About That Man (16 page)

“Where could he have gone?” she asked. “Why would he run away from me? I thought he was happy living with me.”

“He is. Don't go jumping to conclusions. He's probably off somewhere with his friends. He might even have decided to walk home. Did you call the house?”

“No,” she said, then punched in the number on her cell phone. When it went on ringing and ringing, she shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Okay, then, let's take a drive around. You come with me,” Tucker said.

“We can cover more ground if we both drive.”

“You're in no condition to be behind the wheel,” he argued. “You're too upset. Besides, two pairs of eyes in the same car are better than one.”

Tucker drove to the park first to see if any of the kids were playing ball or even hanging out. There were a couple of dozen around, but none of them had seen Tommy since school let out.

“He might have gone with Gary,” one boy said.

“Who's Gary?” Tucker asked.

“He's a friend of Tommy's,” Daisy replied, relieved that he might be with someone she knew. “An older boy, about thirteen, I think. New in town. He came to supper recently. I'm sure that's it. Tommy must be with Gary.”

After they'd gotten back into Tucker's car, he regarded her soberly. “You don't suppose this Gary was one of the boys talking about marijuana, do you?”

“Of course not. Tommy said he didn't know those boys, and besides they went to high school.”

“He could have been lying to protect his friend.”

“Tommy wouldn't do that,” she said fiercely.

“You obviously have more faith in him than I do,” Tucker said grimly.

“I refuse to believe this is about drugs. Walker talked to him. He knows he's not to do anything like that. He's supposed to come to one of us. Walker was very firm with him on that point.”

“But Walker's not here, is he?”

“No, but Tommy already idolizes him. He wouldn't go against his uncle's wishes, not when he's so desperate for Walker's approval. I just know he wouldn't. And you're condemning this Gary without even meeting him.”

Tucker merely sighed.

Daisy glowered at him. “I'm telling you, this isn't about drugs,” she insisted, as another idea occurred to her. “Go to the marina.”

Her brother slanted a puzzled look at her. “You think he's gone to see Bobby?”

“No, I think he's gone to see the boats. He's talked about Gary's dad having a fishing boat—maybe they went over to visit it. Or he might have wanted to show Gary that fancy boat he saw the other day.”

Tucker nodded and turned the car in the direction of the marina. It only took ten minutes to get there, but they were the longest ten minutes of Daisy's life. Tommy had to be on the docks. He just had to be, because if he wasn't, if he didn't turn up safe and sound very soon, she was going to have to call Walker. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

The minute Tucker slowed to a stop, she was out of the car and running. Tommy had talked of little besides that
speedboat he and Walker had seen last weekend. Surely that's where he was and she knew exactly where it was docked.

Stumbling a little on the gravel in the parking lot, she caught herself and ran on, Tucker hard on her heels, warning her to slow down before she broke her neck or fell in the river. Panting, she reached the slip where the boat had been, only to find it empty. A sob crept up the back of her throat.

“It's not here,” she whispered brokenly.

“What?”

“The boat, the one Tommy thought was so awesome.”

“The one Walker thinks could be used for running drugs,” Tucker guessed. “Bobby shared that little tidbit with me.”

Daisy muttered a very unladylike expletive as she made the same connection. “Who does this boat belong to?” she asked. “Nobody mentioned that to me.”

“A guy named Craig Remington. Bobby says he's in his late twenties.”

Relief flooded through her. “Then that can't be it. Gary's last name is Finch. His dad's retired from the military. I'm sure that's what Tommy said.”

“Let's go talk to Bobby,” Tucker said. When Daisy didn't immediately follow, he regarded her intently. “You okay, Sis?”

“No. I won't be okay until I see Tommy and can prove to you that he is not getting involved with a gang of drug dealers.” She frowned at him. “You've wanted to believe the worst about him from the very beginning.”

“I wasn't wrong about the jewelry, was I?” he reminded her mildly.

