About That Man

by Sherryl Woods

  “If I don’t, I’ll find it,” Tucker said at once. His gaze narrowed. “Do you mean it? You’d leave D.C. and come here?”

  “It’s something to consider,” Walker said with undisguised reluctance. “This situation with Tommy isn’t going to go away. I don’t like the idea of taking him to Washington. I’ve thought about it from every angle, but no matter which way I look at it, I can’t see ripping him away from here so soon after he lost his mother. I don’t need to talk to a psychologist to know it wouldn’t be good for him, not that Frances has kept her opinion to herself, either.”

  “I imagine not,” Tucker said with a commiserating grin.

  “She seems to be of two minds, that he needs to be with me, but that he’d be better off living down here. Maybe this would be the best solution. It would put me a little closer to my own kids, too. Maybe I’d get to see more of them.”

  “It sure as hell would be the answer for me,” Tucker agreed. “But would you be satisfied? We have our share of homicides, but thankfully, it’s nothing like Washington.”

  “All in your favor,” Walker admitted candidly. “To be honest, I don’t know how many more senseless deaths I can take.”

  “My temptation is to haul your butt up to headquarters in Montross and make you fill out the paperwork before you change your mind, but I’m not going to do it,” Tucker said. “You think it over. You decide you really want to make a change, I’ve got a job with your name on it. I’ve been interviewing applicants, but not a one of them comes with your qualifications.”

  Tucker’s gaze turned speculative. “There’s something else I’d like to know, though. What role does my sister play in this sudden desire for small-town life?”

  The man was too darned perceptive for his own good, Walker thought irritably. “I can’t answer that,” he said finally.

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Same difference,” Walker said.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t consider making the move until you can,” Tucker said. “I’m not blind to the fact that there’s more connecting you two than Tommy. I don’t know how far it’s gone and I don’t want to know, but her broken engagement tore her up pretty bad. Though she’d deny it with her dying breath, bumping into Billy from time to time can still knock the stuffing out of her. I don’t want her getting her heart broken a second time.”

  Tucker’s words made Walker uncomfortable. He was asking for reassurances, and Walker didn’t have any to offer. “This is between you and me,” he said. “Let’s leave Daisy out of it.”

  “I don’t think I can do that. She’s my sister. What you decide is going to affect her, no question about it. I don’t want us to start out on the wrong foot. I want things to be very clear. You do anything to hurt her and I’ll run you out of town. I don’t care how good a cop you are.”

  “Understood,” Walker said, appreciating a man who put his opinions on the line. Tucker was a lot like Andy in that regard. He reached a decision he’d probably be second-guessing for years. “Let’s go do that paperwork.”

  “Tonight?” Tucker asked, clearly taken by surprise.

  “Tonight,” Walker confirmed. By this time tomorrow he might come to his senses, but right this second the decision seemed inevitable and right.

  Tucker didn’t need to be asked twice. Apparently he felt he’d made his point and assumed Walker had gotten it. He didn’t ask another question about Walker’s motives, which was a good thing, because Walker had no idea if his decision was in his own best interests or even Tommy’s. He had a very strong gut feeling that it had everything to do with the way Daisy had felt in his arms.

  Once the decision was made, though, he signed the employment forms without the slightest hesitation. He supposed time would tell if he’d completely lost his mind.

  Daisy couldn’t imagine what was keeping Walker so long. She’d been uneasy ever since he’d climbed out of bed and taken off as if he had something on his mind. She hadn’t wanted to examine what that something might be. If he was regretting what had happened between them, she never wanted to know it.

  She sighed heavily and sipped her third cup of raspberry tea. It wasn’t having the soothing effect she’d hoped for. At the sound of a car in the driveway, her heart beat a little faster, but it was Tommy’s voice she heard, then Bobby’s responding.

  A minute later Tommy came charging inside shouting at the top of his lungs. He skidded to a stop when he saw her and plopped the ice chest he was carrying on the floor in front of her. “You know what?”

