Read Online Be My Baby by Meg Benjamin - Free Book Online Page B

door. “Daddy! We cleaned the cabin and a nasty man wanted to know my name. Are we gonna see Aunt Docia? Jack has a new tooth.”
    She bounced away from him before he could stop her, heading back toward the baby’s room. “Daisy, grab your backpack and your teddy bear,” Lars called. He figured she’d also say goodbye to Jack, which meant another five minutes at least.
    He turned toward Jess, trying to keep his voice neutral. “A nasty man?”
    Jess sighed. “Come in, please. I need to talk to you about this.”
    Lars sank onto the couch as his chest clenched. “Is she all right?”
    Jess’s forehead furrowed. “What? Of course, she is. Nothing happened—I would have called you if it was anything serious. A man was hanging around here when we got back from cleaning the guest cabin. He claimed he was looking for child care for his children. I told him I wasn’t interested and took the children inside.”
    Lars let out a breath, trying to unclench. “So everything’s okay?”
    “Not exactly.” She leaned forward. Her face looked oddly pinched, as if she were angry. Lars looked at her more closely.
    Frightened . He’d bet good money that Jess Carroll was frightened about something.
    “Did you tell anyone here in town I was taking care of Daisy?”
    Lars shrugged. “My brothers and sisters-in-law. My receptionist. Nobody else. But they might have mentioned it to other people, particularly at work.”
    “Somehow this man got the idea I was in the child care business.” She tried to smile, but her lips trembled slightly when she did.
    “Did he give you his name?”
    “Barrymore.” Jess pressed her lips together, thinking. “I think he said his first name was Lawrence. No, Lorne. Lorne Barrymore. Is that someone you know?”
    Lars felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. “Lorne Barrymore. What did he look like?”
    “Late forties. Thinning hair. Sort of pudgy. And he had a gold pinky ring with some kind of green stone.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do you know him?”
    He exhaled slowly. “Not exactly. Somebody who looked like that came to my office earlier today. Only he called himself Lorne Haggedorn.”
    “What did he want?”
    “He claimed he was moving to Konigsburg and wanted an accountant.” Lars shrugged. “He asked about the town. Business prospects. Schools. Child care.”
    He wasn’t sure it was possible for Jess Carroll to get paler, but he thought she just had. “Child care,” she murmured.
    “I didn’t give him your name,” he said quickly. “I didn’t even give him Daisy’s name. However he found out she was here, he didn’t get it from me.”
    She pressed her fingers against her lips, blinking. “Shit.”
    Lars was still trying to figure out why Jess Carroll would be frightened of Lorne Haggedorn. The guy came across as a jerk and possibly crooked, but he hadn’t been particularly threatening. At least, not when he was asking about accountants.
    “Look, it may not be anything, but I’ll check with my brother. Pete’s an assistant county attorney. If he thinks it’s a problem, we’ll go to the police.”
    Jess managed a rather tremulous smile. “I thought your brother was a policeman. That’s what Daisy said. If I couldn’t have gotten rid of Barrymore on my own, I was going to call him.”
    The clench was back in Lars’s chest. “That’s another brother. Erik. He’s a part-time Konigsburg cop.”
    She sat still for a moment, then sighed. “Okay. I’ll leave it to you, I guess.”
    He watched her run the tip of her tongue across her lips. She had a nice mouth, particularly when she smiled. All of a sudden, he really wanted to see that smile again. He felt a wave of anger at Lorne Haggedorn,a.k.a. Barrymore, for taking it away.
    He leaned forward, fighting the impulse to take her hand in his. He didn’t want her worrying about him along with Haggedorn. “Look, if anything frightens you, if you need to get in touch with somebody—you’ve got my cell phone