Authors: Judy Christenberry
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary, #Historical, #Nonfiction, #Series
Baby in Her Arms (8 page)
Maggie leaned toward him to kiss Ginny, too, and Josh found himself abruptly distracted from the baby. He wanted Maggie to lean into him for other purposes.
“You’re doing a fine job of tending to Ginny,” she said after she’d kissed the baby.
“It’s not too hard with you here to give me confidence,” he assured her. He put Ginny in her bed, covering her with a blanket and winding the mobile. As the baby watched the dangling animals, they turned off the overhead light, leaving only the nightlight to illuminate the mobile, and slipped from the room.
“Now what?” he asked as they paused in the hall.
“I don’t know. I think I’m getting cabin fever,” Maggie confessed.
“Cabin fever?”
“I haven’t been outside the apartment in several days.”
Somehow the thought of Maggie leaving, even if she promised to return, disturbed him. “How about we watch a movie or play a game?”
“What kind of game?”
“I have the original Trivial Pursuit, or we could play cards. I’m sure Sam would like a new diversion, too.”
Soon the three of them were seated in the kitchen, popcorn on the table, testing each other with trivia questions. Josh found himself fascinated with Maggie, watching her responses.
He even grew jealous as Sam exhibited a dry wit that tickled Maggie. Her cheeks flushed, her hazel eyes flashed, and he wanted her attention centered only on him. When their hands met in the popcorn bowl, he felt a stirring deep in his loins.
“Don’t you know the answer?” Maggie asked.
Josh had no idea what the question had been. He asked Sam to repeat it.
“What quarterback served in the Navy before leading his team to several Super Bowls?” Sam read.
“I think I need a clue,” Josh said, leaning toward Maggie.
“A clue? Don’t you watch football?” Maggie asked.
“Yeah. Do
you?
”
you?
”
“Of course. Though I mostly watch the Chiefs.”
Had he died and gone to heaven? A woman as sweet as Maggie who watched football? With his gaze focused on her lips, he leaned closer still.
“Do you know the answer or don’t you?” Sam demanded.
“Yeah. Roger Staubach,” he tossed off, his gaze never leaving Maggie.
“You were teasing me. You knew the answer all along,” Maggie protested.
Before he could respond—or kiss her, as he wanted to do—Sam was urging him to roll the dice. Josh was about ready to give Sam up to his enemies. He wanted to have Maggie all to himself.
An hour later the game ended when Maggie had won all her pieces of the plastic pie. Josh was glad they had finished. It was time to retire to the bedroom. And the bed. He was looking forward to holding Maggie in his arms.
If he could contain himself.
“Is something wrong?” Maggie asked.
He smoothed the frown away. “No, of course not. Ready for bed? We’ll be up early with Ginny in the morning.”
Now she was the one looking worried. “Um, yes. I’ll just put these glasses in the dishwasher.”
He fetched the bedding for the couch and told Sam good-night as Maggie came out of the kitchen.
She acted nervous as she, too, said good-night to Sam. Then she hurried down the hall, not waiting for Josh.
“Are you that sleepy?” he asked as he entered the bedroom behind her.
“No. Not at all. Um, do you want the bathroom first?”
“You go ahead. I’ll wait.”
He listened to the shower, imagining her naked under the spray of water, and decided his own shower would have to be a cold one. When everything was settled Monday, he and Maggie were going to have to have a long talk. He didn’t intend to let her go.
She came out, buttoned to her chin in that white cotton robe. “Your turn.”
Maggie let out a deep sigh when the bathroom door closed behind Josh. She wished she could crawl into bed and pretend to be asleep when he came out. But she couldn’t.
Because she couldn’t sleep in the bed with him.
Last night, each time she woke up, she’d found herself in Josh’s arms. Returning to the same bed with the man would only lead to disaster. Even if he didn’t want their...closeness to lead to anything else, she couldn’t trust herself, lulled by sleep, to keep her distance. His sexiness tempted her. His big heart tempted her even more.
How she longed to be a family with Ginny and Josh. It couldn’t happen, of course. But she knew that the major reason she’d so willingly come with Josh had been her yearning for more.
After her father died, she realized she’d been hiding from life. And his death made it clear to her that time was precious. Her father hadn’t talked to Susan, hadn’t told her he was her father, before he died. He’d intended to, but he hadn’t had time.
