To Protect Her Son

by Stella MacLean

  He was asking questions she couldn’t answer without exposing the truth she’d vowed to keep to herself. She’d moved out of the neighborhood she’d been living in with Harry as soon as she could. With the grudging help of her parents, she’d taken a medical receptionist course, after which she’d moved to another part of town. There she’d intentionally avoided making friends who might connect her to the sensational coverage of Harry’s trial. Having Adam in her life was everything she’d ever wanted, and the one good thing to come out of her past. “I...I’m not sure.”

  “What about Adam’s father?”

  Gayle nearly dropped the plate she was placing in the dishwasher. “His father died in a fishing trawler accident off Alaska just a few months after Adam was born.”

  “I’m sorry. It must have made your life very difficult. Did you have family to support you while you raised Adam?”

  “My parents passed away a few years ago.” In Anaheim, her mother and father hadn’t bothered to stay in touch with her, and she didn’t mind because they were always expecting her to do things for them—from housework to grocery shopping. She guessed that making demands on her was their version of being involved in her life.

  She finished cleaning up the kitchen while Nate watched, as if assessing her. She was exhausted from the past hour, and needed to get this man to leave before he asked any more questions. He would do what he could to help get Adam’s life back on track, of that much she was certain. Once that was done, and it would be, she’d concentrate on the future, her work and her friends.

  The man standing just a few feet from her would not play any role in her life after that for a couple of very good reasons. She couldn’t trust herself not to be drawn to him, or worse, to end up wanting him. If she allowed him into her life beyond his involvement with Adam, he would certainly learn things about her he wouldn’t like, thus putting an end to any further relationship.

  She wanted Nate to leave, but from the way he’d positioned himself along the edge of her counter, he didn’t intend to do that any time soon. To stop his deluge of questions, she decided to learn what she could about his relationship with Anna. She and Gayle had had coffee several times, but Anna had never really talked about her brother.

  * * *

  NATE FOUND IT hard to take his eyes off this woman, while she seemed to be totally unaware of him. Gayle Sawyer was gorgeous, worried and hiding something.

  All Nate’s police training told him, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the woman before him was protecting a secret so big that she would do anything to keep it from him. Given that his sole purpose in being here was to mentor her son, that secret almost certainly involved Adam. As he stood there watching her, he wondered what would make a mother hide the truth if her son’s happiness stood to suffer.

  Furthermore, if he was completely honest himself, he wanted to know more about this woman out of a personal interest. He’d liked her from the first moment they’d exchanged glances.

  Not that he wanted to date her. He didn’t. She wasn’t his type. He’d made it a practice to choose women who wouldn’t make any emotional demands on him, who were out to enjoy life. Such relationships suited his lifestyle.

  He’d once had a different outlook, and was drawn to a different type of woman... Until that disastrous day after he’d been shot when he’d learned that the woman he’d planned to spend the rest of his life with wasn’t into a man with a disability.

  That moment of truth had nearly been his undoing. Never again would he kid himself into thinking that a woman would want him just as he was, disability and all. Maybe in the short-term, but not the long. Because of that, he would never again allow a woman to get close enough to hurt him.

  From what he could tell by being around her, Gayle Sawyer was the kind of woman who took life seriously. Something he wasn’t into. He couldn’t be.

  “Gayle, I understand how you must be feeling right now. Having someone walk into your life under such difficult circumstances and then start asking personal questions would cause anyone anxiety.”

  She didn’t flinch, nor did she offer up any information, as so many people did when they were offered a sympathetic response. This lady had the kind of focused determination he usually experienced with his law enforcement friends and colleagues. Not a woman who was worried about her son.

  He hadn’t expected her to be so self-contained, so in control. She wasn’t the typical mother of a son on the verge of trouble with the law.

  There was something going on here...

  Or was he simply feeling the effects of her total lack of interest in him as a man?

  * * *

  GAYLE GRUDGINGLY ADMITTED she liked this man, despite his questions. After all, he was only doing his job, and she had to believe that he would help her son, that his questions would lead to a better life for Adam. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but I know your sister, Anna. We belong to the same single-parents support group.”

  “No, I didn’t. She’s been busy and so have I.” He crossed his arms over his chest as he met her questioning gaze.

  “She’s really great. So brave to be raising her boys alone after losing her husband in Afghanistan. She’s amazing.”

  “She is. When Kevin was killed we were afraid that she might not be able to cope. Sherri was really supportive, and her mother, Colleen, moved Anna and her family into her house for those awful first weeks after we’d learned about Kevin’s death.”

  “Were you living here at the time?”

  “No. I was still in Boston recovering from my injuries.”

  She couldn’t look at his leg or the cane leaning against the counter without wondering about the officer Harry had shot. “I’m sorry you were shot. It must have been really awful.” She desperately wished she could change the subject without appearing heartless.

