“Are you sure you can handle it alone with Andy?”
“If I can’t—and I can’t reach Mary Beth—I’ll close for the rest of the day.”
“But if you lose sales—”
“When did you turn into a worrywart? Andy’s going to be as good as gold. I’ll be able to put in a full day and even package up some of those Internet orders. I’ll be fine, Loretta. Really.”
“I’ll be there tomorrow morning, no matter what.”
“No, you’re going to take care of yourself. I’m sure I can get hold of Mary Beth sometime today. Maybe next week we can interview for more part-time help.”
After Tori switched off the phone, she gathered Andy up, bouncy seat and all. Working today would do her good. Maybe at the gallery tears wouldn’t be so close to the surface. Maybe at the gallery she could forget that Jake was no longer in her life.
As Jake drove home from the lumberyard, he was still remembering his visit with Marion’s mother last night. He felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Maybe he should have explained everything to her sooner. On the other hand, neither of them might have been ready sooner to confront Marion’s death.
The supplies he’d picked up rattled in the back of his truck as he drove up Old Santa Fe Trail. He’d intended to simply drive by the plaza where Tori’s shop was located. He’d done that many times in the past week—maybe to prove to himself the emptiness in his chest would diminish each successive time. But it hadn’t, and he found himself turning in there now. After all, he had to return her key. If Loretta was there, he’d find out how Tori and Andy were doing. If Tori was there…he’d see her one last time. She probably wouldn’t be there. The middle of the afternoon would be Andy’s nap time.
Yet as Jake parked in front of the string of stores, the Open sign beckoned him. Two women carrying wrapped packages stepped outside. He held the door, then stepped over the threshold. Immediately he saw Andy’s crib a few feet from the cashier’s desk. Tori was repositioning a painting on the west wall.
She glanced over her shoulder when she heard the bell, and her eyes widened. “Jake!”
The sight of her made his breath catch and he realized this had been a mistake. Taking the key ring from his pocket, he said, “I wanted to return this.”
Her expression went blank, and then she squared her shoulders. “I see.”
“I’ll be leaving at the end of next week.”
They were so engrossed in each other, neither of them turned when the security bell rang. But seconds later, Jake’s instincts went on alert when he heard the click of the door being locked from inside.
As he turned, he saw a blond, burly man of about six-four, who matched the sketch Phil had shown him, holding a 9-mm semiautomatic trained on Tori and then him.
“This place has been too damned busy today,” the armed man muttered. “It was now or never.”
Fear stole over Tori’s face as she reflexively stepped closer to her son’s crib.
“Stay put!” the gunman yelled.
Assessing the situation in an instant, Jake’s training told him not to play hero. If he could manage to hit Tori’s silent alarm, dispatch would call to find out if it was a false alarm or the real thing.
Keeping his body stance nonaggressive, his voice calm, he offered, “My wife’s worried about our son. He’s been fussy for a few days. She’s afraid he might be getting sick.”
The armed man kept his gaze on Jake, but moved toward the crib. “He looks okay to me.”
In the moment the man’s attention was diverted, Jake slipped his hand into his jacket pocket, felt for the right buttons and pressed the speed-dial for Phil’s desk number. If he was there, maybe Jake could make himself heard.
“He just fell asleep,” Tori offered in a shaky voice, seeing what Jake was doing.
Adrenaline rushed through Jake and he controlled it as he’d learned to do. Slow and easy was best. He didn’t want to alert the gunman or do anything to put Andy and Tori in more jeopardy than they were already in. If anything happened to either of them…
Nina’s words rang in his ears. Mama and Dad were wrong for each other. Frank and I were wrong for each other. But Charlie is right for me and I think Tori is right for you.
In a lightning-quick moment of awareness, Jake felt his love for Tori with every fiber of his being. The attraction and the bond they’d always shared was more than chemistry. How had he ever imagined he could walk away from her? How could he have ever imagined a life without her?
He’d used nobility to cover his despair. He’d told himself that walking away was the best thing for her. If he walked away, he’d never hurt her. If he walked away, he’d never feel trapped. He suddenly and completely realized that loving Tori and Andy would free him!
Now he just had to get them all out of this so he could tell her.
Moving slowly toward the cashier’s desk and the silent alarm, he tried to think and react beyond his newfound love for Tori. When she looked at him with beseeching eyes, he knew he’d die for her. He just hoped he didn’t have to.
Chapter Fourteen
“Don’t move!” the gunman commanded, looking panicked.
His yell startled Andy, who began to cry.
“Sorry,” Jake said. “I’m just worried about the baby. Maybe you could let my wife hold him.”
If Tori walked around the crib, she could step on the alarm. The gunman wouldn’t know exactly where it was located—or that it was on the floor.
As Andy cried, Tori’s gaze met Jake’s. She understood. He could tell.
When Andy’s cries became louder, the gunman gave in. “Okay. Pick him up. Just don’t go anywhere near that cash register.”
Nodding, Tori started toward the crib, rounding the front.
As casually as he could, Jake asked, “What do you want, Mr….” He purposefully let his words trail off.
