Two of the boys fell in behind her, dreamy looks on their faces.
He closed his eyes. “Oh, dear God, please give me strength.”
Tim didn’t know if he could handle having Eric and Bianca in the house at the same time. They had two states—at each other’s throats like wolverines or screwing like bunnies.
There was no middle ground, unless you counted passed out.
At least Eric made good on his promise to teach Taz how to drive. He spent the day tuning up his 1965 Mustang and went to pick her up from school as a surprise.
Robertson said a silent prayer as he watched Eric drive off. Please bring my girl home safely, you silly sod.
Bianca yawned as she walked into the kitchen. “Good morning, Robertson.”
“Afternoon, Bianca.”
“Oh, is it?”
He placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. She smiled. “You’re so efficient.” She shoveled in the eggs and asked for more. “And a damn good cook.”
“Thank you.”
“How’s my baby?”
“She’s doing great. Did you see the information I left for you?”
She nodded. “I can’t make that school thing though. I’ve got to be in Paris for a shoot. Is that okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
She smiled as he refilled her plate. “We are so lucky to have you. You are the best ever. Promise you’ll never leave us.”
He avoided her gaze, a light crystal blue that caught and reflected the color of whatever room she was in. He was strong, but she was stronger in that way. Worse still, she didn’t know it.
“Absolutely, Bianca.”
“You’ve been so great with Anastazia. Except for us, you’re the only family she’s got.”
After she finished her meal, Bianca left to get ready for her appointment. She was gone by the time Anastazia blasted into the driveway with her father.
Tim walked outside and watched Taz circling the driveway as she tried to master finessing the clutch. The car finally jerked to a stop in front of the door. “Did you see me?” she squealed, running up to him and hugging him.
“Yes.” He laughed. “You were great.”
Eric’s expression clouded. He walked over to Tim, and before Eric could say anything, Tim looked at him.
“You’re a good dad, Eric,” Tim murmured as he fixed him with his gaze.
Eric’s expression went blank. Taz was too busy calling her friends about her driving lesson to notice what was going on.
“You’re a great dad, Eric. She loves you very, very much. You are doing a wonderful job raising your daughter.” After sixteen years, now was not the time for Eric to get jealous and decide he wanted to finally start carrying out his fatherly duties and spending more quality time with Taz. Tim had worked too hard with her to establish her self-control to have Eric and his reckless ways ruin it all.
Tim let him go. Eric blinked and smiled at him. “Did you see her?”
He nodded. “I’m so glad you were able to return for this. It means the world to her.”
“Yeah, well, you know. She’s a chip off the old block, huh?”
Tim nodded. “You’ll be home all week, I take it?”
He nodded. “I want to spend some time with her, out in the garage.”
“She’ll love that. Anything in particular you want for dinner…”
“She’s beautiful,” Bianca whispered.
Tim nodded. “She resembles you both very much.”
They have no idea how much.
Eric sat on Tim’s other side, puffed up and proud. “That’s my baby,” he said. Taz walked across the stage, accepted her diploma, and waved at them. Tim waved back, trying to juggle the video and still cameras at the same time.
Bianca looked like she had a horrible thought and put her hand on Robertson’s arm. “You’re not going to…you won’t leave just because she’s graduating, will you?” she whispered.
He smiled. “No, Bianca. You’re stuck with me for a while longer, I imagine.”
She sounded relived. “Thank goodness. I mean, she’s got college, and I’ve got movies coming up, and we still need you…”
The blue lights flashed in her rearview mirror. Tim looked at her as she pulled over. “I told you not to speed, young lady.” She was twenty and drove like her father—balls out.
The CHiP walked up to her window and pulled off his sunglasses. She flashed him a smile, and in two minutes, they were on their way.
Sans ticket.
All she’d done was be polite and talk. The officer never even asked for her license.
Tim finally found his voice. “That was…amazing.”
She shrugged. “I haven’t had a ticket, but I get pulled over all the time. They just give me a warning and…uh, I guess I never told you that, huh?”
He shook his head, taking mental notes. She was so strong. Thank God he’d trained her well early on. He’d never caught her being cruel, and he was sure she wasn’t aware she was doing anything special.
She was just being nice. And polite.
They sat at the kitchen table. Taz’s face looked red and puffy. A nearly empty box of tissues sat before her. Tim poured her another drink. Usually he discouraged her from imbibing, but tonight she needed it.
So did he.
“I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “I just can’t.”
Tim kept the cell phone next to him, waiting for news. As soon as had been notified, he’d locked himself in his office and made a frantic series of phone calls, which started an avalanche of activity behind the scenes the likes of which Anastazia didn’t need to know.
He patted her on the hand. “Keep faith, dear. There are a lot of people looking for them.”
“And I was supposed to go, too! But I just had so much to do with exams and stuff.”
“It’s okay, Taz.”
She started crying again.
He had to keep it together for her sake. He prayed her parents would be found safely, but he didn’t hold out much hope.
His cell rang. He answered then shook his head when Taz looked hopefully at him. Nothing yet. He walked into his office and closed the door.
“We have a whole fleet out.” It was him, personally. He rarely called Tim, and never while Tim was at home or with Taz. He’d also never heard him sound so grim. “If they can be found, they will.”
“Good.”
“Do you think…I mean, should I—”
“No,” Tim said firmly. “I’ll take care of her. You stay away. It’s too soon.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Tim had a thought. “You don’t think someone planned this, do you?”
“I thought about that,” he admitted. “She was supposed to be on the flight. She was listed on the passenger manifest. Keep her close to you until we know for sure.”
“Of course I will.”
Over the next days and weeks with no word on her parents’ fate, Tim guided Taz through the process. She spent many nights curled up on the couch with her head in his lap, twenty-four, but fragile as a child, crying herself to sleep. He ached for her, knowing he could help, but to do so would push things along too soon. She needed time to heal. Others had survived tragedies far worse than this.
She decided to sell the house, and he thought that would be the end. When he mentioned looking for his own place, she looked horrified.
“No, you can’t! I need you!”
He smiled. “Taz, you don’t need me hanging around.”
She nodded, frantically. “I’ll get a big condo near the office. Big enough you can have your space. Please, you’re the only family I’ve got!”
She looked desperate. Her parents had messed up the original plan by getting themselves killed on their trip to Rio. The revised edition was for her to finally be on her own, but he couldn’t stand to see her so miserable and upset.