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“Just making sure.” He didn’t really sound worried and she figured he was merely being polite—not reading her mind.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I told Ethan I’d call. He hasn’t let up on me all morning about that Attack game.”
“He’s going to give me my key to the animals.”
“You were being nice to him, and I appreciate that, but I’ll get you out of it. The thing is, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer until I called.” So she did. Because she didn’t have a logical reason to give Ethan that he’d understand.
“I don’t want out of it.” His response sent her heart thudding. “I meant to solidify something before we split up last night and forgot.”
“You don’t have to come here and play video games with my kid,” she told him, hoping her chuckle sounded genuinely unconcerned. Although it wasn’t.
“I want to...unless you have some reason for not wanting me to?”
What was it with these two guys? It was like they were plotting together against her. One she loved with all her being, and the other...she really liked Tad.
She was intrigued. Curious. She wanted to explore further.
Her life didn’t support that choice.
At least not long-term.
“I mean, I know you’re busy and—”
“I’m on leave,” he reminded her with a laconic drawl. “In a town where I know very few people. Other than my daily exercises, High Risk Team meetings and checking on Danny, my day is free.”
Looking around at the fairly large but still cozy living and kitchen area—all open so she didn’t have to worry about anyone lurking in a corner—she tried to figure out what to do. This was why she didn’t let people get too close, why the only “friends” she had were at work or The Lemonade Stand.
Not only did it keep life manageable, safe, but she’d also realized that if she ever had to run again, having no one close, in any sense, would make it easier. Less complicated.
“Or we can do it another time,” Tad said, his tone as relaxed as always. Hard to believe this laid-back guy was a decorated detective. In her experience with law enforcement personnel—and she had a lot of it growing up with her fire chief father—first responders were an intense bunch. Work hard, play hard.
Get mad just as hard, at least in her father’s case.
“I’m cleaning house this morning,” she said. What was she going to say? What reason could she give for not having him over that didn’t make her sound crazy?
She’d been told, during her identity-change counseling, to stick to the truth as much as possible to avoid mistakes. But the truth was, there was no real reason she couldn’t have people over. Her counselors had also told her to live life as normally as possible.
She was...scared.
“But it’s not a big place,” she continued. Hallway, bath and the two bedrooms left to sweep and mop. “If... How does one sound?”
He offered to bring lunch.
She tried to demur, but failed. He offered Mexican. She and Ethan loved Mexican.
Clicking off her phone after giving him their order, she didn’t feel hungry at all. In fact, she felt nauseous.
She pushed through the sensation. Picked up her broom. Took nice, even strokes down the hall.
She’d invited Tad Newberry further into their lives.
She was doing this for Ethan.
Who better than a man who was already protecting another little boy from domestic abuse to have around her son? To help fill the male void she’d been noticing. He’d been talking about Jimmy’s father a lot.
The decision to have Tad around, just for a short time, was a good one for Ethan, she told herself as she finished with their small bathroom and moved into her bedroom, listening to her son sing a goofy rendition of a kid’s song blaring from the player she’d given him for Christmas.
But she could only have Tad around if she made absolutely sure that Ethan understood that the detective was only in town for a while. And kept herself constantly apprised of that fact, as well.
