The Honeymoon Cottage (A Pajaro Bay Romance) by Barbara Cool Lee Page B
Authors: Barbara Cool Lee
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looking a bit wary at the fleeting emotions that must—as always—be obvious on her face. She smiled at him, forcing herself to stop thinking about herself. "So, I suppose you've seen a lot of criminals. How long have you been a cop?"
"Ten years in major crime with the Sacramento PD before I came here two years ago. Homicide, drugs, pretty much everything. Listen—" He shot her another quick glance. "You're holding up just fine." He seemed to want to say something more, but just pulled the car out of the parking lot.
"What? What do you want to say?" she asked.
"I wanted to ask...."
Her expression must have been transparent, because he added, almost reluctantly, "I'm not asking officially. What happened in San Jose is out of my jurisdiction. I'd just like to hear your story. Maybe I can help."
Maybe he could help. She was so tired of dealing with this on her own. But she knew she couldn't really open up to him. Still, maybe telling him about Dennis would get him off her back. Maybe saying it all out loud would answer all his questions and then he wouldn't bother her anymore. "It's all right," she finally said, making up her mind. "I've told the story so many times, what's one more?"
She leaned back against the vinyl seat. "Where can I start? Let's see. I worked for Felix Cordova."
Ryan whistled. "Cordova Computing? The big high-tech firm? I guess it didn't register just how big a company you'd been part of."
That was the reaction everyone had when she said it. She used to be so proud when she announced where she worked. The cutting-edge computer firm run by the brilliant ex-astronaut supposedly hired only the best graduates from top universities.
"Yeah. It was a lucky break. I interned in their payroll department when I was earning my accounting degree from San Jose State." She skipped everything that happened before college. He didn't need to know any of that.
"It doesn't sound like luck. You must be pretty good at your job to get hired while still in college."
She sighed. She used to think she was. "Like I said, it was a lucky break. Anyway. I used to eat lunch in a park next to the company grounds—a lot of employees took their lunches there. Oh, no," she added as it struck her. "Dennis must have known that. He was staking out the park looking for—"
"—Somebody from the payroll department. Probably." Ryan pulled the SUV to a stop and turned to her. "So you met him in the park?"
"Right. He was there with Oliver. It was really Oliver I noticed first. The little boy, so closed-in, needing something—"
"—Someone," he said softly.
She didn't know how to explain it. The feeling that had come over her when she'd seen Oliver. It had been almost like seeing herself as a child. Almost like recognizing something familiar in him, something deep inside of her that she'd been avoiding all her life.
She tried to figure out how to explain how her life had turned upside down so suddenly without revealing too much about herself. "It was almost like Dennis was looking for a woman who liked his son, more than him." She was talking almost to herself, remembering, trying to put it together. "They were there many times during my lunch hour, and we got to talking, and I heard his story."
"Which was?"
"He was a single father. Oliver's mother had died in a car accident. I think I wouldn't have been so quick to trust him if he was just some guy hitting on me in the park. It was the picture of them, a father and son trying to rebuild their lives after Oliver's mother died. They were so alone. I knew what that felt like."
"Being alone?"
She hurried on with the story, afraid she had said too much. "So anyway, that's why I fell for him. He was so...."
"Vulnerable?"
"Yeah."
"So what does Dennis look like?"
"Look like? That's funny. I don't even have a photograph of him, of us together, or even of Oliver with him. I guess I'd describe him as average. Really average. Brown hair and eyes, medium height, medium build, no
"Ten years in major crime with the Sacramento PD before I came here two years ago. Homicide, drugs, pretty much everything. Listen—" He shot her another quick glance. "You're holding up just fine." He seemed to want to say something more, but just pulled the car out of the parking lot.
"What? What do you want to say?" she asked.
"I wanted to ask...."
Her expression must have been transparent, because he added, almost reluctantly, "I'm not asking officially. What happened in San Jose is out of my jurisdiction. I'd just like to hear your story. Maybe I can help."
Maybe he could help. She was so tired of dealing with this on her own. But she knew she couldn't really open up to him. Still, maybe telling him about Dennis would get him off her back. Maybe saying it all out loud would answer all his questions and then he wouldn't bother her anymore. "It's all right," she finally said, making up her mind. "I've told the story so many times, what's one more?"
She leaned back against the vinyl seat. "Where can I start? Let's see. I worked for Felix Cordova."
Ryan whistled. "Cordova Computing? The big high-tech firm? I guess it didn't register just how big a company you'd been part of."
That was the reaction everyone had when she said it. She used to be so proud when she announced where she worked. The cutting-edge computer firm run by the brilliant ex-astronaut supposedly hired only the best graduates from top universities.
"Yeah. It was a lucky break. I interned in their payroll department when I was earning my accounting degree from San Jose State." She skipped everything that happened before college. He didn't need to know any of that.
"It doesn't sound like luck. You must be pretty good at your job to get hired while still in college."
She sighed. She used to think she was. "Like I said, it was a lucky break. Anyway. I used to eat lunch in a park next to the company grounds—a lot of employees took their lunches there. Oh, no," she added as it struck her. "Dennis must have known that. He was staking out the park looking for—"
"—Somebody from the payroll department. Probably." Ryan pulled the SUV to a stop and turned to her. "So you met him in the park?"
"Right. He was there with Oliver. It was really Oliver I noticed first. The little boy, so closed-in, needing something—"
"—Someone," he said softly.
She didn't know how to explain it. The feeling that had come over her when she'd seen Oliver. It had been almost like seeing herself as a child. Almost like recognizing something familiar in him, something deep inside of her that she'd been avoiding all her life.
She tried to figure out how to explain how her life had turned upside down so suddenly without revealing too much about herself. "It was almost like Dennis was looking for a woman who liked his son, more than him." She was talking almost to herself, remembering, trying to put it together. "They were there many times during my lunch hour, and we got to talking, and I heard his story."
"Which was?"
"He was a single father. Oliver's mother had died in a car accident. I think I wouldn't have been so quick to trust him if he was just some guy hitting on me in the park. It was the picture of them, a father and son trying to rebuild their lives after Oliver's mother died. They were so alone. I knew what that felt like."
"Being alone?"
She hurried on with the story, afraid she had said too much. "So anyway, that's why I fell for him. He was so...."
"Vulnerable?"
"Yeah."
"So what does Dennis look like?"
"Look like? That's funny. I don't even have a photograph of him, of us together, or even of Oliver with him. I guess I'd describe him as average. Really average. Brown hair and eyes, medium height, medium build, no
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