Читать книгу GI Cowboy - Delores Fossen - Страница 13

Bailey paced across the reception area of the day care and checked the time on her cell phone. Five minutes since the last time she’d looked and over two hours since Sheriff Hale had told Parker and her about the black car.

Time was crawling by.

So was one of the toddlers, Bailey noticed.

She had to smile at the irony. Elijah, who was almost a year old, was trying to escape from the front play room. He didn’t get far before one of the workers, Audra Finmore, hurried out to scoop him up. Elijah giggled, obviously unaware of a menacing black car and her vandalized office.

“Any news?” Audra asked.

Bailey shook her head and checked her phone. Nothing other than the six calls from her mother, which she had let go straight to voice mail. Ditto for the two from her mother’s personal bodyguard, Tim Penske, whom her mother had no doubt pestered to call Bailey, as well. But Bailey didn’t want to talk to her mom or Tim until she had some answers, and right now she was very short of those.

She still wanted to believe this was nothing. Bailey wanted to stick with her bored-teenager theory to explain the slashed tires, the hang-up calls and the mess in her office. But until the sheriff spoke to the driver of that black car and got a reasonable explanation for why he was in town, then Bailey figured the knot in her stomach was there to stay.

“Enough of this,” she mumbled.

The exteriors doors and windows were all locked, the security system was on and the sheriff would call the moment he knew anything. Since she couldn’t use her office, Bailey decided to go to the playroom because she wanted the welcome distraction of the children.

First though, she stopped by the bathroom and touched up her makeup. There wasn’t much she could do about her eyes that were red from crying, but she added some powder so that her cheeks wouldn’t appear so streaked. She didn’t want anyone to know that this situation had caused her to shed a single tear.

She strolled to the playroom where the staff and children were. There weren’t many.

Two workers and seven children.

Normally, there would be six other staff members and close to fifty kids since parents from nearby towns brought their children to Cradles to Crayons. However, when Bailey had told everyone what was going on, only those with no other childcare choices left their children—even after she had assured them that she would do everything humanly possible to protect their children. And she would. But it wouldn’t bring back the children anytime soon.

It broke her heart.

This wasn’t just her business. It was her life. And that idiot stalker was trying to rob her of what she loved most.

She fought back tears, again, and looked around the room. The tears dried up instantly when she spotted Parker. He was sitting on the floor, keeping watch out the front window where he’d pulled down the shade halfway.

But there was also a baby in his lap.

Maddie Simmons was almost two years old and had blond curls that haloed around her cherub cheeks. Unlike some of the other children, Maddie wasn’t afraid of strangers.

Obviously.

She was right in Parker’s face and was babbling while she wiggled her fingers in front of him. Parker continued to glance out the window, but his attention kept returning to Maddie.

Intrigued at this cowboy warrior’s interaction with the angelic little girl, Bailey walked closer. Parker looked up, and their gazes collided. He had a strange expression on his face, a mixture of shock, concern, amusement and a little of get-me-out-of-here.

“She’s teaching me the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ song, I think,” Parker explained.

Maddie verified that by smiling and babbling, “Bitty, bitty pider.” She clapped her hands and then started another set of sounds. “Tinkle, tinkle.”

Bailey recognized this one. “‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’ I think she wants you to sing it.”

Parker looked at Bailey as if she’d had just asked to jump out of plane without a parachute. “I don’t think so. I can’t sing.”

That only encouraged Maddie to get closer. “Tinkle. Tinkle.” She exaggerated the sounds as if trying to teach him.

Parker shook his head again, but Maddie persisted by pinching his mouth, and Parker finally mumbled the first line of the song. He was totally off-key, sounding very froglike, but it delighted Maddie so much that the little girl laughed and plopped a kiss on his cheek.

Despite the knot in her stomach, Bailey couldn’t stave off a smile. Children were magical.

She walked closer and eased down on the floor beside them. She positioned herself so that she too could keep watch. “Anything from the sheriff?” she asked Parker.

“Fifteen minutes ago he called and said several deputies from the surrounding towns have joined the search.”

