Against the Law (12 page)

“W
e'll see you tomorrow, then. Thank you for coming, Dr. Rossi.”

Lark watched the sleek, striking brunette disappear inside the main house. Italian, with a slightly Roman nose, Eva Rossi had flawless olive skin and gleaming black hair pulled into a fashionable knot at the nape of her neck. Her business suit and low-heeled shoes said professional top to bottom.

Lark closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. The initial appointment was over and Chrissy's questions about her family's death had been answered.

At first the little girl had been shy and hesitant to talk to the doctor, but with gentle words and genuine interest in what the child had to say, Dr. Rossi had been able to reach her.

“Do you know where my nana Lupita is?” Chrissy had asked as she had a dozen times.

“Yes, I do. I also know how much she loved you and
how much you loved her.” They sat in the living room. Lark and Chrissy on the sofa, Eva Rossi in a chair beside them.

“Where are they?”

Dr. Rossi ignored the question. “Did your daddy and mommy ever take you to church?”

Chrissy shook her head. “But Nana Lupita took me to St. Ann's every Sunday.”

“Then you know all about heaven.”

Chrissy nodded solemnly. “I know about heaven and about the baby Jesus.”

“That's good, Chrissy. Because that's where your nana Lupita went. She went to heaven to be with Jesus.”

Chrissy frowned. “Did my mommy and daddy go with her?”

“Yes, sweetheart, they did. They're all up in heaven together.”

Chrissy's eyes welled, brimmed with tears. “Why didn't they take me with them?”

Lark reached over and took hold of the child's small, cold hand, her heart aching for the little girl.

“It wasn't time for you to go with them,” Dr. Rossi explained. “But someday you'll see them again. When it's time for you to join them in heaven.”

“But when?”

“Not until you're all grown up. But I want you to know that your family didn't really leave you and they never will. They'll always be in your heart.”

Chrissy pressed a small hand against her chest. “Here?”

Dr. Rossi nodded. “Right now they're looking down
on you from heaven, watching you, making sure you're all right.”

“I want them to come home.”

“I know you do. And I know they would if they could. But they had to go and be with Jesus and until it's time for you to be with them, you have a new home with your aunt Lark. And you know what?”

“What?”

“Your aunt Lark loves you just as much as your mommy and daddy and your nana Lupita.”

Chrissy started crying and Lark lifted the child into her lap. “It's all right, sweetheart. You'll be living with me and I'm going to take very good care of you.”

Chrissy looked up at her with teary green eyes. “But I miss them!”

Lark's heart twisted. “I know you do, sweetheart.”

“Just remember,” Dr. Rossi said, “if you ever have a problem and you need help, you can talk to your family and they'll hear you. If you listen really hard, they'll tell you what to do.”

Chrissy pressed her face against Lark's shoulder and cried a little more. Lark gently stroked her dark hair and told her again how everything was going to be all right.

The session ended with the doctor's promise to return the next day. “It'll take some time for her to completely accept that they're gone, but talking about it helps. Children that age are amazingly resilient.”

Aida arrived in the living room at exactly the right moment as she seemed to have a knack for doing. “I thought maybe you could help me with the mac and
cheese,” she said to Chrissy. “There's probably a special way you like it.”

Chrissy looked up at her. “Are you part of my new family, too, Mrs. Clark?”

Aida's eyes glistened. “I sure am, honey. Anytime you need anything, you just let me know.”

Chrissy glanced toward the kitchen. “I think I need a chocolate-chip cookie.”

Aida smiled. She and Chrissy had made them earlier that morning. The older woman dashed away a tear. “I don't suppose just one will spoil your lunch.” Aida took hold of the little girl's hand and the pair headed off to the kitchen.

“It's fortunate she's as young as she is,” Dr. Rossi said as she collected her purse and Lark walked her out to the patio. “In time, she'll forget her old life completely and accept her new family as if there had never been another.”

Lark thought how well the doctor had handled the death of Chrissy's family. “Thank you, Doctor. I couldn't have managed alone.”

