On her way to the kitchen, David stopped her. “Whatever you decide to do will be right for your family.”
Andrea nodded sadly. “I hope so.”
They hadn’t seen Scotty in a long time, but his anger had left a permanent scar on their lives. Fighting the past to make the best decision for her boys’ future would be hard, but not impossible. Especially if David was beside her.
David stretched his six-foot frame inside his truck. Stakeout duties in the movies looked a lot easier than this. He’d only been here for three hours and he was already considering banging on Andrea’s door and asking to use the sofa.
The last time he was watching her house, the night had passed quickly. But knowing Scotty was in town made each hour drag. He kept waiting for him to drive down the street, hunting for the family he’d almost destroyed.
If he so much as set foot on the sidewalk outside Andrea’s home, the entire street would know he was here. Between Andrea’s security lights, his horn, and a group of friends who lived reasonably close, Scotty would regret his decision to come here.
A knock on his window scared the living daylights out of him. He rolled down the window and glared at Ethan’s grinning face. “What did you do that for?”
“You looked like you were daydreaming.”
“It’s my resting face.” He sniffed the air. “Hamburgers? At this time of the morning?”
“If I squint at my watch, I can pretend it’s only a little after midnight.”
David’s eyebrows rose. “It’s almost two o’clock.”
Ethan hurried around the truck and opened the passenger door. “There’s never a wrong time to eat hamburgers. I wouldn’t be too grumpy, if I was you. I had to drive to the truck stop to get these gourmet burgers.” He handed David a brown paper bag. “Bon appétit.”
“Is there a reason you’re here instead of in your own bed?”
“I had an emergency callout that ended at the mental health unit in Polson. I’m too awake to sleep, so thought I’d keep you company instead of annoying Diana. Have you seen Scotty?”
“Not yet.”
Ethan took an enormous bite of his burger.
David was surprised his jaw could open that wide. The burger must have been four inches high and packed with enough beef to feed three people. “I keep expecting Scotty to appear but, so far, the only people who’ve come close to the truck are Andrea’s neighbors.”
“It’s nice to be popular.”
Unwrapping the hamburger, David took his first bite.
“Well?”
He nodded. “Not bad.”
“It’s better than not bad. Tourists would pay a fortune to eat these burgers.”
“Only if they weren’t worried about coronary heart disease.”
Ethan grinned. “Which leads us to the real reason I’m here. You’re developing a soft spot for Andrea. Does she know about it?”
David looked over his shoulder, checking for anything out of the ordinary. “She knows I like her.”
“And here I was, thinking you didn’t know how to make a woman feel special. How wrong could I be?”
“Not that wrong. But it’s not our hearts that are the issue. Andrea doesn’t know what to do about Scotty, and neither do I. What would you do?”
“Unfair question. I’m not either of you, so my opinion doesn’t count.”
“You’re a counselor. You’re supposed to know what to do.”
“I can only give people advice about their options. The most important part of my job is listening. Most people know deep-down what they need to do.” He took another bite of the burger. “This is really good.”
