Child Wanted

Lindy couldn’t help but ask, “Mrs. Bowers, was that a part of the job before you knew I needed a place to stay?”

“Now, sweetie, I know you’re not trying to talk me into fibbing,” she said, tilting her head in a “don’t go there” gesture that melted Lindy. “It’s a part of the job now, and that’s what matters. And the place isn’t anything fancy, but it’ll do.”

Lindy swallowed thickly, nodded and felt another batch of tears coming. She’d gone three years without a single droplet, and now the floodgates had opened.

The woman pointed a finger at Lindy. “Hey, now, we don’t allow tears in here. That’s cause for firing, you know.” Then she laughed, which sounded more like a teenager’s giggle than a grandmother’s. “Just kidding. Let me find you a tissue.”

“It’s okay. I have this.” Lindy held up Ethan’s handkerchief, wiped at her face and again smelled that crisp masculine scent that reminded her of the man who seemed so perfect. She finished dabbing at her face and put the handkerchief away. “I’ll be fine. I just haven’t had anyone be this nice to me in...a while.” Except for the heart-stoppingly handsome man who had given her the handkerchief...and who wanted her son.

“Well, then, we both had prayers answered today, I’d say.” Mrs. Bowers peeked around Lindy. “Oh, hello. You must be Ethan. Savvy told us about you, and how you’re planning to adopt that precious little boy.”

Lindy turned, surprised to find him behind her and wondering how much he’d heard. She hated the way her heart tripped over itself at the sight of the good-looking man, the same way it had fluttered the first time she’d seen Gil Flynn. When would she ever learn? She was in no place to think about romance. In fact, the only thing she should be thinking about—focusing on with every fiber of her being, rather—was her son.

Ethan cleared his throat, one corner of his mouth lifting as though he knew how his mere appearance affected her heart rate. “I apologize for interrupting, but Mr. Bowers said you would have the supply list for the Fishers of Men program, and it looks like I’m going to need to purchase some fishing equipment for me and Jerry.”

“Is that so?” Mrs. Bowers clasped her hands together. “Well, isn’t that nice?” She shifted toward the desk and moved stacks of papers and files and sports magazines aside. “You know that you do have the option to rent the equipment, if you’d rather not have that kind of investment in it.”

“Brodie told me, but to tell you the truth, I don’t want Jerry to see anything I do with him as temporary. I want him to know I’m here to stay.” The other side of his mouth joined in for a full, pulse-skittering grin.

But Lindy was nowhere near smiling in return, especially after hearing he planned on a long-term commitment...with her son.

Mrs. Bowers, however, grinned broadly. “That’s so wonderful!” She withdrew a sheet of paper from a manila folder and handed it to Ethan. “Here you go then. We’ve got a bunch of kids signed up from Willow’s Haven, and the church is still matching them with mentors, but we should have all of our supplies in the store and ready to get started by Monday.” She handed the file to Lindy. “You’ll be the main one running the program, so I might as well give you this.”

Lindy accepted the folder, opened it and glanced down at the list of supplies, which included a fishing schedule at the bottom of the page.

“So we fish twice a week?” Ethan must have noticed the same thing.

“You do. Either Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday. You’re welcome to come on Fridays and Saturdays, too, if you want, but we don’t open on Sunday. That day is for the Lord,” Mrs. Bowers said, then turned her attention back to Lindy. “And you’ll be helping them with supplies, manning the store at the fishing hole while they’re all fishing, that type of thing. It isn’t a difficult job, but you’ll be busy.”

“I see that,” she said, still scanning the schedule, “but that’s okay. I like being busy, and I sure need the work.”

Mrs. Bowers gave her another wink and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “You’re gonna be a pro at this, I can tell.”

“I hope so,” Lindy said, praying that she would also be a pro at interacting with her son and proving that she deserved him in her life again.

Mrs. Bowers tapped the paper. “They have forty-eight kids at Willow’s Haven. We’ve divided them into two groups, so you’ll have twenty-four who come Monday and Wednesday with their mentors, and then the others come Tuesday and Thursday. And like I told Ethan, they all have the option of fishing on the weekends, too, if they want. That may be more work hours than you had intended.”

“It’s fine,” Lindy said. More than fine, because she’d be showing the court that she could earn an income while also getting more time with Jerry. “In fact, it’s perfect.”

“Wonderful!” Mrs. Bowers clasped her fingers beneath her chin as though Lindy really had been the answer to her prayers.

And maybe she had.

Lindy leaned forward and hugged the lady. “Thank you, Mrs. Bowers. This—this is perfect.”

“No. Thank you, dear.”

