LITMIR.BIZ

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and reached for a handful of fish. “Sometimes I’m the only father figure in a kid’s life. I know I’m the teacher and not the dad, but it’s still a big responsibility, having that kind of impact in a child’s world.”

      Lindy found her hand in the box at the same moment that he reached inside. Their fingers brushed, and she yanked hers out without capturing a single fish.

      He noticed, studying her hands, now clenched against her stomach, and then looking at her with confusion...and speculation.

      Don’t ask why I’m so jittery. Don’t. Ask.

      Except for the prison guards and, on rare occasions, her state-appointed attorney, she hadn’t been around any men over the last three years. And she feared this one more than any other because he was eerily similar to the male who’d fooled her so well—and hurt her so deeply—in the past. Charming. Disarmingly good-looking. And appealing in an “I could be your very best friend and also an absolutely amazing husband” kind of way.

      Before he could mention her nervousness, she tried to get the conversation back on track. “It’s nice that you’re a father figure to those kids.” She picked up the discarded fish and placed them sporadically around the fabric. “Is that what made you want to adopt Jerry?”

      Of all the kids needing a good home, why had he selected her son?

      His eyebrows dipped and his mouth eased to the side as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer. Had she said too much? Could he tell how badly she wanted to know why he’d picked her kid?

      “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. That was probably too personal of a question for me to ask.” She pushed the fabric of her skirt aside to place more of the fish in an empty space, ignoring the way his eyes studied her, making her feel as though he somehow sensed the torment in her soul.

      She needed her son in her life, and this magnetic man was her biggest obstacle.

      God, please help me.

      He took a deep breath, let it out and answered, “I’ve wanted to adopt Jerry for three years now, ever since I saw his story on the news.”

      Lindy’s pulse accelerated so quickly she could feel her blood pushing in her veins, but she managed to hang onto the sponge fish and quietly asked, “His story on the news?”

      “You may have seen it—” he shrugged “—or not. I made a point to watch for it each night after I heard about what happened. He was just over a year old and had been abused. I couldn’t stand the thought of a child being hurt, beaten by his father.”

      “Bless his heart.” Though anyone would make the same statement, no one would mean the words as much as Lindy. She hated that Jerry had been hurt, and she’d done her best to stop it.

      She just hadn’t been strong enough.

      “I decided that I wanted to take care of him, to adopt him. I wanted to be the kind of father to him that he never had.” He lifted a shoulder. “I missed him this weekend. I just met him, and I missed him already. Hard to believe, huh?”

      “Yes.” Did she believe him?

      “I went back to Birmingham for the weekend,” he said.

      “So you aren’t staying in Claremont?” If he was driving back and forth from Birmingham, a two-hour drive each way, he’d have less time to spend with Jerry.

      “Oh, no, I’m staying here for the summer.” He scooted backward to rest against the wall, settling in as though he planned to chat a while. “I just had to go get my things from my house.”

      Lindy pushed her back teeth together to fight the urge to frown. He wasn’t driving back and forth each day. And he owned a house. A place where Jerry could live that probably had a neighborhood filled with potential friends, a big backyard where he could play and maybe even keep a puppy, and was undoubtedly located in a good school zone.

      The kind of place she’d always wanted to live with her son.

      She, on the other hand, was staying rent-free in a small room above the sporting goods store. Free, until you get on your feet, Mrs. Bowers had said.

      How long would that take? And would the court believe she could ever get on her feet? Would anyone trust her to take care of her son?

      The first attorney she’d contacted after being released had homed in on the fact that would hurt her the most in court. Regardless of whether or not she abused Jerry, she hadn’t stopped Gil or reported him to the authorities. Lindy knew she should have, but she also knew that he would have killed her if she did.

      Then who would’ve protected Jerry?

      That attorney had turned her case down, but the one from this morning had sounded as though he was considering representing her.

      Ethan shifted his large frame against the wall, and Lindy found her attention focusing on his broad shoulders, the hard plates of his chest, visible in spite of his shirt, and biceps that didn’t appear to have come from merely lifting papers in a classroom.

      More goose bumps traipsed across her skin. She was so easily captivated by this beautiful man.

      “I hadn’t planned on staying here for the summer,” he admitted, while Lindy tried to focus more on his words and less on his appearance. “I actually thought I could pick Jerry up last week, take him home and foster him until the adoption finalized. I went through the ten weeks of fostering certification classes and everything, but then the social worker and the state decided I should spend more time with him first, so he doesn’t end up going through another placement that doesn’t work out.”

      She was glad she’d been focusing on his words; she hadn’t heard anything about a prior placement for her son. “What do you mean, another placement that doesn’t work out?” She knew very little about what had happened to her baby over the past three years, but this hint at Jerry’s past didn’t sit well with her. What had happened to him?

      “The previous family decided they didn’t want him.” Ethan shook his head. “Gotta tell you, it’d probably be a very good thing if I never meet that couple who’d decided not to keep him.”

      Lindy’s stomach instantly churning, she turned to face him as he tucked more fish in and around the blue water. “Why didn’t they want Jerry?” She’d assumed he’d always been in homes like Willow’s Haven. Of course, Lindy had only learned bits and pieces about Jerry’s location from the state social worker who’d had pity on her after she’d been released from Tutwiler Prison. She’d had to put the woman’s cryptic clues together to even find out where the state had placed him. But she’d found him. And now she had to figure out how to get him back in her life permanently.

      “Hard to believe, isn’t it?” The concern in his tone sounded sincere. “Apparently, he wasn’t as social as they’d have liked, and he cried too much.” In his left hand was a fish, and Lindy watched as his right one curled into a fist.

      Was he like Gil?

      “I don’t have any sympathy for people like that, turning their backs on a child because of what he’s been through, as if he could control his past. Kids need someone they can count on.”

      Lindy swallowed. “Yes, they do.” And Jerry could count on her. He could. If only a court would agree.

      Ethan leaned a few fish against the corner. “I couldn’t wait to get back to Claremont and see Jerry this morning. I think that’s why I showed up so early.” He grinned. “And to help a lady in need with her window display.”

      “I don’t need anything,” Lindy said quickly. Too quickly, from the way his eyebrows inched up and his mouth flattened. She cleared her throat. “I mean, I could’ve handled it, but I appreciate the help.”

      A lie. An outright lie. But it was out there, and Ethan didn’t look as suspicious, so she let it stand.

      Sorry, God. I’m out of my element here, and

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