“Good. If they’re still looking, that means they still have hopes of finding the driver of that car.”

“Maybe.” Parker paused. “And what if they don’t?”

That required a deep breath. “Then life goes on as usual.” She glanced around at the handful of kids. “Or as close to usual as possible.”

“Without me?” he pressed.

Another deep breath. “I’m sure with your credentials, Bart Bellows will have another job for you.”

“We’re back to that part about not wanting your mother to win.”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation. But then she hesitated. “You won’t have trouble getting work elsewhere?”

“No,” he also said without hesitation. “As soon as the sheriff gives us the all clear, I’ll call Bart and tell him I’m off the case.”

Bailey nodded. Good. This was what she wanted.

The knot in her stomach tightened.

Maddie tried to get up, but she got off balanced. Bailey reached for her, but Parker beat her to it. He gently caught onto the toddler’s arm and steadied her.

“You’re good with kids,” she commented.

There it was again—the total shock in Parker’s eyes. “I’m not.”

Bailey flinched at his suddenly rough tone. “But Zach—”

“I wasn’t around much when he was this age. Or any other age,” he corrected.

That sounded like old baggage that he didn’t especially want to discuss. Bailey shrugged. “I suppose it was hard for you to be home a lot because of your commitment to the army.”

Parker didn’t answer. He stared at the window, until Maddie began to sing her version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” The cheerful song definitely didn’t go with the somber mood in the room, but her staff was trying to keep things upbeat.

Charlotte was at a work table making Fourth of July decorations with two of the older children, and Audra was arranging the others into a circle for a scaled down version of Duck Duck Goose. Bailey knew from experience that all the running around from the game would tire out the kids, and at least several would need a nap.

When Maddie saw the game forming, she babbled bye-bye to Parker, gave him another kiss and toddled over to join the others.

“Why this?” Parker asked, drawing Bailey’s attention back to him. “Why run a day care?” Parker’s investigation had confirmed her trust fund. She didn’t need to work. And she obviously loved kids…

Bailey heard the unspoken part of question, mainly because her mother often spoke it aloud. “You mean why am I here instead of raising a family of my own?”

Parker gave a begrudging nod. “I guess that’s what I meant.”

“I love kids, but I haven’t met anyone I’d like to have kids with. My last relationship ended badly.” Very badly. As in he turned out to be a low-life scum who cheated on her with a lap dancer and then told the press all about two-timing the governor’s daughter. “Let’s just say, I’m not a prize catch for most guys.”

“Right.” His eyebrow lifted. “You’re beautiful, rich and smart. Guys hate that in a woman.”

Bailey bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. “Thank you.”

He thought she was beautiful.

That was something else to take her mind off the black car, but Bailey did glance out to make sure it wasn’t there. “I also have a mother who’s the governor, and while Mom says she would love for me to marry and give her grandchildren, she’s yet to approve of any man I’ve dated.”

Parker stared at her. “You need her approval?”

“No.” Bailey pushed her hair away from her face. “But sometimes it would be nice to get it.”

He made a sound, a rumble deep within his throat. “In the message that she left on your machine, she seemed to be playing matchmatcher with you and me.”

“All talk, I assure you,” Bailey mumbled. “She’ll find fault even with a non-Neanderthal guy like you.”

She hated this turn in the conversation. Hated that she’d just revealed something that personal to a man who was practically a stranger. If she continued with this, it wouldn’t be long before she told him that she was toying with the idea of using artificial insemination to get pregnant.

Now, that would get him running. But it would also be revealing a secret wish that she wasn’t ready to reveal to anyone. Time to switch gears to something more palatable, but Parker changed it for her.

“Who’s that?” he asked and got to his feet.

She looked out the window and spotted the familiar dark-haired man making his way toward the porch. “Sidney Burrell, the handyman. He’s putting in that bathroom Charlotte told you about.” Bailey checked the date on her watch. “Though he wasn’t supposed to work today. He only works after hours, after all the children are gone.”

