Daniel's Desire Read Free Page B

before, he was a cop,” Kendra told Molly, her face pale and her eyes filled with panic. “I can spot a cop a mile away.”
    “It was Joe Sutton and, yes, he is a detective, but he’s a good guy,” Molly reassured her. “He drives over every few weeks for my chowder. If he’d been here to look for you, he would have said something. Besides, he’s gone now, so obviously he didn’t recognize you.”
    “Maybe he forgot his handcuffs and had to go back for them,” Kendra said.
    “Sweetie, he wouldn’t handcuff you. You ran away. You’re not a criminal. You have nothing to fear from Joe.”
    The words were barely out of her mouth when the door opened and Daniel Devaney came striding in as if he’d arrived to conquer the world. In her opinion, Kendra had a lot more to worry about with Daniel than she ever would with Joe Sutton. Daniel was a rigid, by-the-book kind of guy when it came to situations like this. How he and his twin brother, Patrick, hadcome from the same gene pool was a total enigma to her.
    “Go in the back,” Molly ordered the teenager, maneuvering in an attempt to keep Kendra out of Daniel’s view. “And stay alert in case you need to get out of here in a hurry.”
    Kendra paled at the terse order. “What’s going on? Is that cop back?”
    “No. Just do whatever you have to do to stay out of sight. Tell Retta what I said. Tell her Daniel’s here. She’ll understand and she’ll help you. I’ll explain later,” Molly promised, giving the girl’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Trust me. Everything’s going to be okay.”
    Kendra followed the direction of her gaze and spotted Daniel. “He’s a cop, too, isn’t he?” she said at once.
    “No, worse, in this instance. He’s with a social services agency.”
    Understanding and alarm immediately flared in Kendra’s eyes. “Then he’s here for me?”
    “More than likely.” She couldn’t imagine anything else that would have brought Daniel waltzing into her bar again, not after she’d made it clear that his presence here was unwelcome. “Just stay out of sight. I can handle Daniel Devaney.”
    When she was satisfied that Kendra was safely out of the bar, Molly strolled over to Daniel’s table, order pad in hand, a neutral expression firmly plastered on her face. She ignored the once-familiar jolt to her senses. She would play this cool for Kendra’s sake. If there hadn’t been so much at stake, Daniel could have starved to death before she’d have given him a second glance.
    “Fancy seeing you here,” she said. “I thought you preferred classier joints these days.”
    Daniel frowned at her. “I never said that.”
    “You never had to. Your disdain has always been evident.” And never more so than the night he’d declined to be a father to their child. Though he’d told her about his own father’s failings, she’d always believed that at least some of his reluctance had stemmed from an aversion to her choice to run her grandfather’s bar, rather than going off to some snooty college and pursuing some equally snooty career. Unlike his twin, Daniel was a snob in his fancy shirts with the monogrammed cuffs and his Italian leather loafers that were more suited to the streets of downtown Portland than the waterfront in Widow’s Cove. He was definitely no longer a small-town boy.
    He didn’t even flinch as her barb struck him. “Save the judgments. I didn’t come here to fight with you. Just bring me a cup of chowder, please.”
    Molly noted the order but didn’t budge. He was acting too blasted casual and innocent. Something besides chowder had brought Daniel into the bar. Given Joe Sutton’s recent departure, there was very little question in her mind that he was here because of Kendra.
    “In town to see your folks?”
    “No.”
    “If you’re looking for Patrick, he won’t be in till later,” she said casually, in an attempt to get him to show his hand.
    “I’m not looking for Patrick.”
    “Oh?” She sat down