“You know why he took it,” she snapped. “And he gave it back.”

“The point is that he took it in the first place.”

“So now you've labeled him as a criminal for life? Great! Whatever happened to second chances? Whatever happened to giving a kid the benefit of the doubt?”

“Whatever happened to your common sense?” Tucker shot back. “You don't need this crap, Daisy. And I intend to tell Walker exactly that when he shows up this weekend. Tommy is his responsibility. It's time he accepted it and took over.”

She stood toe to toe with her brother, oblivious to his powerful build, and practically shook with outrage. “You do that, Tucker Spencer, and I will never speak to you again. Never!”

He blinked at that, but to her regret, he didn't back down.

“If it will keep you from getting your heart broken by this boy, then it's a risk I'll have to take.”

“The only person who's breaking my heart is you,” she shouted at him. “When did you become such a cold, hard-hearted jerk? Did it come with the badge?”

“Hey, hey, hey, what's going on out here?” Bobby asked, running down the dock. “I could hear the two of you all the way inside.”

“Just a little disagreement,” Tucker said mildly.

Daisy scowled at him. “If you believe that, then you really are an insensitive idiot.”

Bobby stared at both of them in shock. “Sis, what's going on? You're the peacekeeper in the family, the one who's always mending fences.”

“I've changed,” she said tersely.

“Maybe you'd better go back to the beginning,” Bobby said. “Obviously, I've missed something.”

“Tommy's disappeared,” Daisy told him. “And instead of being worried sick about him, our brother has concluded that he's become a member of a crime family.”

“What?” Bobby said, regarding Tucker with astonishment. “Are you nuts?”

Tucker sighed heavily and ran his hand over his close-cropped hair. “I never said he was part of a crime family. Daisy's exaggerating. I said it was possible he was getting mixed up with the wrong people. Even Walker was worried about that.”

“The only thing anybody ought to be worrying about right now is where he is,” Daisy said impatiently.

“Well, I can answer that one,” Bobby said. “He went out on Paul Finch's boat with Paul and his son, Gary.” He looked at Daisy. “He swore to me he had your permission.”

“Well, he didn't,” she said succinctly.

“I'm sorry, Daisy. I would have stopped him, if I'd known.”

Tucker shook his head. “So what do you know about this Finch?”

Bobby glanced at Daisy, then said calmly, “He just retired from the marines. He and his wife bought the old Milstead place. He's got a nice twenty-seven-foot fishing boat he keeps here. He took the boys out for a ride.” He cast another apologetic look at Daisy. “I swear I never gave it a second thought. I knew you knew Gary, that he'd been over at the house helping Tommy with his boat.”

Daisy sank down on one of the pilings with a sigh. “Thank God. When are they due back?”

“Paul said they'd be back by sunset, unless the fish weren't biting at all. Could be sooner. Why don't you two
come inside and have something to drink, maybe stop scowling at each other?”

“I'm still furious with him,” Daisy said, refusing to look at Tucker.

“Okay, okay, I apologize,” Tucker said.

She studied his face for signs of genuine contrition, then finally nodded. “I accept.”

“That doesn't mean I'm going to stop worrying about you,” Tucker added.

Bobby chuckled and threw an arm around their brother's shoulders. “Tucker, you never did know when to leave well enough alone.”

“Well, I'm not,” Tucker grumbled.

Daisy stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “I know and I love you for it, but in this case you're being as mule-headed as Daddy.”

Tucker gave an exaggerated shudder. “You've made your point.”

Daisy grinned. “I thought that might do it.” She linked her arm through his. “Now let's go inside and see if we can persuade the chef to fix us a couple of crab cakes while we wait for Tommy.”

“And while we're at it, we can think of a suitable punishment,” Tucker said with a little too much enthusiasm.

“Anything that involves a jail cell is overkill,” Daisy warned.

Tucker scowled. “Not in my book.”

“Which is why you're not the decision-maker here,” she told him.

