“You’ll need to change his diaper and get him in this.” She held up a one-piece sleeper. “It zips down the front.” She tapped an item attached to the crib. “He likes the soother to be on—and the little lamp in the corner.”
“Are you leaving?” Was she going to trust him?
“I’ll go start dinner while you take care of him.” She leaned over Austin on the changing table and kissed his forehead. “Mama loves you, baby.” After she straightened, she glanced at Zach. He caught the slight hesitation in her expression before she spoke. “Would you like to join me? It won’t be anything fancy.”
“Love to,” he answered quickly, pleased she’d asked him. He could pretend to himself he just wanted a home-cooked meal, but he wanted to stay with them as if they were a real family, eat a meal with her as they’d done so many times together.
After she left the room, he focused on caring for his son. With Austin kicking his legs, getting the sleeper on was a challenge, but Zach accomplished it. He adjusted the lights and turned on the soother that played soft music and showed colorful fish swimming across a little screen. He lingered for a moment, holding Austin and rocking him gently until he saw a yawn. He took that as a sign. With one last kiss, he placed the boy on his back, whispered good night, and left the room.
Out in the hall, he took a minute. He’d just put his child to bed for the first time. It was a big deal to him, and he hoped he could be there every night to kiss his son. Having dinner with Carolyn was a big deal, too. He couldn’t deny he was still a little upset with her…but being with her was so natural, the attraction he felt for her so right.
Downstairs, she had pasta cooking on the stove and was making a creamy sauce to go over it. A favorite of his. She looked to him, smiling. Had she consciously chosen the meal to please him?
“Smells good,” he said. “Anything I can do?”
“There’s wine in the fridge if you want some.”
He was tempted, but it might make him sleepy. Not something he could afford when he’d be spending the night keeping watch.
“I’ll pass. Can I pour you a glass?”
“That would be nice.” With a tilt of her head, she indicated the cabinet where the wine glasses were stored. “Grab the vegetables, too. We should eat something healthy.”
He pulled a bottle of white wine and a tray of vegetables, already cut up, as she stirred the sauce.
“How’d it go up there?” she asked casually.
He hid his smile, surprised she’d waited even that long before questioning him. She was a good mother. He could see her love for Austin in everything she did.
“Okay, I think,” he answered. “He was sleepy when I put him down.”
“He must be out. I haven’t heard anything on the monitor.”
So she’d been listening in. He couldn’t blame her, he guessed. It would be difficult to share the boy after more than a year of having him to herself. Zach was making progress on not resenting that.
As they ate, they chatted about old friends, including some of his SEAL buddies and their wives they’d once been close with. When they were nearly finished with the meal, he asked a question that had him worried. “Are you still planning to investigate the recent problems at the store?” He’d heard from a local cop he knew that she’d been at the police station again, asking questions about the dead robber. His past, his known associates, any details they were willing to share.
“Of course.” Her response was instant and emphatic. “I have to. This is my business, my life. I can’t just ignore these threats.”
“It could be dangerous.” He realized his error when her eyes sharpened. He’d as much as said he agreed with her.
She pounced. “So you think I’m right. There’s something to it. If there weren’t, there’d be no danger.”
“I don’t know if there is or isn’t,” he clarified. There might be, he’d admitted to himself, as he’d analyzed the information she’d given him during the long hours of the night. His senses told him something was up. Why else would he have spent the past five nights in his car?
“It’s too much coincidence, Zach. I can’t let it go.” Her tone softened. “You know what the store means to me. It’s my mother’s legacy. She built it from the ground up by herself. No one is going to destroy it.”
All That Sparkles was more than that for her. Being part of the business made Carolyn happy. On top of that, the stakes were higher for her now. And she was one stubborn woman. He hadn’t forgotten that about her. She had plenty of backbone, a fact that had cost him her love. He’d misjudged her then, hoping she wouldn’t stay true to her ultimatum of her or the SEALs. He wasn’t making that mistake again, but he had to keep her safe.
“You might be on to something, but you can’t investigate alone.” He caught her expression and rushed on before she could interrupt. “Look, if you’re right, someone paid an armed robber. That’s an extreme action. Whoever did that should be approached cautiously.”
“It can’t hurt to poke around a bit,” she argued. “So far I’ve just made phone calls and stopped by the police station.”
“And if this unknown perpetrator feels you’re getting close to him, what do you think he’ll do?” He didn’t want to frighten her, but he needed her to consider the possible consequences. He watched her face as she processed what could happen not just to her, but to Austin and her family.
“He’ll come after me…or worse,” she answered, speaking slowly. “I can’t just sit around and let it happen, though. What could he do next?” She shuddered, and his imagination went to some unpleasant scenarios.
“You’ll need help,” he declared.
“The police are giving me the brush-off, and I don’t want to involve Charlotte or Mom if this is dangerous.”
“You’re skipping the obvious solution to the problem,” he pointed out. Had she just not thought of him, or was she intentionally keeping him at a distance?
“You?” Her wide eyes and dimples showed her disbelief.
“Me,” he confirmed. “No one goes at these sorts of situations alone. The police have backup, and the SEALs work in teams. Always. It’s how it’s done. So I’ll be your backup.”
“I suppose you have experience.” Her voice was dead serious, making him grin at her businesslike approach.
“Is this an interview?” He kept it light. Most of his experience was documented in classified files somewhere and definitely included things she didn’t want to see.
“I know you’re capable…I’m just a little surprised you would offer.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said, turning solemn. She could believe it was because she was the mother of his child if she chose to. Spending time in her house and sitting across the table from her had reminded him of how much more existed between them.
“And you know I’ll go at this anyway.” She drank the last of her wine, watching him over the rim.
“I do know that. I’ve seen your determination in action.” He’d misjudged it the night she’d ended their engagement.