One Daddy Too Many Page 12

Larry the Lobster Fisherman was surprisingly good to her. She was up about thirty dollars when the realization struck her: she was happy. Smiling like an idiot. Madly in love happy.

  A sudden infusion of tears made her blink. “You’re a fool,” she muttered under her breath.

  Although no one was nearby, she heard a voice say, “No, you’re a winner.”

  A shiver passed through her as she looked around. She was alone. And the voice she’d heard was too familiar to be a fluke of the overheard public address system. It belonged to her father.

  She pressed the button to play another game. The flashing lights raced up and down, crossways and diagonal. Lines locked and Larry’s song started to play. Another win. She was fifty bucks ahead.

  “Come on, Kate. You know what to do when you’re on a roll.”

  The voice in her head was getting annoying. And loud. She ran her hand over her face then glanced at her watch. She’d been playing for over an hour. She was tired, delusional. I need to go to bed, she thought.

  “Or switch to craps.”

  She jumped to her feet and cashed out her points. Talking to the spirit world—or hearing her dead father’s voice—was Grace’s thing, not hers. Grace and Ernst had had a special rapport. She was the baby and their father’s little angel. Alex was first-born, the golden child. Liz and Yetta shared an interest in herbs and healing. Only Kate didn’t have a niche. She’d spent a great deal of her life calling herself the invisible child.

  She was headed to the bar for a cola when she “felt” a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look and saw two craps tables open. Fewer than a dozen people were playing.

  The only time Kate had ever felt really confident in her ability to shoot dice was when her father was at her side. Then they’d challenge each other, bet on long shots and laugh riotously when they paid off. The last time they’d played together had been a few months before his stroke.

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I can’t.”

  “You can’t win if you don’t play.”

  She’d heard Ernst say that a hundred times. Her father had loved to gamble and so had Kate. But that had been long ago. Before her life had turned upside down. Losers only stood to lose more, she’d figured.

  But she’d won tonight, hadn’t she? And she didn’t mean just at the slot machine.

  With a confidence she hadn’t felt for a long time, Kate changed directions and walked to the craps table.

  “New shooter coming out,” the croupier said, passing her a selection of dice.

  She picked two. Her lucky ones. And she started throwing. She didn’t stop until she felt a hand on her shoulder. A real hand. She blinked. “Rob. Oh, my gosh, is it morning?”

  He looked sleepy around the edges but fully cogent. “Early. Seven-thirty.” He glanced at the table. “Are all those chips yours?”

  She looked down. “Uh-huh. I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d play a little.” She felt embarrassed but exhilarated, too. “I used to gamble with my dad. He taught me. Is something wrong?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. We need to go.”

  She didn’t understand, but she didn’t argue. The serious look in his eyes indicated urgency. She left the croupier a sizable tip then gathered up her winnings. Rob led the way to the lobby area across from the registration desk and made her sit down.

  Her stomach in knots, she asked, “What’s going on?”

  He sat down on the low table directly opposite her. “Ian has Maya.”

  “What?”

  “Your mother called about fifteen minutes ago. She said he dropped by unexpectedly when she was making breakfast for Maya and her two friends who spent the night. Said he wanted to talk to you. She asked him to come back later when you were home, but he came in anyway.”

  “That sounds like Ian,” Kate muttered.

  “Maya and her friends were eating pancakes. I guess one of them had had a bad night and wanted her mommy, which was why they were up so early. Yetta walked the little girl to the front door. When she returned to the kitchen, Ian and Maya were gone.”

  “He took her? But he doesn’t have a car.”

  “Maybe he stole one. I don’t know. Your mom was pretty upset. I packed our stuff, settled our bill and asked the bell captain to get our car. It should be here in a minute. If you want to cash in your chips, I’ll grab us a couple of doughnuts to go.”

  Kate stumbled to her feet, her mind disoriented. Rob nudged her in the right direction. Maya was gone? The concept was so huge it didn’t quite fit in her head.