“Something tells me Walker might side with me on this,” her brother said.

She was very much afraid he could be right. “Then
that's a very good reason not to mention this little incident to Walker, don't you think?”

Tucker looked as if he might argue, but Bobby shot him a warning look that had Tucker falling silent. Daisy beamed at them. “Isn't family unity a wonderful thing?”

“Wonderful,” Bobby agreed. “Tucker?”

“Personally, I think it sucks.” He turned a speculative look on Bobby. “But a couple of your crab cakes with a side of fries and some coleslaw could definitely change my mind.”

“Couldn't that be considered attempting to bribe an officer of the law?” Daisy inquired sweetly.

“Nope,” Tucker said, “I'm officially off-duty. Besides, you'd better hope it works, because in my book that kid is still in serious trouble for scaring you half to death.”

“In that case, bring on those crab cakes, Bobby.”

 

By the time the fishing boat came back in, they were all feeling considerably more mellow. Even so, Tommy took one look at Daisy and groaned.

“I'm in trouble, huh?”

“You bet,” she said. She surveyed Paul Finch, took note of the square jaw, the military crew cut and the guilty expression. “You must be Mr. Finch.”

“That's Major, ma'am. Sorry if you were worried about Tommy. I thought he'd cleared this with you.” He scowled at his son. “You assured me he had.”

Daisy took pity on the boy, who looked panicked by his father's criticism. “Don't blame Gary. Apparently that was a widely held view,” she said dryly.

“It won't happen again,” Gary's father promised. “I'll call you myself.”

“I'd appreciate that.” She glanced at Tucker. “Shall we go?”

Suddenly a grin spread across his face. “By all means.”

When they walked into the parking lot and headed for the sheriff's cruiser, Tommy's gait slowed. Daisy noted with satisfaction that his eyes widened with the first little inkling of alarm.

“You're arresting me?” he asked, his voice squeaking.

“Have you done anything wrong?” Daisy asked mildly.

Tommy's frantic gaze met hers. “I forgot to tell you where I was going,” he said at once. “I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry.”

“And you lied to Bobby, didn't you?” she prodded.

“I'll tell him I'm sorry, too,” he promised.

“And to Major Finch?”

Tommy nodded, his expression glum.

Daisy glanced at Tucker. “What do you think? Probation this time?”

“Personally I like the idea of grounding better.”

Daisy studied Tommy thoughtfully, then nodded. “I think you're right. This was a serious offense.”

“For how long?” Tommy asked, his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

“For the rest of the week,” Tucker said.

“Till when?”

“Sunday.”

“But Uncle Walker's coming Saturday,” he protested, then fell silent. “I really messed up bad, didn't I?”

“You did,” Daisy agreed. “You scared me, Tommy.”

He stared at her in shock. “You were scared?”

“Very.”

“Then you should ground me,” he said, his expression
resigned. Then hope flared in his eyes. “How about just till Saturday, though?”

“It's not much of a punishment if it doesn't take away something that really matters,” Daisy told him.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Daisy couldn't bear to see the look of dejection on his face. She thought he'd learned his lesson well enough to permit a slight bending of the rules. “But I imagine a person who's grounded could still go into the yard,” she said eventually.

Excitement crept into his eyes. “And work on the boat?”

She nodded, then was shocked when Tommy threw his arms around her in a fierce hug.

“I love you,” he declared.

Tears stinging in her eyes, Daisy hugged him back and whispered, “I love you, too, sweetie.”

She didn't dare risk a look at Tucker at that moment, because she knew what she'd find—at best, brotherly concern, at worst, outright fear. And somewhere deep inside where she didn't want to acknowledge it, she knew he was right to be worried. She was in way, way over her head with this child.

And with his uncle.

“H
i, Uncle Walker. I'm grounded,” Tommy announced on Saturday the minute Walker stepped inside the house.

