Her mother shook her head. “Will’s in school, and Suze has taken Jarrett to the park. She didn’t want to be here in case Michael came by. She refuses to see him.”
Her mother’s words opened old wounds. Marissa knew too well the devastation of having a marriage crumble around her, even though, in hindsight, she recognized that she and Harry had never shared the kind of love she’d witnessed between Suze and Michael. Marissa didn’t know what had caused the rift between her sister and her husband, but she had first-hand experience with the pain. That agony was the last thing she’d wish on anyone. Especially her sister.
“Anything I can do?” Marissa asked.
“Be there for her. And try to keep life on an even keel for the boys. They worship their father.”
Marissa nodded. Together she and her parents would form a safety net, a loving soft place to fall for Suze and her sons. Without the family’s rallying around Marissa at her discovery of Harry’s treachery, she didn’t know if she could have survived.
“You may have to share a room with your sister,” her mother said. “I’ve put cots in the sewing room for the boys.”
Marissa winced. She didn’t mind sharing with Suze. They’d always been close and enjoyed each other’s company, but Marissa knew from sad experience that now, more than ever, Suze needed her own space, a solitary place and time to herself to sort out whatever had gone wrong in her marriage.
“Suze needs the guest room to herself,” Marissa said. “I can find another place.”
“It’s the height of the winter season. You said yesterday morning there’s not a vacant condo or apartment within thirty miles.” Her mother grinned suddenly. “I have a wild and crazy idea. Maybe Blake Adams will rent you a room.”
Marissa recognized the matchmaking twinkle in her mother’s eyes. “I’m not moving in with Blake.”
“Only temporarily, until a condo opens up. In the meantime, if Blake gets custody, he’ll need help with Annie,” her mother said.
The idea of spending more time with the adorable infant appealed to her, almost as much as the prospect of being around Blake. Which was exactly why Marissa shouldn’t even entertain the thought.
Enthusiasm shone from her mother’s pretty face. “Your staying with Blake would solve the space problem here.”
Marissa shook her head. “I’ll find a place if I have to go to a hotel, but I won’t live with Blake.”
Her mother reached for her hand again and patted it gently. “I know you’ve been terribly hurt—”
“And I don’t intend to be hurt again.”
“How could you be hurt? Blake’s an old friend.”
“I need time to get over Harry and not rebound into another relationship.”
Her mother’s mouth set in a stubborn line Marissa recognized all too well. “The only relationship you’d have with Blake is that of tenant. If he’ll have you.”
“Whether he’ll have me is a moot point,” Marissa said, “because I’m not going to ask him. Now, be a dear and help me pack.”
Chapter Five
Blake squinted in the brilliant afternoon sun and studied the site of the proposed mall with an artist’s eye. His late-morning meeting with the developer had been a success. In more ways than one. Not only had Blake inked a contract for the three-mall deal, but the meeting had taken his mind off the turbulent emotions he’d experienced earlier that morning.
First had been Annie’s departure. Although the sheriff’s deputies had been more than kind and clearly concerned for the baby’s welfare, Blake couldn’t help remembering his own suffering at the hands of an impersonal system. In the twenty-four hours he’d had Annie, he’d grown attached to the tiny, redheaded bundle, had been touched by the trust in her gaze when she stared up at him with wide, innocent blue eyes. More than anything, he wanted to find her a permanent place where she’d feel loved and secure, two qualities that had been sadly missing from his own childhood.
His instincts had been on target when he’d decided to enlist Marissa’s help. She’d exhibited her baby expertise when taking care of Annie, and her status as an attorney had eased some rocky patches with the deputies, who hadn’t been pleased that Blake hadn’t surrendered Annie immediately.
In addition to the heart-wrenching memory of Annie being carried away, two other images played over and over in his mind: Marissa kissing him good-night last night and her sitting at the table in his kitchen this morning, eating breakfast as if she’d always belonged there. Maybe the power of childhood attachments had enabled the two friends to come together again as comfortably as if the intervening years hadn’t existed. Whatever the reason, Blake had never felt so easy having a visitor in his home, not even his best male buddies. He could get used to having Marissa around.
