Sherryl Woods - About That Man

“Maybe because you were beating the subject to death, just the way you are now.”

“It’s an interrogation technique,” she said. “Tucker told me. Surely you’re familiar with it.”

His lips twitched ever so slightly. “I am, which is why it doesn’t work well on me. I get annoyed.”

“I’ll try to remember that. I just didn’t want Tucker or Bobby to get the idea that you and I have been…” She hesitated, then said, “Arguing. They’re very protective.”

Walker’s lips twitched. “Your brothers don’t scare me. I think I can take care of myself.”

“Okay, then,” she said, forcing herself to let the subject drop. An instant later she faced him as another worrisome issue occurred to her. “You’re not going to yell at Tommy for running off, are you?”

His level gaze met hers. “Are you?”

“Of course not.”

“Then why would you assume I might? I do understand what it’s like to be a kid and to be scared.”

Daisy was surprised by the admission. “I can’t imagine you being scared of anything.”

“Because you don’t know me. I wish you’d try to remember that.”

Daisy doubted she could forget it if she wanted to. The kiss might have been a rare display of intimacy, but he hadn’t let her into his head or into his heart, not for one single second since they’d met.

Sighing, she put the car into gear and drove the rest of the way down the block, pulling into the driveway next to Tucker’s sport-utility vehicle.

“Not much sign of activity,” Walker observed as they left the car.

Just then they heard laughter from the backyard.

“It sounds more like a party,” Daisy said, leading the way around the side of the house. She stopped abruptly at the sight that greeted her.

Her brothers, Frances and Tommy were all sprawled in lawn chairs on the deck facing the river, empty pie plates beside them. Tucker was pointing out some of the constellations visible in the velvet-black sky. Their not-a-care-in-the-world demeanor irked her as much as anything that had happened all day, which was saying something.

“Having fun?” she inquired tartly.

Four pairs of guilty eyes turned her way.

“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.