The Daddy Gamble Page 9

  She frowned and looked over the group of kids. “Bubba’s a baby. He doesn’t even walk.”

  “But he could still fall into the water.” Rob glanced at Kate. She had a rumpled, just woken up look that made him want to race back to bed with her.

  Maya kicked him squarely in the shin. Her bare foot didn’t hurt but it got his attention. “If you can kick that well in the water, you’re going to be swimming in no time.”

  “I already know how to swim,” she declared.

  “Prove it.” He put out his hand. “Come on. I dare you.”

  Kate watched the power struggle between Rob and her daughter with mixed emotions. She wanted Maya to learn how to swim and had been utterly stymied and frustrated by Maya’s fierce determination not to take lessons. She hoped Rob would be able to accomplish the task. At the same time, she knew this exercise wasn’t entirely about swimming. It was about trust. Or more specifically, about trusting a man.

  She stayed in the background as Rob organized the men and their children. Her mother came to stand beside her.

  “Relax, dear. He seems very capable.”

  Kate nodded but didn’t comment. To ease her tension, she looked around at the men. “Who’s that?” she asked, seeing one she didn’t recognize.

  “Mac. He’s Zeke’s new protégé,” Yetta said. Blond and buff, he appeared to be quite young. His early twenties, Kate guessed. His swim trunks reached his kneecaps. He was carrying an infant, probably only two or three months old.

  “That’s a pretty tiny baby,” Kate said. “Does his wife know he’s here?”

  A low rumble of laughter sounded behind them. Kate turned to see Zeke Martini, the gray-haired policeman who had organized the undercover roust that had cost her family so much. Kate didn’t ask why he was here. She knew his children were grown and lived in California with his ex-wife. She knew that Yetta had gone to lunch with him a few times. The two had become friends.

  Personally, Kate was still a little wary of the man, whom it could be argued had used her Romani family to catch a master criminal, but her sisters seemed more inclined to forgive and forget. “Not much escapes Mac’s wife’s attention,” he said. “She’s a newspaper reporter. She told Mac this would be a bonding experience.”

  Kate looked at the young cop, who seemed very much out of his element. Scared even.

  Rob addressed his group. “It’s important to get your initial introduction to the water out of the way fast. The longer you have to fret about something, the more nervous everyone gets. Just pick your child up.” He demonstrated with Maya, who stiffened like a piece of wood. “And get wet.”

  He walked briskly down the steps, keeping his grip firmly on her daughter, even though Maya let out a howl and tried to climb up his neck. He bounced around and chattered to her, making goofy faces that distracted her enough to end the noisy tantrum.

  “Girl’s got a set of pipes on her,” Zeke said.

  “She knows how to say what she wants even if it’s not what she really wants,” Yetta replied.

  Kate looked at her mother, wondering if there was a message in that cryptic remark for her, but her attention was pulled back to the action as the other fathers entered the pool. Nathan was having a hard time of it trying to get the twins to stay separated. He wanted one of the little girls to sit in a chair while he worked with the other, but neither would have anything to do with that plan.

  “Maybe I should—” she started, but Zeke shouldered past her.

  “I guess I look enough like a grandpa to gain her trust.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open as he emptied his pockets and removed his shirt and belt. His khaki shorts rested on lean hips. He was thin but not skinny and still very muscular. He didn’t look bad for his age. She glanced at her mother, who had a funny look on her face.

  Once Zeke had made friends with the spare twin, he carried her into the water, making sure to stand right next to her sister and father.

  “Okay,” Rob called out. “That was simple. Now, we all know what comes next, right? You can’t swim if you don’t get your head and face in the water. People drown because they panic. As the law enforcement officers in our midst can tell you, the best way to diffuse panic is through experience and practice.”

  The pool was a bit crowded in the shallow end, so Rob stepped close to the invisible line where the deep end started. Kate’s heart rate sped up. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

  “Like I showed Maya a few minutes ago, we need to start by blowing bubbles.”

