Page 93 of Half Baked

My mouth dropped open. “Her funeral? You mean if anyone suspicious was there?”

“That too.” He paused. “But I was more interested in whether your father showed up.”

The blood in my head rushed to my feet, leaving me light-headed. “Did he?”

Sympathy filled his face.

I knew he had to wonder why I asked. Why I didn’t know if he was there or not. “I only saw photos of him when he was in college with Mom,” I said with a grimace. “And I was out of it, so I wouldn’t…”

“Maddie, you don’t have to explain. You never really met him. The answer is no. He didn’t come. She said she called him to let him know about her death. He said he was in Amsterdam working on a business deal, and he couldn’t get away.” He hesitated again. “That’s when he told her that he didn’t want custody of you. That Deidre and Albert could take you in.”

I nodded, surprised that it felt like a scab had been ripped from my heart. I didn’t know the man. It would have been more surprising if hehadwanted me. But it still hurt to hear the words.

“I plan to get proof that he was really there, but my gut says he had nothing to do with your mother’s death.”

I nodded again. “I agree. He had no reason to kill her.”

He reached over and squeezed my hand. “But I did find something useful. There was a trial of a drug dealer in Chattanooga about a year after your mother stopped going there, but there weren’t many details in the press. I did get the name of the drug kingpin—presuming it’s the right trial. Scott Reed. The article I found said there was a key witness who testified at his trial, but it gave no name and no other information about him.”

“Do you think it was Gordy?”

“Possibly. I need to do more digging. I want a name and if it’s Gordy, if he went to prison.”

I nodded. “Anything else?”

“The owner of the Mad Hatter’s, Billy Hauser, was murdered the week after your mother’s death.”

My brow lifted. “That seems suspicious. Especially since Bergan claims the deaths that happened around the same time as my mother’s murder helped convince him to back off the case. Maybe he wasn’t lying.”

“Agreed. I didn’t see any other deaths, but tomorrow, I plan on finding out more about the bar, the owner, and the patrons. I’m going to check with some of the people I know at the sheriff’s department to see what they can tell me about the place. It was outside of the city limits, so they’ll have more information.”

Picking up the brownie pan, I got up and returned it to the kitchen counter, where I covered it up with some tinfoil. “Okay. That’s good.”

“I’m sorry it’s not more.”

My heart burst. I went back to him and ran my fingers through his hair, lightly rubbing his scalp as I gazed down at him. A lump filled my throat, but I forced out, “Noah, it’s more than I’ve had since her death.Thank you.”

He snagged my arm and pulled me to him, and I sat sideways on his lap. A wave of longing washed through me, stealing my breath. I wanted this man, and we’d wasted too much time getting to this place. I wasn’t wasting another second.

Picking up a strand of my hair, he played with the end, then looked up into my eyes with a sorrowful expression. “I want to make this right for you, Maddie.”

“Shhh…” I said, placing my fingertip on his lips. “No more talking about my mother tonight. For the rest of the evening, it’s just you and me.”

He kissed my fingertip, then pulled my lips to his and kissed me slowly and leisurely, as though we had all night.

Anticipation rippled through me as it occurred to me that for the first time since we’d been together, we really did.

I cupped the side of his face, brushing my fingertips along his stubble, loving the feel of him. He tasted of the brownie and the wine. My hunger for him grew.

“Let’s go to bed,” I murmured against his lips.

He pulled back slightly, cradling the back of my head. “We can just go to bed and sleep, Maddie. It wouldn’t be the first time.” Something deeper than longing filled his eyes. “And it won’t be the last.”

It was true that we’d slept in the same bed without anything sexual happening between us. After masked men had broken into my house and tried to kidnap me, Noah had spent the night here and slept in my bed with me. But that had been in the very beginning, when we were attracted to each other but nowhere close to letting each other in.

“Noah, the only thing I want right now is you,” I whispered with a soft smile. Then I grinned. “Well, you and my glass of wine.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

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