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“Richard!” Paula hissed.
“I resent that implication,” Jack stated in a calm voice, though Maggie swore his jaw twitched.
“Resent it all you want.” Richard finally looked at his wife, as though he’d just now noticed she was there. “Fine, fine. We’ll go. But this isn’t over.”
“Have a good evening,” Jack said.
Paula rushed off behind Richard, turning once to mouth ‘sorry’ in their direction, and before Maggie realized what had happened, Jack ushered her inside her home and shut the door.
She managed to take in a long shuddering breath and shut her eyes. When she opened them, Jack stared at her with those blue eyes that seemed to know far too much.
“A little excitement tonight,” Jack said. “So that was your father-in-law, Lexi’s grandfather?”
“Sorry to say, yes.”
“Piece of work, that man.”
He shook his head slowly, and she noticed some of the tension remained in his jawline. She didn’t like the fact that her family troubles had bled over into their friendship, but there wasn’t much she could do about that now.
“I’m sorry about that. Lexi and I have caused you to bring your job home with you one too many times.”
“A casualty of my job. Never really get to leave it behind.”
Maggie nodded, remembering why Jack had come over. “I’ll go get Chief. He’s in Lexi’s bedroom.”
She hadn’t taken one step before she felt Jack’s warm hand on her arm.
“Wait.”
A shiver ran down her arm, but she did not want to enter another staring contest with him now. Yet if she gazed in his eyes, she wouldn’t look away anytime soon, so she refused to meet them.
“What is it?”
“What’s going on here, Maggie? Why won’t you let Lexi see her grandparents? Something tells me there’s a good reason.”
She could tell him that it was none of his business, but a strange part of her wanted to make it his business. And she needed to tell that strange and unwelcome part of herself to get a clue. She was single, and had to remain that way.
“Do you really want to know?” She didn’t have to hear his answer because it seemed written in his expressive eyes. He did want to know. Somehow, he cared.
“I do.”
“I don’t want you to think any less of me.”
He’d seen the worst side of Lexi, and he might have already made judgments about her parenting skills. What she had to tell him might cinch it.
That’s why the kid is such a mess, he’d think. No wonder.
“That couldn’t happen.”
He surprised her by backing up, taking a seat on her couch, and spreading his arms out. It all gave the impression of relaxation and waiting, and she had a feeling he’d be here for hours if she wanted him to be. The thought filled her with warmth.
She sat beside him. “OK. You know about Lexi’s dad, but what you don’t know is that after it happened I wasn’t myself for a while.”
“Understandable.”
“I was grieving, but my way of dealing with it was to sleep. When I slept, I forgot for a while that I was alone, that my daughter didn’t have a father anymore. That our whole world had come crashing down.”
Jack sat, listening. No questions, only silence.
