Hometown Love (5 page)

The icing on the cake had been the phone call from his supervisor. The lieutenant governor’s sixteen-year-old daughter hadn’t been seen since going to a friend’s house the night before and all hands were being called in to look for her. So rather than spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon with his daughter, he spent much of the day talking to a sixteen-year-old’s friends and canvassing the area where she’d last been seen. At least they’d found her safe, not abducted like her parents feared, but with her college-age boyfriend.

Leaving the highway behind, Mack headed toward North Salem. He didn’t want to entertain the idea of Grace pulling a stunt like the lieutenant governor’s daughter had. When he hit a red light, Mack checked his cell phone again. Several times already he’d checked, expecting a message from Jessie telling him she’d dropped Grace off with his parents, but despite the late hour, he still hadn’t gotten one.

Thank God she’d been around today
. If she hadn’t offered to watch Grace, he didn’t know who he would have called with his parents MIA and his sister away. Sure, he had several good friends in town, but they were all single guys who wouldn’t know what to do with a five-and-half-year-old girl. In the past, before they’d moved back, he’d relied on Tonya, the analyst who lived in the condo next to theirs and worked in his office. She and her husband had children of their own, but those kids were in high school. As much as he liked Tonya and her family he always felt guilty when he had to drop Grace off with them. Not having to rely on his neighbor like that had been just one of the many benefits of moving home.

He could see lights in several windows on the second floor when he pulled up in front of Jessie’s apartment. As soon as he opened his car door, he got a whiff of Chinese food from the restaurant next door and his stomach rumbled. He’d grabbed a fast food burger around one, but that had been nine hours ago. Food would have to wait until he got home. Jessie had been babysitting Grace since late that morning.

The stairs creaked as he took them two at a time. On the second floor landing, he found two apartment doors. Jessie hadn’t said which was hers and he glanced between them before he picked one. The door on the right was a solid green with no decoration of any kind except for the gold A in the center. The other however had a border of tiny white flowers stenciled all the way around it and a wooden doorplate, which read 
Welcome
just below the peephole. The Jessie he remembered from high school would’ve taken the time to stencil in flowers.

After knocking on the door, he waited. He heard a deadbolt turn and then the door opened.

“Hey, Mack. Come on in,” Jessie said, stepping to the side. “Grace is asleep on the couch.”

He entered a rather large kitchen, considering it was an apartment, and the faint smell of popcorn lingered in the air. “Sorry it’s so late.” Mack closed the door behind him. “You never got in touch with my parents?”

“I got your mom about ten minutes ago, but they were still in Portland.”

His mom loved to go shopping there. Most of the time, she took his sister with her, but if Erin was not available and his dad couldn’t come up with a good excuse, she’d drag him along. “I owe you big time.”

“Honestly, Mack it was no big deal. We had fun. After we left the store, we stopped at the playground. Grace met another girl who’s starting kindergarten this year. Then we came here and had some pizza. Afterwards, we made popcorn and put some movies on. Grace fell asleep about halfway through the second one.”

His stomach gave a little rumble again. “You still saved me big time. If I can help you out in any way, just let me know.”

Jessie waved a dismissive hand in his direction, letting him know she didn’t expect anything in return. “Grace is in here.” She walked into the next room.

As often happened after a long day like today, the sight of his little girl filled him with so much love it helped him remember why he did the job he did. Bending down, he scooped her up, careful not to wake her. With some luck, he’d get her into the car and buckled without disturbing her too much. Cradling her against him, he noticed the pigtails he’d fashioned that morning had been replaced by some fancy braids.

“She’s always begging me to do something different with her hair. Ponytails and pigtails are all I can manage. She must have loved when you did this.”

Jessie shrugged. “She wanted her hair to look like Heather’s, the little girl she met at the park.”

Mack carried Grace back to the kitchen door, Jessie following close behind. “By the way, how much do I owe you for the pizza?”

“You don’t. I planned on ordering pizza tonight anyway.”

He wanted to press the issue, but didn’t want to get in an argument either. “If you say so, but you’ll have to let me buy you dinner sometime. Thanks again.”

Before he could reach for the doorknob, Jessie pulled it open for him. Her arm brushed against his and his body picked that moment to remind him how long it had been since he’d had sex.

“Anytime, really. We had fun.” Jessie’s voice pulled his thoughts away from the discomfort he suddenly felt. “Oh, and before I forget, she picked out the decals she liked the best. I put them aside for you to see. She was worried someone would buy them.”

“I’ll stop in later this week and get them.”

Mack managed to get Grace into the car without waking her, but the second he stretched the seat belt across her lap her eyes popped open.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said, her unfocused eyes a clear sign she wasn’t awake.

Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead. “I love you too, buddy.” No sooner did he say the words than Grace’s eyes drifted closed again.

He didn’t hear another peep as he drove home. She did open her eyes once when he lifted her from her car seat, but otherwise, he got her tucked into bed with no trouble.

After locking his gun in the safe and dropping his wallet and handcuffs on his nightstand, he went in search of food. He’d polished off the leftover pizza last night. He’d intended to hit the grocery store after their trip to Quinn’s that morning, but the call from work had killed that, which meant he had few options. Grabbing a box of cereal, he poured himself a bowl and slapped together two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Tomorrow he’d try to leave work early and shop. Back in Watertown, there had been a large chain grocery store that would deliver groceries right to his door; a service that came in handy after Bethany had left. His ex-wife hadn’t been big into helping around the house, but she had always kept the kitchen well stocked.

Unfortunately, the grocery store in North Salem provided no such services, so he’d have to fit food shopping into his weekend routine.

***

Dressed in her favorite t-shirt and shorts, Grace sat across the table from Mack bright and early the next morning.

