Blind Love (11 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Setting Boundaries

The sounds of a dog’s incessant barks carried from outside into Lauren’s bedroom.

She rolled over and pressed the pillow over her head.

Make it stop.

But it didn’t. Instead, a child’s laughter joined the melee. She reached for her clock and pressed the button.

“The time is six forty-five AM,” the automated woman’s voice said.

The feather pillow wasn’t enough to block the noise. So she pulled the comforter over her head and mumbled about how much she hated summer and kids and dogs and life.

“Jack, catch!”

Her eyes flew open.

Wait.

Jack? That means the kid’s…Evan.

She sat up and listened to the two and grinned.
Yup.
That’s my Jack.

The dog was amazing. He had a knack for seeking out people who were hurting and giving them exactly what they needed.

And Evan needed a lot. Yesterday when she met him, he was breathing heavy and his voice sounded strained. He had all the signs of a panic attack.

Jack would never be able to make all of Evan’s pain go away. No one could. But maybe for a little while, they could help the boy remember how to be a kid. Her chest tightened.

Nope. Don’t even think about it.

She dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. No matter how sad or how much pain the little guy was in, Evan was not her problem and neither was his lying, cheating father.

Filling her mouth with toothpaste, she began her morning routine.

What was it about the cowboy that kept pulling at her? Did it matter? Alligators had a way of pulling people in too—with their teeth. Really big sharp ones. Gabe knew how to hide his.

Hmm, maybe he was a vampire. It would explain all the mystery around him. Speaking of which, some of the mystery appeared to be solved.

She brushed her teeth hard as she considered her own stupidity. An FBI agent? That’s what she thought he was? Ha. No, he was a married man with a kid. Those were his deep dark secrets and the reason he didn’t want anything more with her than a summer of noncommittal sex.

Boundaries. She needed to set up lots of them. The fifty-foot high fences with electric currents running through them kind. He’d think twice before ever coming near her again.

Jeez. His wife was barely dead and he’d already asked about her and Ben. Seriously messed up.

And she needed to stop listening to all those paranormal books on tape. Vampires? Seriously?

She cleaned out Jack’s food bowl and poured in a fresh scoop of dog food. By the time the metal basin was back in its spot, her disloyal hairy friend was scratching on the back door.

Lauren let him in and narrowed her eyes down at Jack. “You’re like all those teenage kids out there, aren’t you? Only want me for food, shelter, money.”

When he whimpered, she squatted down and grabbed his head. “I’m talking to you, mister.”

His wet tongue covered every inch of her face. She hugged his neck. “For the record, I’m okay with being used, you big, stinky dog.”

Pleased with being forgiven, Jack ran past her and seconds later, he was crunching his breakfast. A few feet away, in the yard, she noticed a white blob of color. Evan.

Not my problem. Build a big, ugly fence. Remember?

The blob didn’t move but the fear growing in him was painfully clear.

Okay, just this one time.

Still squatting at the wide open entrance, Lauren put her finger on her chin as if in deep thought. “You know, Jack. Your hair needs to be combed. I wish I could find the darn brush. But, because I’m blind, who knows how long it’ll take me? If only there was someone to help.”

The little guy didn’t take the bait.

Lauren pulled herself up, wandered around the threshold with her hands outstretched, and purposefully walked into the wall. “Oops, there’s the door.”

The white blob inched closer as she continued trying to look helpless.

“I’ll help you,” a small voice offered.

She turned away before he caught sight of her grin. “Evan? Is that you? Are you sure?”

The blob now stood right in front of her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” Lauren said.

Evan grabbed her hand and walked her into the kitchen. A few seconds later, the missing brush was discovered, under the sink, in the bucket, with the rest of Jack’s grooming supplies.

“You are amazing,” she said as she poured him a glass of milk.

“Anything else you need?” For the first time the little guy’s voice showed a spark of confidence. It warmed her.

“Actually, yes, there is. Would you mind combing his hair? I’m not good at it since I can’t see what I’m doing.”

“Can I, Gabe?”

She froze. How’d she miss hearing him?

“Sure, Sprout. But first, why don’t you go eat your cereal?” he said from the back door.

