Stella MacLean - To Protect Her Son

He was here as a favor to his cousin after a teenage boy had been picked up by the police for fighting. The boy’s mother, Sherri’s friend, was a widow raising her son alone. In Nate’s experience single parents, especially widows, had difficulty setting boundaries for their teenagers. This was almost certainly because the mother, who had already suffered a serious loss, didn’t want to lose her daughter or son, as well.

But according to his cousin, Gayle Sawyer’s husband had died years ago. He sighed at the thought of facing another difficult situation after the morning he’d had. Not because he didn’t want to help, but he wasn’t feeling very sympathetic at the moment. This case was too close to the one he’d just signed off on.

Still and all, he couldn’t resist Sherri’s plea on behalf of her friend.

And this was the life he’d chosen, one that had its successes along with difficult moments.

After he’d been shot in Boston, he’d been angry at the world and had gone looking for someone to blame. That was until he’d met the teenager who had shot him. A boy of fifteen who had grown up in one foster home after another, the child of parents who had abdicated their responsibilities long before the shooting.

Eventually he’d come to realize that he would not be going back out on the streets as a cop. He would need to rethink his life and his career. He had always wanted to help teenagers and young adults before entering the police force, and now he had an opportunity to do that. He wasn’t being noble or particularly altruistic, not at all. There was only one thing driving him. If he could keep one kid from picking up a firearm and killing someone, he would feel he had used his time and his abilities for the greater good.

In his experience the parent was often more problematic than the teenager. He sincerely hoped this wasn’t the case here. And after this morning, he didn’t need another woman with her own issues messing up his work life. But Sherri had championed Gayle Sawyer’s cause, saying that she wasn’t a needy woman—in fact, just the opposite.

“The things I do for my cousin,” he muttered to no one in particular as he approached the door to Ted’s office.

* * *

GAYLE TURNED AS a light tap sounded on the office door. Ted Marston got up. “Hello, Nate. So glad you could come on such short notice. And by the way, thank you for helping out here,” he added as they shook hands. Turning to Gayle, he said, “I’d like you to meet Gayle Sawyer. Her son, Adam, will be your client.”

Nate Garrison walked farther into the room. The charcoal-gray shirt under his worn black leather jacket matched the gray of his eyes. Despite the cane he used, his whole demeanor spoke of a natural authority. Black hair streaked with gray sobered his appearance, and there were lines around his eyes and mouth. She could only imagine what he’d been through—physical pain, rehab and the loss of his rating for active duty.

He walked toward her, his eyes assessing. She shook hands with him, noting his gentle touch, the look of concern evident in his clear gaze. Guilt engulfed her. What sort of injuries had the police officer Harry had shot in Anaheim sustained? He’d been hit in the leg and the hip, but she had never gone to see him to apologize for what her husband had done. She realized in an instant of mindfulness that she’d been carrying this guilt with her all these years.

“It’s good to finally meet you. My cousin Sherri has been on my case for days. When Ted approached me to take your son as a client, she wouldn’t let me say no. You know what Sherri is like when she’s on a mission.” A smile crinkled the corners of his eyes, and it was if the whole room shifted ever so gently. “And you’re going to be her maid of honor.”

She swallowed over the lump of surprise lodged in her throat. How much had Sherri said about her? What conclusions had he come to? And how much did he know about Adam’s issues? “Yes, I am.”

“Then we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

“I’m really looking forward to the wedding. It should be a lot of fun,” she said. As she gazed up into his steel-gray eyes, her body tingled, a sensation so unusual for her she gave a little gasp.

“You realize we’ll have to dance at the reception,” he said, making her pulse jump.

Gayle hadn’t danced with a man in so long she couldn’t remember—high school, maybe.

Suddenly aware that he was still holding her hand, she pulled away. “I...I’m not much of a dancer. This is my first time being part of a wedding party.”

“Seriously? I thought that was some sort of rite of passage for women.”

His words reminded her of how socially barren her life had been. And this man had pointed out her shortcoming as easily as if he were talking about the weather. Determined not to let him see the hurt in her eyes, she turned her attention to Ted Marston.

Yet Nate was so gorgeous she couldn’t help but surreptitiously glance his way. Someone should have warned her. Even his cane looked sexy. If only he wasn’t related to Sherri and Anna, two people she liked and admired. There was probably some rule about Nate dating the mother of one of his clients, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him to see her as a desirable woman, not just the mother of a troubled teen.

A desirable woman who hadn’t had a date in years. How sad was that?

She listened while Ted and Nate discussed Adam’s case, answering their questions as thoroughly as possible without giving away any information about their past.

She had to be careful this handsome man didn’t find out about her lies. And even if he decided to check on her story, Harry was in prison under a different name than hers.

“We’re pretty well finished here, I believe,” Ted said at last. “You do understand that mentoring a troubled teen requires a clear understanding of the family background and the issues that may have contributed to the teen needing help?”

Family background? That would mean Nate would be asking questions she’d have to answer. Would she be able to keep her lies straight given how this man made her feel? And if he was as good at his job as Sherri said, acquiring information on the family he was working with would be easy for him. “I...I guess so.”

“Great. Now, all we need is to determine a date and time for Nate to meet Adam.”

Gayle forced a smile to her lips. Regardless of how solid her story was about her past, she was suddenly afraid to take a chance on this man who made her feel vulnerable, sexy and out of her depth. “Mr. Marston, could I speak to you alone for a minute before we do that?”

“Is there a problem?” Ted asked.

“There might be,” Gayle said, mentally running through the lie she had to offer as the truth.

As the door closed behind Nate, Ted Marston turned to her.

She cleared her throat, and ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I don’t think Mr. Garrison will work out well with my son. I should have mentioned it sooner, before you went over Adam’s case, but I feel I have to say something.”

“What is your objection to Nate Garrison? As I explained to you earlier, he’s one of the best, and he is very good with teenagers in your son’s situation.”

“My son broke curfew and was in a fight. I realize it was wrong, and he and I have talked about it. He’s sorry. He’s really making an effort to change his behavior. I’m working hard as well, to see that he doesn’t make the same mistake again.” She caught his inquiring glance. “What I’m trying to say is that there are boys out there in more desperate circumstances than Adam. We’d be willing to wait for someone else in your agency.”

“Do you realize who the other teenagers were that were involved in that fight?”