Her Honor-bound Lawman. Karen Smith Rose
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asked.
His answer would be a catch-22. He’d be in trouble either way. “I do what I have to do.”
“But what do you want to do, Tucker?”
It was as if she knew everything in him was screaming at him to kiss her, to hold her in his arms more intimately, to give them both pleasure. But just because he’d given in to that impulse once, didn’t mean he was going to give in again. His father had taught him discipline, and he’d honed it on his own over the years. It was a necessary trait in law enforcement. It was a necessary trait when a man held a vulnerable woman in his arms.
“I want to find out who you are, and I want to return you to wherever you belong,” he answered her.
The startled look in her eyes became a hurt one. Pulling free of his arms, she straightened her shoulders. “I’m fine now. As you said, I have to get used to this type of thing happening…and I will. I’m not going to give up on finding out who I am anymore than you are. Maybe that’s the problem. I haven’t tried hard enough. I’ll talk to the doctor about it tomorrow. Maybe I should even go door to door throughout Storkville, asking anyone and everyone if they’ve ever seen me. I had to be here for some reason. Someone should know me.”
That’s exactly what Tucker thought. But Emma’s story had been in the Storkville paper and no one had come forward. Apparently no one was missing this beautiful young woman.
And Tucker wondered why.
The next morning Tucker was gone when Emma went down to the kitchen. She was relieved in a way, yet disappointed, too. Last night when he’d held her, she’d felt so secure, so safe. Being in his arms felt so right. But obviously he didn’t feel the same way. She’d thought he was going to kiss her again. Apparently he was just giving her comfort, just doing part of his job. Yet she couldn’t believe that the golden sparks in his dark brown eyes had been simply duty.
In the few days she’d been with him here in his house, she’d learned he was a complicated man. He’d worked in his den last night until supper. Then after supper, during which she hadn’t said much at all, he’d gone back to his office at the sheriff’s department. She’d gone to bed around ten and heard him come in shortly after. His room was next door to hers, and she could hear the clang of his belt as he undressed, his boots falling onto the floor. She could even hear the creak of his bed as he got in.
She didn’t know who she was, yet she was having these thoughts about a man she barely knew. She shook her head. Maybe the two went together. Maybe her thoughts were swirling around Tucker because he was the only stable person in her world right now.
After she nibbled on a piece of toast and drank a cup of tea, she walked the four blocks to the day-care center. When she’d first moved in, Tucker had wanted to drive her there in the mornings. But she liked walking in the crisp, cool air. She liked the quiet. She liked passing the people in the houses on the street. Every time she took the walk, she hoped something would trigger her memory.
As always, when Emma arrived at the day-care center, it bustled with activity as parents dropped off their children for the day. Emma helped them with their coats and then took them to play stations or the breakfast corner. Every chance she got, she played with Sammy and Steffie. Sometimes when she held them…she felt on the verge of remembering. But then afterwards she told herself she was being silly. She must just love babies.
The morning sped by and soon it was time to serve lunch. Emma worked beside Hannah and two other volunteers. “Gwen called this morning to let me know that she wouldn’t be in,” Hannah told her as she poured juice.
“How’s she feeling?” Gwen had come to Storkville, trying to escape the effects of a difficult divorce. She’d been pregnant and just wanted some peace and quiet. Instead she’d fallen in love with Ben Crowe and married him.
“Her doctor told her she could deliver anytime, so she’s sticking close to Ben and he’s sticking close to her. He probably won’t let her out of his sight for very long.”
Emma laughed. “Is he the protective type?”
“Very. Even more so than Jackson, and Jackson and I have go-rounds about it now and then.”
Hannah herself had just married in September to Jackson Caldwell. He was a pediatrician and the son of Jackson Caldwell Sr., who had been one of the wealthiest men in Storkville. Jackson had returned to the town when his father died six months ago. He and Hannah had the type of marriage that Emma admired. Anyone a mile away could see how much in love they were.
As soon as Hannah finished pouring juice, she and Emma served the children lunch. As usual there were spills and giggles, faces to be wiped, and energy to direct. It was almost three when Emma glanced at her watch and checked in with Hannah again.
“I’m going to spend a few minutes with Sammy and Steffie and then I’ll have to leave.”
“That’s fine. Penny Sue will be coming in. You know, it’s okay if you take a day off now and then. You don’t have to come in every day.”
“Nothing else seems quite as worthwhile as coming here and helping you.”
Fifteen minutes later, Emma was sitting on the floor, holding Steffie and watching Sammy awkwardly push a walking toy in the shape of a train engine. He wasn’t taking steps on his own yet, but it wouldn’t be long. He’d just fallen and was deciding whether to cry or laugh when Tucker suddenly towered above them.
“I came to take you to your doctor’s appointment.”
“I can walk, Tucker. It’s only a few blocks. You didn’t have to interrupt your work.”
“You’re part of my work,” he said briskly.
She wished that weren’t so. She wished he’d come to drive her simply because he wanted to. “We have a few minutes before my appointment. There’s coffee in the kitchen if you want some. I’ll get the twins busy with something in the playpen and then we can go.”
Tucker looked down at the floor at Sammy and then at Steffie in Emma’s arms. “Right. A cup of coffee would be good. Come get me when you’re ready to leave.”
As Emma watched him walk away, she again wondered what made him so uncomfortable being in the midst of children. She vowed to herself she’d find out what it was.
Soon.
Chapter Two
On the way to the doctor’s office, Emma noticed Tucker was driving his truck rather than the sheriff’s vehicle. “Do you have any leads on the twins?”
He shook his head. “They seem to have dropped out of midair the same way you did. I thought finding the monogram on that rattle left with them was a real clue.”
Everyone but Tucker had missed the faint monogram on the sterling silver rattle that had been tucked in with the babies. It had led him to the McCormack estate and Quentin McCormack. But a DNA test had proved Quentin wasn’t the father.
“What happens now?” Emma asked.
“I have one more lead. Someone I haven’t interviewed yet. He’s the butler on the McCormack estate who hires additional help for parties and the like. He’s been away the past month or so on a family emergency, but he’s expected back soon. I’m hoping he might have seen or heard something, or has some clue as to why that rattle was with the babies.”
“Hannah’s talking about adopting them,” Emma said wistfully. “I’d love to consider it myself, but I can’t. Not until I know who I am.”
“I’m working on it, Emma,” Tucker said, his mouth forming a straight, terse line.
She reached over and touched his arm. “I know you are. I know you’re doing all you can.”
Some of the tension went out of his shoulders. “You should be hopping mad I haven’t found a clue about you.”