Maggie had been hiding from life because she was afraid of failing. She trusted only numbers, not people. Then Kate had married Will and had baby Nathan, and Maggie had seen her sister transformed by a happiness Kate had never known before.
Maggie wasn’t jealous. Not exactly. But her sister’s situation had started her thinking about changing her own life. Finding happiness while she still had time.
And it was just about then that Josh McKinley, with baby Ginny, had walked into the diner.
“You’re not in bed yet?” Josh asked.
Maggie jumped. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard him emerge from the bathroom. “N-no. I need to check on Ginny.” She hurried from the room.
She stood in the semidark, staring at the beautiful baby who had come to mean so much to her in such a short time. Finally, hoping Josh had gone to sleep, she slipped back into his bedroom. It was dark, but the hall light showed her the outline of his body on the far side of the bed.
“Is she all right?” he called softly.
“Yes. Fine.”
“Come to bed, Maggie. It’s late and you must be tired.”
She swallowed, shifting from one foot to the other, unsure what to do. “Um, in a minute.” She dashed to the bathroom door.
When she emerged from the bath five minutes later, having sat on the edge of the tub, waiting, hoping Josh would go to sleep, he remained silent.
She tiptoed across the room. The large king-size pillows that she’d used to separate the bed area last night were on the floor. Trying to avoid making noise, she placed the two pillows, end to end, on the floor by her side of the bed. Then she pulled a blanket from the top of the closet.
Having made herself a reasonably comfortable nest that would preclude the warmth of Josh’s arms, she settled down with a sigh. And with longing.
Josh kept his breathing even, unmoving, waiting for her to get in the bed. He knew he couldn’t pull her into his arms while she was awake.
She would protest.
But she was a sound sleeper. And a natural cuddler. He loved holding her against him.
He opened his eyes when her breathing became even, but she had yet to get in the bed. Slowly he raised himself up and searched for her. She wasn’t in sight.
Slipping out of the bed, he rounded it to check in Ginny’s room and almost tripped over Maggie, asleep on the floor.
He shook his head, a tender smile filling him. Without hesitation, he scooped her up into his arms, placed her on the bed, then went to his side.
He slid under the covers, pulling them over her, also. Then, as he had the night before, he slid his arms around her, holding her against him. Contentment filled him, and he closed his eyes.
Chapter Eight
J
osh had paid for his contentment.
osh had paid for his contentment.
It was Monday morning, time to concentrate on getting Sam to court safely, and Josh had trouble thinking of anything but Maggie’s anger. She would scarcely speak to him.
And last night she’d slept on the floor in Ginny’s room.
He dressed for the demands of the day and hurried to the living room. Will and Joey were due any minute with breakfast, and they wouldn’t have much time to eat before Sam and Will left.
Pasting a smile on his face, hoping Maggie was in a more amenable mood this morning, he stepped into the living room only to find Maggie sitting in his favorite chair, her arms crossed, tears running down her face.
“Maggie? Maggie, what’s wrong?”
She glowered at him but didn’t answer.
He crossed the room and fell to his knees in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’m so mad I could spit, but I’m fine.”
“Maggie, I didn’t bother you last night. Why are you still mad at me?” Had it been such a terrible sin to hold her?
“Not you! I—”
A knock on the door interrupted them. Josh, his mind still on Maggie, automatically moved to the door and checked through the peephole. Seeing Will and Joey, he opened the door, letting them in. Before they’d even crossed the threshold, he turned back to Maggie.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart? Did Sam do something?”
“No. Never mind. You don’t have time.”
“Is Ginny all right?”
“Yes. Go eat some breakfast.”
She was right. There was no time for a heart-toheart, but he wished there were. “Okay, you come eat, too. Have you got you and Ginny packed up for the day? You can’t stay here, you know.”
“I know. I’m going to take Ginny to Will and Kate’s. The doctor said Nate isn’t contagious anymore.”
“All right. I’ll pick you up there, once I get Sam squared away. You’re not to come back here alone. You understand?” He wasn’t taking any chances on Maggie and Ginny getting hurt.
“Of course I understand. I’m not an idiot!”
Whoops. Looks like he’d tromped on a sore spot. “I know you’re not an idiot. You’re brilliant. You’re the one who came up with our escape plan.” He risked her anger by kissing her briefly, but it was worth the risk. He’d been dying to kiss her sweet mouth for the past twenty-four hours.
“Hey, you two, break it up and come eat,” Will said from the kitchen doorway.
