He shut the door for her and asked, “Where’s Belle’s father?”
“Dead.” She heard the matter-of-fact tone in her voice.
When she turned, surprise glistened in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“I am, too. Sorry he’s dead, not sorry he’s out of my life.”
TWO
The woman just kept surprising him. The gentle, mommy demeanor hid a spine of steel. Also evidenced by her cool-under-fire reaction at the bank earlier.
Opening the door, she led the way inside, holding the carrier in front of her. “I’m surprised she’s still sleeping.” She set the baby carrier on the kitchen table and opened the refrigerator to pull out a bottle filled with milk.
“Why aren’t you sorry he’s out of your life?”
While Maggie placed the bottle in a pot of water she began heating on the stove, she kept her back to him. He wanted to turn her around so he could see her face. When she didn’t answer, he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms, wondering why he was asking questions that were none of his business.
At first he thought she was going to pretend she hadn’t heard him, but when she turned, she said, “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Reese lifted a brow at her.
She shrugged and grimaced. “He wasn’t a very nice person.”
He’d abused her. She didn’t say so, but she didn’t have to.
His gut tightened as visions of women he’d pulled out of domestic violence situations crowded his mind. Their bruises, their damaged faces, bodies...souls. The ones who had died. He blinked the images away and focused on Maggie.
“When did he die?”
“About a month after Belle was born.”
“Car accident?”
Maggie sighed. “Not exactly.”
She didn’t want to tell him?
Belle woke suddenly and let out a howl. Reese flinched and watched Maggie calmly unbuckle her daughter from the car seat and pick her up. She then pulled the bottle from the heated water, tested the temperature of the milk on her wrist and stuck it in the squalling mouth.
The silence was sudden.
“You’re good at that.”
Maggie laughed. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”
As the baby ate, Reese took in his surroundings. “Nice place.”
She looked up from Belle’s face to smile at him. “I like it. It’s simple, functional and pretty much everything Belle and I need.”
He nodded. “You said you were an online teacher.”
“I am. I teach learning disabled students online. It’s perfect for us. I get to make a living and Belle gets to stay home with me. So far so good.”
“What about when you have to teach and Belle doesn’t want to cooperate with your schedule?”
Maggie grinned. “I have a neighbor who comes over. Mrs. Adler. She’s a retired nurse and lives twelve hours away from her grandchildren. She loves Belle and acts as if every moment she gets to spend with her is the highlight of her day.”
A shadow moved across the window right in his line of sight. He straightened and narrowed his eyes. She caught his expression and frowned. “What is it?”
“Probably nothing,” he said. “Just thought I saw something move outside of your window.” He walked over to it and, out of habit, stood to the side, keeping himself from being a target should someone other than a friend be out there. The blinds were open, the sun high in the sky.
What had he seen?
Anything at all?
Or was he still jumpy from this morning? He saw Maggie settle into the rocking recliner next to the couch, Belle’s small hands clasped firmly on the bottle she eagerly devoured. In his mind’s eye, he replaced the scene with one containing Keira and his own baby girl. But that wasn’t to be. Sorrow clamped hard on his heart, and he had to make a supreme effort to shut the feeling down.
He was in Rose Mountain, making a new start. There was no place for sorrow or sad memories. Two things he’d been desperate to get away from back in Washington. “I’m going to check outside around your property.”
Her frown deepened. “You think someone is really out there?”
“I don’t know, but it won’t hurt to check.”
Worry creased her forehead as her eyes followed him out the door.
Once outside, he stood still, taking in the sights and sounds he’d become familiar with in such a short time. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing set off his internal alarm bells.
He made his way over to the window in the den. The open floor plan had allowed him to be standing in the kitchen, looking into the den. If he’d kept his eyes on Maggie and her daughter, he’d never have seen the shadow.
If that’s what he’d seen.
Circling the perimeter of Maggie’s house, he kept an eye on the area around him and on the ground in front of him.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, the air had a bite to it. He shivered, wishing he’d grabbed his coat on the way out. The hard, cold ground held no trace of any footprints. No evidence at all that anyone had been in front of the window.
Then what had caught his attention? Anything? Or was he so on edge that he was now seeing things?
He frowned, shook his head and walked back into the house to find Maggie still holding Belle. The baby swiveled her gaze to him and he swallowed hard when she grinned. Two little white front teeth sparkled at him.
Maggie asked, “Did you find anything?”
“No. It was probably just nerves left over from this morning.”
She shot him a doubting look. Fear flickered in her eyes before she turned back to Belle, who’d finished her bottle. Maggie settled the baby into a sitting position and started a rhythmic patting on the small back. Her actions were automatic, but her eyes said her thoughts were on their conversation. She asked, “You think it could be the man who said he’d kill us?”
Did he? “I think that guy’s long gone.”
Maggie bit her lip and he wondered if she believed him. And he couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t sure he believed it himself. She sighed. “So what’s next?”
“We’ll question the robber in custody, see if he’ll talk for a deal.”
Maggie shuddered. “Did
