Do You Take This Cop?

Damn. No wonder his mother always warned him not to gloat.

Once the water stopped draining, Nick took the bucket upstairs. Opening the kitchen door that led out into Faith’s tiny backyard, he was met by the loud rumble of a lawn mower shaking the hell out of Austin as he cut the grass. Squinting against the sunlight, Nick crossed over to the side of Faith’s one-stall garage, where she knelt weeding a flower bed.

Like the inside of her house, the small garden was a riot of colors. White, yellows, pinks and blues filled the base, but the centerpiece was a bright purple clematis winding its way up the sides and around the rungs of an old wooden ladder leaning against the wall.

She stood and met him by the edge of the garage. “Everything going all right?” she asked over the sound of the mower.

“Fine.” He set the bucket at her feet. “We had to drain the heater and I thought you could use this to water your flowers.”

She wore dark sunglasses, so he couldn’t see her expression. “That’s very…environmentally sound of you.”

“I’m all about reducing, reusing and recycling,” he said soberly.

“Really?” She took off her dirt-encrusted garden gloves, held them in one hand while trying to untangle hair caught in her sunglasses with the other. “I never would’ve guessed you were so green-minded.”

“Here,” he said, edging closer, “let me help.”

She stiffened as he gently extricated her hair from the small hinge and tucked the silky strands behind her ear. He let his hand drop and curled his fingers into his palm.

“I would try and tell you that Al Gore has always been a personal hero of mine,” he continued, trying to put her back at ease—if she ever was at ease with him, “but the truth is, I promised my nephew Isaac I’d do my best to save the planet.”

Acting as if it took her entire concentration, she stepped back and brushed the dirt from the knees of her jeans. “Sounds like a pretty big job for one man.”

“Isaac’s five. He pretty much thinks that since I’m a police officer, I’m something of a superhero.”

And why that made her wince, he had no idea.

“Every little bit helps. And since we’re not due to get rain for a few days, this—” she tapped the bucket with the toe of her worn sneakers “—will come in handy. Thank you.”

“That kills you, doesn’t it?”

She swallowed. “Wha…what does?”

“The few times you’ve thanked me, it’s as if someone’s dragging the words out of your mouth.”

“Don’t be silly. I appreciate you helping me like this.” She raised her head, and though he couldn’t see past her dark lenses, he sensed she was looking him dead in the eye. “Truly.”

He also sensed she was lying through her teeth.

“I’d better get back,” he said, not wanting to push her too far. He nodded toward a very sweaty, red-faced Austin. “It’ll take a while for the water to warm up in the tank, but I don’t think Austin will mind rinsing off under the hose today.”

“He’ll love it. Why little boys can stand under the freezing spray from a hose for hours, but hate the confines of a tub or shower, I’ll never know.”

Nick grinned. “The hose is more of an adventure. And if there’s one thing males of all ages can’t get enough of, it’s an adventure.”

Another thing they couldn’t get enough of was a challenge. At least Nick couldn’t resist one. And at the moment, his biggest challenge was figuring out the woman in front of him.

“We should be finished and out of your hair in no time,” he said before walking back into the house.

No, he wasn’t interested in Faith, at least not the way Ethan accused him of. But Nick was curious. Back inside the house, he watched Faith through the kitchen window. She crouched and began yanking weeds, tossing them into a small pile. He couldn’t quite figure her out, but he aimed to try.

She obviously loved bright colors, so why did she dress in such muted tones? Add that to her jumpiness around him, her obviously not wanting him alone with Austin, and the kid’s rush to get away from him yesterday and Nick couldn’t help but think he’d seen this situation many times before.

He’d been called to his fair share of domestic disputes, and each one of them had made his stomach turn. He’d also seen the results of that abuse. How the victims blamed themselves for the violence. And believed they could never get away from their abuser. Was that what made Faith and Austin so secretive? Had some bastard laid his hand on them?

Though Faith showed signs indicating she might have been abused, Nick wasn’t going to jump to conclusions. He needed more evidence to prove his instincts were right. He wanted to help them. And there was only one way he’d be able to do that.

He needed to earn their trust.

LESS THAN AN HOUR LATER, Nick and Ethan had her new water heater installed and the old one in the back of Ethan’s pickup. Standing in her freshly mowed backyard, Faith handed Ethan an envelope with the money she owed him.

“I really can’t thank you enough for coming today,” she said, her voice steady and almost pleasant. She even added a smile. After Nick’s remark about how strained she sounded whenever she thanked someone, she realized she needed to shore up her acting skills.

“Glad I could help out,” Ethan said. He was a big man, as fair as Nick was dark, with white-blond hair and pale blue eyes. He seemed harmless.

Nick, on the other hand, was a whole other story.

Last night as she’d tucked Austin into bed, he’d admitted he’d inadvertently told Nick they’d once lived in Serenity Springs. That, combined with her nervousness around Nick getting the better of her, convinced her she needed to be friendlier. More open and honest. To show Nick she had nothing to hide.

Even if it was all a lie.

“I was…” She cleared her throat. “I was hoping you would allow me to treat you both to dinner.”

“Excuse me?” Nick asked.

“Now I don’t have to go the rest of the week without hot water, not to mention the money I was able to save. I just wanted to thank you. Both.”

Nick searched her face. “Let me get this straight. You’re volunteering to spend more time with me?”

She ground her back teeth together. He just couldn’t make this easy, could he? “Yes. I thought the four of us could go to Nero’s for pizza.”

Ethan glanced from one to the other. “I’m afraid Nick’s in a hurry to get home. Something about a baseball game.”

“That game’s not on until tomorrow,” he countered.

Ethan’s pale eyebrows shot up. “It’s not?”

“Nope. I’d love to have pizza with you and Austin.”

“I must’ve heard wrong then,” Ethan said. “And I’d be happy to join—”

“But he can’t,” Nick interjected smoothly.

“I can’t?”

“He needs to get home to watch his kids,” Nick explained. “Tonight’s Lauren’s yoga class at the Y.”

“It’s Wednesday,” Ethan pointed out. “Yoga is on Tue—”

“Mohawk.”

Faith frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Nick seemed as innocent as a newborn. She didn’t buy it for a moment. “I just don’t want him to be late.” He lowered his voice as if Ethan wasn’t right there to hear him. “His wife holds grudges when she’s mad. One time she made him sleep on the couch for… How long was it?” he asked his friend. “A week?”

“Ten days,” Ethan grumbled.

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