  “It was, and there are days when it still is. But life goes on. The one good thing that came out of it was that I made the decision to move back here where I have family and friends.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, leaving Gayle to wonder if the memories of the shooting still haunted him. Yet she didn’t want to know more about that day. She didn’t want to know his story. That would only heighten her guilt about what Harry had done fourteen years ago. “Yes, friends and family can be so supportive,” she said to comfort him and to keep the conversation moving away from her.

  Many times she wished that she’d gone to see Officer Perry and apologized for what Harry had done. But back then she was too afraid that she would be seen as an accomplice. She had been almost eighteen at the time and had lived in fear that somehow she would be implicated. Her ignorance of the law had held her back from acting on her need to somehow make it right with the officer, and then time passed until it was too late for her to say anything.

  “How easily a single event can change everything for so many people,” she said, feeling an odd attachment to this man—and an even more unusual curiosity about him. “Was it difficult to pick up and move home, leaving your life in Boston?”

  His eyes were kind as he spoke. “I had been thinking about making a change. After my injury I wasn’t really happy sitting at a desk all day. When Kevin died I was needed here. Anna’s two boys had lost their father, and that was something I felt I could help them deal with. When I suggested it to Anna, she tried to dissuade me, but I convinced her that it was what I wanted.”

  This man cared deeply about his family, a trait she admired very much. A caring family was something she’d never experienced. She envied the family life Nate, Sherri and Anna shared. She longed for the same thing for herself and Adam. How different their life might have been if they’d had a supportive family.

  But there was no going back, no wishing for what could never be. This was her new life, and this man had come here to provide support to Adam. Wit
h his professional experience and family history, he might make a big difference in her son’s life.

  * * *

  GAYLE SAWYER SEEMED so understanding. Yet it was more than that. She seemed to genuinely care about people, and that included Anna. He’d seen the look in her eyes as he talked about his sister. Gayle was a friend Anna could count on, and it made him feel...pleased. Yeah, that was it. He was pleased that his sister had found a friend she could rely on—not that Anna didn’t have friends in Eden Harbor. After all, she’d lived here her entire life. But something made him realize Gayle would be special.

  And that realization increased his desire to do everything he could for Adam. Not that he hadn’t been committed to this case when he’d come here. But Gayle was a friend of both his sister and his cousin. That gave him a whole other reason for wanting to see Adam a happy, well-adjusted teenager.

  Although he was fascinated by this woman, that was as far as it could go. His life was just fine the way it was. He wouldn’t allow himself to see Gayle as anything other than a client and a friend of the family.

  Returning his focus to the present and what he needed to do, he glanced at his watch. How had he lost track of the time? That never happened to him. “I have to get out of here if I’m going to make my next appointment. Thanks for the tea and cookies.”

  “Of course.” She walked with him to the door, her expression warmed by the sudden smile on her face. “Have a nice day,” she said as she opened the door.

  He could have sworn she was about to say, “Have a nice life.”

  Was Gayle hoping she wouldn’t have to see him again? Did she find his presence in her life an unwelcome necessity? He hadn’t considered the possibility until this moment. Yet she had to have serious reservations about the whole process they were involved in. Could her private chat with Ted Marston have been about him? He smiled to himself. Necessity had forced her to accept him into her life. Professional responsibility had guaranteed that he would act in her son’s best interests. In other words, the relationship between them was all business.

  He had started out expecting that to be the case—counting on it, actually. Yet now as his eyes met hers, he was struck by an idea. She welcomed his leaving. She wanted her space back, free of his interference. The thought made him feel off balance, shaken and for some reason more than a little disappointed.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AT THE CLINIC on Monday morning Gayle tucked the phone against her shoulder as she listened to Mrs. Lockhart explain why she couldn’t keep her appointment on Wednesday and needed to reschedule. It had been a busy morning, and as a result Gayle hadn’t gotten the lab results filed from last week’s Thursday and Friday clinics. The normal procedure was that a copy went to the patient’s doctor’s office and one to the clinic where the specialist or surgeon saw the patient.

  Distracted by the mound of paper on her desk while she searched the computerized schedule for an opening, she almost put Emily Lockhart into the wrong clinic. She corrected her error and assigned Emily a new appointment. “There. That’s done. See you on the seventeenth, Mrs. Lockhart.”

  “Thank you so much. You know sometimes it’s hard to get a drive into town when everyone is working. Some of my family members work two jobs just to make ends meet.”

  “I understand,” Gayle said, sympathetic and once again thankful that she had stable employment.

  When she got off the phone, she turned to the test results that needed to be filed without delay. She had about an hour before the afternoon clinic, and if she ate her lunch quickly in the staff room, she should be able to get the paperwork cleared up before the busy afternoon began.

  It was once again Neill Brandon’s clinic day, and Sherri, as one of the nurses in the clinics, would be back here any minute to ensure that everything was ready. Meanwhile Gayle dug a health bar out of her bag under the desk and took a quick bite before starting to sort the reports in alphabetical order. They would all have to be filed in the cabinets along the back wall of the reception area. She was halfway through the pile when she came to the results of a referral for Anna Barker from Dr. Ningh, a neurologist who held clinics here every two weeks.

