About That Man

by Sherryl Woods

  “Duly noted,” he said as he poured his tea. “What did King do?”

  Anna-Louise regarded her husband with a frown, then turned to Daisy. “Sometimes living with a journalist isn’t easy. They’re annoyingly persistent.”

  “About King?” Richard prodded.

  “Oh, for heaven’s sakes,” Daisy said. “Just tell him. He won’t publish it. I trust him.”

  “Thank you,” Richard said. “It’s a terrible thing when a wife doubts her own husband’s integrity.”

  “I don’t doubt it. I just don’t care to test it by putting too much temptation in your path.” Her gaze narrowed. “If I do tell you, will you also promise not to go running around to other sources to try to confirm it by some other means that leaves me out of it? Trinity Harbor is not Washington. It is not one of those war-torn countries you covered.”

  She glanced at Daisy and explained, “Once a big-shot investigative reporter, always an investigative reporter. A whiff of scandal brings out his training and his competitive spirit. He can’t help it.”

  Richard’s eyes lit up. “This secret is that good?” He began edging to the door. “Maybe I’ll just start making a few calls.”

  “Freeze,” Anna-Louise ordered. “Don’t you dare.”

  He grinned. “Okay.” He pulled out a chair and sat down. “What’s the scoop?”

  It was Daisy who finally spilled the beans. “Daddy used his clout to get the school board to get off my case,” she explained. Richard was going to find out the story one way or another. It might as well be from her.

  Besides, she did trust him. Richard had proved himself to be an honorable journalist since coming to town. Though he didn’t back down from controversy, he didn’t print stories just to stir things up so he could see how the dust settled. In fact, maybe she could use all of this to get him solidly into her corner if it came to a showdown with the board.

  “No surprise there,” Richard said. “Wouldn’t have expected him to do anything else.”

  “No indignation about public officials caving in to the demands of a wealthy citizen?” Anna-Louise asked, clearly taken aback by his response.

  “Seems to me they’re caving in to the demands of common sense,” Richard retorted. “This whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. Teachers are human beings. They are entitled to a private life. As long as they’re not breaking any laws, what business is it of mine or anyone else’s?”

  “Sounds like a good editorial to me,” Anna-Louise said approvingly.

  “And maybe a Sunday sermon?” he asked.

  “Could be,” she agreed, her expression thoughtful.

  Daisy felt tears clogging the back of her throat. She had come here for moral support, not public backing. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “This whole thing has gotten wildly out of hand. I think we do need to stand up and be counted,” Anna-Louise said slowly, then gave her a pointed look. “Which is not to say that I don’t think you ought to consider Walker’s proposal.”

  “Walker proposed?” Richard asked, eyebrows raised. “And you said no?”

  “Emphatically,” Daisy said.

  Richard shook his head. “If I live to be a hundred, I will never understand women.” He stood up, kissed his wife soundly and added, “Except you, of course.”

  She grinned. “Of course.”

  After he’d gone, Daisy regarded Anna-Louise wistfully. “I want what the two of you have.”

  “We didn’t have it when we met,” Anna-Louise told her. “It took time. There were a good many disagreements along the way, but we worked at it.”

  “And you love each other.”

  “So do you and Walker,” the minister pointed out. “There’s not a doubt in my mind about that.”

  “I wish I were as sure as you are.”

  “Sometimes believing in love is like believing in God. You just have to take it on faith.”

  Daisy thought long and hard about that over the next few days. Did she have enough faith in Walker’s professed feelings—or her own for that matter—to take the gigantic leap into marriage? What if he changed his mind once he found out about her infertility? That was a topic that needed to be put on the table before things went any further. She wanted to believe it wouldn’t matter, but she didn’t know that.

  And until she did, there was no way she would commit to him forever, not even to save her job or to keep Tommy in her life.

  “How are you doing courting Daisy?” Tucker inquired as he and Walker sat in the sheriff’s office late one Friday evening.

  They’d been discussing the drug case ad nauseam, but to no avail. Obviously Tucker thought a change of topic was warranted. Walker would have preferred a shift to baseball, but he knew Daisy’s brother wouldn’t let him get away with that.

  “I’m spending my nights here with you, down at the marina or out on the river,” Walker grumbled. “How do you think I’m doing?”

  There was a sharp knock on the door, followed by the appearance of Andy Thorensen. His Friday night visits had become a regular thing in recent weeks. Walker greeted his appearance with relief, even though Andy didn’t look much happier than Walker felt at the moment.

  “I left my wife with Daisy. They’re talking window treatments for the store,” Andy said with a shudder. “Can the two of you save me?”

  “We were talking about courting,” Tucker said.

  Andy groaned. “Doesn’t anybody talk about crime anymore?”

  Walker chuckled. “I, for one, would be glad to talk about crime.”

  Andy turned to him eagerly. “How’s the drug case going?”

  For the next hour they shared information, speculation and theories. Walker was thoroughly frustrated by their inability to locate the boat from which the shots had been fired at him that night. The trouble was, he hadn’t seen any of the registration numbers, or even if there had been any. The boat hadn’t been distinctive in any way. There were probably a hundred or more on the local inlets and creeks that were almost exactly like it, trawlers used by weekenders for fishing.

