Protecting Her Secret Son

Chapter 3 (#uf0b5f15f-4b9a-5b8c-a496-3ef6fdede900)

Hearing her in the hall bath, Daniel backpedaled to the kitchen. He didn’t mean to catch her coaching herself, yet he’d worried when she hadn’t come back right away. The overhead light in the hall winked out and she paused in the kitchen doorway.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Getting there.”

He’d relayed everything she’d said to Grant, caught between trusting her assessment of her ex’s involvement and common sense. There hadn’t been enough time to develop a real lead, though the video could prove helpful. Though learning construction at his dad’s hip had taught him patience, he knew the waiting would wear down her resolve. He’d just find a way to help her through it.

“Do you date at all?” he asked.

Her pale eyebrows furrowed over her nose same way her son’s had. “Beg pardon?”

“I’m thinking about the concert.” He felt like a jerk for bringing it up, for pushing her more after such a traumatic day. “We need to go, but if dating isn’t normal for you, I’m not sure how to proceed. Grant’s leaving the decision to us.”

“Oh.”

That wasn’t exactly the clarification he needed. “Do you ever go out with girlfriends? It’s Saturday night.” He watched her closely while his mind sifted through the tasks ahead. Training with the PFD had conditioned him to dive in, to problem-solve and help. In that role, he rarely felt helpless, thanks to training and teamwork. Assisting on a kidnapping in any capacity was way more than he’d ever expected to do.

“How can they ask me to be normal?” she demanded in a hoarse whisper, staring at her phone. “What could possibly be normal about my life while they have Aiden?”

She was on the verge of cracking again. He could see it in the hard set of her shoulders. A stiff breeze would shatter her. He took away her phone, caught her hands when she reached for it in a blind panic. “Shh. I’ll help you through it, Shannon.”

Her hands fluttered under his like trapped butterflies. “I have to be alone. They said normal.” She sucked in a breath, held it while she lifted her gaze to the ceiling, blew it out slowly. “I am not going to lose it again.”

“It’s okay if you do.” He let her go, missing the contact more than he should.

“No.” She took another deep breath in and out. “No, I don’t really date.” Her eyes slid to a point over his shoulder. “Saturday night is usually Aiden, me, pizza and a movie.” She got through without another tear.

“Nicely done.” He admired her grit and resolve. “You and Rachel never go out?”

“Well, sure. A few times a year.”

“They don’t know your routine,” he said, theorizing on the fly. “It’s another hoop for you to jump through, buying them time.”

“That fits Bradley’s methods,” she allowed.

“It’s something to consider.” He released her hands and picked up his keys. If he was lucky, it would give her mind something to do besides worry. “Now let’s get moving. We’ll go back to your place and I’ll stay over. Tonight we’ll go out, as if we’d made plans like normal people.”

“Like a date?” She flicked her hands up and down. “Look at me. I can’t do that.”

He swallowed the immediate protest. From his vantage point, she looked beautiful and he was sure she could do anything she set her mind to. Under the sadness and the stress, the qualities that had always drawn him to her were still there. She personified commitment and tenacity, managed to keep her balance between a demanding job and her young son. The packaging of her pretty face and lovely curves was simply icing on the cake.

“I’m trying to help, Shannon.”

“I know.” More tears shimmered in those wide brown eyes. “A date is hardly part of the routine for me. Dating me isn’t in your routine, either.”

He made a mental note to figure out what she meant by that. Later. This wasn’t about him. “We need to buy time for Grant,” he said. “And I don’t see a better option than the club. It’s the safest place to talk with him and we’ll be surrounded by friends. It’s bad luck for them that they attacked right when you started dating someone new.”

With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head. “No. My ex is behind this...Just, no.” She used her shirtsleeves to blot her eyes. “Take me home and I’ll find a way to deal with him on my own.”

“No, right back,” he said, bracing for an argument. He knew all about her independent streak and her pride on the job. He’d seen her house, noticed all the evidence of the same traits. “This isn’t a situation you can ‘deal with.’ Routine or not, you’re not going through this alone.”

“Daniel.”

Hearing her say his name with an exasperated sigh only spurred him on. “Remember what Grant said. Alone, you’re a sitting duck and what good will that do Aiden?”

He’d never been happier to have a woman shoot daggers at him. “That’s low.”

“You’ll find I get creative when lives are on the line.”

Her lips parted and snapped shut. Nudging him aside, she walked over and turned out the kitchen light. He interpreted the move as a minor victory, though he was sure there were plenty of battles ahead of them.

* * *

“We’ll swing by my place,” he said, meandering through the neighborhood side streets. “I pack fast, don’t worry. We’ll be settled at your place right away. Later, we’ll meet Ed and the guys at the Escape Club for the concert. We’ll stay for one set, get Grant’s take on any news and go home.”

“Home to my place.” She drummed her fingertips on her cell phone.

“That’s right.”

“You may want to pack a bed, too. Aiden’s will be too small for you.”

He gave her a long glance while they waited for a traffic light to change. “The couch is all I need.”

She didn’t reply and he couldn’t get a read on her with her face turned toward the window. The sound of his phone caught her attention. The hands-free setting showed Ed’s name on the truck’s radio display. “I’ll call him back.”

“You should pick it up. It’s probably about the charity house.”

He did as she asked, hoping for the best. He’d bitten off a big goal aiming to finish the project before he went back to his normal shifts. Suppliers had the materials standing by, and Daniel had put his best people on the job, including Shannon. Despite his father’s doubts, he was confident they could pull it off.

“What’s up?”

“I went by Officer Caldwell’s house,” Ed said, referring to the pro bono project. “Found a water leak under the bathtub.”

“We suspected we’d have to re-pipe.”

“Yeah, but this has been long and slow. Subfloor is rotted nearly through.”

Shannon winced in sympathy.

Daniel sighed. Nothing kept a man as humble as working construction. “Did you send the material order to the office?” Jennings kept a warehouse of the basic materials on hand for smaller jobs and situations like this one. Based on his recollection of last month’s inventory sheet, pulling from the stock wouldn’t pinch any of his Dad’s projects.

“I’ve got it worked up and ready to send over. Just giving you a heads-up.”

Daniel forced himself to smile, hoping it translated into easy confidence over the phone. “I appreciate that, man.”

“You’re meeting us at the concert tonight?”