“Not at all. I’ve just been here a minute. And what do we have here?”
Winona smiled, watched Pamela make a fuss over Angel-who hammed up for the attention, kicking and bubble-blowing. “This is Angel, and she’s the reason I asked to meet with you. But let’s get lunch ordered, okay? I’m guessing that you don’t have any more spare time than I do.”
Sheila, cracking gum, brought her pad over to take their orders. “Hey, Pam, the bruises are starting to fade finally, huh? You look like you’re doing way better, sweetie pie.”
“I’m fine, except still having a little trouble getting an appetite.”
Winona shot the second-grade teacher another, sharper, look. For a moment she’d forgotten that Pamela had hoped to be an exchange teacher in Asterland for the winter term, and had been traveling on the plane that crashed. “You really are feeling okay?” she asked.
“Fine. Honestly, compared to some of the others, I didn’t go through anything. Just some bangs and bruises. Although I have to admit that I was really shook up for the first few days after the crash. It was quite an experience. I still can’t seem to eat much.”
“I take it that your plans to go over there and teach were put on hold?”
“Yes. I’d still love to, but it’ll have to be another time. They couldn’t hold the job and leave children without a teacher, obviously, and right after the crash, I wasn’t sure how fast I could get there and be functioning. It just made the most sense for both sides for me to cancel out. So I’ve got a little unexpected time off. It won’t kill me to relax until next term-but please, Winona, I don’t want to waste your lunch hour on just catching up. I know you said you needed to talk to me seriously about something.”
“Yes,” Winona said, but then she hesitated. The two women knew each other through their respective jobs. Several times, Pamela had asked her to come in and talk to her second graders, and Winona had loved the opportunity. Before that, all Winona had ever heard was that Pamela’s mother had quite an unfortunate reputation in town-which was always a complete surprise to anyone first meeting Pam. She was plain, inclined to wearing dowdy Peter Pan collars and demure, concealing styles. She wore her black hair short and simple, and never seemed to bother with much makeup. Her features lit up around children, though, showing off dimples and big blue eyes. She seemed to be a quiet, genuine person in a way that Winona had always liked. She just didn’t quite know how to approach this subject, but she had to start somewhere.
“I’m guessing you’ve heard through the gossip grapevine about Angel. Someone abandoned her on my doorstep a couple weeks ago. I’ve been trying to track down the mother ever since.”
“You bet, I heard. The whole town’s charmed at you running around doing your cop thing with a baby in tow.”
Winona nodded. “I know you work with the younger kids, rather than be exposed much to teenagers. But I’m really having trouble finding leads to Angel’s mom. I don’t know for sure that her mother was a teenager-but it has to be someone from town, because if she didn’t know who I was, she’d have had no reason to leave the baby with a note to me specifically. So I was hoping-”
“You were hoping I’d know something?”
“Yeah. I figured it was a long shot to ask you-but all the standard routes I’ve tried have ended up dead ends. Everyone says that kids all ages just naturally talk to you. So I was hoping you might have heard something about a girl in trouble…”
“Well, darn. There is someone.” Pamela tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “I’m trying to remember the woman’s name. She was at the Texas Cattleman’s Club party early this month-someone said she’d lost a baby before Christmas, but at the time, that struck me as odd. You know how it is in Royal. The whole town would have turned out for a funeral, anything to help someone going through a loss like that. Only there was no funeral-” Pamela suddenly shook her head. “This is nuts. I really don’t know anything. That was just vague gossip I heard at the time, and to tell you the truth, I was only paying attention to one thing at that party-”
“Uh-huh.” Because Angel started fussing, Winona picked up the baby and plugged in a bottle, although she shot a woman-to-woman grin at Pamela. “I saw you dancing with Aaron Black, girl.”
Color bloomed on Pamela’s cheeks. “I felt like Cinderella at the ball-and believe me, I’m not into fairy tales. I’m not usually a party person, either. The only reason I went to that gathering was because I was planning on teaching in Asterland, and I thought I’d have a chance to meet more Asterlanders there…but I just don’t belong in a group like that.”
Winona sensed the other woman’s insecurity and pounced. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Come on. You know Aaron-he looks like a fairy-tale prince. Tall and sophisticated and good-looking…”
“Well, yeah, he’s a nice-looking man.” Winona knew Aaron. Everyone did. His diplomacy work took him overseas so much that he was rarely home except around the holidays, but she remembered seeing him at Justin’s shindig. It was just, compared to Justin, no man seemed hot. Not anymore.
“Hmm. I saw you at that party, too, Winona. It’s no wonder you didn’t pay that much attention to Aaron. You only had your eyes on one guy yourself.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“Come on. I saw you dancing with a bunch of guys. But you still only had eyes for Dr. Webb.”
Winona was so startled at Pamela’s observation that she accidentally dislodged the bottle from the baby’s mouth. Was it possible, that others had noticed the chemistry between her and Justin before she’d realized it?
When Angel sputtered, she popped the bottle back in, unconsciously rocking and soothing the baby at the same time…but her mind was really spinning now. She’d always had special feelings for him. She’d also always seemed to notice things about him that others never saw-like that the playboy reputation he’d cultivated was never true, and that there was a whole emotional side to him that he never showed to the world.
Maybe she’d always felt the seeds of love, Winona mused, and maybe he had, too. But still, something had triggered his asking her to marry him in a serious way. And anxiety suddenly threaded a drumbeat in her pulse. Everything had been going so well, but she still hadn’t shaken the sensation that something was wrong. Something not right in Justin’s life, in his heart, that he hadn’t shared with her.
“Okay, I’ll quit teasing you,” Pamela said. “If you don’t want to talk about your doctor hunk, I won’t press. And I promise, I’ll keep my ear to the ground on anything I might hear about Angel’s mother.” She motioned to the baby, and hesitated. “You want to keep her, don’t you?” she asked softly.
“Yeah.” Winona could feel her eyes burning. “I already feel like she’s mine. But what matters is that we know what happened. It’s the best way to protect the baby’s future long-term. The truth. Not just wishful thinking.”
“I’m afraid that’s true of life, too. Unfortunately.” Pamela suddenly pressed a hand on her abdomen. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”
Winona saw the gesture. “Are you ill? Do you need some help?”
“No, no, I’m fine. It’s just that ever since that darned plane crash, nothing seems to sit well on my stomach. Maybe it’s a little post-traumatic stress or some silly nonsense like that. It’s only been a couple of weeks. I figure I’ll be patient a little longer before throwing in the towel and seeing a doc. Anyway…” She stood up, pressed Winona’s hand and kissed the baby’s forehead, before heading for the door.
Angel seemed to finish the bottle at the same time. Winona lifted the baby to her shoulder, patting her, burping her, still smiling a goodbye as Pamela left…but the smile slowly faded from her face. She snuggled the baby close.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something troubling Justin that she didn’t understand. Before, it hadn’t mattered. Before, it hadn’t been her business, her right to know or ask or help.
But now it was.
And now her heart was hanging out there, at risk in a way she’d never risked her heart before. For a man who was worth it. But a man she suddenly wasn’t sure really needed-or wanted-her.
Ten
When Justin picked up Winona for dinner, he was so close to a shambling mess that he wanted to laugh at himself. He’d never been a nervous type. Couldn’t be. In his work, he had to do hours of intricate surgery without hesitation or allowing emotions to fluster his judgment. Yet tonight, his stomach was flip-flopping, his heartbeat galloping like a clumsy colt’s, his palms sticky-damp, and the extremely small package in his suit
