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But her mission was to be a good mother, and she would not fail at it.
Parenting Lexi on her own had so far been much harder than she’d ever imagined. She needed help, but the last time she’d let someone render assistance, they’d almost taken everything from her. That would never happen again.
And then the seed of an idea germinated in her mind. Whether she realized it or not, Lexi needed the presence of an adult man in her life, and Maggie wouldn’t be dating anytime soon. She had to concentrate on her daughter and easing the pain of losing her father.
Jack had asked about Lexi’s father, but as usual, Maggie couldn’t even say the words out loud.Matt is never coming home.
She walked into the small and crowded kitchen where she found a simmered down Lexi at the table, her textbook open. She had a boxed juice drink in front of her and had pulled the bowl of grapes out of the fridge.
Maggie gazed at her daughter’s profile only to feel a hitch in her breath when, for a second, Lexi looked just like Matt, her lips pursed as she concentrated, holding the pencil in her left hand.
Having Lexi was like having Matt with her all the time, reminding her that she’d better do a good job and not ruin the best, maybe the only, good thing they’d ever done together.
She sat down across from Lexi at the same stained and marked table she and Matt had owned since the early days of their marriage. Lexi had colored on this table since the time she could hold a crayon in her hand.
“I’m going back to work, but first I want to talk to you.”
“What now?” Lexi met her eyes as though it took a Herculean effort.
Maggie sat down next to her. “First things first. You were rude to Officer Butler. I want you to apologize to him.”
“Apologize? To him? He thought I broke into my own house.”
“He apologized for his mistake. You didn’t have to be so short with him.”
“What can I say? I didn’t want to stand there and watch you flirt with him.” Lexi rolled her eyes.
Maggie closed her eyes and counted to ten. Lexi always knew what buttons to push, and if Maggie didn’t make the offer soon, Lexi would talk her way right out of it.
“I’ve decided to give you a key, and please don’t make me regret it.”
Lexi’s eyes brightened, and she dropped her pencil. “Really?”
“But it’s not because of what happened today. It’s in spite of what happened today. I feel safer knowing we live near a cop, and now I want to give you the chance to prove to me that you can be responsible.”
She prayed she wouldn’t come to regret this decision, like so many others.
“Great. Are you going to have him spy on me now?” Lexi’s eyes narrowed into slits.
“Of course not. He has an important job to do, and it’s not to babysit you.”
Not babysit, but guide, lift up, encourage. That’s what she hoped for, anyway.
“That’s good, because I don’t need a babysitter.” Lexi frowned.
They’d have to set a few ground rules, and she’d make sure they were enforced. It would help to have another set of eyes at least some of the time. She only hoped the officer didn’t mind the intrusion, because right now she desperately needed his help.
If she didn’t get control of Lexi soon, she could risk losing her all over again.
The beautiful messof a woman who lived two doors down was that rare woman he heard about often but never met in real life: a woman who appeared to be unaware of her own beauty. Legend held that there were women like that in the world, but until now, Jack had not believed it to be true.
She had obviously dropped everything when her daughter called, evidenced by the black apron from The Bean. That was a first. Most parents he’d dealt with in the past came in red faced and ready to tear right into their kid. And then him, for having the nerve to catch their little darlings doing something wrong.
He was thinking about Maggie’s long and wavy hair when his doorbell rang, causing him to startle and instinctively grab his Glock.Calm down.He’d just moved in recently, and even Ryan Colton, his best friend and fellow deputy, had yet to drop by.
Mostly because Jack liked to keep to himself, even though it went against doctor’s orders. Those orders were to reconnect with society, understand the inherent good in people, and a lot of other nonsense he’d already forgotten.
He peered at his new neighbor through the keyhole.Maggie.Even the name was beautiful and rolled off the tongue like an Irish melody, and surely the Big Guy didn’t mind him looking a bit now since Mr. Bradshaw was out of the picture. No, still not a good idea. Single mom and all that, and the kid was a deal breaker.
