Wrongly Accused. Laura Scott

gazed at him solemnly before nodding her head. “Yes.”

      “Me, too,” Noelle said. “Let’s wash up in the bathroom first, okay, Kaitlin? Then we’ll get some breakfast.”

      Kaitlin let go of Noelle and scrambled off the bed. She went into the bathroom and Noelle grabbed the pink backpack before following his daughter.

      While he waited, he took out his wallet to double-check the amount of cash he had left. Thankfully Jack had stopped at the bank on the way home so that Caleb could draw out a chunk of his savings, partially to pay his legal fees along with having some cash to live on. Good thing, since staying alive was obviously a priority at the moment.

      Heather had made a good living as a model before they’d gotten married, and after Kaitlin’s birth she’d worked out like a maniac to get back in shape to resume her career. He’d tried to tell her she didn’t need to keep modeling, but she’d insisted. The amount of money she made was more than what he made as a member of the SWAT team, but he’d rather Heather would have been content to do something else. It wasn’t as if she was going to be able to model for the rest of her life. But she’d refused to consider a second career. He hadn’t wanted to leave Kaitlin in the preschool center full-time, but Heather had insisted.

      As a result of their combined incomes, they’d had a substantial amount of money saved up. Enough that he’d been able to continue paying the mortgage while he was behind bars. With Jack’s help he’d listed the house on the market, but apparently no one was anxious to buy a home where a murder had taken place.

      Not that he could blame them.

      The amount of cash he had would probably only last them a week, maybe more if he was frugal. He considered calling Jack for assistance in getting more money, but decided he’d wait until the following Monday. Considering it was a Saturday, there wasn’t enough time to get back into Milwaukee before the banks closed. Besides, he didn’t really want to head back into town so soon after leaving. Not when he suspected the cops would be looking for him and for Noelle’s SUV.

      He was sure to be a person of interest despite Jack’s assurances that he was a victim. When he’d been arrested after Heather’s death, he’d assumed that he’d be found innocent because he was. But then the eyewitness had stepped forward and he had no choice but to grapple with the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.

      No way was he making the same mistake twice.

      The bathroom door opened, letting a cloud of steam into the room. Noelle’s hair was damp from her shower, and Kaitlin was wearing her previous clothes. He quickly stuffed the money back into his wallet and turned toward them. “Ready for breakfast?”

      “Absolutely,” Noelle said cheerfully. For a moment her gaze locked on his and he wished he knew what she was thinking. Had she changed her mind about him at all? Or was that wishful thinking? And why did he care?

      “Let’s go,” he said, crossing over to open the motel room door. Kaitlin eagerly dashed outside, as if the nightmare from last night was already forgotten. Noelle seemed content to walk beside him.

      After they reached the car, Noelle helped Kaitlin into her booster seat before taking her place beside him up front without his having to ask. He headed down the road to a well-known chain restaurant that served breakfast, trying not to read too much into Noelle’s small gesture of trust.

      No matter how much he wanted to.

      * * *

      Noelle finished her breakfast, a yummy veggie omelet, before she realized that she hadn’t once looked for an opportunity to escape.

      Was she crazy to put her trust in Caleb? She sipped her coffee, trying to sort out her feelings.

      Caleb’s despair last night hadn’t been faked. He’d truly felt awful about Kaitlin’s nightmare. But did the fact that he loved his daughter make him innocent of the crime he’d been arrested for? Of course not.

      So why did she suddenly believe him?

      She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed. Dear Lord, I don’t know what to believe. Please help guide me. Please show me the way.

      A sense of peace settled over her and she realized that if Caleb had intended to hurt them, he would have done that already. Instead he’d done nothing but provide food and shelter. Not to mention, finding a pool to make his daughter happy.

      Even now, he was coloring the paper cartoon place mat with Kaitlin, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

      “No, Daddy, purple,” Kaitlin insisted, shoving the green crayon aside. “Not green, purple.”

      “You’re right, Katydid, purple is way prettier than green,” Caleb agreed.

      Noelle hid a smile behind her coffee mug. If she wasn’t seeing the way he tried so hard to bond with his daughter with her own eyes, she wasn’t sure she would have believed it. Especially when she hadn’t watched Caleb interact with his daughter very much before he’d been accused of murder.

      “Kaitlin, why don’t you finish your scrambled eggs and bacon before they get cold,” she suggested.

      “We’re almost done,” Kaitlin muttered, filling in the last of the cartoon character’s bright purple dress. “See?” She held the paper up high. “Isn’t it pretty?”

      “Very pretty,” she agreed. Caleb set down his crayon and reached for his own cup of coffee.

      “Here, this is for you, Daddy.” In a surprise gesture, Kaitlin handed the picture to Caleb and then picked up a piece of bacon.

      “Thanks, Katydid,” Caleb murmured in a husky tone. For a moment she thought there was a glint of tears in his eyes, but then it was gone. He gave Kaitlin a broad smile and carefully set the place mat in the center of the table, where it wouldn’t get stained with food or drink. “This is the best present, ever.”

      She simply couldn’t believe a man who cared so much about his daughter that he nearly cried after getting a picture from her was cold and callous enough to kill his ex-wife. In the past twenty-four hours, there’d been no sign of his so-called hair-trigger temper, either.

      At this point, she had no reason not to give him the benefit of the doubt.

      “Do you want anything more?” Caleb asked.

      “No way, I’m stuffed,” Noelle murmured, sitting back in her chair and feeling a bit guilty at how much she’d eaten. “That was delicious. Thanks, Caleb.”

      “You’re welcome.” He quickly finished his own meal, and then gestured for the waitress to bring the bill. He glanced at the amount and pulled out his wallet, leafing through the bills.

      For the first time since this mad escape had started she found herself wondering how long they could stay on the run like this. She didn’t have her purse, so she couldn’t help pay for anything. What would happen when they ran out of cash? What if they messed up and the shooter who’d tried to kill Caleb found them?

      She shivered, suddenly cold. Should she tell Caleb about the black truck that had been following her in the days prior to his release? Should she tell him about the man who’d accompanied his wife to pick up Kaitlin the Friday evening before she’d died? She’d told the police, but since she didn’t have a name, there wasn’t much they could do. The officer she spoke with assumed the guy was the same man Heather was having an affair with.

      Wasn’t it possible that man had killed Heather, rather than Caleb?

      “Are you all right?” Caleb asked with a slight frown.

      “Sure,” she said, forcing a smile. The way he seemed to be tuned in to her emotions shouldn’t make her believe in him even more. But it did. She reminded herself that Caleb wasn’t her type. She didn’t date men, especially handsome men. There was no way she should even think about Caleb on a personal level. Trusting a man enough to have a relationship was far too difficult for her.