  The hilarity that ensued eased some of Kate’s anxiety. He’s actually doing this.

  After about five minutes, Rob whistled and said, “Next, we do this underwater. I’m from the blow-in-the-face school of thought, but you’ll figure out what works best for you. I do suggest you make eye contact with your youngster, then count and bounce. Like this. One…two…three.”

  Rob’s heart was pounding in his chest as he tightened his grip on Maya’s shoulders and sank under the water. He kept his eyes open and watched the surprise and abject horror in her eyes as he dunked her. But she didn’t gulp in air.

  He rocketed them out of the water.

  She sputtered and sucked in a breath that seemed primed to turn into an ear-splitting cry, but Rob spun her around and held her overhead, praising her nonstop. “Good job, Maya. You did it. You didn’t take in any water at all, did you? That was amazing. And brave. You showed all the kids exactly how to do it.”

  She closed her mouth and looked around.

  As it dawned on her that she was, indeed, the center of attention, she relaxed and tucked her head into his shoulder, shyly.

  The gesture, so small and yet so trusting, melted Rob’s heart. “Give it a try, everyone. One…two…” He felt Maya tense, but this time her fingers didn’t nearly pierce his skin. When they came up, she was laughing.

  Some kids weren’t. The baby was choking. Rob trotted over to help. Maya laid a hand on the child’s chest and the baby stopped sputtering. “She’s okay.”

  Rob felt a shiver travel up his spine. He looked toward the house where Kate had been standing. She wasn’t there. He’d ask her later. “Does your kid have special powers?”

  Oh, yeah, that would go over well.

  Kate hid out in the kitchen until the noise out back subsided. In theory, handing your child over to someone else for swimming lessons was a good thing. But actually watching Maya being dunked by a man she barely knew and who made her want things she really had no business wanting was too much. She did what she always did in times of crisis. She cooked.

  “What are you doing in here?” her mother asked as Kate pulled a tray of cookies out of the oven.

  “Treats. I think the kids and the dads are going to need nourishment, don’t you?”

  Yetta didn’t answer, but she took a plastic plate from the cupboard and arranged a heaping mound on top of it.

  “There’s fresh lemonade in the fridge,” Kate said.

  “I can only carry one thing at a time. If you don’t bring the drinks out, I’ll send Rob in.”

  Kate stifled a groan. Her mother was playing matchmaker. And none too subtly. But, despite the tingle she got behind her knees every time Rob kissed her, Kate wasn’t going to follow through on the attraction. She couldn’t. Maya was her predominant concern at the moment and Maya didn’t like Rob. After this morning, she probably wanted him dead.

  Or not, she thought a couple of minutes later when she went outside carrying a tray laden with ice bucket, plastic glasses and a pitcher. Maya was sitting on Rob’s lap at the table under the umbrella. The other fathers were gathered around, too. Half the children—the boys mainly, were playing in the covered sandbox with Mary Ann’s son, Luca. The girls were either with their dads or in Maya’s playhouse.

  Luca’s little sister, Gemilla, was perched on Gregor’s lap. That’s why she’s still with Rob, Kate decided. Maya was very sensitive to other children’s needs and poor Gemilla had had a difficult time adjusting
to her mother’s absence.

  “Anybody thirsty?”

  Kids surged around her. Rob stood up, setting Maya in the chair, before he reached out to help. The courtly gesture touched her.

  “Everyone survived, I take it?”

  His expression went from happy to wounded so fast she almost laughed. “Of course. Did you doubt me?”

  As she poured lemonade into wobbly cups, she said, “Don’t take that the wrong way. Each of my sisters tried to get Maya to dunk her face and failed miserably.”

  “Ah, well, Maya wasn’t four and a half then. Now, she’s grown and matured, right, Maya?”

  The little girl nodded. “But I don’t want to do it again today.”

  Rob laughed. “Not a problem. But after a few more lessons, your mother won’t be able to keep you out of the pool. However, everyone needs to remember the golden rule: you only go in the water if an adult is watching you, right?” he added his tone stern.

