The Littlest Stowaway

by Gina Wilkins

  “And they’re willing to do so?”

  “They hired Claybrook,” Blake said in reply.

  “You don’t suppose she’s contacted them this weekend?”

  “No. I talked to her mother. She doesn’t know where Janice is.”

  “Did you tell her about the baby?”

  “Of course not If anyone knows you have Annie, they didn’t hear it from me.”

  “Do you have any idea where Janice could be now?”

  “I have a few leads. I’ll find her.”

  “You’ve made a lot of progress in an amazingly short time. I’m impressed.”

  Blake laughed softly. “It’s my job, Steve. I know what I’m doing.”

  “I never doubted it.”

  “I’ll get back to you as soon as I know more. In the meantime, how’s the kid?”

  “The kid’s great,” Steve said with a glance at the tiny baby in his arms.

  “And Casey?”

  “Casey’s great, too.” Steve winked at her as he said it, and was pleased to see her blush. He just loved it when she did that.

  “Yeah, well, kiss ’em both for me.”

  “I’ll be sure to do that.”

  “I doubt that you’ll find it a chore,” Blake said dryly.

  Steve laughed. “You’ve got that right.”

  Casey looked very impatient by the time Steve hung up the phone. “Well? Has Blake found Janice?”

  “He hasn’t found Janice,” Steve answered. “But he’s answered one big question. We now know why Janice is running.”

  CASEY DIDN’T LINGER long after dinner. “If I’m going to be here with the baby tomorrow, there are a few things I need to do at home tonight.”

  “I was kind of hoping you’d spend the night,” Steve said invitingly. “We’ve hardly had a chance to even talk about us tonight”

  They’d spent the entire evening talking about other things—Blake’s phone call and the disturbing information it had contained about Janice’s past and Annie’s parentage. Although there had been good reason to discuss those issues, Casey had also been very careful to avoid a more personal tête-à-tête with Steve tonight. She needed to strengthen her resolve against him.

  She shook her head and tucked her purse beneath her arm. “You’re perfectly capable of taking care of her yourself tonight I didn’t help you at all with her last night.”

  “I want you to stay because of me, not because of Annie.”

  She cleared her throat. “I’d really better go. I’ll be back in the morning to relieve you.”

  “Running again,” he murmured. “When are you going to trust me, Casey, darlin’?”

  Because there was no easy answer to that, considering she didn’t even trust herself where he was concerned, she didn’t bother to make an attempt “Good night, Steve. Call if you need me.”

  “I need you.”

  “Or,” she said, determinedly ignoring him, “if you hear anything more about Janice.”

  He nodded in resignation. “I’m not going to change your mind about staying, am I?”

  “No.” She reached for the doorknob.

  “Then I won’t try anymore—tonight. But, Casey, I will try again.”

  She was aware of that. She only hoped she would be as resolute next time he asked.

  On that thought, she fled.

  Once again, she arrived home without incident. No cars followed her, and there were no weird messages on her answering machine. Her apartment was tidy, quiet, peaceful. A little lonely, perhaps, but safe.

  She was perfectly content, she assured herself firmly.

  Close to exhaustion, she went to bed, but she slept only fitfully. She kept waking up, certain she heard a baby crying, thinking she needed to tend to Annie.

  Only Annie wasn’t there.

  Once, she woke up reaching out to the other side of the bed, as if hoping to find someone there. Since she knew exactly who she’d been dreaming about, she was extremely annoyed with herself. This was hardly the way to get Steve out of her system.

  Yet how was she supposed to control her dreams?

  She rolled over, punched the pillow, and pulled the covers to her chin. She could handle this, she told herself grimly, Closing her eyes, she tried to will herself back to sleep. She could put Steve out of her life and her dreams, she told herself.

  She only hoped she could put him out of her heart, as well.

  11

  “YOU’RE SURE you’ll be all right with Annie today?” Steve seemed reluctant to leave.

