wrote on it and held it out to her. âHere. Thatâs my personal cell on the back. Call me. I meanâ¦you knowâ¦if you have any problems with Emma.â
Lindsay shook her head and stared at his hand until he lowered it.
âLook, I understand that youâre concerned about Emma, but you donât need to be. Thank you again, but we wonât be needing any further help.â She nodded as if to emphasize her point. âEmma and I will be just fine on our own. Iâll make sure of it.â
âIâm glad to hear that.â Still, he couldnât help but lift his hand and extend the card again. âHere, take this anyway. Just in case.â
Joe couldnât explain it. He wasnât suggesting that Lindsay couldnât make it on her own, but it had become important to him that he left something of himself behind with her. Whether or not she called, he liked knowing she could. After tonight, he would have no reason to ever see her again. No legitimate reason. He could keep coming up with excuses as he had tonight, but stalking was a misdemeanor in Michigan. Even a felony with aggravated circumstances. Hadnât he aggravated her enough already?
She stared at the card for a long time, but finally she reached out to take it. He didnât miss that she was careful not to let their fingers brush. That was probably a good idea. Heâd already experienced the electric shock of touching Lindsay Collins. It wouldnât be in his best interest to repeat that.
âThanks, but I wonât need it.â Instead of holding on to the card, she set it on the table next to the pen. She pulled open the front door and then pushed the storm door wide and looked back at him.
Stepping through the doorway, he couldnât resist one more look back at her. âThanks for dinner.â
After they said their goodbyes, she pulled the storm door closed, shut the door behind it and clicked two locks. Joe stood there, feeling discarded in a way he couldnât remember ever having been before. Finally,he started down the walk to his truck. But disconcerting thoughts slipped inside the cab with him, buckling themselves in the passenger seat and refusing to budge.
What was it about Lindsay Collins that made it so hard for him to get her out of his mind? She was facing so many challenges. Even parents who didnât appear to be in her corner. But heâd never seen anyone as determined do to anything as Lindsay was to be a good guardian.
She probably wouldnât get everything right the first time, but she wouldnât stop trying. The child victims in the tragic domestic-assault cases heâd investigated would have given anything to have someone try that hard for them.
It was probably best that he wouldnât see Lindsay after today. If he did spend time with her, he would only be tempted to become friends with her. Or worse. That just couldnât happen. He couldnât allow himself to become too involved. Letting his guard down had gotten him into trouble both in his personal life and on the job. Shouldnât he learn from his mistakes?
Just because he wouldnât be spending more time with her didnât mean he didnât want her to succeed, though. He might not get the chance to watch her as she took each step along the learning curve to become the best guardian she could be, but, at least in his thoughts, he would be rooting for her every step of the way.
Chapter Five
W ith trembling hands, Lindsay dug her cell phone out of her purse and fumbled with the buttons. She didnât want to dial the numberâit felt like admitting defeatâbut this was what she had to do.
It didnât matter that it was nearly 2:00 a.m. or that just over twenty-four hours earlier sheâd said she didnât need the number. But this wasnât about her. It was about Emma, and Lindsay would do anything to ensure that the child was okay. Well, except call her parents.
Lindsay shook her head and stared at his hand until he lowered it.
âLook, I understand that youâre concerned about Emma, but you donât need to be. Thank you again, but we wonât be needing any further help.â She nodded as if to emphasize her point. âEmma and I will be just fine on our own. Iâll make sure of it.â
âIâm glad to hear that.â Still, he couldnât help but lift his hand and extend the card again. âHere, take this anyway. Just in case.â
Joe couldnât explain it. He wasnât suggesting that Lindsay couldnât make it on her own, but it had become important to him that he left something of himself behind with her. Whether or not she called, he liked knowing she could. After tonight, he would have no reason to ever see her again. No legitimate reason. He could keep coming up with excuses as he had tonight, but stalking was a misdemeanor in Michigan. Even a felony with aggravated circumstances. Hadnât he aggravated her enough already?
She stared at the card for a long time, but finally she reached out to take it. He didnât miss that she was careful not to let their fingers brush. That was probably a good idea. Heâd already experienced the electric shock of touching Lindsay Collins. It wouldnât be in his best interest to repeat that.
âThanks, but I wonât need it.â Instead of holding on to the card, she set it on the table next to the pen. She pulled open the front door and then pushed the storm door wide and looked back at him.
Stepping through the doorway, he couldnât resist one more look back at her. âThanks for dinner.â
After they said their goodbyes, she pulled the storm door closed, shut the door behind it and clicked two locks. Joe stood there, feeling discarded in a way he couldnât remember ever having been before. Finally,he started down the walk to his truck. But disconcerting thoughts slipped inside the cab with him, buckling themselves in the passenger seat and refusing to budge.
What was it about Lindsay Collins that made it so hard for him to get her out of his mind? She was facing so many challenges. Even parents who didnât appear to be in her corner. But heâd never seen anyone as determined do to anything as Lindsay was to be a good guardian.
She probably wouldnât get everything right the first time, but she wouldnât stop trying. The child victims in the tragic domestic-assault cases heâd investigated would have given anything to have someone try that hard for them.
It was probably best that he wouldnât see Lindsay after today. If he did spend time with her, he would only be tempted to become friends with her. Or worse. That just couldnât happen. He couldnât allow himself to become too involved. Letting his guard down had gotten him into trouble both in his personal life and on the job. Shouldnât he learn from his mistakes?
Just because he wouldnât be spending more time with her didnât mean he didnât want her to succeed, though. He might not get the chance to watch her as she took each step along the learning curve to become the best guardian she could be, but, at least in his thoughts, he would be rooting for her every step of the way.
Chapter Five
W ith trembling hands, Lindsay dug her cell phone out of her purse and fumbled with the buttons. She didnât want to dial the numberâit felt like admitting defeatâbut this was what she had to do.
It didnât matter that it was nearly 2:00 a.m. or that just over twenty-four hours earlier sheâd said she didnât need the number. But this wasnât about her. It was about Emma, and Lindsay would do anything to ensure that the child was okay. Well, except call her parents.
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