Walker's gaze shot to Daisy. She hadn't mentioned anything about this on the phone. In fact, she had indicated that everything in Trinity Harbor was “just fine, excellent, in fact,” when he had called on Friday to let her know what time to expect him. This must be part of her increasingly evident pattern of not wanting him to use any problems against her. As if he would, he thought irritably. He was grateful she'd stepped in. No matter how things turned out, he always would be.

“Oh?” he said mildly, frowning at her. “Anybody want to tell me what this is about?”

“Nothing serious,” Daisy said, clearly lying through her teeth. She wouldn't even look him in the eye when she said it.

Walker turned to Tommy. “What about you? Anything you'd care to say?”

Tommy must have finally sensed the tension in the room, because he turned to Daisy guiltily. “Did I say something wrong?”

She sighed. “No. You told the truth. I was just hoping not to worry your uncle with this.”

“I'm not worried,” Walker said. “But I am getting annoyed.”

“We can discuss this later,” Daisy said.

“I think now would be better. Tommy, go to your room.”

“But I don't have to stay in my room,” he protested. “I can go outside.”

“I told you to go to your room,” Walker thundered, then rubbed his hand over his eyes. “I'm sorry I yelled. Would you please just do as I ask, so Daisy and I can talk about this?”

Tommy whirled and left, his expression mutinous.

“You certainly handled that well,” Daisy said, apparently concluding that a good offense was the best defense.

“My behavior is not the issue here.”

“It is with me. I'm not interested in discussing anything with a bully.”

Walker bit back an expletive, but only because he knew it wouldn't help matters. Once Daisy got her back up, he'd never get a straight answer out of her.

“Okay, fine. You want polite, I can do polite. Let me pour myself a cup of coffee and we can sit down. Then you can fill me in on what's been going on this week.”

While Daisy stared at him and fumed, he took his time pouring the coffee, setting the cup on the table, then graciously pulling a chair out for her. “Care to join me?”

“Not especially.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself. So, what kind of mischief did Tommy get into that warranted grounding?”

“It doesn't matter. I handled it,” she said, still standing, her shoulders tense and her chin set stubbornly.

“Handled what?”

She regarded him with evident exasperation. “Oh, for goodness' sakes, you'd think a child never misbehaved, the way you're carrying on.”

“I'm sure this child misbehaves quite a lot. I also think you're a real softie. For you to ground him, what he did must have been way, way out of line. I'm thinking busting a whole lot of windows. Maybe shoplifting. Or sneaking out in the middle of the night to take up residence in Madge Jessup's toolshed again.”

“Don't be ridiculous. He wouldn't do any of those things,” she said irritably.

“Then enlighten me.”

She glowered at him for a full minute, then sighed heavily. “Okay, if you insist—here it is. He took off without telling me where he was going and went fishing with a friend and the friend's father, and he lied to Bobby and to Major Finch and said he had my permission.”

The words came out in such a rush, Walker had trouble following them. When he finally sorted them out and made sense of what she was saying, he stared at her incredulously. “That's it? He went fishing? Not that I want to minimize the fact that he did it without your permission, but you had me worried he'd committed a felony.”

“He wouldn't do that,” she snapped impatiently. “Isn't it enough that I was scared to death? I had no idea where he was, and then Tucker was convinced the kid he was with must be the drug supplier you've been so worked up about and everything sort of spun out of control after that.”

“Of course you're right. What he did was wrong, but I was imagining some sort of calamity,” he said, raking a hand through his hair.

“Because you always assume the worst,” she accused.

“I do not.” He regarded her evenly. “And in this instance, you were the one assuming the worst, weren't you?”

“Actually, it was Tucker, but I've straightened that out. He won't be so quick to misjudge Tommy in the future,” she said grimly.

He had a feeling there was a story there, but he let it pass. “Okay, then, I have just one question. Why didn't you tell me Tommy had done something wrong, so we could have handled it together?”

She scowled. “I told you that I handled it. You weren't here.”

