92 Pacific Boulevard

“If you feel you need to press charges, then do so,” Louie said brokenly.

“On what grounds?” Otto demanded.

“Neglect,” Louie whispered. “Amber wasn’t to be trusted and I knew it. I was far too willing to let her take Timmy to this aunt of hers and then, when I discovered the aunt was dead…I didn’t look for him or try to find out where he was.”

“We’d prefer to keep Louie’s name out of the press,” Otto said. “By the time Timmy died, he’d been divorced from Beverly for a number of years.”

“I don’t see how mentioning Louie is relevant to the case. You had no legal obligation toward Timmy.”

“Perhaps not a legal obligation but a moral one. I should never have been so willing to slough him off.”

Troy agreed that morally Louie had been in the wrong even if legally he wasn’t. But in his view, the mayor had suffered enough.

“Once I get confirmation from the pathologist,” he said, “I’ll write up a short press release, merely indicating that the remains have been identified. What was Timmy’s last name?” he asked as the thought suddenly occurred to him. “Was it Benson?”

“No, Amber gave him her name—Beverly’s maiden name—which was Gilbert.”

“Fine. I’ll identify the body as that of Timothy Gilbert.”

“You won’t mention Louie?” Otto asked. “We can count on that?”

Troy nodded. “I can’t see that dragging his name into this matter would serve any useful purpose.”

Louie hung his head and whispered, “Thank you.”

“You’ve been a good husband and father during the years since,” Troy said thoughtfully. “You’ve served your community well. I suggest we leave things as they are.”

“I’d like to bury Timmy,” Louie said. “It’s the least I can do.”

“I’ll see that the remains are released to you.”

“I think Beverly would want him buried with her.”

Troy agreed.

Twenty-Eight

Mack knew something was wrong the moment he arrived home from his shift at the fire station. Mary Jo threw open her front door, as if she’d been waiting for him. She stood there, looking small and frightened.

Not bothering to go to his own place, Mack walked toward her. She was chewing frantically on her lower lip.

“What happened?” he asked.

She seemed to have trouble speaking, and he noticed how close to tears she was.

“Is Noelle sick?”

The three-month-old had come down with a cold earlier in the week, but it didn’t appear to be serious.

“I…I saw David.”

Mack stiffened instantly. “When?”

“Here…a few minutes ago. I’d just got home with Noelle.” It was now about five-thirty, so David had known to come after Mary Jo had left the office and picked up Noelle. Mack supposed Mary Jo’s address wouldn’t be too difficult for someone like David to find. Access to a computer was probably all he needed.

Taking her by the elbow, Mack led Mary Jo inside and sat on the sofa with her. Clasping her hand, he held it between his own. He felt her tremble as she gathered her composure.

She breathed in deeply before she spoke. “He wants Noelle.”

Mack bit off an angry retort. “He’s living in a dream world if he thinks any court in the land will take this baby away from you.”

“He said he has an attorney….”

“And you believe him?” Mack had never met David but he’d heard enough about him to realize the other man wasn’t to be trusted. Apparently he expected to use his infant daughter as leverage for his own purposes. Whatever his specific objective, Mack was sure it had everything to do with cold, hard cash.

“I…1 don’t know,” she said, scraping her hair off her forehead.

“This is the first time you’ve seen him since before Noelle’s birth, isn’t it?”

Mary Jo nodded.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” She’d said she didn’t but he had to ask. Had to know. David was Noelle’s father, and at one time Mary Jo had loved him. Mack struggled to hide the anger he felt at the thought of David threatening Mary Jo.

“I don’t.” Her response was loud and immediate. “I can’t believe I ever cared for him. How could I have been so blind and…and so gullible?”

Mack couldn’t answer that, although he didn’t want Mary Jo to change in any way. He’d fallen in love with her and he loved Noelle, too. David Rhodes had a hell of a fight on his hands if he thought he could walk away with Mary Jo’s baby—with the baby Mack considered his more than David’s.

“Why do you think he has this sudden interest in Noelle?” Mack asked. All he could figure was that David saw some financial advantage in claiming Noelle.

“I have no idea why he came,” Mary Jo cried. “I haven’t heard from him in all this time and then out of the blue he shows up demanding his parental rights. It doesn’t make sense.”

“What about Ben?” Mack asked. “Has David been in touch with his father?”

Mary Jo nodded slowly. “Apparently he went to his father a little while ago. I don’t know if he asked for money or not, but he has in the past. Ben assured me he wouldn’t give his son any child support money because there’s no guarantee David would use it for Noelle.”

Mack frowned. “Is it possible that David assumes his father will give him money if Ben knows Noelle is living with him?”

