His younger sister arrived, her dark hair pulled back in the knot she’d worn since giving birth to triplets four years earlier. “Who’s this?”
“Kevin’s got a date!” Barbara crowed. “Your classmates are going to have to fend for themselves.” To Alli, she explained, “It’s her high-school reunion. Mom was all set to matchmake, but don’t worry. I’m sure she’ll love you.”
“Maybe we should go in,” Kevin said.
Alli didn’t move.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“She’s probably in shock.” Betsy hoisted her daughter, Fleur, onto her hip, although the girl was large compared to her mother’s petite frame. All the Vickers women were on the short side. “Our family can be overwhelming.”
“I have to tell you guys something,” Alli said.
“What?” Barbara and Betsy studied her expectantly. Kevin held his breath and hoped he was paid up on his life insurance.
“You are both terrific cooks,” she told them. “And Heloise. That’s your mom, right?”
They nodded in unison.
“She’s amazing,” Alli said, and slowly opened the door. Everyone moved back as she unfurled from the seat. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
By the time Kevin emerged and followed her up the walk-way, Alli was floating toward the house in the middle of a bunch of chattering people. That went well, he thought, and wished he believed it.
Chapter Six
As Alli circulated at the party, she had a hard time keeping from laughing aloud. Kevin had certainly put one over on her—or, rather, he’d allowed her to put one over on herself.
She could see that she’d invented the entire story about dueling girlfriends and he’d simply gone along with it. Certain he had an ulterior motive for inviting her to the party, she’d been so proud of figuring it out that she’d never imagined she might be wrong.
He’d invited her for protection. This whole weekend had been designed to keep his sisters’ friends from cornering him, and what had she done? Practically dragged him into the bedroom.
It struck her as hilarious. But she had no intention of letting Kevin know that.
She wished he didn’t look so darn cute with that hint of a beard on his face. The impulse to kiss him had been too strong to resist, and then—for an all-too-brief moment—he’d reacted like a man who hadn’t had sex in years. Of course, she supposed most men reacted that way to almost any stimulation, but she hadn’t expected this from Mr. Self-Control.
Why on earth had she challenged him to an unplanned sex act? She wondered what it would have been like if he’d accepted, and whether she’d ever find out what she’d missed.
Across the room, the man gave out incredibly sexy vibes. But she didn’t intend to hang on his arm, not when there was world-class cuisine to sample, including a hot buffet and a death-defying selection of desserts.
As for the people, one individual dominated the bevy of young women and a few young men: Heloise. Although Alli guessed she barely cleared five foot two, her energetic manner made her seem larger than life.
Mrs. Vickers bustled about making introductions and carrying trays of food. She took Alli’s measure in a couple of bats of the eye, gave her a knowing smile and asked just enough questions to determine that her association with Kevin focused on work.
“Don’t let him take advantage of you,” Mrs. Vickers said, offering Alli a plate of stuffed mushrooms. “I know my son. Women are always doing favors for him, and he never appreciates it.”
“I can understand it,” Alli replied. “He really is cute.” She enjoyed her first mushroom so much she took a couple more.
“Women bounce off him like Teflon,” his mother said. “At this rate, he’ll never settle down.”
“He seems pretty settled to me.” To Alli, ownership of a house and a complete set of furniture qualified a man for major stick-in-the-mud status.
“He loves kids,” Heloise told her. “I’m afraid he’ll put off finding a wife until he’s in his forties, and then he’ll meet someone who doesn’t want children or already has grown ones. That would be a shame.”
Alli decided not to mention that she loved reporting too much to put her career on a back burner. Besides, a role as supermom was inconceivable for a woman who couldn’t microwave popcorn without burning it.
“Kevin strikes me as the kind of guy who sets his own priorities,” she said. “If he wants kids, I’m sure he’ll find the right woman to have them.”
