A Place To Call Home. Sharon Sala

him from his back to his belly. He started to cry, mutely begging for a mercy that never came. Suddenly, something hot was thrust against his hip and the scent of burning flesh was in the air. Shocked by the unexpected stab of piercing pain, he arched up off the floor and then blessedly passed out before it was over. He never knew when the syringe full of antibiotic went into his arm, or when the sound of footsteps receded. It would be another day before he awoke, and by that time, the deed—and the damage—had been done.

      “So, what do you know about the missing banker that you didn’t know this morning?” Judd asked as he cleared the table from the supper they’d just had.

      Oblivious to the seriousness of the conversation going on around her, Rachel crawled up on her uncle Wade’s lap and began unbuttoning his shirt—a new and favorite pastime.

      Wade looked down at his niece and grinned as her tiny fingers worked the buttons out of the holes.

      “Not much,” he said. “Only that it looks like a real abduction, but there’s been no demand for ransom.”

      “Does he have money?” Judd asked.

      Charlie snorted lightly. “He’s got plenty of ours,” she muttered.

      Wade patted Charlie on the hand, then looked at Judd. “Sometimes it’s hard to meet the mortgage payments and Shuler isn’t exactly a ‘good old boy’ when it comes to extensions.” Then he answered Judd’s question. “Yeah, he’s got money. Inherited it from his old man.”

      Judd frowned. “Maybe you’re not the only people who don’t like the way he does business. Would you say he has enemies?”

      Charlie’s snort was a little more pronounced. “It would be easier to count his friends. There’re fewer of them.”

      Judd grinned at her. Damned if he didn’t like her spunk. “That bad, is he?”

      She grimaced, then looked at Wade and sighed. “Am I being dramatic again?”

      “Yes, honey, but that’s part of why I love you.”

      She grinned. “And the other part is?”

      He looked down at the imp in his lap. His chest was bare clear down to his belt. When she started twisting the hair on his chest around her little fingers and pulling, he yelped, then handed her to Charlie.

      “I suppose that would be Miss Rachel here, although I must be a masochist for thinking it. Every night I suffer the tortures of the damned with those tiny fingers.” He looked at Judd and grinned. “With Rachel, who needs a razor?”

      “Or a handkerchief,” Judd added.

      Charlie thought of the way Judd had been awakened this morning and started to laugh.

      “What did I miss?” Wade asked.

      “While you were in the shower this morning, Judd had a rather rude awakening.”

      Wade started to grin. “Not the finger-up-the-nose trick?”

      Judd chuckled. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “But it was the exploratory twist before she pulled it out that got my full attention.”

      Wade chuckled as Charlie squeezed Rachel close in her arms, burying her nose against the little girl’s neck.

      “You’re such a mess, baby girl. What is Mama going to do with you?”

      Judd leaned over and patted the tousle of curls on Rachel’s head. They felt like loops of silk against his palm.

      “Just love her,” he said softly. “These days, the age of innocence is far too short.”

      Wade’s smile slipped. “Amen to that,” he said, and then out of curiosity, decided to change the subject. “So, you know how my day went. What did you two do?”

      “Not much,” Charlie said, and began fussing with the ties on Rachel’s tennis shoe.

      “She did a little gardening,” Judd added, and stacked the rest of the plates in the sink.

      The stilted tones of their voices set Wade on alert. For a moment he sat, staring at them in disbelief. Charlie was tying Rachel’s laces in knots and Judd began splashing water far too forcefully for the small stack of dishes that had to be washed. Concern crept into his thoughts. Despite the fact that the man was a cop and had saved Rachel’s life, he was still a stranger. Had he done something to Charlie while he was gone?

      The chair squeaked across the linoleum as he suddenly stood.

      “That’s the biggest bunch of nothing I ever heard and I’ve heard a lot. What went on out here that no one wants to discuss?”

      Charlie stood, meeting her brother’s angry gaze. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Wade, do you honestly think that if Judd had been less than a gentleman, he would be standing in my kitchen in one piece? I thought you knew me better than that.”

      Judd was almost as angry, but at himself for getting into this position.

      “Look, you two. Just give me a ride into town and I’ll be out of your lives for good.”

      Panic hit Charlie hard as she turned toward him, and in that moment, she accepted the fact that she didn’t want him to go. But before she could speak, Wade shrugged and grinned.

      “Sorry I jumped to conclusions. I guess it’s my suspicious nature. I’ve been a cop too long.” Then he added. “Besides, you can’t go. You promised to help me with the Shuler case.”

      Judd nodded without comment. The way he figured, the less said, the better. Technically, Charlie was right. Nothing had happened. But they both knew it could have, and that was where the guilt began.

      Morning of the next day dawned gray and overcast. Charlie slipped out of bed, gingerly testing her weight on her ankle. It was markedly better, which was, to her, a relief. Having Judd Hanna for a houseguest was difficult enough when Wade was around to play buffer, but being alone with him had been worse. There was something about him that she couldn’t let go. At first, she thought it was gratitude for the fact that he’d saved their lives. But that theory hadn’t lasted past the first time she’d thought about kissing him. She’d been grateful to a lot of people in her lifetime, but she hadn’t once wanted to kiss them the way she’d wanted to kiss Judd Hanna.

      All night she’d struggled with her conscience. Sometime around morning, she had decided that she didn’t want to be thinking of a man. The last time she’d let her guard down with one, she’d wound up with a baby and no husband. That wasn’t happening to her again.

      She dressed quietly, hoping to get into the kitchen and start breakfast before Rachel woke up. Considering the weather, she opted for a pair of blue jeans rather than shorts, and tucked her T-shirt into the waistband before giving herself a last look in the mirror. Her hair was neatly braided, her clothes were old but clean. She’d even managed to get an old sandal onto her swollen foot without too much discomfort. But as she exited her bedroom, she kept feeling as if she was leaving something undone. And then Judd walked out of his room and for a startled moment, they were alone in the hallway.

      Judd started to speak, when Charlie put a finger to her lips and shushed him before leading him into the kitchen.

      “Rachel,” she explained, pointing back down the hall. “She’s a light sleeper.”

      He nodded, but his thoughts were on the uneven row of tiny curls already popping out from her neat hairdo and feathering across her forehead.

      Charlie reached for the coffeepot and began filling it with water. He was making her nervous.

      “Did you sleep well?” she asked.

      “Yes.”

      The silence between them was noticeable.

      “How’s your foot?” Judd finally asked.

      She turned, a fake smile on her face. “Better, thanks.”

      Now