He picked the portable phone up off the table and held it under her nose. “Is this thing broken?”

She gave him a sour look. “No.”

“Then next time call.”

She lifted two fingers in a mocking salute. “Yes, sir.”

Walker sighed. “We have a more serious problem here, don't we?”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“You were afraid to tell me what he'd been up to, weren't you? You wanted me to believe that everything was just hunky-dory.”

Alarm flickered in hers eyes. “Don't be absurd. Why would I be afraid?”

“Because you've somehow gotten the crazy notion that I'll use it against you to justify taking Tommy away.”

The color drained out of her cheeks, and she finally sat in the chair he'd pulled out for her earlier. “Will you?” she asked worriedly.

The vulnerability he read in her expression cut straight through him. Now he knew exactly why Tucker and her
father were so worried. Daisy was already emotionally involved with his nephew, more emotionally involved than a temporary foster parent should be, in a way and to a degree that he didn't fully understand.

“Let me ask you something,” he said, rather than giving her a direct answer. “How do you see this turning out? When the school year ends in a few weeks, what do you see happening?”

She swallowed hard and met his gaze with tear-filled eyes. “I don't know,” she whispered.

His heart ached for her. “You want him to stay here with you, don't you? This whole time you've just been giving lip service to the idea of Tommy and me getting closer, of him coming to live with me.”

“That's not true. I want the two of you to have a relationship.” Her chin rose defiantly. “But I could be a good mother to him. These things that have happened, they don't mean I wouldn't be a good mother.”

“Of course not,” Walker agreed.

He reached across the table and took her icy hand in his. She was trembling. For the first time in a very long time, he felt completely and utterly helpless. He could handle the worst kind of crime scene, but a terrified woman who felt her fate was in his hands left him shaken. He didn't want people depending on him, not Tommy, not Daisy.

“Maybe that's the way it will go,” he said at last. “Maybe you are exactly what Tommy needs. Lord knows, I never felt qualified to be a parent.”

“You'd be an excellent father,” she said fiercely, even though it was against her own best interests.

He smiled at her instinctive sense of fair play. “I wish
I could tell you how this is going to end up, but I can't. I don't know what's best. I really don't. I never expected to be confronted with a situation like this. And after my ex-wife took off on me about what a lousy father I was, the prospect of taking on Tommy scared the hell out of me.”

“But you're so good with him,” she said.

He gave her a half smile. “Yeah, you've done your best to make me see that. I'm almost convinced.”

“How ironic,” she said.

Walker smiled. “Isn't it?” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, suddenly all too aware of how silky smooth her skin was, how it was heating under his touch. “If Tommy does wind up with me, though, I promise you this, you will continue to be a part of his life.”

A tear spilled down her cheek. She swiped at it impatiently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “How can I be, if he's in Washington?”

“We'll make it happen.”

“It won't be enough,” she said sadly. “Not nearly enough.”

Walker tried to put himself in her shoes and knew she was right. Seeing his own kids on scattered holidays and summer visits wasn't enough, either. He'd told himself he didn't deserve more, didn't even want more, but it wasn't true. He missed them every single day. He just hadn't allowed himself to admit it, because to do so would be too painful.

He was still sitting there, Daisy's hand in his, contemplating the sorry state of his life and the potential damage he could do to hers by claiming Tommy, when the doorbell rang.

Daisy guiltily jerked her hand away and stood up, clearly flustered. “I can't imagine who that could be.”

“I can,” Walker said grimly. “I meant to tell you when I first got here. My boss and his wife are spending the weekend in Trinity Harbor. I suspect this is their first stop. Gail is very eager to get a look at Tommy.”

And you, he added to himself, well aware that potential disaster loomed just outside the front door. “Maybe we could ignore it,” he suggested hopefully.

“Is your boss the kind who gives up and goes away?” she asked, regarding him curiously.

