Page 22 of Playing With Forever (Hollow Point #4)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“You were wrong, Josie,” Lindy told me.

I stuttered to stop and gripped my phone at my ear tighter.

Not because Lindy told me I’d been wrong about something, but I could swear I saw someone crouch down behind a car in the parking lot.

I shifted to get a better view out of the window while still keeping in the shadows and went back to my conversation with Lindy, but kept my attention on the cars.

“What was I wrong about?”

“It’s not Kane who relentlessly teases me, it’s DJ.” Her words were snappy, but her tone was wistful. Just like it had been every time she’d called me over the last two weeks to complain about something the boys did.

I loved it.

Every part of it.

The boys teasing her.

Her calling me to mock complain.

Them calling me to gush about how awesome Lindy was.

DJ and Carrie FaceTiming so they could meet Evan since DJ’s work schedule hadn’t allowed them to come down for a visit.

Kane calling me but ending up on the phone with Evan.

All of it was perfect—including, and most especially, Evan.

There had been a time in my life when I’d dreamed of finding the perfect man. Age and wisdom taught me there was no such thing as perfect.

Evan proved that to be false. He was as close to perfect as there was. At least he was perfect for me and my boys. Bonus me and the boys were perfect for him and Lindy.

“The next time DJ’s giving you a hard time, send him a squirrel gif.”

“Why a squirrel?”

“He’s deathly afraid of them,” I told her, still staring into the parking lot.

“He’s afraid of squirrels?” Lindy laughed.

“Deathly,” I confirmed. “When he was about eight, we were at the park and a squirrel fell out of the tree we were sitting under. It landed on his head. Kane was four and laughed himself sick at his brother’s screams of horror.”

“Thanks, Mamalious, you’re the best!”

Mamalious .

My breath arrested in my lungs and my heart squeezed.

Lindy, my sweet Lindy, called me Mamalious.

“Anytime, sweet girl, but listen, I’ve got to scoot. I have a meeting in ten minutes.”

“Okay. Dinner at yours or ours tonight?”

That was something else wonderful that had happened, or rather two things—Lindy joined Evan and me for dinner, not every night but most nights, and that was the other thing, in the last two weeks, there had only been one night I hadn’t spent with Evan, and that was only because he had a middle of the raid.

So it wasn’t a question of if we were having dinner together it was which house we were eating at. Most of those nights were at theirs so Lindy didn’t have to drive home after supper.

“Where would you like dinner to be?”

“Do you mind ours? I’m working on a painting.”

Of course she was. The girl never stopped creating.

“That’s perfect because I’d like to see the canvases you picked out before you take them to the gallery.”

There it was, a flash of dark hair appeared between two cars.

Dark hair on a fifteen-year-old boy I knew well.

Damn.

“I have to run, sweetheart. Text me what you want for dinner, and I’ll stop by the store on the way home.”

“You’re busy. Dad or I will hit the store. See you after work.”

“You will, Lindy. Have a good day.”

I disconnected the call and quickly found Evan’s contact.

It took four rings for him to answer, which meant he was busy, yet he still took my call.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey, Evan. Sorry to bother you, but Tyler’s outside the center in the parking lot.”

“Where are you?”

“In my office, watching him through the window.”

There was a beat of silence before I heard his muffled voice talking to someone, then he came back to me.

“If I told you to stay in your office and under no circumstances were you to leave the center, would you be pissed?”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me.

“No, honey. And I won’t go outside.”

He blew out a relieved breath. “An uniformed officer will be there in a few minutes.”

I knew better than to ask him if that was necessary. Evan would do whatever he felt he needed to in order to protect me. And really, for the safety of everyone in the center, I couldn’t have Tyler lurking around outside.

“Okay. I’ll let Phil know. He’ll go out and handle it.”

There was a long stretch of silence, and when he didn’t fill it, I did. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah, Josie, I’m still here.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, baby, everything is just right.”

In the weeks I’d been with Evan, I didn’t love his rough, velvety voice any less than the first time I’d heard it. The difference was, now I got that voice in and out of bed, and one could say when the rough was laced with sex, it was even more amazing.

“Okay, I’ll see you after work. Lindy decided on your place tonight.”

More silence, then, “I get it’s soon, but the two-house shit is getting old, and you’re at mine more than you’re at yours.”

He was correct, but I wasn’t sure where he was going with this beyond pointing out the obvious.

“Was that a general statement of facts?” I asked.

“No, Josie, it was me saying I want you to think about moving in with us and renting your place out.”

Mamalious.

Her calling me to mock complain.

Them calling me to gush about how awesome Lindy was.

DJ and Carrie FaceTiming so they could meet Evan since DJ’s work schedule hadn’t allowed them to come down for a visit.

Kane calling me, but ending up on the phone with Evan.

I wasn’t sure there was much more to think about.

But I said, “Talk to Lindy, and we’ll talk more about it later.”

“It was Lindy’s idea.”

Mamalious.

My sweet girl wanted me to move in with her father.

Then it was a no-brainer.