  Why would Anna be seeing a neurologist? Gayle scanned the report. “...further study is needed to rule out Parkinson’s disease...”

  Gayle’s hand trembled. It couldn’t be. Anna was a single mom who worked as administrative assistant to the mayor of Eden Harbor, Larry Green. Not only did she depend on the money it paid, but Anna loved her job because it allowed her to leave the house when the boys went to school, and to be home within an hour of when they returned. Larry was a good boss whom Anna liked. He was very understanding when she needed time off to care for her boys.

  But what would happen to all of them if Anna had Parkinson’s?

  “Earth calling Gayle,” Sherri said in an overly loud voice, making Gayle jump and send the report fluttering to the floor. “Whatever you’re reading must be important.”

  “Just a report,” Gayle said, her heart pounding with worry.

  “I’ll get it,” Sherri volunteered.

  No one could know about this, not only for reasons of patient confidentiality, but also because she didn’t want Sherri to worry until there was good reason. It was the least she could do for her friend. Besides, there was no need to alarm anyone until Anna had her appointment with Dr. Ningh.

  “No. I’ll get it.” Gayle ducked down quickly and scooped up the paper, greeted by a quizzical glance from Sherri. “I was just about to file this, but it can wait,” she said, tucking the paper into the pile on her desk.

  Sherri took her usual spot on the other side of the raised counter. “You haven’t told me how your first visit with Nate went.”

  “Fine. He and Adam seemed to hit it off, although Adam left before Nate did.”

  “Oh, really?” Sherri said, a hint of smugness to her tone.

  “It wasn’t like that. Adam had a skateboarding date with his friends, and the interview went a little longer than I expected. Nate left shortly after.”

  “Nate tells me that he enjoyed meeting you. How about you?”

  “Nate is your cousin, and I hope one day that he and I will be friends,” she said, thankful that there were no questions about the report on her desk. Fending off Sherri’s curiosity about Nate and her was easy. Nate hadn’t shown any real interest in her. As for herself, she remembered the frisson of excitement she’d felt when he’d come to the door, and wished that she dared to talk about her reaction. But it was out of the question, especially when she would never act on her feelings. “Other than that, there’s nothing to report.”

  “Did Adam like him?” Sherri said, her tone gentle now.

  Gayle glanced up at her friend, noted the concern in her eyes and was once again so thankful that someone like Sherri cared so much about her and Adam. “We talked a little when he returned from his skateboarding, and in Adam’s words, he’s ‘cool.’ Nate asked him a lot about his job.”

  “Nate mowed lawns until he went to work in grade nine at Peterson’s Pharmacy stocking shelves,” Sherri said. “The girls used to go into the store just to catch a glimpse of him, but he only had eyes for Natasha Burnham.”

  “Did he go with her very long?” Gayle asked, unable to stop herself from wanting to know more about Nate.

  “He did. When he joined the police academy and moved to Boston, she went with him. They had planned to be married the summer he was injured, a big wedding here in Eden Harbor. Then one morning Natasha told him she wanted out. That she couldn’t imagine being married to a man who would always walk with a cane.”

  “What a cruel thing to do! Why did she accept his proposal? She couldn’t have loved him very much,” Gayle said, at once angry at this woman she’d never met and sad for Nate and what he must have faced in the weeks and months after Natasha left
him.

  “She grew up spoiled, always got what she wanted. And she’d wanted Nate from the time they were in high school. Only not the Nate he became after the shooting.”

  “What do you mean?” Gayle asked, becoming more aware of how much damage Nate’s shooter had done aside from the physical injuries.

  “Nate had to focus all his efforts on getting well. Gone were the days of partying and staying up half the night, along with skiing or dancing or playing tennis. It was all gone. At the time we had no idea why they’d split up. Nate wasn’t talking and Natasha moved to New Orleans.”

  “That must have been really hard on him,” Gayle said. “No one deserves to be dumped in such a heartless way.”

  “No kidding! He managed to get to his treatments and appointments in Boston on his own, even though the whole family wanted to help. He fended off all offers, claiming that he had a circle of friends who were there for him, and he needed to devote his time to getting healthy again.”

  “Maybe he just couldn’t face everyone’s sympathy over what Natasha had done to him. It must have been really painful to realize that the woman you loved didn’t love you.”

  “Natasha expected that Nate would always be there for her, trying to please her, but the accident meant that she had a new role to play helping him. Obviously she couldn’t or wouldn’t do that. It’s too bad Nate had to learn something that heartbreaking the hard way.”

  Gayle felt a connection to this man that went well beyond their meeting the other day. He’d had his share of suffering and pain at the hands of someone he’d loved, just as she had. “Natasha’s abandonment had to have changed him.”

  “It did. Nate was a different man when he returned to Eden Harbor. He hasn’t hooked up with any of his old gang from school, and the women he dates are all much younger. He only introduced me to a couple of them and they seemed...frivolous. Not the kind of women I would have imagined him being interested in. Maybe he’s just a poor judge of women.”