“Man, you’re gonna give yourself sunstroke standing out here without a hat.” A familiar voice broke into his thoughts. “Any particular reason you’re frying your brains in this heat?”
Pete Jacobs, foreman of Blake’s top landscaping crew, stood at his elbow. Blake had been so lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed his friend’s arrival.
“We got the Hearthstone contract,” Blake said. “I’m forming ideas for preliminary sketches.”
Pete jabbed a friendly elbow against Blake’s ribs. “According to Diane, those aren’t the only ideas you’ve had lately.”
Blake shaded his eyes with his hand and considered Pete. Short, stocky, and with a ruddy complexion intensified by his continual exposure to the Florida sun, Pete was not only his employee but one of his favorite friends. “And what would your lovely wife know about my ideas?”
“She ran into Vienna Pitts shopping in Publix this morning.”
“Ah,” Blake said with a grimace.
Earlier that morning, he and Marissa had shared a high five when his inquisitive neighbor had driven away before the deputies arrived. Vienna had missed Annie’s departure, but she’d been front-row center for Marissa’s knock-’em-dead performance on his front porch last night. Just the memory of that sexy charade made the afternoon sun feel cool by comparison.
Knowing Pete was hard to con, Blake tried to appear nonchalant. “I hope Diane took whatever Mrs. Pitts said with a grain of salt. She’s hardly what I’d call a reliable source.”
Pete’s grin widened. “According to your ‘unreliable source,’ Marissa Mason appeared half-naked at your front door last night.”
“The woman’s not only crazy, she’s obviously partially blind.”
“Marissa?”
“You’re trying my patience, bud. Don’t make me hurt you.” Blake kept his voice light. He had appreciated Marissa’s efforts to keep his nose clean for the authorities, but he didn’t want her reputation or her law practice suffering any fallout in the community for his sake.
“Is it true?” Pete could be like a terrier after vermin. He stayed with a job until it was completed to perfection. And he clung to a topic until he milked a person dry of all the details.
Blake sighed. “Marissa was at my house last night, but it was strictly a business meeting. I’ve retained her as my lawyer.”
Worry clouded Pete’s brown eyes. “She’s a criminal attorney. You’re not in trouble?”
“I’m so clean I squeak,” Blake said.
Pete waited expectantly, but after a moment relented. “Okay, I know when I’m being stone-walled.”
“I’ll fill you in,” Blake said, “but not out here in this heat. Let’s go to Flanagan’s for a cold one. You’re not going to believe what somebody left at my door.”
RETURNING HOME an hour later, Blake was surprised to find Marissa waiting on his back steps. Dressed in T-shirt and shorts, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and battered sneakers on her feet, for a fleeting instant she looked like the sidekick of his childhood. Until she stood and stretched. Then even her casual clothes couldn’t hide her feminine curves.
She lifted her head to greet him, and, at the dejection in her eyes, his heart stood still.
“Something wrong?”
She nodded grimly.
“Annie?”
She shook her head. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to tell you that I checked with Child Protection, and they say Annie’s happy as a pig in mud.”
Relief cascaded through him, but he also felt instant guilt at his selfish response. Something terrible must have happened to place such unhappiness in Marissa’s usually sparkling eyes.
“So what’s making you look so glum?” he asked.
“I’m moving out of my folks’ house,” she said softly.
Surprise rippled through him. “They didn’t kick you out because of your act at my front door last night? I know the Pitts Broadcasting Network is hot on the story. Diane Jacobs heard the scoop at the supermarket first thing this morning.”
“You know my parents would never kick me out—even if they wanted to.”
He was relieved to see her smile again. “What’s happened?”
“Mom needs the room. Suze and the boys have moved in with her and Dad.”
