"How could you let a week go by without taking action?"

"Don't criticize before you know all the facts. Amanda wanted time to get settled before she filed any papers. Since her husband doesn't know where she is, she didn't think the delay would hurt."

"Didn't you tell her what a foolish, not to mention dangerous, att.i.tude that is?" he asked.

Her skin turned ashen at the reminder and she placed her fork down with unsteady hands. "Of course. But you can't make someone move before they're ready. Some women never are," she murmured.

"It's not that I don't sympathize. You know I do. But how can she not want to go after the guy? He physically hurt her, for G.o.d's sake."

"Being a victim entails a lot more than just physical abuse. Sometimes the emotional ramifications are worse," she said in a shaky voice. "Some women just want to put the whole experience behind them as quickly as possible."

He sighed, placing a hand on her arm. "I didn't mean to sound judgmental, and I didn't mean to bring back old memories."

"I've lived with them for a long time, Griff. Don't go taking on any guilt." She stood and cleared Alix's high chair, then turned her attention to cleaning off the child.

Because she seemed to need the distraction, he didn't offer to do it for her. Instead, he collected the dishes from the table and placed them in the sink.

Chelsie unstrapped the little girl from the harness that held her in the chair and deposited her on the white ceramic tile floor. "Go play," she whispered in her ear.

Alix didn't need any more encouragement. She took off in the direction of her toys.

Once they were alone, he walked over and wrapped his arms around Chelsie's slender waist. He buried his face in the back of her neck, inhaling her feminine scent and recalling details of the time she'd spent in his arms.

"Griff, there is one thing I need to ask."

"Can't it wait?" He tangled his fingers in her hair and thought of the bed upstairs. Work was the last thing on his mind.

"I've already put this off too long," she said.

Apparently, he hadn't done as good a job as he'd planned last night, he thought wryly. She wasn't too exhausted for a long discussion and he sensed he'd have a difficult time deterring her. "What's up?"

"You'll have to take over Amanda's case from now on."

That request stunned him. Grasping her shoulders, he pivoted her body until she faced him, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. Her downcast eyes and the erratic tapping of her foot against the floor hinted at a serious problem. They'd been as close as two people could be. So why this sudden reticence to discuss something as impersonal as work?

"What's going on?" he asked.

She lifted her head and looked him in the eye.

"Why should I take that particular case?" he asked.

Chelsie could have said it was what the other woman wanted. She could have claimed Amanda's situation hit too close to her own. She could have blamed her already overloaded schedule. Any one of those excuses sounded valid and held enough truth to satisfy Griff, but as her partner-no, as her lover-he deserved the truth.

Regardless of the consequences, she had no intention of running out on him emotionally or otherwise. "Because there might be a conflict of ..."

The shrill ring of the telephone cut her off mid-sentence.

Griff cast her an apologetic glance. Divine intervention, she thought with dismay. The one time she truly didn't want any interruptions, she got one anyway.

She placed a stalling hand on his arm. "Can we ignore it?" she asked.

He glanced over at the phone. "Work line. Who would be calling on a Sunday?"

I check in periodically. Call any time. A jittery feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

"Amanda," Chelsie said, automatically. This wasn't the first time she'd been called on a weekend or in the middle of the night by a client or someone at the shelter. The timing couldn't be worse, but she'd never ignore someone who needed help. Especially Amanda.

The flutters in Chelsie's stomach turned into lead. "I've got it." She darted across the kitchen and grabbed the receiver. "h.e.l.lo?"

Chelsie nodded at Griff, letting him know she'd been right. The hysterical woman rambled, but Chelsie caught the gist of the conversation and didn't like what she was hearing. "How could he find you?" she asked and listened in disbelief to Amanda's answer. "Just stay where you are. I'll meet you in"-Chelsie glanced at her watch-"less than twenty minutes."

Frustrated, she slammed the phone onto the receiver. Adrenaline should have kept her energy level up, but a deep weariness had settled inside her. Fighting her ex-husband would be a losing battle if she couldn't trust her client. She turned back to Griff. "Amanda had a confrontation with her husband. It seems she went home to pick up a few things."

"Why the h.e.l.l would she do something like that?" He nearly exploded in anger. Chelsie didn't blame him. If the woman had gone home for something as stupid as extra clothing, Chelsie would throttle her.

She shook her head. "I don't know. She didn't give me too many details. Look, I'll go and calm her down."

