Chapter 13 #2
Carrying the three glasses together pressed together, he made his way over to a table where Lucy and Lauren were waiting. Lucy was seated at the table and glanced up at him as he set the soft drink in front of her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He handed a second glass to Lauren. “I take it we’re sitting here?”
“Yes, this is the head table. Patrice and her husband, Aaron, will be here too.” She sipped her soft drink, then set it beside her daughter. “Lucy, why don’t you wait here? I need to say hi to a few more people before we sit down to eat.”
“Bor-ring.” Lucy sighed theatrically, then lifted her glass to drink down all her ginger ale in one long gulp. “Fine. I’ll wait here.”
“Thank you.” Lauren slipped her arm around his waist. “And thank you, too, for going along with the charade.”
“Hey, I’m getting a kick out of the way some of these guys are staring at me with faces that literally glow green with envy.” He winked and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Lead on, my love.”
Lauren stumbled a bit but then regained her footing. He was about to ask if she was okay, when she said, “As soon as we finish eating dinner, we can head home. There’s no reason to stay for the dancing.”
Personally, he’d have loved to stay for the dancing, but he understood she wanted to make her presence known before getting Lucy home at a reasonable hour. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me. What sort of meal can we expect anyway? Rubbery chicken?”
She laughed. “How did you know? Have you been to charity dinners before? They’re always serving some variation of a baked chicken dish. Just once I wish they’d throw in a salmon or some other entrée.”
He didn’t answer, his gaze narrowing on a man with sleekly combed blond hair striding purposefully toward them. The guy’s gaze seemed to be boring into Lauren’s.
“Oh no,” Lauren whispered, her arm around his waist tightening. “I guess Ethan has heard the news.”
Grady understood this guy must have been one of her dogged admirers. He stopped, pulled her around so she was fully in his arms, then leaned in to capture her mouth with his.
Lauren surprised him by leaning into his embrace, returning his kiss with enough heat to send the entire ballroom up in flames. He’d intended this to be a simple warning to Ethan, whoever he was, but instantly, everything around them faded into oblivion.
In that moment, Grady knew he was dangerously close to falling in love with Lauren Chandler.
A disaster of epic proportions, as they were complete opposites in every way.
He couldn’t imagine living in a penthouse apartment in the middle of the city, and Lauren wouldn’t be comfortable in anything less.
And there was Lucy to consider too.
This intense attraction between them couldn’t lead to anything long term. Forcing himself to face reality, Grady reluctantly lifted his head, ending their kiss.
For a long moment, Lauren gazed up at him with a dreamy expression. Then she seemed to realize where they were and glanced around guiltily.
The guy, Ethan whomever, had veered away, heading straight for the bar. From the way the guy tossed back his drink, he’d accepted their engagement at face value and was about to drown his sorrows in booze.
Leaving Grady to wonder just what Ethan might do when he’d left Lauren and Lucy behind to head back to Cody, Wyoming.
* * *
Inwardly reeling from the dizzying impact of Grady’s kiss, it took all of Lauren’s willpower not to throw herself into Grady’s arms again.
His kiss was more potent than anything she’d experienced before. Obviously, Grady’s impulsive embrace had been intended to put on a show for Ethan Whitman. To seal the news of their engagement in an announcement for the entire room.
Not because he’d wanted to kiss her.
Her heart thumped erratically against her sternum as she struggled to maintain control. Thankfully, Ethan had gotten the message loud and clear. He was at the bar, drinking heavily the way Nelson used to do.
Obviously, she never should have married Nelson.
Her ex-husband’s kisses hadn’t been nearly as amazing as Grady’s.
If she’d met Grady first, she’d never have settled for Nelson.
But with all the praying she’d done over the past day and a half, she had to admit that God had sent Nelson to her for a reason.
One, to realize what she didn’t want in a man.
More importantly, though, her union with Nelson had produced Lucy.
And her daughter was the most important person in the world.
Too bad, she wouldn’t have more children. Unless, of course, she was blessed enough to meet another man like Grady, who could make her blush with a simple smile and a wink.
Yeah, that probably wasn’t going to happen.
A waiter came by with a tray of shrimp. To give herself a moment, Lauren accepted the appetizer and popped the shrimp into her mouth.
“I don’t think he’ll be bothering you again,” Grady drawled near her ear.
She almost choked on the shrimp. Hastily swallowing, she managed a smile. “Thanks. Ethan has been incredibly persistent. No matter how many times I’ve told him I’m not ready to date again.”
Grady frowned, glancing again at Ethan who had another drink in his hand. The way Ethan kept his back to them made her think of a little boy fuming in the corner of the classroom. “Do you think he could do something as crazy as hiring someone to kidnap your daughter?”
She stared up at him in exasperation. “Agent Braun has arrested Curtis Handover for the kidnapping and shooting incidents. Besides, that’s not Ethan’s style.
He thinks I should be interested in him because he’s handsome and comes from wealth too.
” She’d been shocked when Ethan had bad-mouthed Nelson for marrying her for her money.
She hadn’t realized that the entire social circle had known what she’d failed to discern on her own.
“Doesn’t mean he wouldn’t stoop to playing dirty,” Grady muttered. “He looks like a sore loser if you ask me.”
That made her smile. “You’d be right about that.”
“Is there anyone else I need to know about?” Grady looked as if he wouldn’t mind pulling his weapon to show her overzealous admirers who’s in charge.
“Ethan Whitman is the worst of the bunch. Alex Tillman is a close second.” She scanned the patrons clustered around the bar.
“I see Alex. He’s chatting with the mayor.
” With a sigh, she forced a smile. One of the reasons she’d wanted Grady to pretend to be her fiancé was because she wanted these guys to leave her alone.
