Just One Kiss (Fool's Gold #10)(41)

“The power of being smug,” Patience said, returning little Wyatt to his mother’s arms. She settled in the chair next to Annabelle’s and leaned close. “He’s adorable.”

“I think so.” Annabelle grinned. “So, tell me. How many casseroles are there in my freezer?”

“At last count there were thirty-two, but more are coming. Oh, and there’s a beautiful fruit arrangement in your refrigerator. Very upscale. There are cookies and brownies and I’m not sure what else.”

Annabelle leaned back in the rocker. “I love this town. I’m never leaving.”

“No one wants you to.” Patience gave her a quick hug, then stood. “I need to head back. I’ll call you in a couple of days to see how it’s going. By then you should be less busy here.”

“Thanks for coming by.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it.”

She returned to the front part of the house and found Justice talking to Clay Stryker. When Justice saw her, he excused himself and joined her.

“You ready to go?”

She smiled. “Are you done pretending to be excited about the baby? Did you want to hold him?”

He flinched. “No.”

“Not a kid person.”

“I like kids. Babies make me nervous.”

“So you’re ready to go?” she asked, amused by his infant phobia.

“Say the word.”

They walked out of the house and made their way to his car.

“What about you?” he asked as he held open the passenger door. “Did you hold the baby?”

“Of course. He’s wonderful. So tiny. I remember when Lillie was first born. I was so scared.”

He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

“You had your mom,” he said as he slid onto the seat.

“And Ned,” she added. “Although by then, things were already falling apart. He left shortly after. But even with half the town in my living room, I was still terrified. I was too young to be a mother. I had no idea what I was doing. But from the first second I saw her, I loved her so much.”

She glanced at him. “Do you remember your mom?”

“Some. She was always hugging me.” His mouth twisted. “As I started getting older, I would squirm away. Now I wish I hadn’t resisted so much.”

“It’s part of growing up,” she said quietly. “She didn’t blame you.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Sure I can. I have a daughter. Kids grow and separate. One day Lillie will roll her eyes at me. It doesn’t mean we aren’t close.”

“I think my father killed her.”

Patience stared at him. “What? How?”

“She died in a car accident. The brake line was cut. They said in the report it was inconclusive, but when I was a little older I went to the junkyard, found the car and saw the line myself. He did it.”

She saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel as they drove toward town.

“Justice, I’m so sorry.”

She tried to think of something else to say, but couldn’t. Was it possible he was right? That Justice’s father murdered his wife? Her worldview made the concept inconceivable, but the truth was hard to deny. Justice had been in the witness protection program because his father had broken out of prison and come after his own son. The U.S. Marshals didn’t take care of someone on a whim. There was a real reason. Bart had been put away for killing a man. Sadly, that made the concept of him murdering his own wife much more real.

“Once she was gone, I was biding my time until I could leave,” he continued. “Trying to stay out of the old man’s way. I was big enough that he didn’t try to beat me very often, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous.”

“Then you came here.”

He nodded. “It was like an alternative universe.”

“I must have seemed really foolish to you.”

“No. Never that. You were an anchor. You showed me what was possible. I knew I didn’t want to be like him and that I’d have to always be on guard.”

“You’re nothing like him.”

He glanced at her. “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“I might not know the details, but there are plenty of clues. Look at you. You just came with me to deliver a casserole to a formerly pregnant woman you’ve never met. Tomorrow you’re going with me while Lillie has her first meeting with her grandfather. You’ve worked in the store. You care about my mother. How can you worry you’re anything like your father?” She knew she had to lighten the mood.

“Is this a Star Wars thing? Do all boys pretend to be Luke Skywalker?”

He chuckled. “No, and my father isn’t Darth Vader.”

“It kind of sounds like he is.”

“There was no good in him.”

“There’s good in you.”

“I hope you’re right.”

* * *

PATIENCE FELT HER stomach turning over and over. “I brought a Q-tip,” she whispered to Justice as they walked toward the park. “In case, you know, Steve gets out of hand.”

Justice put his arm around her shoulders. “I can subdue him without a weapon,” he assured her. “Keep the Q-tip for your own protection.”