anything but happy. Gravitating in her direction, he introduced Stephen to Constance, then placed a reassuring hand on Maya's shoulder. She didn't relax, but she threw him a grin that trembled only a little.
"I can take you and the kids out to the school, if you'd like," he offered. "Why don't you invite Stephen to supper?"
"You have the lawyer, and the kids' have the doctor's..." She gestured helplessly.
Stephen frowned at both of them. "We have to talk."
Axell grinned. He couldn't help it. The situation had reached the limits of absurdity and Maya's code phrase pushed him over. With the ease he used in escorting drunken bar patrons to a taxi, he crossed the room and appropriated Alexa from Stephen's arms. He'd learned a lot about holding babies these past weeks, and he handled her with expertise now.
"We'll talk, but not now," he told the startled young musician as he shifted Alexa to his shoulder. "Maya's not strong enough yet for major battles. This apartment is empty for the moment. Make yourself at home and we'll get back to you."
Oddly, Axell had the feeling Maya bristled like her cat as he took the reins, but that's what he did—took charge. She might as well get used to it.
"I'm not a weak, helpless idiot," she whispered in protest as the kids ran down the stairs ahead of them a minute later.
"No, but you're supposed to pretend you are so I can feel like Amazon man. This is the south. Learn the culture." Axell lifted the squirming baby from his shoulder and dropped her in Maya's arms. "She's wet."
"Amazon Man." She shook her head in disbelief. "Why do I do this to myself? You'd think by now, I'd have learned."
"You're a quick study," he reassured her. Then before she could climb into the car and escape into the protection of the children, Axell caught her by her pointy little chin and made her look at him. "And you're doing it because you're as curious as I am to see what we'll be like in bed."
That shocked her into speechlessness, he noted with satisfaction. He'd damned well never said anything so blatantly suggestive to any woman in his life, but with Maya, he felt free to say or do anything he pleased without frightening her. He could really get into that kind of understanding.
But first, he had to eliminate the competition.
* * *
"All right, Chickadees, what do you think Madeline should have told the teacher?"
"She should have told the truth!" two of the Chickadee girls chirped.
"That she's full of dog poop," the outnumbered male Chickadee answered sullenly.
Silently, Maya had to agree with the boy. Sometimes, honesty just didn't pay and dog poop was much more satisfying. She didn't think the children's parents would agree.
She held up the book she'd been reading to them. "Well, let's see if Madeline chooses truth or dog poop."
The children laughed and giggled, and she relaxed into the story. She loved the Madeline books. Maybe she would run away to New York and sell children's book illustrations. Anything was better than a town with both Axell and Steve in it.
Or maybe even the whole state wasn't wide enough to hold her and all her troubles, she decided a little later as Selene flagged her down before she could escape for the day.
"Did you know that mini-skirted bitch of Axell's is working for the mayor now?" Selene demanded as soon as Maya shut the office door.
"I do believe three or four people may have mentioned it," she said, dropping onto the couch. "People do seem to have an interest in Katherine the Long-Legged." She looked at Selene with curiosity. Her partner didn't use words like "bitch" lightly.
Selene ignored her sarcasm. "The Scorned Woman and the Bought Mayor are a bad combination, girl. I oughta know. I went to school with Ralph Arnold back when I bothered going. That man isn't a skirt chaser. He's a manipulator. And so's she."
Selene and the mayor in the same school? A private one, no doubt. Wealthy families around here supported an abundance of them. She didn't follow Selene's train of thought, however.
Sighing with impatience, Selene pointed out the obvious. "Now that we've nailed the school license inspection, those two are pushing for the highway condemnation route, and there ain't a man on that DOT board who's going to see anything but Katherine's legs when she makes her spiel."
"Well, we could always get one of the secretaries to substitute the bill with one favoring us, and