Maggie’s cheeks flamed and Josh wanted to warm his hands against her hot skin. Instead, he pulled her from the chair, keeping her hand in his as they headed to the kitchen. Whatever had upset her earlier had transferred her anger from him to someone else. He could only be grateful.
Sam had joined Will and Joey in the kitchen. He was eating, but he looked pale and nervous.
“Maggie, you and Ginny are going to our house, aren’t you?” Will asked.
“Yes. We’ll slip out right after you and Sam. And you’ll call as soon as you can?”
“Sure. Kate would kill me if I didn’t,” Will assured her with a grin. Then he turned to Josh. “It’s a good thing you’re not married. These women like to keep track of a guy.”
A quick look at Sam showed Josh he was too concerned with the coming events to notice that Will had disclosed that Josh and Maggie were not husband and wife after all.
“You don’t seem to be suffering,” Josh pointed out. He hadn’t met Will until yesterday, but he liked the man. Was even impressed with him. The guy ran a multimillion-dollar company, but he seemed down-to-earth.
Will’s face softened, a greater testament to his happy marriage than any words he could speak. “No, I’m not suffering. Life couldn’t be better, in fact.”
“Shouldn’t we be leaving?” Sam asked, his voice shaking.
Will looked at Josh, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Yeah. Probably so. You’ll have a little extra time, Will, so take a circuitous route, as if you had some more deliveries to make. You remember the instructions for when you get to the courthouse?”
“Yeah. We’ll be fine. I’ll see you there.” Will stood, then turned to Maggie. “You get yourself and Ginny safely over to Kate’s, okay?”
“I will,” Maggie agreed solemnly.
“They’ll be fine. There’s no danger, as long as they aren’t here.” Josh had to believe what he’d said, because the thought of Maggie and Ginny in danger wasn’t something he could handle. He escorted Will and Sam to the door. Once he closed it behind them, Joey and Maggie joined him at the window, trying to see their exit. Both men were wearing the bright green coveralls of the Lucky Charm.
When the van pulled away from the curb without interference or signs of anyone following them, Josh let out the breath he’d been holding.
“Okay. Joey, open the door and call Pete in. Time for phase two.”
When Joey stepped out into the hall, Josh turned around and clasped Maggie’s upper arms. Her startled look told him she hadn’t anticipated his touching her.
“You take care of yourself and Ginny.” Then he covered her beautiful lips with his, wishing he could accompany her to Kate’s house, just to be sure she and the baby were safe. But he couldn’t.
Someone cleared his throat behind them, and Josh reluctantly let Maggie go. “We’ll talk this afternoon, okay?”
Her eyes widened and she nodded but said nothing.
“Go get Ginny.”
When she reappeared only seconds later with his daughter snuggled against her, he drew a deep breath. “You got everything?”
She nodded again, pointing to the diaper bag she had slung over her shoulder. “If I don’t, Kate will have what I need.”
He drew another deep breath. What was wrong with him? He’d never had such difficulty parting from anyone. Ignoring the two men watching them, he stepped to Maggie’s side and wrapped both females in his arms.
To his delight, Maggie didn’t resist. Instead, she raised her free hand and stroked his cheek. “Take care,” she whispered and kissed him gently, then stepped out of his arms and walked toward the door.
“Maggie,” he called, then stopped.
She turned to look at him, Ginny babbling nonsense in her arms. “Yes?”
“You, too,” he muttered, unable to say what had first flashed into his mind. He didn’t love her. He didn’t ever intend to love anyone. It would give that person too much power.
But he cared about her...and Ginny.
Yes, that was it. He cared about her.
“I will,” she assured him and walked out the door.
The three men turned back to the window. It would take longer for Maggie to appear on the street because she was walking to the parking garage.
There was no danger, Josh assured himself. The bad guys didn’t even know about Maggie and Ginny. They would think she was coming from one of the other condos.
But a heavy sigh escaped him when he saw Maggie’s compact pull out into the street and drive away.
“Okay, guys, time for phase three,” he muttered.
When Kate opened the door for Maggie, who had Ginny propped on one hip, she embraced both of them.
“You’re all right!” Kate exclaimed as she backed up to let them enter.
“Of course we are. We were never in danger. Have you heard from Will?”
“Not yet. He said not to expect a call until after ten, when the trial is to start again, and it’s only a couple of minutes after nine.” Kate led Maggie toward the kitchen.
