so sorry,” he was saying, as Draper talked on his radio. “But they were dirty and seemed so frightened. And I saw you and thought you seemed…” He hesitated over the words on the tip of his tongue. She was enjoying his discomfort just a little; only fair, considering what he was putting her through.
“Cruel?” she asked. “Psychopathic?”
He shook his head guiltily. “No. No. Tired. A little stressed.” He put a gentle hand to Eddie’s head and smiled wryly. “Now I understand why. I haven’t been around kids very much. It didn’t occur to me that they’d lie about such a thing.”
She was inclined to believe him. “Kids this age are always dirty, and there’s a vast uncharted territory in their little minds between truth and fantasy. I just hauled them out of the backyard to go shopping. I should have bathed them first, but I was pressed for time.”
Actually, the man was very handsome in a wild Long Island–playboy sort of way. He had dark blond hair, which he wore in a spiked and disheveled style that made him appear youthful and somehow useless. But added to that was a pair of blue eyes that were sharply intelligent and surprisingly gentle at the same time. They were set in a handsome, nicely shaped face that managed to look strong without sharp angles or a square jaw.
He was tall and athletic in simple cotton slacks and a dark blue shirt. She glanced at the contents of his cart. He did have strange taste in food, however.
She didn’t want to have to explain to him about her younger children and their obsession about finding a father, but they had used and embarrassed him, and she owed him that much.
“They want a father,” she said with a sigh, “and I have no use for another husband, so it’s hard for us to come together on a solution to the problem. I just didn’t realize they were desperate enough to go searching one out on their own.”
“Another husband,” he said. “You mean you’ve already got one?”
She shook her head. “I had one. He’s gone.”
“He’s gone to heaven!” Emma said loudly, the way she said everything.
Sophie wasn’t sure that was where he was, but she didn’t mind that Emma thought so. That was about all this stranger should know about her difficult past, but she couldn’t just walk away until Dave Draper decided what he was going to do about Eddie and Emma.
“I saw your picture in the paper,” Eddie said to Sawyer Abbott, looking pleased with himself. “You did that dangerous stunt with the skis and the barrels. And you give lots of money to help children. That’s why we picked you out when we saw you buying oranges.”
Abbott squatted in front of him. “I’m flattered that you picked me out. But that was a pretty awful thing to do to your mom. What if a policeman had come who didn’t know that she really was your mom and he took her off to jail because he really thought she’d kidnapped you?”
The expression on Eddie’s face said he’d never considered that.
“I wondered if you’d help us,” Eddie said with a frown. “And not just with something easy, but with something really hard. ’Cause a lot of dads don’t help with the hard stuff. So, if we’re going to find another one, he’s got to be great.”
Clearly, Sawyer Abbott had no experience with children. Eddie already had him wrapped around his little finger. When Emma put her arm around his neck, he turned to look into her face and Sophie saw his eyes melt.
“Okay, that’s it,” she said, taking each child by the hand and drawing them back from him. “We’ll probably have to go to the police station, but Mr. Abbott didn’t do anything wrong, so Officer Draper will just let him go home. I’m sure he’s eager to get on his—”
“You have to come with me,” Draper announced, tucking away his radio. “Sorry, Mr. Abbott, but the chief wants to see you, too.”
“But all he did—” Sophie began to protest.
Draper cut her off with a nod. “I know, I know, but we need a full report,” he said with a significant glance at the children, intending to help them realize the gravity of what they’d done. “And in order to do that, we have to have Mr. Abbott’s input.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh. She’d had a long day at the hospital, and the quick dinner she had planned, followed by a long period with her feet up, didn’t look as though it was going to materialize.
Abbott smiled. He had to be the most even-tempered man. “Not a problem. I’ll meet you at the station,” he said to Draper, who nodded, then took each of her children by the hand and led them toward a roped-off checkout line. The young officer went ahead of him to unhook it, then closed it after him when he followed her and the children through.
People were watching them with frowns, wondering, she was sure, what crime they’d committed. She’d be horrified if she wasn’t accustomed to policemen being called, usually on her behalf, and the shocked expressions of neighbors. This wasn’t what she wanted for her children. She and the kids would have to have a serious talk about this father-finding stuff when this was over.
She could only hope that being marched out by a police officer was having the desired effect on the children.
That hope was dashed when Eddie looked at her over his shoulder and said with a big grin, “Isn’t he great, Mom? He didn’t even get mad!”
Chapter Two
“You’re going where?” Brian asked, as Sawyer called him on his cell phone.
“The police station,” Sawyer repeated a second time. “It’s kind of a long story.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing. These kids told me they’d been kidnapped and I called the police on the woman they were with. Turns out she really is their mother.”
There was silence on the other end of the line.
“Brian?” Sawyer prompted.
“I’m here,” he replied. “I just don’t know what to say to that. Are you in trouble, or is she?”
“I think the officer’s just making a point, bringing us all in to make an impression on the kids so they don’t do it again.”
“Why’d they do it in the first place?”
“They’re looking for a father.”
Sawyer heard stifled laughter. “And they picked you?” Brian asked.
“Yes, they did, thank you very much. Seems they read about me in the paper.”
“I didn’t know kids read the paper.”
“Yeah, well, there’s apparently a lot you don’t know. So, I’ll be over later than I’d planned, okay?”
“Sure. Call me if you need bail.”
“Ha, ha.”
Sawyer