The burly man’s eyes swung to Jake’s. “You don’t gotta know my name. I want as many of these paintings and statues as I can stow in my van. You can help load them. I knew the day before a show by Ludwig this place would be full of stuff.” He glanced at his watch. “I gotta meet my fence in an hour.”
Jake hadn’t seen a van. The robber must have parked it out back. Out of the corner of his eye, Jake noticed Tori’s foot swing toward the desk, and then she lifted Andy from the crib.
“Why artwork?” He wanted to engage this guy in dialogue and find some common ground.
“Easy to fence them. There’s plenty of private collectors who don’t want to pay gallery prices.”
Jake nodded his understanding. As Andy quieted in Tori’s arms, he said, “I hear some of those collectors sit in a room with their paintings and don’t show them to anyone. Seems like a waste. Don’t you think so?”
“I don’t care what they do with the stuff as long as I get my cut.”
“Why don’t you tell me your first name?” Jake suggested. “It will make it easier to talk. My name’s Jake. This is my wife, Tori.” If he could convince this guy to see them as people with relationships and connection, he might not be as quick to hurt them.
“We ain’t gonna talk. You’re gonna load my van, and I’m gonna get the hell out of here.”
When the phone rang, the gunman pointed his weapon at Tori and Andy. “Don’t touch it,” he growled.
But Jake countered, “If she doesn’t answer, it might keep ringing.”
“I’m expecting a call,” Tori added. “A customer is supposed to call and check if I have his purchases packaged and ready for pickup. I can tell him they won’t be ready until tomorrow.”
“You don’t want another customer trying to get in while you’re loading the artwork,” Jake said matter-of-factly.
“What do you care?” the man asked with a wave of his gun.
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Jake said sincerely. If he could just stall this guy… Trying to disarm him could put Tori and Andy in harm’s way.
The pho
ne kept ringing.
“All right. Answer the damn thing,” the man said to Tori.
Jake was proud of Tori as she answered and pretended to know the caller. He could tell by her one-word answers that she was responding to the dispatcher’s questions.
She ended with, “I’ll definitely have those paintings ready tomorrow.” Then she hung up the phone.
“Good job,” the thief said. “Now let’s get things moving.” His gaze swerved back and forth between the two of them. “The problem is it’s gonna be hard keeping my eye on both of you. So…”
He walked over to Tori and snarled, “Give him to me.”
Every nerve in Jake’s body, every emotion in his head, was screaming. He could only imagine what Tori was feeling. When the man pointed the gun at Andy, she had no choice.
“Please don’t hurt him,” she whispered as she let the gunman take Andy.
“Oh, I’m not gonna hurt him. Not unless one of you does something you shouldn’t.”
Andy began squirming and crying again. The anguish on Tori’s face tore at Jake’s gut.
“Look,” Jake said, getting the man’s attention again. “Let my wife hold our son. I can carry anything you want out to the van.”
Andy’s squalls grew in intensity and the man looked jittery.
“All right. But I’ve got her and your kid in my sights. You make one wrong move—”
“I won’t make a wrong move,” Jake assured him calmly. “You tell me exactly what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.”
Stalling as much as he could, Jake carried the paintings to the van in the back, all the while keeping his attention on the man, the gun and Tori. He knew if a SWAT team arrived, they’d try to do it silently.
Unfortunately the odds were good the armed robber wouldn’t let them go—he and Tori could identify him.
Jake had just carried the last canvas to the van when the phone rang again. This time the robber said, “You ain’t answering. Forget it.” He waited and after twenty rings, the instrument stopped.
That had to be the negotiator, Jake thought, wondering if Phil Trujillo could hear anything from the cell phone.
Suddenly a loud male voice boomed into the gallery from a public-address system outside. “You’re surrounded. Come out the front door with your hands on top of your head.”
Jake could see that the armed man was truly panicky now, which was the last thing he wanted. In an even tone he suggested, “Let me open the door and show them that we’re all right. If I do, they’ll give you time to think about this.”
The burly man’s eyes darted here and there—at Tori, at Jake, at the storage room.
“They’re going to have the SWAT team in position,” Jake offered in a conversational tone. “If you make the wrong move, you’re going to get killed.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because if you get shot, one of us might get hurt, too. I want my wife and son safe.” He’d never meant or felt anything more.
“I wanna get out of here. I just wanna drive away with the loot.”
“All right. Are those your terms for letting us go?”
Without answering Jake, the gunman peered out the window again. Then he nodded. “I just wanna drive away.”
Jake ran through various scenarios in his head. He needed to make contact with whoever was leading the team outside.
The man suddenly erupted. “I can’t let you all go! If I do that, they’ll shoot out my tires and take me down a block from here. Someone has to go with me. Maybe the woman and the kid. They wouldn’t dare shoot with them in the van.”
Jake’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. “You don’t want a baby with you. He’ll be crying and screaming and need to be fed and changed. He’ll give you away if you do try to hide somewhere.”
“Then I’ll take the woman. She won’t give me any fits.” He motioned to Tori. “Give your hubby the baby.”
The expression on Tori’s face said that she’d do anything to save her son, and him, even though she was scared to death. As she started toward him, Jake gave a minuscule shake of his head, telling her he didn’t want to take Andy. He wouldn’t be free to move if he had to.
