Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
F or the first time since they’d moved to this new location, Lauren was conscious of the security cameras recording her every move. Was Reed watching her right this moment? Was Steve? Would they spend their whole day looking at a screen of two women working in a café?
“How often does Steve watch you?” Lauren blurted out loud.
Tabitha stopped kneading the dough. “If you’re wondering if someone will spend all day watching us, the answer is no. I do think, however, that Steve’s probably looking in more often today than he normally would. It wouldn’t surprise me if the guys haven’t already worked out a roster to watch the shop from outside. Charlee’s school, too.”
The second she’d walked in, Tabitha had rushed up to her and given her a huge hug, asking if she was doing okay. Not wanting to keep anything from her boss, especially considering she’d been there and had witnessed everything, Lauren told Tabitha about Reed asking Wilt to investigate Patrick and how he’d spent the night in his car watching her house. Tabitha hadn’t been surprised at what Reed had done, in fact she’d told Lauren she was happy that he was protecting her.
“Do you really think they’ll have done that?” Lauren asked, telling Tabitha about Reed’s concerns with watching Charlee’s school. But, surely Steve wouldn’t pull his men from the important stuff they did to watch over her daughter or the café.
“If I know my husband, and I know him very well, yes, he will have. Just like Reed watching your place all weekend, these guys are protectors by nature. They protect their own.”
“But I’m not theirs,” Lauren protested.
Where on earth did Tabitha get the idea that Lauren and her daughter were theirs to protect?
They probably hadn’t even given her a second thought prior to the weekend. For so long it had just been her looking after her daughter. The idea she had people willing to look out for them both was just too hard to comprehend.
“Aww honey, I’ve seen the way Reed looks at you. The way he always comes in when you are working by yourself when he doesn’t have to. You are most definitely Reed’s, which makes you one of our own. But even if you weren’t Reed’s, you work with me, so you fall under that category anyway.”
“This makes absolutely no sense.” Lauren picked up a piping bag and began to ice the cupcakes that had been cooling, her mind whirling at Tabitha’s declaration. The last few days have been so out of the ordinary she didn’t know what to think.
“Sometimes it’s better not to question anything and just accept it.”
Could she accept it?
That was a question she didn’t know the answer to, but she had spent the rest of the weekend thinking about Reed. About how it felt to be held by him. The way nothing had bothered him, not even Charlee’s overexuberance. He hadn’t even balked when Charlee had asked him to tuck her in. Everything had been easy. Almost too easy, yet shouldn’t that be a good thing?
“Were things easy with you and Steve when you first met?” she asked as she slipped the cupcakes into the fridge to cool.
“Once Steve got his head out of his ass and began to really talk to me, yep, everything was easy. Prior to that, the man was as closed as a clam shell.” A soft smile played across Tabitha’s lips. “In some ways, I’m thankful for my attack because it led to so many good things. And I know how weird and irrational that sounds, but it is what it is.”
“It does sound a little weird,” she said with a smile. “But that doesn’t mean that’s going to happen with me and Reed. I’ve got Charlee to consider, and I don’t want to bring someone into her life and then have them disappear after a couple of weeks.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about Reed. He knows you’re a package deal. With these guys they don’t do anything just because they feel obligated. They have a purpose and reason. If Reed didn’t want you and Charlee, he wouldn’t have hung around the café as much as he has been. Nor would he have said he was your fiancée to protect you from Patrick,” she finished with a sly smile.
Lauren groaned. Why had she thought Tabitha wouldn’t bring it up? “He didn’t mean it. It’s not like we are actually engaged. You said it yourself, the only reason he announced we were in a relationship was because of Patrick. Believe me, if Patrick hadn’t done what he’d done, there’s no way Reed would’ve said we were in a relationship.”
“Maybe. I guess you’ll never know.” Tabitha headed back out to the front and tended to a customer that had walked in.
She collected up what she and Tabitha had been using and took them over to the sink, trying not to let disappointment that Reed hadn’t turned up yet swallow her whole. Had she not listened to him properly this morning? He’d told her that the café was protected as well as the school, basically informing her that he didn’t need to be her shadow. But still, part of her wished he’d show up. Wanted him to be overprotective.
God, what a contradiction she was, wanting something while saying she didn’t. She should have her head examined. Have someone tell her what she really needed.
Fed up with thinking, she grabbed some rubber gloves and tackled the pile of dishes. Most of the baking pans had to be handwashed, but because of the measures Tabitha took, and the fact she was an amazing cook, they didn’t require excessive scouring.
She was humming a tune when the air around her seemed to change. Vibrate almost. The weird thing was, she wasn’t scared of the change of atmosphere. If anything, a thread of excitement sizzled through her. Turning, she found Reed standing in the doorway. He was wearing different clothes to what he’d worn when he’d wandered up her driveaway with her daughter in tow. He’d been sexily rumpled, and she’d wanted to smooth his hair down and run her hand across his five-o’clock shadowed cheek. Instead she’d done none of that, which was probably a good thing.