  Casey was practically pushing him out the door. During the fifteen minutes that had passed since she’d arrived, she’d managed to avoid any kisses or other intimacies that Steve had tried to initiate, and was rather pleased with herself. The only real difficulty she was having was convincing him to leave.

  “Annie and I will be fine. I am perfectly capable of taking care of her. Now go, before I change my mind about giving you a hand today. It would serve you right if I left you to deal with Annie and your pennyante charter service.”

  “Penny ante?” A gleam of humor replaced the concern in his eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me, Lockhart. Now go. Shoo. Scat. And keep your grubby paws away from my clients.”

  “That tears it.” He reached out and jerked her into his arms. He kissed her firmly, thoroughly, then lifted his head to grin down at her, his eyes gleaming. “I’m certifiably crazy about you, Casey Jansen.”

  The morning had been going so well until that point. She’d had everything so neatly under control. But with only a kiss and a few well-spoken words, Steve had just shattered her complacency. She could think of absolutely nothing to say except, “Go away.”

  “I will,” he said with a chuckle. “But, darlin’—I’ll be back.”

  She closed the door behind him, locked it, then sagged against it, resting her forehead on the wood. Maybe she should start rethinking this situation with Steve, she thought with a sigh of surrender. Maybe there was the slimmest chance that they could be together for a while longer, after all.

  I’m certifiably crazy about you, Casey Jansen. The words echoed in her mind, making her shiver all over again.

  “Jansen,” she muttered into the unresponsive door. “You’re an idiot.”

  From the bassinet, Annie began to cry. Relieved to have something to occupy her time, Casey straightened and hurried into the other room to get the baby.

  Annie did not stop crying for the next two hours. She cried when she was held. She screamed when Casey laid her down. She didn’t want a bottle. Her diaper was dry. Rocking and singing didn’t soothe her.

  Casey was becoming frantic. Was it colic or something more serious? The baby didn’t seem feverish, and as far as Casey could tell, she wasn’t in pain. Was it normal for a baby to cry this much and for so long?

  She took some encouragement when Annie finally subsided into unhappy whimpers, but ten minutes later it started again. Casey was almost ready to sit down on the floor and cry along. Her nerves were on edge and her ears buzzed from the high-pitched squalls. She wished she knew someone to call for advice, but the few friends she’d had time to make in the past year or so were single, childless career women like herself.

  As much as she hated to admit defeat, she was on the verge of calling Steve and asking for help when the telephone rang. At first, she thought maybe he’d sensed her distress and was calling to check on her. And then she realized it was her cell phone ringing, not Steve’s house phone.

  Jiggling Annie wearily in her left arm, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Jansen, it’s Pamela. I called to tell you...um, is that a baby crying?”

  “Yes. Pamela, you have children?”

  Though the statement was obvious, Pamela agreed politely. “Yes. Three of them.”

  “Does this sound normal to you?” Casey held the phone toward Annie for a moment, then returned it to her ear. “She’s been doing that for the past two hours.”

/>   “How old is she?”

  “About a week.”

  “Then, yes, it’s probably normal. They get tummy aches sometimes. Gas bubbles. And sometimes they just seem to have crying spells for no apparent reason. My mother-in-law always said it helps them expand their lung power.”

  “I don’t think this kid’s lacking in the lung power area.” Casey muttered.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Jansen, I can’t hear you very well.”

  Casey raised her voice to be heard over the noise Annie was making. “Do you have any suggestions?”

  “You’re asking me for advice?” For the first time, Pamela sounded a bit flustered. “Um—my babies always seemed to settle down when I laid them on their tummies across my knees and rubbed their backs. I don’t know why, but it almost always worked.”

  “It’s worth a shot.” Juggling the little phone, Casey shifted Annie into the position Pamela had recommended.

  “If she doesn’t stop crying soon, you should probably call a doctor. She could be ill. But it’s more likely just a tummy ache, especially if she’s on formula.”