"Not alone, you won't"

She pivoted on her heels, furious that he had the audacity to bark orders and grateful he cared enough to try. One look at his drawn face and her anger ebbed. He leaned against a chair. His hand grasped the back of the seat with such force his knuckles turned white. She could fight his bossiness, but not his concern.

"I'll be fine. There's no alternative. You can't go to the shelter and someone has to stay with Alix." She walked over to him and smoothed the worry lines on his forehead with one finger. "Can I borrow your car?"

"It won't work."

"What?" The corners of her lips twitched in a knowing smile.

"Distracting me, though you always give it your best shot." He gently removed her hand, then reached over and grasped a set of keys off the counter. "I'll meet you at your apartment as soon as Mrs. Baxter gets here." He slapped the cold metal keys into her open palm and leaned close, brushing his warm lips over hers.

"With what? I'm taking your car. Don't worry. I'll meet you back here as soon as I'm finished." She could soothe Amanda, then leave her in competent hands.

"At least call me the minute you're through."

"Yes, sir. Anyone ever tell you you're bossy?"

A sad smile crossed his face. "My brother."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, wishing she could permanently ease his pain. But she knew from her own fragile emotions that he'd live with some variation of the hurt for the rest of his life.

He lifted his hands to her face and she savored the feel of his strong touch against her skin. "I love you." She spoke honestly, without thinking. She wrapped her arms around his neck, meeting him halfway for a kiss that melted her defenses. Though Chelsie felt safe in his arms, the kiss was anything but. All the pa.s.sion, heat, and tangled emotions threatened to overwhelm her.

A sheen of perspiration coated his forehead. His breathing sounded labored. "You'd better get going," he murmured.

Chelsie smiled, finding it difficult to catch her own breath. " 'Bye."

It wasn't until she reached the shelter that she realized she had told Griff the truth. But not the truth that mattered most.

"You keep showing up unexpectedly and I'll have to charge you rent." Griff unlocked the storm door for Ryan.

Morning had turned into afternoon and then to early evening without a word from Chelsie. Griff understood her preoccupation with Amanda's plight and, as a lawyer, understood that emergencies arose even on weekends. But his concern grew with each pa.s.sing minute.

Ryan chuckled and, as usual, brushed past Griff into the house. "I take it you won't be needing my baby-sitting services any longer?"

"Quit fishing for information. I haven't needed your services in months. Consider yourself greatly appreciated but now unemployed."

"Right. Miss Russell is filling in." Ryan paused to plant a kiss on Alix's cheek. She reciprocated with a wet one on his lips, causing him to chuckle. "Speaking of Chelsie ..."

"I wasn't," Griff said. Thinking of her, definitely, but not sharing his personal thoughts, even with Ryan.

"I was. I did you a favor." Ryan held out a manila envelope.

Griff glanced at the distinctive packet. He'd seen the results of Ryan's investigations one too many times to be mistaken. "I thought I told you to leave her alone."

"Friends help friends." Ryan tossed the envelope onto the c.o.c.ktail table. "Your decision," he said and turned to play with Alix.

Knowing he had to get rid of the information before Chelsie returned, Griff scowled at Ryan before swiping the offending envelope from the table. He walked straight upstairs and into his office, placing the file in the top drawer of his desk. He saw no reason to upset Chelsie by telling her that a private investigator, Ryan of all people, had looked into her past. He'd dump the file later, when he could eliminate it permanently.

Griff had no intention of reading any information Chelsie didn't disclose on her own. She'd indicated earlier that they had to talk, and he felt sure she would confide in him over time.

A lifetime, he realized with sudden clarity.

He'd known for a while that they couldn't continue an affair with a two-year-old child in the house. In his heart, he knew he wanted Chelsie forever. He just wished his mind, so cluttered with images of the past, would leave him alone. But Chelsie had helped him begin to heal.

She cared about him, not what he could give her, buy her, or do for her. No woman had given him that gift before. For that reason alone, he trusted her enough to attempt to build a future.

He glanced at his watch. What the h.e.l.l was taking her so long?

"Hey, Ryan." Griff bounded back downstairs and imposed on his long-time friend one more time.

"So you went home for your son's favorite stuffed animal." Chelsie sat with Amanda in one of the few empty rooms of the shelter.

Posters cluttered the beige walls in an attempt to brighten what should have been a morose and depressing atmosphere. Anyone who made this place a pit stop had left severe problems outside these walls, but many brought children along with them. And where there were children, there was hope.

