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“You might have let us know that Tommy was safe,” she said peevishly.
“You didn’t take your cell phone,” Bobby pointed out mildly. “We had no way to get in touch with you.”
“Somebody could have gotten in a car and come after us,” she said, regarding Tucker accusingly. “I’m sure someone could have spotted us since the streets around here are practically deserted at this time of night.”
“The point is that Tommy is back,” Tucker responded quietly, refusing to rise to the bait. He turned to Tommy. “Son, this is your uncle, Walker Ames.”
The introduction brought on a heavy silence. Daisy watched as the boy warily eyed Walker. Neither of them budged an inch. In fact, Walker looked a little shell-shocked. Finally, after a firm nudge by her elbow, he crossed the deck and hunkered down beside Tommy.
“You look just like your mother,” he said softly, a hint of wonder and sorrow in his voice. “Same eyes, same hair, same smile. I noticed that in the picture Mrs. Jackson showed me earlier.”
Tommy’s expression remained sullen. “So?”
“It’s just that it makes me realize how very much I missed her,” Walker said.
“Then how come you never came to see us?” Tommy demanded.
“Because she didn’t tell me where she was and I couldn’t find her.”
“Like you really tried,” Tommy scoffed.
“One day, if you like, I’ll show you a file with every single thing I did, every place I searched,” Walker offered. “Your mom was my baby sister. I never wanted anything bad to happen to her.”
“Well, something bad did happen,” Tommy shouted, jumping up. “She died! Just like my dad, only I never even knew him. My mom was all I had and she’s dead. Now I got nobody.”
“That’s not true,” Daisy protested, taking a step toward him.
Before she could reach him, he scrambled away from Walker, skirted around her and ran into the house, letting the screen door slam closed behind him.
“I’ll go after him,” she said at once, heartbroken for both of them.
“No,” Bobby said. “Let me. You stay here with Frances and Walker and work things out. You all have a lot of tough decisions to make.”
Daisy reluctantly agreed. Her younger brother had a way with kids. Maybe it would be best to let an unbiased third party try to calm Tommy down.
As Bobby went inside, Tucker stood and gave Walker’s shoulder a squeeze. “How about a beer?”
His expression numb, Walker nodded. “Sounds great. I’ll come with you.”
That left Daisy alone with Frances.
“I’m sorry about accusing you of trying to hide Tommy,” Frances said eventually. “You know how fond I am of you, but I have a job to do.”
“It doesn’t matter. We were all upset. We all said some things we shouldn’t have,” Daisy conceded. “Where did you find him, by the way?”
“Tucker found him hiding in Madge Jessup’s toolshed. She said she’d heard noises out there earlier, but thought it was a raccoon. Tommy was sitting on the riding mower eating a peanut butter sandwich when Tucker checked it out. He swore he’d planned to come back as soon as he knew his uncle and I were gone.”
Daisy sighed. “What a mess. What do we do now?”
“I’m going to try to convince Walker to stay here for a few more days so that he and Tommy can get to know each other. Then we’ll see. It’s obvious that they can’t be united overnight. Neither of them is ready for that.”
A few more days might be the reprieve they all needed. “Do you think he’ll agree?” Daisy asked.
“I don’t know. And I don’t know what to make of the man. What do you think?”
An hour ago Daisy would have guessed that Walker Ames would tear out of Trinity Harbor at the first opportunity, but that was before she’d seen the look on his face when he got his first glimpse of his nephew. “I think he’ll agree,” she said at last. “He might not be happy about it, but he knows in his heart he owes it to his sister.”
“Agree to what?” Walker asked as he and Tucker came back outside.
“To stay a few more days,” Frances said. “And don’t tell me about your job. I’m sure under the circumstances, they could spare you through the weekend. The crime will still be there when you get back.”
“Exactly what my boss said when I spoke to him not five minutes ago,” Walker said. “It seems I’m not indispensable after all.”
Daisy didn’t like the way her pulse kicked up at his announcement. She was pretty sure the reaction didn’t have a thing to do with Tommy’s best interests.
“You’re welcome to stay here,” she said impulsively.
His gaze clashed with hers, and for a moment the air sizzled with more of that astonishing electricity. Then he shook his head. “Bad idea.”
“I agree,” Frances said.
“But you’re the one who said he and Tommy need time to get to know one another,” Daisy protested. “What better way than if they’re under the same roof?”
“Yes, but they’ll also need some space. And frankly it won’t help if half the town is gossiping about you having a stranger living with you. Somebody will want to make something of it, and you’ll be left to live it down.”
“He could stay at Cedar Hill,” Tucker suggested slyly. “There are plenty of rooms to spare over there.”
“Absolutely not,” Daisy said fiercely, scowling at her brother. She knew exactly what he was up to. She could just imagine Walker being subjected to an endless diatribe from her father, probably followed by an attempt to bribe him into taking Tommy away from her.
“What’s Cedar Hill?” Walker asked, regarding her curiously.
“My family’s home, still ruled by the indomitable King Spencer,” she explained. “Trust me, you do not want to go there.”
He grinned. “I don’t know. You’re making it sound like a challenge.”
“My father is a trial, not a challenge.”
Tucker’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Trying to keep them apart, Daisy? What are you afraid of?”
“You know perfectly well that Daddy will try to stick his nose in and manipulate this so it works out the way he wants it to.”
“You’re not giving me much credit,” Walker said.