“How can he find her when he works such long hours?” Heloise grumbled. “And his clients! Married people with cheating spouses, insurance companies—you think there’s a pretty girl among them? Hah!”
She seemed to know a surprising amount about her son’s work. “He tells you about his cases?”
“Didn’t he mention that I’m his secretary?” Heloise asked. “I filled in a couple of years ago and it turned into a regular job.”
Kevin employed his mother? That was unusual. “Isn’t it hard to switch gears and take orders from him?” Alli inquired.
“I can see why those other women quit.” Heloise softened her words with a grin. “He’s a tough boss, but he’s fair and he pays on time. Fleur!” she cried as the little girl lifted a vase to examine it. “Be careful with that!”
After Heloise rushed off to rescue the pottery from her granddaughter, Alli went into the family room. Kevin’s father, Frank, a weathered fellow in denim overalls, had retreated to a recliner with a can of beer in one hand and a full paper plate beside him on a tray. He kept staring at the TV set, although his wife had turned it off.
A small dog lay on the floor beneath the recliner’s upraised foot. While Alli was introducing herself, it growled.
“What’s the dog’s name?” she asked.
Frank shot her a baleful stare, as if she were interrupting the climax of the Super Bowl. “It’s Mindy.”
“Is that short for Mind Your Own Business?”
He gave a snort of laughter. “That’s good. She’s a mind-your-own-business dog, that’s for sure.” He considered for a minute before saying, “So you’re Kevin’s girl.”
“We’re friends, in a manner of speaking. The truth is, I’m really good at provoking him.”
“He’s tough on women,” Frank said. “I think it comes from growing up in a houseful of them.”
“I grew up in a house with no men,” Alli admitted, taking a seat. The dog had dropped its head and appeared to be snoozing.
“That’s not good, either. No father in the picture?” he queried.
“You couldn’t have spotted him with a telescope.”
“Kev will make a great father when he’s ready,” Frank told her. “He’s steady as an anchor.”
“Your son’s a great guy,” Alli conceded, “but I don’t need an anchor. I want to spread my sails and fly.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. “You know what they say about opposites attracting.”
“Are you matchmaking?” she asked.
Frank gave a dry chuckle. “I’m not the matchmaker in the family. But there’s something about you. You’re not like the other girls he’s brought home.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“They hang on his every word,” said his father. “You say you’re good at provoking him, but what he really hates is being fussed over.”
“I’d hate it, too,” Alli replied.
One of the children came to climb on Grandpa’s lap, and she made her getaway. All the same, she’d been intrigued by Mr. Vickers’s remarks and buoyed by his approval. Kevin was lucky to have a father like that.
In a large living room filled with traditional furniture and a few too many pictures, lamps and doilies for her taste, Alli caught sight of him tussling with a pair of four-year-old boys. The youngsters shrieked with glee as Uncle Kev rolled and play-wrestled, heedless of the damage to his suit.
Through the chatter of voices, his chuckle rang out. He seemed to glow brighter than a
nyone else in the room.
Tenderness lit his face as he allowed his nephews to gang up and knock him over. He really did love kids, Alli noted.
The insight troubled her, although it shouldn’t have. It was perfectly okay with her if Kevin turned out to be a family man. In fact, since he already had a home, furnishing it with little ruffians seemed like the logical next step. Why should she care if he craved a lifestyle that couldn’t possibly include her?
A young woman crouched on the carpet near him. Red-gold hair tucked into a French braid gave her a cozy look accented by the embroidery on her bodice and the full, flouncy spread of her skirt.
She blinked adoringly at the children but did nothing to stop them from climbing atop their fallen uncle and sitting on his face. As he disappeared beneath them, Alli wondered if he needed help.
Heloise stopped by with a tray of brownies. “What do you think?”
“They smell fantastic.” Feeling in dire need of chocolate, Alli had several.
