The Family Man (6 page)

“Adam?”

At first, she thought he either didn’t hear her or was playing the ignoring game for some reason. But after a couple of steps, he stopped and turned, if a bit hesitantly.

What did she say now that she had his attention again?

“Hey, I’ve got to make an appearance at this police/fire department benefit thing. Would you like to go?”

His eyes widened, and he tilted his head slightly. “With you?”

A wave of nervousness made her question her sanity. Had she just done the most embarrassing thing in her life only to be shot down in the cereal aisle? She snatched some snarkiness from the recirculated air around her. “Well, I guess you could go with the chief. He’s a nice-looking guy, but it is Horizon Beach. People might talk.”

“Think I’ll pass, thanks.”

Part of her had expected the rejection, but when it came she wasn’t prepared for the kick to her heart. How could her heart be involved? She barely knew the guy. She should walk away before he did.

“Pass on the chief, that is.”

It took a moment for her to pull herself out of her backpedaling plans to put a cap on her sudden excitement. “So you do want to go?”

“Sure.” He didn’t exactly sound like it was going to be the highlight of his life, but he hadn’t rejected her. That was enough.

“Good.” What did she say now to fill the awkward silence? “You might come in handy if too much liquor flows and punches start flying.” She smiled, and it only felt a little forced.

“I’ll make sure the bartenders have ice packs at the ready.” With that and a mischievous smile, he gripped the cart handle, ready to leave. “Just let me know the details.”

“Okay.” She stood and watched him disappear around the corner, heading for the shortest checkout line, before turning her own cart and running the gauntlet of cereal again. The mom and begging children had vacated the aisle, so she allowed a smile to stretch across her face. She did, however, stop herself from doing the happy dance or analyzing why his “yes” had made her so happy.

When she reached the end of the aisle, she snatched the fudge-covered Oreos and tossed them
in the cart. Now they weren’t sulking cookies. They were celebratory cookies.

She managed to keep her composure during the rest of her shopping, all through the checkout process, all the way until she sat in the driver’s seat of her car. Only then did she allow herself a squeal and a bit of a celebration. The thought of dancing in Adam’s arms, even if it led to absolutely nothing beyond that night—and it couldn’t—gave her a giddiness high not unlike that of a teenage girl.

Her wide smile froze and drained away, however, when she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the purple marring her face. She stared at herself as the panic set in. Full-blown, nuclear-reactor-alarms-going-off panic. What had she been thinking? How would she ever make herself look as good as the beautiful women she always saw on Adam’s arm? She couldn’t, no matter how many cosmetics, hair products and stylish clothes she employed.

She shook her head at her foolishness, not for having asked him, but for worrying about suddenly transforming herself into eye candy. She didn’t have to. She told herself what she would likely have to tell Tana soon—to just be herself, and if that wasn’t enough then the guy wasn’t the right one for her.

And she knew, deep down, that Adam wasn’t. He was only a date, a diversion, a body to keep her from attending the benefit alone. Not the Mr. Perfect she longed to find.

Adam stopped himself from honking at the person in front of him, an older man taking too long to start rolling after the stoplight turned green. He wanted to get home, unload all these groceries before they started sending up a beacon saying, “I’m buying all this food for a hungry boy who happens to be a runaway hiding in my house.”

When the old man took an eternity to turn in to the parking lot for the medical clinic, Adam gritted his teeth to keep from roaring like a lion.

He wondered when exactly he’d lost his mind.

Not only was he harboring a runaway on gut instinct, voluntarily making himself responsible for the kid, but now he’d also agreed to go out with Sara. A woman who’d already proven right in front of him that her job put her in danger for “the greater good.” A woman who could arrest his ass if she found out about David.

Maybe he’d been gassed with some “lose your
common sense” agent while he’d been kicking up dust in the desert.

At the last possible moment, he whipped his car in to the parking area for one of the half-dozen sections of Gulf Islands National Seashore that dotted the Gulf Coast. He watched a couple of bright-white fishing boats motor across Choctawhatchee Bay.

Damn it. Why had he said yes to her invitation? It only promised to add to his mounting headaches.

Because for some reason he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Was it simply because she’d never acted like other women around him? Even that first time they’d met months ago, before he’d known she was a cop, she hadn’t succumbed to his flirting like most women. He hoped a date and maybe some kissing was enough to get her out of his system. He needed her to do something to totally turn off his insane attraction. But before that, he needed for David to open up to say he was just being bratty and go back to a loving family.

Adam sighed as he watched the wake of the fishing boats lap against the sandy shore. No matter how much he wanted them to, he didn’t believe either of those scenarios was going to happen.

He guessed he should just be thankful that beyond the extra food in his shopping cart, Sara hadn’t noticed the clothes to fit a fourteen-year-old boy. He still couldn’t believe he’d taken yet another step tying
him to David, to being responsible for someone else’s well-being. But the kid looked like he’d been wearing the same T-shirt and jeans for days. The fact David hadn’t taken the time to pack didn’t give Adam a good feeling about what the kid had been through.

