Dream Baby

“Who’s this?” He tapped the picture glass.

“My grandfather.” She gave him a put-upon look. “As an innkeeper, I have the right to refuse anyone—”

He swung back to face her. “Look, I’m tired. I’ve just spent five hours cramming my six-foot, two-inch body in a roller skate of a sports car because my son liked the looks of it better than a roomy sedan. He’s out in the car, by the way, and if you think I’m unbearable, you ought to take him on. The point is, I’m not getting in that toy and heading back to the interstate. Not when there are perfectly good accommodations right here.”

“I don’t want to call the sheriff, but—”

The door beside the registration desk, previously half-closed, suddenly flew back, and Isabel Petrivych appeared in the doorway. “Oh, stop... Enough!” she gasped out.

There was a long moment of silence, then Nora Holloway took a step in her direction. “Izzie...”

The girl’s eyes were fixed on Jake. Her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth for a moment, then she said softly, “You wanted to see me. Here I am.”

She hadn’t changed much since he’d met her last year. Except for the pregnancy, of course. She still had deep blue eyes and long, dark hair that curled attractively down her back. Bobby had always been a sucker for women with hair like that, and Jake had guessed the moment his brother had introduced them that there might be more between them than just two people who’d met at the same political rally.

However, he’d never expected it to amount to anything. Bobby was leaving with Jake for Africa in a matter of days. They were going to build a bridge between two warring townships in the hill country, in a place so hot that the wind smelled like fire. The government had promised protection; the bridge was seen as a symbol of progress in the peace talks, and Jake had kidded Bobby unmercifully about being eager to see how his brother fared living in a place where the nearest comforts of home were miles and miles away.

The bridge was up and in use now. Shining hotly in the naked sun, forged together with a fair amount of tears and sweat...and blood. He’d brought Bobby’s body home, and now he needed to do this one thing for his brother.

“You have seen me,” Isabel said. “Now you can leave.”

“No,” Jake replied. “I can’t.”

“Why have you come here? I want nothing from you.”

“I want to make sure that you’re all right. That you aren’t alone and—”

“I’m not alone. I have Nora to help me.”

He was aware of the Holloway woman moving forward, as though responding to some unspoken cue. He resented it, that little movement to protect Isabel. As though he could ever be a danger to the girl who carried in her womb-all that was left of his brother. He ignored her, keeping his attention focused on Isabel.

“We need to talk,” he said firmly. “Just the two of us.”

“There is nothing left to say.”

“The hell there isn’t.” He crossed the room in long, easy strides, but before he reached Isabel, Nora Holloway moved between them. “There are decisions that need to be made.”

“And I have made them,” Isabel snapped. “Go away!”

Nora’s hand was suddenly on his chest. It was such a small, graceful hand, but it felt like a barrier of steel against his shirt. He frowned down at her, and something crossed her face that Jake hadn’t seen in her eyes before. Genuine anger, iron determination... something.

“Don’t get in the middle of this,” he said finally.

It was clear she intended to ignore that advice. “Isabel’s past the stage where the baby can be aborted, if that’s what you had in mind.”

That statement surprised him a little. So she knew about Bobby’s foolish response to Isabel’s news. What else did she know? “That was a mistake—”

“It certainly was. And you’re not going to come into my home and upset Isabel with any other solutions you think might ease your conscience.” She shook her head, and her eyes were filled with disgust. “You ought to be ashamed—coming here now. Where were you when she needed you the most?”

Jake jerked back. “Wait a minute. You think—”

“No, you wait a minute,” she said, advancing on him a little. “Isabel doesn’t deserve this. Only the worst kind of bastard would turn his back on a woman carrying his child—”

“Nora—” Isabel began.

“Miss Holloway—”

“—and if you think you can make things right now, you’re in for a big surprise.”

Jake took a step back. “So are you. Miss Holloway, I’m not the father of Isabel’s child.”

The woman’s mouth tightened. “So now you want to deny that you’re the father? I suppose we should have expected that.”

He looked over at Isabel again, searching for help. The girl moved forward to touch Nora’s elbow. “Nora,” she said softly. “This isn’t Bobby. This is his older brother. Jake.”

The Holloway woman’s fierce expression melted a little; her eyes lost their fervor. Her hand came off Jake’s chest as though it had been singed.

“Oh.” A tenuous smile tried to form, but it failed miserably and then disappeared. “I’m sorry. I thought—”

“Yes, I know what you thought. That’s part of the reason I’m here. To clear up a few things.” To Isabel he said, “I’d just like to talk to you. That’s all.”

Isabel’s mouth was still a slash of displeasure, but after a long silence she nodded. Nora picked up on this small signal and moved away from Jake. “I think I should leave you two alone,” she said, then added quickly, “Isabel, I’ll be in the rehab shed if you need me.”

“Thank you,” Jake began.

But Nora Holloway was already out the front door, a bright blue blur.

WITH THE LAST LEVEL of Space Scow conquered, Charlie sat in the car and stared down at the video game in his hands. “I hate him.” he muttered to himself.

Well, maybe hate was too strong a word. He really didn’t know the guy well enough to hate him. Dislike, maybe. Yeah, that was it. Intense dislike. You couldn’t burn in hell if you only disliked your father, could you?

He’d have to ask Marisela, his mother’s housekeeper. The old woman was Catholic and knew everything there was to know about God and what he’d let you get away with. She’d know whether Charlie was in big trouble or not.

If he ever saw her again. Which might be never, now that his father had taken him away from his mother.

No. Stolen! That was the word. What was that phrase he’d heard somewhere...? Like a thief in the night. Yeah, that was the way it had been.

Only his father had come to his mother’s Manhattan apartment in broad daylight, and his mother hadn’t been weeping and wailing and carrying on about the loss of her son. Thea was much too dignified for that, and crying only made you look foolish, she’d once told him, so he really hadn’t expected her to try to stop his father. She had other ways to deal with him. Charlie was sure she had an armload of lawyers looking over their new custody agreement right now, finding a way to get him back to New York and...and civilization.

Away from here. This place was creepy. Too quiet. Lots of dark wood and hanging moss. All the little cabins made it look like a ranch, but there wasn’t a single horse or cowboy in sight.

Maybe he’d get out of the car and poke around. Or maybe not. Who knew what was out there? He was comfortable in the city, where the doorman always looked out for him, and security cameras were in every corridor of the apartment building. Here, there could be grizzly bears in the woods that surrounded the main house.

The idea made him shiver, so he forced himself to think about his mother. He pictured her missing him in New York—with no one but her personal assistant, Anthony, and Marisela to talk to in the apartment. No one to ask her how the latest photo shoot went and actually care about her answer.

He looked out the car window, growing more impatient by the minute. He sure hoped they weren’t going to stay in this dump for the night.

NORA SLOWED her pace as she went down the front steps of the lodge, giving herself time to regather her composure. Her breath was captured inside her like a square, solid box pressing against her rib cage. Her cheeks felt fiery, and she turned her face into the exquisite relief of a passing breeze.