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  How could he do that?

  With just the merest touch of his mouth against hers, Parker could make her forget all her doubts and all the valid arguments that should keep them apart.

  “Do we need to discuss this?” he asked, his mouth still touching hers.

  Bailey moved back just a fraction so she could consider that. “Discussing it would be the smart thing to do,” she admitted. “But kissing would be a lot more fun.”

  Parker smiled, briefly. “I know the argument we should have. I’ve already had it with myself. The bottom line is I’m losing objectivity when it comes to you, and that’s not a good thing.”

  Bailey couldn’t dispute that. She had lost objectivity too, and that meant she couldn’t tell if this relationship should end or if they should just shut up and, well, kiss, and deal with the aftermath later.

  It was a potentially painful aftermath.

  She already had deep feelings for Parker. Feelings that would no doubt give her another broken heart. Kissing him or having sex with him again certainly wouldn’t do anything to lessen those feelings.

  “Decisions, decisions,” she mumbled.

  But Bailey went with the kiss.

  She slid her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. Parker didn’t disappoint, but this kiss wasn’t rough and ravenous like the other ones that had landed them in his bed. No. He was gentle and kissed her as if she were delicate fragile glass that might shatter in his hands.

  Bailey had thought that the slow gentleness would cause her body to go in that direction, as well. But she had a hunger for him that just didn’t seem capable of being filled.

  Not for long anyway.

  And it didn’t take much of the kiss to spin her out of control. Bailey felt her body give way. She didn’t even care. That should have been a gigantic red flag, but all she could think of was wanting, and having, Parker.

  “Bailey,” he warned.

  He caught onto her shoulders, opened his mouth and would have no doubt started the argument that he’d already said they should have. But Bailey put a stop to that.

  “I’m sure,” she promised. “In fact, I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

  She studied his eyes. Cursed. And the argument didn’t happen, even though Bailey hadn’t exactly told the truth. Yes. She was sure about having sex with Parker, but she knew that eventually they would have issues to deal with.

  But for now, Parker kissed her and slipped his arm around her waist. He lifted her and deepened the kiss. That revved up her heartbeat, and she could taste it along with Parker himself. The adrenaline and the heat sliding together, the same way was his body slid against hers.

  Her arms came around him. She had to get closer, and it had to happen now. But Parker still held back. He kept things gentle when she was giving him all kinds of nonverbal cues to makes things happen hard and fast.

  As if nothing was urgent, especially the fire roaring inside her, Parker started moving her toward his bedroom. Along the way, Bailey kissed his neck, his ear, and he made a maddening male sound when she flicked her tongue over the spot just below his ear.

  So, she kissed him there.

  It was the way to speed things up, all right. Parker groaned, and his grip on her tightened. He kissed her hard, just the way she wanted. It felt just on the rim of being dangerous, and it made her even hotter.

  She kissed that spot below his ear again. And again.

  Parker’s cursing got worse, and he called her name that had her smiling with this newly found power. Turn about was fair play. If he could drive her crazy, she could do the same to him.

  They made it as far as his bedroom door, and the cursing stopped. He dragged her to the floor, pulling at her clothes. Bailey pulled at his too but finally gave up. She wanted too much too fast to bother getting naked.

  Parker had already maneuvered her dress up to her hips, and she hooked her thumb onto her panties to shimmy them off her. Parker unzipped his jeans and freed his huge erection from his boxers. Bailey didn’t wait a second before she thrust her hips forward and took him inside her.

  Her vision blurred. Her breath vanished. And every nerve in her body was humming and begging for this man. How could something feel this good?

  How could she want someone this much?

  Parker began to move inside her, and she no longer cared about questions. Or answers. Or anything else. The only thing she could see and feel was Parker.

  He wasn’t gentle now, and that was good. Later, they could go to bed and spoon and do all those other things that lovers did, but for now, Bailey wanted release. She wanted him to take her to that higher peak.

  And then let her go.

  “Parker,” she managed to say, hoping it let him know that she was close to that peak. He knew how to take her the rest of way. She was sure of it. Parker seemed to know every secret of her body.

  He moved harder. Faster. Deeper. And he just kept moving until everything inside her shattered. She came in a flash narrowing to that one moment.

  To that one man.

  Bailey was too far gone to tell him that he was exactly what she wanted, exactly what she needed. She simply hung on. Until he released her.

  And himself.

  Bailey knew what was coming next. The crash and burn. She couldn’t move, couldn’t level her breathing. She could only lie beneath him with what had to be a really stupid grin on her face.

  She gathered enough breath to kiss him and was about to tell him how special this was, but he lifted his head and looked down at her. His eyes were huge. His mouth dropped open.

  “I didn’t use a condom,” Parker announced.

  Oh, heck.

  Well, that took care of her post-climatic high.

  Bailey forced herself not to panic. She had to think, and she tried to do the math. Oh, mercy.

  She was useless at math.

  “It’s the fourth of the month,” Parker supplied. He’d obviously figured out where her mind was going.

  “The fourth,” she repeated, and she thought back to the date of her last cycle. Only a week ago. “We’re okay,” she assured. “It’s the wrong time of the month.”