“Hey,” she said. Wow, way to sound intelligent.
“Hey yourself. Having a good day?”
“It’s been busy. How about you?”
This conversation was so mundane, yet normal at the same time.
“Not bad, there are a couple things I want to talk to you about. Tabitha said you’re due for a break. Do you want to grab a Danish or something and come for a walk with me?”
Reed looked so serious. Had something happened with Patrick? With Charlee? Before she allowed herself to drown in panic she took a deep breath. There’s no way he’d know if something was wrong with Charlee before she did. The school had no information about him, and if something had happened to her daughter, she would’ve been called.
“Umm sure, just let me finish this up. I won’t be a minute.”
“Do you need some help?” He walked over to her, and she caught a whiff of his nautical scent. It was masculine, and she wanted to bury her nose against his neck and inhale deeply.
Whoa, slow your roll, girlfriend.
Never before had she wanted to get as close to a man as she did Reed. Granted she didn’t have a lot of experience with men. Having a child, not to mention not a lot of money, didn’t allow her to have a good social life.
“I’m good. Almost done. Why don’t you go out and get our food.” She needed him away from her so that she could take a few minutes to get her rampaging hormones under control.
“Okay. You want a coffee or a cold drink?”
“Tabitha knows what I like.”
He stared at her for a long moment, her hands were still immersed in the hot dishwater. She was sure she looked super attractive with her pink rubber gloves. Strands of hair escaping from her ponytail and her face red from a combination of hot water and a blush.
“Take as long as you need, Ren,” he said softly, and then he ran a finger along her cheek in a soft caress, her skin tingling.
The second he walked out of the kitchen area, she blew out a breath and gripped the side of the sink. How was she going to get through a walk with him if a simple touch had her weak at the knees?
Perhaps it was time to think about her needs for a change.
* * *
T he breeze was cool against her skin and a shiver rippled down her spine. She should’ve grabbed a jacket, but she hadn’t expected the wind to be so strong.
“We can go back if you want and sit at one of the tables,” Reed said, obviously having seen her shudder.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll be okay. It’s probably the change from the warm kitchen to coming outside.”
“Wait right here.” Reed took a step then turned back. “Can you take these for a second?” He held out the bag with their food and drinks.
“Sure. But where are you going?”
“My car,” he said as he rushed off leaving her standing in the middle of the sidewalk. They hadn’t walked too far from the café so she could see quite clearly what he was doing. He’d gone to his car and had gotten a jacket out of it.
Why was she not surprised that he was prepared. Was the military like the Boy Scouts, always prepared for anything? They would probably have to be because it wasn’t like any situation the military went into to was straightforward.
He jogged back to her and held out the jacket. She took it and before she could think about putting their food on the ground, Reed grabbed it. She slipped the coat on immediately surrounded by his nautical scent. Would it be wrong if she snuggled down into it? Somehow she controlled the urge. “Thanks.”
“No worries.” He held out his spare hand. “May I?”
Who asked if someone could hold another person’s hand? Reed did, clearly. She stared at it knowing that the second she accepted his hold, the dynamics of their relationship would change. Was she ready for that? Yes she was. “Sure,” she said and slid her hand against his welcoming the touch.
With a small smile, he entwined his fingers with hers, and warmth flowed through her. They didn’t say anything as they made their way to the small park down the road from the café. Once they were seated on the bench, and ate their food, she allowed herself to wonder why he’d asked if he could talk to her.
“You said you had a couple of things you wanted to discuss. What are they?” she asked.
“I did. I wanted to let you know that the guys and I talked this morning and we came up with a plan to watch both you and Charlee until we know for sure what Patrick wants.”
Lauren shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re all doing this. Tabitha said this was probably going to happen, but I didn’t believe her. What about your other jobs? I don’t know everything that you do, but I do know that you go away sometimes, Tabitha’s mentioned it before.”
“We don’t have anything pressing right now, and if something comes up, we’d make some contingency plans. But yours and Charlee’s safety are a priority for me. We’re also digging further into Patrick. Steve agreed that something seemed off with what Wilt had discovered when he did the background check on him.”
Lauren took in everything Reed said, trying to make sense of it. “Why would Steve think there was more to the report? I know you were surprised that Patrick appeared clean, but he had a couple of tickets, so he isn’t perfect.”
“You’re right it wasn’t clean , but something seemed off, and we’ve run enough of these types of checks to recognize when something doesn’t appear as it should.”
“I still don’t understand how you all think there could be more to him than what you’ve found.”
“Call it instinct. Many times while we’ve been on missions our instincts have saved us from danger. Nothing might come of it, but something might, and we’d rather be a hundred percent certain about someone than only ninety percent.”