“No, I mean, do you think she might be his type? You seem to know him pretty well.” She indicated the woman on her knees beside a whirling mass of arms and legs. “I’ve known Nora Kingston since she and Betsy were in high school. She moved to San Francisco for a while to work in fashion merchandising, but now she’s back, and I’d say she’s interested.”
The two kids combined must weigh at least a hundred pounds. It looked to Alli as if their uncle was trying to gently dislodge them, and getting the worst of it.
“Can he breathe under there?”
“Children don’t weigh anything,” Heloise responded.
Nora made a shooing motion at the boys, to no effect. Helplessly, she stared around as if hoping a firefighter would materialize and save the day.
“Excuse me.” Making short work of the brownies, Alli marched across the room and scooped one of the boys off the fallen warrior. Freed of his burden, Kevin lay blinking at the ceiling and taking deep breaths. “Hey, kid, even grown-ups need to come up for air once in a while,” she said.
Nora blinked at her. “How did you do that in those heels?”
“Adrenaline,” Alli replied. “I think he was going down for the count.”
“Who’re you?” the boy demanded.
“Lois Lane.” When his brother scooted forward to take over the task of face-sitting, she hauled him off, as well. Kevin sat up before the first kid could smother him again.
“Are you all right?” chirped the ginger-haired woman at his side.
“Never better,” Kevin answered, but looked relieved when the children scampered off to join their cousins.
“Oh, dear, they’ve made a mess of your clothes.” Nora plucked at his wrinkled collar. She didn’t seem to notice how he shrank from her touch.
“Just whack him between the shoulder blades,” Alli said. “That’ll invigorate his lungs.”
“No, thanks.” Withdrawing from Nora’s ministrations, Kevin straightened his clothes.
It struck Alli that they made a revolting tableau: both women kneeling on the floor as if Kevin were lord of the manor and they his fawning devotees. People were glancing their way with far too much interest.
Disgusted, she wobbled to her feet. Just then, she spotted Barbara admitting a newcomer at the front door and recognized Larry’s freckled face.
Alli hurried to extend a welcome. She stayed at her friend’s side as she introduced him around.
“Shooting photos for the paper sounds exciting,” said a chubby young woman named Adrienne. To Alli, she said, “Are you a photographer, too?”
“She’s a reporter. We work together at the Outlook,” he explained. “At least, we used to.”
“You aren’t Allison Gardner, are you?” Adrienne asked excitedly. “Oh my gosh! I read your stories all the time! I love the way you write!”
After thanking her, Alli explained that she’d been fired.
“What on earth were they thinking?” Although she hadn’t intended to go into detail, her listener’s sympathetic manner drew her out until she’d spilled the whole story of dishonest Payne and the politics of the newsroom.
Others who’d stopped to listen expressed sympathy and a gratifying amount of outrage. When Heloise heard the tale, she became so incensed Alli thought she might personally stomp over to the Outlook and ream out the senior staff.
“Payne’s going to land in trouble sooner or later,” she told the group. Kevin stood at the mantel, consuming an hors d’oeuvre while Nora hovered nearby, her fingers waggling as if she could barely keep from feeding him by hand.
In her own way, his admirer was more smothering than his nephews, Alli thought. How could Heloise believe the woman was his type? And why didn’t he march off to get some fresh air?
“I’m not so sure,” Larry said glumly. “I went by the paper this afternoon and Payne was grinning so hard I could see his fillings.”
“I hope he’s not doing what I think he’s doing,” Alli said.
Heloise, who’d perched on the arm of a chair, leaned forward intently. “What do you think he’s up to?”
“It’s kind of a long story.” She hadn’t meant to take over the party with her personal situation. “I don’t want to bore anyone.”
“Are you kidding?” asked another woman, who’d been introduced as Tara Durban. “I’ve been following those articles about the mayor. I had no idea there was all this skulduggery behind the scenes!”
“She loves soap operas,” explained her husband, Ralph. A large man about ten years her senior, he had a short haircut and a watchful air. Alli hadn’t been surprised when Mrs. Vickers mentioned he was a security consultant who used to work at the PD with Kevin, although it must have been before she joined the police beat.
