“It’s okay.”
“Did he go back to sleep?”
She nodded. “For now. He won’t be down long. We should go over everything before he wakes and I can’t focus.”
“Sure.” He stood and stalked forward, brushing against her as he crossed the threshold from the living room to the small entryway. “Here’s the panel. Kind of like grand central station. I’ll show you how to set up your password, arm and disarm the system, and anything else you need to know. Then we can go over the app.”
She cringed. “Looks complicated.”
“It shouldn’t be that bad. I made sure to find something that was user friendly. I remember how much you hate this stuff.”
She cracked a grin. Of course he’d thought of that. He’d always been one to do whatever possible to make her life easier. At least until he’d nearly destroyed her.
“Might as well get this over with,” she said, resigning to learning something she never thought she’d need.
Lane spent the next twenty minutes teaching her everything she needed to do know to make sure her house was as well guarded as possible. By the time he’d finished, her brain spun in big loopy circles.
“You want to turn it on and make sure everything’s working?” Lane asked.
“On my phone or the panel?”
He shrugged. “Whichever you want.”
“Here goes nothing.” She went through the steps on her phone and let out a sigh of relief when the system beeped to let her know the alarm was set. Then she moved to the panel and unarmed everything before repeating the processes.
“See, you got it no problem,” Lane said.
“I must have had a good teacher,” she said.
“Ha! No one’s ever said that about me before. Most people around here are surprised I even graduated high school.” He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest.
She hated how comfortable he looked in her house, how at ease she was with him here. Her guard was lowering inch by inch without her even realizing it.
“I’ll shut it down so you can leave without setting anything off,” she said, needing space more than she needed her next breath.
Straightening, he frowned. “Are you sure you want me to go? I can stick around a little longer. I have no place to be.”
She mustered a smile. “I thought you’d want to find Suzy and keep her away from your buddy.”
Her joke didn’t erase the tight set of his mouth. “Some things are more important than that. Besides, Suzy can take care of herself.”
“So can I.”
“I don’t mean to say that you can’t, it’s just that…”
She held up a hand. “I get it, and I’d lie if I said I wasn’t scared. But you’ve done what you can to keep me and Parker safe. If anyone shows up, the authorities will be here fast. I’ll be fine. Besides, I only have a few minutes to take a nice hot shower and get my head on straight before Parker wakes up.”
As if speaking his name was enough to alert him his mother was about to indulge in a limited amount of selfcare, a loud wail sounded from down the hall.
Closing her eyes, she squeezed the bridge of her nose. “Never mind. I guess that shower will have to wait.”
A gentle touch on her arm opened her eyes.
Lane dropped his hand, lifting it to squeeze the back of his neck. “I could hold him for a little bit.”
Her heart twisted. She quickly flipped through her options. She could say no and wait hours to grab the shower shedesperately craved. Or she could relent and give a tiny inch. Allow Lane a few minutes to spend with his son. Besides, at some point they’d have to discuss how to move forward as co-parents. Better to let him and Parker get used to each other now. Let Lane say she was at least willing to be civil and figure out what was best for their son.
“If you don’t want me to watch him, I get it, but if you do, I won’t see this as an open invitation into his or your life. Just think of it as me lending a hand so you can clean up. Hell, even take one of those hot bubble baths you’ve always loved.”