  “She is. Thanks, Pamela.” Annie had not stopped crying yet, but the volume was decreasing. She seemed to be calming a bit in response to Casey’s soothing backrub.

  “You’re welcome.” Discreet as always, Pamela didn’t ask any questions about why Casey was missing a day of work to take care of a baby. “About the reason I called...”

  “Oh, yes. What is it? Have you heard from Mr. Alexander?”

  “Well...yes. In a way.”

  With most of her attention on Annie, who seemed to be whimpering herself to sleep, Casey asked, “What does that mean?”

  “Mr. Alexander has gone to contract with Lockhart Air.”

  Casey went very still. Only her fear of startling Annie kept Casey from shouting “What?” Instead, she took several deep, forceful breaths and made herself speak in a low, controlled voice. “Are you certain about that?”

  “I’m afraid so. He had his secretary call to inform us of his decision.”

  Casey felt as if she had just taken a physical blow. She had begun to trust Steve, she realized. And he’d used that trust against her. What a fool she had been. “Did he give a reason?” she asked, speaking with great effort.

  “He merely said that after interviewing and researching both companies, he chose to give his business to Lockhart.”

  “I was the one who convinced him to consider air charter in the first place,” Casey said from between clenched teeth. “Until I started talking to him, he was committed to road freight.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Jansen.” Pamela didn’t seem to know what else to say.

  “If I hadn’t been away from the office all weekend—If I’d been able to talk to him before he made his final decision—” Losing Alexander was a devastating blow. His account would have put JCS back on the solid financial footing Casey had been working so hard to achieve.

  “I’m not sure you could have changed his mind,” Pamela replied gently. “His secretary said he was quite certain this is what he wanted to do.”

  “Lockhart got to him,” Casey muttered, wondering what, exactly, Steve had promised this time. How he must be laughing now that he’d charmed both her and Jack Alexander, all in the same weekend.

  “I assume so.”

  “But how did he know?” Casey was talking more to herself now than to her assistant. “I never mentioned Alexander to him. Unless—”

  She thought of the paperwork she’d worked on at Steve’s house on Saturday. She’d had a briefcase full of notes and files, including several bid options she’d worked up for Jack Alexander. Was it possible that Steve had...?

  “I’ll strangle him if I find out he did anything like that,” she muttered furiously.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “Never mind. Is there anything else, Pamela?”

  “No. I thought you would want to know about Mr. Alexander immediately.”

  “You were right. Thank you. And by the way...”

  “Yes, Ms. Jansen?”

  “Never mind,” she muttered again. She had almost suggested that Pamela should start calling her Casey. But then she’d decided that she had no intention of mimicking Steve’s business management practices. Any of them. What she was doing now had worked for her father and her grandfather, she told herself as she set the phone aside. It would work for her, as well.

  At least until Steve Lockhart succeeded in putting her out of business altogether.

  STEVE HAD JUST WALKED into his office early that afternoon after flying a team of accountants to Springfield when Madelyn looked up from the telephone receiver in her hand. “Ms. Jansen is on line two,” she said, pushing the hold button. “She wants to talk to you immediately.”

  The way she’d stressed the last word made Steve’s stomach tighten. “Is something wrong?” he asked quickly. “Is it the baby?”

  Madelyn shook her head. “She said the baby’s fine. She wants to talk to you about a business matter. And Steve—she sounded mad.”

  “She always sounds mad when she talks about business,” Steve said, relieved that there was no real emergency. He suspected that Casey’s attitude toward running her business was a result of her lack of true enthusiasm for the job. Steve found real joy in his work. He had a true passion for flying. “Joy” and “passion” were suspiciously absent from Casey’s view of the career her father had guilt-talked her into.

  He would hate to think that Casey felt trapped in a position she had never truly wanted. How could anyone be truly happy in that situation? And he wanted very badly for Casey to be happy.