Even though he’d just bought more groceries than he ever had, Adam stopped by Freddie’s and picked up a supreme pizza. If he tried to cook in his current mood, he’d probably burn everything or catch the house on fire.

When he pulled in to his driveway and cut the car’s engine, he grabbed the pizza and the two bags filled with things that needed to be refrigerated.

He stepped through the front door only to stop cold. Everything looked different, smelled different. It looked and smelled…clean.

Adam closed the door behind him. “Did I win the Merry Maids lotto or something?”

David, who was in the process of shoving the broom back in the closet where it spent most of its time, stared at him as if he might be punished. “I just thought I’d clean. I was bored and…” He swallowed visibly. “It’s the least I can do after you gave me a place to stay last night. I hope you don’t mind.”

God, the kid was always so on edge, like he fully expected Adam’s mood to suddenly turn angry.

“Mind? Kid, I might just hire you.”

David grinned at that, the first time Adam had
seen anything resembling happiness on his face. His gut twisted that such a simple, teasing few words was all it took to make the kid smile. It made him dread the conversation they would have to have tonight. Truth be told, he’d rather avoid it. He suspected that down that path lay heavier stuff than he wanted to hear. Damn, he hated the heavy. He watched as his life plan to avoid it for the rest of his days derailed right in front of him.

He slid the pizza box onto the clean coffee table then deposited the contents of the bags in the fridge. He grabbed a couple of Cokes and headed for the couch. “Let’s eat while it’s still hot. I’ve been craving Freddie’s pizza all day.”

They dug in, each losing himself in the ecstasy of gooey cheese, spicy pepperoni and the other wonders of a piping-hot pizza. Each had downed two pieces before Adam tackled the dreaded subject.

“What made you run away?”

David, who’d been reaching for a third slice, pulled his hand back and didn’t respond beyond a shrug. Adam could almost feel the boy curling in on himself, planning to make another getaway.

Adam didn’t push. It wouldn’t do any good. The kid would share when he was ready, if he ever was. It wasn’t like Adam had ever gone around crying about his dad’s temper and refusal to say anything nice about his wife and son.

He decided to give it a little more time and clicked
on a baseball game. The Marlins were already down three runs in the second inning. They watched in silence. Adam ate another slice of pizza, but David didn’t move. The second inning flowed into the third and then the fourth.

When the Marlins batter popped one into right field and a teammate stole two bases to score, Adam whooped. “That’s more like it.”

He glanced over at David, who sat staring at the TV but offering no reaction to the play. Adam returned his attention to the TV.

“My dad makes me steal,” David said.

Adam didn’t turn off the TV, didn’t even turn toward David. He sensed that doing so would cause the boy to clam up again. “What did you steal?”

“Tools, bikes, anything he could sell. Shoplifted for food sometimes.”

“And you got tired of it?”

“I almost got caught by one of our neighbors.” He made a disgusted sound. “She’s a nice lady, friendly. I hated myself for stealing from her, so I put the stuff back.”

“Your dad got mad at you for that?”

“I didn’t go back home. That’s when I left.”

That explained why he had nothing but the clothes on his back. Though Adam suspected he’d had precious little at home to pack anyway.

“I knew if I went back, he’d beat me again,” David said, so matter-of-fact that Adam had to force him
self not to curl his hands into fists. The guy deserved a dose of what he dished out, and Adam was willing to do the dishing.

“He beat you a lot?”

David shrugged. “When he thought I didn’t bring home enough stuff.”

Adam shifted slightly so he could see the expression on David’s face. It reflected one part hatred, one part scared little boy.

“Didn’t anyone notice?” Why hadn’t anyone done anything?

“He knows where to hit so it doesn’t show.” David took a deep, shaky breath, then let it out in a slow exhale. “He said if I ever showed anyone the bruises, I’d wish I hadn’t.”

Adam tried to fill his next question with concern, not the boiling anger he was really feeling. “What about your mom?”

David leaned forward and picked at the edge of a piece of pizza. “She died when I was three, killed herself by driving off a bridge on I-10.”

Adam couldn’t help the curse he uttered. “I’m sorry.”

Again with the “that’s just the way it is” shrug. David pulled his hand back a second time. “Thank you for letting me crash here last night. I probably need to be going now.”

“Not gonna happen,” Adam said, surprising himself with the conviction behind his words.

“If you call the cops, they’ll send me back. I’m not going back.”

“No, you’re not.” Adam looked down at his fisted hand and forced himself to relax. “Listen, I know the detective who is working your case. She’s a good cop, loves kids. She wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

David’s body tensed, on the verge of fleeing. Adam stayed him by placing his hand atop the boy’s forearm. “You can’t keep running. It’s too dangerous. Maybe if you were close to eighteen already it’d be different, but you’re not. How are you going to live for the next four years?”

“I’ll manage.”

“By stealing?”