  “Judging from your shouts, I’d say you had good luck fishing.”

  He grinned. “You bet.” He opened up the ice chest and pulled out a line of medium-sized fish. “Can you believe it? I never, ever caught this many before.”

  “Hey, I caught some of those,” Bobby complained, coming in just in time to overhear him.

  “Only two,” Tommy retorted. “The itty-bitty ones. Even Gary caught more than you.”

  “Watch it, kid. Next time I’ll go alone.”

  “No, you won’t,” Tommy said confidently. “I bring you luck. You said so yourself.”

  Daisy grinned at the bantering. She wondered if her bachelor brother had any idea what a wonderful father he was going to be one of these days. She just hoped he wasn’t so caught up with all his wheeling and dealing and his restaurant that he missed the right woman when she came along.

  “I didn’t know Gary was going with you guys,” she said to her brother.

  “He and his dad were down at the docks when we got there. Paul said he didn’t mind. In fact, he looked relieved.”

  “Gary’s so cool,” Tommy said. “He knows lots of stuff. He said the fish would like shrimp better than worms and he was right. We used shrimp and Bobby used nasty old worms and we won. We caught the most.”

  “Well, I don’t care who caught them, I say we have a big fish fry tomorrow night,” Daisy said. “What do you think? Maybe the Finches would like to come. I’d like to get to know them better. Bobby, can you come to do the cooking? We might as well take advantage of having a gourmet chef in the family.”

  “No way. Friday’s a busy night at the restaurant now that summer’s here.”

  “Besides, Uncle Walker won’t be here,” Tommy protested.

  “He’s already here,” Daisy informed him.

  Tommy’s expression lit up. “He is? Where? I gotta show him my fish.”

  “He went into town a little while ago to get ice cream. He should be back any minute.”

  “We drove past the ice cream store,” Bobby began, then fell silent when Daisy shot him a warning look.

  “Tommy, go take a shower,” she said. “You smell as if you’ve been swimming with those fish. Put on your pj’s. We’ll have ice cream when your uncle gets back.”

  Tommy opened his mouth to grumble, but a look from Bobby had him scampering off. As soon as Tommy was out of earshot, Daisy turned to her brother.

  “You didn’t see Walker’s car at the ice cream shop?”

  “Nope. It looked pretty deserted around there when we came through town.”

  That same little nugget of fear that she’d felt when Walker had left earlier snuck back to torment her. “I wonder where he could be.”

  “Probably took a drive first,” Bobby said.

  “After driving all the way down here today, surely he wouldn’t go for another drive.”

  “You want me to go look for him?”

  She sighed. “No, of course not. Walker’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself. I’m sure I’m worrying about nothing. He’ll be here soon.”

  Sure enough, just as Tommy came back downstairs, Walker came strolling in with a bag filled with quarts of three different flavors of ice cream. Tucker was right on his heels.

  Walker took a step toward her, set the bag on the table, started to drop a kiss on her cheek, then backed off with a quick glance at her brother. Daisy’s cheeks flamed.

  “Now I get it,” she said quickly, h
oping to cover the awkward moment with a taunt.

  “Get what?” Tucker said, regarding her blankly.

  “You two have been off talking crime fighting again, haven’t you?”

  “Something like that,” her brother agreed, a mysterious grin spreading across his face. “Get the scoop, Bobby. Let’s dish this ice cream up before it melts.”

  Bobby didn’t budge. Instead, he surveyed Walker, then Daisy, his expression thoughtful.

  “Bobby, get the scoop,” Daisy said.

  He did as she’d asked, but a knowing grin tugged at his lips. “Trying to divert attention?” he whispered as he handed it to her.

  Her cheeks burned. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  “Oh, I think you do.”

  “Stop it, Bobby Spencer.”

  “Or what? You’ll send me home without any ice cream?”