“Unfortunately, no,” Walker admitted. “And his wife's worse.”

“I heard that,” the very woman in question said, appearing at the open kitchen door.

“Sorry, Walker. I couldn't stop her,” Andy said ruefully. “You know Gail.”

“I do, indeed. Okay, you might as well come on in,” he said with lukewarm enthusiasm.

“Walker,” Daisy chastised, clearly recovered from her shock. “That is no way to treat your friends.”

“Who said they were friends?” he grumbled.

Andy chuckled. Gail came in and planted a loud kiss on Walker's cheek.

“You don't scare me,” she told him, then turned to Daisy and studied her with interest. “You must be Daisy. I'm Gail. And my husband is Andy. Ignore everything Walker says about us. We're actually very nice people.”

“Is there anybody you can get to testify to that?” Walker asked, aware that Daisy was looking a little shell-shocked by Gail's natural exuberance. Gail, with her flame-red hair and go-for-broke personality, had that effect on people. Smart friends just allowed themselves to be caught up in the whirlwind, rather than fighting it. From time to time,
Andy still tended to look a little dazed by her unpredictable ways.

“It's very nice to meet you,” Daisy said, her characteristic Southern hospitality kicking in. “May I offer you some coffee or some tea? And I baked this morning. There's a pecan coffee cake.”

“You didn't offer me any,” Walker said, vaguely miffed.

“We had other things to discuss,” she said. “I got sidetracked. Besides, you usually sniff out the baked goods the minute you walk in the door. I never get a chance to offer.”

Gail watched the two of them with fascination. Too much fascination, in Walker's opinion. He turned to Andy. “I thought you were going to give her cash and credit cards and turn her loose.”

“I tried. For once, she had something other than shopping on her mind.”

“Shopping?” Daisy's expression lit up. “I never get to hit all the little shops in town. I could take you. I have some birthday presents I need to pick up.”

The thought of Daisy alone with the matchmaking queen of Washington made Walker queasy, but he couldn't see any way to prevent it without sounding totally paranoid.

“In a minute,” Gail said. “First, I want to meet this mysterious nephew of Walker's. Then you guys can do your thing for the rest of the day, and Daisy and I will go and buy out the shops.”

Walker considered trying to send Tommy with the women, just to keep them from getting too chatty. He could just imagine Daisy's reaction to that, especially since he didn't dare intervene in the boy's deserved grounding. No, he and Andy were doomed to staying right here with his grounded nephew.

“I'll get him,” Daisy offered, already halfway out of the kitchen. “You stay and chat with your friends.”

“My, my, my,” Gail said, the instant they were alone. “Andy didn't mention that Daisy was gorgeous.”

“Neither did Walker,” Andy pointed out. “We haven't been sitting around the precinct discussing her.”

Gail rolled her eyes. “As if I believe that.”

“It's true,” Andy said defensively. “Walker never said a word about her, at least not about her looks.”

“And I wouldn't expect him to go running to you, even if I had,” Walker said. “Some things I tell your husband are confidential. Sacred guy stuff.”

Gail chuckled. “If you believe that, you don't know me very well. I can get almost anything out of him, if I want to know badly enough.”

Walker regarded his friend with exaggerated pity. “Good to know. Remind me never to tell you anything remotely personal again.”

“What can I say? I'm putty in her hands,” Andy said with an unapologetic shrug. “And she always knows when I'm hiding something. Always.”

“Well, fortunately, there are no secrets here,” Walker said firmly, his gaze on Gail. “None.”

“If you say so,” she said, her expression smug.

“Don't go there,” he warned.

“Where?” she asked innocently.

“Wherever you were heading in that devious mind of yours.”

There was no time to explore the subject further, because Daisy reappeared with Tommy in tow. He was wearing a clean shirt, pressed jeans and new sneakers. His hair had been slicked back. Walker hardly recognized him.
Obviously Daisy intended that he make a good impression. She looked to Walker to make the introductions.