Safe in His Arms Read Free Page B

chair.
    â€œIt’s settled then,” he said.
    Lindsay looked back to him and smiled. Her smile was so potent, so mesmerizing, that Joe had to turn away to keep from gawking at her.
    That he happened to turn toward Clara, who was watching him instead of her computer screen, was downright unfortunate. She gave him a knowing smile. He frowned. Clara had no idea what situation she was messing with.
    â€œSee you tomorrow, Clara,” Joe called out, as he opened the door for Lindsay and Emma.
    â€œPark! Park!” the child called out.
    With Lindsay balancing on her cane and holding Emma’s hand, it was slow going, but they finally reached the white four-door in one of the visitor spaces.
    â€œDo you mean the park built on the old landfill?” she asked, as she opened the left rear door.
    â€œThat’s the one. James Atchison Memorial Park.”
    He waited until she’d buckled the child in her car seat and climbed into her car before he jogged around the building to the lot where troopers parked their personal vehicles. He climbed into his quad-cab pickup, relieved to be inside, even if the interior was smoldering.
    â€œYou owe them this much,” he whispered to the inside walls of the truck cab.
    Why did you save me instead of her? Her question reverberated through his thoughts again, as dread made his limbs feel heavy. How was he supposed to answer that? But he would answer it and her other questions, telling her as much of the truth as he could.
    Only after he’d answered Lindsay’s questions and put her and her niece out of his life would he be able to tuck away his own questions about his instincts on the job and finally get his edge back. He had to reclaim itsomehow—soon—before he lost his job or got himself or someone else killed.
    Â 
    â€œPush me again, Trooper Joe.”
    â€œOkay, but only one last time, Miss Emma,” he said. “Then we need to take a break.”
    His muscled arms flexing against the fabric of his polo shirt, Joe pushed the swing. This time Emma went so high that the swing jerked for a weightless moment at the top before gliding back down again. Instead of crying like Lindsay thought she might, Emma laughed with that delighted sound that only children can make.
    â€œDo it again. Do it again,” Emma called out.
    â€œOkay, but just one…more…time.”
    The two of them had been playing like this for half an hour, and Lindsay didn’t see them stopping anytime soon. So much for the trooper answering questions. She shouldn’t have been surprised he was avoiding it, when he had appeared ready to cancel their meeting entirely until he’d learned that Emma was Delia’s daughter.
    He’d only changed his mind because of Emma. Was it that obvious, even to a stranger, that Lindsay wouldn’t be a good guardian? She already had enough uncertainties herself, without having others question her. Why did Emma take to Joe so easily, even giving him a nickname after knowing him for ten minutes, when everything had been a struggle for Lindsay? She could barely get her niece to eat her vegetables or brush her teeth. Lindsay was the woman here. Where was the maternal instinct that was supposed to kick in when she needed it?
    At least they were having fun, Lindsay decided, as she sat on a blanket, watching from beneath one of the park’s few shade trees. And she couldn’t have kept upwith Emma’s running, anyway. Running was a part of a whole other life for Lindsay…the one before the accident.
    Joe finally jogged up to the blanket, carrying Emma piggyback. “I think we’re both ready for a nap.”
    â€œYou must be,” Lindsay agreed, shifting, so her stiff leg would be in a more comfortable position.
    But Emma shook her head. “I don’t want a nap.”
    Joe lowered Emma to the ground and then he dropped on his knees on the blanket. When he was seated, with his legs stretched