He stood in stone silence during her recital. A loud buzzing noise was pulsing through his veins in time with his blackening mood. "Why?" The single word was barked in her direction.
Amy didn't even think about prevaricating. "When you sent me that text today, I started to worry. I thought about ambulances, and shoot-outs, and bank robberies. I thought you might be hurt. I can't do this. Please. You know why." Her voice dwindled off.
She cared for him. Jake was shocked to feel a stabbing rush of elation hit him. She got scared because she cared for him. He wanted to savor the pleasure of that. But first he had to avert disaster.
He gentled his voice. "Babe, it was just a pension meeting. It was unplanned and the department guy was in Baton Rouge. I promise, nothing bad, sweetheart. No reason to panic." He wanted to move toward her, but she was holding herself so still and quiet.
She let out a shaky breath. "But you called it a 'situation.'
Jake cursed silently in his head. God, he was a stupid shit. Amateur mistake, Fontenot. "Yeah, I did. I should have called it a meeting. I wasn't thinking. My bad. My fault, babe. I shouldn't have done that to you." His words were gentle and he waited for her reaction.
She didn't make one. She just stood there, her eyes mournful as she stared at him.
He tried again. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I won't worry you again. I promise." He opened his arms and took a step toward her. She hesitated, then slowly walked into them. Jake buried his face in her hair and felt a huge knot of relief loosen inside him. He hugged her to him and savored her sweet scent.
Amy mumbled into his shirt, "I have to get back to Kayla. I also have to make an unnecessary trip to Wal-Mart." She tried to break free of his hold.
He lifted her chin and asked, "We okay?"
She whispered "Yes," and moved toward the door.
Chapter Seven
The rest of the month flew by. The weekdays were spent in anticipation of the two stolen hours they had together. Almost every day. Almost every day they saw each other. Had sex together. Held each other. Weekends went quickly for Amy. All the cleaning, washing, shopping, and parenting she could fit into two days. Errands that needed running, and cooking ahead for the week was accomplished.
Weekends for Jake were sheer unmitigated torture. Too much time on his hands, too much fast food, not enough Amy. Not any Amy, goddammit.
He took to accepting extra jobs. Cops were always needed for private security detail. He didn't need the money, but he needed something to occupy his time.
He was standing outside the local cinema one Friday night when he saw the teenager. Dressed like the other three young girls she was with, he didn't know what it was about her that caught his attention. Until he started looking more closely. Probably a little over five feet tall, she had the look of Amy about her. Same long, dark hair, same slender build, same facial features. Could this then be the Kayla that was protected so fiercely by her mother? He couldn't see a reason not to find out.
The four girls bought their tickets and started toward the door. He was close enough to speak to them, but far enough away that it wasn't necessary. "Girls." He tipped his head. All four stopped and gawked.
One in the group, the bravest, spoke up. "Hi, Officer."
All the girls were looking at him. The one that he thought was probably Kayla was standing closest to him, at the end of the group. "You look really familiar to me. Does your mom happen to be Ms. Sanford, from the elementary?"
The girl brightened. "Yep. That's my mom. Wow. Do you think we look that much alike?"
He laughed. "You bet. You're going to be just as pretty as she is."
Kayla giggled. "Thanks! How do you know my mom?"
"I'm a D.A.R.E. officer at the school. I taught in her classroom." He could see her eyes light up. A devilish gleam came over her face. He could see the calculation in her face.
"Oh cool. And you think she's pretty, huh? She is pretty. She's not married, you know. Are you married? How old are you? Are you going to be at the school next semester? Why don't you ask my mom out? She's thirty-seven. She needs a boyfriend. My Granddad is a sheriff. My Dad lives in Dallas. I'm going to see him next weekend. You could ask her out then. Do you want her number? Are you married?" She paused to breathe.
Jake was in shock. What the hell had he done? Amy was going to kill him. Crap. He had expected the child to say 'yes' and that would be that. He didn't even know anyone could string that many words together at once. Now what was he going to do? He had to answer her. "Um, no. I'm not married." He needed an excuse. He had to honor Amy's wishes. "I'm not married, but I have a very serious girlfriend. So, I'm sorry, as pretty as I think your mom is, I can't ask her out right now."
The girl looked defeated. But then she perked up. "Oh, well, that's okay. Coach Guidry, from my high school keeps calling her, and she'll give in pretty soon and go out with him. Nice to meet you, Officer."
The girls spotted a group of young teenage boys and started to push through the turnstile.
"Have a nice evening, ladies. And please stay off the back row. That's no place for young ladies to be." The girls giggled again and went through the door.
****
Monday afternoon, Jake walked into Amy's house after a long, hellish weekend. He wasn't in a good mood. She was the cause.