Hearts in Motion (3 page)

“Your daughter is a sweetheart. We fed her dinner already. Daisy didn’t know if she had allergies, but Cara said she didn’t, so I fed her a spinach salad with strawberries and nuts for lunch. For dinner, we had chicken stir-fry.”

He stepped inside her living room, his expression shuttering, and now he finally looked like the stern businessman he was known to be. The Big Bad Wolf indeed. “Sounds fine,” he said, no inflection in his voice.

She rushed ahead of him, leading the way to Grace’s bedroom, where the two girls were playing. This had been a perfect June day, and Abby had managed to enjoy it despite all the thoughts whirling in her head. The worries, the plans, the dream so close to fruition, if only she could get someone to back her.

Not this man, though. He couldn’t even take care of the daughter he’d only seen twice in his life.

Not his fault, Daisy had said.

He was Cara’s father. If not his fault, whose?
 

But she hadn’t asked then and wasn’t asking now. She would just try to make Cara happy for the short time she was with them, the same as she did for the rescue cats.
 

“You can’t change the world,” her father used to say. “You can just do your part to make it better.”

She’d feel happier about it if she didn’t have to do her part two or three times—sometimes more—before she got it right.
 

She led Holden down the hall of the small, one-story house, with the two bedrooms and the tiny third one she used for her office. The front of the house with the open kitchen and living room felt bigger because of the way the rooms flowed, but she’d learned that more than two foster cats were too many.

Cara didn’t take up much more space than a kitten.

Not like the man behind her. His presence seemed to fill the house.

They reached the bedroom, and she saw the three cats, one dog, and the two girls sitting on the carpet. The white cat reacted first, leaping out of Cara’s arms and dashing beneath the bed.

On the blue bedspread that matched her Siamese eyes, Minnie sat in the middle of the bed and watched them, waiting to see what would happen next. Quigley, her beautiful black with the shining fur, leaped down from the dresser to race ahead of Lion, her gorgeous golden retriever, and weave around her ankles.

With their high range of hearing, the cats and the dog had heard them heading to the bedroom. Abby thought it was a testament to the foster cat’s trust in her and Grace that she’d waited for Holden’s entry into the room before she ran and hid.

Cara stared at her father, her giggle stopped. She looked as if she’d like to crawl under the bed after Epic.
 

Sadness filled Abby to see that the girl felt safer with the cats and dog than her father. Abby petted Quigley and Lion then stepped inside the room and knelt in front of Cara. “I had fun with you today, but your dad is here now. You have to go home for the night.”

Cara nodded, her eyes down. It had taken two hours for Abby to get more than a few words out of the small girl. Her first full sentence had been to Lion and then Minnie, who’d regally allowed the girl to pet her. And when Cara had lifted the white kitten to her chest, Abby could’ve sworn she’d heard both girl and kitten purr.

Sometimes love happened that way.

And then Grace had returned from summer school and had taken over entertaining while Abby crafted carpet-covered pads for the cat furniture. When she wasn’t using the staple gun, she could hear Grace talking, and after a while, Cara’s small voice replying. Cara had been unable to resist Grace’s quiet charm any more than the teen boys who kept showing up at their house at inconvenient times.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” Abby said. “Lion and the kittens and me. We’ll have a good time.”

Cara nodded, giving her a shy smile. Abby beamed at her, hugged her, then stood and held out her hand. Cara put her little hand in hers, and Abby pulled her to her feet.

“Now you can go back home with your daddy,” Abby said. And she finally glanced up at his stunned face.

She held Cara’s hand to him to take. He moved in slow motion, and when Abby let go of Cara, for a second his hand hovered above Cara’s until his fingers clasped hers. He and she stared at each other for another moment, and the air was silent except for everyone’s breathing.

Grace got to her feet, and the odd hush shattered. Abby introduced her to Holden then pointed out the cats and Lion by name. He told her he’d always admired Siamese. As he talked, he kept glancing down at his hand holding Cara’s.

Finally he said they had to leave and told Cara to say goodbye.

But she didn’t. Locked into silence already, she gave Abby and Grace a scared glance.

Abby wanted to snatch her back. She speared Holden with a look that should have razed him to the ground like the cretin he was. But he was staring at Cara, and on his too handsome face, she saw worry and helplessness.

The next second, it was gone, and he and Cara headed to the hallway. Abby and Grace followed them to the front door, Lion padding behind them, the two cats darting ahead. In the living room, Abby wished Holden and Cara a good night. She and Grace stayed at the front door and watched him put Cara into a child’s car seat in the back of a Ford hybrid.
 

Some of the tension seeped out of her tight muscles.
 

It was going to be okay, she thought, and realized that, though he might be the richest man in Eagleton, for a moment, she’d felt sorry for him.

When she turned, Grace hugged her. “I’m glad I have you,” Grace said. “You’re the best.”

Abby hugged her tightly. She wasn’t the best and had screwed up a couple hundred times—maybe a couple thousand—but at least she’d always loved Grace. That was one thing Grace had never doubted.
 

“No, you’re the best.” She pulled back. “You know what we should do tonight?”

“Homework?” Grace pulled a face.

Abby laughed. “Let’s watch DVDs of Mom and Dad.”

***

Mom and Grace had been watching the pictures on TV for a long time when Lion got to his feet.
They’re crying. We need to go to them.

It’s a happy cry,
Minnie said patiently. No matter how often she told Lion this, he didn’t understand the difference. It was true that dogs weren’t as smart as cats, though on the whole, she found Lion sensible. He did defer to her knowledge and years. Something Quigley didn’t do as often as she liked.
They’re watching movies of their mom and dad.