  “You’ve got it.”

  “What are you two arguing about?” Tucker asked.

  “Never mind,” they said in unison.

  “Seems like a lot of secrets swirling around in this room,” Tucker said, his gaze on Walker. “Maybe somebody ought to start sharing.”

  “In good time,” Walker said firmly.

  Daisy regarded Walker and her brother with frustration. Whatever they’d been up to, she obviously wasn’t going to get it out of them now.

  As it turned out, it was another two hours before she had her brothers out of her hair and had Walker to herself. When he excused himself and started out of the kitchen, she halted him in his tracks.

  “Not so fast, buster.”

  He turned slowly, lips twitching with amusement. “Something on your mind?”

  “That little incident earlier, as a matter of fact.”

  “The one in your bedroom?” he inquired, all innocence.

  Her face flushed. At this rate, she’d never need to buy blusher again. “No, that one I know about,” she said. “I mean you and my brother. What’s going on?”

  “What makes you think something’s going on between me and Tucker?”

  “Instinct. Do you deny it?”

  “No.” He pulled out a chair, turned it around and straddled it. “I suppose you might as well know, since I doubt Tucker is capable of keeping a secret from you.”

  “Never has been before,” she agreed, filled with curiosity about what the two of them had been up to. “Spill it.”

  “Okay, here’s the deal in a nutshell. I’m moving here. I’m going to work for your brother,” Walker said, knocking the wind right out of her. “We’ve already filled out the paperwork. That’s why I was gone so long tonight.”

  She stared at him blankly, not daring to believe that she had heard him correctly. “You’re moving here? To Trinity Harbor?”

  “Yes,” he said, evidently amused by her shock.

  This was a turn of events she definitely hadn’t considered, hadn’t dared to hope for. Had tonight, the two of them making love, swayed him? Suddenly she had visions of a future with both Tommy and his uncle in it.

  No, she told herself firmly. She was not going to go there. This move was about Tommy. Nothing else. She had to keep reminding herself of that.

  She studied Walker’s face, trying to read his thoughts. Usually she could get an accurate picture of what was going on in his head, but tonight his expression was inscrutable.

  “Isn’t this a little sudden? Why are you doing this?”

  “Why not?”

  “But you…I…”

  “I guess you’re going to be stuck with me,” he said, regarding her with a knowing expression.

  One night in her bed and he thought he was just going to move in, lock, stock and barrel? No way. She was willing to let the gossips have a field day with things as they were now, but having Walker as a full-time resident of her house would be intolerable, and not just because of the ensuing gossip. Having him underfoot all the time would make it impossible to ignore the way she felt about him.

  A stolen night like tonight was one thing. A steady diet of stolen nights would have her emotions so tangled up, she’d be devastated when he eventually left her…which, of course, he would. Walker wasn’t suited for a quiet life in Trinity Harbor. The decision to come here was all about Tommy, nothing else, and once Tommy’s life was stable, Walker would take off.

  “Stuck with you? I don’t think so,” she said very, very firmly before her conviction that this was the right decision could waver. “If you move to Trinity Harbor, you’ll be getting your own place.”

  His gaze narrowed. “You don’t seem nearly as pleased about this as I thought you’d be.”

  “I am,” she said. “For Tommy.”

  “But not for yourself?”

  She sighed. His move meant that he’d decided that Tommy belonged with him. It meant she would be losing the boy. Oh, he would still be here in Trinity Harbor, but he wouldn’t be hers anymore. The illusion that she had a family would come crashing down around her. So, no, there was no way she could be happy about that. Not entirely.

  “This isn’t about me,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady and the tears from spilling down her cheeks.

  Walker reached for her hand. “Maybe it is.”

  Daisy lifted her gaze, met his eyes. “How?”

  “Tonight, it meant something, Daisy. I don’t know what yet. I can’t make any promises. You’ll just have to trust me when I say that you played a role in my decision.”