“We’ll check rentals in the area and see what I can get for my place. But I’m hiring one of those services. I don’t want the hassle that comes with renters, and?—”

“Christ, just when I think I can’t love you more, you prove me wrong.”

I knew Evan loved me, he showed me every day, but he’d never said the words.

And now he was saying them… over the phone .

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear you tell me you love me for the first time over the phone,” I snapped. “Besides, I have to go, a cruiser just pulled into the parking lot, and Tyler made a run for it.”

“Okay. Call me back when Phil’s done talking to the officer.”

I rolled my eyes again and veiled reminder I wasn’t to go outside.

“Ten-four, Officer Sanders.”

“Lieutenant Sanders,” he corrected. “And if you’re not careful, you’ll be calling me that tonight after I cuff you to bed.”

There was another checkmark in the perfect column.

Evan’s bed was a playground. Fifty-two and having the best sex of my life.

Occasionally, Evan made love to me, but even when he was slow and gentle, there was always an underlying threat of dominance.

The rest of the time, he put in a fair amount of effort to make me go wild.

Though that effort was naught—all he had to do was kiss me, and I was ready to let loose and give him anything he wanted.

But the effort was appreciated and always ended with spectacular orgasms.

“Something to look forward to.”

“Later, baby.”

“Bye, Evan.”

After I disconnected that call, I phoned Phil.

He went outside to deal with the police, but there wasn’t much to deal with since Tyler had taken off the second the cruiser had pulled into the lot.

“Have a good night, Josie,” Quinn called out.

I glanced up from the calendar I was approving at the reception desk in the lobby and smiled.

“Hey, Quinn. Everything going okay?”

When she broke stride to stop and look at me, I knew she caught my real question.

“Yes. We told them what we’re planning, and everyone is happy for us. My brother, being overprotective, is cautiously happy, but happy’s happy, right?”

“Right.”

“And my parents and Brice’s are thrilled.”

Just as I knew they would be.

“That’s wonderful. And you? You’re doing okay?”

She blew out a breath and nodded. “I know it’s okay to mourn the loss of something I wanted.

I’m not ready to go there, but I know if the time comes, I’m surrounded by people who will help me through.

But I’ve made peace with our decision, and I’m excited.

We have three more classes, then…” She shrugged.

“I might get to be a foster mom. But whatever happens, I’m good. Really good. And so is Brice.”

“You’re going to be an excellent mom, Quinn. However that comes about.”

“You’re right, I will. How could I not be with all the women in my life who taught me what motherhood is really about.”

I loved she’d had that all her life.

And I loved that I now got to give that to Lindy.

“Keep me posted and please let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do, Josie.”

I went back to the calendar, approving the changes and seeing Lindy’s art class was now scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next week.

It was going to be great having my girl with me a couple of hours two days a week.

I heard footsteps and looked up.

Phil.

“Ready?” he asked.

I didn’t waste my breath with him either. I knew Evan had called Phil and arranged for him to walk me to my car.

“Yes, sir, lead the way.”

“Are you being… sassy ?”

The look on Phil’s face was comical.

“I’m not always a stick-in-the-mud,” I protested.

“You’re never a stick-in-the-mud, but I’ve worked with you a long time and I’ve never seen or heard you…” He waved his hand up and down in front of me.

“Happy,” I offered.

“If this is what happy looks like on you, it breaks my heart knowing that you haven’t been happy all these years.”

That was sweet of him.

“I’ll amend. This is me deliriously happy. Before, I was just regular happy.”

Phil gave a slight jerk, then barked out a laugh.

I couldn’t remember if I’d ever made Phil laugh or even heard it.

Which was a shame, he had a great laugh.

“Well, boss, deliriously happy works for you in a big way.”

It was good he thought that because I wholeheartedly agreed.

“If you wouldn’t mind escorting me to my car, my family’s already home. Evan’s making his potatoes au gratin, and Lindy says she’s manning the grill tonight, and I skipped lunch.”

“Can’t have you missing out on Evan’s potatoes au gratin,” Phil said with his lips twitching.

No one should ever miss the culinary brilliance of Evan’s potatoes.

“If you’re interested, you should come over for dinner one night,” I offered, as he pushed open the door and motioned me through.

The cleaners were still there, so Phil didn’t set the alarm, but he did lock the door behind us.

“Name the time and I’m there.”

“I’ll talk to Evan and Lindy.” Phil was studiously scanning the parking lot. I was scanning as well, just not as intensely as Phil’s trained eye. “Did the police get back to you after you sent them the security footage?”

“No. They said they’d call tomorrow. But it was clearly Tyler, and the officer checked the cars in the lot for break-ins but didn’t find anything.”

That was good news.

The bad news was Tyler was lurking around the parking lot when he should’ve been in school.

Worse news, he still hadn’t gone home to his mother.

Worse, worse news, I was still on a communications ban with Diane and Bella, and each day I longed to reach out and check on her.

But I was smart enough to listen to the law enforcement officers around me, who very much did not think it was safe.

One day, they’d get a handle on the situation, and I’d go to Diane and explain. I just hoped when I did, she understood and didn’t think I was cold-hearted and had abandoned her in the worst days of her life.