Page 26 of Tangled Memories
He wanted her, yet he sensed the primal stirrings within him were not all sexual. Sex played a part, of course. But she had attributes that a man could appreciate outside the bedroom, too. It was refreshing to watch her with Liane, to note the fierceness, the seriousness with which she tackled her responsibilities to her child.
He liked her eyes, too. They lacked innocence, but she had a direct gaze that radiated intelligence and honesty.
Honesty?Where had that come from? Do I really think she’s honest? He wondered.
If he answered yes, that meant he ought to close the investigation on Stormy Maxwell.
“No way,” he said aloud. He wasn’t about to milk his clients, as he’d jokingly implied to Stormy. He had his honor, after all. And that honor demanded that, no matter what his emotions said, he had to deliver, if not the goods, at least a complete, thorough, and wholly dispassionate report on a complete, thorough, and wholly dispassionate investigation.
A gust of wind caught at Stormy’s hat and sent it tumbling down the beach. Laughing, she and the girls raced after it.
Tyler caught himself laughing with them.
Then he sighed in self-disgust.Dispassionate?Gah! He was becoming involved up to his neck. Not only was that dangerous to his emotional well-being, but it was also unprofessional. And Stormy Maxwell wasn’t even the kind of woman he got involved with. The others knew what they wanted and got it with no strings attached.
No strings, he mused. Now there was a bit of gallows humor for you. He was weaving a noose for his own damned neck.
The hat retrieved and clamped again firmly upon her head, Stormy and the girls wandered back up the beach. Tyler found himself watching her lips, enjoying the flashes of her smile. The trio moved onto the dune walk. He watched until they disappeared into the house and only then lowered the binoculars.
He folded up the chair and began the trek back to his motel, vowing that Stormy Maxwell would get no more logic-distorting compassion from him.
Stormy sawthat Nina had the boys packed and ready to leave. “I told you I would watch the boys, Nina, and I will. I’m happy to.”
“No, you have that man coming around. Tully thinks it’s best we take them to the babysitter.”
“I don’t have that man coming around. I did not invite him. He’s investigating the whereabouts of the stolen money. I can’t stop him from doing that. What you’re really saying is that you don’t think I’m a fit parent. You’re just trying to make me feel guilty.”
“Guilty is as guilty does,” Nina said archly.
Tommy and Davie hovered. “We want to stay with Aunt Stormy,” they cried in unison.
Nina gave them a look. They quieted.
Stormy knelt down and hugged her nephews. “Next time, okay, boys?”
“Are you still going to bake cookies?”
“Yes, and I’ll bake two giant ones for the two of you.”
“You won’t let the girls eat ’em up?” Davie asked, eyeing his cousin and her friend, who were in the breakfast alcove bent over leaves and flower buds.
“Nope. We’ll put your names on them.”
After Nina ushered the boys out, Liane slid off her stool and put her arms around her mother. “Don’t feel bad. You can help Janelle and me with our science project.”
“Maybe for a few minutes,” Stormy acquiesced, thinking that refusing the gesture might dampen the thoughtfulness her daughter exhibited.
She was instructed to carefully dismantle flower buds, which she’d plucked from the hibiscus shrubs that grew alongside the garage. The dismembered parts were then to be pasted onto construction paper.
“You can help paste, too,” Liane volunteered.
“Only you have to leave enough room for us to write down what the part is,” Janelle added. “If the writing isn’t our own, Miss Evans will know and, boy, will she be mad. Last time my homework was too neat, Miss Evans called my mom and told her second grade was for kids.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Stormy assured them both. “What are we studying? How plants grow?”
Liane hesitated. “Sort of. We’re learning about the difference between plants and animals.”
“That’s interesting,” Stormy supplied.