Janice Kay - In Hope's Shadow

She surveyed him. “You’re not.”

“It wasn’t raining when I got here.”

“Well, it is now,” she said unnecessarily. She shed her raincoat with his help and laid it and her handbag on the bench seat, sliding in after them.

Ben resumed his seat, facing her. It wasn’t a surprise that he’d requested the booth in the back corner; Seth had always done that, too. Nor that Ben preferred to have his back to the wall and be able to sweep the entire room with an assessing gaze. It must be a cop thing, and was fine by her. She didn’t want to see anyone, and would be just as happy at the moment if no one she knew spotted her.

“Thank you for suggesting this. What a day.”

“Bad?” he asked. Although she suspected he remained aware on some level of every single person in the café, his gaze stayed intent on her alone. Did he know how seductive that was?

“No, just long.” Distressing, too. She hadn’t liked what she’d read between the lines at her last home visit and would need to reassess that placement. Sad to say, things like that weren’t out of the ordinary. She didn’t need to talk about it. “I hope you didn’t mind eating so late,” Eve added. She’d had to call him this afternoon and ask to push dinner back a couple of hours or do it another night.

“I had plenty to do.” This smile was humorless. “Filling a couple of hours is never a problem.”

“No, I don’t suppose it is. Bailey said you and Seth are working on that jewelry store robbery.”

“We are,” he agreed.

“But no arrests?”

“Unfortunately.” He hesitated. “Between you and me, we’re pretty sure we know who did it. Backing up our suspicions isn’t going as well.”

“I’m amazed you got that far,” she admitted. “With them wearing ski masks—” Seeing the way his gaze flicked past her, she turned her head to see the waitress approaching. “Oh, dear. I should decide what I want to eat, shouldn’t I?”

Having eaten here a few hundred times before, Eve barely had to open the menu. The salads were tasteless, so she mentally shrugged and went with a teriyaki chicken sandwich and fries. Ben ordered a burger and fries.

Once they were alone again, he told her a little more about the investigation and the people they’d talked to, mentioning the domestic abuse police reports and the missing girlfriend.

“She has a kid, too, so I can’t blame her for doing her best to disappear. It’s more of a surprise that women stick so long with a creep like that, especially when they have a child to think about.”

“Has Child Protective Services been involved?” Eve asked. “After a couple police visits, they might have been called to evaluate the safety of the child. If so, she may have thought she had to keep them informed about where she is.”

Expression arrested, Ben said, “I didn’t think of that. Good idea.”

Pleased, she nonetheless wrinkled her nose. “CPS, now, that’s a job I wouldn’t want. If I’m afraid of something bad happening because I let a child slip through the cracks, it’s a thousand times worse for them. Too often, they’re investigating really horrific situations. You know how hard it is to be sure you’re making the right call. More often than not, kids will deny abuse.”

“Because whatever family they have feels safer than unknown alternatives.”

She nodded, then smiled her thanks when the waitress brought drinks. “I’m glad you suggested this,” she said. “I don’t think I’d have been up to fine dining tonight.” She should have detoured to the restroom to brush her hair and fix her makeup, but there wasn’t a lot of point since she’d have had to walk right past him first, and he’d have gotten a good look at the real end-of-day Eve.

“You ever think about having a family of your own?” he asked. “It would be tough, putting in these kind of hours.”

The question sounded casual, but surprised her anyway. And—okay—made her feel a little giddy even though this was only a second date. Was he really asking whether she intended to have children?

No—wait. He might just be concerned about his daughter, assuming they were to get any more involved. Even so, that suggested he was thinking ahead, which was a good sign.

“Eventually, I would like to have a family,” she said. “And you’re right. When—if—that happens, I’d want to cut back to part-time or find an alternative. I know what it’s like not to be important to your own parents.” Hating the suddenly raw sound to her voice, seeing a shift in his expression, she gave a small shrug. “I think your Rachel is lucky. She seems so confident, and you’re good with her.”

His jaw tightened. “The divorce hit her hard.”

“Probably, but once she’s sure she can still count on both you and her mother, she’ll be fine.”

He looked hard at her. Didn’t he believe her? No—probably all he wanted to know was whether she was being sincere or was only trying to allay his worries.

Eve was glad that their food arrived before she felt compelled to start babbling. After spreading the napkin on her lap, she was tempted to change the subject altogether, but reminded herself he was the one to start talking about family and children.

“Do you miss her?” she asked.

His startled gaze flew to hers. “Nicole?” Then his expression was shuttered. “You mean Rachel. Yeah, I do. Every day. And Nicole...” He frowned and didn’t finish.

Eve knew better than to say anything.

“She keeps making plans on my weekend, figuring it won’t matter to anyone if we do a switch.”

“But it does.” A lump rose in Eve’s throat. “To you and Rachel both.”

Again he studied her with that unnerving intensity. “Why do you include Rachel? It’s always something fun Nicole has come up with. Another kid’s birthday party—and, no, I know she has no control over when Rachel’s friends schedule their parties. A play, a chance to go roller-skating. I sound like a jerk if I say no.”

“In the short term, Rachel wants to do something fun. But she also needs consistency. To be able to count on her time with you. Consistency, rules and routine form a...a foundation for kids. They need their parents to say, ‘This is how things will go,’ and stick to it.” She made a face. “And here’s the woman with no parenting experience lecturing you. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “You do know what happens when things go wrong and how to turn them around for a kid. In comparison, I suspect most parents do nothing but bumble along, hoping they aren’t screwing up.”

Eve laughed. “That’s mostly what social workers do, too, you know.”

His swift grin chased the shadows from his eyes and made her heart squeeze. “Don’t disillusion me.”

“Okay.”

He took a big bite, and she followed suit. A minute later, he said, “It was the hours that did my marriage in.”

Eve frowned and set down her sandwich. “Really?”

“You sound surprised. You must have read that cops have a really high divorce rate.”

“Well, sure I have, but I doubt the hours you put in are the main reason.”

“Women get tired of not being able to count on their husband being home for dinner or special occasions. Nicole claimed she felt like a single parent anyway. I think it’s not so much the long hours as that they’re erratic.”

“So are mine!”

“And you’ve never had a guy you were seeing think you ought to put him first?”

“If a man so much as suggested I should ditch some child’s problem to be on time for our dinner date, I’m the one who’d lose interest,” she said with spirit. “The kids I was dealing with at the end of the day today—they had to come first, if only temporarily.”