  Kate stepped back to observe Rob interact with the fathers. For a guy, who—according to Maya—didn’t like kids, he seemed like a natural. Relaxed and gregarious. She found it hard to believe that he didn’t have a family of his own.

  An hour later, when she walked him to his car, she asked him about the odd dichotomy. “You were wonderful today. How come you’re not married with two or three kids?”

  He shrugged, which made the gray T-shirt he was wearing emphasize his great chest. “Law school. It’s a commitment even more demanding than a wife.” He winced. “Not that all wives are demanding,” he quickly qualified, “but most relationships require time and energy, and when you’re studying and writing papers and taking tests, you don’t have the oomph to do much else.”

  She smiled at his gaffe. She understood what he meant. He wasn’t a chauvinist. Not like Ian. “Was your last girlfriend the closest you’ve come to marriage?”

  He nodded. “I didn’t date much in college. How ’bout you?”

  “I apprenticed in a male-dominated profession. If you’re a woman, fairly attractive and single, you get asked out a lot.”

  “And since you’re gorgeous, you must have had to fend off advances left and right.”

  Embarrassed by the compliment, she said, “I always made sure the person I was flirting with understood the ground rules. I didn’t sleep around. I had one disastrous experience early on and that taught me a valuable lesson.”

  “What was that?”

  “That a great chef isn’t necessarily a great person. I thought I was in love. He was older. Italian. Very passionate. I found out a couple of months into the affair that he had a wife, and ten kids in Italy.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Quit. Well, first I walked around with the biggest, sharpest knife I could find, plotting revenge. But he was smart enough to stay away until I cooled down. Then, I loaded up my car and headed home.”

  The irony never ceased to amaze her. If not for that treacherous ex-lover, she never would have met Ian.

  “I tried to drive straight through and couldn’t make it. I stopped at a convenience store in Kingman for a soda and while I was there, I struck up a conversation with a complete stranger, whom I later married,” she added under her breath.

  “Ian?” He sounded shocked.

  “He didn’t ask for a ride or anything. Just my number, in case he ever made it to Vegas.”

  And I gave it to him.

  “When he called a few weeks later, it felt like fate.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute.

  “I heard some talk about your mother’s prophecies. Did you think Ian was your destiny?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe he’s the past I can’t avoid,” she muttered.

  “Is there a chance you two might get back together?”

  “No.” He didn’t look convinced so she added, “Ian is a liar and a thief. He stole money from people I love, then ran away with another woman when my uncle started asking questions about his retirement fund. As far as I’m concerned, he’s poison. The first taste nearly killed me. There won’t be a second.”

  Because he looked so sympathetic, she felt compelled to add, “But that doesn’t mean I don’t still feel guilty about giving up on my marriage vows. I hate to lose. Just ask my sisters.”

  “For better or worse does have some limits. Just ask my mother.”

  That bitterness again. She wanted to ask why, but she didn’t get the chance. Gregor and his two kids walked out of Yetta’s house and headed their way. “Hey, man, nice ride.”

  As the two men talked, Kate’s thoughts returned to her failed marriage. She’d been completely oblivious to Ian’s cheating. She could excuse herself to some degree for not realizing he was stealing from his clients, but to miss the clues to his philandering was ridiculous.

  She’d known something was wrong in their marriage, but she’d blamed his inattentiveness on business. The economy. Stress. Looking back at those months before Ian disappeared, only to be caught with a suitcase full of money and another woman at his side trying to cross into Mexico, Kate couldn’t believe how naïve she’d been.

  But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t make the same mistake again. And while Rob wasn’t the same mistake, getting involved with him at this time in her life wouldn’t be a good idea—no matter how handsome and beguiling he was.

  “Oh,” he exclaimed suddenly, turning back to Kate. “I almost forgot. I have something for Maya.”

