“How come you’re not a cop no more?”
“Any more,” he corrected, while toying with the Legos. “I guess I was ready for a change.” His half-hearted smile wouldn’t fool anyone.
Seeing pain in his eyes, Joey wished she could hug him. They didn’t have that type of relationship, at least not yet. Given what he’d said in the kitchen, maybe that would change.
She hoped so, because Hendrix looked like a man fighting many battles alone. He could probably use a friend. Or someone more than a friend.
Kissing friends? Why not?
She’d been through a loveless, sexless marriage, so she knew anything was possible.
“Do you still have your badge? Can I see it?”
Hendrix grinned. “Sorry, Ryder, but badges are government property, so a cop has to surrender his when he retires.”
Disappointed, Ryder muttered, “That’s not fair.”
Belatedly, Joey offered a change of subject. “Whatever your reasons, Ryder and I are glad you bought the park because we love it here.”
“We do,” her son agreed. “But it’s more fun when everyone is here.”
“What?” Pretending great affront, Hendrix reached out to tickle his ribs. “I’m not entertaining enough, is that what you’re saying?”
“Ha!” Ryder threw his arms around Hendrix, and this time Hendrix dutifully fell back, taking Ryder with him.
She watched in amazement as they indulged an impromptu wrestling match with loud laughs from Ryder and a few exaggerated groans from Hendrix.
It was good for both of them, she decided, as she hastily moved the toys out of the way before one of them got hurt. She grinned the entire time.
It was another hour before she announced that it was past time for them to head home. Knowing Hendrix, she wasn’t surprised that he insisted on walking with them. When he opened the door and felt the gust of the stormy wind, he immediately stepped back inside and grabbed his coat for her to wear. He even went so far as to help bundle her into it, turning up the lapels and then tugging her hat a little lower.
He looked down at Ryder. “To keep you warm, how about I offer to be your mule?” When her son gladly reached up, Hendrix lifted him against his chest, then wrapped his open jacket around him.
Held against the heat of Hendrix’s body, she was willing to bet Ryder was downright toasty. Sleepy from all the activity, he rested his head against Hendrix’s shoulder.
It was enough to make a mother melt with deep, unfamiliar emotions. She couldn’t remember a single time that her son had been so comfortable with a man, not even his own father.
They didn’t talk during the brief walk. Ocean-scented air buffeted them. Their feet crunched over the gravel of the silent lot. By Oregon design, her porch light illuminated only a tiny square in front of the cabin.
She was very, very glad that Hendrix was beside her.
A sudden chill skated over her skin, and it had nothing to do with the brisk evening weather. With tension gripping her, she searched everywhere, looking for signs of trouble but seeing only dark shadows.
Voice low, Hendrix asked, “What is it?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice. Oh, this wouldn’t do. She would not be the poor, incompetent and jittery woman who forced her way into his life via his campgrounds. She wanted to deny any issues, but what she said was, “I don’t know.”
He, too, looked around. “Ryder’s asleep. Are you able to hold him?”
Until he said it, she hadn’t realized that her son had dozed off. “Of course.” Automatically, she reached for him, but as his weight slumped against her, she wondered how she’d get the front door unlocked and get inside with her arms so full of sleepy boy.
Hendrix removed his jacket and tucked it around them, then took her arm and led her deeper into the shadows. “What are you doing?”
Near her ear, his voice a warm hush, he said, “Stay right here while I look around.”
Panic caught her breath. “What do you mean?”
“Shh.” Rough tipped fingers touched under her chin, lifting her face so she had no choice but to meet the glimmer of his eyes in the dark night. “Right here, Josephine. Understand?”
