stepped into the bitter cold night—without a coat—he heard Max say, “Let him go. He’ll cool off quick.”
Cooling off took him longer than one would expect with outdoor temperatures hovering in the twenties. For the second time in a week, Lucca had had the foundations of his world rocked. He found himself walking away from Murphy’s and toward Hope’s house, toward sanctuary.
But as he approached, he saw a car pull into her drive. Lucca’s steps slowed when a man got out of the car carrying a duffel bag. He stopped completely when Hope’s front door flew open, and she ran outside and into the stranger’s embrace.
FOURTEEN
The Eternity Springs Grizzlies finished fourth in the tournament on Saturday with Wade Mitchell scoring a personal high forty-five points in the semifinal game. With her concentration on the court, Hope only vaguely noticed that Lucca had taken a seat next to Daniel on the bleachers and that the two men exchanged conversation from time to time.
“So what’s the deal with him?” Daniel asked when they returned to her house after the games ended. “For a basketball coach at a basketball tournament, he sure was fishing.”
“What do you mean?”
Daniel leaned against her kitchen counter and turned his inquisitive blue eyes her way. “He’s very curious about me.”
“Oh?” Hope took her wooden recipe box from a cabinet.
“He pumped me for information. He acted … territorial.”
Really? That should probably bother her, but she felt flattered instead. Lucca’s attention didn’t totally surprise her. Daniel’s tragedy had aged his face but he was still an attractive man, and under other circumstances, they might have tried for more than friendship. Attempting nonchalance, Hope said, “We’ve been, um, seeing each other.”
“I wondered if that might be the case.” Daniel eyed the ingredients she pulled from her pantry with interest. “I don’t think he liked me.”
“You say that with such glee.”
“What have you told him about me?”
Her chin came up. “I told him that you are my hero.”
Daniel snorted. “I’m sure that went over well.”
“Well, you
“You saved yourself. I just gave you a helping hand. And I think you would have pulled out of it on your own given more time. Your inner core of strength is a force to behold. I just saved you time. Are you going to make ginger cookies?”
“Of course. Don’t I always?”
He scooped up her hand and kissed it. “Marry me, Hope.”
She laughed. “No. You don’t like chocolate. We are simply too different to be compatible long-term. Besides, your friendship means too much to me to risk it for something temporary.”
“You break my heart, woman. Not all marriages are temporary, you know.”
“True. Just half of them.”
He watched her measure out blackstrap molasses, then caught a drip with his fingertip and tasted the sweetness. “Did you tell him why I’m here?”
The very casualness of his tone prompted her to look at him closely, and she spied the pain he tried to hide. “No, Daniel. It’s our private business.”
“I wouldn’t care. I just don’t want to talk about it with a stranger. Not this trip.”
“I know. Don’t worry. Besides, I don’t owe anyone an explanation for why I have friends visit.” She turned on her mixer, creaming shortening and eggs and effectively putting a period to that topic of conversation.
Daniel put the teakettle on the stove, and by the time her dough was mixed, he’d placed two cups of steaming orange pekoe on the table. As was his habit, he filched a spoonful of dough, tasted it, then sighed. “Marry me, Montgomery.”
“Keep your paws out of my cookie dough, Garrett.”
He winked at her, then went for another. She slapped his hand. “Drink your tea and talk to me, Daniel. I feel bad that I conked out on you so early last night. I think I need new vitamins. Tell me what’s going on in your life.”
He licked his fingers. “I took a new case.”
“Another infant?”
“Yes. A two-month-old. From 1998. San Antonio. A little boy. Parents both professionals, an architect and a lawyer. The wife’s mother was babysitting and someone broke in. Killed the grandmother, stole electronics, jewelry, and the baby. At the time, the cops thought it was robbery that turned into more. I’m not so sure.”
“You think the baby was the object of the crime all along?”
“I think that possibility didn’t get enough play.”
They talked about his case, then he asked her if she’d like to talk about Holly. She rolled a ball of dough in sugar, then set it on the cookie sheet. “You would have called me if you had anything new to report.”
“Absolutely.”
“And you continue to make your phone calls and distribute flyers and show her picture around immigrant neighborhoods?”
“Every month.”
“So, no, then. I don’t think I want to talk about Holly.”
Surprise shone in Daniel’s brown eyes. Frankly, Hope was a little surprised, herself. He was the one person with whom she spoke of Holly freely, and she’d done so ever since she and Mark had hired him to privately investigate their daughter’s disappearance four months after the kidnapping. Not talking about Holly illustrated a significant change in her relationship with Daniel. Was it because she’d popped the pressure on that particular cork by talking to Lucca? Possibly. Probably. Was sharing Holly’s story with someone other than Daniel a sign that her spirit was healing? Perhaps. Time would tell, she guessed.
She put a sheet filled with dough into her preheated oven, then set the timer. “Shall we talk about tomorrow? I have a couple of ideas about how we can spend the day. We are supposed to have sunshine.”
“No skiing. Last time I did that I almost broke my leg.”
“Actually, I thought we could either go snowmobiling or horseback riding. The family of one of my students owns a ranch, and he’s offered a trail ride. Wade Mitchell. He was my high-point man today.”
Daniel looked alarmed. “In the snow?”
“Snowmobiles usually work better in snow.”
“I’m talking about the horses. Won’t PETA be on your ass for making them go out in the snow?”
“Careful, Daniel. Your Boston upbringing is showing. Horses are quite adapted to cold weather. They have a winter coat, and Storm Mountain Ranch puts them in winter shoes. As long as they don’t get wet from rain, snow, or sweat, they are quite comfortable being outside.”
“Horses.” He looked a little pained.
“Or snowmobiles,” she repeated, smiling. “On snowmobiles we’d stay in the valley. Wade said the trail ride would take us high.”
Daniel rose and went to peek in the oven. “I’ve never ridden a horse before. But I like the sound of going high tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll give Wade a call and take him up on his offer.”
The following morning Hope wandered into her kitchen in search of coffee to find Daniel sitting cross-legged on the floor playing with Roxy. When he looked up at her and said good morning, she couldn’t miss the bleakness in his eyes.
“Good morning, Daniel,” she said lightly. “My dog is in heaven.”
