Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (11 page)

Having
said all that she was going to say on the subject, she went on, “I need to call
the airport.” Stopping, she listened. “If he comes up to a respectable dollar
amount, yes, otherwise tell him I have a few more calls to make. That should
light a fire under his ass.”

Disconnecting
the call, she looked at Kris and asked politely, “Do you know how I can get
directory assistance on a cell phone?”

Handing
her his phone, he showed her the text he’d received from Nik with the phone
number.

“
Ahhh
,
this the
number for the
airport?” she asked uncertain, as she started dialing. “Thank you.”

“Sure,”
he answered, not feeling like he was helping much. “Can you maybe tell me
what’s going on?”

“Yes,
I’m expecting a flight from Casper,
Wyoming,
can you
tell me when it’s expected to arrive?”

Okay,
at first he thought she was talking to him, but it turned out she wasn’t.

“None,
really?” she asked, sounding bewildered.
“
Ummm
…
ummm
, how about Colorado?
Denver
maybe.”
She was transferred, transferred again, talk, talk, talk, with
nothing being added to the story but for more confusion, then more
transferring, more talking.

“Pulling
to the gate now?” she responded weakly. “
Ummm
, I’m
coming. I’m not there yet, but I’m coming. I’m sorry, I just found out about
this, and I’m coming as fast as I can. How long?
Ahhh
…”
She looked at her surroundings, then at him.

He
answered her. “We’re in downtown St. Paul, about fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen
minutes.”…“Where do I go?”
…“Concourse D.”
… “Thank
you,
I’m coming, thank you.”

Disconnecting
and taking a few deep breaths, she started flipping through screens on her
phone. “Kris, thank you, I’m—” Her phone started ringing. “Wade?”

He
was starting to get pissed, and he didn’t like what he was hearing one bit.

“
Mmhmm
,” she said, sounding smug. “I figured he’d change his
tune. I can take my business elsewhere and he knows it.”...
“How
much?”
…“That’s more like it,” she responded sounding satisfied. “When,
where?”
…“Perfect, was going to be there anyways to get
Goldie.
That’s a big
one,
it’ll be a nice crowd,
lots of business and decent earnings.”…“He can have the contract sent to my
attorney. I’m not signing anything till I know it’s legit.”…“Yeah, let me know.
I’ve got to go. I’m getting to the airport now. Wait! I need my stuff.”…“Reid’s
got it.
Yeah, or Mitch, if not him then Rusty.”

Who
the f**k
were Reid, Mitch, and Rusty? Kris was a
volcano about to erupt. They were out of the truck and she dashed towards the
terminal. He was right behind her.

“Excuse
me,” she said to the first airport worker she saw, “I’m looking for passenger
services, concourse D.”

“Right
this way,” the airport worker said, taking her elbow. “I’m headed that
direction. Nice day isn’t it?”

“
Ahh
, yeah, nice,” she answered, clearly not tracking.

Turning
to him, the worker said with a smile. “How about you sir, how’s your day?”

“Great,
just great,” Kris added flatly, barely containing his irritation.

Dani
turned to him and said with an edge, “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t plan this.”

“We’re
here,” the attendant sang out loudly, clearly uncomfortable. “Hope things get
better.”

“Thank
you.” Dani answered quickly, anxious and irritated. Turning to the counter, she
said, “Excuse me, hi, I’m Danielle Reed.”

“Identification please,” the portly desk
clerk stated, clearly underwhelmed.

Pulling
out her wallet, she handed the man her I.D.” They stood waiting as he checked
things over, comparing it to what he had. Then he picked up the phone and made
a call.

“I
need you to sign some papers.”

“Okay,”
Dani responded nervously, grabbing a pen from a nearby cup.
“Where?”

The
man pointed and she began signing. Kris noticed a door open off to the side and
a woman coming out with a waif of a child.
A little girl that
let out a squeal when she saw Dani.
Throwing her arms out for her, they
both burst into tears.

CHAPTER 6

Dani
was there in a flash and had the little girl in her arms. Kris watched as Dani
soothed her, loving her, as they both cried. Thinking back on what Linnie had
said the night of the storm, he should’ve known she’d have a child, and after
the way the last hour had gone, he should’ve been able to figure out why. What
a mess.

“
I come with a hell of a lot of baggage.”

She
sure the hell did. A high priced call girl with a child. Was the abuse thing
even real?

“You shouldn’t
trust a woman based on her past either.”

Here
he thought she was different from other women. He laughed. Well, he guessed she
was. How could he have missed this? Did he have blinders on or something? Damn,
when it came to women his judgment sucked. He wondered if Jake or Nik picked up
on this.

“
That whip
makes for an interesting proposition.”

She
was good with a whip, for sure. That talent must come in handy. Now what?

Walking
over to him with a tear streaked face, Dani said, “Kris, I’d like to introduce
you to Juniper Reed, or Junie as we call her. Junie, this is Kris, he’s a
friend of mine. Can you say hi to him?”

“Hi
Kwith
,” she said, giving him a little smile.