The phone rang again. This time their captor took aim at it and fired, then fired again. Turning to the window, he shot through it. As he swung around toward Tori, instincts prevailed and Jake moved. He knew if he didn’t, he’d lose the woman he loved.
“Down!” he shouted to Tori.
He rushed the gunman, his leg going up and kicking the gun out of the man’s hand. As the weapon skimmed across the floor, Jake got him in a choke hold and forced him to the door. As soon as he pushed the man over the threshold, the police were on him, shouting for him to get down on the ground.
When Jake let go, someone else took over.
Jake watched as officers pushed the man to the ground and handcuffed him. Sure the thief wouldn’t be causing any more trouble, Jake strode back into the gallery and found Tori sitting on the floor against the counter with Andy cradled in her arms.
At first he thought she might have been injured. Fear gripping him, he crouched down to her and asked, “Are you hurt?”
As Tori looked into Jake’s eyes, she shook all over. When he’d pushed the gunman out of the gallery, she’d found all her strength had left her. At his shout, she’d gone down into a crouch and then stayed on her knees. After she realized they were all safe, she’d felt light-headed and decided it was better to stay on the floor.
She’d loved Jake before today, before he’d saved their lives. Now she realized how absolutely essential he was to her life—and Andy’s. She had to tell him she loved him. She had to convince him that together they could face anything.
“I’m fine,” she managed at his concerned look.
To prove it, she started to get up.
But she had help. Jake reached for her and pulled her and Andy up into his arms. When he buried his face in her neck, she could feel his deep, lung-filling breath as he seemed to realize they were both safe, too.
Then he raised his head and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Tori Phillips. I want to spend the rest of my life with you—if you’ll let me. I’ve been an idiot thinking I could walk out of your life and Andy’s. I can’t. And I won’t.”
She couldn’t believe what Jake was saying to her. “Are you sure? Maybe this isn’t the best time—”
He took her face between his big hands. “You don’t get it, Tori. This is the best time. Now I know exactly what you and Andy mean to me.”
“I don’t want you to feel trapped. I don’t want you to regret—”
“My only regret is that I’ve waited this long to come to my senses. I saw Marion’s mom. We had a long talk. She doesn’t blame me anymore, and I think I’ve stopped blaming myself, too. Marion made a decision that day that kept a mother and child safe. When that man started shooting, I had to make a decision, too. I want a life with you. I want a family. I want to stop running from the past and look forward to the future. Will you marry me?”
She could see in his eyes that he’d meant everything he’d said. He was ready for love. Ready for her love.
“Yes, I’ll marry you!” she answered joyfully.
His lips sought hers and he kissed her then with the fervor and hunger and need of a man who knows exactly what he wants.
After a few moments, Andy began squirming in Tori’s arms, and Jake broke away, smiling. “I know, little guy. You deserve my attention, too. You’re going to get plenty of it.” Taking Andy from Tori’s arms, he put the baby to his shoulder. When he brought Tori close again, he held on to her, just relishing the feel of her in his arms.
Phil Trujillo came into the gallery. “I’ve got to get your statements,” he said with a serious expression.
Jake patted Andy’s back. “No problem.”
“Before I do that, though, the chief said to tell you you’ve got a job whenever you want one.”
When Tori looked up at Jake,
she could see he was considering it.
“Tell the chief I’ll come in sometime this week and talk to him about it.” He grinned at Phil. “But before I consider resuming a career, I’m going to get married.”
When he kissed Tori’s temple, she realized that the man she loved was finally at peace. They would weave their dreams together and stand side by side no matter what the future might bring.
Epilogue
Red, blue and yellow balloons floated in the corners of Nina’s kitchen. A computer-generated banner with the words, HAPPY ADOPTION streamed down the center of the dining-room table. Andy was fourteen months old, and Tori had officially been his mother for eight months. Now Jake was officially his dad.
Jake handed Tori the cake knife as they stood on either side of Andy in his high chair. “Do you want to do the honors?” he asked.
Charlie Nexley chimed in from where he was sitting, “Now that you’re officially a father, maybe I’ll become one, too.”
Charlie and Nina had been married a month ago. They were still in their honeymoon stage—the same stage Jake hoped he and Tori would be in for the rest of their lives.
Nina playfully jabbed her husband’s arm. “You’re already a dad.”
“I mean officially. I’d like to adopt Ricky and Ryan.”
The tears Jake saw come to his sister’s eyes told him better than any words that she and Charlie were right for each other and that she couldn’t want anything more.
Jake felt the same way with Tori.
He knew now that Nina had been right. Tori was indeed the right person for him. Marriage had come to mean a freeing, life-giving chance to explore the world with someone else. Each and every day Tori and Andy enriched his world, and he didn’t even want to imagine life without them. He was working for the Santa Fe Police Department now, teaching negotiations skills. He was also on call when special situations arose. He’d been doing the lecture circuit, too, at colleges and law-enforcement conferences. Whenever possible, Tori and Andy went with him. Tori had more help at the gallery, and life couldn’t be any more perfect.
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