He made a wry face. “Sorry. I’m a country music guy.”
She laughed. “Why are you so easy to talk to?”
Something about it released the tightness, just a little. “That’s a first. Usually people clam up around me.”
“That’s because they don’t know your warm and fuzzy side.”
“Please do not say that to anyone outside this room.”
And right then, Caspian chose to walk in and settle beside him, leaning hard on his leg.
“Aw, please.” She glanced at the dog. “Someone just needs to see you with Caspian and—”
“Keely.” He took her hand. “I think giving up your daughter for adoption just might have been the most unselfish thing you’ve ever done. The most unselfish thing anyone could ever do. And it represents a victory, not a failure. It tells me you’re strong and smart and brave.”
She drew in her breath. “Really?”
He nodded. “The big question is, what do you want to do now?”
Her smile vanished, and she met his eyes. “That’s why I wentto talk to Vic. I wanted to know if she had regrets. By the look of it, no.”
“You can’t know that by just looking at someone, Keely. But she also hasn’t walked in your shoes, in your life. What was right for her might not be right for you. Have you talked to ... the father?”
“When I told him I was pregnant, his words were ‘You made this decision, not me. So you’ll have to deal with it.’”
Dawson must have made a face because she untangled her hand from his.
“Trust me, it’s better this way,” she said. “He’s an actor, and I was a fool. I had a short bit in a film he was in, sang a song, and ... anyway, I made some choices I have to live with.”
Her words the night they arrived drummed up in him.“Maybe we’re both paying for our mistakes.”
And maybe he wasn’t the one to be pouring out truth, but it seemed Moose had words for this, sitting in Dawson’s brain. “We can’t change what happens to us, but we can decide how we want to grow from the experience. Sometimes when I’m working on a case, I have to step back and get a different angle on it.”
Weirdly, the buzzing inside him died. “From where I sit, I see a woman who was alone and wounded, and a guy came along who didn’t love you right. But you turned that around, and you did the very best you could for your daughter—”
“I was—”
“Scared. And wanted your daughter to have the same family life you did. A mom and a dad, and I’m not saying that a single mom can’t do that—but I am saying that’s what you chose for your daughter. And that isn’t selfish.”
She just stared at him.
“You have to believe me. I’m a cop.”
She raised an eyebrow, then she shook her head. “Seriously. That’s what you’re going with?”
No, actually. Because he wanted more. Much more.
Except ...Bliss. And now he got her words about it not working between them. About not wanting to hurt him.
So, he sighed and touched her hand again, testing. “And I’m your friend.”
Her smile dimmed, and she wound her fingers through his. “You’re more than that, Dawson. Trust me, you’re more than that.”
He had nothing, his gaze on her face. And oh, he wanted to lean in and kiss her but...
She got up. Walked to the door. “Sorry I didn’t tell you about my day job.”
“I’m going to need an autograph.”
