Alec shrugged. “Okay. What about a movie?”
“At ten in the morning?”
Alec figured the kid was doing his best to rein in his attitude. He had guessed where Alec was going with this and wanted none of it. No amount of entertainment and junk food could make up for the hard fact that he and Molly were heading back home—mission unaccomplished.
“What time does your flight leave?”
Startled, Alec turned sharply toward Tess. Jeez. Did she have to be so blunt about it? No subtle whisper to him when they were alone?
All eyes in the room were riveted on her face. At least, Alec noticed, she had the grace to seem embarrassed.
“Because I—I’ve been thinking maybe I should go back with you. Just, you know, to make sure the kids are settled and check out this Jed Walker. Make sure he’s doing right by the kids.” Flushing, she stared down into her coffee cup.
Alec was speechless. He tried to process what she’d said. Not a commitment to anything, that was for certain. He wondered what had made her change her mind. Whatever it had been, luck was now on his side. The door had opened a crack and she’d stuck her foot through. And he’d do his damnedest to make sure the door was wide-open very soon.
Molly was thrilled, unaware of the nuances of what Tess had said. “I can show you my room and my pet hamster.”
Nick was more doubtful. “How do you know you can get a flight?’ he asked.
“I can try.” She looked over at Alec.
“I’ll call the airline right away,” he said before she could change her mind. Fifteen minutes later, thanks to a last-minute cancellation, she was confirmed. “We should be at the airport by two, at the latest,” he said.
She rose from her chair. “Then I’d better get busy with the phone calls I need to make.”
But she stood there, as if the reality of what she’d promised had just hit home. Alec quickly filled in the gap. “Guys, how about if we go for a walk while Tess makes her phone calls and gets ready?”
Molly skipped around the room while Nick, feigning indifference, shuffled toward the door.
Alec couldn’t blame him for being skeptical about the whole thing, but the kid didn’t realize what an opportunity Tess had given them. All they had to do now was to persuade her—somehow—to stay in Boulder. Not an impossible task, Alec decided. But, surveying the upscale loft that represented her success as he joined Molly and Nick at the door, definitely a challenging one.
AS SOON AS the door closed behind them, Tess sank back into the chair and trembled all over. The emotional drain of last night had ceded, and she couldn’t help thinking that she could just as easily have made a different decision. She could have simply accompanied them to the airport and waved a goodbye with promises to visit soon. In time, she knew that squirm of guilt inside would have disappeared and she could resume her normal life again with a vow to keep in touch.
She’d made her move—no turning back now. She decided that she’d make it clear from the start that her trip to Colorado was only a visit, to ensure the children were dealt with fairly by the lawyer and the authorities. And surely there must be one family in all of Boulder willing to foster two children!
She got up and headed for her computer to e-mail Carrie, but realized a phone call would be necessary after all so that Carrie could reschedule an early Monday meeting. She started the conversation off with an apology for calling on a Sunday afternoon, then explained what she’d decided to do.
“No kidding,” Carrie kept saying until Tess’s teeth ached from clenching.
When Tess had eventually finished what she’d chosen as her official story—estranged father dead, leaving behind two children who were her half siblings—Carrie had jumped to the ending. “So instead of going on a cruise next week, you’re heading for Denver?”
“Something like that, assuming my vacation leave is still valid.”
“It is unless you canceled it when you canceled the cruise.”
She hadn’t. Was that an intentional oversight on her part? An unconscious desire to get away, if not with Doug Reed, then by herself?
After Tess relayed the rest of her requests, Carrie asked, “Will you be in Colorado the whole two weeks of your vacation?”
“Heavens, no. I hope to finish what I have to do in less than a week.”
There was a slight pause before Carrie asked, “And will you be bringing the kids back here to Chicago?”
Tess closed her eyes. She hadn’t come up with an official story for this part. “I really don’t know how it’s going to play out at this stage,” she said.
“Yeah?” Carrie’s voice was full of disbelief. “But obviously you’re their next of kin so…”
“It’s not that simple, Carrie,” Tess snapped back. “Look, I’ve got to go now. You can get hold of me on my cell phone if you need to.”
“Sure, Tess. Say hi to the kids for me and have a good trip.”
Tess hung up, drained from the questions that she knew were merely a beginning. She decided not to phone Mavis until her answers were more practiced. Mavis would be a tougher interrogator. Instead, she finished other calls, leaving messages to cancel a dental appointment and reschedule a massage, which she figured she’d need once she returned from Colorado. Then she tidied up and did a load of laundry. When the buzzer rang she was finally on the phone with Mavis, who had just returned from her visit to Sophie.
“Hold on, Mavis. They’re back—I’ll just buzz them in.” Tess muttered on her way to the intercom. She’d hoped to have the call with Mavis finished. When she returned to the phone, she said, “Look, can I call you when I get there? I’ll know more by then what’s going on.”
“But, Tess love, what’s going to happen to the wee ones?”
A vision of Nick came to mind. “They’re not so wee, Mavis. At least, Nick isn’t. He’s just turned thirteen and looks as though he’ll be tall.”
“Like your father.”
“Yes, I suppose. At any rate, I’ll see if they can be fostered out to the same family. This Alec Malone said—”
“Tess! What’s this talk about fostering? You’re the next of kin. I don’t understand why you’re blathering on about settling them in and so on. You should be going there to pack them all up and bring them back to Chicago.”
“To stay where?”
A slight hesitation. “If not with you, then—”
“Mavis, please. Be realistic. There’s no way you could manage. Not that I don’t appreciate your offer but—”
“Well, I was going to say you could all move in with me. Sell off that pricey condo and live mortgage free. You’ll be inheriting my house, anyway.”
Tess closed her eyes. God, this was getting complicated. “Mavis, I don’t want a commute every day. You know my hours. That’s why I decided to live close to downtown in the first place. And this place isn’t appropriate for children.”
There was a heavy sigh from the other end. “Sounds to me like you’re trying to convince yourself you’re doing the right thing here, Tess.”
“I am doing the right thing.”
Another sigh. “Not by a long shot, my girl. But hopefully you’ll work that out once you get to Colorado.”
Tess recognized an impasse when she saw one. There was no way that Mavis would see her side of it. She was too old-fashioned and had never understood the importance of a career to Tess. “As