  She couldn’t let herself count on vague promises and false hopes. And she couldn’t relent and let him stay in her home, where temptation would face them every single minute of every single day.

  She forced a smile. “I’m sure you’ll keep me posted on what you decide.”

  Walker looked disconcerted by her attitude. “Then you’re not interested in keeping me under your roof where you can keep an eye on me?”

  “That has nothing to do with it and you know it. My father’s upset enough about this as it is. You moving in would give him apoplexy, to say nothing of what would happen to what’s left of my reputation.” Or her heart.

  His gaze narrowed. “You really are worried about this reputation business, aren’t you? Has something happened?”

  She tried to downplay it. “A few parents are complaining.”

  “About what? Me staying here on the weekends?”

  She nodded. “They say it sets a bad example, especially for my impressionable students.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “It’s not that big a deal. They’ll get over it.”

  “Will they?” He ran his hand through his hair in an impatient gesture. “Dammit, Daisy, I thought this was just a little idle gossip. Now, from what you’re telling me, it’s beginning to sound like more than that.”

  “It’s no reason to get upset. I’ll handle it, but you can see why it would be best if you didn’t stay here once you move to town.”

  “No problem,” he said at once. “I’ll find someplace else to stay. The hotel will do until we see how all of this goes.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked, reminded of her own prediction for the way all of this was likely to turn out. “You’ll decide you hate it here, pack up Tommy and leave?”

  “Maybe. Or I could decide I want a farm or a place on the river. Who knows?”

  Daisy felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Walker’s decision to move to Trinity Harbor should have elated her. Instead, she feared it was going to cost her the very thing she’d been fighting so hard to keep—a family of her own.

  She felt Walker’s gaze on her. She glanced up. “What?”

  “The hotel’s no place for Tommy. He needs a room of his own, a cookie jar he can raid. Can he stay here till I make that final decision?”

  Her heart leapt. “Of course.”

  “As for you and me, we’ll find some time to be together without stirring up any more gossip,” he promised. “I’m not going to be responsible for ruining your reputation.” Hi
s gaze locked with hers. “But I’m not going to give you up, either.”

  To seal the promise, he stood, then bent down and kissed her until the room went spinning and the temperature soared.

  The future might be in doubt, Daisy concluded when he’d gone off to bed—alone—but the present was very much worth fighting for.

  20

  It didn’t take long for word to spread that Tucker had hired Walker and that he was going to be moving to Trinity Harbor. The general assumption seemed to be that he would be staying with Daisy. Denials weren’t getting around nearly as quickly as the speculation.

  While Walker was back in D.C. tying up loose ends on his cases and working out his two weeks notice, Daisy was left to cope with the fallout. She heard the whispers everywhere she went, but she kept her back straight and her smile in place. Eventually someone else would do something outrageous, and she’d be out of the spotlight.

  The one person who’d been surprisingly silent was her father. Ever since the news had gotten out, she’d been anticipating an attempt to steamroll over her plan to keep Tommy until Walker was settled. Maybe King was too busy these days with his own love life to worry about hers. He and Frances had definitely become an item around town. They’d even gone to church together the last two Sundays.

  She should have known, though, that her father’s silence was way too uncharacteristic to last. When she came home from school on Thursday, he was sitting in a rocker on her front porch. Even more ominous, Anna-Louise was right beside him.

  “You’re late,” her father grumbled.

  “You didn’t call to tell me you were stopping by,” she shot right back, determined not to let him put her on the defensive.

  “Since when does a man have to call his own daughter before dropping by?”

  “Since he apparently expects her to be there at a certain time.”

  Anna-Louise regarded the two of them with amusement. “This is certainly getting off to a good start. King, I thought you had something you wanted to talk to Daisy about.”

  Daisy met her father’s gaze evenly, though she was quaking inside. “Is that so?” she asked, grateful that Tommy had gone fishing with Gary again. “Anything in particular?”