“Please don’t walk away. Not like this.”
She peers at me through tear-stained lashes. “I can’t put you at risk. I can’t. This has to end until this passes over.”
“No,” I tell her. “We’re in this together. Whatever danger is coming your way, we’ll fight it together. Please don’t say this is over.”
For a moment, I think she’s going to argue with me further, but then her shoulders slump.
“If anything happens to you, to Cooper…”
I pull her against me, one armed, my other holding my son against me and I bury my head in her hair. “Nothing is going to happen, sweetheart. I promise. Let me take care of this, of you.”
“Jared… whoever did both break-ins means business and I don’t think they’re going to stop harassing me until they get whatever it is they want from me. I refuse to put you in the middle of my problems.”
While I agree with her assessment, I disagree with her words.
“No, I need you in my life. Things finally are starting to make sense and that’s because of you. Please don’t walk away from this, from something that has the potential to heal us both.”
I hold my breath while I wait for her answer, holding her tightly to me, scared to let go in case she doesn’t come back.
I feel her nod her head beneath my chin and relief fills me.
Thank God.
“I’ll take care of you, Nia. I will, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to any of us.”
“Okay,” she whispers against me, her hand sifting through Coop’s hair, the other clinging tightly to me.
I never expected to find peace after Robyn’s death, but taking care of Nia fills that empty space I have. I need her like I need my next breath. In a short time she’s become part of my life, part of my existence and I can’t let her go. I refuse to. She’s mine as much as I’m hers, and nothing—not even whoever has it out for her—will change that.
22
Nia
Slider talks me through how to set the alarm at the apartment, then at the store. It looks like something off of a spaceship, with a million different buttons and programs that do so many things. I’m not supposed to worry about that, though. All I need to do is put a code in when I come home to deactivate it, then hit another button that tells the alarm I’m at home. The store has another set of instructions, but I’m sure it’s something I’ll eventually get used to. I have to admit, I feel much safer knowing I have systems in both places that will alert me to intruders. The alarm systems that were put in are the best on the market, Slider told me. I dread to think how much they cost. I also wish Jared would let me pay for them. I have money—not a massive amount, but enough to pay my own way.
I’m sitting at the register three days after the alarms were installed. My head is full of the fact I have another date with Jared tonight, one I can’t wait for. He’s taking me to the movies. I don’t care about what we’re seeing, just that I get to spend some time with him. As scared as I am of moving on with another man after the disaster of my marriage, Jared makes me feel safe, whole and like I can accomplish anything. We’re still taking things slow, seeing where the dice fall, but for now things are going well.
I think he doesn’t need the pressure either. He’s not hung up on his late wife, but she definitely is a presence in his consciousness, and not one I want to erase either. She was Cooper’s mom and he deserves to know whatever he wants to know about her, and she was a huge part of Jared’s life before she died. They had been together since high school. From what Jared has told me it took him a while to tie the knot. Why remains a little hazy, but I’m sure he had good reasons. Cooper coming along was a dream in their fantasy life. Just as they had everything together, everything to look forward to, Robyn died in the accident.
I know Jared has a heap of guilt about it, that he blames himself for it, but he’s wrong. Everything he’s told me about it leads me to think the person responsible was the driver who hit them. He was the one who crossed the center line and hit a stationary vehicle. Jared did nothing wrong, but I think he has to come to terms with that himself in his own way.
For now, I’m content with what we have. Two broken souls trying to rebuild their hearts is a beautiful thing and that’s what we’re trying to do. I’m trying to regain my trust in men and Jared is trying to regain his trust in himself.
The bell over the door goes and I glance up to see Jared and Cooper stepping into the store. My heart immediately swells.
“How are my two favorite men?” I ask, moving around the counter, so I can kiss Jared.
I want to give him a long, wet kiss, but I give him a chaste peck because of Coop. I don’t want to scar the kid for life.
Cooper giggles as I tickle his side.
“We’re good. I have to drop him off at Mom’s then I’ll come and get you at about seven.”
I nod. “Sounds perfect.” I want to broach with him about taking Cooper to the zoo over the weekend, but I don’t want to do it with Cooper standing here in case Jared isn’t keen on the idea.
“Okay,” he kisses my mouth again. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Okay.” I turn to Coop. “Bye, sweetie. Be good for your grandma.”
“I’ll try,” he grumbles, although what he’s grumbling about, I don’t know.
Jared’s lips tug into a grin as he shakes his head.
“Later, babe.”
I watch them leave, heading back across the road to the garage, my heart thumping. They’re fast becoming my world.
I start my routine to lockdown the store and just as I’m about to lock the main door, it’s pushed open. A tall man with dark hair tied at the nape of his neck steps into the store.
“I’m just about to close.”
“I won’t be long,” he tells me.
I want to deny him, but business isn’t exactly booming and a sale is a sale—if I can get him to buy anything.
I open the door wider to let him in and he starts to move around the store, scanning each shelf.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?” I ask, following behind him.
“I just bought a new house, so I need things to go around it to brighten the place up. Decorations, pictures—that kind of thing.”
“Okay, well, I have a heap of decorations in this section here, and all my portraits and pictures are stacked over there.”
I point to the corner where the pictures are leaning against the wall. He moves directly to those and starts flipping through the frames until they’re all leaning against his legs.
“This is all you’ve got?” he asks over his shoulder as he gets to the end of them. I have a good selection, so I try not to get offended by this.
“Unfortunately, yes. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?”
“You really don’t have anything else?”
His words send alarm bells ringing, although I’m not sure why. All I know is he has me on edge, even though his question is harmless.
“No, I’m sorry.”
He stares at me for the longest moment and I want to shift under his scrutiny. Then he says, “Okay, thank you.”