The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice Read Free Book Online Page A

twenty-dollar bills. “Here, take this to cover your expenses. I’ll just tell the agency it didn’t work out.”
      Kate backed away, not touching the money. When John looked into her eyes, he saw a shimmer of amusement. Was she kidding—she thought this was funny?
      “Take it,” he said. “Unless you want me to pay the agency, let them send you a check.”
      “That would be much better,” she said, her voice cool but her eyes still hot. They flashed, like sunlight striking a blue-green river.
      “Your choice,” he said, shrugging. He thought about wishing her good luck, but what a joke—although he didn’t believe she was a criminal, she had no business in the field of child care. Now, anxious to see Maggie, he walked Kate Harris to the door—for the sole reason of making sure she walked through it, to watch her drive away as he locked up tight behind her. Brainer stood beside him, wagging his tail.
      “I had a feeling we might not get to talk today,” she said. “I tried…”
      “Talk?” he asked, confused.
      She shook his hand. They looked into each other’s eyes. The moment stretched out longer than it should have, and John slowly pulled his hand back. To his surprise, her gaze had made him feel nervous; his palm was cold.
      “Good-bye,” she said. “Will you please say good-bye to Maggie for me? And Teddy, when he gets home from school?”
      “Yes,” John said, watching her walk down the steps, carrying her coat. Her posture was erect, her head held high. Sunlight touched her brown hair, picking up glints of copper and gold. Her gray pants were snug, her thighs shapely—he quickly lowered his gaze, noticing again those wet, black cuffs.
      “Tell Teddy the tangles are gone.”
      “The what ?”
      But Kate Harris had climbed into her car, started it up. John waited until she had turned around, started to drive away. Brainer bumped his leg, and instinctively John gave him a pet. The dog’s coat felt damp, soft, and smooth. When John looked down, he noticed: Brainer’s fur was five shades lighter without the mud and thorns and seaweed.
      The dog had had a bath.
      Reaching for the door, looking down the street, he saw Kate Harris’s car drive past the seawall and out of sight.
      Tell Teddy the tangles are gone …. John shook his head. What a day—the brick, the hospital, thinking Maggie was missing. Glancing down at the hall table, he saw that Kate had left a card: a small white business card printed with a Washington, D.C., address and one handwritten local phone number. That summed it up for him, and an entire story flashed through his mind: relocation. She’d probably burned her bridges down south, come up here to start over.
      “Mags,” he called, sliding the card into his shirt pocket. “Ready to play?”
      “Bring it on, Dad,” she shouted from the sunroom. “And prepare to lose!”
      John took a deep breath. He had bats in his attic, a shattered front window, and no baby-sitter—but his daughter was safe, home. Brainer, gleaming in sunlight streaming through the broken picture window, bounded ahead, leading John O’Rourke straight to Maggie.
      “She’s gone,” Maggie whispered as soon as Teddy walked through the door at four-thirty.
     
      He stopped short, standing in the front hall. He was all gross and sweaty from his soccer match, freezing cold because he hadn’t worn a warm enough jacket. It was getting dark earlier the closer they got to Halloween, and the house had looked gloomy from the street—not enough lights on. His mother used to always welcome them home with lamps blazing; Teddy flipped on the hall chandelier.
      “What do you mean?” he asked.
      “She’s gone,” Maggie whispered, gesturing toward the closed den door. That meant that their father was working at home. “Dad didn’t like her.”
      “Kate?” Teddy asked, feeling the breath knocked out of him.
      Maggie nodded. “Because she took me in the