She held herself so rigid he was afraid she would snap. He covered the distance between them and took a trembling hand, searching for a way to reassure her.
“I’ll stay as long as you need. Do you have any family nearby?”
“No. Both James and I were only children. His mother and father live in Australia, while my mother is widowed, too, and lives with my grandmother in Florida. She takes care of Nana, which is a full-time job. I don’t want her to even know about what’s going on. She has enough to deal with. I don’t want her worrying about Jamie and me.”
Chase drew her toward the nearest chair at the kitchen table. After she was seated, he sat next to her. “The police are looking for Zed Hammer. With his car being used in the attempted kidnapping and now that I know about his threat against you last month, I’m sure we’ll get a warrant to search his house.” He would call the station about Kate’s connection to Hammer. He wanted to be out there seeing to the details of the search, but at the moment he would be best utilized staying near Kate. She was right to be concerned the man might return and try again. “Tell me what he looks like.” Chase wanted to keep the conversation going to distract her from running every scenario of what could happen through her mind.
Kate stared at her lap for a long moment. “He could be the attacker. Mr. Hammer is about the same height and build. I think his eyes were dark like the man at the reserve, but I’m not sure. Oh, and he had a little girl about my son’s age.”
“Did you notice a white compact car following you anytime lately?”
“Seriously? White is the most common color for a vehicle, so in the last month I’m sure some have driven near me. But I don’t remember seeing the same car behind me for long.” She dropped her head and rubbed her hands together. “I’ve never really thought about the traffic around me unless there was a problem. Coming home from work, I’m usually decompressing. I don’t like bringing my problems home. I love my job, but it can be emotionally draining at times. I don’t want my child affected by that.”
“I know what you mean. I don’t have a family but if I did, I would feel the same way. Being a detective is challenging and rewarding when I can solve a crime, but I’ve seen things I wouldn’t want to share with my loved ones.” Not just as a detective but as a Marine, fighting in a war zone. Memories he’d tried to avoid leaked back into his thoughts. The sounds of gunfire all around him. The stench of death in the air. The agonizing pain streaking up his leg. The fight to keep that injured limb.
Rachel appeared in the entrance. “Jamie is asleep. I won’t be surprised if he slept until morning. Do you want me to put in one of the casseroles you made this weekend?”
“That would be fine. I need to change out of my jogging clothes. I’m going to check on Jamie, too.” Kate rose.
“And I’m going to check your house and make sure it’s secured.” Chase shoved his chair back and stood, trying to shake that last skirmish from his mind.
But as he left the kitchen with Kate, the memory stayed with him. He’d been the only one from his team who had survived. So many of his combat buddies had families. He hadn’t, but he’d lived while they’d died. That had challenged his faith through the months of recovery stateside.
“There are five bedrooms upstairs,” Kate said as she mounted the stairs.
“I’ll start there. Are your windows wired to your security system?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good.”
“That room at the end of the hall—” Kate pointed to the left “—is Rachel’s. This one is Jamie’s.”
She turned and gestured to the door next to her son’s on the other side. “And mine is there. The rest are for guests, and that one in the middle opens onto the staircase to the attic. I keep it locked so my son doesn’t try to explore by himself. The steps are steep.”
Chase decided to start with her room. He expected Kate to leave him to check on Jamie, but instead she followed him through the door.
When he entered her tastefully decorated bedroom, he immediately saw her touches throughout, from the family photos on the dresser and nightstands, to a gavel attached to a plaque on the wall.
“That’s from my first case as a judge. My husband had it mounted and gave it to me as a surprise. He’d told me he was also going to do the gavel of my last trial, so I would have matching plaques. I intend to fulfill his wish.”
“Does this incident make you think twice about being a judge?”
She cocked her head. “I don’t think so. There are risks in a lot of people’s jobs. You should know that more than anyone. Have you ever considered giving up being a police officer because of the risks?”
He hadn’t thought about it, either, but now that he did, the answer that came to mind surprised him. “I’ve been the first person to go into a dangerous situation plenty of times—but better me than some of the other guys. I don’t have a family, and a lot of my fellow officers do. If something happened to me, it wouldn’t affect a wife or children.”
“So you never want to get married and have a family?”
Want? Want had nothing to do with it. What right did he have to build a family when so many good men had been forced to leave their loved ones behind forever? He’d walked away from an ambush alive while all the men with families had been killed. His friend who had taught him about God had died in that firefight and fallen on top of him. In the end, that was what had saved him. Later, he’d known the pain and grief his buddy’s wife had gone through, but he could do little to change that. He hated that feeling of impotency and had promised himself he would protect others at all costs.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that. It isn’t in your job description.” She walked into her closet.
“I don’t mind. Starting a family’s just not in my plans right now.” He headed for the first window, checked it, then moved to the other one. “Both are locked. I’ll finish with the rest of the house.”
She emerged from her closet. “I hope you’ll have dinner with us. It’s nothing fancy. It’s a Mexican chicken dish. On Saturday and Sunday, I cook up a storm then we eat the meals throughout the week.” She grinned. “I’ve been accused of being highly organized.”
“Thanks. I skipped lunch today working a burglary case. I’ve been accused of being highly determined.”
“To the point of going without food?”
He nodded then left before he became distracted from his task. Kate could easily do that with one look or smile.
* * *
After she took a quick shower and dressed, she stopped by Jamie’s bedroom again. When she cracked the door open and looked inside, she found her son standing up in his crib and lifting his leg to try and climb out. He’d succeeded a couple of times. She crossed to him and swung him up into her arms.
“I should have known you wouldn’t sleep through to the morning.” She hugged him against her, wishing she could stay like this the whole night.
“Mama, me eat.”
“So you’re hungry. No wonder you woke up.” She headed for the hallway. “Let’s go get you something for dinner.”
“Down. Down.” He wiggled in her arms.
“Not until we get to the kitchen.” When Jamie was awake, they locked a gate across the bottom or top of the staircase. He was still a little shaky on the steps. She reached the first floor and put the barrier in place. She didn’t need to worry anymore about him than she already had today.
The