“No, Maddy, I don’t know your mom,” she answered the little girl’s question.
Maddy slid down off her chair and crossed to Kristen’s stool, tugging lightly at the edge of Kristen’s denim jacket. “What if she doesn’t like me?” she asked, her voice tiny.
Kristen felt a surge of sympathy for the child. “What’s not to like? Look how pretty you look. And I saw your room this morning-it’s nice and neat. And didn’t you eat all your cereal and drink all your milk like your daddy asked you to?”
Maddy beamed at her. “And I took my vitamin, too.”
“Well, see? There you go. You’re a superstar.”
Maddy patted Kristen’s knee. “Are you afraid she won’t like you?”
She grinned at the little girl. “No way. I ate all my breakfast this morning, too.”
Maddy giggled and happily picked up the peach crayon, her curiosity apparently appeased. She reached for the drawing of the “bad man” and started coloring in his face.
Kristen watched her draw, trying not to let Maddy’s last question nag her. It didn’t matter to her whether or not Norah Cabot liked her, of course. Which was good, because the questions she had to ask Maddy’s mother wouldn’t win the woman’s friendship. Norah Cabot might have an alibi for the night in question, but that didn’t mean she didn’t hire someone to take Maddy from Sam’s home.
And considering what she’d learned about Norah and her fiance the night before, she had an idea why Maddy’s mother might do such a thing.
She’d have a chance to challenge Norah soon enough. Sam was due back from the airport any time now.
“YOU’RE NERVOUS.” Norah’s voice was tinged with amusement.
“I’m wary,” he corrected, putting the car in Park and shutting off the engine before he turned to look at her.
She looked impeccable, even after a plane ride from New York to Alabama. Her lightweight gray suit and cream silk blouse fit her perfectly, and her short, spiky hairstyle had probably cost a fortune. He wondered who she was trying to impress. Him? Or Maddy?
“I know it’s been a few years, but I haven’t suddenly developed a violent streak. I still don’t bite.” She opened the passenger door, unfolded her long legs and stepped from the car before he had a chance to circle the car and open the door for her.
He left her bags in the car, as he’d already decided before she arrived that she’d be staying in a nearby motel rather than with them at the guesthouse. “I’m surprised Graham didn’t come with you,” he said as he joined her on the flagstone walkway.
“So you’ve heard about my engagement.” She flashed him a wry smile. “Graham had business back in Baltimore.”
“I thought you were in the Hamptons.”
“Only for a party. We were set to return home today anyway.” She straightened her jacket and patted her hair as they reached the door, the first indication of nerves since he’d picked her up at the airport.
He opened the door and ushered her inside, then froze in his tracks at the sight in front of him.
Kristen was on the floor, on her hands and knees, apparently looking for something under the sofa while Maddy danced around her, shrieking with laughter.
Almost before he had a chance to blink, however, Kristen had risen to a crouch, one arm tucking Maddy behind her back while the other hand reached for the ankle holster hidden beneath the right leg of her jeans.
Sam held up his hands quickly. “We come in peace.”
Kristen relaxed, dropping her hand from the hidden weapon and reaching back to swing Maddy in front of her. She pushed to her feet, straightening her blouse. A fierce pink blush washed over her neck and face. “We, um, lost a crayon.”
Maddy’s eyes lit up as she spotted him. “We’ve been drawing, Daddy!”
“So I see.” Sam let his gaze slide from his daughter’s bright face to Kristen Tandy’s mortified expression. He smiled, amused and a little touched by her embarrassment at being caught with her pretty little butt in the air. She managed a sheepish smile in return, and his stomach did a flip.
Maddy caught sight of Norah standing in the doorway behind him, and her broad grin faded to a tentative half smile.
Sam crossed to his daughter’s side and took her hand, leading her to where Norah stood. “Maddy, this is your mother, Norah. Norah, this is Maddy.”
Norah took Maddy’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Maddy.”
“You’re pretty,” Maddy blurted, and Sam smiled.
Norah chuckled. “Thank you. You’re pretty, too.” She released Maddy’s hand and straightened, looking around the guesthouse with a speculative gaze. “So this is the famous Cooper Cove Marina and Fishing Camp.”
“Technically, it’s my parents’ guesthouse,” he corrected lightly, trying not to let the mild disdain in her tone annoy him. “Would you like some coffee? A glass of tea?”
“God, not that sweet treacle you Southerners call tea.” She shed her suit jacket, baring a pair of slim, toned arms. She hadn’t been letting herself go over the past four years, he saw. She was as trim and beautiful as ever.
He took the jacket from her and hung it on the rack by the door. He turned back to find Norah looking quizzically at Kristen.
“Norah Cabot,” she introduced herself, crossing to where Kristen stood beside the writing desk near the window.
Kristen shook Norah’s hand. “Detective Kristen Tandy, Gossamer Ridge Police Department.”
Norah’s dark brows lifted. “Is this an ambush?”
Kristen’s smile looked almost predatory, catching Sam by surprise. “Funny you’d jump to that conclusion, Ms. Cabot, instead of assuming I was here to protect your daughter.”
Norah shot Sam a murderous look. “An hour in the car and you couldn’t see fit to warn me I was walking into a trap?”
“Ms. Tandy is here to protect Maddy,” he answered with a shrug, enjoying his ex-wife’s discomfort a little more than he should. It was a novel experience to see Norah caught off balance. She was usually in full control of any situation, whether a heated court battle-or a marriage falling apart.
“And to ask a few questions,” Kristen added firmly.
Holding back a smile, Sam decided this morning might turn out to be more enjoyable than he’d expected.
THOUGH SAM HAD SPENT MOST of the last eighteen hours fretting about how to prepare Maddy for her mother’s arrival, in the end, his worries had been for nothing. Maddy didn’t seem to find anything odd about meeting her mother for the first time at the age of four, and Norah didn’t overplay the mommy card.
Maddy enjoyed looking at old photos Norah had brought with her, including several photos from their brief marriage. She’d even agreed with Norah that they shared the same green eyes and long fingers and toes. But she made no fuss when Norah handed her off to Sam’s brother Jake and Jake’s wife, Mariah, after a tour of the family property. While Jake and Mariah played tag with Maddy and Micah, Mariah’s two-year-old, under the ancient oak towering over the backyard, Norah crossed the lawn to the bottom step of the deck stairs where Sam sat.
“She’s lovely,” Norah said with a smile, settling onto the step beside him. “You’re a wonderful father. But I always knew you would be.”
Sam looked across the yard at Maddy, who was laughing with glee as Jake swung her around and around. “Why did you come here, Norah?”
Norah’s brow furrowed. “Our daughter was almost kidnapped. Shouldn’t I be here?”
“She was hospitalized with strep throat when she was a year old. We were in the same city then, and you didn’t even call to check on her.”
“The police didn’t leave an urgent message on my phone that time. Pretty young Detective Tandy was so insistent.” Norah looked over at Kristen, who stood alone, watching Jake, Mariah and the children play. “She’s very new at the job, isn’t she?”
“Don’t underestimate her,” Sam warned. “She’s tougher than she looks.” Anyone who could survive what Kristen Tandy had gone through as a young teenager was made of stern stuff.
“Have you taken on a new project, Professor Higgins?” Norah shot him a pointed look. “Looking to turn Daisy Duke into a proper lady?”