  “Have you tried the process of elimination?” Andy asked. “Making a list of every registered boat you see, then looking into the owner’s background.”

  “It would take forever,” Tucker said succinctly.

  “Aren’t you spinning your wheels now? You might as well be doing something.”

  “And that’s a daytime job,” Walker said thoughtfully. “It could free up my evenings, at least until we think there’s another deal about to go down. I like it.”

  “Wouldn’t free up your weekend, though,” Tucker pointed out. “Most of these boats will be on the water tomorrow and Sunday.”

  “I haven’t got anything better to do this weekend,” Walker said, then glanced at Andy. “You?”

  “If it will keep me away from hanging curtains, I’ll do it. Besides, I’ve been dying to get a little fishing in while I’m down here.”

  “We could even bring Tommy along,” Walker said. “His being there will be great cover. We’ll just be a bunch of guys on the water enjoying ourselves.”

  Tucker shook his head. “Just don’t enjoy yourselves so much that you forget to take notes.”

  When they got back to the house to let Daisy, Gail and Tommy in on their plans for a fishing excursion, Walker thought he noted a brief flicker of disappointment in Daisy’s eyes. That was promising. Maybe absence really did make the heart grow fonder. Maybe he wouldn’t have to figure out this courting business, after all.

  Then he saw the way her arm protectively circled Tommy’s shoulders, saw her mouth set stubbornly, and realized that her disappointment was about something else entirely. She was upset that he hadn’t remembered his promise to keep Tommy as far away from his police work as possible. Obviously she’d figured out that this fishing trip wasn’t exactly as innocent as he and Andy had described.

  Sensing something, Tommy glanced up at her worriedly. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, your un
cle and I just need to have a little talk,” she said.

  “You’re going to let me go fishing, though, aren’t you?”

  “We’ll see,” she said.

  “But it’s the first time we’ve gotten to go in forever and ever,” Tommy protested. “You gotta let me.”

  “Maybe we should leave,” Gail said, latching on to Andy’s elbow and steering him toward the front door. “See you tomorrow, Daisy. Maybe I’ll see you, too, Tommy. We can really use a guy’s help.”

  “I ain’t hanging no curtains,” he said. “You can forget that.”

  Daisy frowned at him. “Don’t be rude.”

  Walker was on the kid’s side on this one, but he wasn’t about to say it aloud. Daisy clearly had enough issues on her agenda as it was.

  “Tommy, you go on up to bed,” he said instead. “Daisy and I will work this out.”

  “I’m going fishing with you,” Tommy said flatly.

  “We’ll see,” Walker said. “Now go to bed.”

  When Tommy started to stomp out of the room, Walker added, “Say good-night to Daisy.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” the boy mumbled, back turned.

  “Tommy!”

  He turned around then and said a more polite good-night, but his eyes were stormy. Walker sighed as he left.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized to Daisy. “I should have talked this over with you first.”

  “Yes, you should have,” she said, eyes flashing. “Don’t think for one minute that I believe this is about catching a few fish for dinner. If it were, I’d have no objections, but you and Andy are up to something, aren’t you? Some sort of police business?”

  Walker saw no point in denying it. If he did, she would just go to her brother for an explanation, and Tucker would tell her the unvarnished truth. That would only raise the temperature of the hot water Walker was already in.

  “Yes, but I swear to you there is no danger involved. We really are just going out to fish.”

  “And observe who else is out fishing, as well, I imagine.”

  He was only slightly startled by her perceptiveness. After all, she was smart and her brother was the sheriff. “Yes.”

  “Then I’m coming, too.”

  “No way.”

  “If it’s safe for Tommy, it’s safe for me. And people will be even less suspicious if you have me along, won’t they? And four pairs of eyes are better than three.”

  He had several arguments he could mount, including whatever help she’d promised Gail for Saturday, but he sensed it would be a waste of breath trying them on her. “I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

  “No,” she said cheerfully. “It’s been ages since I’ve been fishing. I used to be quite good at it.”

  Walker didn’t doubt it. She probably used stubbornness and charm to talk the damned fish into the boat.

  “Come here,” he urged eventually.

  “Why?”

  “Come on, Daisy. Have a little faith.”

  “You’re not the first person to use that line on me lately.”

  His gaze narrowed. “I hope you’re talking about Anna-Louise.”

  “Who else?” she said, then studied him intently. “You were thinking it might be another man, weren’t you?”

  “It crossed my mind,” he admitted.

  “And that would bother you?”

  “While you and I have all these unresolved issues? Yes, it would bother the hell out of me to think you were having intimate little tête-à-têtes with another man.”

  “Interesting,” she said, looking pleased.

  He gave her a lazy grin. “Interesting enough to get you over here?”

  “Maybe,” she said, but she took a step closer, then another, until he could reach out and tumble her into his lap.

  Walker resisted the urge to cover her breast with his hand or to cover her mouth with his own. It was enough that she was here, in his arms, and for once not protesting one thing or another, just gazing up at him with those eyes the color of violets covered with dew, all soft and sparkly and filled with anticipation.

