo greeted him by twining between his ankles and he had to look down to be sure he didn’t step on any of the kittens.
He gathered all of them up and shut them, with their mother, in his bedroom. No way did he intend to have anyone distracted by kittens climbing all over them. While he waited for Iris and Murdock, he marshaled his thoughts, setting them in clear order as though for a court case. Which it well might turn out to be.
By the time the Murdocks showed up at his door, David’s anger had cooled from white-hot rage to a cold determination. He invited them to be seated, but brushed off any small talk. “I want you both to understand that I am not going to allow my daughter to be sent away to a boarding school,” he said.
“Not allow?” Iris cried. “Since when have you taken any interest in her schooling?”
“I haven’t interfered until now,” he continued, ignoring her remarks, “because I supposed Sarah was better off with her mother. I discovered I was mistaken.”
Iris glared at him. “Are you accusing me of—?”
He interrupted her. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m stating that, as her father, I believe sending Sarah to boarding school would be harmful to her improvement. She is receiving required therapy, you know.”
“Is that so?” Murdock huffed. “Required for what?”
David wasn’t giving an inch. “You’ll have to speak to her psychologist if you need to know about Sarah’s progress. We can settle this here and now or you can wait for me to get a temporary restraining order from Judge Maguire in the morning, ordering you to refrain from moving my daughter until the court determines the state of her mental health.”
Iris stood up. “Where is Sarah? I demand to see her right now.” She glanced at Murdock. “Brent, make him let me talk to her.”
“You certainly can see Sarah, Iris,” David said. “But not until we settle this problem.”
“I demand—” she began, her voice rising.
“Be quiet, Iris,” Murdock snapped. “If you can’t stay calm, go sit in the car and let me handle things.”
She glared at him, but shut up and sat down.
Focusing on Murdock, David said, “At present, Iris and I have joint custody. I was shocked to discover, when you dropped her off here with me, that Sarah was so desperately insecure I had to arrange for psychological counseling. Now I find you intend to ship this insecure little girl off to a boarding school. What other recourse do I have but to sue for full custody?”
“You wouldn’t dare do that,” Iris said. “Not after what happened in Albuquerque. A judge would never—”
“Iris, I told you to keep quiet or leave us.” Murdock’s voice was as cold as David had ever heard it.
“I don’t mind digging up the past,” David said. “I don’t believe I ever told you about the letter I got from that juror who changed his story. After I moved here, he also sent me a clipping from the Journal about your wedding.” He stared straight at Murdock. “If I have to resurrect the entire dirty mess, I will, make no mistake.”
Murdock blinked, making David aware he’d gotten to him. “Naturally,” he added, “Sarah could visit you two whenever it’s convenient for all concerned. I assume you intend to travel a lot or you wouldn’t have considered boarding school.”
Iris’s gaze flicked from Murdock to David and back, but she said nothing.
Looking at Iris, but speaking, David knew, to him, Murdock said, “My dear, you must admit David has a point here. Perhaps Sarah would be better off with him having full custody. He’s willing to allow her to visit and that can be written into the agreement. I really dislike the idea of disrupting the child’s therapy. We’d be at fault if anything went wrong.”
David decided this was the moment to leave them alone to settle things between them. “Fine. I’m glad we agree this should be resolved amicably. I’ll bring Sarah home now so that she’ll have a chance to see her mother.” Without waiting for a reply, he rose, crossed to the door and went out.
Outside, he released a long breath of relief. As soon as he’d realized Murdock called the shots, not Iris, he’d been pretty sure a not-so-veiled threat would avoid any wrangling in court over custody. The last thing Murdock would want was any probing into that juror affair. His bluff had worked.
When he ushered Sarah into his apartment after assuring her she’d be staying with him, she clung tightly to his hand, not even letting go when Iris flung herself to her knees beside Sarah and hugged her.
“Are you sure you want to stay with your father?” Iris asked her.
Sarah nodded.
“You can come home with Mommy, if you want to.”
“No,” Sarah said, loud and clear.
Iris pulled away from her and rose to her feet, looking distressed.
“I’ll come and visit you sometime, Mommy,” Sarah said, her words easing her mother’s stricken look.
Iris looked at David, “See that she does.”
“Definitely,” he told her. “When it’s convenient all around.”
Sarah hadn’t so much as glanced at Murdock. When he came up to stand beside her mother, he said, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to me?”
“Bye,” Sarah said, still not looking at him.
Iris bent and kissed her. “Goodbye, my darling,” she said.
“Bye, Mommy.” She didn’t let go of David’s hand until the door closed behind them.
“I might miss Mommy, sometimes,” she admitted then, “but I won’t miss him. You won’t ever send me to boarding school, will you, Daddy?”
“Never.”
“Now we have to go tell Amy. She’ll be happy I get to stay with you, ’cause she likes me.” Sarah paused a moment. “I like her a whole lot. You like Amy, too, don’t you?”
“You bet,” he told his daughter. Among other things, he added to himself. The problem was some of those other things scared the hell out of him.
Chapter Eleven
Amy could hardly wait to get home on Monday afternoon. Though David had told her Sarah was going to stay with him, she was eager to find out the details. She found the two of them i
n the play area of the complex, David throwing a ball for Sarah to bat. Amy tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach at the sight of David.
“I’m learning to play baseball,” Sarah informed her.
“So I see. My brother taught me when I was a girl, but I never was a good batter.”
“Daddy says I’m improving.” As usual when she’d just learned a new word, Sarah pronounced it carefully. “It means I’m getting better.” She put down her bat. “I wish I had a brother.”
David raised his eyebrows. “You’ll have to be satisfied with your kitten, punkin.”
“That’s calabaza,” Sarah informed him with a giggle. “My violin teacher taught us to count in Spanish, so I asked her if she knew how to say pumpkin in Spanish and she did.”
Sarah turned to Amy. “Betty’s having a birthday party and I’m invited. Betty’s mother’s taking me and two other girls to McDonald’s. I got Betty a toy kitten ’cause she likes Sheba so much, but she can’t have any pets where she lives. Pretty soon it’ll be my birthday and I’m going to have a party, too. You’re invited.”
Amy smiled at her. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
A honk caught Sarah’s attention. “That’s Betty’s mother.” She grabbed a colorful bag from the nearby picnic table, said a hasty goodbye and ran toward the van.
“When is her birthday?” Amy asked David.
“This Friday, but we’re going to wait until Saturday so you and Gert can come.”
“To McDonald’s?”
“Not. Gert offered her backyard so this’ll be an outdoor affair.”
“Al fresco. Sounds like fun.”
“I’m relying on you to help me make it a little girl’s party. The ones I went to as a kid were mostly the boy kind.”
“Sure.” Amy did her best to hide her pleasure. “I’m so glad you persuaded the Murdocks to leave Sarah here with you. I’ve never seen her so frightened.”
David scowled. “Threatened Murdock comes closer to the mark. I filed for sole custody of Sarah today.”
“You did? Wonderful. Do you think they’ll fight it?”
He shook his head. “He agreed after I told him I meant to fight dirty if I had to. Iris—” he paused. “We agreed Sarah will be able to visit her mother whenever it’s convenient for everyone.”