Page 21 of Fatal Deception
He started moving forward, and Audra followed. Should she feel guilty for accusing him? She didn’t have time to fret over it, because the minute Thomas put Magnolia down on the ground, she was squealing in delight.
“Aud-da!” Magnolia yelled and came running toward her. The enthusiastic greeting had Audra smiling, and she kneeled down so she could accept and return Magnolia’s happy, sticky hug.
For a moment, she closed her eyes, inhaled the scent of the toddler and let herself relax. She missed having this little bundle of enthusiastic energy under her roof, even if she was happy for the new life Vi and Magnolia were building.
She stood, hefting Magnolia with her. Vi and Thomas were both frowning at the boarded-up window as they approached Audra and Copeland in front of the porch. Audra didn’t dare look at Copeland.
Vi was smiling as she waddled up, hand on her belly. Thomas carried a couple boxes of what was clearly pizza.
“We brought some dinner. Thought we could all eat together.”
“Pizza pah-ty!” Magnolia shouted, wriggling happily in Audra’s arms.
“Well, you’re speaking my very hungry language. Come on inside.”
“We’ll be right in,” Thomas said, handing the pizzas off to Vi. He smiled at Audra, but she saw the tension in his expression. It made her nervous that he wanted to talk to Copeland alone, but Vi and Mags shouldn’t be out here in this cold.
So she led them inside. Settled Magnolia on a chair and then set about getting plates and cups together.
“I’m sorry we didn’t give you advanced warning, but… Audra.” Vi stopped Audra’s forward movement by stepping in front of her. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Audra sighed. “Vi.” She placed a gentle hand on Vi’s giant belly. “You take care of you and yours. I’m just fine.”
“You are part of thatyours,” Vi said fiercely, putting her hand over Audra’s. “Someone shot at you.”
“No, they shot at the house.” Audra took her hand back and gestured for Vi to sit down. “Broke some windows, which is all they were trying to do. They didn’t try to break in. They didn’t try to shoot me.”
“Oh, well, I feelsomuch better,” Vi muttered, taking a seat as Audra put a piece of pizza on a plate for Magnolia and began to cut it into toddler-size pieces.
“Who would want to scare you like that?” Vi demanded.
Audra thought of the urn, the gravestone, all the other issues. “I really don’t know.”
“Come stay with us, Audra. I know you’ve got chores, but it’s so much easier to keep someone safe in town, in a smaller house.”
Audra didn’t point out that Vi had been kidnapped from the very house she now lived in, even though she wanted to. But she didn’t want to remind anyone of how scared they’d all been.
“Vi, you’re going to be induced tomorrow if you don’t pop today.” She filled a sippy cup—something she kept on hand just for Mags—with some of the chocolate milk Vi had brought, then went to fix Vi a plate. “So what are you going to do from a hospital bed?”
“Thomas will—”
“Be by your side and take his paternity leave. Copeland is handling this. You’re always telling me he’s a good detective and not as unfriendly as he seems.”
Vi sighed and looked into the living room, where Copeland and Thomas were coming in the door, talking in very low tones. “Heisa good detective, and a good guy, under all that gruff. But… Come stay in town. I don’t like you out here so isolated.”
“I have too much to do on the ranch.” She put Vi’s plate in front of her, plus a glass of milk. “Besides, Copeland has got it in his head to play personal bodyguard until they have a suspect.” She filled her own plate, then sat next to Magnolia.
Vi leaned forward, something sparkling in her eyes that left Audra feeling…uneasy. “Howpersonal?” she asked, withsomeexcitement.
Audra felt her cheeks heat and she wrinkled her nose. “It’s not like that.”
Vi leaned back and sighed. “Too bad.”
“Too bad?” Audra looked out at where Thomas and Copeland were talking in front of the boarded-up window. No doubt about the shooting. “He is so not my type.”
“You’re too busy to have a type. Besides, what’s not to like?”
“He’s bossy, overbearing, never compromises?”