Eva Rossi reached over and squeezed her hand. “You're going to be fine. I can tell how much you love your niece already. May I make a suggestion?”

“Of course.”

“When the time is right, you might consider letting her call you mommy. She'll begin to think of you that way.”

Lark's throat swelled. “Yes, yes, of course. There's just…just so much I have to learn.”

“As I said, you're going to be fine.”

Lark watched her cross the patio and disappear inside the house. Behind her, she could hear Chrissy in the kitchen helping Aida start the macaroni and cheese.

Lark took a deep breath and returned to the guesthouse. She'd had no idea how difficult it would be to raise a child. It seemed like every minute of the day was taken up by one need or another. And yet there was so much pleasure in accomplishing each small task. She found herself smiling whenever she looked at the little girl and realized that she would soon have a daughter.

It wasn't what she planned. A week ago, it wasn't what she wanted.

Now she couldn't imagine leaving without taking Chrissy with her.

Her stomach rumbled as she walked back into the house. She had been too nervous to eat breakfast. She looked at her big red leather wristwatch. It was getting close to lunch time, thank heaven.

“Lunch in fifteen minutes,” Aida sang out from the kitchen doorway a few minutes later.

“Lunch in fifteen minutes,” Chrissy repeated, turning to follow the older woman back into the kitchen.

Tears burned Lark's eyes.
Chrissy is going to be fine,
she told herself again. The child was already beginning to adjust to the changes in her life. And Lark meant to give her all the affection her nanny had given her plus the love her parents apparently never had.

A knock at the front door sounded. Lark walked over and pulled it open. Townsend Emory, big, dark and forbidding, stood next to a familiar handsome blond man with golden brown eyes.
“Steve! Thank God you're here!”

“Dev said to bring him on over,” Town explained.

“Thank you, Town. And thanks for keeping the multitudes at bay.”

Town grinned, a flash of white in his very dark face. “No problem.” The hulking man eased out of the room and closed the door, and Lark returned her attention to her attorney.

“Thank you for coming, Steve. I appreciate your getting here so quickly.”

Steve caught her hands, leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Are you all right? The murders are all over the news. It must have been terrible for you.”

She shook her head, refusing to let the memories return. She glanced toward the kitchen to be sure Chrissy couldn't hear. “It was worse than terrible, Steve. Worse than your most horrible nightmare.” She managed a shaky smile. “But Chrissy is here and safe. Now we just need you to make it legal.”

He tipped his head toward the door. “Those reporters out there…they aren't going to leave until they talk to you.”

“I was hoping you'd take care of it.”

“I can do that. We'll decide what you'd like to say. You can tell me a little of what happened and I'll do my best to satisfy their curiosity and send them on their way.”

“That would be great.”

She took his hand and led him into the kitchen. The smell of chocolate-chip cookies still lingered in the air. “Steve, this is Aida Clark. She's been wonderful help
ing me with Chrissy. Aida, this is my attorney, Steve Rutgers.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Aida said.

“Thanks for your help,” Steve said.

Lark looked down at the dark-haired child with the big green eyes and felt a catch in her throat. She summoned a reassuring smile. “Chrissy, this is Mr. Rutgers. He's a friend.”

The little girl turned shy, hiding behind the seat of Aida's pants.

“Hello, Chrissy,” Steve said. “I know we're going to be great friends.”

Chrissy peeked around Aida and her lips curved into a smile. “I'm getting a lot of new friends.”

Lark walked over, bent, and gave her a hug. “Yes, you are, sweetheart, and you're going to get a whole lot more.”

Another knock sounded. Lark return to the living room, Steve following a few steps behind. As she reached for the doorknob, it turned and Dev walked in.

His gaze zeroed in on Steve. “I see you made it.”

“Wasn't much chance of getting lost. Not with three hundred pounds of muscle making sure I didn't go anywhere else.”

“Two-eighty, but who's counting.” Dev still hadn't shaved and he looked utterly disreputable. Dark and dangerous, and ridiculously handsome. When his eyes met hers, a funny little flutter rose in her stomach.

