He tried not to show the uneasiness that question triggered. “I did settle there at first, but I decided I needed a change.”
“Kincaid is quite the change from Cincinnati.”
He laughed. “Just a bit. And what about you? Have you always lived here?”
“I’ve never lived outside Pendleton County. I grew up around Butler though, not Kincaid—moved here when I got married.”
His eyes settled on her left hand. No ring.
She caught the look, and her voice was tight when she said, “He’s dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Same.” She glanced in the rearview mirror. “Even more for Jenna than for me. But at least we have each other, and I have plenty of family in the area. She’ll never want for love or attention.”
“A blessing for sure.” He meant the words. A strong family support system meant so much more than many people realized. His had been amazing in some ways but sorely lacking in others.
Hailey slowed the SUV in front of his bungalow. “This it?”
“This is home. Much obliged for the ride.” He grabbed his grocery bags and climbed out of the vehicle.
“No problem.” She frowned at the empty driveway. “Where’s your car?”
“Still at work. Not supposed to drive until Monday.” He had not been happy when the ER doc had made that recommendation.
She made a face. “That’s a pain. Here.” She pulled a business card from her purse and leaned across the seat to hand it to him. “If you need to go anywhere else before then or need a ride to get to your car to pick it up, give me a call. You don’t need to be walking in this heat, and it’s not supposed to let up for several more days.”
“Thanks.” He took the card, but he had no intention of taking her up on the offer.
“I’m serious,” she said. “This town has its issues sometimes, but we try to take care of each other around here.”
He nodded, more touched than he was willing to admit. After he made it inside and got his groceries put away, he picked the card back up. Studied the professional smile that almost hid thesadness in Mrs. Nieland’s eyes. The woman wasn’t more than thirty, if he had to guess. So young to be widowed, and the loss had to be semi-recent. Jenna didn’t appear to be over two years old at most, so the man must have died sometime in the last few years. He doubted it had happened since he moved to Kincaid. He would have seen a news report or at least an obituary. But he’d only been here since January.
Her situation had his curiosity piqued. Maybe he’d grab a sandwich for lunch and see if he could find an article on her husband’s death.
8
Hailey was nearlyfinishedunloading her groceries when she spotted something unfamiliar in her Explorer. The sunlight filtering into her attached garage didn’t quite illuminate that area of the trunk, and whatever it was lay just out of reach, so she hefted herself onto the tailgate and stretched to grab it. Her fingers closed around a square leather object. A man’s wallet? With a grunt, she sat up and flipped it open. Peter Lewis’s face grinned back at her. The wallet must have fallen from his pocket while he was catching his breath, then slid toward the center of the vehicle during the drive home.
She sighed and tucked it into her own pocket for safekeeping until she could figure out how to get it back to him. After scooping up a few blueberries she’d missed earlier—none squashed, thank goodness—she gathered the rest of the bags and closed the vehicle.
Back in her kitchen with the connecting door locked, she deposited the groceries onto the table with the others, then peeked across the island to make sure Jenna was still settled in the living room. At twenty-one months, Jenna could disappear in an instant if she wanted to. Since the house was mostly childproof, Hailey wasn’t too worried about her wandering about, especially withthe way Maggie guarded her as if she were her prime responsibility. She knew better, however, than to assume her daughter couldn’t manage to find something she wasn’t supposed to get into.
But today’s heat and this morning’s debacle seemed to have worn her little girl out. Jenna had tossed aside the toy she’d been playing with and was now asleep on an area rug, her cheek pillowed on Maggie’s side and one fist curled into the golden’s fur. Hailey’s heart melted a bit, and she stopped what she was doing long enough to snap a photo with her phone.
Maggie caught her looking, but her only movement was a shifting of her eyes and a slight swish of her tail. She wouldn’t disturbhergirl even if called. Hailey loved her even more for that.
Satisfied that Jenna was taken care of, she returned her attention to the task at hand. Thanks to her cooler, the perishables had survived their extra time in the heat. The can of white spray paint she’d grabbed to try to cover up the damage on her garage door was warm to the touch, however, and she hoped it hadn’t been compromised. She’d find out this evening when she applied the first coat. It could dry overnight, then she’d add another in the morning before church.
Jenna was still napping when she finished putting things away, so Hailey poured herself a tall glass of cold-brew coffee with a hefty dose of cream and settled on the couch with a book. She’d started the novel a few weeks ago and was still only a few chapters in. Between work and being a toddler mom, she simply didn’t have extra time to spare, but she was learning to snatch a few minutes here and there when she could.
She shifted as she turned a page, and something pressed into her leg. Frowning, she dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out Peter’s wallet. In the few minutes between finding it and putting away the groceries, she’d forgotten about it.
She’d have to get it back to him—and soon—but while she’d given him her number, she didn’t have his. She supposed shecould drop by his house on the way to church in the morning, but she hated to do that unannounced. And what would she do if he wasn’t there? Despite her advice, he could choose to walk somewhere. Or hitch a ride with a friend. She couldn’t very well leave his wallet on the doorstep or in the mailbox if he wasn’t home.
Would it be wrong to look inside his wallet to see if he had a card or something with his phone number on it? It wasn’t like she’d be snooping just to snoop. Deciding it was acceptable, she flipped it open again and did a quick search. Initially, it looked like she was out of luck, but then she noticed the edge of a business card sticking up from behind his driver’s license. Carefully, she tugged it out. Though the card was somewhat worn, it was still legible.
She peered at the title under Peter’s name. He was a bodyguard? Or had been, at some point. Doubtful his current job allowed him the flexibility to fit protective work into his schedule. But that was none of her business. She flipped the card over and felt a rush of relief when she saw a mobile number listed there.
