“So tell me.” I stepped close and this time I cupped his chin very gently. “A problem shared and all that.”
“This one can’t be halved, if that’s what you’re going to say.”
“I can listen. Been told I’m good at that.”
He sighed. “I lost my mother, recently, in a car smash.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.”
He raked his hand through his hair, flashing his tattoo again, and closed his eyes. “It was a cop car that hit hers. I knew the guys driving it. It was an accident, or so the verdict ruled.”
“That’s bad. I’m really sorry.” Fuck, that must have been hard to go through.
“Which is why I couldn’t stay in Boston. I couldn’t keep seeing their faces. I put in for a transfer.”
“And Balko came with you?”
“Yeah. We’ve always been buddies, had each other’s backs. His family went back to Slovakia a few years ago, so he had no ties to Boston. He said he wanted a change, but really I knew he wanted to look out for me in a new place.”
“Wow, good friend.”
“He is.”
I ran my hand from his chin, down his neck and over his shoulder. His skin was warm and a little damp and perfectly smooth. I traced the shape of his biceps and forearms and took his hand in mine. “I hope you’ll be happy here with us. Well, as happy as you can be on a SWAT team and getting shot at by bad guys every day.”
He half smiled. “It all happened two years ago. I should be ready to move on.”
“But as you said thatisrecent to lose a loved one.”
“In my head, yeah, but I know she’d want me to be happy. She was a single mom, loved me with everything she was.”
“The way you loved her.”
He nodded and squeezed the bridge of his nose.
“What was her name?”
“Rose.”
“Ahh, the tat.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Rose and thorns. They come together because love hurts, huh? No matter who it is you love.”
“Not always.” I paused. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“Sure.”
I went on my toes and brushed my lips with his. “Don’t go trying to join her in Heaven too soon. She won’t be pleased to see you if it’s before your time. She’d clip your ear, I bet.”
He half smiled. “She would. And I’ll do my best not to head upward for a while yet.”
“Good man.” I stepped away. “I’m going to hit the road.”
“You are?”
“Yeah.” He was so big and sexy standing there, I was sure women would have been throwing themselves at him while he’d been grieving. It sounded like he not only hadn’t noticed, but also hadn’t cared. I, however, saw something else in him now, vulnerability mixed with determination.
He wanted to be okay.