“I’m not sure.” Panic edged her voice. “Maybe.”

“He didn’t seriously think you’d just hand Noelle over to him, did he?”

“I don’t know,” she said again.

“Did he say he was coming back?”

“He said he was and that, when he did, he was bringing the authorities.”

Mack nearly laughed out loud. “That’s a bold-faced lie.” He clenched his fists, wishing he’d been home when David had come to the house. Rhodes might be able to intimidate Mary Jo, but not Mack. He would gladly have taken him on.

“I don’t care if he comes back or not, I can’t risk losing Noelle.”

“What are you going to do?”

Mary Jo’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m moving back home. He’s never been there, and after everything I’ve said about my brothers, I doubt he’d show his face.”

Mack wanted to argue. He’d gotten accustomed to having Mary Jo and Noelle so close, accustomed to sharing special moments with them. Everything had been going so well. He’d thought Mary Jo had begun to return his love, but obviously she wasn’t ready….

“Is moving away what you really want?” he finally asked. If he voiced his objections too strenuously, she’d guess the strength of his feelings, and that might scare her off. He sensed she still wasn’t ready for a new relationship, other than being friends.

“No!” She buried her face in her hands. “It’s the last thing I want, but my daughter’s future is at stake. Her well-being takes precedence over my personal desires.”

“Can your brothers do anything I can’t do?” he asked, hoping she’d listen to reason.

“No…I don’t suppose they could. But there are three of them and only one of you.”

Mack couldn’t argue with her logic. As much as he would’ve liked to spend every minute of every day standing guard over her and Noelle, that would be impossible.

“I left a message with Linc and asked him to contact me as soon as he could.”

“I see.” Mack’s heart sank.

“Leaving Cedar Cove isn’t what I want,” Mary Jo insisted again. “But I’m afraid, Mack.”

The way her voice shook told him how upset she was. He offered reassurances but he wasn’t sure he’d convinced her. “David’s bluffing,” he said. “This is just another scheme of his.”

“I want to believe that.” She gazed up at him, tears glittering on her lashes. “But I can’t be a hundred percent certain and neither can you.”

“I could beat him up for you,” Mack said, half-humorously.

Mary Jo punched his arm playfully.

“Have you discussed any of this with Allan Harris?”

“My legal situation is complicated, he says, because I’ve acknowledged David as the father and the DNA test confirmed it. Plus, he has parental rights and he claims he wants to exercise them. So…” She took a deep breath. “Allan tells me we’d be in for a protracted court battle.”

Mack nodded grimly. This was what he’d feared.

“Noelle’s going to miss you so much,” Mary Jo said tearfully.

“And what about her mother?” Mack needed to know she’d miss him, too.

Looking away, Mary Jo gave a slight shrug. “I didn’t think I could…” Her voice trailed off.

“Didn’t think you could what?”

Avoiding his glance, she whispered, “I didn’t think I could ever trust a man again, but I trust you.”

Although Mack was grateful for that much, he wanted more. He wanted her love. Before he could formulate an appropriate response, the phone rang and a panicky feeling trapped the breath in his lungs.

Mary Jo stood up to answer, but Mack stopped her, catching her hand. “Let me get it.”

“Why?” she asked with a frown.

“It might be David.”

“Oh…” She seemed to collapse onto the sofa.

Mack marched across the room and grabbed the receiver. “Wyse residence,” he said in his most official voice.

“What are you doing at my sister’s place?” Linc demanded rudely. At least he wasn’t David.

Mack answered that question with one of his own. “How quickly can you get here?”

“Why? What’s happened?”

“We need to talk. The three of us.” Mack wasn’t interested in relaying the details over the phone.

“Give me two hours.”

“Okay.”

Noelle was wailing in the background; Mary Jo leaped to her feet and hurried into the baby’s room. Mack followed, standing in the doorway. He watched as she took the infant from her crib, then efficiently changed her diaper. Noelle turned her head and gazed at Mack while her mother dressed her. She cooed contentedly and waved her arms.

“Who was on the phone?” Mary Jo asked. “My brother?”

“Yeah, it was Linc. He’ll be here in a couple of hours. Probably around eight.”

Mack grinned at the baby, utterly enchanted by her. He couldn’t stand the thought of not having her and Mary Jo in his life anymore. Yes, he could visit them in Seattle, but it wouldn’t be the same.

“Why don’t I take you to an early dinner,” Mack suggested. “You could use a distraction for an hour or so.”

Reluctantly she shook her head. “I couldn’t eat. Thanks, anyway.” She lifted Noelle into her arms and walked toward him. “You go ahead, if you want.” But even as she spoke, she reached for his hand.