“If her ex is vandalizing her place, she’s not controlling shit,” Jack said.
Lauren pulled herself together. They were talking about Jane, she reminded herself. It wasn’t personal. She shoved down the memory of blood sinking into the bank’s blue carpet, the betrayal in Ben’s eyes.
She took another sip of water. “You know that,” she said. “Jane doesn’t.”
“She should. Her dad’s a cop.”
Lauren’s brows drew together in confusion.
“Hank Clark, retired sheriff’s deputy,” Jack explained. “He’s part-time now with the police department. Jane and her kid live with him.”
Something clicked in Lauren’s memory.That don’t change my rights... You want to have this discussion in front of Aidan and your daddy?
“Jane has a child.”
Jack nodded. “Little boy. Aidan.”
“Do you know if her ex has visitation rights?”
“I’ll find out.”
“How does Jane’s father feel about all this?”
Jack shrugged.
Of course, Lauren thought. Never ask a cop how he feels. Because they wereguys. They didn’t sit around discussing theirfeelings.
But then Jack surprised her. “He’s worried about her. I get the impression he thought this guy was bad news from the beginning.”
“So asking for help means admitting to her father that he was right all along.”
“That’s no reason to protect this asshole.”
“Maybe she’s protecting her son. Or herself.”
Another glance from those almost-black eyes. Definite amusement this time. “You sound like a shrink.”
“I am a shrink. Although ‘counselor’ works. Or ‘therapist,’” she said lightly.
Jack frowned. “I thought you were a psychology student.”
It had been in the news coverage. She was surprised he remembered. “Graduate student. I’m getting my doctorate.”If I ever go back. “I see patients in a supervised clinical setting.”
Jack shook his head, like he couldn’t believe it. “Ashrink,” he repeated.
Her heart sank a little. “Is that a problem?” she asked.
He didn’t answer right away.So, yes. She suppressed a sigh. And here she’d been thinking they spoke the same language. “A lot of people could benefit from counseling,” she said.
He raised one dark, sexy eyebrow. “Present company included?”
“I was talking aboutJane. Mediation could help her if there’s a custody issue.”
“Yeah, maybe. Or I can find this guy and talk to him.”
He sounded so confident, Lauren thought wistfully. So sure of himself and the situation. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if she borrowed a little of that confidence for a while.
God, she was pathetic. She barely knew him.
