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“Momma, why are you crying?”
I swiped at the tears, refusing to let him see how terrified I was. “It’s so silly. I stubbed my toe and it really hurt.”
“Should I kiss it?”
“No, baby. It’s all better now. Are you ready to go?”
His eyebrows shot up as he spun away from me. “I gotta get my backpack!”
I stood as he ran across the room and grabbed his folder, then started putting his papers inside.
“He had a really good day,” Ms. Sally assured me. “He told me Dr. Seuss was too easy and made me pick out a harder book for him. Good luck with that,” she laughed.
“I’m sure he’ll read it to me all night.”
“I don’t doubt it. It’s a book about the ocean, and he hasn’t stopped staring at it since I gave it to him. Alison set up this project just so he would put it down for five minutes. When he started telling me about bioluminescence, I decided he’d had enough for the day,” she laughed. “I’m not sure I even knew what bioluminescence was until I was an adult.”
“He’s setting the bar pretty high.”
He crashed into my legs a few seconds later, grinning up at me. “Can we get burgers on the way home?”
“Anything you want.”
After today, I needed a night with no cooking. Besides, he had to be starving. It was way past dinner time. I’d have to get him home and right to bed. I thanked the ladies one last time for staying late,then walked out with Parker to the car. He chatted my ear off the whole way, telling me about all the things he learned from his new book.
I smiled and nodded along, but I was so distracted that I didn’t hear half of what he said. I ordered a kid’s meal for Parker, but couldn’t stomach the thought of eating anything right now. I was still nauseous from what happened at the hospital. What I really needed was a warm bath and a big glass of wine.
It wasn’t until I turned down my street that I even thought about the officer from earlier. He was currently parked in my driveway, which initially freaked me out, but then I realized that all he had to do was look me up. He had the resources to find out anything he wanted.
“Mama, why is there a police officer in our driveway?”
“Um…I met him earlier. He’s just here to say hi.”
“Is he gonna give me a ride in his car?” he asked excitedly.
“Not tonight. You have to get to bed, mister,” I answered as I parked beside the cruiser.
I got out, looking over at my new neighbor’s drive first. He was kneeling next to a bike I’d never seen before, but he wasn’t working on it. He was staring at me. Swallowing hard, I quickly turned and grabbed Parker from the back seat just as Officer Thorson walked around the back of my car.
“I know you told me you didn’t need me to come by, but I would feel better if I checked out the place.”
Everything about him put me at ease. It wasn’t easy to live in this area with a small kid. Baz always had his men running errands for him. I was just lucky there were never any shots fired, but if Officer Thorson kept coming around, I wasn’t sure that would last.
“Okay, but I have to put this guy to bed.”
“I won’t be long. I promise.”
I nodded and headed for the door, glancing over my shoulder one last time at the man beside the bike. His eyes followed me all the way to the front porch, but he looked away as soon as Officer Thorson looked his way.
“Is he a problem?” Officer Thorson asked.
“Um…I don’t know. I’ve never met him. He just moved in.”
He took the keys from me and unlocked the door, letting himself in. I followed, but hung back as he walked through my small house.
“All clear,” he grinned. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate you taking the time to come out here.”
