around the corner to the garage. He returned a few minutes later with two folding lawn chairs and set them on the porch. Lena appeared a little while later with a pitcher of lemonade and glasses full of ice on a tray. Krystal barely stirred. Evidently she was worn-out, whether from all the activity earlier, from the trip or from the changes, Vicki couldn’t guess. She let her daughter sleep on.
“Okay,” said Lena. “That’s half the battle done.”
“Which half?” asked Vicki.
“Everything’s labeled that I want gone. Some for basement storage, but a lot for the garage.” She grinned. “I’m going to have a big garage sale. Gawd, I’ve wanted to do that for so long.”
Dan laughed quietly. “You should have told me.”
“I dither sometimes. Like I said, this place feels like the Winston Family Museum. Anyway, Vicki, I want you to go through. If you see any furniture I’ve labeled that you like, then let me know. I want the house to please you, too.”
Vicki opened her mouth, then snapped it closed.
Dan flashed her an attractive grin. “Don’t argue with Lena. There’s no winning.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.”
He glanced out toward the street. “We need to turn in that rental truck and get your car off the tow trolley.”
“There’s supposed to be someplace here in town,” Vicki said.
“On the west side. I can show you.”
At that moment, Krystal sat up. The instant she saw Dan, her face lit up.
Vicki felt her heart sink. This could turn out to be bad. Another cop. Damn, why couldn’t she escape cops?
“Go deal with it,” Lena said. “Krystal can help me with a few things after she finishes her lemonade.”
Krystal beamed.
* * *
While Vicki went inside the rental place to turn in the vehicle, Dan unhooked her car and rolled it off the trolley. It took him only a minute to reconnect her lights properly, then he leaned against the side of the truck to wait for her.
He had the distinct impression he was pushing himself into territory where he wasn’t wanted. Why, he didn’t know. It was something in Vicki’s demeanor. Not that it really mattered. He wasn’t going to stop helping Lena, and even if Vicki didn’t want him around, he felt a duty to Krystal. That girl’s daddy had been a cop, and he felt obligated to at least keep an eye on her and step up where he could.
If Vicki would allow him to.
He folded his arms and crossed his legs at the ankles, letting the afternoon sun bathe him with warmth. He knew a little about grieving. He’d lost his wife to cancer five years ago, and he still sometimes missed her so much he wondered if he could stand it. That might be what he was sensing in Vicki.
It had been only a little more than a year for her. A year was an infinity in terms of pain, but short in terms of recovering. The woman was probably a walking raw nerve ending.
He still wondered at her decision to come here. Oh, he’d been listening to Lena suggest it for months now, and knew it was what his neighbor had hoped for, but what about Vicki? She had left behind her support network, her friends, her home. And so had Krystal. Why? He’d never felt the least desire to leave Conard City after Callie’s death. Yeah, he’d eventually bought a house, but that hadn’t deprived him of anything. He and Callie had been living in one of the apartments near the college, and they’d always planned to buy their own place. He’d felt as if he was fulfilling the dream for both of them.
But it was entirely different for Vicki. And for Krystal. He kept coming back to that little girl and wondering if this were best for her. Of course, Vicki was her mother and must have had her reasons, must have determined this complete severing would benefit her in the long run.
Maybe it would. Krystal had been three when her daddy died. She probably hardly remembered him. She wouldn’t remember all that much about being four, either. Dan sure couldn’t. But she would remember this move.
At least he didn’t have a kid to worry about, so those were shoes that didn’t fit him even temporarily. He and Callie had wanted kids, though. When they found out why they couldn’t, it had been too late for Callie.
Hell. He uncrossed his ankles, straightened and scuffed his foot at the dirt. He didn’t want to run down this road again, but Vicki’s situation was reminding him. Funny how he thought he’d moved on, until something reared up to remind him he hadn’t moved as far as he thought he had.
The smart thing to do might just be to stay away, unless Lena needed him. Keep his hard-won equilibrium in place. But then he thought of Krystal, a cop’s little girl, and Vicki, a cop’s widow, and he knew it wasn’t in him to stay away.
A decent human being would help however he could. But for a cop it went beyond that. The family took care of its own, and Vicki and her daughter were family.
Simplistic, maybe, but every cop counted on that kind of support for his or her family when something bad happened.
He looked up at the sound of footsteps, and saw Vicki approaching from the office. Today she wore jeans again, but this time with a T-shirt emblazoned with the Alamo. Texan through and through, he thought, smiling faintly.
The smile she gave him looked brittle. “All done.”
He gestured to the car. “All ready.”
“Thanks.”
He hesitated a beat, then said, “I can walk back, if you like.”
Her expression turned quizzical. “Why should you do that?”
“You might be feeling a little overwhelmed.”
Her blue eyes widened a shade, then she shook her head. “Hop in, cowboy. I’m going to feel overwhelmed for a while.”
So he climbed into her little Toyota while she started the engine. It was a tight fit, but he didn’t want to push the seat back. Adjusting the car for himself struck him as an intrusion.
“Give yourself some leg room,” she said as she turned the car and drove toward the street.
She was observant. Reaching for the lever, he pushed the seat back. He sought a way into conversation that wouldn’t come out wrong. “Is this a big adventure for Krystal?”
“So far she seems to be reacting that way. This morning was like Christmas as she was unpacking her toys. And I need to find her some friends soon.”
“There’s a park just a couple blocks from the house. Swings, monkey bars, slides, sandbox. That might be a good starting point.”
“Thanks. I’ll take her there.”
Okay, then. As a cop he had become fairly good at hearing what wasn’t said. She hadn’t asked him to show her the park. She didn’t want him to. Vicki Templeton was setting boundaries wherever she could.
Fine by him. There was a difference between being there if she needed anything, and pushing himself on her. He could do the former, and it might be better in the long run. He had some rawness himself since Callie and hadn’t even dated since her death. Eventually, he supposed he would again, but he’d know when the time was right. For now, however, he couldn’t imagine anyone in Callie’s place.
Deciding that Vicki might be wise, he settled back, intending to focus solely on helping Lena clear her house.
And on Krystal. Vicki might think it was a big adventure for the child, but he’d seen her sitting on a porch swing, sucking her thumb and looking like an abandoned, weary waif.
He would do everything he could for that child. Starting with finding her a friend.
* * *
“Where’s