“I know, right?” she said dryly. “Anyway, once they knew about her plan, they let it go forward while they set a trap.”
Lynda’s perfectly waxed and shaped brows rose into her bangs. “Are you saying these people knew you and the baby were in danger and still used you as a decoy?”
“It sounds worse than it is. Arnie isn’t the Lone Ranger. He’s part of an elite security force with serious ties inside the government. There was surveillance, and the local police were alerted.”
“Oh. Well, I guess it’s okay then. So where is this Rambo character?”
“Right here, Mrs. Gerry,” a deep sonorous male voice declared.
They looked up in unison to find Arnie standing at the edge of the patio with Ari in his arms. He met Summer’s gaze and offered half a smile. Then he stepped directly in front of Lynda and gave her a dazzling smile.
The cheeky bastard.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Darnell Wanamaker. Please, call me Arnie. I’m very sorry about the property damage, but as Stan is explaining to your husband, we will take care of everything, and with your permission, we’ll install an unobtrusive, state-of-the-art security system around the property. No more blind spots.”
He frowned at the destroyed greenery. “I knew this was a problem area the day we surveyed the property. When your house was built, there weren’t the same security issues as there are now, so stopping the block wall to put in a box hedge connected to a gatepost wasn’t a big deal. Left the property vulnerable.”
Her landlady and friend thawed. Arnie had no trouble whatsoever charming the pants off her.
She observed the ensuing conversation but did not contribute. There was no way to participate, not when every muscle, tissue, and nerve ending in her body misfired, sending her into an emotional nosedive.
She’d never lost control of her body before. It was an unpleasant sensation made worse by it happening while people were around.
Staring at her hands where they rested on her lap, she attempted to redirect her thoughts, but it was too late. The horse was out of the barn or something along those lines.
A spot on her neck, right below her right ear, tingled. She lifted her shoulder, and a slight shudder made her entire right side pulse.
Dammit.
Despite carrying on what sounded like a perfectly intelligent conversation with Lynda, Arnie’s attention was one hundred and ten percent focused on her. She felt him rattling around inside her head. They were going to have to have a wee chat about his habit of breaking and entering her mental state.
Her fingers tingled, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe, sit still, stay calm, and not start bawling.
What’s happening?
Her eyes swung to the baby. She wore a blissful expression and appeared perfectly content in her daddy’s arms.
Daddy’s arms.
That was it for her. She was unable to function any longer. It seemed as though all her bones went soft, and any second now, she was going to collapse inward.
Low-grade panic pumped into her system. What happened to her life? Where was it? Weaving the past and the present together led to a clash of realities with her world taking the brunt.
It. Was. All. Too. Much.
Lynda was a charming and clever conversationalist. Arnie enjoyed talking to her. She reminded him a bit of Dottie only cut from Jewish mother cloth. She had an outrageous sense of humor, was certain well-made matzo ball soup contained curative powers, and as a diehard Dodgers fan, she wasn’t shy about calling his beloved Yankees old-school.
If filling in the potholes and repaving a few crumbling bridges were necessary to move things along, he was happy to do the hard work where Summer’s family of friends was concerned.
However, while he engaged with Lynda, he kept a close eye on his sunshine girl at the same time. She was being awfully quiet. Arnie studied her face and had no trouble whatsoever deciphering what she was feeling. He also picked up on her physical struggle and knew when she hit the wall.
Everything had to take a back seat. Nothing took precedence over the baby in his arms and the deathly silent girl trying so hard to keep her shit together.
Putting his considerable social skills to good use, he swiftly but politely shut down his chat with Lynda. She was good-natured about it, especially after he suggested the baby was hungry even though she was content and quiet.