  The cashier gave her hundred-dollar bills, which Kate stuffed carelessly in her purse. Her adrenaline was starting to pump. She needed to get home. Now.

  Rob was standing by the door. He handed her a soda and a small white sack. “Food?” she mumbled, her stomach turning at the thought.

  “You’ll need it,” he said, taking her elbow. “The car’s packed. Let’s go.”

  She didn’t argue. Nor did she open the sack. Her stomach was too knotted. She couldn’t stop thinking about Maya. Was her baby afraid? Worried? Ian wouldn’t hurt her. She was confident of that, but what if he tried to keep her? Kate couldn’t bear the thought.

  Chapter Twelve

  Getting out of Mesquite was simple. Getting Kate to talk to him wasn’t.

  This sudden crisis had waylaid their meaningful, morning-after talk. Rob understood, although when the phone rang, he’d been disappointed to wake up and find Kate gone. His mind had raced with questions. Did she regret what had happened between them? Was she trying to forget their time together?

  He’d never know now because her focus was entirely—and rightly so—on her daughter. But he wanted to help. He felt he could be there for both of them, if Kate would let him in.

  Her cell phone jingled.

  She’d been trying to reach her mother ever since they sat down in the car, but the line had been busy. “Mom? Have you found her? Maybe he took her for a walk. Or—”

  Rob’s grip on the steering wheel intensified.

  He couldn’t get much from the one-sided conversation, but he was so attuned to Kate that he sensed the news wasn’t good.

  “Well, we’re on our way back. Call me as soon as you hear something, okay?”

  He heard her voice crack and reached out to touch her knee. “She’ll be fine, Kate. And we’ll get her back. Believe that.”

  “I shouldn’t have gone with you. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been thinking about myself. My own needs. I’m a terrible mother.”

  “This isn’t about you, Kate. It’s about Maya and a man who is obviously missing a few genes that normal people have. A father who cared about his child wouldn’t steal her from her mother and the only home she’s ever known just because he was feeling shut out.”

  She sniffled quietly.

  In a softer tone, he added, “We can’t undo last night. And personally, I wouldn’t if I could. Men like Ian don’t need an excuse to hurt people. He probably saw an opportunity and ran with it.”

  Kate knew he was right. And his calm demeanor and steady hand on the wheel helped her regain some control over her imagination. She took a sip of her soda. Sweet and bubbly. After a bite of doughnut, she said, “You’re right. He is an opportunist. And he knew where Mom kept the keys to her car. He probably timed it so she was at the front door while he was putting Maya in her car seat. When Mom walked back to the kitchen, he would have pulled out and driven away.”

  She could see the whole thing as clearly as if it were on TV.

  “He’s in your mom’s car?”

  She nodded.

  “Then we have an advantage. We already know the make, model and license plate number.” He handed Kate his phone. “Here. Go to my address book and find Zeke’s number. If your mother hasn’t already called him, he’ll be a great resource. After that, I want you to call every member of the Dads Group.”

  “Why?” she asked, setting her cup in the plastic holder.

  “Publicity. The
more people who know about this, the faster we find him. Our own personal Amber Alert.”

  When they pulled into the compound half an hour later—after making record time, she’d already talked to a dozen people. Word was going out in every direction. Cousins. Friends. Friends of friends. Everyone was on the lookout for Yetta’s very ordinary-looking Lincoln.

  She jumped out of Rob’s car the instant it came to a stop and ran inside, her legs wobbly, hands shaking. “Mom?”

  “Kate,” a familiar voice called.

  “Oh, my God. Grace,” Kate exclaimed, tears filling her eyes. “How? When? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

  The two embraced fiercely. Kate knew she’d missed her sister, she just didn’t realize how much until now.

  “Totally spur-of-the-minute. I took the red-eye. Nikolai looked at me over dinner last night and said, ‘Your sister needs you.’” She made a wide-eyed “who knew” gesture that Kate had no trouble interpreting. Women weren’t the only gifted seers in the family, it appeared. “So, he called the airport. They had a seat and here I am.”