“Okay!” Evan ran outside and seconds later the door to his house slammed shut.

Lauren bit her lip and busied herself with making coffee.

Time to neutralize the power he had over her.

“Good morning,” Gabe said.

She grabbed a cup and filled it with water. “Morning.”

“That was nice of you.”

She shrugged and poured the liquid into the machine. “Jack needs his hair combed.”

“I’m sure he does.”

She didn’t respond. Maybe if she ignored him, he’d go away.

“Evan likes you, I can tell.”

She put a pod into the filter and pressed brew. Yeah, like ignoring people ever worked for her. “I have one question for you.”

“Only one?” There was amusement in his voice.

Lauren rested her elbows on the counter and gazed at his fuzzy silhouette against the door. “Trust me, there are over a hundred of ’em. But I figure no answer you give justifies the fact you lied to me. So yeah, only one.”

She felt the intensity of his stare and bit her lip.

“What’s the question?”

“Why does he call you Gabe?”

The doorjamb creaked when he shifted his weight. “What should he call me?”

“I don’t know Pop, Pappa, Padre, Dad, Daddy, Father. So many things other than your first name come to mind.”

He cleared his throat. “I haven’t been in his life. Didn’t think it was fair to expect him to call me anything else.”

Her fists clenched. Regardless of whether her hunch about Gabe’s past was true or not, the little boy growing up without a father was unacceptable. “Make that a hundred and one questions.”

“You can ask me the rest. I’ll answer.”

“Actually, I’d rather give you some unsolicited advice.”

“What’s that?”

“Stop running.” Lauren poured herself a cup of coffee and tried to ignore the tension in the room.

“Come again?”

“At eighteen you ran right to the Marines. Your brother dies, off you go again. You get married and have a kid, and where you are? Things are going to get hard with Evan. If you run, he’ll never recover.”

“I’ll keep your advice in mind.” There was a coldness to his tone.

The wheels of the garage door creaked as it rolled open. Sunny had arrived.

“It’s time for me to go. I’d hate for you to go without toilet paper on account of me.” The blinds hit the glass panes of the door when Gabe grabbed the handle. “Thanks again for what you did for Evan.”

Lauren jumped when it slammed shut. She had done it. Built the boundary between herself and the neighbor so high and painful, he’d never try to climb over. Now she needed to make herself feel good about it.

During her lunch break, Lauren found herself outside, walking up to the silver blob she knew to be Ben’s car. It was time to set boundaries with the other problem in her life.

When the door opened, she climbed in and held out her peace offering. “Figured you’d like a sandwich.”

He cleared his throat. “Will it kill me?”

She laughed. “No, I didn’t poison it. Promise.”

As he took a bite, she tried to figure out how to start the conversation.

“Where’s Jack?” he asked.

Her muscles tightened. Of all the stupid questions.

“He’s playing in the backyard with the little boy from next door.”

Ben gasped his disapproval. “You mean the murder suspect’s son?”

Instead of telling him to go to hell, she flashed her best smile and corrected him. “His name is Evan.”

“Jack’s a
guide
dog. His job is to walk you to places safely, not play in the backyard. You walked out here alone and got into a strange vehicle, what if I’d been some psychopath?”

“Good point. Let me take care of that right now,” she said in her cheeriest voice, grabbed the plate of food from him, and got out of the car.

Lauren muttered under her breath as she walked to her house. “The man would tell a tree how to grow if he thought it would listen.”

The car door slammed. His shoes thudded against the concrete. “Lauren, hold up.”

She gripped the doorknob and faced him.

“I’m sorry.”

Lauren arched her brows. “For?”

“Telling you what to do. You’re obviously fine, and have been without me sharing my opinions. I know, I tend to get a little overprotective where you’re concerned.”

“A little?”

He huffed. “Fine. A lot. But I’m working on it.”

“Apology accepted.” She grinned and patted his shoulder. “That wasn’t hard was it?”

Ben chuckled. “Can I have the sandwich now?”

Lauren handed him the plate. “You can eat it inside on a real table, as long as you don’t tell me how to spread the mayo or cut the cheese.”