Ethan cleared his throat. “Well, since I’m going to be mentoring Jerry, I guess we’ll be seeing each other on a regular basis, too.”

Lindy’s stomach roiled. “I guess we will.”

Chapter Three (#ubf17a766-3d5e-5513-a423-67f7de17765a)

Lindy unpacked an assortment of fishing tackle on Monday morning, her skin bristling with nerves about the day ahead. Surely she’d interact with Jerry, and hopefully she’d hear from the attorney about starting the process of getting her son back in her life. The two things she’d yearned for—prayed for—throughout the weekend.

But she’d also see Ethan Green. And she certainly hadn’t yearned for that. He was too appealing and way too charming. The kind of guy a court would believe had Jerry’s best interests at heart and could supply his every need.

And the kind of guy who might be a bad parent behind closed doors, the way Gil had been.

“Would you mind putting a bunch of those colorful sponge fish in the new display out front? I want the Willow’s Haven children to see some of their choices in the window before they enter the store.” Mrs. Bowers smiled. Lindy realized she did that quite a lot. She hadn’t seen a lot of smiles, if any, over the past three years. She attempted one in return, but she feared it came out as timid as she felt.

Thankfully, the woman didn’t seem to notice. She pointed toward the checkout counter. “There’s a new box over there by the cash register if you want to use those. Sound good?”

“Sure, I’d be happy to.” Lindy scooped up the box and carried it to the front, climbed around the curtain separating the display from the store and opened it to view a rainbow of soft sponge fish that the kids would use to practice casting. She withdrew a bright red one and squeezed it between her thumb and forefinger. Jerry had always preferred his red toys as a baby. His red rattle. His red plastic truck. She suspected he’d select at least one red fish for his practice bait.

She placed the squishy fish near the window, then began situating the other colorful sponges in and around the seams of aqua blue tulle that created the “water” in the window. The kids were due to arrive in an hour, and she, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Bowers, had been busy all morning getting everything ready.

So intent on making the area look nice for Jerry and all the other Willow’s Haven children, Lindy didn’t notice anyone enter the store, or she’d have been marginally prepared for the startlingly handsome man with an equally shocking husky voice who suddenly joined her in the tiny space.

“Can I help?”

Lindy dropped a fistful of fish, so that a clump of the vibrant bait covered one of the seams and looked more like a multicolored loofah than individual fish. But what woman would be able to concentrate—or hang on to those miniature sponges—with Ethan Green this near? He was tall, dark and dangerous. Maybe not dangerous to everyone, but definitely to Lindy, since he planned to adopt her son.

She prayed the new attorney, Ted Murrell, would take her case and that she could get away from—and get Jerry away from—this intimidating man.

“Sorry.” His mouth inched into a crooked grin that somehow made him even more appealing. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I assumed you heard me enter.”

But the goosebumps traveling up her arms had nothing to do with his sudden appearance and everything to do with how the mere presence of the mesmerizing male made her pulse race.

When would she ever learn?

Lindy moistened her lips, gathered her composure and accepted the fact that the man working his way into the display window had no intention of leaving. “No, I didn’t hear you. I—had my mind on other things.” Like wondering if red was still her little boy’s favorite color. And praying that she could somehow get a court to pick her over Ethan.

“I get that way sometimes, lost in my thoughts, usually when I have one of my students on my mind. So many kids growing up in broken homes, you know, and they bring that with them to the classroom.” He shrugged and reached for a handful of fish. “Sometimes I’m the only father figure in a kid’s life. I know I’m the teacher and not the dad, but it’s still a big responsibility, having that kind of impact in a child’s world.”

Lindy found her hand in the box at the same moment that he reached inside. Their fingers brushed, and she yanked hers out without capturing a single fish.

He noticed, studying her hands, now clenched against her stomach, and then looking at her with confusion...and speculation.

Don’t ask why I’m so jittery. Don’t. Ask.

Except for the prison guards and, on rare occasions, her state-appointed attorney, she hadn’t been around any men over the last three years. And she feared this one more than any other because he was eerily similar to the male who’d fooled her so well—and hurt her so deeply—in the past. Charming. Disarmingly good-looking. And appealing in an “I could be your very best friend and also an absolutely amazing husband” kind of way.

Before he could mention her nervousness, she tried to get the conversation back on track. “It’s nice that you’re a father figure to those kids.” She picked up the discarded fish and placed them sporadically around the fabric. “Is that what made you want to adopt Jerry?”

Of all the kids needing a good home, why had he selected her son?

His eyebrows dipped and his mouth eased to the side as though he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer. Had she said too much? Could he tell how badly she wanted to know why he’d picked her kid?