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Silence. He’d worried before about women mixed up in his investigations, but Seth had never put one under his father’s protection. Dad was waiting to hear what this was really about.
“Yesterday, somebody tried to snatch her son. She’d left him for a couple of hours with her next-door neighbor, an older woman named Iris Wilbanks.”
“I know Iris,” his father put in. “Did she get hurt?”
“The creep knocked her down, so she has a concussion and a black eye. Doctor kept her overnight, but she’s coming home today. How’d you meet her?”
“She worked at the library. Nice lady.”
“Yeah, she is.” Seth sighed and told him how Robin had fearlessly rushed the abductor and gotten her son back. He outlined the rest of her history—the abusive ex, the changed identities, even her attempt to take off again.
“You getting involved with this woman?”
Seth winced. His father knew him too well. “I’m trying not to,” he said.
“Why?”
He glanced at the doorway, glad to hear her talking down the hall. Even so, he lowered his voice. “You have to ask? She’s involved in my investigation. I can’t a hundred percent swear she’s telling the truth yet.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Dad.”
“Of course she’s welcome.” There was a smile in his father’s voice. “Won’t mind having a kid around the house, either. It’s been a long time.”
“You had your grandkids for two weeks at Christmas.” Seth’s sister, Grace, tried to get home with her girls at least twice a year, sometimes with her husband, sometimes not. The bedroom with two single beds Dad kept for the girls would do nicely for Robin and Jacob.
“Why Grace had to marry a man based in Chicago, I don’t know.”
“Maybe because she went to the University of Chicago,” Seth suggested, smiling at his father’s oft-heard grumbles.
Robin appeared in the doorway, hesitating when she saw he was still on the phone. He waved her in.
“I want to sneak Robin and Jacob out in the early hours tonight. You don’t have to get up. I’ll let us in and put them in Ivy and Sara’s bedroom.”
His father snorted. “You know I won’t sleep through that. I’ll at least say hello.”
“Okay, Dad. Thanks.”
He harrumphed. “Maybe I’ll see more of you while they’re with me.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Putting his phone down on the table, Seth said, “Dad’s glad to have you.” He told her about his two nieces, the bedroom she’d share with Jacob, and the wealth of toys and kids’ DVDs his father kept around. “He’s a good guy.”
Her smile was crooked. “So is his son.” Pause. “Most of the time.”
Seth laughed.
* * *
HAVING SETH HANGING around all day was unnerving. Of course, if he hadn’t been here, she’d have been so tense she wouldn’t have been able to do anything but listen for every tiny creak, or peer through blinds when cars passed in the street or alley. Instead, a big, sexy man had inserted himself calmly into her home, interacting comfortably with Jacob and talking to her as if they were longtime friends. Or lovers.
He did take his laptop out off and on, mostly seeming engaged in doing searches. That made her nervous. He’d find plenty about her under her real name, first because of the work she’d done, then because of her marriage to a prominent man. Was he reading about her parents? And what about her sister? He wouldn’t have any reason to track down information about Allie’s health problems, would he? Please, no.
Of course, Seth would be researching Richard. Robin wished she knew what he was thinking. He looked up frequently, his gaze going straight to her. Clearly, even while he appeared immersed in whatever he was reading or doing, he remained aware of her.
Well, she was aware of him, too. Painfully so. He looked good slouching, feet stacked on the coffee table, or sitting up bent over the laptop. His long fingers, the sinews and veins in his hands mesmerized her, as did the thickness of his wrists, the strength in tanned forearms below rolled shirtsleeves. No matter what she did, she’d find her gaze straying to him—and, most often, his eyes would already be on her.
