The color drained out of her cheeks, and she finally sat in the chair he’d pulled out for her earlier. “Will you?” she asked worriedly.
The vulnerability he read in her expression cut straight through him. Now he knew exactly why Tucker and her father were so worried. Daisy was already emotionally involved with his nephew, more emotionally involved than a temporary foster parent should be, in a way and to a degree that he didn’t fully understand.
“Let me ask you something,” he said, rather than giving her a direct answer. “How do you see this turning out? When the school year ends in a few weeks, what do you see happening?”
She swallowed hard and met his gaze with tear-filled eyes. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
His heart ached for her. “You want him to stay here with you, don’t you? This whole time you’ve just been giving lip service to the idea of Tommy and me getting closer, of him coming to live with me.”
“That’s not true. I want the two of you to have a relationship.” Her chin rose defiantly. “But I could be a good mother to him. These things that have happened, they don’t mean I wouldn’t be a good mother.”
“Of course not,” Walker agreed.
He reached across the table and took her icy hand in his. She was trembling. For the first time in a very long time, he felt completely and utterly helpless. He could handle the worst kind of crime scene, but a terrified woman who felt her fate was in his hands left him shaken. He didn’t want people depending on him, not Tommy, not Daisy.
“Maybe that’s the way it will go,” he said at last. “Maybe you are exactly what Tommy needs. Lord knows, I never felt qualified to be a parent.”
“You’d be an excellent father,” she said fiercely, even though it was against her own best interests.
He smiled at her instinctive sense of fair play. “I wish I could tell you how this is going to end up, but I can’t. I don’t know what’s best. I really don’t. I never expected to be confronted with a situation like this. And after my ex-wife took off on me about what a lousy father I was, the prospect of taking on Tommy scared the hell out of me.”
“But you’re so good with him,” she said.
He gave her a half smile. “Yeah, you’ve done your best to make me see that. I’m almost convinced.”
“How ironic,” she said.
Walker smiled. “Isn’t it?” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, suddenly all too aware of how silky smooth her skin was, how it was heating under his touch. “If Tommy does wind up with me, though, I promise you this, you will continue to be a part of his life.”
A tear spilled down her cheek. She swiped at it impatiently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “How can I be, if he’s in Washington?”
“We’ll make it happen.”
“It won’t be enough,” she said sadly. “Not nearly enough.”
Walker tried to put himself in her shoes and knew she was right. Seeing his own kids on scattered holidays and summer visits wasn’t enough, either. He’d told himself he didn’t deserve more, didn’t even want more, but it wasn’t true. He missed them every single day. He just hadn’t allowed himself to admit it, because to do so would be too painful.
He was still sitting there, Daisy’s hand in his, contemplating the sorry state of his life and the potential damage he could do to hers by claiming Tommy, when the doorbell rang.
Daisy guiltily jerked her hand away and stood up, clearly flustered. “I can’t imagine who that could be.”
“I can,” Walker said grimly. “I meant to tell you when I first got here. My boss and his wife are spending the weekend in Trinity Harbor. I suspect this is their first stop. Gail is very eager to get a look at Tommy.”
And you, he added to himself, well aware that potential disaster loomed just outside the front door. “Maybe we could ignore it,” he suggested hopefully.
“Is your boss the kind who gives up and goes away?” she asked, regarding him curiously.
“Unfortunately, no,” Walker admitted. “And his wife’s worse.”
“I heard that,” the very woman in question said, appearing at the open kitchen door.
“Sorry, Walker. I couldn’t stop her,” Andy said ruefully. “You know Gail.”
“I do, indeed. Okay, you might as well come on in,” he said with lukewarm enthusiasm.
“Walker,” Daisy chastised, clearly recovered from her shock. “That is no way to treat your friends.”
“Who said they were friends?” he grumbled.
Andy chuckled. Gail came in and planted a loud kiss on Walker’s cheek.