  She was relieved. And then she ruined the relief by considering a truly harebrained idea.

  So what if she got pregnant?

  She desperately wanted children, and truth was, she had decided if she wasn’t in a serious relationship within the next six months or so, she would use artificial insemination to have a baby. She had already visited a clinic and gotten information about the process. So, this wasn’t something to dread.

  Except it might be for Parker.

  He was staring at her. Apparently waiting for her to speak.

  “It’s okay,” she assured him. “Even if I got pregnant, I wouldn’t expect anything from you.”

  His mouth closed. And then tightened. His eyes narrowed, too. Parker rolled off her and landed hard on his back on the floor. Cursing the whole time, he fixed his jeans and his shirt.

  “Well, you sure as hell should expect something. I dragged you to the floor, Bailey, and I had sex with you. If I got you pregnant, I’m not just going to walk away.”

  All right. That wasn’t a declaration of love or marriage, but she hadn’t expected that anyway. She was still working out how she felt about him.

  “It’s the wrong time of the month,” she repeated. She hesitated, wondering if she should press this. What the heck. She hadn’t exactly been the model of propriety here. “Do you want other children?”

  Parker stayed silent for several seconds and then groaned. “Yes, I do. Very much so. And I know what you’re thinking. How could he possibly want more kids when he can’t handle the one he’s got.”

  “I wasn’t thinking that at all.” Bailey rolled to her side so she could see his face and was about to tell what she was indeed thinking.

  But the ringing shot through the hall and caused Parker to come up off the floor.

  It was the house
phone, and Parker started toward the nightstand to answer it. He didn’t make it in time because on the second ring, his answering machine turned on. The person didn’t leave a message. They hung up, and moments later his cell phone rang.

  Oh, no.

  This couldn’t be good, so she got up, as well. She tried not to leap to conclusions, but Bailey glanced at the screen on his phone.

  And her heart went to her knees.

  The call was coming from the Holy Cross Hospital emergency room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Parker stabbed the button to answer the call. “Parker McKenna,” he managed to say, though his own heartbeat was right in his throat.

  “I’m a nurse at Holy Cross E.R.,” the woman said. Her voice was shaky, filled with nerves. “I tried your home phone, but I just got the answering machine. I didn’t want to leave a message because I had to speak to you immediately.”

  “What’s wrong?” Parker held his breath. Bailey was beside him now, and she was doing the same.

  “There’s been an accident,” the nurse explained, “and your son, Zach, was hurt. He was apparently watching the parade and slipped underneath a float. It rolled over him, and he’s en route to the hospital now.”

  Parker tried to say something, anything, but he couldn’t. The phone would have fallen from his hand if Bailey hadn’t latched onto it. She pushed the speaker function.

  “How bad?” Parker finally said.

  “I’m sorry to tell you this, Mr. McKenna, but according to the medics in the ambulance, it’s very bad. We need you here at the hospital right away to sign some papers so we can get Zach in for surgery the moment he arrives. If it doesn’t happen soon, he’s not going to make it. Zach’s condition is critical.”

  “I’m on the way.”

  Everything inside Parker started to whirl around like a tornado. All the bad memories of Amy’s accident. He’d lost a child that day, too, and his life had been changed forever because of that loss. He couldn’t lose Zach.

  He couldn’t lose his son.

  “I can’t use the car because the roads are closed,” Parker mumbled, forcing himself to think. He had to get to Zach now, and he didn’t want to take the time to have the sheriff clear the streets.

  “You’ll have to go on foot to the sheriff’s office,” Bailey explained. “If you run, it won’t take you more than fifteen minutes. Just cut through the greenbelt at the back of the house and you can run to Main Street. It’ll be packed because of the parade, but you can get to the sheriff who can use an emergency vehicle on the back roads. You’ll make it to the hospital in time.”

  In time.

  He prayed that was true. Amy had died before she could even get into surgery, but that’s because it had taken too long to get her from the crushed car and into an ambulance. Zach was already on the way to the hospital.

  Parker hurried to the kitchen and the back door but then stopped.

  Bailey.

  What was he going to do with her?

  He didn’t want her in the middle of Main Street with hundreds of people around. That would be the perfect place for the stalker to launch another attack.

  “I’ll be all right here,” Bailey assured him. “Just go. I’ll lock the door and arm the security system. What’s the code?”

  Parker told her but then shook his head. “That’s not enough. I need to call Bart to get someone out here to keep watch.”

  “I’ll call him. Just get to Zach.” She punched in the code into the wall keypad, threw open the door and practically shoved him out onto the porch.

  Still, Parker hesitated. Yes, he had to get to the hospital, but he was worried about Bailey.

  “Go!” she demanded. And she gave him another shove.

  The nurse’s words slammed through Parker much harder than the push that Bailey gave him.

  Zach’s condition is critical.

  There was no time to wait for a replacement to arrive. No time to take any other security precautions. He just prayed that his son would make it through this and that the stalker wasn’t anywhere near his house.

