of his heartbeat as it hammered in his chest.
“Sam?” Norah’s voice broke through the heated haze settling over his brain. He felt Kristen push gently against his grasp, and he let her go, turning toward the sound of his ex-wife’s voice. Norah stood at the end of the narrow corridor, her expression tentative.
Maddy tightened her grip on Sam, burying her face in his neck. “No, Daddy!” she whispered.
Norah didn’t miss their daughter’s reaction. Her face crumpled, and she hurried out of sight.
“Ah, hell,” he muttered.
Kristen laid her hand on his arm. “Take Maddy home. I’ll make sure Norah’s okay.”
The offer surprised him. “You sure you want to do that?”
Her lips curved in a wry half smile. “I think I’m probably the most uniquely qualified person to do that. You know, being an expert on really bad mothers.”
His gut twisted in a knot. Until he’d seen his own daughter’s terrified reaction to Norah’s unintentional gaffe, his understanding of what Kristen had gone through as a child was mostly academic. But if something as simple and harmless as a misunderstanding could reduce his normally happy-go-lucky child to a terrified, quivering mess, how much worse must it have been for Kristen Tandy, living day in and day out with a mother like hers? And to witness the murders of her sisters and brothers, barely escaping her own death at her mother’s hand-how had she survived it?
No wonder she was so guarded with her emotions, so reticent about her inner life.
He walked with her into the main dining area, staying close enough to feel her warmth against his arm. The patrons and staff stared for a second before breaking into applause. Kristen’s face went red with embarrassment as the restaurant manager came over to offer his congratulations-and dinner on the house.
Sam thanked him but declined. “I just want to get Maddy home to bed.” As the manager returned to his post at the front, Sam leaned his head toward Kristen. “How am I supposed to get back to the lake? You drove.”
“I’ll get one of the officers to drop you off.” She smiled at Maddy, who’d finally loosened her death grip on Sam’s neck. “Maybe you can sweet-talk the nice officer into running the siren!”
“Don’t give her any ideas,” Sam warned with a smile.
Kristen grabbed one of the uniformed officers, murmured a few words to him and brought him over to where Sam and Maddy stood near the door. “This is Officer Simmons. He’s going to drive you back to the lake.”
As Sam started to follow Simmons out the door, Maddy tugged sharply at his collar. “Wait!” she insisted, and twisted her body in his grasp, holding her arms out toward Kristen.
Kristen stared at her a moment, her expression hard to read. Sam held his breath, wondering if she’d rebuff his daughter’s offer of affection. He might better understand the difficulty she had relating to Maddy now, but he couldn’t explain those nuances to a four-year-old. Maddy would feel rejected no matter what he told her.
Kristen’s lips curved into a big smile and she opened her arms, wrapping Maddy in a quick but genuine hug. “Make your daddy read you
Kristen’s gaze slid up to meet Sam’s. He could see the pain lurking there in their blue depths, and his heart broke a little for her, but for the first time, he also saw the spark of genuine affection for his daughter. “Thank you,” he said, reaching out to touch her arm.
Her mouth tightened, and she turned away from him quickly. “Talk to you later,” she tossed gruffly over her shoulder, and then she was gone, weaving her way through the crowd in search of Norah.
Sam watched her go, regret settling low in his gut. Tonight’s events might have broken down a few of the walls Kristen Tandy built around herself, but there were still plenty left in place. It might take a whole lifetime to tear them all down.
Did he want to devote his life to such a task or drag Maddy along on that kind of roller-coaster ride? Wouldn’t it be better to just step back and regain some distance from Kristen and her problems?
At this point, however, he wasn’t sure stepping back was even possible. Maddy was crazy about Kristen, flaws and all. And despite his clear-eyed understanding of just how difficult a woman she might be to care about, he found himself becoming more and more entangled in her life.
It wasn’t likely, at this point, that any of them would leave this case unscathed.
“GO AWAY, DETECTIVE.” Norah Cabot’s voice was muffled and weary behind the door to her room at the inn. “We can talk in the morning.”
“I think we should talk now,” Kristen said firmly, even though a part of her wanted nothing more than to go home and bury herself under the covers of her old four-poster bed.
“Are you enjoying this?” Norah asked faintly.
“No, I’m not,” Kristen replied. “Believe it or not, I’m here to help you.”
There was a brief pause, then a rattle of the latch. The door opened and Norah stood on the other side, clad in a red silk robe that nearly matched the color of her tear-swollen eyes. “Here to help me. I’ve heard that before.”
“I brought tissues.” Kristen held out the small travel-size tissue box she’d picked up at the gift shop downstairs before heading up to the guest rooms.
Norah released a huff of laughter and took the box from Kristen’s outstretched hand. “You think of everything.”
“May I come in?”
Norah seemed to consider the question for a moment, then gave an indifferent shrug. “Why not? It’s not like my night could get any worse.”
“Believe me, it could,” Kristen murmured.
Norah ignored her and crossed to a small credenza along one wall of the small but pretty room. “The inn was kind enough to send up a complimentary bottle of sparkling water. I would have preferred champagne, but I suppose this is one of those dry counties you Southerners are so fond of.”
“If you want to get liquored up, I could drive you to the next county over.”
“Couldn’t you just direct me to the nearest moonshine still instead?” Norah tossed a couple of ice cubes in a glass with excessive vigor. She set the glass down with a clatter and drove her long fingers through her hair, tousling the already unruly curls. “I’m sorry. I can be a total bitch.”
“But at least you’re self-aware,” Kristen said.
Norah slanted a look at her and gave a short laugh. “Yes, I suppose that’s a plus.” She held out the glass of sparkling water. “Can I interest you in a drink?”
Kristen shook her head. “I just came to make sure you’re okay. Can I get anything for you?”
Norah’s brow furrowed. “Why would you care?”
Kristen knew what she was asking. Norah hadn’t exactly done anything to garner Kristen’s sympathy since her arrival. But it didn’t change the fact that she’d been through an emotionally wrenching couple of hours. “I just thought maybe you could use someone…neutral. To hear your side of things.”
Norah arched one perfect eyebrow. “Neutral?”
“Well, more neutral than your ex-husband, anyway.”
Norah shook her head. “Sam must think I’m a complete idiot. Not even thinking how what I said might have sounded to Maddy-so stupid.”
“You didn’t mean to frighten her.”
“But I did.” Norah’s gaze met hers, fierce and angry. “I’m very good at my job, Detective. I have companies trying to hire me away from my firm every day. Senators and congressmen who want me on their staffs. When a question arises at the office, you know who they look to for answers? They look to me. And I’m always right.” She laid the glass of sparkling water on the credenza. “But I haven’t done a single thing right for my daughter since the day she was born.”
“That’s not true,” Kristen said. “You gave full custody to Sam. That was the right thing to do.”
Norah paused with her hand on the glass, turning to look at Kristen. “Come now, surely you think I’m heartless and cruel for abandoning my flesh and blood, don’t you? That I’m selfish and thoughtless for not even checking to see how she’s been doing all these years?” Norah sank against the edge of the credenza, her expression bleak. “Guilty as charged.”
“You’re just not cut out to be a mother,” Kristen said. “Sam has told me that you made it clear to him from the beginning that you didn’t want children. You didn’t lie or pretend to be anything you’re not.”
