Passion's Law by Ruth Langan Page B

frowned. Of course that was the reason. He much preferred believing that to the alternative—that his happiness was in direct proportion to the amount of time he was spending in the company of his daughter’s pretty baby-sitter.
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    It had been a particularly frustrating day for Thad. He’d been called to the station early, which meant waking his little daughter from a sound sleep and dressing her while she was barely awake. By the time they’d arrived at the ranch, he was grateful to turn his daughter over to the care of Heather, who managed, with a few simple words, to soothe the little girl’s unhappiness while calmly fixing a breakfast of fruit, cereal and juice. By the time Thad had seen Brittany at lunchtime, she’d been laughing and chatting as though she hadn’t a care in the world.
    That went a long way toward making the rest of the day tolerable. But it couldn’t ease Thad’s uneasiness over the lax security around the ranch. Despite the security monitors and the trained professionals who’d been hired to see to the safety of those who lived here, he had some real reservations about the effectiveness of men and equipment.
    Men, even those well paid, tended to get careless. And machines were often affected by weather conditions, or even something as simple as a weak battery.
    He frowned as he went over a mental checklist of things he still wanted to look over. He had a friend who had left the police force in San Francisco to form his own private security business. Thad intended to phone him with a list of questions. It never hurt to pick the brains of the best in the business.
    Preoccupied, he was walking some distance from the pool when he saw the tiny head bobbing in the water. For one brief moment his heart simply stopped beating. Then he flew into action, racing to the edge, prepared to dive in. Just then he caught sight of Heather standing a foot away from Brittany, urging her to paddle toward her.
    When a shadow fell over them she looked up to see Thad scowling at her.
    Brittany called, “Look, Daddy. I’m swimming.” She splashed through the water until she reached the safety of Heather’s arms, where she was caught and held firmly.
    Thad’s tone was vibrating with a fear so palpable, it had him by the throat. He swallowed it back, preferring to deal in anger. “You’re teaching my daughter to swim without checking with me?”
    â€œSorry.” Heather brushed water from her eyes. “You weren’t around to ask. And since this was an emergency, I thought I’d better see to it right away. Especially when I realized that she has no fear of water.”
    Thad’s scowl deepened. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œBrittany and I were walking and she ran ahead, right up to the edge of the pool.” She touched a hand to her heart. “Thad, she didn’t even slow down. She just took a tumble right in.”
    She kept her arms around the laughing, splashing little girl as she added, “If you think you were afraid the day she was missing from your car, you have some idea how my heart was pounding when I jumped in after her.”
    She glanced down at the little girl in her arms. “Come on, honey. That’s enough for today.”
    She waded through the water to the edge and handed Brittany up to her father. It was then that he realized the little girl was wearing only her underwear.
    â€œHer clothes are in the dryer along with mine,” Heather explained when she caught the look of surprise on his face.
    She pulled herself up to the side of the pool and Thad couldn’t help but note the tank suit that fit her like a second skin. His anger took a definite second place to a newer emotion.
    He reached down and helped her to her feet, his hands lingering on hers a moment longer than necessary before he turned away and handed her a towel.
    â€œThanks.” She dried herself and draped the towel