Baby On The Run

“My freezer is stocked with takeout containers from the hotel restaurant. Guess I’m the best-fed single guy in town.”

And probably the most chased after, Carey silently added for him. But the stocked freezer explained one reason why none of the local single females had caught him yet.

Carey did wonder at the rest of the story.

“I made the sandwich. Just don’t look too closely,” he warned.

Carey glanced at the grilled cheese, golden on one side, burned to a crisp on the other.

“Not a problem. I’m so hungry, I’ll eat anything.”

“A clean room, some heat…eats anything you put down in front of her. You’re not very hard to please, are you?”

She stared down at her plate and didn’t answer. She had her reasons these days for setting low standards. Though she’d never really been fussy or demanding. It just wasn’t her nature.

“It makes life easier,” she said finally, forcing a small smile.

“It does,” he agreed. “Though not everyone sees it that way.”

He didn’t say more. A shadow passed over his expression, dimming his brilliant eyes. She wondered what he was remembering. Some other woman who had sat here once, right where she was sitting now? Some woman who had been difficult to please?

Carey took a few bites of her sandwich. It wasn’t bad at all. Not nearly as bad as it looked. Ben rose and took the soup bowls away.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Coffee would be great. Just black is fine for me.”

“No frills. I should have guessed that.” His voice was serious, but Carey noticed a teasing light in his eye. He poured out the two mugs of coffee and carried them into the living room so that Carey could check on the baby.

Lindsay was still sleeping soundly in her makeshift bed. Carey sat down on the floor next to her and stared into the fire. Ben put another log on the burning pile and stirred up the embers until the fire flared up, bright and strong.

He stretched out on the floor not too far from her. Leaning on one arm, he sipped his coffee and stared into the hearth.

Carey had been watching the fire, but now, could hardly take her eyes off her host. He looked so long and lean, so relaxed…and sexy. She hugged her knees to her chest and took a bracing sip of her coffee.

“Have you lived around here long?” Her voice came out in a croak and she hoped he didn’t notice.

Okay, so she didn’t sound like the most witty conversationalist, but she was eager to break the heavy silence that had fallen between them.

“I’ve lived here most of my life. I had two years in the navy and then went to college in North Carolina. I lived down there for a while. But finally, I came back to Maine.”

“All those mild winters start to wear on you?”

A half smile played about the corners of his mouth. A dimple creased his cheek and tiny lines fanned out at the corners of his eyes. She hadn’t noticed that before.

“That was part of it. No challenge. And it never felt like Christmas.”

Carey had spent the holidays in the Caribbean once. Her late husband’s idea. Ben was right. It hadn’t felt like Christmas at all.

“I came back three years ago. My father was sick and my folks needed my help.”

She wasn’t surprised. He seemed like the type who would do the right thing. Put aside his own needs to help someone he loved.

“When did he pass away?” she asked quietly.

“About a year after I returned.” She heard the note of loss in his voice and it struck a chord within her. That was something else they had in common.

“But you stayed.”

He shrugged. “It’s a small town, but I guess it suits me. For now, anyway.”

Maybe with his father gone, his mother and sister relied on him even more. But she sensed he was too private—or too modest—to admit it.

“I get to be the star of the Greenbriar police force,” he added, a sparkle returning to his eyes.

“So I’ve heard.” She met his glance and smiled. She didn’t mean to flirt with him…but it suddenly felt as if she was.

“What about you?” he asked curiously.

The light moment was suddenly gone. She pulled back into herself like a turtle retreating into its shell.

“You said you were headed to Portland. Where are you coming from?”

She couldn’t stray too far from the truth. Her car had Vermont plates. Surely he’d noticed. He was a policeman. But she did need to protect herself, in case those who pursued her ever found this man and asked him questions.

“Burlington.” She gave the name of a town miles on the opposite side of the state from Blue Lake. Then, realizing that a route from Burlington to Portland wouldn’t have taken her through this area, she added, “I went up to Freeport to visit a relative. A great-aunt. She… She wanted to see the baby.”

Carey smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to cover a sudden fit of nerves.

“So your friends in Portland, are they expecting you for Christmas?”

Carey shrugged. “More or less. I’m really going there for a job. They own a store and need some help. Someone they can trust.”

Did she have to add that last embellishment? Keep it simple, Carey. That was the trick to getting away with all these fabrications.

Stick to your story. If anyone asked—she was going to Portland because a friend had offered her a job in his store, a clothing store. Period.

Ben sipped his coffee. She hoped he was finished with his questions. Under other circumstances, having such an attractive man asking all these questions about her would have been a real ego boost. Tonight it was nerve-racking.

“What sort of work do you do?”

She shrugged. “I’ve tried just about everything. I’ve been a waitress, a cabdriver, a receptionist, a dog walker…I’ve worked in department stores. I’ve worked in a flower shop. I liked that, but my allergies got to me. I’ve handed out free samples in supermarkets. Once I had to dress up as a giant cookie, in a shopping mall…” She paused. “Do you really want to hear more?”

“Is there more?” He smiled, looking impressed.

“More than I want to remember.” She paused, not knowing how much private information she wanted to disclose. Or how honest she dared to be with him about her real history. “I took some of those jobs working my way through college. I was studying literature. But I really wanted to be an actress. I went to New York for a while and did all the cattle-call auditions. That sort of thing. It didn’t work out for me, so I went back home.”

He gave her a thoughtful look. “I’m sure it’s a tough business. Very competitive.”