Private Eye Protector. Shirlee McCoy

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СКАЧАТЬ Chance eased her back down onto the sofa, and she knew she wasn’t going anywhere.

      “It won’t hurt Emma to see her mommy, and I know you’ll sleep better once you’ve seen her,” Lila said. “Don’t put anymore mother guilt on her, Chance. She’s been through enough without adding that into the mix. You go get the baby while I make the tea. Rayne, you just stay right where you are and let us take care of you.”

      Let them take care of her?

      Wasn’t that breaking rule number one?

      Rayne was certain it was, but she did exactly what Lila said.

      Sat.

      Right there on the couch. Waiting for other people to take care of her and her daughter.

      Mother guilt?

      Yeah. She knew all about that. Had felt it almost every day since Chandra died and she’d become Emma’s legal guardian.

      Guilt because she had to work.

      Guilt because she didn’t spend every minute of every day caring for her daughter.

      Guilt because she hadn’t been there to see Emma roll over for the first time, crawl for the first time.

      You’re not ready to be a mother, Rayne.

      In some ways, Michael had been right, but Rayne wasn’t sure any woman was ever truly prepared for motherhood. She just had to work hard to be the best mother she could be. That would be enough.

      She hoped.

      “Do you want me to get her, Rayne?” Chance asked.

      Such an easy question to answer, but Rayne’s brain seemed to be misfiring, her thoughts scattered. “I don’t know.”

      “Then I’ll get her.” He walked across the room and down a narrow hallway, and she waited, afraid to move for fear the room would move with her.

      Seconds later, Chance reappeared, Emma resting against his shoulder. Bright red hair. Big blue eyes, slowly blinking open. Chubby cheeks. She had little of Chandra’s dark exotic beauty, though the almond shape of her eyes and the fullness of her lips reminded Rayne of her childhood friend.

      “There she is, kid. Mommy is home.” Chance shifted Emma so she could see Rayne, and the baby reached out, babbling excitedly.

      “Mamamamamama.”

      Chance set her on Rayne’s lap, and the scent of baby lotion and formula filled Rayne’s nose. It was the best kind of perfume. The most wonderful aroma.

      She smiled, kissing Emma’s soft curls, and hugging her close. “I missed you, baby.”

      Missed an entire two months of her life.

      “I see the princess is awake and raring to go.” Lila walked back into the room, carrying a tray that contained a mug and a plate of cookies and setting it on the coffee table.

      “Hopefully, she won’t stay awake when Rayne is ready to sleep.”

      Ready?

      She’d passed ready. Her eyes drooped, her arms felt heavy, and it was all she could do to hold Emma. Pain throbbed behind her eyes, speared through her skull, but she didn’t want to give in to it. Didn’t want to put Emma down or hand her to someone else.

      Eight months ago, she’d agreed to be guardian to Chandra’s baby if anything were to happen to Chandra. She hadn’t thought it through when she’d agreed, hadn’t taken more than five minutes to consider how becoming a mother would change her life, hadn’t prayed about it, hadn’t done any of the things she usually did when faced with major decisions.

      Probably because there really hadn’t been any decision to make. She and Chandra had been best friends since kindergarten, and there was nothing Rayne would have refused her. And even though the decision had been hasty, Rayne couldn’t regret it. Emma was the best thing in her life.

      “Mamamamam.” Emma grabbed a fistful of Rayne’s hair, holding it tight in her chubby hand as she bounced with excitement.

      “Careful, kid. Your mom already has a headache. She doesn’t need you adding to it.” Chance unraveled hair from Emma’s fist, smiling as the baby grabbed his nose.

      “Why don’t I take her back into the room, get her settled back down before she’s too wide-awake?” Lila reached for Emma, and Rayne didn’t have the strength to protest. She loved her daughter, wanted to care for her, but her leaden body refused to do anything but sag into the couch.

      “Thank you, Mrs. Richardson.”

      “No need to thank me. I love having a baby around the house. And you’ve always called me Lila. There’s no need to change that now.” Lila smiled as she carried Emma back down the hall.

      “Your mother seems like a wonderful lady.”

      “She thinks you are, too.” Chance grabbed a cookie and bit into it, holding the plate out to Rayne.

      Her stomach lurched and she shook her head. Regretted it immediately when the lurching sensation grew worse. She felt dizzy and sick, her thoughts sliding away.

      “Take a deep breath, Rayne. You’ve gone ten shades of pale.” Chance pressed his hand to her forehead, the warm, dry feel of his palm anchoring her to the moment.

      “I’ll be okay.”

      “You’ve said that several times tonight, but you haven’t convinced me yet.” He handed her the mug, and she took a small sip of the flowery brew, her hand shaking, tea sloshing over her wrist.

      “Careful.” Chance wiped the liquid up with a napkin, and Rayne set the mug down on a coaster, not sure she trusted herself to keep holding it.

      Done in.

      That’s how she felt.

      All she wanted to do was lie back, close her eyes and try to forget the pounding pain.

      “I think it’s time to say goodnight,” Chance said, and Rayne realized she’d closed her eyes, was slumping forward.

      If she slumped any farther, she’d be facedown on the floor.

      She straightened, nodded. “You’re right. Sleep is about all I seem capable of.”

      “I’ll head out then. If you’re up to it, I’ll stop by tomorrow. I have a few questions I’d like to ask when you’re feeling better.”

      “Questions about what?”

      “The accident.”

      “I don’t remember it, so any questions will be impossible to answer.”

      “I know, but you were working with one of my clients last night. You’d told my mother you’d be back by five. When you didn’t show, she called me, and I called the client who said you’d asked for directions to the airport СКАЧАТЬ