Angel Mine

“Only long enough to settle things with Todd.”

“Settle things how?”

Her bangles clinked noisily. “I’m not exactly sure. That’s why I came to see you. I can’t manage on my own anymore. Angel’s the greatest blessing in my life, but she’s a handful. And trying to be an actress doesn’t exactly bring stability. She deserves to have more than I can give her. It took me a long time to admit that. It’s not too late, is it?”

“No. I’m sure we can get you child support. Fortunately, I have an in with his boss.” Jake allowed himself a smile. “I’ve seen the books. I know what she had to pay him to get him to move out here. You won’t have any financial worries.”

“That’s not it,” Heather said, leaning forward in her chair. “Not exactly. I know with money I could hire a nanny or something, but I want Todd to help out. Maybe shared custody. Angel needs to spend time with her daddy.”

“Oh, boy,” Jake murmured, but not so low that Heather missed it.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You sounded like you don’t think he’s going to go for that.”

“Really, I shouldn’t have said anything. This is a different situation entirely.”

“Different from what?”

“Never mind. Heather, let me think about this. Can you stop by tomorrow? We’ll go over your options and decide on the best course of action.”

“Sure. What time?”

“Make it eleven. Megan’s taping then, so I can get away from the studio for an hour and still be back to see that she eats a proper lunch.”

Heather bit back a smile as she recalled what Flo had said about his hovering. “I’ll be here. I won’t have long, though, since I imagine Henrietta will want me to help with the lunch crowd.”

“Folks around here show up promptly at noon, leave by one. You’ll be okay.”

“What about the judge? I notice he was there much later than that.”

Jake chuckled. “The judge tries to snatch whatever private moments he can with Henrietta. His schedule drives everyone at the courthouse nuts. She doesn’t seem to appreciate the gesture, though.”

“I noticed.”

“Did she run him off again today?”

“Pretty much.”

“Henrietta has a stubborn streak, but so does the judge. He’s been after her for years now. My bet’s on him.”

“Even though she’s held out for years?” Heather said skeptically.

“Believe me, if Henrietta really wanted him gone, he’d be gone. She’s just tormenting him.”

“An interesting technique.”

“It’s certainly fun for the rest of us,” Jake said. “Now, as for Todd, if you run into him in the meantime, try not to get into anything with him just yet. We need a plan first.”

“No problem. You’ll probably see him before I will,” she said.

He glanced toward the window, which faced the town’s main street. “Oh, I doubt that,” he said dryly. “Where’s your daughter right now?”

“With Henrietta.”

“Well, don’t look now, but Todd is about to join them.”

3

Todd always made it a point to stop by the Starlight Diner at the end of the day for a homemade meal and a chat with Henrietta. He’d developed a real fondness for her biting wit and her apple pie.

In New York he’d still be in the office at this hour, but out here he was on an earlier schedule. Because of the time difference, the New York offices of Megan’s empire were closed. Jake had her out of the studio here and home by midafternoon. Todd wrapped up his West Coast contacts shortly thereafter, then ate between five and six. There had been a time not so long ago when he would have considered that a late lunch.

Afterward, thanks to his disgustingly barren social life, he burned the midnight oil at home on the mountains of paperwork that never seemed to get done in the office. If it wasn’t for the frequent trips he made back East, the situation would have been intolerable. But Megan regularly trumped up excuses for him to fly to New York, so he could get his fix of decent restaurants, Broadway plays and dates with some of the women he’d left behind. Not that any of them had a hold on his heart. They were little more than stand-ins for the one woman he’d dared to love.

Still, in some ways, his time in New York was better than it had been before he’d left. He made it a point to see people, rather than holing up in his office night after night. Apparently he was simply the kind of man who found a rut to fall into no matter where he lived.

Ordinarily the sameness soothed him, but tonight he felt restless, the way he often did when the air crackled with electricity just before a thunderstorm. The sensation was so intense, he looked at the horizon, but there was no evidence of a storm building. That must mean the restlessness was purely internal.

He hesitated outside the diner and considered changing his routine by going for pizza down the block, then shook his head. Who was he kidding? He enjoyed having Henrietta fuss over him, and the new cook occasionally tried out recipes for something besides chicken fried steak or meat loaf. Of course, the cook did it at his peril, since most of the customers hated the experiments and Henrietta only tolerated them because he was the best cook she’d had in years.

When Todd finally walked in, he was startled to find Henrietta with a bright-eyed toddler trailing in her wake and chattering a mile a minute.

“I know you’re desperate, but isn’t she a little young to be your new waitress?” he asked, after giving Henrietta a dutiful peck on the cheek.

The girl was dressed in denim overalls and a bright green T-shirt. Her little feet were clad in colorful sneakers adorned with daisies. The cheerful appearance was at odds with her solemn expression as she stared at him silently. She gave the disconcerting impression that she was assessing him. Apparently he passed muster, because before he could guess what she had in mind, she’d lifted her arms.

“Up,” she demanded imperiously.

“You’d better do as she says,” Henrietta advised, laughing. “She’s only been here a couple of hours, but she already tends to think she’s in charge. My kids actually volunteered to go off and do their homework, because they couldn’t keep up with her. Her name’s Angel.”

Todd backed up a step. Why was it everyone was trying to foist kids on him lately? Granted, this one wasn’t an infant, but he wanted no part of her. Just thinking about doing as she asked caused a cold sweat to break out on his forehead. She was still too little, too fragile to be trusted to someone like him. He never saw any child under four without thinking there was tragedy and heartache just waiting to happen.

“Sorry, I think maybe I’m coming down with the flu or something. I probably shouldn’t get too close. In fact, I think I’ll go on home. I’m not feeling much like food tonight.”

Surely he could find something edible in his refrigerator. Hadn’t he bought a half-dozen frozen meals the last time he’d gone to the store, just for emergencies like this? Of course, he usually relied on those when the special here was liver and onions, but tonight’s turn of events was equally distasteful.

Henrietta regarded him with her typical motherly concern. If she was skeptical about his sudden illness, she didn’t let on.

“Any fever?” she asked, touching his forehead with cool fingers before he could retreat. “Nope. I doubt you’re contagious. Sit down and I’ll get you some chicken soup. If there’s anything wrong with you, that’ll cure it.”

“No, really. I’d better go.”

“Sit,” she insisted.

Filled with trepidation, Todd sat, keeping his wary gaze on the little girl who continued to stare at him with evident fascination even after Henrietta had disappeared into the kitchen. She inched closer.