might not know the details, but there are plenty of clues. Look at you. You just came with me to deliver a casserole to a formerly pregnant woman you’ve never met. Tomorrow you’re going with me while Lillie has her first meeting with her grandfather. You’ve worked in the store. You care about my mother. How can you worry you’re anything like your father?” She knew she had to lighten the mood.
“Is this a Star Wars thing? Do all boys pretend to be Luke Skywalker?”
He chuckled. “No, and my father isn’t Darth Vader.”
“It kind of sounds like he is.”
“There was no good in him.”
“There’s good in you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
* * *
PATIENCEFELT HER stomach turning over and over. “I brought a Q-tip,” she whispered to Justice as they walked toward the park. “In case, you know, Steve gets out of hand.”
Justice put his arm around her shoulders. “I can subdue him without a weapon,” he assured her. “Keep the Q-tip for your own protection.”
“But I don’t know how to use one that way.”
Lillie looked at her. “Mom, are you really talking about Q-tips?”
“Yes, and it’s weird. I accept that.”
“Is it because you don’t know what to say to my grandfather?”
“Mostly.” Patience stopped and dropped to one knee. She faced her daughter. “Are you okay with this?”
She and Lillie had talked several times about Steve wanting to meet her. Lillie had been accepting from the beginning and hadn’t asked many questions. That worried Patience. Had Lillie disconnected from the thought of more family? Or was she simply a normal kid who took things as they came?
“I’m fine,” Lillie said. “Mom, it’s okay to have more family.”
“I know.” Patience had continued to tell herself that Steve was simply some old guy who wanted to get to know his granddaughter. That was hardly newsworthy. But she couldn’t shake the sense of impending disaster.
Patience stood. Lillie took her hand. “Don’t be scared, Mom. Justice and I will be right here with you.”
“Aren’t I supposed to be comforting you?” Patience asked.
Lillie grinned. “I’m very mature for my age.”
“Yes, you are.”
Lillie took Justice’s hand as well and walked between them.
The park was close and they reached it a few minutes later. Steve was waiting where they’d arranged, on a bench by the duck pond. Lillie’s grip tightened as they approached, and when they were within speaking range, Steve rose and the three of them came to a halt.
Patience saw that he was exactly what she’d been telling herself for days. A man in his sixties who looked nervous and tentative. Not a monster. Just an ordinary man who had made awful choices and was now paying for them.
“Hello, Lillie,” Steve said quietly. “Thank you for agreeing to meet me today.”
Lillie studied him. “I’ve seen you before. In town.”
Steve’s eyes widened. “I’ve been living around here for a while.”
“Okay.” Lillie pulled her hands free and walked toward Steve. “You know my dad, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you ever see him?”
“I don’t. We haven’t spoken in many years.”
“I don’t see him, either.” Lillie looked at the lake. “We usually feed the ducks.”
“Your mom mentioned that. I brought bread.”
They collected the bag from the bench and walked down to the water. Patience followed, close enough to hear what was going on, but far enough away to give them the illusion of privacy. Justice stayed with her.
“Thoughts?” she asked. “Is it going okay? Is your Spidey sense tingling?”
“I’m tingle free.”
She sighed. “You must think I’m a freakish worrier.”
“No. I think you’re a concerned mom who doesn’t want to trust her kid with a man she barely knows. You’re right to be wary. Steve checked out, but he’s also the man who left his family. Sure, people change, but he has to prove that to you.”
He had a point, she thought, still worried, but now less so. Of course, she had planned to keep her daughter safe from Justice, and that hadn’t happened. He’d been so supportive and kind that she’d just plain forgotten.
The fact that he was buying a warehouse and starting a business in town implied he was sticking around. So it wasn’t as if he would simply disappear from her daughter’s life. She sighed. Was that her being rational or rationalizing? She wished she knew.
She continued to watch her daughter. Lillie was talking about her teacher and her friends at school. Steve listened with what looked like genuine interest.
Patience stepped closer to Justice. “You’ve been great. I’m sorry if I’ve been claiming too much of your time. You moved here to start a business and ended up getting sucked into my crazy world. I have to say, usually my life is really calm. Even boring. But the last few weeks have been wild.”
“I like your crazy world. It’s delightfully normal.”
She laughed. “You’re not the kind of guy who says delightfully.”
“I do now. Fool’s Gold is changing me.”
She wondered if that was true. “In your bodyguard job, do you hang out with other military types?”
“Mostly.”
“So being here means you don’t know quite what to do with us civilians.”
“You’re not as different as you think. Besides, most of my clients are civilians.”
“How disappointing. I was picturing you with ousted dictators who have a price on their heads.”
“Not this week. It’s mostly successful men with a price on their heads.”
She wasn’t sure if he was teasing or telling the truth. She had a feeling it was the latter, which wasn’t the least bit comforting.
“You have that assignment coming up,” she said. “You promise you’ll be safe?”
“Yes.” His dark blue gaze locked with hers. “I will be safe
