’t be able to put down

Chapter 3

It was probably a mistake, Savannah thought, to be sitting across a booth at Ed’s from Jared MacKade, eating ice cream. But he’d been very persuasive. And Bryan and Connor had been so excited when he offered to treat them to a victory sundae after the Antietam Cannons batted their way to a win.

And it did give her a chance to see him with Cassandra Dolin.

Connor’s mother was a frail little thing, Savannah mused. Blonde and pretty as a china doll, with eyes so haunted they could break your heart. Jared was very gentle with her, very sweet, coaxing smiles from her.

Evidently the shy, vulnerable type was right up his alley.

“Come on, Cassie, have some ice cream with us.”

“I can’t.” Cassie paused by their table long enough to brush a hand over her daughter’s hair as little Emma ate her hot fudge with tiny, serious bites. “We’re swamped. But I appreciate you treating the kids, Jared.”

She was thin enough to blow away in a spring breeze, Jared thought, and held up a spoonful of sundae. “Have a bite, anyway.”

She flushed, but opened her mouth as obediently as a child when he held the spoon to her lips. “It’s wonderful.”

“Hey, Cass, burgers up.”

“Right there.” Cassie hurried off to pick up the orders from the counter where Edwina Crump reigned supreme.

The owner of the diner sent Jared a lusty wink. The fact that she was twenty years his senior didn’t stop her from appreciating a fine-looking man. “Hey, big fellow, don’t see you in here often enough.” She patted her frizzed red bowling ball of a hairdo. “When you taking me dancing?”

“Whenever you say, Ed.”

She gave a chicken-cackle laugh, wiggled her bony body. “Got a hot band over at the Legion tonight. I’m ready and waiting,” she told him before she swung back into the kitchen.

Amused, Savannah propped her elbows on the table. “The Legion, huh? I bet it gets pretty wild.”

“You’d be surprised.” He cocked a brow. “Wanna go?”

“I’ll pass, thanks. Bry, do you think you can shovel any more into your mouth at one time?”

He scooped up a dripping spoon of ice cream, butterscotch and sprinkles. “It’s great,” he said around it. “What’s yours taste like, Con?” To see for himself, Bryan reached over the table to dip his spoon into Connor’s. “Strawberry’s okay,” he decided, “but butterscotch is the best.”

Willing to be wrong, he eyed Emma’s hot fudge avariciously.

“No,” Savannah said mildly, and watched with approval as the five-year-old Emma curled a hand protectively around her bowl. She might be a quiet one, Savannah mused, but the kid knew what was hers. “Pack it away, honey,” Savannah told her. “I bet you can eat these boys under the table.”

“I like ice cream,” Emma said, with one of her rare smiles.

“Me too.” With a grin, Savannah scooped up some of her own. “And hot fudge is the best, right?”

“Uh-huh, and the whipped cream. Miss Ed gives you lots of it.” She put her spoon down carefully beside her empty bowl and announced, “I can go to Regan’s now. My mama said.”

“What’s Regan’s?” Bryan wanted to know.

“She’s friends with my mom,” Connor told him. “She has a shop just down the street. It has lots of neat things to look at.”

“Let’s go see.”

Before he could dart from the booth, Savannah laid a hand on his arm. “Bryan.”

It took him a minute. “Oh, yeah, thanks. Mr. MacKade. The ice cream was great. Come on, Con.”

“Thanks, Mr. MacKade.” Since Emma already had his hand and was tugging on it, Connor slid from the booth. He looked down at his sister, wrinkled his brow.

“Thank you,” she said, keeping an iron grip on her brother’s hand.

“You’re welcome. Say hi to Regan.”

“We will. Mama,” Connor called out, “we’re going down to Regan’s.”

“Don’t touch anything,” Cassie told them, balancing two plates on one arm and serving another. “And come right back if she’s busy.”

“Yes’m.”

Bryan was already out of the door, and Connor followed, hampered by his sister’s sedate pace.

