GI Cowboy

“Right.” More of the snarling tone, and he hung up.

“Your son’s coming here?” he heard Bailey ask.

“He won’t stay long,” Parker settled for saying. He hadn’t wanted her to hear any of that conversation. “Have you changed your mind about closing down for the day?”

“No.” Bailey folded her arms over her chest and shook her head, causing her silver hoop earrings to dangle against her hair and ears. “It’s too late to call everyone. Parents are already on their way. Besides, if the children don’t come here, a lot of the parents would have to miss work.” She glanced at Charlotte as if seeking approval.

Charlotte didn’t exactly give that approval. She looked shaken up, and rightfully so. “I need to go to the preschool and unlock the door.”

Parker knew the preschool section was in the back of the building, an addition that Bailey had added on to accommodate the classes. “You can’t access the preschool from inside this building?”

Charlotte shook her head. “We have a door that leads from here to there, but it’s blocked off right now for a construction project. We’re adding another bathroom. It’s no big deal. I’ll just go outside and around back.”

“I’ll go with you so I can make sure no one broke into that area,” Parker offered.

“If they had broken in, it would have set off the security alarms,” Charlotte explained. “And the company that monitors it would have called either Bailey or me.”

“You use the security system?” Parker asked.

Charlotte nodded. “Just in that area and the basement. It has its own separate system that was added when it was built. We have a lot of computers and other equipment, and what with the older kids out of school for summer break, I didn’t want to tempt anyone with sticky fingers.”

“Smart move.” Parker made sure he looked at Bailey when he said that.

Charlotte gave Bailey’s arm a pat and shot him a glare, probably for the insult he’d just given her boss, and Charlotte headed back out the front door. Parker didn’t close it behind her because he wanted to watch for Zach. It wouldn’t take his son long to get here.

“Did the sheriff find anything yet?” Parker asked Bailey.

“No.” She looked up at him, shrugged. “But we might get lucky.”

“You already were lucky. Lucky that you weren’t here when your stalker broke in.”

Though Parker doubted that would have happened. No. This guy was a coward and had waited until a time when he was sure he wouldn’t be caught. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t be very dangerous.

Bailey blinked hard, and he realized she was blinking back tears. “I can’t let this control me. I can’t let my mother do that, either. You don’t know her. She’s a good woman, and she’s been good for the state of Texas, but when it comes to her kids, especially me, she’s a micromanaging control freak.”

“That bad, huh?” Parker mumbled. “Well, at least she didn’t hire a Neanderthal to protect you.”

It wasn’t the right time to attempt anything light. He didn’t need to be defusing this situation even in the smallest kind of way. He wanted Bailey to be afraid so she would turn to him for protection. That was the plan, anyway. But after watching her fight those tears, his plan had gone south.

Parker cursed what he was about to do but did it anyway. He slipped his arm around Bailey and pulled her closer to him. She put up a token resistance and shoved her fist against his chest, but she didn’t step away.

“I know you must be good at your job,” Bailey said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. She spoke with her mouth right against his shoulder. “But if I allow you to stay, it’s as if I’m letting my mother win this battle of wills.”

He leaned his head down so that the corner of his eye met the corner of hers. “So, let me get this straight. You’d rather win than be safe?”

Bailey stared up at him. She also huffed. “You have a knack for making me feel like an idiot, you know that?”

“Really? Because I didn’t think I was getting anywhere with you.”

“You’re not getting anywhere,” she snapped. “Other than the making-me-feel-like-an-idiot part. I’ve already said I’ll take precautions—”

When she stopped, Parker followed her gaze.

His son, with helmet in hand and his bike propped against the steps, was standing there on the porch. And he was eyeing the close contact between Bailey and Parker.

“Zach,” Parker managed to say. “You’re here already.”

“Zach?” Bailey repeated. She jerked away from Parker. “Uh, this is nothing. I’m just a little upset, and your dad lent me his shoulder.”

“Okay.” Zach couldn’t have possibly sounded more disinterested, but he still volleyed strange looks between the two.

Probably because he’d never seen his dad close to a woman.

Parker had dated a little in the last year or two, but he had never brought women home and never introduced them to Zach. He didn’t want his son thinking he’d gotten over his mother’s death. That might feel like a betrayal to her memory.

“The money,” Parker remembered, fishing through his back jeans pocket for his wallet.

“You’re Bailey Lockhart,” Zach said, dodging eye contact with both Parker and her. “I saw a picture of you in the gym at the community center. You were, like, young then. I mean, not like you are now.”

Parker didn’t know who winced more—him or his son.

Bailey smiled, though Parker was sure it was forced. “I played basketball in high school and college. Freedom doesn’t have many so-called star athletes, so I made the cut and got my picture on the wall.”

Parker knew she’d been an athlete. It was his job to study her background, but he was surprised that his son even had a clue who she was.

“What position did you play?” Zach asked, idly taking the money from Parker. He was making eye contact—with Bailey.

“Point guard. How about you?”

“Off guard, but if I grow a few more inches, I can move to forward. I’ve already checked out the other guys who’ll be on the team, and there’s only one who’s taller than me.”

“Josh Bracken,” Bailey provided, and that prompted Zach to nod. “His dad is a deputy sheriff.”

The corner of Zach’s mouth lifted just a fraction. “Yeah. Josh is good, too. There was a basketball hoop already in the driveway when we moved in so Josh has been coming over so we can practice. He’s got a wicked outside shot.”

Parker just stared at them. This was the most he’d heard Zach speak in a year. Of course, he wasn’t actually speaking with him but rather Bailey.

Bailey smiled again, and this time it didn’t seem forced at all. “Well, since you’re the spitting image of your dad, I’m betting you’ll inherit his height, too. It won’t be long before you’re eye to eye with him and can play forward.”

Zach glanced at Parker. No more partial smile. In fact, no smile at all. His normal scowl returned. “Gotta go. The camp starts in fifteen minutes.” He mumbled something to Bailey about it being good to meet her.

“He’s a nice kid,” Bailey said, watching as Zach put on his helmet and rode away on his bike.

Nice certainly wasn’t the word Parker would have used to describe him. Their relationship was strained at best. “I wasn’t around much when he was growing up.”

“Well, he certainly turned out all right.” Bailey pulled back her shoulders, her attention still on the outside front. “People are starting to arrive.”

Parker spotted three cars pulling into the parking lot. “You’re sure you want to do business as usual?”