“Ginny’s a darling baby, Maggie, but this whole situation is a problem,” Kate said firmly as she gestured for her sister to sit at the kitchen table.
Maggie greeted Betty, Kate’s housekeeper and almost a family member. “How are you?”
“Fine. And glad to see you safe and sound. Coffee?”
“That would be great.” Then Maggie turned to deal with her sister’s remark. “She is a darling, isn’t she?”
“You’re going to ignore the rest?” Kate demanded, raising one brow.
“Yes. Where’s Nathan?”
“He’s upstairs playing. Angie is with him. Want to take Ginny upstairs? And then we’ll talk.”
Maggie knew there was no escape. When Kate was determined, nothing stood in her way. Maggie followed Kate’s plan, delivering Ginny to Angie, the nanny who took care of Nathan while Kate was at the diner.
When they were once more seated around the kitchen table, their coffee supplemented by warm cinnamon rolls, Kate didn’t waste a minute.
“When are you going to go back home?”
“I promised Josh I would stay today.”
“Has he found someone to take care of Ginny?”
“No, he hasn’t had a chance to, what with the witness thing.” She looked up from her coffee cup. “I apologize for getting you and Will involved.”
Kate waved away her concern. “I think Will has really enjoyed it. And I don’t think he’s in any danger.”
“I hope not. But Josh was shot when he escorted Sam into town and—” She broke off, regretting her words as she saw a flare of alarm in Kate’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that. I know the plan is a good one.”
“Yes, it is. And Josh does have a solid reputation. Will checked.”
Maggie raised one eyebrow.
“Well, I wasn’t going to let you go off with some man that I knew nothing about!” Kate stretched out a hand toward Maggie. “We may have added a sister, but our family is still small.”
“So if you had a big family, you’d let me go off with any old man,” Maggie teased, knowing the answer before Kate protested.
“No, of course not, but...Maggie, you’re not very experienced.”
Maggie couldn’t meet her sister’s concerned look. Not that she’d done anything she should be ashamed of, but maybe, just maybe, she’d wanted to.
“He hasn’t hurt you, has he?” Kate asked in response to Maggie’s behavior.
“No, of course not.”
“So tomorrow everything will be normal again.”
Maggie pressed her lips together. Finally, she said, “Not exactly.”
“What’s happened?” Kate asked, her tone ominous, as if Maggie were only fulfilling a prediction her sister had already made.
“I quit my job.”
“What?” Kate squeaked. Even Betty turned away from the sink where she was cleaning to stare at Maggie.
Maggie understood their shock. She’d clung to her job at the accounting firm through everything, always talking about how important her career was. She’d worked hard to move up the corporate ladder, and she’d put in long hours.
“What happened?” Kate asked.
“I called this morning to take a week’s vacation. I told my boss I had a family emergency. He told me I had to come to work.” She kept her gaze on her clasped hands, wondering if Kate would think she’d behaved foolishly. Finally, she looked at her sister. “I snapped. I’d given so much time to my work. Now that I needed some time away, they couldn’t be generous.”
“Good for you,” Kate said, reaching over to cover Maggie’s hands. “I told you they took advantage of you.”
“Good for me? I’m without a job, Kate. How am I going to support myself?”
She shouldn’t have asked that question. She knew how Kate would react.
“Will will give you a job. He always needs good accountants.”
“Poor Will. He didn’t know when he married you that he’d have to employ your entire family,” Maggie said with a wry chuckle.
“The only family member he offered a job to was Susan. You know she refused.”
“Yes,” Maggie agreed with a sigh. And she understood why Susan had refused. Their newest sister had a lot of pride, and the job Will had offered her paid too well. Susan thought she was being given charity.
“But you won’t refuse, will you?”
“Yes, I will. It’s bad enough that I’m working for you. I don’t need to be working for Will, too.”
“But what are you going to do?”
Though she’d protested Kate’s approval of her quitting, Maggie had already formed a plan in her head. “Well, the Lucky Charm is doing so well, I might even be able to scrape by on what you pay me to do the books and my share of the profit. I thought I might try to pick up a few more clients. Sort of start my own business.”
Kate responded at once. “That’s a terrific idea! You’ll be rich in no time. Maggie, I’m so proud of you!”
“I haven’t done it yet,” she warned, then she admitted, “but I’ve been wanting to make some changes in my life.” She thought of the baby upstairs and the man who was in danger, and she knew some changes had already occurred.
She only hoped those changes wouldn’t break her heart.
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