David froze then slumped forward with his head in his hands. “Can’t I just stay here? I promise I won’t be any trouble. I’ll work to pay for my food.”

“Kid, trust me, I’m the last person you want to live with.” Adam fought the urge to agree to David’s suggestion despite the impossibility of that situation and how much being responsible for a kid freaked him out. “Plus, you need to be in school, live with a real family.”

Adam sat back and watched some more of the game, letting David have time to think about what he’d said.

When the game broke for a commercial, David sighed. “Okay.”

Adam’s heart squeezed at the weary acceptance in that single word. Still, he nodded and headed for the
phone. As he looked up and dialed Sara’s home number, he hated the feeling that he was betraying the kid.

S
ARA STILL COULDN’T
believe she’d asked Adam to the benefit. Part of her thought she’d taken leave of her senses while another was jumping up and down like she’d just been asked to the prom by the cutest boy in school.

When the phone rang, she reached for it automatically, not because she was actually thinking he’d call.

“Hello?”

“Sara, it’s Adam.”

Her heart thumped harder, and her first thought was that he was calling to cancel. He’d remembered in the minutes after leaving the store that he didn’t like cops, she was a cop and therefore he couldn’t possibly go with her.

“Hey,” was all she could manage to say.

“I don’t know how to do this, but I need to meet you somewhere. Maybe the police station.”

“What’s wrong?”

He exhaled. “I need to bring David Taylor to you.”

“David Taylor?”

“Yeah, I caught the kid getting some water from the spigot on the side of the house.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yeah. He was hungry so I fed him.” Adam
lowered his voice. “He had a good reason for leaving, and I told him you wouldn’t send him back.”

“Why would you promise that?”

“I told him you were a good person, loved kids. He’s been abused.”

Disgust and anger made tears spring to her eyes. “Okay, bring him to the station. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

After calling Ruby to watch the girls again, she hurried back to work and pulled out David’s file before Adam walked in beside a nervous-looking David Taylor. She offered the boy a big smile.

“Hello, David,” she said as she offered her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

David hesitated before taking her hand in his and shaking it. Her heart ached for this kid—part boy, part man—and the fear and strength warring in his eyes.

Sara glanced at Adam. “Let’s all go to the conference room. A friend of mine from Social Services, Lara Stephens, is on her way.” When she saw David stiffen, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and guided him toward the conference room across from her desk.

Adam grabbed her wrist, drawing her attention to him as David walked into the conference room.

“He really doesn’t need to go back home. He told me his dad made him steal, and when it wasn’t enough he knew how to hit the kid so no one noticed.”

Sara’s stomach rolled, and determination that David would never have to fear his father again welled within her. “I’ll do everything I can. Thanks for bringing him in.”

Adam nodded but didn’t look like he was going to follow her into the room.

She lowered her voice so David couldn’t hear. “I think it’d be good if you came in. If he’s comfortable enough to tell you about the abuse, it might help him to have you sitting beside him.”

The desire to flee sparked in his eyes, but he nodded and followed her into the room. Sara got cups of water for all of them while they waited for Lara to arrive. After introductions were made again, Sara caught Adam’s eyes and saw how anxious he was. Best to get the interview over with as quickly as possible.

“David, I need you to tell me what happened that made you feel you had to run away from home.”

David looked at Adam, who nodded. As David explained his home situation, Sara took notes and occasionally glanced at Adam. He didn’t say anything, but his mere presence seemed to help David get through the disturbing details of his relationship with his father.

When she finished the questioning, Sara closed her folder. “You’ll be going with Lara now. She’ll make sure you have what you need and place you in a temporary foster home until we work everything out, okay?”

David merely nodded. As they all rose, Adam squeezed David’s shoulder. She was left with the impression he was trying to give the boy strength to carry on, and it melted her heart a little.

Sara stood in the area outside the conference room, watching as Lara accompanied David out of the building. “Thanks for taking care of him,” she said. “I’m relieved he’s okay.”

“You were good with him.”

She shrugged and headed toward her desk. “Kids who run away are usually skittish. They’re hurting or scared, feel like they’re alone in the world.”

“You’ve dealt with lots of runaways?”

“Several. Too many,” she said as she dropped David’s case file atop her desk.

“Sounds like a hard job.”

“Sometimes. But times like now feel good, when we find them alive and for the most part okay.”

Adam glanced toward the now empty front entrance. “He won’t have to go back to that bastard, right?”

“If everything he said checks out, no.” She rubbed her temples, dreading the next part.

“What’s wrong?”

“Now I get to call his father.”

“I could just go beat the daylights out of him.” He looked like nothing would give him more pleasure.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m pretty sure they don’t have happy hour at the jail.”

He smiled at that, and she felt herself slip further under his spell. She had to get him out of here so she could think straight and do her job.

“I’ll go so you can finish.” His gaze met hers for a moment before he turned and headed for the door.

When he walked out of sight, she sank into her chair and took a deep breath. She steered her thoughts away from him and toward the task at hand, then reached for the phone.