He grinned as he chewed, making a loud and exaggerated “Mmmmm” sound. He said thank you after swallowing and declined another one.
I knew I was smiling too wide. Watching this thrilled my heart. I had dreamed of my baby girl being held by her daddy that way. It might not be Roger but Jackson was an excellent substitute.
Plus, he was getting more good looking by the day. I didn’t want to be caught blushing so I pushed those thoughts out of my head.
“My brother told you we’d be here, huh?”
“He sure did. I know you’re worried about your ex following you so I thought I’d come keep you and the little girl safe.”
He looked at Alana again. I saw the love in his eyes he already had for her. I didn’t mind that a bit. “You want me to take you out in the water, baby?” he asked her, using a kind, soft voice.
She nodded but her lower lip stuck out and she gave me a dark look. “I do but Mommy says we have to leave.”
I hurried to clear that up. I hated to see my girl looking so down in the dumps. I could already picture the way she would have been moping around the house if we really had left.
I had to make myself, but I did, look over to see if the man was still standing there, leaning against the wooden railing. He was. But I was closer now and could see his face. It wasn’t Roger.
My shoulders relaxed and I let out the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. That was the courage I’d gathered to look over at the man. If it had been Roger, he would have been looking over at me having a conversation with a man who was holding his daughter.
I didn’t even want to picture any scenarios that would have resulted from that. Roger had become unpredictable to me.
“I thought I saw him. Roger. I thought that was him over there.” I gestured with my head, returning my eyes to Jackson.
He cast a brief, assessing glance at the man by the fence, then back to me. I nodded, understanding passing between us.
He immediately looked up and around, pointing out a flag high up in the air to Alana that just happened to be above where the man was standing.
“That’s not him, though?” he asked, looking back at me. His eyes softened as they met mine.
“No, it’s not.”
Jackson jumped into energy mode. “Okay then!” he exclaimed, holding Alana out as if she was contaminated. “Let’s go have fun in the water!
And if Mommy sees anybody she doesn’t want to see, she will just tell Jackson, won’t she? You would tell me, alright?”
My heart flooded. I nodded. “Of course I will, Jackson. Thank you.”
“It’s okay, Mommy,” my little girl said as they ran past me. She laughed wildly. “He is a fireman! Mr. Fireman, you’ll protect us.”
“I sure will, honey.”
Jackson headed to the same spot where our blankets had been before and he kicked off his shoes. He must have already seen us before we prepared to leave. I re-spread the blankets.
He pulled the towel from his shoulders and dropped that, too, pulling off Alana’s sandals. He left these things behind and ran out splashing into the water.
In that moment, surrounded by laughter and the afternoon sun, safety felt tangible. And I let myself believe, just for a heartbeat, that this could be the life we were meant to have.
Chapter Nine
Savannah
Two more days passed before the inevitable happened. I hadn’t heard from Det. Detwiler since his initial call, and I couldn’t muster the nerve to reach out.
What was there to ask? His case was over—three years served, seven shaved off. But surely Roger was on probation. Someone had to be keeping an eye on him... right?
Or maybe not. What if they thought he wasn’t a danger anymore? The idea sent a cold knot twisting in my stomach.
By eleven that night, I had worked myself into such a state that the knock on the door made my heart leap into my throat. Alana had been asleep for hours, and there was no reason—none at all—for him to be here at this hour.