  Kate squeezed her sister. “I owe him one. I’m so glad you’re here. Have we heard anything yet? Where’s Mom?”

  “She went with Zeke to file a missing person’s report. Alex is at her house, trying to call in some substitute teachers. Liz is at Gregor’s talking to poor little Gemilla. She and Maya were together when Mom walked the other little girl—I can’t remember her name—to the door.”

  Rob suddenly appeared at the screen door, Kate’s overnight bag in hand. “Knock, knock. Hi Grace. Nice to see you. I didn’t know you were coming.”

  Kate opened the door for him.

  “Where do you want this?”

  Kate shrugged. Panic was returning, along with a feeling of guilt. If only she hadn’t been off having sex with—“Just drop it anywhere. Is there anyone else I should call? Maybe we could hire a helicopter. I won a bunch of money last night.” She pushed her purse into Grace’s hands. “Over a thousand, I think. Dad was there.”

  Rob set down the bag and cleared his throat, as if uncomfortable with the revelation that the woman he’d spent the better part of the night with saw ghosts. “Can I use the bathroom?”

  Grace gave him directions, then took Kate’s hand and led her to the table. “Tell me what happened.”

  We spent the night making wild, passionate love. “Rob and I had massages. We ate dinner and drank champagne. It was late. We decided to stay over.”

  “So, you and Dad gambled together. Cool. Was that before or after you and Rob made love?”

  “After.”

  When Kate realized she’d been tricked into revealing more than she’d intended, she brought up both hands as if to strangle someone, but Grace’s laugh snuffed the fuse to her anger. “That’s wonderful. Really. Rob’s great. I have a good feeling about him. And I’m so happy you reconnected with Dad. Mom always said you were your father’s daughter.”

  “She did? I don’t remember that.”

  Grace sat down opposite her. “Well, she did. I was jealous, of course. I was supposedly daddy’s girl, but you two did share a bond—kinda like Mom and Liz.”

  Kate might have discussed her strange experience further but Rob returned, cell phone in hand. “I just got a call from Mac.”

  “Who?”

  “Zeke’s new partner. The guy at swimming class with the two-month-old baby.”

  “Oh. Yeah. What did he say?”

  “They think they’ve spotted the car.”

  Kate jumped to her feet. “Where? Is Maya still with him? Is she okay?”

  Rob reacted without thinking. He walked to her and put his arms around her. “That’s all I know. He was relaying what he heard from one of Enzo’s tow-truck drivers.”

  When the call came, Rob’s first reaction had been one of wonder. Wow, this networking thing really works. He’d never been a part of that type of team. He’d been a bookworm in school and hadn’t played in group sports. He’d never needed a lot of friends. But meeting this group of men—the Dads Group—had proven a revelation. He liked them. And it appeared that they cared about him and the people he cared about.

  Kate didn’t pull away until the door opened and Alex walked in, followed by Yetta and Zeke.

  “Hey, you two made good time,” Alex said.

  Kate ran to her mother, who looked shaken. “Are you okay, Mom? Rob said they might have spotted them. Come sit down.”

  His respect for Kate went up a notch. She obviously didn’t blame her mother.

  “I’m so sorry, Katherine. I don’t know how this happened. He looked so worn out and defeated. It must have been an act. Just to throw me off my guard. Oh, honey, I let you down again, didn’t I?”

  Rob wasn’t sure what that meant, but he knew the best way to keep morale up was to stay busy. “Um, ladies, I should probably apologize in advance, but when I was rallying the troops, I sorta told people to head over here. I figured we’d set up some kind of command post. Maybe coffee. A few snacks or something…” he hinted.

  Grace popped to her feet. “Good idea. Liz has a great tea that helps combat stress. I’ll run to Gregor’s and see if she has any with her. Mom, Kate, you can make sandwiches. Rob will run to the store since this was his idea.” Her wink hold him she understood—and approved of—what he was doing. But would her highly independent sister appreciate his butting in?

