“I hadn’t been home in weeks.” His mouth twisted. “Too busy, you know.”
“Because your parents didn’t want you to feel that they needed you,” she pointed out.
“God forbid they be a burden on me.”
“Seth.” She waited until he was looking at her. “It’s also possible they needed that time with just the two of them. If you’d insisted on coming home to help sooner, you might have robbed them of a chance to appreciate each other and...say goodbye.”
He stared at her, unblinking. Finally, his shoulders loosened and he let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe.”
“And you came when they did need you,” she said gently.
“Yeah.” One corner of his mouth curled. “Thank you.” And he lifted her hand to his mouth.
The lingering kiss on her knuckles sent tingles up her arm. She hadn’t known how sensitive the skin there was.
Or maybe Seth made her whole body sensitive.
Jacob came over for a cuddle and wanted a snack. Robin peeled and cut up carrots and celery, setting out peanut butter and cream cheese for dips. She discovered that Seth liked peanut butter as much as her two-year-old did, but at least he didn’t smear it all over his face.
He had to take several phone calls that she gathered had to do with other investigations. Robin decided the late-afternoon DQ meal wouldn’t hold them until bedtime, and put potatoes and eggs on to boil for a potato salad.
Jacob was getting whiny and tired by the time the salad was ready to eat. She plopped him into the high chair with a toddler-size serving while she also made a fruit salad.
Seth had gone outside to talk, and she heard his phone ring one more time before he came in.
“That was Hammond. Your ex is definitely home. He claims to have flown to Spokane today. Of course he refused to name the client he supposedly met with. Attorney-client privilege.” He shook his head. “I’ll bet he has some whopping bruises on his chest.”
She stopped halfway between the refrigerator and the table. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah. Bullets don’t penetrate the vest, but that doesn’t mean the impact isn’t tremendous. You can end up with broken ribs or collarbone, too.”
“I can only hope,” Robin said acidly.
He smiled faintly. “I was thinking the same thing.”
After cleaning up Jacob’s face, she gave him a piece of cantaloupe to gnaw on and squish. She and Seth sat down to eat. Jacob started squirming long before Robin finished her meal, so she washed his hands and face again and set him down. Seth put on a video of cartoons for him and came back to the table.
“He’s winding down.”
“Yes. I’m glad he didn’t see more today, and didn’t understand what was happening.”
“Me, too. How are you holding up?”
* * *
OF COURSE SHE was fine.
Seth snorted. “I don’t buy that. I’m not fine. I came home to find my father bleeding on the floor. I saw that bullet hole above the stairs. How close did that come to you?”
She swallowed. “Too close. If not for your father—” The knuckles of her hand holding the fork gleamed white.
“Then quit pretending with me, okay?” He shouldn’t snap at her, but he’d been all over the emotional map today. The least she could give him was honesty.
Her temper sparked. “That’s not really fair. I’m a single mother. For Jacob, I can’t let myself surrender to emotion or the flu or anything else. I’m not in the habit of whining, anyway.”
Had she stayed with a vicious man longer than she had to because she couldn’t bring herself to ask for help? Seth was smart enough not to say that out loud. She was right, anyway; he wasn’t being fair. He thought his problem was that he wanted to know she trusted him. Did he want her to throw herself in his arms so he could feel manly?
Probably, although he might not respect her as much if she weren’t a woman who pulled herself up after every near-disaster and did what she had to do. Even if that was, occasionally, trying to take off in the middle of the night to go it alone.
“You’re right,” he said gruffly. “I’m sorry.”
“Why do you suppose Richard called me?” she asked abruptly. “He couldn’t have really believed I’d just hand over Jacob.”