“I’d say you hit a home run,” Savannah commented, leaning back to drape an arm over the back of the booth.

“You hit one yourself. That’s one of the longest conversations I’ve ever heard out of Emma.”

“It must be hard, being shy. She looks like an angel. Like her mother.”

Angels who’d already been through hell, Jared thought. “Cassie’s doing a terrific job with them, on her own. You’d appreciate that.”

“Yes, I would.” Savannah glanced over to where Cassie was busy wiping down a booth. “You’re…close?”

“I’ve known her most of my life, but no, not the way you mean. She’s a friend.” Pleased she was interested enough to ask, he took out a cigar. “And a client. Anything beyond friendship wouldn’t be ethical, when I’m representing her.”

“And you’d be a very ethical man, wouldn’t you, Lawyer MacKade?”

“That’s right. You know, you’ve never mentioned what you do.”

“About what?”

“About making a living.”

“I’ve done all sorts of things.” With a sizzling look, she took the cigar from him.

“I’ll just bet you have,” he murmured.

“Right now I’m an illustrator. Kids’ books, mostly.” Laughing, she passed the cigar back to him. “Doesn’t quite fit the image, does it?”

“I don’t know. I’d have to see some of your illustrations.” He glanced up, and his lips curved. “Hey, Dev.”

Savannah shifted to see the man who had just come in. He had the same dark, go-to-hell looks as Jared, a body that was tall and tough and rangy. The eyes were green, as well, but they were different.

She recognized the way they swept the room, checked for details, looked for trouble. Instinctively her muscles tightened, her face went blank. She didn’t need the badge on his chest to tell her this was the sheriff. She could spot a cop at half a mile on a speeding horse. She could smell one at twenty paces.

“Saw your car.” After one quick scan of the room, one quick smile for Cassie, Devin dropped into the booth beside his brother.

“Savannah Morningstar, Devin MacKade.”

“Nice to meet you.” An eyeful was Devin’s first impression. Then he caught the chill, and wondered about it. “You bought the cabin? The doctor’s place.”

“That’s right. It’s my place now.”

Not just a chill, he mused. Ice was forming. “That must be your kid I’ve run into out at the farm. Bryan, right?”

“Yes, Bryan’s my son. He’s well fed, he’s in school, and he’s had his shots. Excuse me, I’d better go see what the kids are up to.”

And straight into frostbite, Devin mused as she slid from the booth. He winced as the door swung to behind her. “Ouch. What the hell was that about?”

“I don’t know,” Jared murmured. “But I’m going to find out.” He pulled bills out of his pocket.

“You want a guess?” Devin made way so that Jared could climb out of the booth. “The lady’s had trouble with the law.”

Damn, damn, damn. On the sidewalk, Savannah struggled to regain her composure. That had been stupid, she berated herself. That had been foolish. The trouble with letting yourself relax, she reminded herself, was that all sorts of nasty things could sneak up and bite you in the back.

Now that she was outside, her fists jammed into the snug pockets of her jeans, she realized that she didn’t know what this Regan’s shop was, much less where it was. All she wanted was to get her son and take him home.

“You want to tell me what just happened?” Jared stepped up behind her, touched a hand to her shoulder.

Savannah made herself take a careful breath before turning. “I finished my ice cream.”

“Then maybe you should walk it off.” He twined his fingers around her arm and had them quickly and fiercely shaken off.

“Don’t take hold of me unless I ask you.”

He felt the MacKade temper stir and clamped down on it. “Fine. Why don’t you tell me why you were rude?”

“I’m often rude,” she shot back. “Especially to cops. I don’t like cops. They’re one step down from lawyers. I’m not interested in socializing with either one. Which way are the kids?”

“It seems to me we were just socializing up a storm.”

“Now we’re not. Go back and talk law and order with your brother.” The old fury, the old fears, wouldn’t quite let go. “You can tell him to go ahead and run a make on me. I’m clean. I have valid employment, and money in the bank.”