  He lifted a small, green velvet bag off the passenger seat of his car and handed it to Kate. “Would you give this to her for me? She did a really good job today. Tell her I said thanks for not giving me too hard a time. I gotta take off. I’m meeting with one of my colleagues this afternoon. The one who mishandled Ian’s parole hearing.” He shook his head. “She’s a great gal and a terrific lawyer—when her mind in on task, but her mom’s sick and she’s juggling a lot. I’m going to try to help her work on time-management issues.”

  He gave her a jaunty wave as he drove off. Kate gingerly opened the drawstring on the bag and peeked inside to find a frog made of bright green glass.

  Damn, she thought. Kind, caring and thoughtful. The man was way past dangerous. He was very close to perfect.

  Chapter 8

  Kate rolled over onto her stomach and pulled the light cotton blanket over her head. She wasn’t ready to face the world—especially not a world where Maya and Ian were reunited.

  At least, their first meeting hadn’t gone very well, she thought sourly, recalling the brief encounter that had taken place yesterday at the Hippo.

  Alex had offered her house as neutral ground—after school and out of the public eye—but safely within the compound. Unfortunately, one of Kate’s assistant chefs had called in sick at the last minute, so Kate had had to drive back across town at rush hour, which set her nerves on edge—more on edge than they’d already been.

  She and Maya had arrived only minutes before Ian and his attorney. She’d tried to distract Maya with a book, but her ever-intuitive daughter hadn’t been able to sit still. She was darting from play area to play area when the door opened and Ian walked in.

  Like a bunny caught within paw’s reach of a hungry lion, Maya had frozen and stared, unmoving, as he walked toward her. When he leaned down and called her name, “Maya…” in a slightly out-of-breath, raspy voice, the little girl had let out a yelp and dashed to Kate’s side, burying her face against her mother’s leg.

  Except for a couple of furtive glances, Maya had stubbornly refused to look at Ian again. Even when he offered her an extra-large candy bar.

  The gift had irked Kate to no end.

  “Bribes? Aren’t you the man who said your children would never be poisoned by processed sugar?” Ian had been full of idealistic theories about parenting when she’d been pregnant, but almost as soon as Maya was born, his attentions had turned elsewhere. To work, to making—and stealing—money.

  Ian had given up trying to break through Maya’s atypical shyness a short w
hile later. Once he was gone, Kate and Maya had walked home.

  “So what was that about? I thought you were anxious to meet your dad.”

  Maya had shrugged her shoulders. “Will he come back?”

  “Do you want him to?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Then he probably would. Unfortunately.

  Rob was starting his third week in his new role as lawyer-slash-swimming instructor. Contrary to his hope, he’d seen very little of Kate. Maya had missed the second Saturday class because of a bout with the flu, which Kate then caught. According to his mother, Kate had even missed a couple of days of work, which was practically unheard-of.

  He’d sent her flowers but hadn’t heard if she liked them or found the gesture too pushy.

  He’d been back to the Romani compound twice outside of class. Once to have coffee and cake with Yetta—her way of thanking him for the swim lessons, she’d claimed. And another time for a barbecue at Gregor’s. To Rob’s surprise, he’d found both experiences most revealing.

  Kate’s mother had been very generous with details about Romani life, including some tantalizing glimpses into Kate’s childhood and teen years. Gregor’s hamburger patties were a bit like the charcoal he cooked them over, but Rob had enjoyed his ex-client’s company. Plus, Luca and Gemilla, while not quite as fascinating as Maya, were sweet kids and very eager to please.

  Later, Gregor’s brother, Enzo, and another guy from the dads’ group had dropped by. The ensuing conversation had covered a wide range of topics, from sports to potty training. Rob had enjoyed himself more than he could have predicted.

  He was actually looking forward to class this morning, to see his new friends. He was especially curious how Greg’s job interview had gone. One of Rob’s other clients had mentioned the need for a part-time handyman, and Rob had recommended Gregor.

  He knocked on Yetta’s door.

  “Yes? Oh, it’s you.” Kate’s sister, Liz, opened the door for him. “Come in. Cup of coffee?”