“You don’t scare me,” she told him, then turned to Daisy and studied her with interest. “You must be Daisy. I’m Gail. And my husband is Andy. Ignore everything Walker says about us. We’re actually very nice people.”
“Is there anybody you can get to testify to that?” Walker asked, aware that Daisy was looking a little shell-shocked by Gail’s natural exuberance. Gail, with her flame-red hair and go-for-broke personality, had that effect on people. Smart friends just allowed themselves to be caught up in the whirlwind, rather than fighting it. From time to time, Andy still tended to look a little dazed by her unpredictable ways.
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Daisy said, her characteristic Southern hospitality kicking in. “May I offer you some coffee or some tea? And I baked this morning. There’s a pecan coffee cake.”
“You didn’t offer me any,” Walker said, vaguely miffed.
“We had other things to discuss,” she said. “I got sidetracked. Besides, you usually sniff out the baked goods the minute you walk in the door. I never get a chance to offer.”
Gail watched the two of them with fascination. Too much fascination, in Walker’s opinion. He turned to Andy. “I thought you were going to give her cash and credit cards and turn her loose.”
“I tried. For once, she had something other than shopping on her mind.”
“Shopping?” Daisy’s expression lit up. “I never get to hit all the little shops in town. I could take you. I have some birthday presents I need to pick up.”
The thought of Daisy alone with the matchmaking queen of Washington made Walker queasy, but he couldn’t see any way to prevent it without sounding totally paranoid.
“In a minute,” Gail said. “First, I want to meet this mysterious nephew of Walker’s. Then you guys can do your thing for the rest of the day, and Daisy and I will go and buy out the shops.”
Walker considered trying to send Tommy with the women, just to keep them from getting too chatty. He could just imagine Daisy’s reaction to that, especially since he didn’t dare intervene in the boy’s deserved grounding. No, he and Andy were doomed to staying right here with his grounded nephew.
“I’ll get him,” Daisy offered, already halfway out of the kitchen. “You stay and chat with your friends.”
“My, my, my,” Gail said, the instant they were alone. “Andy didn’t mention that Daisy was gorgeous.”
“Neither did Walker,” Andy pointed out. “We haven’t been sitting around the precinct discussing her.”
Gail rolled her eyes. “As if I believe that.”
“It’s true,” Andy said defensively. “Walker never said a word about her, at least not about her looks.”
“And I wouldn’t expect him to go running to you, even if I had,” Walker said. “Some things I tell your husband are confidential. Sacred guy stuff.”
Gail chuckled. “If you believe that, you don’t know me very well. I can get almost anything out of him, if I want to know badly enough.”
Walker regarded his friend with exaggerated pity. “Good to know. Remind me never to tell you anything remotely personal again.”
“What can I say? I’m putty in her hands,” Andy said with an unapologetic shrug. “And she always knows when I’m hiding something. Always.”
“Well, fortunately, there are no secrets here,” Walker said firmly, his gaze on Gail. “None.”
“If you say s
o,” she said, her expression smug.
“Don’t go there,” he warned.
“Where?” she asked innocently.
“Wherever you were heading in that devious mind of yours.”
There was no time to explore the subject further, because Daisy reappeared with Tommy in tow. He was wearing a clean shirt, pressed jeans and new sneakers. His hair had been slicked back. Walker hardly recognized him. Obviously Daisy intended that he make a good impression. She looked to Walker to make the introductions.
“Andy, Gail, this is my nephew, Tommy Flanagan.” To his surprise Tommy stepped forward and shook Andy’s hand. More of Daisy’s coaching, no doubt. He even held out his hand to Gail, who ignored it and swept him into a warm hug.
“Oh, you darling child, I’ve been dying to meet you ever since I heard about you. You are so lucky to have an uncle like Walker. He is truly one of the good guys.”
Walker was startled by the praise. He and Gail usually maintained a sort of love-hate relationship in public, though privately they got along well enough. In fact, he was actually rather fond of her, but he tried never to let her know it, because it was tough enough to keep her out of his personal life when he kept her at arm’s length.