Lauren supposed that made sense and had to trust that they knew what they were doing, after all, they worked in the security field—she didn’t. “How long will someone be watching us? I don’t want to be a burden. I think after the weekend he’ll give up. The emails were sent before he saw me at the café. He probably thought I’d seen them or something.”
Why was she making excuses for the things Patrick had done? It didn’t matter when he’d sent those emails. The fact was he had, and his intent was clear—he wanted to frighten her.
He’d succeeded.
Reed’s next words closely mirrored her own thoughts. “Doesn’t matter. He’s turned up in your life, and nothing about his reappearance would suggest it’s because he’s decided that he really does want to be a father. I still think there’s a reason for his sudden interest in his daughter.”
“I’ve learned that there is no rhyme or reason for the things Patrick does,” she said with a sigh. “I’m sure that in a couple of weeks he’ll have forgotten why he wanted Charlee and move on. It’s what he usually does.”
Or more to the point she’d changed her number so he couldn’t contact her. But she wasn’t going to say that.
“I think this time is different,” Reed said, his voice and demeanor serious. More serious than she’d seen from him before. “I remembered what you said about how he reacted when I said we were engaged. You thought he looked jealous.”
Lauren recalled the moment he was talking about. The way Patrick’s eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into an angry scowl. The expression was gone in a flash, but it had been long enough for her to see. “What about it?”
“I looked over the footage. In fact, we all did, and there was definitely something there. He wasn’t happy at all.”
Lauren shrugged like his unhappiness was a usual occurrence, and with Patrick and her it was the norm. “Okay, so he wasn’t happy. What’s he going to do if he comes back? It’s not like he can force me into rekindling our relationship. I don’t think he even wants me.”
“You’re right, maybe he won’t do anything. Maybe he will forget all about Charlee now that he thinks you’re in a serious relationship. We probably shouldn’t do anything about it. Or him.”
Reed’s about-face shocked her. Not two minutes ago he was saying that Patrick looked dangerous and now he was saying to forget everything. “What’s going on? Why would you say that when you’ve got a plan to keep me and Charlee protected? Was it all a lie?” she demanded, hurt pooling in her belly. She’d begun to trust Reed wasn’t like the other people in her life who said one thing and did another, but it looked like that was exactly what he was like.
“I’m giving you what you want,” he replied mildly. “Reading between the lines of what you’re telling me is, that you know Patrick. You know that in a couple of weeks he’ll leave you alone and that all of this is a great big waste of time.”
Lauren stared at Reed; he was serious. She hadn’t wanted them to make a fuss over her and that’s what he was giving her. Now that she had what she wanted, she didn’t like it.
Ugh, she was annoyed with herself for acting this way, she could only imagine how Reed was feeling.
“Reed, I—uh—” Lauren looked down at her hands as if they would come up with the words she couldn’t seem to find. How did she go back from everything she’d just said to him?
“Ren, nothing’s changed.” He smiled gently at her. “We’re still going to watch you and look into Patrick. I wanted to see how you really feel about it. Find out what your true thoughts are, and I can see that you’re conflicted about everything. But at the end of the day you want Patrick out of your life and that’s the goal for me too. I don’t want him anywhere near you or Charlee.”
“Why?” The question, a tortured whisper.
Reed scooted closer and put an arm around her hugging her to his side. “Because I care about you. I care about Charlee. I told you I’d do anything to keep you safe, and if that meant making you believe I was pulling everything back, then that’s why I said what I did.”
He had been testing her to try and find out how she truly felt. The test had worked because now she did know. She wanted Patrick gone. She wanted to be able to live in peace knowing that he wasn’t going to threaten her or her daughter.
Frustration at herself washed over her. “I don’t know why you’re even still sitting here. You should run as far away from me as possible.”
“Not happening,” he said firmly. “Unless you want me to.”
Again, Reed was giving her an out. Letting her make her own choices. This whole relationship with Reed was so different to what she was used to. Not that she had much to go on as she didn’t count the boys she’d “gone out with” during high school as true relationships. And the one she had with Patrick wouldn’t even rate as one, which was why him now demanding to see Charlee was out of character. The previous times he’d made contact with her, it hadn’t been about Charlee, they’d been more about being a nuisance.
Her head began to ache with the multitude of thoughts about Patrick, a man who didn’t deserve that much of her brain space.
“I don’t want you to run,” she whispered.
His hands framed her face, and she looked deep into his green eyes. “Then I won’t. Whatever you want or need, Ren. I’ll be here for you.”
Lauren believed him deep in her soul. She rested her head on his shoulder and sipped her drink. Reed didn’t say anything either. They just sat quietly, and it was exactly what she needed.
“I should get back.” She’d left Tabitha alone for too long. Not that her boss would mind.
