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Grant hesitated. If she was being so formal with him, then would it be inappropriate for him to offer her a drink? He glanced at the officer behind his desk who didn’t seem to be paying any attention.
“Is this regarding your case?” She came around the desk and he didn’t miss the way she glanced toward the officer. “We can head outside to talk about it if you’d like.”
She gestured toward the door before leading him that way. The second they were outside and down a few paces, she turned to face him.
“I’m so sorry. I forgot to mention that we probably shouldn’t be seen…” Her face turned red. “If they found out we were sorta seeing each other… I could be taken off the case.”
“Really?” Grant let his focus sweep up and down the street. “Would they really do that?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t thinking about that when we went on our date. Luckily, you had that nice little corner for us.” Bella looked away again, her cheeks warming even more. “I should have told you.”
“It’s fine.” Grant watched her closely, loving just how much he was affecting her. He lowered his voice so no one could overhear and leaned a little closer. “You don’t know how much I want to kiss you right now.”
She released a breathless-sounding laugh. “I can understand the sentiment.” Her eyes lifted to meet his and she leaned slightly closer but then took another step back. Her fingers reached up to trap a strand of hair behind her ear then she glanced back to the door behind her. “I really don’t want to be taken off your case until we find out who is doing this. I just have a feeling it’s right under our noses.”
“Any word on the lab?”
Bella scowled. “No. I’ve got half a mind to drive all the way up there and go looking for everything myself. I don’t know how they could have lost any of it. This is so ridiculous.” She turned her gaze to the coffee cups. “Isn’t that a lot for one person?”
He chuckled. “One of them is for you.” Grant held it out toward her. “Just tell Officer Tom in there that it’s a thank you for all the work you’ve been doing.”
She stared at him over the top of her cup, her eyes sparkling with what he could only describe as love. Yes, it was too soon to be talking about such things, but perhaps he might get lucky.
Grant put a little more distance between them. With these new surging feelings, he needed to be careful around her—at least until the investigation was over. He turned his attention down the street as a smile filled his face. “I got to do something exciting today.”
“Oh? And it’s only eight in the morning.”
He nodded. “Nick asked me to teach him how to tie his shoes.” He risked a look in her direction, not surprised to see her smiling. “He said you told him he should ask for my help.”
Bella took another drink of her coffee. “I did.”
He reached out and grazed her hand with his fingertips as he whispered, “Thank you.” Just as quickly, he pulled away from her. “You don’t know how nice it was for me to be able to do something like that for him.”
Her smile widened and she tilted her head. “I think I can get a good idea.”
“No, I don’t think you can. No offense, but until you have a kid…” He didn’t want to turn this into something it wasn’t and it was already headed in that direction. “Let’s just say that I never got to see his firsts. I didn’t hear his first word or see his first steps. I didn’t get to take him to school on his first day. But this time, I got to be there for him.”
She nodded. “I suppose you make a good point. I was only saying that I can understand the importance of this milestone.” Bella looked away, her cheeks filling with color again. “I wore Velcro shoes until I was nine. My mom worked a lot and I was supposed to get myself off to school. Finally, I was able to find a video on the internet that walked me through it. I’ll always remember that day.”
Grant didn’t know what to say. With each layer of her past that she peeled away, he was left in awe of her. She could have easily taught Nick the basics. She could have come to Grant and let him know what Nick needed. Instead, she’d taken a step back and allowed them to have their moment—just father and son.
Bella cleared her throat and only glanced at him once more. “I’m glad it worked out. Nick was worried.”
His brows furrowed. “Worried? About what?”
She inched away from him. It was a small movement—almost unnoticeable—but he’d seen it. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
Grant closed the distance between them and took her hand in his. “No, you need to tell me. I don’t want Nick to be worried about anything when it comes to me. I’m his dad. He should feel safe.”
She peeked at him, then glanced toward the sheriff’s station and pulled her hand away. “He was scared that you were going to leave.”
“Leave? Leave where? I can’t leave, not without him.”
Bella offered him a patient smile. “I guess it has a lot to do with you being absent in the beginning of his life.”
“You know that wasn’t my fault,” he stammered. “You know Dee didn’t tell me?—”
“Have you told Nick that?”