“Tommy, maybe you would like to go shopping with Daisy and me,” Gail suggested.
“Afraid not,” Walker said, before Tommy could jump on the invitation. “He’s staying right here with Andy and me.”
“I’m grounded,” Tommy announced, clearly not viewing it in quite the shameful terms Daisy had probably intended. “I messed up, and Daisy grounded me for the whole rest of the week, starting on Thursday. I can go outside, but I can’t leave the yard.”
“I see,” Andy said with some amusement. “Does that mean you can still work on that boat I’ve been hearing so much about?”
Tommy’s expression brightened. “Yeah. Do you want to help?” he asked hopefully.
“I’ve been looking forward to it,” Andy said.
“Then why don’t I get us a couple of cans of beer and we can get started?” Walker suggested, heading for the refrigerator. “Tommy, you want a soda?”
“Sure. And some cookies.”
“Of course,” Walker said. “You know where they are.”
Tommy grabbed a handful, then offered some to Andy. “They’re really, really good.”
“That they are,” Walker agreed.
“No, thanks. Not just now,” Andy said, studying Walker curiously. He bent down and gave his wife a distracted kiss. “Have fun shopping.”
“Will do. I’m sure Daisy and I have lots and lots to talk about.”
Her words filled Walker with a sense of doom. He had a feeling he was in more trouble now than he had been since the first day he set foot in Trinity Harbor. Andy’s chuckle only confirmed it.
“You are in way over your head, my friend,” Andy muttered as they went outside, Tommy racing on ahead.
“If I wasn’t before, I am now,” Walker agreed despondently. “And I have you to thank. Couldn’t you have taken Gail to Ocean City or Rehoboth Beach? Any place but Trinity Harbor?”
“Are you kidding me? She would have divorced me if I’d tried. This trip was preordained from the second she found out about Tommy.” He grinned. “Discovering Daisy was just the icing on the cake. I have to admit, after watching the way the two of you interact, you have me wondering what’s going on, too.”
“Nothing is going on,” Walker said emphatically. “Nothing!”
Andy regarded him sympathetically. “Yeah, right. I said the same thing right after I met Gail, remember?”
Sadly, he did. “It’s not the same,” he insisted.
“We’ll see.”
“Oh, wipe that smug look off your face,” Walker grumbled.
“Can’t do it,” Andy said, his grin spreading. “I’ve been waiting too long for this.”
“Nothing is going on,” Walker repeated. But he had a hunch no matter how often he said it, it wasn’t going to change a blasted thing. Clearly, judging from Andy’s amusement, it hadn’t convinced him. Walker was beginning to have a hard time buying it himself.
Daisy should have known that Gail’s eagerness to get out of the house had very little to do with her desire to shop. In fact, within seconds of arriving in downtown Trinity Harbor, she had steered Daisy into Earlene’s as if she’d been going there for years. She guided Daisy straight for the most private booth in the place. Not that any of them were all that private, given the penchant for eavesdropping shared by Earlene and her customers.
When they had thick, old-fashioned chocolate milk shakes in front of them, Gail regarded her intently. “Okay, now, tell me everything.”
“Everything about what?” Daisy asked, her brain scrambling in search of a way to avoid this conversation.
“You and Walker, of course.”
“I hardly know the man.”
“Sometimes it doesn’t take long to know all you need to know,” Gail remarked sagely.
Daisy swallowed hard. This was so embarrassing. She was being cross-examined by a woman she barely knew about things she hadn’t even wanted to think about herself. No wonder Walker had looked so aghast when Daisy had offered to go shopping with Gail. He had known exactly what she was in for. Had she? Was that why she had suggested coming along, because she wanted to get a fix on Walker from someone who’d known him longer?
“Why don’t you tell me about him?” she suggested, turning the tables. “You’ve known him far longer than I have.”
“Nice move,” Gail said approvingly. “Very clever.”
“Apparently not,” Daisy said dryly. “You haven’t answered me.”