I’d like to see their mom and dad,
Epic said.

You can’t,
Quigley said,
they’re in heaven.

What’s heaven?
Epic asked.

Minnie leveled her now-you’ve-done-it glare on Quigley before turning to the little one.
That’s where cats go to play after they leave earth. Cats and their people.

And dogs,
Lion said.

Special dogs,
Minnie said.

I don’t want to go there unless Mom and Grace can go, too.
Quigley leaped to the floor.

So they can feed you,
Minnie said.

Yes.
Quigley twisted his head all the way around to give her an approving look. Sarcasm was a special cat talent that usually zipped right over his shiny black head.
 

Will Mom be able to feed us now?
Epic asked.

Quigley made a huffing sound.
Of course. That’s why we’re taking care of the girl. So you better be nice to her.

I like her,
Epic said.
Maybe I can live with her.

Minnie was shooting Quigley a look to stop him from saying anything mean when an extra loud sob came to her ear. Grace. Lion was the first to his feet, hurrying to her, but Quigley dashed past him.

Though Minnie was older, she was still in her prime. She leaped off the table, landing close to the girl and woman stretched out on the floor.

Lion and Quigley snuggled on either side of Grace. Minnie rubbed her mouth against Grace’s chin, nose, and jaw to make her feel better.

Because making Mom and Grace feel better was their job.

Protecting their house from vermin was their job.

And most of all, giving humans love was their job.

A hand curved over Minnie’s head, and fingers found the just-right spot to massage behind her ear.
Mom.
Minnie purred, her throat and chest vibrating. She closed her eyes and felt the urge to knead with her paws while Mom did her job: giving love back.
 

Sometimes Minnie thought cat heaven couldn’t be better than life with Mom and Grace. Minnie had heard Mom say on the phone that with Cara in their house during the sunlight hours, they’d been given a reprieve from being thrown out in the street.

Mom had laughed, but it was a laugh that wasn’t funny.

Being thrown out in the street wasn’t in any way funny for Minnie, either. Bad things were in the street. Bad people who liked to hurt small animals.

There had to be some way to stay here. Not for a short time. Forever.

4

“It was a hard day for me, too.” Portia sipped her favorite chardonnay. As usual, her complexion was flawless, her face a perfect oval, her shiny, dark hair short, in a boy’s cut, but she pulled it off. They sat in the built-in dining set of his stark gray and cream kitchen that overlooked Angel Lake.

She looked like she belonged in this place, Holden thought. Elegant and sleek. Whereas Abby would be an incongruity. The only brightly colored decoration on a silver and pale-blue-decorated Christmas tree.

Not that there was any reason for Abby to be in his house, though he could easily imagine her in his bed. Naked. That laughing smile on her face, her red-gold hair spread over his pillow. Her arms out to—

He shut off his thoughts. Too inappropriate.

A glance at Portia cooled his inappropriate libido.
 

“I had to give a family distressing news about their child’s health,” Portia continued, her calm expression unchanging, talking about her job as a genetic counselor at Eagleton Community Hospital. “And I passed on bad news about the paternity of a child. The woman’s husband was devastated.”

Not answering, Holden took a sip of his brandy, thinking about Cara, his gut twisting.

If his ex had been faithful, Cara could have been his. Instead, she was a quiet little ghost who was making a big stir in his nerves and his life.
 

A child was a responsibility, one he wasn’t ready for. He had to stop himself from getting up and looking in on her to make sure she was okay. She’d been sleeping when he’d checked on her an hour ago. He’d left the hall light on, the door open a crack. If she woke up, she could easily find him.

“The baby looked so much like the husband, too.” Portia leaned forward. “The wife’s parents belong to the country club, and they knew I was testing the DNA. The mother tried to bribe me to tell him the baby was his. For the child’s sake, she said. Not because they were afraid for the marriage.”

Her dry tone suggested she didn’t believe the mother, and Holden made a sound of sympathy and agreement. This wasn’t a topic he wanted to continue.

“She thought it would be like a poison in him.”

His hand tightened on the cool glass, and he set it on the table before he shattered it with his grip.

“Of course, I said no,” she continued. “The truth is always better.”

“For the parent. Not necessarily the child.”

“I have to disagree.” Her voice stiffened. “This isn’t something I do lightly. I believe it’s better for the child to know the truth when he’s young. If told correctly and without drama, it shouldn’t be traumatic.”

“In a perfect world,” he said, coldness stabbing down his spine.

She leaned toward him. “I would
never
tell Cara the truth, if that’s a concern. Though it’s my professional opinion that falsehoods like this are confusing and unnecessary. If your ex-wife had told her parents the truth, they would never have dropped her off at your house.”

He frowned, aware that she was right...but also aware that there were different degrees of truth. “I had Cara’s...father investigated. The only reason he’d agree to take Cara would be for money.”

“That’s unfortunate.” She put her long-fingered, slender hand atop of his. “I admire you for taking responsibility for the girl though she’s not a blood relative. And when you consider the turmoil her mother put you through, it could be construed to be noble.”

“My time with Juliana wasn’t the best part of my life.”
A living hell.
“But it’s over, and I learned a valuable lesson.”

“What was that?”

He smiled at her, an effort, because he didn’t have the words to tell her that he’d decided his next life partner would fit all the priorities on his list: cool, serene, smart, responsible, educated, and financially secure enough not to need his money.

An image of Abby naked in his bed burned in his mind again.

He wiped it out. He’d made one colossal mistake following his libido. He wasn’t doing it again. Instead, he directed his focus on his fiancée. “To wait for a woman as wonderful as you.”