“And Michael?”
Her smile faded, and she shook her head.
Blake squelched a frown. Apparently there was trouble in paradise, but he wouldn’t ask. Marissa would tell him when she was ready, if she wanted him to know.
“You want to stay here?” he asked. “You know you’re welcome.”
She tilted her head and gazed up at him, an appealing combination of the little girl he’d known and a woman he’d like to know better. “I can’t.”
“I have the room. You need a place to stay. What’s the problem?”
“It’s…complicated.”
He sank onto the porch steps and patted the concrete next to him. “I’m listening.”
She settled beside him and wrapped her arms around her knees. Very pretty knees. “Before Suze’s…problem, I’d been searching for a place of my own for weeks. Nothing’s available.”
“Nesting snowbirds,” he said with a nod.
“As soon as winter tourist season’s over, I’m sure something will open up.”
“In the meantime,” he offered, “you can stay in my guest room.”
She shook her head.
“You can pay rent, if that will uncomplicate things for you.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You’d charge me for a bed with a lumpy mattress?”
“Desperate times, desperate measures. But look on the bright side. If I get custody of Annie, you could help out.”
“A little quid pro quo?”
“Lordy, you’re sexy when you speak a foreign language.”
She laughed, as he’d hoped she would. Although Marissa was avoiding talking about it, Blake knew she was sick about Suze’s problems. The two had always been close, and what affected one affected the other. He also sensed her recent divorce had made her gun-shy around men, a possible explanation for the complication she’d mentioned and her reluctance to accept his offer.
“I’d stay out of your way,” he added quickly. “I’m used to living by myself. You won’t even know I’m around.”
Her expression was dubious. “I don’t think staying here’s a good idea.”
“I remember a time when we were like this.” Blake crossed the first two fingers of his right hand. “Some folks in town even accused us of being joined at the hip. Unless you’ve changed a lot, we should get along fine. Besides, I really will need your help with Annie. You’d be doing me a huge favor.”
A tiny frown creased the skin between her feathery eyebrows, and he could almost see her inner debate.
“You’re sure?” she finally said.
More than sure, he realized with a start. He was downright pleased. “You can move in tonight, if you want to go home for your stuff.”
Her face flushed a delightful shade of pink. “It’s in the car.”
Blake feigned indignation. “You expected me to ask you to stay here?”
She shook her head. “I planned to check into the Dolphin Bay Suites until I found my own place. I didn’t want to bunk with Suze. Not tonight. She has too much on her mind to put up with me.”
“I’ll help you unload the car,” he said, moving quickly before Marissa changed her mind.
He opened the back door of the house, braced for Bo’s enthusiastic greeting, scratched behind the dog’s ears, let him out, then crossed the yard to grab some luggage from Marissa’s trunk. While Bo made the circuit of every tree and bush in the yard, Blake and Marissa placed her belongings in the guest room.
“Is this all?” he asked after the second trip to the car.
She nodded.
“You travel light. For a woman,” Blake teased.
“The rest is in storage, waiting until I find my own place. There wasn’t room for everything at Mom and Dad’s.”
“I have plenty of space,” he assured her, “if you want any of your other things here.”
“Thanks. I’d better unpack.” She disappeared into the guest room.
Blake wondered whether she had a full house of furniture in storage, along with a truckload of memories of her former marriage. His thoughts strayed to the potential reasons for her divorce. Her ex-husband had to be a jerk. Only a fool would marry a woman like Marissa and let her go. No wonder Suze’s problems were bothering her. Her sister’s separation had to open old wounds.
Determined to find some way to cheer up Marissa, Blake whistled for Bo. Blake had decided to take her out to dinner when Pete Jacobs’s pickup truck turned in the drive and pulled to the rear of the house.
Diane sat in the passenger seat, and as soon as the vehicle stopped, hopped out. She carried a huge pizza box, and the aroma of onions and pepperoni drew Bo’s immediate attention. The dog rushed to her side as if she’d just become his new best friend.