“Yeah, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.” He squirmed a little and she sat up straight.
What the heck was he doing?
Was he reaching for his phone?
Had it buzzed while they were talking? But that didn’t make sense because if the information just came in he wouldn’t know that he needed to talk to her.
Lauren’s eyes bugged out of her head when she saw what he was holding out toward her.
“Reed? What the heck!” she exclaimed.
In between his thumb and forefinger was a ring. A ring that looked suspiciously like an engagement one.
“I want you to have this.” For the first time since she met him, there was a hint of nervousness about him.
She looked from the ring to his face and back again. Probably taking way too long, but her brain had short circuited. “Are you proposing to me? Like for real? Because if you are then it’s a pretty bad proposal.”
She really must be losing her mind if she could joke about it with him.
He smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. Seems her lightness eased his nerves. “Trust me, if I was serious you’d know. But I figured, in case Patrick shows up and I’m not around, you can show him this. You can wear it or not. I don’t mind.”
Was this a dream? It was the only thing that made sense because there was no possible way any of this could be serious.
“Did you go out and buy me a diamond ring?” Having a closer look at it she could see that the diamond wasn’t small. No way was she an expert on the size of diamonds, but the one in the ring was big.
He chuckled. “No, this was my mum’s. Why don’t you try it on?”
Lauren tucked her hands beneath her legs, as if the ring was a snake. “I couldn’t. It was your mum’s ring. She gave it to you so you would give it to the woman you love, not someone who has a creeper ex. Someone you have no feelings for. No,” she shook her head, “I’m not taking the ring.”
Reed twisted the ring left and right, the sun glinting off the stone casting small rainbows around them. Was he looking for answers? If so, what was the question? It really was beautiful and if this was real. If Reed loved her and she loved him, she would grab that ring and put it on her finger without a single qualm. But that wasn’t the case. This was all make-believe. Something you’d read about in a book.
“I don’t think Mum will mind,” he said quietly. Then glanced at her face. “If she knew the reasoning behind it, the fact that it was going to offer you a semblance of protection, then she would be fine with you wearing it.” He took hold of her left hand, rubbing his thumb over the top. “Please Lauren, will you at least take it. You can wear it around a chain if it will make you feel better. The fact you work with food, wearing it around your neck wouldn’t be too much of a stretch should Patrick come to the café.”
Not something she wanted to even consider. What if he came when it was full of their regulars? Would he do something to hurt them? She couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let someone ruin all that Tabitha had worked for.
Lauren glanced at the ring again. Reed still held it between his fingers. He wasn’t twisting it, he was just looking at it. Was he remembering it being on his mum’s finger? Was it a good memory?
“What happened to your mum?” she asked quietly.
Reed glanced away at the trees before returning his attention to her. “She and Dad died within six months of each other. Dad passed first, he had a stroke and the ambulance arrived too late to help him. Mum was devastated. She and Dad had been together since they were fourteen. High school sweethearts. No one said they’d last. Everyone in Mum’s family were convinced they would break up a year or two after they got married. But Mum and Dad’s love was so strong that nothing could break them apart—except death.”
Reed closed his fingers around the ring, as though he was trying to imprint the love his parents had for each other into his soul. “After Dad died, Mum was lost. She didn’t have her best friend anymore. We tried to get her to do things at the community center, but it was like she’d lost her reason to live. Anyway, I came to see her one day and found her collapsed on the ground in the kitchen. She was clutching one of Dad’s shirts.” His breath hitched for a moment. “We didn’t bother with an autopsy. Ben and I knew that she’d died of a broken heart. We didn’t need a report to tell us what we already knew.”
Lauren’s heart broke at the pain in Reed’s voice. “I’m so sorry, Reed.”
“Thanks.” He gave a short nod of appreciation. “I know they’re together and happy, that’s all that matters. They were what a marriage should be. A team. They supported each other in whatever they wanted to do. They traveled, and they laughed and loved hard.”
“This is why you should give the ring to someone you love, Reed.” She touched his face softly. “That ring deserves the same love story that your parents had.”
His hand closed over hers where it rested against his cheek. “I want you to have it Lauren. Please. I know that Mum will be okay with me giving it to you. My reasons are pure and solid.”
Could she believe him? That his mum would be fine with the reasons for giving her a ring that signified pure love.
The pain of talking about his parents burned in his eyes along with a sincerity that said this was what he wanted. It was impossible to fight him anymore.
“I’ll take it,” she whispered.
His smile chased away the sadness, and she felt a little better about her decision. Without saying anything he took her left hand and slid the ring home—it fit perfectly, as though it was destined to be on her finger. He then lifted her hand, kissing just above the ring. “See I knew it would look perfect on you.”
“It does.” And it really did, and for a moment Lauren wished that it was real.