Chapter 5
Chapter Five
M aggie headed up the stairs to her apartment.
What had she been thinking? She wasn’t supposed to be kissing Ace. She nibbled on her bottom lip. She was supposed to be acting like an adult, not indulging in more of the same behavior that had gotten her into this situation.
“Not that you’re a situation.” She patted her belly.
Dinner had been nice. She loved his place. And clearly pregnancy hadn’t dimmed the desire she felt for him.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t sleep with him again. If she got involved like that…Maggie knew she’d fall for him. Totally. And one day, he’d decide the footloose and fancy-free lifestyle he’d led, filled with hot, single women, was much more exciting than her and a child.
At least Ace seemed to be sort-of coming around to the idea of the pregnancy. They hadn’t talked too much about the details, but she was cautiously hopeful he’d help.
She was almost to her front door when she saw it was ajar. Her heart stopped. Oh, no.
Frozen to the spot, she wasn’t sure what to do. Run and get help? Call the police? She stepped closer and didn’t hear anything from inside.
Her fingers slid into her pocket and curled around her phone. Her first instinct was to call Ace.
Maggie swallowed. No . She’d just lectured herself on not getting more entwined with him than she needed to be. She was a big girl, and she was used to dealing with things by herself.
Swiveling, she walked to her neighbor’s door and knocked.
A second later, the strong, square-jawed face of Hank Paulson appeared. “Hey, Maggie.”
“Hi, Hank.” He was a short, stocky man with dark skin and a bald head.
He and his wife had twin sons who were the lights of their life.
Since Maggie didn’t hear any noise from inside, she assumed the boys were asleep.
Twin five-year-old boys were not quiet. “Um, I think someone broke into my place.”
Frowning, he stepped into the corridor and looked at her open door. “Aw, hell.”
“Pretty sure they’re gone, but can you check with me?”
“You called the police?”
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Hang on a sec.” He ducked back into his place and reappeared with a baseball bat.
The two of them approached her apartment.
Hank nudged the door open. The place looked untouched. A part of her had been expecting a mess.
Heart thumping hard, she flicked on the light.
Hank moved inside. “Stay behind me.”
Quickly, they checked the bedroom and bathroom. There was no one hiding in the closet or behind the shower curtain.
“Phew.” She released a breath. “There’s no one here.”
“Everything looks all right.” Hank lowered the bat. “Anything missing?”
Maggie checked her jewelry box. She didn’t have much and nothing very expensive. Everything else of value was still in place. Her TV sat on the TV cabinet. Her computer monitor sat on her tiny kitchen island. Thankfully, she’d had her laptop in the Jeep with her.
Wait . Her heart hit her ribs. She’d brought her old Phantom drone home with her. She’d already uploaded the images and footage off it automatically to the cloud at the office, but she liked to make a backup on a hard drive at home as well.
She rushed over to the box on the coffee table, then flipped the lid open.
Her heart sank to her toes. “No.”
Her drone was gone.
“Shit,” Hank muttered. “Someone took your fancy drone.”
“Yes, dammit.” Her fingers curled into her palms, nails biting into her skin.
“You insured?”
She nodded. She was, thank the Lord.
Hank gripped her shoulder and squeezed. “Then it’ll be okay.”
Swallowing, she nodded. It would take some time, but she could replace the drone. But with her Phantom gone and her new Inspire in pieces, she’d have to rent a drone until the insurance money came through. Dammit .
“Thanks so much, Hank.”
He eyed her face. “You sure you’re okay? Want me to call someone?”
Maggie dredged up her smile. “I’ll be fine. I need to call the police and report the theft. You know me, I’m tough.”
“Yeah. All right. But if you need anything, Anita and I are just across the hall.”
“Thanks again, Hank.”
She saw him out and locked the door. Suddenly, a wave of tiredness hit. For the first time in a long time, she wished she wasn’t tough. Wished that she could call someone to help. Someone she could trust to be there for her, not to lecture her on her locks like her father would.
Ace’s face swam into her head and she shoved it away hard.
No . Maggie knew the best path was always to depend on yourself. When you opened up, people invariably cut you and left you hurting.
Pulling out her phone, she called the police.
* * *
The gorgeous picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, with the morning sun and fog shrouding it, was perfect.
Sitting at her laptop and monitor on her kitchen island, Maggie was trying to get some work done. She hadn’t slept that well. Every noise had woken her. She’d ended up wedging a chair under the handle of her front door for added security.
Getting robbed sucked.