“You are no match for my father,” she insisted. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“He doesn’t matchmake, does he?” Walker asked with a deliberately exaggerated shudder.
“With a Yankee? Heaven forbid,” Daisy said.
“Then I don’t see the problem.”
“She’s afraid our father will have you and Tommy reunited and out of town before daybreak,” Tucker explained. “No matter how he has to accomplish it.”
A teasing glint appeared in Walker’s eyes. “Which one of us are you most afraid of losing?” he inquired.
Daisy could feel heat climbing into her cheeks. She hadn’t blushed this much in years, if ever. She avoided glancing at her brother or Frances before she said quite firmly, “Tommy, of course.”
A grin spread across Walker’s face. “Of course.”
“Am I missing something here?” Tucker inquired, his brotherly antennae clearly on full alert.
“Nothing,” Daisy said sharply. “Not one damn thing. You all settle this however you want to. Walker can sleep on the ground for all I care. I’m going to say good-night to Tommy, and then I am going to bed. Breakfast’s at eight, Detective. If you’re still in town then.”
A low chuckle followed her inside, but she couldn’t tell if it was Walker’s or her brother’s. At this point, it didn’t much matter. She held the same low opinion of both of them.
Upstairs she found Bobby and Tommy engaged in a cutthroat round of a Monopoly game.
“Watch him, Tommy. My brother really, really likes to acquire real estate. He’s already bought up half the waterfront in Trinity Harbor.”
Tommy’s eyes widened. “For real? You own the beach?”
“Not the beach,” Bobby said. “Just the land nearby.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“He’s already built a marina,” Daisy said.
“The one with all the boats and the neat restaurant?”
Bobby nodded. “That’s mine.”
“Wow. My mom took me to eat there once. It was last year on my birthday. We got all dressed up and everything.”
Bobby grinned. “Did you like the food?” he asked casually.
Now there was a loaded question if ever Daisy had heard one. “Careful how you answer, Tommy. Bobby’s also the chef.”
Tommy looked puzzled. “You mean like a cook?”
“Yep,” Daisy confirmed. “That’s just a fancy name for it.”
“I didn’t study at Cordon Bleu just so you could call me a cook,” Bobby grumbled, clearly offended. “Isn’t it bad enough that I have to put up with Daddy saying that?”
“He’s just ticked because you refuse to take over the cattle operation.”
“I’ve been telling him since I turned ten that I was not interested in raising Black Angus. I’m twenty-eight now–wouldn’t you think he’d be over it?”
“Daddy?” Daisy said skeptically. “The man who still hasn’t forgiven his brother for buying a prize bull out from under his nose thirty years ago?”
“I see your point,” Bobby said with a sigh.
Daisy leaned down and kissed him. “He loves you, though. You do know that, don’t you?”
Bobby grinned. “Being loved by King Spencer is not necessarily a blessing.”
She laughed. “You may be right about that. It just means there’s more pressure to do things his way.” She gave Tommy a hug. “Want me to stick around and tuck you in?”
“I don’t need to be tucked in,” he said with an embarrassed glance at Bobby.
Her brother winked at him. Daisy let it pass. She’d slip in later after the lights were out and make sure Tommy was okay. “All right, then. Good night, you two.”
“Daisy?” Tommy called after her, his voice hesitant.
“What, sweetheart?”
“Is my uncle…is he still here?”
She tried to read his expression and couldn’t. “He’s going to stay through the weekend.”
“Here?”
“No. They’re downstairs deciding that now. Probably at the hotel by the river.”
Tommy’s shoulders seemed to ease then, and she realized that, despite his outburst earlier, he didn’t really want his uncle to disappear from his life. Family relationships might be complex and frustrating, but they were still the most powerful ties a person had. As terrified as she was that Walker might take Tommy away from her, she couldn’t bear to deny them this time together.
“Maybe when he comes over in the morning, he’ll tell you all about what your mom was like when she was a little girl,” she suggested.
Tommy’s eyes lit up for the first time since he’d learned that Walker was coming. “That would be cool. She never said much about when she was a kid.”
“Then you ask him,” she said softly, fighting back the sting of tears.
Bobby followed her from the room and gave her a hug. “You did good in there,” he told her.
“I hope so.” She stared at her brother wistfully. “What if I lose him, though?”
“Then his staying wasn’t meant to be. You’ll survive.”
Daisy envisioned an empty future and wished she shared Bobby’s confidence.
Later, alone in her too-quiet, too-lonely room, Daisy could admit that the meeting with Walker had been a disaster, start to finish. But as she thought back over the evening–from Tommy’s disappearance to the awkward reunion a few hours later–what stuck in her mind was that unexpected kiss she and Walker had shared.
Why couldn’t she shake the memory? Was she so desperate for a little attention that any man’s kiss would have thrown her off-kilter like this? Maybe so. In fact, that had to be it. It had nothing at all to do with Walker Ames.
Yeah, right. She touched her fingers to her lips. Even now she could almost feel the whisper-soft caress. It hadn’t lasted more than a few seconds, but it had felt like an eternity. He had seemed almost as shocked by it as she had been.
It was definitely a good thing that he had declined her invitation. Hopefully he’d also declined the suggestion that he stay at Cedar Hill. He’d be just fine at Trinity Harbor’s one fancy hotel. Near enough to drop in, but far enough away to avoid temptation.
She sighed. She had a feeling that kiss was going to keep her up all night as it was. Having Walker Ames right down the hall would have been more than she could bear.