Pete climbed out and joined his wife. “We brought supper.” Then his gaze lighted on Marissa’s car. “But you’ve got company.”
“It’s Marissa.” At his reply, Blake couldn’t help noticing the triumphant I-told-you-so look Diane flashed her husband.
“No problem,” Diane said. “We brought enough for four, and I haven’t seen Marissa in years.”
“Not since her wedding,” Pete added.
“And we’ve brought help.” Diane quickly said, as if Marissa’s former marriage was a sore topic to be avoided.
“Help?” Blake asked.
Pete grinned. “Diane came up with a great idea.”
“For the shopping malls?” Blake’s puzzlement grew. Diane was a talented graphic artist, but she’d never offered suggestions about his landscaping projects before.
Diane shoved the pizza box into Blake’s hands and headed for the kitchen door. “You can handle mall designs on your own,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m going to help you find Annie’s mother.”
“Annie’s mother?” Blake glanced at Pete in surprise.
“I filled her in on what you told me at Flanagan’s,” Pete said. “And you know how women are when they get a bee in their bonnet.”
Blake didn’t know, but he had a feeling he was about to find out.
MARISSA STOOD in Blake’s guest room, feeling as if she were having an out-of-body experience. How had Blake managed to convince her to do exactly what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t?
She hadn’t gone to Blake to rent a room. She’d intended only to give him an update on Annie. But sharing her distress over her sister’s troubles had seemed the most natural thing in the world. Somehow sitting on the back stoop with Blake had made all the intervening years fall away, and they’d been best buddies once more. No threat there, she assured herself, as long as she made certain they remained just pals.
At the sound of voices in the kitchen, Marissa left her partially emptied luggage to see who’d arrived. Her first thought was that the deputies had returned with news of Annie’s mom.
When she stepped through the kitchen door, she was almost knocked over by a welcoming squeeze. An accompanying squeal of delight reve
rberated in her right ear.
“Marissa, you haven’t changed a bit!”
The woman released her and stepped away, and Marissa recognized Diane Squires, her old friend from high school. “Hi, Diane.”
Behind Diane stood Pete Jacobs, grinning as if he’d won the lottery. “Hi, Rissa. Long time no see.”
Pleasure rippled through Marissa. Pete and Diane had been part of the crowd she’d hung around with during her teenage years. She’d felt awkward about looking them up after her divorce, but seeing them here in Blake’s kitchen somehow eased any discomfort.
“It’s good to see you both,” she said with sincerity.
“I work for Blake now,” Pete explained.
“And I married Pete,” Diane announced with a very satisfied grin. “I chased him for seventeen years before he caught me.”
“Our first anniversary’s next week,” Pete added.
“Good man.” Blake slapped him on the back. “Always remember that date and you two will live long and prosper.”
References to marriage brought back painful memories and reminded Marissa of Suze’s dilemma. She hurried to change the subject.
“What’s that?” She nodded to the pizza box on the kitchen table. “The latest form of canine torture?”
Poor Bo sat beside the table, big brown eyes fixed longingly on the pizza box, drool puddling on the ceramic tile at his feet.
“Pete and Diane brought dinner.” Blake gestured toward the table. “Everybody have a seat and tell me what you want to drink.”
Moments later, between bites of pizza and sips of cold beer, the old friends were laughing over memories of a beach party on one of the spoil islands when they’d forgotten to secure the boat. Blake and Pete had been forced to swim a half mile to retrieve it when the swift current floated it away.
Diane wiped tomato sauce from the corner of her mouth with a paper napkin. “Memory lane is fun, but we have something more important to deal with tonight.” The petite brunette turned to Marissa. “Pete and I are going to help you with your case.”
“My case?” Marissa had only a handful of cases pending, and she had no clue which one Diane meant or how her old friends might help.
Verdict: Daddy Page 6