The Drifter by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

aloft.
    â€œNo, I don’t hate it. I just—aw, hell, Amanda. It’s hot and I’m holding a very athletic snake. Can we discuss this later?”
    â€œJust get that thing out of here,” she said, her voice strained.
    â€œYou should go inside.”
    â€œNo.”
    She looked pretty close to hysteria, so he decided not to insist. “Okay. You and...Bartholomew wait here. Chloe, stay with Amanda.” The dog wagged her tail in response.
    Chase started off through the desert as quickly as he could walk, considering he was wearing boots, avoiding cactus and carrying a six-foot snake that very much wanted to be loose. “Take it easy,” he told the snake. “You were probably more scared than she was.” Although he doubted it. Amanda had been pretty freaked-out.
    She was right about his reaction to the baby’s name. He didn’t like it. Maybe that was because he’d had no say in naming the kid, but more than that, he thought “Bartholomew” sounded too long and involved for the kind of son he’d like to have, a sturdy little boy who lived to run and throw balls and eat ice cream. A kid who—
    Chase brought his imagination to a halt. Where had all that come from? He’d never wanted a kid. Or had never admitted it. But then Amanda had arrived with his son, and unexpected dreams were surfacing. Dreams of a family. For all the good those dreams would do him. Just as Amanda hadn’t given him any say in naming the baby, she hadn’t invited him to help raise the boy, either. He’d have to fight for that right, and he didn’t like the idea of what that might do to Bartholomew.
    About two hundred yards from the cottage, he figured he could set the snake free. He lowered it slowly to the ground, released the head last and stepped away. In five seconds the snake was gone, taking off through the creosote bushes. Chase turned and hurried back to where Amanda still stood in the path, Chloe stationed right beside her.
    â€œWhere did it go?” she asked.
    He tried a smile out on her. “Packed a bag and lit out for Texas.”
    â€œDon’t try to joke about it. That snake was headed straight for Bartholomew.”
    â€œI guess I would have jumped out of my skin myself if I’d been there,” he said, softening his tone. “Now let’s get him back inside.”
    â€œNot until you check everything in the cottage.” Her blue eyes still reflected full-scale panic.
    â€œThen at least wait up on the porch in the shade,” he said, taking her elbow.
    She was stiff, but she allowed him to guide her to the porch. Chloe followed right beside her, panting loudly in the heat. “I don’t belong here,” Amanda said. “I want you to give me your medical history now, so I can take a flight out. Maybe I can even leave tonight.”
    â€œWe’ll talk about it in a minute.” His first concern was getting them all into a cool environment. He left Amanda and the baby on the porch and took Chloe with him into the cottage. “Check it out, girl,” he said, and Chloe seemed to understand, because she circled the perimeter of the room and sniffed every corner. Then she snuffled under the bed, obviously still smelling traces of the snake. Chase scoured every nook and cranny, including a closet, all the dresser drawers and a cupboard in the bathroom. He found only one small spider, a harmless kind, which he captured and tossed out the door as he came back to the porch.
    â€œAll clear,” he said.
    She entered slowly, her gaze sweeping the room several times.
    â€œI’ll get the cradle,” Chase said. “I hope I didn’t break it.”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. I’m not staying.”
    Chase went after the cradle, anyway. He sincerely hoped he hadn’t broken it when he’d dropped it. It had probably been built for a Singleton baby somewhere back in time, and he’d bet both