LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

hand. His hard eyes bored into hers. “That’s exactly why I’m here.”

      As quickly as her anger rose, fear took its place. She wanted to stay on the good side of the law, to avoid doing anything that might cause suspicion. Regaining control, Margo struggled to make her voice calm again. “She came for her kitten.”

      “That’s what she said.”

      Margo edged past him and handed the plate of tuna to Ariel. Ariel grinned up at her father and put the plate in her lap.

      “Ariel knows she’s not supposed to walk home from school by herself.”

      The man’s tone raised hairs on the back of Margo’s neck. Did he think she’d kidnapped the cat just to get her hands on his child? Possibly. Heaven knew, she understood the force of circumstantial evidence. She met his eyes, determined to regain impassivity, and offered no apology.

      He held her gaze until silence grew heavy between them. Margo’s nerves stretched as she wondered what he saw, what he thought, what he’d do. Then Ariel tugged on his pant leg and pointed up into the big cottonwood.

      “It’s working, Daddy. Look, Jelly was in the tree and now he’s coming down all by himself.”

      As soon as the kitten settled into the feast, the man took the plate of tuna away, handed it back to Margo, and swept both Ariel and Jelly into his arms. “Hold on to him, okay?”

      “Okay, Daddy.”

      As he strode toward the trellis fence, Ariel peeped over his shoulder. “Bye,” she called, waving her adorable little hand.

      “Bye,” Margo murmured.

      “Can I come again?”

      “Perha—” Margo began.

      “We’ll talk about it at home,” the man interjected.

      Putting her hand on her father’s face, Ariel pulled it around to make him look at her. “She’s nice, Daddy.”

      The man stopped to unlatch the gate. “You know the rules, Scooter. You stay at the school until someone picks you up.”

      “Daddy—”

      “No exceptions.”

      Shooting Margo one last piercing glance, Ariel’s father carried the little girl across the back alley. He opened a gate into the yard immediately behind hers.

      Only when they’d disappeared inside their house did Margo’s legs collapse under her. She crumpled onto the ground, right where she’d sat in blissful ignorance and enjoyed his daughter’s company. God. A cop. The sheriff to be precise. And she’d ripped into him without the slightest concern for the consequences.

      Damn. Hadn’t she worked for years to overcome her old tendency to let passion rule her actions? Hadn’t she identified when and where she was most susceptible? Hadn’t she made a science of the self-control she longed to have?

      Obviously she’d met with so little challenge these past few years that the new concept of herself had never been tested. Until now. Today a flash flood of emotions had washed toward her and her dam of self-protection had given way.

      Closing her eyes, she dragged deep calming breaths into her lungs and tried to imagine how it had looked through the cop’s eyes. Her anger had been out of concern for his child. Maybe that was all he’d see. Maybe he’d even appreciate Margo. for her concern when he had a chance to think about it. Maybe everything was okay.

      She’d done nothing she couldn’t defend, said nothing she regretted. She had to believe she hadn’t put her new life at risk.

      She had a new start in a new town where no one knew her or her past. She had a new identity that would give her the freedom to be a regular citizen and have normal relationships. She had a career, writing to her heart’s content, creating worlds, characters, crises, and above all, happy endings.

      

      Riley’s concern for Ariel’s safety didn’t evaporate just because he had her safe in his arms. The three weeks since he’d lost his housekeeper hadn’t gone smoothly, but he’d managed. Evenings and weekends he had a list of teenagers to choose from. During the day, when he couldn’t get to the school himself, someone had filled in for him.

      Today he’d been a little late, but it wasn’t the first time. And until today Ariel had always persuaded a friend or two to stay and play with her while she waited. Finding her gone, he’d put out an alert and within minutes all his deputies and most of his staff were looking for her. His whole available force. And the entire time, she was practically in their own backyard. He’d hear about this one for a while.

      With Ariel still in his arms, he picked up the phone to have Liz send out the word she was okay.

      “Daddy, we need to feed Jelly. Can we give him tuna fish?”

      “You want to reward him for running away?”

      “Oh, Daddy.”

      Ariel squirmed, so Riley let her slide to the floor while he placed the call. The dispatcher’s relief told him Ariel would be the queen of the station after causing such a stir. Speak of reinforcing unacceptable behavior. Resigned, he hung up and turned to Ariel.

      At five, she went her own way so engagingly he found it difficult to be strict with her. And he was her father. Everyone else catered to her as if she were royalty.

      “So do I spank you, or send you to bed without dinner, or ground you for the rest of your life?”

      She giggled and his stomach clenched. “It’s not funny, Ariel. I’ve been looking for you for almost an hour, and so have a lot of other people. We worry about you.”

      “But, Daddy, I came straight home from school. Clara and James don’t have to wait for someone to pick them up. Why do I have to?”

      “Because Clara and James walk together, and they go to Clara’s house, and Clara’s mommy is there waiting for them.”

      “It’s not my fault I don’t have a mommy. And when you don’t come, it’s boring at the school.”

      Riley swallowed a sigh. He couldn’t refute her logic, and he didn’t know how to instill a sense of caution in her without scaring her to death. “I know, Scooter, but—”

      She opened the pantry and got out a can of cat food. “Don’t be mad, Daddy.”

      “I’m not mad, Ariel, I’m—”

      “Then don’t frown.” She scrunched her face into a glare, held it for about two seconds, then burst into a little giggle.

      “Okay, I’m mad. I don’t want you to ever leave the school alone again.”

      Ariel only laughed, reminding him far too vividly of Kendra. Once, his wife’s confidence that life held no dangers had captivated him; she’d believed in her own invulnerability and insisted on pushing the edge of the envelope. Two years ago she’d challenged a blizzard, relying on a lifetime of experience with Wyoming roads. But she’d lost control of her car, and he and Ariel had lost her. In his daughter, that same conviction of immunity kept him constantly on edge.

      Ariel pushed a chair over to the counter and climbed up to fit the cat-food can into the electric can opener. Her cool competence in the kitchen reminded him how quickly she was growing up, and reinforced his fear.

      “Did you hear what I said? I don’t want you wandering around by yourself.”

      “okay.”

      But the promise came so easily that Riley doubted he’d gotten through to her. It terrified him to think what it would take to instill caution in her. He hated that there were enough mean, angry, scary people out there to make prevention necessary.

      Once she had the cat food open, Ariel looked over her shoulder at him. “That lady was nice.”

      “Was she?”

Скачать книгу