Dani
smiled proudly, and was on the verge of tears again when she said, “We have a
little trouble with our R’s and S’s.”

She
was a cute little girl, wavy chocolate brown hair with ringlets at the ends,
deep blue eyes, and she definitely had Dani’s smile. Other than the blue eyes,
she was a little Dani. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, his mother used to
say. Smiling back, he said, “Hi, Junie, it’s nice to meet you.”

Junie
turned to Dani and whispered rather loudly, “
Ith
he a
nithe
man?”

Dani
laughed and smiled, then whispered back. “Yes, he’s a nice man.” Turning to the
gentleman behind the counter, Dani asked, “Where do we go to get her luggage?”

“There
was none,” the clerk answered flatly.

“What?”
Dani asked, clearly stunned.

“There
were no bags checked for her, ma'am.”

“A booster seat then?”

The
guy shook his head.

“Me
bag
whight
here,” Junie said, missing her R and
holding up a scuffed and tattered horse print covered backpack.

If
looks could kill, Dani’s would have leveled the place. “Let’s go,” she growled.

“Ah,
ma'am,” the clerk interrupted, “you’re not done signing and I have papers to
give you.”

Stepping
back to the desk, Dani grabbed the pen and tried moving Junie to her hip. “
Lovebug
, I need to put you down so I can sign the papers.”

Junie
shook her head and tightened her arms around Dani’s neck.

“I
need to set you down, just for a minute.”

Junie
shook her head. “I get
yost
.”

Dani
took a deep breath. “You won’t get lost, but apparently our L’s have. Just for
a minute, you can hold onto my leg.”

Junie
shook her head again.

“We
can’t leave till I sign the papers. You want to see Coco don’t you?”

Turning,
Junie looked at Kris, then back to Dani. “Can
Kwith
hoed
me?”

Dani’s
eyebrows went up. “I don’t know. Kris, can you hold Junie while I sign the
papers?”

He
didn’t know what the hell to do with a kid. Shit, he didn’t do kids, they were
scared of him, and to be honest he was a little afraid of them too. But then
again, it couldn’t be that hard, could it? He had held a calf before. He
nodded. “Sure.”

Letting
go of Dani’s neck, Junie reached for him and slid right into his hold, wrapping
her little arms around his neck while hanging on tight as she tucked herself
into the crook of his neck. She sure didn’t weigh much, Kris thought,
then
he heard her stomach gurgle and growl. Well that about
explains it.

Finishing
up, Dani turned and held her arms out for Junie, but she just shook her head
and tightened her arms around Kris’s neck.

“I
okay,” she answered soundly.

Huh?
Wait a
minute,
she wanted to stay with him? Kids
didn’t normally warm up to him, being how big he was and all. They generally
stayed far away watching him with a sharp eye. Surprising himself, Kris felt
his arms tighten around the little peanut, and he was stunned at the
realization that he felt mighty protective of her at that moment. Well what do
you know? He patted her back as they walked towards the parking ramp. If he’d
been surprised and stunned before, he was shocked when they reached the truck
and he decided he didn’t want to let her go back to Dani. Reluctantly he let
her go. Getting the two of them settled, he got in the driver’s seat and took
off.

“I
need to stop at a Walmart, or something like it, if that would be alright,”
Dani said, as he maneuvered the roadway.

“Not
till she eats, she’s starving,” he answered.

Looking
down at the little girl in her arms, Dani said, “What did you eat today,
babybug
?”

“Buck
gived
me
chipth
and pop for
beckfeth
.”

What
the hell? That was like hours ago, Kris thought irritated, and what kind of
breakfast was that?”

“Who’s
Buck?” Dani asked.

“Nana’s
fwend
,” Junie answered.

“Has
Sara been coming to see you?”

Who
the hell was Sara?
he
wondered.

Junie
shook her head. “Nana
say
no more.”

Dani
growled. “What are you hungry for?”

Junie
shrugged. “I okay, we go home.”

Kris
wanted to tell her not to get her hopes up because there was no food there
either.

Dani
rubbed Junie’s back, and held her tight as she gave her a kiss on the head.
“We’re going to eat and then stop at the store. We’ll go home when we’re done.”

“Can
I get Coco a bone?” she asked, holding onto Dani tight.

Running
a hand over her head and down her back, Dani answered her softly. “Yes, how
about some stuff for Junie? What would Junie like?”

“Sweep
in bed.”

Dani
sat up, clearly upset with the answer. “Where have you been sleeping?” she
asked, barely masking her alarm.

“On for.”

“You’ve
been sleeping on the floor?” Dani repeated, gritting her teeth.

Junie
nodded.

Adjusting
Junie and pulling her tighter, she asked, “Why not the couch?”

“Wed
sweeps on it.”

“Red
sleeps on it,” Dani repeated, clearly disillusioned, then asked with
trepidation, “
Who’s
Red?”

“Buck’s
fwend
.”

There
was nothing but silence. Dani sat looking out the passenger window with Junie
clamped onto her like a little Koala bear to a limb, and Kris looking straight
ahead as he drove on.