  KATE LOOKED AROUND. Rob had just taken off for the store. She was alone with her sisters. Yetta and Zeke were outside talking beside his unmarked police car. Kate had noticed the way her mother gravitated toward the silver-haired detective. She wanted to talk about this change in their mother’s life with her sisters but now was not the time.

  Grace, who was chopping ripe olives for bruschetta, glanced up. “So, this thing between you and Rob is serious, huh?”

  “I like him.”

  Grace elbowed Alex. “She spent the night with him.”

  “In Mesquite?” Alex asked. “Really? Am I always the last to know everything?”

  “I didn’t…we didn’t…plan it. Jo gave us a gift certificate. Two massages. Dinner. And a room. We’d planned to get a second room if we decided to stay over. The hotel was fully booked.”

  Grace gave Alex a droll look. “The old no-room-at-the-inn trick. I didn’t know that still worked.”

  Kate shook her head. “Shut up. My little girl is somewhere in the desert with a crazy person who is going to be a dead crazy person when I get my hands on him, and you’re cracking jokes.” She pounded her fist into the stiff dough she was getting ready to roll out.

  Alex opened another can of olives and handed it to Grace. To Kate, she said, “I know you’re angry. And afraid. But we will find them and Maya will come home safely. What you have to do is decide how to handle this. Are you going to retreat back behind the barricade of work and motherhood where you’ve been hiding since Ian hurt you, or are you going to refuse to give him that kind of power over you this time?”

  Kate stopped kneading to look at her. “What do you mean?”

  “After Mark and I broke up, I was really mad for a long time. It warped every aspect of my life, including my health. I passed up a couple of really nice men who wanted to date me because I was so consumed by anger I didn’t have room for love. Don’t let that happen to you, okay?” She wiped her hands on a towel and started to leave. “I’ve got some sundried tomatoes at my house. I’ll be right back.”

  Kate watched her go, a little stunned. Alex wasn’t usually that open about her feelings, especially where her ex-fiancé was concerned.

  Grace seemed surprised as well. “She has a point, you know. You’re starting a new relationship. One with obvious potential. Personally, I think Ian guessed that you were with Rob and he did this just to get back at you. If you let him ruin things, he’ll have won.”

  Grace’s comment remained on Kate’s mind an hour later. Rob had returned with a dozen bags of groceries. More family members had shown u
p with food, too. Alex had herded the children into the backyard. The party atmosphere might have driven Kate mad if she hadn’t reminded herself that this was the Rom way.

  She stood in the doorway, listening to threads of the many conversations without really hearing a word. Two little girls ducked in and out of Maya’s playhouse. A crushing pressure on Kate’s chest made it hard to breathe. She wondered if she might be having a heart attack.

  Rob suddenly materialized at her side. “You look like someone who needs a breath of fresh—okay, smoggy—air. The sky is light tan, not brown yet, so we should be safe.”

  He took her hand and led her out the front door.

  “Why haven’t we heard anything?” she cried.

  “We will. Zeke said they’re being cautious since nobody wants a high-speed chase.”

  She’d seen enough of those on TV to picture the outcome. And the image increased the pressure on her chest.

  “The longer this goes on, the more afraid Maya will be. She might not have been alarmed when they first took off. He is her dad and he can be very charming when he wants to be, but she’s not stupid. She’ll know this is wrong. She’s crying, Rob. I can feel it.”

  He pulled her close. His support was something she could get used to, but this wasn’t his problem. She pulled back. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have to fire someone?”

  He’d mentioned his employee dilemma yesterday. His compassion and sensitivity had impressed her.

  “I called my secretary and told her the flu was worse.”

  “Did she believe you?”

  “Probably not. I was in the supermarket when I phoned.”

  “Will she lie for you if the big bosses call?”

  “Probably not.”

  “Rob,” she cried, stepping away. “You’re risking your livelihood for me. I can’t let you do that.”

  “It’s already done. Besides, I’d be useless at work because I’d be worrying about you and Maya.”

  She paced a short distance away. “Rob, about last night…”

  He took a step that placed him in her path. “Last night was amazing. You’re amazing. And what’s happening now is not related.”