“This is more like a comedy routine than a soap opera,” she replied. “Payne broke into my apartment this morning.” At the mantel, Kevin’s eyes darkened. Hurriedly, she explained, “He conned the assistant manager into letting him in and then he went through my desk.”
“Whoa!” Larry said. “That’s unbelievable.”
“I hope you called the cops!” Adrienne put in.
“I did better than that. I punched him in the eye,” Alli crowed. “And body-slammed him into my desk. Boy, did that feel good.”
Everybody cheered. Kevin smiled but looked concerned as she described the stolen notebook and what it contained.
“I hope he won’t try to use it as the basis for an article,” she said. “That would be totally irresponsible.”
“Maybe it’ll be the final straw,” Larry responded without much conviction.
Their listeners gleefully expressed the hope that the duplicitous Payne would be fired. Grateful as she felt for the support, Alli didn’t believe he’d be that stupid. Or, if he were, that his uncle would let him get away with it.
However, she was beginning to wonder just how far Ned’s blind faith in his nephew would carry him.
THE LAST THING KEVIN had expected was to enjoy his sister’s reunion party. But Alli was putting on quite a show and he had the best seat in the house.
He rooted for her when she described punching out Payne, and joined the others in hoping the fellow would screw up. Mostly, he enjoyed the way her eyes sparkled as she told her tale.
“Can I fetch you something else?” asked a voice near his shoulder.
He nearly declined without even glancing down until he remembered that would be rude. “No, thank you.” He barely kept his tone polite. Couldn’t the woman see he didn’t want to miss any of Alli’s account?
“You must be thirsty,” Nora went on. “I’ll go for some punch. Or would you prefer a beer?”
“Neither, thanks.” Kevin used to find his sister’s friend attractive, but she’d changed for the worse. Or else his taste had improved.
He glanced up, eager to hear more of Alli’s adventures. To his disappointment, she’d finished regaling the crowd and moved to the refreshment table.
“You know what?” he said. “I�
��m going to go check out the food. Thanks, Nora. Enjoy yourself!”
Without waiting for a response, he angled away toward the dining room. When he glanced over his shoulder, the young woman stood staring forlornly into space. Guilt nearly drove him back until he saw Betsy stop by with one of her husband’s friends in tow.
Another match in the making. He hoped for everyone’s sake that it worked out.
“These are great!” Alli enthused when he reached the table. She was pillaging the last of the deviled eggs, as if he hadn’t already noticed her consuming several desserts. “What does your mom put in them?”
“She swears it’s a secret recipe,” he said. “I think she got it out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but don’t tell her I said so.”
“Well, there must be a love potion in the punch. Look at that.” She nodded to indicate the photographer, who’d retreated to a private conversation with Adrienne. “I think Larry found a kindred spirit.”
“Good for him.” Kevin felt unexpected relief at confirming that she had no romantic interest in her friend.
“Did you find out anything today about Dr. Graybar?”
The abrupt change in subject gave him pause. “Nothing,” he replied after yanking his mind onto the correct track. “I was conducting surveillance for a different client. Why are you bringing this up?”
“It’s the first chance we’ve had all day to talk about the case,” she pointed out. “I’ve been thinking about Binnie Reed. After reading her profile, I don’t think she’s going to give us the time of day. Maybe—”
“Did I hear you mention Binnie Reed?” asked Tara Durban. “Isn’t she great?”
Alli leveled Kevin a completely unnecessary warning glance. Apparently, they’d run into a satisfied customer, and the last thing either of them needed was to tip her off to their real mission.
“I haven’t actually met her,” Alli answered. “I was reading an article about her.”
“I can vouch for how wonderful she is,” Tara said. “Ralph and I were going crazy trying to find a way to adopt that wouldn’t take forever or break our hearts.”
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