doubt it.â
âTomorrow morning?â
âPossibly. Then again, he could get a call from one of his clients and have to take off in the middle of the night.â
Harlan Patrick hid a grin. Ruby was tough, all right. âHow often does that happen?â
âYouâd be surprised.â
âI donât suppose youâd like to go out for a drink?â
She waved her left hand under his nose. A wedding ring and diamond flashed past. âI donât think so, cowboy. And you could get me drunk as a skunk and I still wouldnât tell you how to find Laurie.â
âBecause she told you not to,â he guessed aloud.
Ruby hesitated for just an instant, then nodded. âBecause she told me not to and because I protect the privacy of all our clients. I value their trust.â
âWhat if I told you I was her old childhood sweetheart?â
âIâd ask how come she left you behind if you were all that special.â
The barb hit its mark. âNow, darlinâ, that is the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.â He regarded her thoughtfully. âYou know, donât you?â
For the first time, little Miss Ruby squirmed. âKnow what?â
âThat Iâm the daddy of that baby of hers.â
âI donât know any such thing,â she retorted, but there was a telltale flush in her cheeks.
He kept right on. âAnd you donât believe that a daddy should be separated from his child, do you, Ruby?â He recalled the baby seat in the van outside. âYouâre a mama yourself. You disapprove of what Laurieâs done to me. I could see it in the way the corners of your mouth turned down when I mentioned that baby.â
She ducked her head. âIt doesnât matter what I think.â
âBecause your dutyâs to Laurie.â
Her chin came up, and she shot a defiant look straight at him. âExactly.â
They stood there, facing each other, neither of them saying a word, until finally Harlan Patrick sighed.
âWould it matter if I told you I love her?â
Her expression softened. âIt might to me, but Iâm not the one who needs convincing, am I?â
He grinned. âNo, but you are the one who stands between me and her.â
She grinned back. âYou are a sneaky, persistent devilâIâll give you that.â
Harlan Patrick felt a faint stirring of hope. âWill you help me, Ruby?â
Still smiling, she looked him straight in the eye and said, âNo. Now, scoot along out of here, cowboy. Iâm closing for the day.â
âIâll be back in the morning,â he promised, taking the defeat with good grace. Ranting and raving wouldnât work with a woman like Ruby, but he had a hunch that he could wear her down with charm and a few more reminiscences about the old days heâd shared with Laurie.
âSuit yourself, but the answer wonât be one bit different tomorrow.â
âWeâll see,â he said, and tipped his hat. âItâs been my pleasure, darlinâ.â
She gave him a stern, no-nonsense look. âI canât imagine why. You look like a man whoâs all too used to getting his own way.â
He winked. âI am. Thatâs why itâs fascinating to run into a worthy challenge every now and again.â
He slipped out the door before she could respond to that. He drove down the block and parked around the corner. He didnât doubt for an instant that Ruby would be on the phone to Laurie the moment he was out of sight.
And the moment Ruby was gone for the night, he intended to sneak back into the office, punch Redial and discover for himself exactly where Laurie Jensen was holed up with his baby girl.
Chapter Three
Going back into Nick Sanducciâs office and checking the phone had been a good idea. Maybe even a great idea, Harlan Patrick thought ruefully. Unfortunately Ruby was either on to him and hadnât used the office phone to call Laurie or had simply made another call after that. Heâd managed to slip back into the building easily enoughâthe locks were downright pitifulâbut when heâd pressed the Redial button, a very cranky man had growled hello, then slammed the phone down when Harlan Patrick had been too stunned and disappointed to speak.
His reaction proved what a lousy detective heâd make. Only afterward had he considered all the possible explanations for who that man might have been. It could have been someone answering for Laurie herself. Or it could have been her agent, Nick Sanducci, he concluded belatedly, regretting his silence. But even if it was the illustrious, high-powered agent, he was clearly in no mood to indulge Harlan Patrickâs request for information about Laurie. He resigned himself to waiting for morning and another round with Ruby.
Back in his hotel room after a steak dinner that had tasted like sawdust, he was able to think rationally. He recognized that he ought to be grateful for the delay. In her own way Laurie was every bit as stubborn as he wasâto say nothing of unpredictable. She had the financial wherewithal nowadays to simply disappear, taking his daughter with her. Obviously, confronting her when he was ready to commit mayhem was no way to get what he wanted.
Whatever that was, he amended with a sigh. It occurred to him that he ought to figure that much out at least before coming face-to-face with the woman who generally rendered him tongue-tied and weak-kneed.
Did he just want to see his child? Did he want to exact revenge on Laurie for deceiving him? Or did he want what heâd always wanted, to take both of them home with him, to have a family with Laurie Jensen?
One thing for certainâhe needed to figure all that out before he blasted his way back into her life. He needed to be seeing things clearly and thinking straight, or sheâd waltz right out of his life one more time. Something told him this was their very last chance to get it right.
He spent two frustrating days thinking about Laurie, the baby and their future, while trying to convince Ruby to divulge Laurieâs itinerary to him. Nick proved as elusive as a stray calf loose on ten thousand acres of pastureland, but Ruby was mellowing. Harlan Patrick had been plying her with chocolate-covered doughnuts and compliments and he was pretty sure she was weakening. Sheâd actually tossed a handful of newspaper clippings at him that morning and told him to figure out Laurieâs whereabouts for himself.
âYouâre