“Okay, let’s cut to the chase. Are you interested in Walker or not?”
“He’s Tommy’s uncle. Of course I care what kind of man he is.”
Gail rolled her eyes. “Please. This isn’t about Tommy.”
“It is,” Daisy insisted.
“Then you’re as blind as that foolish woman who left him. Walker is an incredible man. He’s handsome as sin. Honorable. Funny. He’d be a great catch for any woman. Are you telling me you haven’t noticed any of that?”
Daisy flushed under her penetrating gaze. “Okay, I’ve noticed he’s handsome.”
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Gail said enthusiastically. “I was beginning to worry about you.”
“It really isn’t about me and Walker, though,” Daisy said one more time. “We’ve been thrown together because of his nephew and because of what happened to Walker’s sister.”
“Relationships have been started with far less. You already have a bond, that wonderful little boy.”
Daisy chuckled at Gail’s ability to see only what suited her purposes. “Should I point out the long list of things we don’t have in common?”
Gail waved off the suggestion. “Being opposites just adds spice. Look at Andy and me. He’s thoughtful and quiet—me, I often leap before I look, and I never shut up. I was divorced and had two kids when we met. Andy never wanted children, but he couldn’t have been a better father to them. Now that they’re in college, I think he misses them even more than I do.”
“Do you work?”
“Actually, I’m looking for something to keep me from going crazy now that the kids are away from home. If it had been up to me, they would have gone to Georgetown or George Washington and lived at home, but, no, one of them’s at Stanford and one’s at UCLA. They couldn’t get much farther away.”
“They’re great schools, though. You must be proud of them.”
“I am, but I would have been just as proud if they’d stayed closer to home.”
Daisy sympathized. She imagined she would be despondent if Tommy left after only a few weeks. Having a child leave after being underfoot for eighteen years must be incredibly difficult.
“So, what would you like to do?” she asked.
“A business of some kind.” Gail’s expression turned wistful. “If I could talk Andy into m
oving to a place like this, I’d open a little shop in a heartbeat.”
“Any particular type of shop? An art studio? Crafts? Antiques? A bookstore, maybe? We could really use a good bookstore,” Daisy said, suddenly wistful herself. “The racks at the supermarket only carry bestsellers.”
“A bookstore and coffee shop, maybe,” Gail said, gaining enthusiasm. “Oh, that would be perfect. I’d love it. I wonder if there’s anyplace available.”
“Are you serious?” Daisy asked, surprised that she wanted to go that far in pursuing her dream. “Do you really want to take a look at property? Or was that just an impulsive, off-the-cuff remark?”
“When you know me better, you’ll understand that most of what I do is impulsive,” Gail said. She looked seriously tempted by the prospect of checking out real estate.
“Andy would kill me,” she said, then grinned. “Let’s do it. He knew the risks when he brought me down here this weekend. I’ve been talking about this for ages, ever since we came here the first time five years ago. Maybe it’s time I force the issue. It’ll serve him right for dreaming up this trip just to get out of painting our house.”
“It’s not like you’d have to sign a lease just to look,” Daisy said, getting into the spirit of the hunt as she led the way down the block to the closest real estate office.
“Exactly,” Gail agreed.
But an hour later, when they walked through a cottage that had fallen into disrepair, there was no mistaking the glint of excitement in Gail’s eyes. “It’s perfect,” she murmured. “Just perfect.”
Daisy stared around them at the broken railings on the porch, the shattered windows and the years and years of dust and cobwebs that had accumulated inside. “Perfect?” she echoed doubtfully. “Sorry. I don’t see it.”
“Use your imagination. Just think what these floors would look like once they’ve been sanded and polished. And there are lots of little nooks and crannies inside for cozy reading areas and a coffee bar. The porch could have little tables on it overlooking the yard.”
Daisy studied the overgrown bushes and tangled weeds that had all but obscured the dandelion-infested lawn. “Obviously, you have a better imagination than I do.”
About That Man Page 21