do that for?”
“So I could properly introduce you to Danny’s Sunday school teacher.”
“I never promised I’d start going back to church.”
“Ah, but you will. For Danny’s sake, of course.”
The hulking figure who soon hovered over Lindy made her feel as small as a child herself.
“Thad, this is Lindy Southerland,” Samantha said. “She has a son the same age as your nephew, Timmy, and I was just telling her about how the kids in your class at Serenity Chapel love having you as their teacher.”
“Pleased to meet you.” He nodded to Lindy as he answered Samantha. “I do my best.”
To Lindy’s surprise, the man looked almost as ill at ease as she felt. Was he glancing around the cramped dining area because he was wishing he could make a polite getaway?
“Please, join us. We have lots of room,” Samantha insisted. She checked her watch. “As a matter of fact, you can take my chair. I have to be getting back to the hospital ASAP. Nearly every bed in my wing is full. Doctors can get away with taking long lunches but we nurses don’t dare.” She gathered up her jacket and trash, slid out, took Thad’s drink from him and placed it on the table opposite Lindy before rushing off.
For a few long seconds, Lindy wondered if the man was going to grab his soda and flee, but he didn’t. Shrugging, he sat down with a resigned air, nodded another silent greeting and began to unwrap his foot-long sandwich.
“I apologize,” Lindy said, feeling her cheeks burn. “Samantha sometimes gets carried away.”
“No problem. As long as it’s all right with you.”
As soon as she said, “Sure. It’s fine,” he picked up his sub and began to eat.
Lindy felt strange sitting across the narrow table from a man—any man. Since being widowed she’d already had to withstand a few well-meaning efforts at matchmaking and had had no trouble doing so. Consequently, it was awkward to find herself trapped in this kind of social situation.
If the attractive man had not seemed so resigned to her presence, she might have left without finishing her lunch. Since he was essentially ignoring her, however, she had no such compunctions. She wasn’t sure what PTSD entailed but she figured polite silence couldn’t hurt him.
Half of Thad’s food was gone before he spoke another word. “So, you have a little boy?”
“Yes. Danny.”
His brow knit. He studied her. “Southerland. Any relation to the accountant who got himself shot a while back?”
Well, that was certainly blunt enough. Thad Pearson might be a man of few words but the ones he did use were definitely to the point. “Yes,” Lindy said. Her chin jutted. “Ben was my husband. And he was an investment counselor, not an accountant.”
“Sorry. I lost my only brother about a year ago.”
“I know. How are his kids doing?”
“Really well, thanks.” He finally smiled, sort of, giving Lindy a strange, tingling sensation and making her wish he had remained stoic. “They’re great kids. Megan is so young she’s adjusted the best. Tim and Paul are coming along, too. Jill and Mitch Andrews make much better parents than I thought they would. Do you know them?”
“I think I used to see them at church. Your brother and his wife, too. They were a lovely family.”
Uh-oh, I said too much, Lindy decided when she saw his smile fade. The way he was staring at her made her uncomfortable, although she could not have said why if her life had depended upon it. There was no anger in his expression, nor was it the kind of intense look she sometimes got from single guys. Thad didn’t act as if he wanted to date her. He seemed to be trying to understand her instead.
That would be a good trick, she thought cynically. Since she didn’t have a clue what made her tick, there was no chance a stranger would be able to figure her out.
Choosing to simply finish the final bites of her pizza, she wiped her fingers on a napkin and started to clear her side of the table.
Before she could rise, however, Thad said, “Wait,” reached for her hand and laid his over it. There was no coercion, no threat and certainly no intimacy. She felt as if his touch was meant to convey empathy.
“I lost my dad when I was pretty young,” he explained. “It was my older brother, Rob, and my life in the military that saved me. Literally. I’ll never be able to repay that debt but I keep trying. No matter how hard you work at it, you can’t be a father to Danny.”
She tried to pull free her hand, although not hard enough to strain, and the intensity of his dark gaze deepened.
“Hear me out. The kid needs men in his life,” Thad said gently. “Bring him to my class Sunday mornings or take him anywhere else. I don’t care. Just find him somebody to look up to. For his sake.”
This time, when she eased away, he let her go. She wasn’t about to listen to advice from a stranger, even though they had both experienced traumatic pasts.
Lindy swept her crumpled napkin into her little pizza box, grabbed her empty soda cup and stood. She wanted to come up with some witty remark in parting but the man’s words were tying her tongue. So was the realization that he was probably right.
Just last night, after the prowlers had left, Danny had said he wished his father was there so he could feel safer. No matter how hard she tried to compensate, she could not be Ben.
She didn’t want to find someone else like him, either. Her late husband had been a liar and a thief and his short temper had left bruises on both her and—at the end—their son. She would never place Danny anywhere near a physically abusive relationship again. Never.
Halfway to the trash receptacle Lindy turned and glanced back. Thad was sitting very still, watching her, yet there was no judgment in his expression. On the contrary, it was so benevolent it made her feel as if she were wrapped in a warm, cozy blanket that would invisibly protect her from the world’s wickedness.
“I’ll think about it,” Lindy said quietly and saw him begin to nod before she looked away.
Somewhere in the depths of her confusion about practically everything in life, she sensed that she had already made that decision. Danny could benefit from knowing Thad Pearson. Therefore, she would take him to Sunday school. It might even be easier to convince herself to leave him in the care of that teacher than any of the ones at his elementary school.
Lindy smiled. There was an additional benefit for a mother who could hardly bear to let her only child out of her sight. At church, she could linger in the hallway outside Danny’s classroom and no one would think it a bit odd.
No one except, perhaps, his understanding teacher.
TWO
There weren’t many conundrums that bothered Thad Pearson for very long. After the years he’d spent in war zones, he was used to meeting challenges head-on. Right now, he figured he must be thinking about battle casualties