“Good for you,” Jared said equably. “Why should Devin run a make on you?”

“Because cops and lawyers love to stick their noses in other people’s business. That’s what you’ve been doing with me ever since you drove up my lane. The way I live and the way I raise my son are my concern and nobody else’s. So back off.”

It was fascinating. Even through his own bubbling temper, it was fascinating to watch her simmer and spew. “I haven’t gotten in your way yet, Savannah. You’ll know when I do. Believe me, you’ll know. Right now, I’m just asking for an explanation.”

She didn’t know how he did it. How he could look searing daggers at her and still speak in that controlled, reasonable voice. She hated people who could manage that.

“You’ve just got the only one I’m giving. Now where’s my son?”

Jared kept his eyes on hers. “Past Times—two doors behind you.” But when she started to whirl away, he took her arm again.

“I told you not to—”

“You listen to me. You’re not going to charge in there like some fire-breathing Amazon.”

The heat in her eyes could have boiled the skin off a man. “You’d better take your hand off me before I damage that pretty face of yours.”

He only tightened his grip. Under different circumstances, he might have enjoyed seeing her try. “There are two abused kids in that shop,” he began, and watched her face change. Fury to surprise, surprise to painful sympathy.

“Connor and Emma. I should have seen it.” Her gaze darted to the wide glass window of Ed’s. “Cassandra.”

“Those kids watched their mother get beaten by their father, and that’s more violence in those two short lives than anyone deserves. You go storming in there, you’ll—”

“I don’t make a habit of frightening children,” Savannah snapped back. “Whatever you by-the-book types think, I’m a good mother. Bryan’s never done without. He’s had the best I could give him, and—”

She shut her eyes and fought back the rage. Jared thought it was like watching a volcano capping itself.

“Let go of my arm,” she said, calmly now. “I’m going to take my son home.”

Jared studied her face another moment, saw the licks of temper just behind the molten brown of her eyes. He released her, watched her walk to Regan’s shop, take one more calming breath before pulling open the door and going inside.

Devin strolled out. He stopped beside Jared and scratched his head. “That was quite an interesting show.”

“I have a feeling it was just the overture.” Intrigued, Jared tucked his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels. “There’s a lot going on in there.”

“A woman like that could make a man forget his own name.” With a faint smile, Devin looked over at his brother. “You remember yours?”

“Yeah, just barely. I think you were right about her having problems with the law.”

Devin’s eyes narrowed. The law, the town and everyone in it were his responsibility. “I could run a make on her.”

“No, don’t do that. It’s just what she expects.” Thoughtfully Jared turned toward his car. “I’ve got an urge to give the lady the unexpected. We’ll see what happens.”

“Your call,” Devin murmured as Jared climbed behind the wheel. Your call, he thought again. As long as the lady stays out of trouble.

Bryan stared out the car window, his face averted coolly from his mother’s. He didn’t see why Connor couldn’t spend the night. It was still Saturday, and there were hours and hours left until the dumb bell rang for school on lousy Monday.

What was a guy supposed to do with all those hours without his best bud? Chores, he thought, rolling his dark brown eyes. Homework. Might as well be in jail.

“Might as well be in jail,” he said aloud, turning his face now in challenge.

“Yeah, they play a lot of baseball, eat a lot of butterscotch sundaes, in the joint.”

“But I’ve got nothing to do at home,” he said—the desperate lament of every nine-year-old.

“I’ll give you something to do,” Savannah shot back—the typical response of every frustrated parent. And when she heard that come out of her mouth she nearly groaned. “I’m sorry, Bry, I’ve got a lot on my mind, and it’s just not a good night for a sleep-over.”

“I could’ve stayed at Con’s. His mother wouldn’t care.”

Direct hit, she thought grimly as she turned up the lane. “Well, yours does, Ace, and you’re stuck with me. You can start by taking out the trash you didn’t take out this morning, cleaning that black hole that passes as your room, then studying your math so you don’t end up in summer school.”

