Free Always in Her Heart by Marta Perry Page B

try.” Annie started to rise, holding the baby, and he caught her elbow to help her up. The yellow sweater was as soft as it looked, and her hair swung against his arm like dark silk.
    Okay, he definitely shouldn’t be thinking things like that about Annie. He shouldn’t be thinking about Annie at all. This was a business partnership. He took care of the construction company, and she took care of the baby. They would be safer if they didn’t mix the two.
    He let her go, and she took a step away, then looked at him questioningly.
    â€œAren’t you coming up with us?”
    â€œYou’ll do better without me. I’ve got work to do. I have a company to run, remember?”
    Annie’s mouth seemed to tighten, as if he’d said the wrong thing.
    â€œJust don’t forget that we have a meeting with the social worker tomorrow.” She turned toward the stairs.
    They’ll take you away and put you in a home. He hadn’t heard his mother’s voice in years, but now it echoed in his head.
    â€œIs it really that important for me to be here? Doesn’t she just have to check out the house?”
    Annie spun around, dark hair swinging against her cheeks. Marcy was already asleep on her shoulder.
    â€œOf course it’s important.” Her voice was as sharp as he’d ever heard it. “That’s the whole point, remember? We have to convince her that we’re a family, that we can make a home for Marcy.”
    They’ll take you away—
    He clamped the door shut on that memory, but it kept sliding through the cracks. How did someone who’d never known a home figure out how to create one? He could build a house, but that wasn’t the same thing.
    Still, he didn’t have a choice about this, and he knew it. Davis had trusted him. Annie was counting on him.
    â€œRight.” He took a breath, pasted a smile on his face. “I’ll be here.”
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    â€œOh, Marcy, don’t do that.” Annie raced across the family room. While she’d been in the kitchen, dithering about whether or not she should offer coffee to the social worker, Marcy had been quietly pulling all the video tapes out of their cases.
    â€œHere, honey, play with your nice teddy.”
    Marcy threw the teddy bear across the floor anddived toward the videotapes again as the door swung open. Annie’s heart nearly stopped, until she realized it was Link.
    â€œPlanning a video show?” He dropped his jacket on the nearest chair.
    Annie scooped up the baby and handed her to Link. “Please, take her. And hang up your jacket. We’ve got to have things cleaned up by the time that woman gets here.”
    His eyebrows rose at her tone, but he took Marcy and picked up his jacket again.
    She shouldn’t be taking her tension out on him, but she’d been worried, ever since his comment the previous night, that he wouldn’t show up on time.
    â€œIt’ll be okay.” He came back from the closet, lifting Marcy to his shoulders. “I’m sure she doesn’t expect a house with a baby to be spotless all the time.” He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.
    â€œI wish I believed that.” She shoved the last videotape into place and glanced around the kitchen and family room, hands on her hips. “Since we spend most of our time in here, I thought we’d talk here instead of the living room. Should I offer her coffee? Does that pine air freshener smell all right, or did I overdo it?”
    â€œI think you should calm down.” He plopped Marcy into her toy car and steered her across the family room, making her laugh. “It’s going to be okay.”
    Usually Marcy’s laugh made him smile. At the moment, his mouth was tight. In spite of his words, he looked as nervous about this visit as she felt, maybe more so.
    â€œRight.” She took a deep breath and sent up a silent prayer for guidance. “We’ll be