Page 20 of Unlikely Guardian

Lilly’s heart went into overdrive. One look, and the love for her daughter was instant. All-consuming. And in that moment, she knew she would do whatever it took to protect, to love, to keep her.

Behind her, Lilly could hear Jason talking on the phone, but the conversation didn’t register. Nothing registered except Megan. Well, nothing until a woman peered out from the room Megan had just exited.

Erica, no doubt.

No all-consuming love here. No sizing up, either. The tall, leggy brunette in the breezy khaki capris and waist-length coral T-shirt had obviously already done her sizing up. With one indifferent glance from her crystal-blue eyes, she made Lilly feel like an intruder.

“Ms. Nelson,” she greeted.

Lilly settled for a polite nod and returned her attention to her daughter. Megan, however, seemed far more interested in the wheelchair than the woman sitting it in. It was no doubt Megan’s curiosity that had her toddling toward Lilly and the chair.

Megan aimed her index finger at one of the wheels and babbled something incoherent. But her curiosity only lasted a few seconds before she looked at Jason.

The little girl smiled.

And the smile made it all the way to those sparkling pearl-gray eyes.

The wheelchair no longer held Megan’s attention, so Lilly latched on to the chair arms and forced herself to stand. That still didn’t garner Megan’s attention.

With that same awkward gait, Megan made her way past Lilly and to Jason. Only then did Lilly realize that he’d finished his call and was putting his phone back in his pocket. He leaned down and scooped Megan up in his arms.

“Da-da,” she said.

And there was nothing incoherent about it. The little girl gave an awkward, backhanded wave and placed a kiss on Jason’s cheek.

The moment was pure magic.

Lilly could almost feel her heart breaking. Sweet heaven. Before she’d seen Megan, before she’d seen this, she’d been so certain about barging her way into Megan’s life, but that kiss and smile put a huge dent in her resolve. Jason was Megan’s father in every way that mattered.

Jason’s gaze met Lilly’s, and she braced herself for the I-told-you-so smugness that she thought she might see there. But there was no smugness. No triumphant look of any kind.

But there was concern.

“Take Megan and go to the playroom,” he told Erica. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Oh, no. This couldn’t be good. Maybe now she’d get that victory speech or else a lecture on the house rules, which she’d probably already violated. Lilly eased back down into her chair and waited.

“There’s something important I need to tell you,” Erica said to Jason. And then she fired a narrowed-eyed glare at Lilly.

A double Oh, no. Erica was probably ready to voice her objection to the protective-custody arrangement.

“It’ll have to wait,” Jason told Erica, his insistence sounding very much like an order. He looked at Lilly. Specifically, at the chair. Then he glanced at the room at the end of the hall. “That wheelchair will never fit through the door. You’d be stuck in the hall. Out in the open. That’s too big of a risk.”

“A risk for what?” Lilly asked, already knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.

But Jason didn’t confirm that answer, and he seemed to have a quick debate with himself before turning back to Erica. “Go ahead and take Megan to the playroom. And don’t go near the windows. In fact, take her into the storage closet.”

Now, that was an order. Just like that, Lilly’s heart raced even harder and the blood rushed to her head. Whatever had caused that urgency in his voice, it wasn’t a lecture about house rules.

Something was terribly wrong.

Erica must have decided the same thing. She took Megan, though the little girl protested a bit with more of those babbled syllables. Again, it was nothing coherent, but she voiced her displeasure with her adamant tone and by grabbing for Jason. However, Megan ended up grasping at the air because Erica complied with Jason’s request and hurried the child out of the room.

“What happened?” Lilly asked.

Jason drew his gun from the shoulder holster. In the same motion, he grabbed her wheelchair and moved her out of the foyer. Away from the front door. He directed her into the adjacent living room, then hurried to the window. He lifted the blinds just a fraction and peeked out.

“That call was the security company that monitors the control panel at the gate,” Jason offered. “They’ve already phoned for police backup because someone’s trying to override the system.”

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