The police had come, looked around and done their thing, and taken her statement. They’d also talked to Hank. They’d told her that there had been some thefts in the area, and they weren’t hopeful of getting her drone back. She’d already lodged a claim with her insurer.
She saved the image of the Bridge with the ones she wanted to upload to her website. The best ones she sold exclusively, the good ones she put on the stock sites. She clicked through more of them. She had some great aerials of Angel Island, Alcatraz, the city skyline.
She still needed to go through the footage from the trip to Muir Woods. Thankfully, she hadn’t lost it with the drone since it was in the cloud.
She was sure she’d gotten some good shots of the forest, the redwoods, and the beaches.
She picked up an apple and bit into it. She also needed a clone of herself, or more hours in the day to get all this done.
And a baby was going to take up a lot of time. The apple turned to powder in her mouth.
What if she couldn’t do it all? What if she was a terrible mother? What if she screwed this whole thing up?
Maggie shook her head. She couldn’t let the doubts creep in.
Suddenly, she had a craving for a grilled-cheese sandwich. It was late Sunday morning, so not far away from lunchtime. She’d been queasy again this morning, so she figured she could blame the apple seed. She’d looked up online how big the baby would be, and apparently it was the size of a seed.
So tiny. She pressed a hand to her belly.
Anyway, the queasiness had passed.
Her phone vibrated with a message.
Sleep well?
Maggie smiled at the text and bit into her apple again.
Average.
Wish I could’ve been there.
She shivered and ignored that comment.
How did the job go?
Fine. Ran late. Actually, I’m in the office with Vander now. I’m almost finished here. Why don’t you head over to my place? If you beat me there, I can let you in remotely.
Of course, he could. No doubt Ace had the fanciest security system in all of San Francisco.
Okay, but fair warning, I’m starving.
Don’t worry, gatinha , I’ll feed you.
Smiling, Maggie shut down her computer and grabbed her bag. She was wearing jeans, and she’d topped them with a pretty, white, peasant-style blouse. She paused to put on some lipstick.
Not that she was dressing up for him. Nope . She would talk with Ace about the baby, but that was it. No touching, no kissing, no anything else.
She was about to head out when her cell phone rang.
The word Mom came up on the screen, and she smiled.
Her mom and dad loved their retired life down in Monterey.
Katherine “Kiki” Lopez was blonde, trim, and perpetually happy.
She lived to keep a lovely house, cook for her husband, and entertain when they had friends over.
She loved her only daughter, even when Maggie left her slightly bewildered.
Maggie and her mom had zero in common, although she knew her mom loved her.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, sweetie. Are you having a relaxing Sunday?”
“Sure. How are you and Dad?”
“Good. Your father’s just arrived home from golf.”
After selling his small aviation business, Leo Lopez had thrown his energy into improving his golf game.
“When can you come down for a visit? You should come and stay for a week.”
Maggie sighed. It was a familiar story. “Mom, you know I can’t leave my business for that long. I promise to try to get down for a midweek visit when I’m not so busy.”
Her mom let out a gusty sigh. “You work too hard.”
“I know, Mom. But soon. I…have some news to share.”
Kiki gasped. “You’ve met someone.”
Maggie rested her head against the wall. She couldn’t keep the pregnancy hidden forever. After the shock, her mom would be excited. Her dad would be, too—after he said “I told you so,” and ranted about unwed mothers for a while.
“No.”
“So, what is it?” her mom asked.
“It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you now,” Maggie said in a teasing tone that sounded pained to her own ears.
Her mom laughed. She had a sweet laugh. “You’re such a tease, sweetie. You want to talk to your dad?”
“Not today. I’m on my way out. Tell him hi from me.” She could do without the interrogation on her business finances today.
“All right. Have a great day, Maggie. Love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Maggie headed out to her Jeep and jumped in. She stuck the key in the ignition, turned…and nothing.
“Oh, come on.” She turned the key again and the engine made a sluggish noise. She growled and thunked her head on the steering wheel. “You piece of shit.”
She tried again. The engine made an ugly sound.
She whacked the steering wheel and yanked her phone out again. She dashed off a quick text to Ace.
Jeep won’t start. Might be delayed.
She got out and opened the hood, then peered in. She was no expert, but nothing seemed wrong.
She climbed back in to try again, and it still wouldn’t start. Where was Gus when she needed him?
Her cell phone rang. Ace’s name flashed on the screen.
“Hey,” she said.
“What’s wrong?”