"Stupid, huh? It's just that he hasn't slept since we got here over a week ago."

Chelsie clasped her hands together while attempting to formulate a reasonable response, one that didn't take emotion into account. "You're a good mother, Amanda. But some risks are just too great You gambled with this one."

The other woman bent her head, causing her dark hair to fall forward and obscure her face from view.

"Jeff was home. Did he hurt you?"

"No. Just begged me to come back."

"And?"

"I said I'd think about it. Just to bide time," she quickly added. "After we talked, I grabbed the animal and left fast."

Chelsie wasn't rea.s.sured. "He let you walk out of there?"

Amanda nodded. Chelsie remained silent. From past experience with other clients, and from her married days, Chelsie knew Jeffrey's lack of pressure meant he had an alternate plan.

"Amanda, if you're still serious about divorcing him, then we've got to get moving. I have statements from your friends and relatives. I've got pictures of the bruises the last time he hit you. Now it's time for legal action. I want a restraining order taken out as soon as possible. And I want you to seriously consider pressing charges. Okay?"

"He'll be furious."

"Yes. But he doesn't know where you are, so you're safe. Unless ..."

"I didn't say a word. I swear."

Chelsie breathed a sigh of relief. "All right. I'll handle things. Just don't do anything like that again. Don't go home. Don't go near his office. Don't get in touch with him at all."

"You're sure about all this?" Amanda lifted her head. Sad, dark eyes looked to Chelsie for rea.s.surance.

"You're the one who has to be certain." Chelsie grasped the other woman's shoulders. "But if you're asking my opinion, then yes, press charges. Stand up for yourself and your child. I didn't. As a result, you're in this position now, and I'll never have the future I want. I'd hate to see the pattern repeat itself."

Tears shimmered in the other woman's eyes, but she nodded her a.s.sent.

"Good. I'll be in touch."

Chelsie left Amanda behind and instead of going to Griff's, she headed for home. Shutting the door to her apartment, she turned the lock firmly behind her. She needed a reality check before taking her next step.

Once in the living room, she flicked on the overhead lights. The crystal animals sat in a pile on the floor where Alix had left them. Chelsie knelt down and picked one up, fingering the small bear with a delicate hand. What would it feel like to have a child you loved so much you would risk your life to retrieve a simple toy? Alix immediately came to mind. Faced with such a decision, Chelsie knew she'd do anything to keep that dimpled smile on the little girl's face. She'd do anything to make the child's uncle happy, even if it meant sacrificing her own desires.

A tear dripped down her cheek and she caught it with her sleeve. How would she ever let them go? Clutching the bear in her fist, she brought the animal close to her heart.

By becoming a part of Griff and Alix's life, she had set herself up for the heartache she'd avoided for years by pulling away from her sister, her only real family member who cared. Not for the first time, Chelsie wished she'd had the courage to take this risk sooner, so she and Shannon would have had more time. She didn't miss the irony. Revealing the truth to her sister would have brought them back together, while telling Griff everything would drive them apart.

Chelsie hadn't played this smart. She had gotten too close, too involved with a man who wanted more children, and too involved with her niece, the child she loved like the daughter she'd never have.

When she finally faced what she had done, she accepted the fact that she'd acted on instinct. Alone and afraid, she had saved herself without thought to those who would come after her. She couldn't change her own actions, but she'd attempted to atone ever since. Although she'd volunteered, counseled, and represented women who needed her, the sin of being selfish haunted her even today. Wasn't Amanda proof?

It was enough. Didn't she deserve a chance at happiness? Maybe Griff would understand and accept. A big maybe, she knew. If not, at least she'd taken a step towards regaining her life.

She glanced around the apartment and knew she couldn't remain here any longer. Since Griff and Alix, this sterile environment no longer suited her.

A loud knock startled her out of her reverie. Maybe this was her chance. Griff might not have a car, but he hadn't let it keep him away. Knowing him, he'd hijacked Ryan and brought Alix along.

She ran to the door, fumbling with the lock and swinging it open as she spoke. "Griff ..." Her smile froze and so did her heart.

"Hi, Chelsie. It's been a long time."

"Jeff." Her voice sounded hoa.r.s.e, strange even to her own ears. Five years dissolved as if they'd never been, but she refused to show a hint of fear. Disregarding the blood that surged to her head and her suddenly damp palms, she glared at her ex-husband.

"You remember." He pushed her aside, entering her apartment without invitation.