  “What am I going to do about you?” he murmured, mostly to himself.

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Right this minute, I’m fighting the temptation to make love to you.”

  She reached up and laid a hand against his cheek, then sighed. “Don’t fight too hard,” she whispered. “Please.”

  Startled, Walker stared for a minute, but as the words sank in, as her hand drifted to the buttons on his shirt, he got the message loud and clear.

  “Drive me crazy, why don’t you, Daisy Spencer?”

  “I’m trying my best,” she said with a fervor that brought a smile to his lips.

  “I’ve missed you,” she added quietly.

  “I’ve been right here.”

  “No,” she said impatiently, sliding his shirt away so she could drop clever little kisses across his chest. “You’ve been at work or down at the hotel on your best behavior.”

  “I thought that’s what you wanted. I thought that was what we agreed to. No affair, especially with the stakes so high.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.”

  “Why?”

  “You have a willing woman in your arms, and you want to know why?” she asked, staring at him incredulously.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. It’s not that I’m not thrilled, because I am. But something’s going on here that I don’t understand.”

  “You think too much,” she declared, just before her mouth closed over his.

  “Probably so,” Walker murmured, right before he stopped thinking at all.

  “Do you want children? I mean, more children?” Daisy asked out of the blue as they sat at the kitchen table in the morning.

  She had already baked brownies and packed a picnic for their fishing trip. Apparently she hadn’t slept all that well. Walker had the uneasy feeling that the topic of kids was what had kept her awake.

  Fortunately Tommy had gone outside a few minutes earlier, because Walker was stunned into silence. This was definitely not a topic he wanted to discuss in his nephew’s presence.

  “What brought that on?” he asked cautiously. “Last night? We used protection.” It had been a last-minute thing, but his brain had finally kicked in in the nick of time.

  “There was no need,” Daisy said flatly.

  “Of course there was. I’m not going to be irresponsible where you’re concerned.”

  Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes, tears he had no idea how to interpret. “What?” he said. “What did I say?”

  “It wouldn’t be irresponsible,” she whispered so low that he could barely hear her.

  “Dammit, Daisy, it is my responsibility—”

  “I can’t have children,” she told him, her eyes shimmering as tears spilled down her cheeks.

  If she had landed a solid punch squarely in his gut, Walker couldn’t have been more stunned.

  Or more devastated. For her, though. Only for her. Daisy deserved a houseful of kids. If ever he had run across mother material, she was it. She had proved that with Tommy.

  Oh, God, that was it. That was why she had fought so fiercely for his nephew, why she had viewed him with such distrust. Tommy was more than just a boy who needed a home to her. He was her chance at being a mother.

  Dealing with Daisy was a minefield under the best of conditions, but Walker had a feeling he was tiptoeing through live ammunition right this second and that whatever he said was going to decide not only Daisy’s future, but his own.

  He wanted to ask her how she knew, if she was certain, but there was time for that. Now he simply took her hand in his. With his other hand, he wiped away her tears.

  “I’m sorry. I know how devastating that must seem to you.”

  “You know that years ago I was engaged.”

  “Yes, you mentioned it. Does this have something to do with why you didn’t get married?”

  She nodded. “He didn�
�t take the news well. He broke the engagement when he found out we could never have children of our own. Nobody knows that except for Anna-Louise. Daddy, Tucker and Bobby were furious with him for dumping me, but I wonder if they would have felt the same way if they’d known the truth.”

  “Of course they would. The man was a fool.”

  She managed a rueful smile that broke his heart.

  “Yes, he was, but I could understand it in a way. I wanted to have babies, my own babies. But after a while, I realized I just wanted children, that it didn’t matter if I gave birth to them. There are so many children in the world who don’t have a home, who don’t have a chance.”

  “Like Tommy,” he said.

  She nodded. “Like Tommy.”

  “I’m not going to take him away from you,” Walker reassured her. “I want to share him with you. I want us to raise him together. I want us to get married. I have all the children I need.”

  As soon as the words crossed his lips, as soon as he saw the devastated look in her eyes, he knew it was the worst possible thing he could have said. How insensitive could he possibly be? He had just reminded her that he had something she wanted desperately, something she could never have—not just a blood relationship with Tommy, but biological sons of his own, sons he probably didn’t pay nearly enough attention to, to her way of thinking. In speaking so rashly, he had put his own needs before hers, not out of cruelty but out of total, male-mentality insensitivity.

  Suddenly he realized that he had taken his boys for granted. With stunning clarity, he admitted to himself how badly he missed having them in his life. He’d been in denial because the pain of losing them had been too much to bear, because he’d been filled with guilt over the breakup of his marriage.

  He resolved then and there not only to fight to get them back into his own life, but to bring them into Daisy’s.

  He framed her face in his hands, looked deep into her eyes. “You will have the family you deserve,” he promised her. “One way or another, you will have all the children in your life you could ever want.”

  She gave him a watery smile then. “You can’t go out and catch them like fish,” she told him.