“What do you feel like?” With such limited options at home, he’d decided to stop for breakfast at Masterson’s Restaurant before heading into Boston.

“A waffle and chocolate milk.” She didn’t look up from the picture she colored on the place mat.

After giving their waitress his own order, he turned his full attention on his daughter again. “Jessie said you picked out the decals you liked. We can pick them up on the way home tonight.”

At the mention of her decals, Grace looked up, the end of one long braid brushing the table. That morning she’d insisted that he leave her braids alone, and since they looked neat despite a night in bed, he hadn’t touched them. “Can we go now?”

“You know I have to work today.”

“I wish you could stay home. Then we could stay home together and I wouldn’t have to see Noah,” she said, referring to a boy at her day care center. Ever since Noah had started there this winter, Grace complained about him.

Reaching for his coffee, Mack took a long gulp. “Next week you start school and won’t have to see him anymore.” As much as he wanted her to start school, it would be odd not having her just floors below him. Ever since he’d gone to work with the FBI, Grace had attended the day care and preschool located on the second floor of the building.

Grace considered his words. “Why can’t I stay with Grammy or Auntie Erin?”

They’d already gone over this. “Auntie isn’t back yet and Grammy is getting ready for the start of school. Next week you’ll see Auntie Erin and Brianna everyday afterschool.” Earlier that year, his sister had decided to leave her part-time position and be a full-time stay-at-home mom. When Mack told her his plan to move back, she’d offered to watch Grace after school.

“I still don’t want to see Noah.” Grace dropped her elbows onto the table and propped her chin in her hands. “He makes fun of everyone.”

Mack, as well as a few other parents, had spoken to the teachers, and while Noah’s behavior had improved, he still sometimes bothered the other children. “Just a few more days, buddy.”

“Here we go,” Nicole, their waitress said, appearing at their table. “One waffle for you, Grace.” Nicole placed a Belgian waffle down. “And a Mediterranean omelet for you.” One of the biggest omelets he’d seen appeared in front of him, along with toast, sausage, and corn beef hash.

“Is there anything else I can get you?” Nicole asked, her hand coming down onto his and he felt paper slip under his palm.

He stared at the hand covering his, unable to respond at first. Hadn’t Nicole been at the block party with Striker? “Just some more coffee, Nicole. Thanks.” He gave her a tight smile. The last thing he wanted was to encourage her or make her think he was interested. Even if he were on the look-out for a girlfriend, Nicole wouldn’t be on his radar. At least four or five years younger than him, she reminded him too much of Bethany.

Nicole gave him a bright smile. “Coming right up.”

“Can I stay with Jessie today?” Grace asked between bites of her waffle her mind still fixated on the day ahead.

Without being obvious, Mack glanced at the note under his hand. Sure enough, it contained Nicole’s phone number and a message for him to call her. Moving his plate so it covered the note, he got ready to dig into his own breakfast. “She’s probably working today, too.”

“You could call and check.”

“I take it you liked staying with Jessie?” He covered his toast with strawberry jam as he waited for an answer.

With her straw in her mouth, Grace could only nod until she finished. “I want to stay with her again.”

“Is that my Grace I hear?” Rose Ellsbury appeared at their booth interrupting their conversation.

Breakfast forgotten, Grace jumped out of her seat. “Grammy!”

Rose smiled and hugged her granddaughter. “Now this is the perfect way to start a Monday morning.” She kissed Grace and then gave Mack a hug. “If I knew you two were going to be here, I would’ve come sooner.” She sat next to Grace as Nicole appeared with coffee in hand.

“Can I stay with you today?” Grace used her best please-give-me-what-I-want-because-I’m-cute look.

“I wish you could, but I need to get ready for the big kids to come back next week.”

“I can help you.”

“You’d be bored watching me get my office ready. How about you and your dad come for dinner this week? Then, on Friday, if you’re not seeing your mom, you can sleep over.”

Although not the answer she wanted, Grace didn’t offer any further protests.

“Bethany canceled for the weekend so if Grace wants, she can stay.”

Grace bounced in her seat and smiled. “Can we invite Brianna, too?”

Slipping an arm over Grace’s shoulders, his mom gave her granddaughter a little squeeze. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ll call Auntie tonight and ask.”

Pleased with the unexpected plans, Grace turned her full attention back to her breakfast, thoughts of Noah and daycare gone.

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I left my cell in the car while your father and I shopped.”

With his toast gone, Mack started on the sausage. “Jessie came to my rescue.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. She helps out everyone.”

“She did my hair,” Grace said, taking a break from eating.

“It looks very nice. Did you have fun?” Rose added sugar to her coffee as she waited for an answer.

Grace nodded. “We went to the playground and later watched two fairy movies. I want to stay with her again.”

“I owe her one. I didn’t pick Grace up until about ten o’clock.”

His mother’s head tilted to the side and an expression he couldn’t identify formed on her face as she looked from him to Grace and then back again. “I’ve always liked Jessie. So what movies did you watch, Grace?” The expression on his mom’s face disappeared and Grace launched into a full description of the two movies. Right now fairies were her obsession and she couldn’t get enough of them.

“How does your new room look?” Rose asked once Grace finished.

Grace reached for the fork she hadn’t touched in several minutes and shrugged. “Okay.”

“Just okay?”

“Daddy promised he’d paint it soon, and I picked out some decals to decorate with. We’re going to buy them tonight.”

“We’ll stop at Quinn’s tonight after the grocery store. We can get paint while we’re there, too. This weekend while you’re with Gram, I’ll paint. Does that sound like a plan?” He couldn’t deny that his daughter’s bedroom was a rather ugly color.