The
next time he saw his dad, he was thanking him for everything, and he’d
apologize for never appreciating it enough. Then tonight when he laid his head
on his pillow, he’d thank God for giving him the parents he did. How could she
leave her child in the care of that woman while she drove states away finding a
new life? Especially after everything she’d been through? Hell, he didn’t even
want Dani to have her.

Now
what? Call the police?
Child protective services?
The county?
Who? He was beyond pissed right now, he was
livid. Linnie, he needed to talk to Linnie. She’s a
nurse,
she’d know what to do. And Jules, she was
smart,
she’d
had to do the court thing when she was young. And Nate, he had needed an
attorney. And his dad, he wanted to talk to his dad.
And
Jake, and Nik.
Hell, he wanted his whole family.

Driving
down the hill into Taylor’s
Falls
, he drove through to
the edge of town to a little place called The Drive In. It was just that, an
old fashioned drive in with car hop service. Pulling in, they sat staring at
the huge menu board in front of them.

“What
do you want?” he asked, quickly making up his mind.

“
Ahhh
, hamburgers are fine, just ketchup though. No onions,
pickles, or mustard for us.”

He
wanted Junie to have more. “Is cheese fine?”

Dani
nodded. “Yes, get Junie a kiddie burger though.”

“She
can have a regular burger,” he damn near snapped.

“I
know,” she said softly, making him feel bad for overreacting, “but they’re too
big and thick for her to bite into, so kiddie is better.”

Okay,
okay, made sense, he needed to calm down. A teenage girl came to the car and
took their order, and he knew he’d ordered too much, but he didn’t know what
would be better for Junie, a homemade root beer, or a chocolate shake, and then
he figured probably milk, but then didn’t feel it had enough calories for her.
So, he ordered it all, with two kiddie burgers, a quarter pounder for each of
them, and a huge basket of fries.

Their
food came and he brought it inside the truck, handing stuff over, and putting
straws in their drinks. Dani gave Junie a burger and told her she could have
fries from the basket, and showed her the different drinks, telling her to pick
whichever one she wanted. Then told her she could have more than one if she
wanted and could eat as many fries as she wanted too, making him feel a lot
better. Junie just nodded as she lay against Dani eating her burger, saying
nothing.

With
her burger nearly eaten, and nothing else, Dani asked her if she was thirsty,
and Junie nodded she was. When Dani asked her what she wanted to drink, she
just pointed to the glass of root beer. Picking it up, Dani handed it to her
and she grabbed it, taking a quick sip.

“You
can have as much of that as you want Junie, it’s just for you,” Dani explained,
reassuring her.

Junie
nodded, and took another drink, but longer this time.

“How
old is she?” Kris asked, watching the spectacle, knowing things were not right.

Hugging
Junie and putting a kiss on her head, Dani talked to her. “Kris wants to know
how old you are. Can you tell him?”

Lifting
her little hand, Junie held up four fingers and then put them back, tucking her
hand in between them as she lay against Dani. Kris could have sworn she had
reached out and taken his heart, because he about died inside.

Doing
his best, he used his kindest voice and said, “Wow, really, you’re four? I like
four, four is nice.” All he could say was, when she smiled and nodded in
agreement, she captured his heart.

Finishing
their food, they drove across the river into St. Croix Falls, and Kris headed
straight to Walmart. Once inside, they grabbed a cart.

“Here,
hold this please,” Dani said to him, as she handed him her purse.

He
stood staring at it. She didn’t wait, she shoved it into his stomach and he
instinctively put his hands up. Trying to get Junie into the cart, she refused
and Dani struggled to get her to sit. Kris hated to admit it but he was
thrilled. Dropping the purse in the back of the cart like a hot potato and
praying nobody had seen him, he said, “I’ll hold her while you push the cart
and shop.”

“Can
Kris hold you while I do the shopping?” Dani asked, looking at Junie.

Junie
let go of Dani and reached for him, slipping into his hold and wrapping her
arms around him. Tucking herself into the crook of his neck, she clamped onto
him like she had Dani. Around and around the store they went, sometimes
visiting a department more than twice, reminding Kris of why he hated shopping.
Women could not make up their minds, and Dani was definitely a woman in this
department. She couldn’t make a decision to save her soul. Just to get things
over with, he’d ask her what they were looking for and he’d just grab the stuff
showing her, and when she nodded, he’d add it to the cart.

They
got a toddler bed because it was all they had, a booster seat, shoes, clothes,
paper, crayons, a few toys, some children’s books, and thank God, some
groceries. Never once did Junie talk or ask for a thing. Kris wasn’t completely
sure, but he’d witnessed enough kids in stores to be fairly certain this was
not normal behavior. After checking out and offering to help pay for the
expenses and being flat out denied by Dani, he loaded up the truck. Getting
behind the wheel, he looked at the two of them. “Does she need to be in the
booster seat?”

“Yes,
but it won’t happen, so we’ll let it go.”

What
else? “Does she need to see a doctor?”