As soon as she realized what she’d said, her face flushed. The sound of Ben’s deep laugh softened her embarrassment. It brought back memories of younger, crazier, happier times.

“You should do that more often,” she said.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time.” When his knuckles rubbed against her still warm cheek, she backed away. A month ago, everything was clear. Gabe was just the guy next door and Ben was the asshole ex-husband who broke her heart. Now, hearing the sadness in his voice was making it hard to hate him as much as she needed to.

“Ben, that’s not a good idea,” she whispered.

“I know.” He pulled his hand away. “So the favor you wanted?”

Lauren waved her palm. “I changed my mind.” Technically it wasn’t a lie. Sunny was already working on finding the information. She’d just changed her mind about getting Ben’s help.

“You sure?”

“Hundred percent.”

“Good.”

Lauren turned to the door again and considered her words. “I thought about what you said the other day. It’s not my fault you cheated. But you do have a point. I went a little nuts back then, and I’m sorry. It wasn’t fair to you.”

He inched closer. His breath warmed her neck. “I wish we could go back in time.”

“We can’t. But you are welcome to stay in the house.”

“Why?”

“Although, I don’t agree with it, I do understand why you’re doing this. Even if I don’t call the police, one of the neighbors might. And you need your sleep. If something happened to you while you’re on night patrol because you’re sleep deprived, I’d never forgive myself.”

She opened the door and walked in. “The guest bedroom upstairs is yours and you’re welcome to help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen.”

Ben shut the front door and locked it behind them.

“Good morning, Benjamin,” Sunny called from the kitchen.

“Hey, Sunny. How are you?”

Lauren sat on the sofa as the two made small talk.

“Fabulous,” Sunny said. “The weather’s perfect, my book’s going great, a murder suspect lives next door, and, as of a week ago, I’m single. What more could a girl ask for?”

As Sunny rambled about her now ex-boyfriend, Lauren considered her situation. Neither of these two men were stellar options. Both had lied to her and cheated on their wives. In one case, she was the wife and in the other, the mistress. Yet they both pulled at her. She shook her head. This was pitiful.

“So nothing’s changed?” Ben asked Sunny.

“Abso-freakingly nothing. You look good in your uniform, by the way. Been working out I see.”

Lauren waved in Sunny’s direction. The woman needed to leave before she started commenting on the shape of his ass. “Don’t you have notes to transcribe or a chapter to write or something?”

Her best friend snickered. “That’s my cue to get out. I’ll leave you two alone. Keep lifting the weights, Ben. It looks good on you.”

As soon as the office door shut, she heard Ben walking around the living room. The blinds on the window facing the backyard rustled.

“Are you snooping on the neighbor?”

“Yup.”

“And?”

Ben sat at the kitchen table and started on his lunch. “I don’t like Jack being with him.”

Before Lauren got a chance to tell him to mind his own business, he continued. “But it’s none of my business.”

She took a seat across from him and smiled.
He really is trying.
Once upon a time, they used to be inseparable, knew everything about the other. Now he was a stranger, with a life she knew very little about. “So tell me about your daughter.”

He cleared his throat and slid out of his chair. “What do you want to know?”

While he grabbed a glass from her cabinet and poured himself a drink, she fiddled with the napkin on the table. “She’s four by now, right? What’s her name? What’s she like?”

“I bet you can guess her name.”

“Chloe.” He always said if he had a daughter, that’s what he’d name her.

Ben slid back into his seat. “Yup.”

Lauren planted her elbows on the table, resting her chin on her palms. “Does she look like you?”

He laughed. “That’s what they say, the same brown hair brown eyes, but she’s beautiful, funny, and the smartest kid I’ve ever met.”

She didn’t have to see to know that he had a proud grin on his face. “Of course she is and I bet she thinks you’re pretty amazing too.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know about all that, you should see how ticked off she gets when I tell her to take a bath, but that’s part of being a parent.”

Lauren smiled trying to ignore the ache in her chest. She was glad he had a child, something he’d have never been able to do if their marriage had worked. It was something she’d never know either, but this wasn’t about her, it was about him. “I knew you’d be a great father.”