“Great.” The minute she stopped the car, he slammed out. He muttered another comment about it being worse than jail that had smoke coming out of her ears.

“Bryan Morningstar.” His name lashed out. When he pivoted back, they stood glaring at each other, angry color riding high on each set of cheekbones, eyes almost black with passionate temper. “Why the hell are you so much like me?” she demanded. She threw her face up to the sun. “I could have had a nice, quiet, well-mannered little girl if I’d tried really hard. Why did I think I’d like having some snotty, bad-tempered boy with big feet?”

It made his lips twitch. “Because then you’d have to take out the trash yourself. A girl would whine and say it was too messy.”

“I could take the trash out,” she said consideringly. “In fact, I think I will, after I put you in it.” She made a grab, but he danced back, laughing at her.

“You’re too old to catch me.”

“Oh, yeah?” She streaked forward, pounded up the bank after him. He stood hooting at her, taunting. Which was his mistake. She snagged him, making the catch more from her advantage of reach and experience than from speed, and tumbled with him to the grass.

“Who’s old, smart mouth?”

“You are.” He shrieked with laughter as her fingers dug mercilessly into his ribs. “You’re almost thirty.”

“I am not. Take it back.” She whipped him into a headlock, rubbed her knuckles over his hair. “Take it back, and do the math, Einstein. What’s twenty-six from thirty?”

“Nothing,” he shouted. “Zero.” Then, fearing he might wet his pants if she kept tickling, he surrendered. “It’s four, okay? It’s four.”

“Remember that. And remember who can still take you down.” She pulled him back against her, hugged him so suddenly, so fiercely, he blinked. “I love you, Bryan. I love you so much.”

“Jeez, Mom.” He wriggled in mortification. “I know.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

He rolled his eyes, but trickles of remorse found their way through the embarrassment. “I guess I’m sorry, too.”

“You and Connor can have a sleep-over next weekend. I promise.”

“Okay, that’s cool.” When she didn’t release him, he frowned. But it wasn’t so bad, letting her hold him—since none of the guys were around to see. She smelled nice, and her arms were soft. There were flickers of memory of being rocked and soothed.

He was simply too young to do anything but take them for granted. She’d always been there. She always would. He let his head rest on her shoulder, and didn’t feel like squirming when she stroked his hair.

“Could we maybe cook out on the grill later?”

“Sure. Want superburgers?”

“Yeah, and french fries.”

“What’s a superburger without fries?” she murmured, then sighed. “Bryan, has Con said anything to you about his father?”

She felt her son go still, and pressed a light kiss to his hair. “Is it a secret?”

“Sort of.”

“I don’t want you to betray a confidence. I found out today that Connor’s father used to hit his mother. I thought if Con had talked to you about it, you might want to talk to me.”

He’d wanted to, ever since Connor had told him. But Connor had cried some—even though Bryan had pretended not to notice. And a guy just didn’t tell his mother things like that.

“Con’s said he’s in jail for hitting her. Con said he used to hurt her real bad, and he drank a lot and gave her bruises and everything. They’re getting divorced.”

“I see.” She’d seen plenty of men who were Joe Dolin’s type in her life, but that didn’t stop her from despising them. “Did he hit Con, too? And Emma?”

“Not Emma.” Here was another dicey part, but Bryan heard himself blurting it out before he could stop. “But he hit Con. Not when his mom was around and could see. He’d call him names and shove him. He said Con was a sissy ’cause he liked to read books and write stories. Con’s no sissy.”

“Of course he’s not.”

“He’s just real smart. He doesn’t hardly have to study to get the answers right. But he doesn’t raise his hand in class very much. The teacher calls on him anyway.” As he stared off into the woods, Bryan’s face darkened with rage. “Some of the kids give him a hard time about things. About his father, and how he’s teacher’s pet and how he can’t throw a baseball very far. But they back off when I’m around.”