“I thought we were having lunch,” Dev said darkly, his piercing gaze flicking toward the blond man at her side.

“We are. Steve is joining us.” She turned away, took
a breath to calm herself, and headed back to the kitchen. Putting together another place setting, she carried it out to the table on the patio.

The men followed her outside and stood there frowning at each other. She wasn't sure what was going on between them, some sort of male pissing contest, she figured, fighting not to roll her eyes.

“Why don't you both sit down and I'll help Aida carry out the food?”

“I'll help, too,” the men said in unison.

They all returned to the house and everyone carried something back to the table.

“How did it go with the doctor?” Dev asked softly.

“Better than I thought. Dr. Rossi says Chrissy's young enough to put this behind her fairly quickly.”

“That's good to hear.”

They all sat down at the round mosaic table set with colorful place mats and mix-matched colored plates and glasses.

It was a festive table, yet lunch was oddly strained, the men saying little, Chrissy surprising them with bits of conversation.

“I had a dog once,” she said, shoveling in a bite of cheesy macaroni. “But he got hit by a car. I was really sad but Mama said he was too much trouble anyway.”

Dev's glance mirrored her notion that the child's home life had not been that great.

“I love dogs,” Steve said cheerfully.

“So do I,” Dev said with a dark look at Steve. “I was thinking about getting one. A Doberman pinscher.”

Lark bit back a smile.

“I'd love to have a kitten,” Chrissy said. “They can stay inside the house and you don't have to worry about them getting run over.”

Lark leaned over and hugged her. “I think a kitten would be fun. Maybe we can see about getting you one.”

Chrissy beamed. “Could I name him?”

“Sure you could. We could think of names together.”

Chrissy's expression shifted, turned solemn. “Do you think my dog is in heaven with Mommy and Daddy and Nana Lupita?”

The bite Lark had taken stuck in her throat.

“I'm sure he is,” Dev answered gently. “What was his name?”

“Rex. I named him myself.”

“That's a good name for a dog.” He cast Steve another dark glance. “If I get a Doberman, maybe that's what I'll name him.”

Thankfully, before Dev could swing anymore verbal blows, Chrissy started talking. “I can count to twenty. My nana Lupita taught me.”

Lark smiled. “That's wonderful, sweetheart. Why don't you show us?”

Chrissy started counting.
“Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez, once, doce, trece, catorce—”

“Tu hablas Español, muchacha?”
Dev asked, and amazingly, Chrissy answered,
Sí, señor,
and began to rattle off a stream of conversation in Spanish.

“Wow!” Lark was impressed. “I guess her nana taught
her more than just numbers. I'll have to make sure she continues her lessons.” She looked over at Dev. “So where did you learn?”

“South America.”

“That's right, you were there with the Rangers.”

He just nodded.

They finished the meal and Steve stood up from his chair.

“We've got a lot to discuss, Lark. We'd better get started.”

The smile Dev cast Steve's way looked downright wolfish. “Why don't you use my office,” he suggested. “Lark, you know where it is…just down the hall from my bedroom.”

Her eyes widened. Dev's tone made it sound as if she'd been sleeping there. She looked over at Steve, who was frowning.

Denying it would only make things worse.

“Let me get my briefcase,” Steve said drilling Dev with a glare as he started back to the guesthouse and Aida began to clear the table.

Lark helped Chrissy down from her chair. “I'll be back in a little while, sweetheart.” She flashed a payback smile at Dev. “Why don't you go play a game with your uncle Dev?”

Chrissy turned and looked up at him. “Are you really my uncle?”

Lark grinned at the black scowl on his face.

“Close enough, sunshine,” he said. Swinging her up behind him piggyback style, he carted her into the house.

 

Lark and Steve finished their meeting and returned to the guesthouse. Dev wished he had been a fly on the wall.

An hour ago, Steve had gone outside to speak to the media camped in front of the house. He had handled the reporters with the same smooth demeanor that had irritated Dev from the moment he'd met him.