  He moved into his office and closed the door before picking up the phone and punching the button for line two. “Casey?”

  “Steve.” Her voice was so cold that he knew immediately how Madelyn had known she was annoyed.

  He kept his tone deliberately cheerful. “How’s everything going, darlin’? Baby Annie’s doing okay?”

  “She screamed nonstop for more than two hours this morning. She’s sleeping now.”

  He winced. Casey was obviously not having a good day. “She seems okay now? You don’t think she’s getting sick or anything?”

  “She’s fine. I think she had a touch of colic. When will you be back?”

  The abrupt change of subject made him blink before answering. “The usual time, I guess. Five-ish. Unless you need me sooner?”

  “As soon as you can get here. I have things to do, too, you know. And tomorrow you’re going to have to make other arrangements. I really must get back to my office.”

  There was something going on here besides Annie’s temper tantrum. Steve wondered how he could find out what it was. “Uh...did you get a call from your office? Is your absence causing a problem there?”

  “Apparently, my absence has cost me a valuable potential customer. It seems he decided to go with the competition instead.”

  Steve grimaced and cleared his throat Since he was the competition, he now knew why Casey was upset. “Um—which potential customer would that be?” he asked carefully.

  “Jack Alexander.”

  “Alexander?” Steve repeated the name in slurprise. “I didn’t even realize—”

  “How could you do that to me, Steve?” Her voice had risen now and had changed from frosty to fiery. “I’ve spent all weekend helping you with the baby—going out of my way so your business wouldn’t suffer just because you’d done a generous and unselfish favor for someone—and this is how you pay me back? It must have been very convenient for you to have me busy here with Annie while you did everything you could to drive me out of business.”

  “Casey—”

  “I trusted you. I thought you would agree that the rivalry was off until this situation was settled. I never thought you would use Annie—use me—to get ahead.”

  “Casey, now come on. You know better than that.”

  “What I know,” she snapped, “is that I spent months convincing Alexande
r that air charter was the way to go with his business. I wined him and dined him and spent hours working up proposals and bid sheets for him. And the first time I was away from the office—doing a favor for you, of course—you moved right in and stole him from me. God knows what you promised him—or how you got your hands on my figures so you could underbid me.”

  “Now, just a minute—”

  “Just don’t come to me for any more favors, Lockhart. You can bet I won’t ask any of you!” She disconnected with a crash that made his ears ring.

  “Damn it, Casey,” he protested to the dial tone. “That was really unfair.”

  He had no intention of letting it go at that, of course. He pushed away from the desk and strode across the office, jerking open the door. “Madelyn, I’m out for the rest of the day. Handle things for me, will you?”

  She blinked a couple of times, the only indication of her dismay at being left to cancel appointments and reschedule lessons. “Okay, Steve.”

  “Thanks, Madelyn. I owe you.”

  “Yes. You do.” She smiled faintly as she picked up the telephone. “Good luck, Steve,” she called after him.

  “Thanks. I’m going to need it,” he muttered, heading for his car.

  Casey would soon find out that he had no intention of letting her go easily now that they had finally gotten together.

  TWENTY MINUTES after slamming the phone into its cradle, Casey was still furious. She tried to rein in her anger so she wouldn’t upset Annie, but it wasn’t easy.

  “I want you to know,” she told the baby lying blessedly quietly in her arms, “that this has nothing to do with you. You are a precious, adorable child, and you don’t deserve anything that has happened to you in the past few days. If there were any way I could take you home and watch you there, I would, but I don’t have anyone to take care of you while I work. And I really must get back to work.”

  Annie blinked at her.

  “I’m not trying to get away from you,” Casey assured her. “Even after the tantrum you threw this morning, I still don’t really mind taking care of you. It’s been very interesting, actually. I’ve never had a chance to spend time with a baby before, and I’ve enjoyed it, for the most part. It may well be the last time I have an opportunity like this,” she added somberly.