Last Resort of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 9) by Vanessa Gray Bartal Read Free Book Online Page B

skin. Her stomach was feeling better, she noted with relief. The
illness had passed—along with everything she had ever eaten—leaving
a pleasant sort of emptiness in its place. She was thirsty, but that could
wait. For now she was enjoying the bonding time with her niece.
    The baby began to drift to sleep.
Lacy used the time to study her face. She saw bits of Riley and a little of
Tosh and some of what was solely Lucy. “Pretty girl,” Lacy cooed. “You’re so
loved.” She kissed the soft, sweet-smelling little head. Being around a baby
always had a Grinch-like effect on her body—her uterus swelled two sizes
that day. Her rational mind told her she was in no way ready to be a mother,
but her body had other ideas and began beating out a staccato rhythm. Ba-by, ba-by, ba-by, ba-by.
Whowantsababy?Whowantsababy?Whowantsababy? Ido!Ido!Ido!
    “Easy there, sister,” Lacy told
herself. “We’re light years away. Enjoy this baby; you can give her back.”
    The baby-wanting hormones were
flooding her body, though. She could tell because she could no longer summon
the memory of Riley’s horrific labor and delivery. At the time, she had vowed
to never have a baby. But why? Babies were so magical and they smelled so good.
    No,
stop it. You’re not ready for a baby.
    But
look at her. Smell her. That’s it, sniff the baby. Keep sniffing. Doesn’t that
smell good? You want one, don’t you?
    “I’m going to need a baby-vention
if this keeps up,” Lacy said. “Snap out of it, woman. It’s the devil magic
working on you.”
    She took a few deep breaths, trying
not to let the intoxicating aroma of sleeping baby fill her nostrils. When she
opened her eyes, Jason was crouched beside her chair. Was he real or had her
overheated hormones conjured his image to taunt her?
    “Were you talking to someone?” he
whispered.
    “The baby,” Lacy said. She leaned
forward and kissed him. He was real all right, and his timing couldn’t be
worse. She had the mad desire to hold up the baby and say, “Want dis? I know
how to get one.”
    “Do you want to hold the baby?” she
asked.
    “I’d rather hold you,” he said. She
stood. He sat. She nestled in his lap, repositioning Lucy more comfortably. The
baby didn’t stir. Lacy rested her head on Jason’s chest. She was a mess, but
the lights were dim. Hopefully he didn’t notice.
    “What are you doing up?” she asked.
    “I went for a run.”
    “Aren’t you skiing today?”
    “Yes,” he said.
    “Oh,” Lacy said. She kept a careful
debit system of her calorie intake and output each day. She did exactly as much
as it took to burn off the calories and never more. Doing two athletic events
in a day on purpose had never occurred to her.
    “How are you feeling?” he asked.
    “Great,” she said. “Much better
than yesterday. I’m definitely up for skiing.”
    They sat in cozy silence for a
while, the only sound coming from the pop and crackle of the fire.
    “This is all I wanted from this weekend.
You and me and time,” Jason said. “I feel like we never see each other, not
really. Between your job and my job and everything that pops up between. It’s
crazy.”
    “I’m sorry,” Lacy said.
    “I wasn’t blaming you,” he said.
    “But it’s my family, they’re the
‘everything that pops up between.’ They’re the crazy ones.”
    “This one’s not crazy,” Jason said.
He rested his hand lightly on Lucy’s head, dwarfing it.
    “No, she’s perfect,” Lacy said.
They stared at the baby, admiring her flawlessness. It was easy to pretend they
were a family, that Lucy was their baby. Lacy wondered what Jason was thinking.
Was he freaking out? Did he feel pressured?
    “Riley is exhausted. I don’t think
you sleep much when you have a baby. We’re seeing the highlights,” Lacy said to
dispel any notion that she was getting ideas.
    “Hmm,” Jason said, giving away none
of his thoughts or feelings.
    When it came down to it, when she
actually thought of moving