“Thank God you’re safe.” Meg threw her arms around Kimmie’s shoulders in the hotel lobby then flung a smile at Taylor. “Thank you so much, officer, for all you’ve done for our family. You’re an angel.”
Kimmie bristled at the flirtatious tone her married sister had adopted, and she reached for her brother, asleep in Taylor’s arms. “I can take him from here.”
Taylor shook his head. “You’ve had enough physical exertion for the day, I think. Let me carry him up to your room. It’s no problem.”
Meg draped her hands over his bicep and crooned, “You’re right. I bet to you he’s no heavier than a piece of paper, right?”
Taylor smiled and raised his eyebrows at Kimmie as if to ask, is your sister always like this?
She shrugged. Unfortunately, yes.
Meg led the way up the hotel staircase and to their room on the second floor, past several moose and caribou heads mounted on the wall, their sad and mournful eyes seeming to follow the procession. Meg fumbled with her key card, laughing airily when she realized she’d been trying to insert it upside-down.
“Which bed is his?” Taylor asked. Kimmie glanced at the two doubles in their room. If Chuck found out where they were hiding and barged into the hotel, where would Pip be safest? A dozen scenarios ran through her head, pictures of her stepfather breaking into their room, rifle aimed to kill.
“Let’s settle him down here.” Kimmie pulled down the blankets on the bed by the window, but Meg shook her head.
“You don’t want him sleeping that close to the heater, do you? It can’t be good for his breathing, all that dust blowing around in the air. Why don’t you put him here? He’ll stay warmer if he doesn’t catch a draft.”
Taylor looked from one sister to the other, still holding Pip in his arms. He raised his eyebrows questioningly at Kimmie.
“Fine,” she answered. “He can sleep there.”
Meg grinned smugly as Taylor lowered Pip into the bed by the door. Kimmie would sleep on the other side of him, so at least if Chuck barged in he’d have to get through her first.
Was this what her life was reduced to? Hiding from Chuck in a cheap hotel room, wondering when he’d attack? Maybe she’d feel better when they got to Anchorage. But would she ever be truly safe?
Meg stepped between her and Taylor. “Thanks again for all you’ve done, officer. You’re so brave. I’m just so thankful we have people like you looking out for all us little guys.” She let out another girlish giggle.
Kimmie studied Taylor’s expression, trying to figure out if he was the kind of guy who would immediately fall under Meg’s dazzling spell. Twenty-seven and rich enough to afford her own personal trainer and year-long visits to the tanning booth, Meg looked like she came off the pages of a beauty magazine even wearing her simple designer jeans and casual blouse that clung tightly to her figure.
Surprisingly, Taylor offered a quick word of thanks then turned his attention to Kimmie. “Are you going to be all right here for the night?”
She thought it was weird that he was asking her. Wasn’t it his job to know how safe she was? Shouldn’t he be able to answer that question far more readily than she would?
“We’ll leave for Anchorage first thing tomorrow.” Meg took a step closer to him and flung her shoulders back. Kimmie wondered if her sister realized how silly she looked trying to catch the gaze of a near stranger or if her filthy-rich husband had any idea how she acted around other men when he wasn’t around.
Taylor glanced at Pip curled up on the hotel bed, and Kimmie watched his gentle features soften even more. “I think that’s good.” He was talking to Kimmie, staring at her now with an intensity that made her face heat up. “You’ll be safe in Anchorage. Does Chuck know where your sister lives?”
“I don’t know how he could,” Meg answered, clearly waiting for this chance to insert herself into the conversation. “He never let Mom come and visit. I don’t think Mom even had my address.”
“That’s good.” Taylor looked relieved. He lowered his voice, leaning in toward Kimmie. “Do you still have my cell number?”
She nodded. Kimmie didn’t have to put her hand in her pocket to know it was there. All night long, she’d been fingering its wrinkled corners, trying to muster up the last of her courage and strength while she was trying to lead Pip out of those cold woods.
Taylor smiled. “Why don’t you give me a call once you feel settled and let me know how you’re doing.”
