BlackJack (A Standish Bay Romance Book 1) by Christine Donovan Page A

trembled.
    “Tell me
Shannon, what does John do for a living?”
    Shannon openly
cringed at his query and paused for quite some time before she finally answered
in a near whisper. “He’s a police lieutenant.”
    Cole closed his
eyes, and when he opened them, Shannon witnessed the hurt she caused—correction,
John caused. “I’m sorry he feels that way, but if he met you, I know he’d
change his mind. I know he would,” she said with strong conviction, which
wasn’t easy to do, considering her throat burned as she fought back the panic
and tears sure to come. “And I meant everything I said last night,” she added
with a deep sigh.
    He reached over
and wiped the single moist tear slowly trickling down her cheek, and then
touched his heart. “I know you did, but I’ll not be responsible for your
ex-husband making your life miserable or causing problems with Cameron.” He
pushed his chair back and stood to his full height. After clearing his throat,
he continued in a quiet voice, “Good-bye Shannon Gallagher, it’s been an honor
and a pleasure meeting you. Tell Cameron to keep up with his music. I expect to
attend one of his concerts someday.”
    She watched him
leave through a haze of tear stained eyes, and she swallowed the lump in her
throat. That’s it. Done and over before the relationship began. Her hand found
its way to her chest and she’d swear her heart stopped beating.
    She watched as Cole
briefly spoke with Cameron who had just come into the restaurant. He gave him a
hug and her heart broke, for her son, for Cole and for herself. Damn you to
hell and back John for being so stubborn.
    By the time she
met John in the lobby, anger overtook her heartache. She was fuming. It was
probably the first time she had barely been civil toward John. She kissed and
hugged Cameron. “Keep your studies up at school and behave. I’ll be back in one
week.” She didn’t acknowledge John’s hug or kiss, nor did she speak to him. Which
she could tell didn’t sit well with him. Well that’s just too damn bad .
    ***
    Cole watched
the happy family reunion from a chair in the lobby, sitting off to the side so
they couldn’t see him. The ex was an imposing figure, and he held himself with an
air of confidence and arrogance many police officers possessed. He stood
extremely tall and fit, his dark hair showing signs of receding. He seemed to
Cole to genuinely care for Shannon, and he clearly loved his son.
    Cole felt a
twinge of envy. He’d been robbed a family of his own. Oh, he knew there was
still time, but he didn’t have any delusions of grandeur. If nothing else,
prison life made him a realist and forced him out of the world of songs and
music. He now lived in the world convicted murderers lived in. He knew that was
always in the back of people’s minds when they met him. And he believed, deep
down inside, his bandmates and other acquaintances couldn’t get it out of their
minds either. He didn’t really blame anyone for believing he killed Lindsey,
after all he did the time. Oh, he didn’t feel sorry for himself, he was out of
prison and things were going relatively well. He felt sorry for Lindsey because
her life had been stolen from her, and her murderer was left to run free.
    As he came to
the understanding he would probably never see Shannon Gallagher again, he
thought ahead to the tour. Tomorrow they left Boston for New Jersey. He was
skipping over New York. He couldn’t bring himself to face the city responsible
for convicting him. The city he loved beyond all others.
    ***
    Shannon moved
through her day on automatic pilot. The book signing turned out well. But
somehow, she couldn’t get excited about it. She began plotting ahead to the next
two days in New York. She had three different bookstore appearances and a guest
spot on Good Morning American . During the evenings she would have
some time to herself, but her days were tight.
    After dealing
with John and his stubbornness that morning, she’d