  “The combination lock for the gun cabinet above the fridge is eight-four-six-two,” Parker told her. “Take out the handgun. It’s already loaded. Keep it with you until Bart can get someone else out here.”

  “I will, I promise. Now, go!” Bailey slammed the door shut, and the moment Parker heard her lock it, he raced off the porch and toward the greenbelt.

  He had to get his son fast.

  BAILEY’S HANDS WERE SHAKING when she reset the security alarm. This couldn’t be happening. Fate couldn’t be this cruel, again.

  The thought of Zach being hurt sickened her. Neither Parker nor he deserved to go through this, and she prayed the surgery would save Zach’s life. Not just for Zach but for Parker. It would destroy him to lose his son.

  It took her several seconds to tamp down her thoughts just so she could move. She had things to do, to make sure she stayed safe. Bailey certainly didn’t want Parker worrying about her at a time like this.

  First, she called Corps Security headquarters. No answer. Of course there wouldn’t be. It was a holiday. Her call was routed to an answering service, and Bailey left a message for Bart to call her.

  With that ticked off her mental list, Bailey used the combination that Parker had given her for the gun cabinet and took out the handgun. She checked. Yes, it was loaded, but she prayed she didn’t have to use it. There had already been enough bad in this day without adding anything else. To think—just a half hour earlier, she’d been counting her blessings for such a quiet morning.

  And speaking of quiet, it was literally quiet. Except for her own heartbeat drumming in her ears. It didn’t take long though for that quietness to close in around her, and Bailey started to pace. She had to do something to help.

  But what?

  Bailey took out her phone and stared at it. She glanced at the house phone, too. Both silent. Of course, it was much too soon for Parker or even Bart to call. Parker had probably just now made it to Main Street, and even though he was no doubt running as fast as he could, heaven knew how long it would take him to cut through the crowd and then get to the sheriff’s office.

  “The sheriff,” Bailey mumbled.

  She could call Sheriff Hale, and if he didn’t know already, she could tell him what was going on and then ask him to help clear a path for Parker. He could have the emergency vehicle ready to go if it wasn’t already.

  Bailey pressed the button to begin the call and saw the two words.

  No Service.

  That was strange. She’d had service earlier when she called Corps Security headquarters.

  She hurried into the doorway of the bathroom where she’d made that call, and the message on her cell’s screen stayed the same: No Service. There were cell service dead spots all over Freedom and the surrounding area, but this was a first for her to experience it in Parker’s house.

  Since the house phone was a landline, Bailey ran back to the kitchen to use it. She could call 9-1-1-and reach the sheriff or one of the deputies that way. But the moment she took the phone from the wall, she realized it, too, was silent.

  There was no dial tone.

  Cursing, she pushed the buttons, hoping it would reset the phone. But it didn’t. There was no static, nothing, just the sound of a phone that wasn’t working.

  “Stay calm,” she mumbled to herself.

  This could be some sort of weird outage around town, maybe from the equipment the television stations had brought in to cover the parade. Yes. That had to be it. Every year, at least a half dozen camera crews set up to film the governor on the parade float. That meant a lot of wireless signals that could possibly jam communication. In other words, there was a reasonable explanation.

  But this didn’t feel reasonable.

  Bailey hung up the house phone and slipped her cell back into her pocket so her hands would be free. She still tried to keep calm, but nothing was working. Her breathing was way
too fast, and she felt on the verge of a panic attack. She steadied herself by going to the front window and peeking out.

  Nothing.

  No one was there waiting to fire shots.

  She looked at the end of the street. There were no floats going by yet. It would take a while for that to happen since Parker’s neighborhood was on the last leg of the parade route, but she could see a few people who had gathered at the end of the block. They weren’t exactly in shouting distance and their backs were to her, but then she had no reason to shout.

  Little by little, Bailey leveled her breathing and tried to focus her thoughts on Zach and Parker. They needed all the positive vibes they could get right now, and since she might not get an update anytime soon, she just had to wait this out. It wouldn’t do Zach or Parker any good if she turned into a basket case.

  She looked again at the parade route and saw something.

  A man.

  He wasn’t with the others at the end of the street. The man was walking up the sidewalk toward Parker’s house. And he wasn’t just walking. He was hurrying, practically running, and he kept looking over his shoulder.

  Bailey automatically stepped back so that he wouldn’t be able to see her from the window, but she continued to watch.

  It was Sidney Burrell.

  That evaporated what little calmness she’d managed to regain. What was he doing here? Better yet, what did he want?

  It was too much to hope that he was visiting someone in the neighborhood. Besides, there probably wasn’t a single person but her in any of the houses. Everyone was at the parade.

  Bailey tried her phone again. Still no service. And she tightened her grip on the handle of the gun.

  “Please don’t come closer,” she whispered.

  But that’s exactly what he did. Sidney looked over his shoulder again and started across the front lawn. Bailey lifted the gun, still praying that she didn’t have to use it.

  Then, Sidney stopped.

  Another glance over his shoulder and down the street where the other people were standing. He said something that Bailey couldn’t hear or understand, and he looked at the window where she was standing.