Behind him, Meg raised her sculpted eyebrows, and her mouth dropped open into a tiny O before spreading into a grin that made Kimmie feel queasy.
“Officer,” Meg sang out in her most melodic voice, “I’m sure it’s going to be hard for Kimmie to leave everything she knows behind here in Glennallen. I bet it’d be a real treat for her if you’d come have dinner with us one night. We’re up on the hillside, and we’d love to have you.”
Kimmie wanted to join her brother in bed and throw the blankets over her face, but Taylor was still gazing straight at her, holding her captive by the intensity of his stare. “I’d like that,” he said.
Kimmie ignored the sloshing feeling in her gut, the skipping and erratic heartbeat in her chest. He’d fallen prey to Meg’s charm, and that was all. There wasn’t a single member of the male species who could refuse her anything.
Meg was wiggling her eyebrows up and down when Taylor wasn’t looking. Kimmie had no idea what information her sister was trying to convey or why she was making such a fool of herself. Whatever it was she suspected, Meg was reading the situation wrong. Taylor wouldn’t drive all the way to Anchorage just to visit some fancy home on the hillside. He was only saying that to be nice, the same way an adult smiles at the little kid who says they’re going to grow up to become an astronaut or the president. Taylor was doing what any polite person in his situation would do, but unless he had to relay more information regarding her stepfather’s case, Kimmie knew she wouldn’t see him again.
Meg had no idea how much she was humiliating herself when she put her manicured fingers on Taylor’s shoulder and giggled, “It’s a date then.”
Kimmie wanted to apologize for her sister’s behavior, but when she found the courage to glance at Taylor’s face, she was surprised to find a gentle bemusement where she expected to see impatience or irritation.
“Funny coincidence,” he said. “But tomorrow’s my day off, and in the afternoon, I’ve got to drive my friend to the airport. Any chance you ladies would be free around six?”
“Tomorrow?” Meg asked.
Taylor looked at the alarm clock by Pip’s bedside. “Actually, it’s today if you wanted to be technical.”
Kimmie had about two dozen different arguments. She and Pip were still exhausted. A few hours of sleep in a strange hotel followed by a four-hour drive to her sister’s wasn’t going to leave anybody with energy to play hostess. Pip would be confused enough being in a new place surrounded by new people. The last thing he needed was Taylor stealing Kimmie’s attention away from where it really needed to be.
Kimmie shot her sister an imploring look, one she was certain Meg was going to ignore.
Meg frowned. “I’m sorry, officer. My husband’s in real estate. He’s got a really important meeting at six tomorrow that we can’t miss.”
Relief washed over Kimmie’s whole body until her sister’s face broke out into a mischievous grin. “But while Dwayne and I are out, I’m sure Kimmie’s free. Why don’t the two of you have dinner together?”
Each and every argument that ran through her brain died on Kimmie’s lips when Taylor leaned slightly toward her. “I’d like that. I’ll bring takeout. Does Pip like Chinese food?”
Did he? If it wasn’t chili from a can, white bread, or one of the frozen meals he ate at the daycare, Pip had likely never tried it.
“You’ve got my number.” Taylor continued to smile. He looked so genuinely happy Kimmie couldn’t bring herself to mutter some excuse to free him from this embarrassing arrangement. “Why don’t you plan on texting me your sister’s address once you and Pip are settled.”
She refused to tell him she didn’t even have a cell phone and had never sent a text in her life. For all the joy her sister derived from playing matchmaker, Meg could lend Kimmie her phone for something as simple as that.
Meg flung her hair over her shoulder like she was auditioning for a shampoo commercial. “Well, then, it’s a date. We’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Kimmie plopped onto the bed as soon as Taylor closed the hotel room door behind him. Meg sank down next to her and elbowed her in the ribs. “Well, come on now, a date with Officer Chiseled? No need to thank me. Just be sure to invite me to the wedding.”
Kimmie pulled the blankets over her head. She was dying to sleep, but if truth were to be told, she was too embarrassed to let Meg see the girly grin that had spread across her face.