Parker stood at the window and studied him. “When he’s here, he has access to the entire building?”

“Of course. Why?”

“You trust him?” Parker fired back.

Bailey was about to say yes, but she hesitated. “He moved to Freedom about four months ago so I don’t know him that well, but he had good references. And he hasn’t done anything to make me distrust him.” She noticed his alarmed expression, and that alarmed her. “Why all the questions?”

Parker didn’t take his attention off the man. “I think he’s carrying a concealed weapon.”

She jumped to her feet. “What?”

“Look at the slight bulge around the ankle of his jeans.”

She did look, and yes, there was a bulge. “You think that means he has a gun?”

“Wait here,” Parker ordered, and he hurried out the room and toward the front door.

Bailey had no intention of doing that. Ahead of her, Parker disengaged the security system and threw open the front door just as Sidney was coming up the steps. Even though Parker didn’t draw his own gun, Sidney stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened, and he volleyed glances between Parker and her.

“I heard about the car everyone’s looking for,” Sidney said. “It’s all over town. I came over to check on you.”

“I’m fine,” Bailey lied.

Parker stepped out onto the porch and would have shut the door in her face, if she hadn’t caught onto it. Parker shot her a warning glance over his shoulder, probably so that she would go back inside, but Bailey went on the porch with him.

“This is Parker McKenna,” she said, trying to make it sound like a casual introduction.

Parker didn’t wait for Sidney to respond. “Are you carrying a gun?”

Sidney pulled back his shoulders. “What business is that of yours?”

“Are you carrying a gun?” Parker repeated. He took a single step closer to Sidney, but that step along with his expression had a menacing feel to it.

“Yeah.” Sidney’s expression took on a menacing feel, as well. “I am. But I have a permit to carry concealed.”

Since Bailey’s emotions were already running high, she forced herself to put this in perspective, though she didn’t like the fact this man had been in her day care with a weapon strapped to his ankle.

Except Parker had a weapon too, she reminded herself.

“Why carry a gun?” Bailey asked.

Sidney shrugged and softened his glare when he looked at her. “My house isn’t in town, and a time or two I’ve come home to find coyotes in my yard. It’s easier to have the gun on me than in the glove compartment of the truck.”

She nodded, accepting that. “I’d prefer if you didn’t wear it in the building,” she simply stated.

Sidney’s mouth tightened. “If that’s the way you want it.”

“It is,” Parker answered for her.

For a moment she thought Sidney might argue with that, but he finally smiled and tipped his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute. “I’ll be seeing you around.”

For some reason, that sounded like a threat. Or maybe it was just the nerves getting to her. Parker and she stood there and watched Sidney walk away. The man got into a blue pickup truck and drove off.

“You should call Bart and ask him to run a background check on this guy,” Parker suggested.

That was a good idea, and Bailey made a mental note to be more careful about the people she hired. When had her life gotten so complicated?

Her phone rang, and even though she’d been expecting and even praying for this particular call, her heart began to pound when she saw the sheriff’s name on the screen. Her hand was shaking too, but she pressed the button to answer it and put it on speaker so Parker could hear.

“Did you find the car?” Bailey immediately asked.

“No,” Sheriff Hale said after several snail-crawling moments. “We looked hard, Bailey, but that car isn’t on any road in this county. I figure the guy knows we’re onto him, and he’s long gone.”

Bailey tried not to react, and on the outside she probably didn’t. Inside was a different matter.

“We’ll keep looking, of course,” the sheriff continued. “I’ll review each new security tape. And I’ll have one of the deputies drive by Cradles to Crayons at least every hour. We got this situation under control, Bailey, and I don’t want you worrying about it.”

“Thank you,” she told him, and she clicked the end call button.

She didn’t move. Bailey just stood there, even though the July heat was brutal. Sweat was starting to trickle down her back.

“Okay,” Parker mumbled. “That’s that, then.” He extended his hand for her to shake.

A farewell shake, no doubt.

Bailey stared at his hand. Then at Parker himself. And she had the sickening feeling that her life depended on the decision she was about to make.