The best way to do that was to show Grady off. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Can’t wait,” Grady drawled. When he slipped his arm around her waist, she felt the heat of his touch through her sequined dress.
“Mayor Thompson, it’s good to see you again.” Lauren addressed the mayor first, then turned to Alex. “Alex, I’d like you and the mayor to meet my fiancé, Grady McFarland. Grady, this is Alex Tillman and Mayor Bart Thompson.”
“A pleasure to meet you both.” Grady released her to offer his hand to the mayor first, then Alex. Alex masked his annoyance, but she could tell he wasn’t happy about the news of their engagement.
“McFarland?” Alex echoed with a snooty look at Grady. “I don’t remember hearing your name before. You must be new around here.”
“I am,” Grady admitted cheerfully. Then he put his arm around her shoulders, and added, “Lauren is amazing, isn’t she?”
“Yeah.” Alex tossed back the rest of his drink. “Excuse me.”
Lauren watched him go with a sense of relief. It was depressing to know that in a few weeks or so, she’d have to acknowledge that she and Grady had broken things off to go their separate ways. Having Grady at her side, keeping the leeches like Ethan and Alex away, was a temporary arrangement.
And really, it was a sad state of affairs that she had been put in this position of asking Grady to do this favor in the first place.
A flash of anger hit hard. Why should she have to put up with their boorish behavior anyway?
There was no reason for either of these men to keep hounding her.
As if their persistence alone would change her mind.
She turned and scanned the room, looking for Lucy.
Earlier, when they’d been at the table, she’d noticed a waiter hovering nearby who’d looked familiar.
There was something about his eyes that had niggled at her memory.
Obviously, she must have seen him at one of these charity events before but hated to admit she normally didn’t pay close attention to the serving staff.
Not that she considered them beneath her, because she didn’t.
Her goal of sponsoring this event was so that anyone, from a homeless person to a CEO, would have the best cardiac care for their children.
The simple truth was that the waitstaff didn’t wear name tags, and there were literally dozens of them at each event.
Lucy was still at the table, swinging her legs back and forth, and she looked bored to tears. She was about to suggest they head over to keep her daughter company when Grady’s phone rang.
With a frown, he pulled it from his pocket. He eyed the screen, then said, “It’s Agent Braun.”
“Maybe Curtis confessed?” As much as she enjoyed Grady’s company, she was anxious for the danger to be over. “Answer it.”
“This is McFarland,” he said into the phone. If they weren’t standing in the middle of the ballroom, she’d have asked him to put the call on speaker.
She held her breath as Grady’s expression turned to stone. Then he turned toward her, shaking his head. Her heart sank. Apparently, Curtis Handover hadn’t confessed.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still guilty.
“Thanks for letting us know.” Grady waited another beat, then added, “I agree that reviewing the video is the best way to find them. Lauren and I would appreciate another update in the morning.”
A moment later, he’d pocketed the cheap phone. Obviously, the news from the FBI wasn’t good. “Just tell me, Grady. What happened?”
“A number of things.” He sighed. “Curtis Handover has an alibi for the time frame of the Ariel’s abduction.
They also searched his home and his car for a weapon and other evidence but didn’t find anything to tie him to the recent shooting attempts against us.
He finally agreed to talk to them. While he insists he holds Nelson responsible for his half brother’s death, he isn’t angry at you.
” Grady raked a hand through his wavy dark hair in a frustrated gesture. “He’s not our guy.”
“Maybe his accomplice is the one with the weapon?” She hated knowing the kidnapper might still be out there, intending to harm her daughter. “We saw both men standing outside the SUV when we escaped in the crop-duster plane.”
Grady shrugged. “Anything is possible, but it sounds like Agent Braun has decided to believe Curtis when he says he’s not involved.
They let him go, as they had nothing to hold him on.
And as you heard, they’re planning to resume the task of reviewing toll camera footage to find the black SUV with tinted windows with the partial plate we’ve provided. ”
“That could take forever.”
“I know. But don’t worry. They’ll find him.” Grady’s words lacked the confidence she was accustomed to hearing from him. “I’ll call Griff later, once we get home.”
“Okay.” She tried to push the cloud of depression away. “I guess it’s a good thing we kept Lucy with us tonight.”
“Yeah.” He nodded toward the bar. “Would you like more ginger ale?”
“No thanks.” She answered absently, then added, “Although Lucy would probably like one.”
“I’m happy to head up to the bar,” Grady offered. He winked, his expression lightening despite the distressing turn of events. “It might be fun to introduce myself to your buddy Ethan.”
“Please don’t bother. Knowing Ethan, he’ll be incredibly rude to you.” She turned to scan the room. “Wait a minute, where is Lucy? I don’t see her sitting at the head table anymore. She was there a few minutes ago.”
“Maybe she went to get another ginger ale?” Grady suggested. “Or she could have gone to the ladies’ room.”
“I told her to stay at the table.” She pushed past Grady to head in that direction. She understood Lucy was bored with the formal dinner environment, but that didn’t mean her daughter should be wandering around the ballroom bothering the guests.
A man in a waiter uniform was striding toward a door near the far side of the room. Lauren frowned as she caught a hint of a red dress.
Lucy’s dress?
She reached out to grab Grady’s arm. “I think that waiter kidnapped Lucy!”
His expression turned grim as he reached for his weapon. “Stay here. I’ll go after them.”
No way was she staying put. As Grady broke into a run, dodging guests as he headed toward the side door where Lauren had assumed the kitchen staging area was located, she lifted her skirt and hurried to keep up.
Praying with all her heart that the kidnapper wouldn’t hurt Lucy before Grady could get there.