TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,21

got Owen out in his car seat, and carried him up toward the front door with the frosted glass and beautifully carved-in palm trees. I stared at the doorbell for a few seconds, gathering my courage, then pressed it. Shortly after, the door swung open, and Kim’s face appeared.

I lifted Owen, who was still sleeping in his car seat.

“Kim. Meet your grandson, Owen. Owen, this is your grandmother.”

Kim stared at me with huge eyes. She didn’t even look down at the baby, and then she tried to close the door on me. I placed my hand on it and pushed it back open, then stepped inside the big hall.

“Eva Rae Thomas,” she said. “You can’t just…you can’t just…”

Finally, her eyes landed on the child, and something seemed to happen. She couldn’t lift her eyes to look at me and just stood there, nostrils flaring.

“He’s your grandson, for crying out loud,” I said. “Amy has run away, and we can’t find her. I can’t take care of him forever. I have an infant of my own, remember?”

Kim looked at Owen, and it was obvious she was struggling. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

“No. We can’t.”

“Why on earth not? Give me one good reason. You have a big house. You don’t even work.”

Kim shook her head. “I’m sorry, but…”

“Okay, so you’re angry with Amy, but why take it out on the baby? He needs you. He needs a family right now. If Amy never comes back, then…”

“No,” Kim said, holding a hand to her chest. She was biting back her tears. “I am sorry. We can’t. Phil is going to…” she paused, breathed, then said, “I need you to leave now.”

“Come on, Kim, how can you be so…?”

She pointed a finger at me, her lips quivering as she spoke. “You don’t know anything about me. Now leave, please.”

I exhaled. I had really hoped to convince her to take care of her grandson and appeal to her better side. Now, it just seemed like she didn’t have one.

“Okay, can you at least tell me who the father is? Maybe he can take care of Owen.”

Her eyes grew dark. “We don’t know who he is. Amy wouldn’t tell us. Now, please, leave.”

I looked into her eyes, scrutinizing them, trying to find some sense to what she was saying and doing. I couldn’t for the life of me understand her motives. The kid was the cutest thing in the world, and he was all she had left of her daughter right now. Why wouldn’t she want him?

“Kim, come on, can’t we at least…?”

She shook her head. “Please, leave before I call the police.”

I looked down at Owen, feeling sorry for him. By the time the door closed behind me, and I walked down the driveway, he was wailing loudly.

I couldn’t blame him. I was beginning to wonder when it was my turn to scream.

Chapter 23

THEN:

“Guess what I did over the weekend?”

Jeff’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Lynn. She felt her heart drop. He was so happy at this moment, but it wouldn’t last long. She had something to say to him that wouldn’t be pleasant for either of them. But it had to be done.

“Jeff,” she said.

His smile grew stiff as he realized how serious she was.

“Yes? What’s up, Doc? What’s with the face?”

Lynn sighed. Her feelings for him were so hard to deny. She had talked to her supervisor about it, and he had told her to monitor it closely and refer Jeff to another therapist if she wasn’t able to keep them at bay. It was all about the patient and making sure he got the help he needed. She was now wondering if she had let it go too far already.

She looked down at her notepad. “So…my mom called yesterday.”

He wrinkled his forehead. “Y-your mom?”

“Yes, my mother. And she had an interesting story to tell me.”

“Yeah?”

“She told me she had met one of my friends. That he came to her house and that he said we worked together.”

“A-and?” Jeff asked, his voice trembling.

“And her description of this person sounded a lot like you.”

Jeff’s eyes grew wide, and then he looked at the floor. A long silence followed.

“Jeff? Can you look at me, please?”

He didn’t. His eyes remained glued to the floor.

She sighed. “Jeff, you can’t do that. You can’t visit my mother.”

“I…I am sorry. I just…well…I just like you so much, and I…” He stopped, then shook his head. “No, I am not gonna say that.”

Lynn narrowed her eyes.

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