Lindy held up a hand, and Ethan did, as well. Then the two passed by the store and headed toward an old-fashioned barber shop, complete with a red-and-white-striped pole by the entrance.
“Maybe I’ll take Jerry there for a haircut one day, since we’ll be in Claremont for the summer. That’ll be some good father-son bonding, too.” He picked up a green fish and held it toward Lindy as he spoke. “I sure hadn’t planned on spending the summer fishing. Don’t know the first thing about it.” He shrugged slightly and gave an easy grin. “But it’ll be fun learning with my little man.”
His references to her son bothered her immensely, but she did her best to hide the emotion and prayed again that Ted Murrell would take her case, in spite of her inability to pay him anytime in the near future.
A group of children darted across the grass in front of the fountain, and Lindy leaned toward the window. “Is that them?” she whispered anxiously, then felt more anxious being in closer proximity to the man beside her. She cleared her throat and scooted back, glad that he didn’t seem to notice.
The cluster of six or seven kids entered the Tiny Tots Treasure Box, the toy store on the opposite side of the square.
Ethan checked his watch. “We still have twenty minutes until eleven, but I’m anxious to see them, too. Really looking forward to spending time with Jerry again.”
“I saw him yesterday.” She wasn’t sure why she divulged the information, but she’d started now, so she’d finish. “At church. I went to church with Mr. and Mrs. Bowers, and all of the Willow’s Haven kids came together.”
He put the fish against the window and nodded. “Candace mentioned that they all go to Claremont Community Church, and I plan to attend, as well. I couldn’t yesterday, of course, since I was in Birmingham. How did he seem? Did you get a chance to talk to him? I thought he started coming out of his shell a little on Friday.”
His concern seemed so genuine that Lindy was momentarily taken aback. Did he already care about Jerry? Really care?
But then she remembered the doting-father act that Gil put on in public.
“I didn’t get to talk to him.” The words hurt, because she’d hoped to communicate with her little boy, but the Willow’s Haven children all sat together, and Mr. and Mrs. Bowers had kept her busy meeting all of their friends after the service until the bus filled with children had returned to the home.
“Right. I’m sure there were a lot of people at the service. Not sure why I thought you would have talked to my little man.”
The “my little man” thing hurt, but she didn’t want him to think she didn’t care about Jerry. “I would have, but I didn’t get the chance.”
“Well, we’ll both see him—and all of the other kids from Willow’s Haven—soon, won’t we?”
Soon? She’d been counting the minutes. “Yes, we will.”
Scanning the display, he asked, “Do you have fishing rods that go with these practice fish? Maybe we could put a few against the sides so the kids can see them.”
Lindy had been so wrapped up in thoughts about her son and trying to avoid the effect Ethan Green had on her senses that she nearly forgot why they were sitting in the store window. “We have several boxes in the back. I’ll go get one.”
He held up a palm. “Let me. You have a lapful of fish.” He pointed to her fish-covered skirt and then moved the curtain aside to exit the display area.
Lindy hadn’t realized what she’d done, but she’d been so determined not to accidentally touch him again that she’d grabbed an abundance of fish from the box, rather than risk slipping her hand inside...and finding his.
God, I’m struggling here. I need Your help. She thought of her little boy, placed in a home where he wasn’t happy and where the parents didn’t soothe him when he cried. And please help Jerry to be okay. And let me help him, Lord. Let me have him in my life again. I need him. I need him so very much.
“Found them.” Ethan entered the display area holding one of the boxes filled with child-sized rods and reels. But with the box of fish already centering the display, there was hardly room for the man and the additional props.
“Maybe I should put them out on my own. It’s getting a little crowded.” Lindy reached for the box of fish so she could move it toward her, and her hands met the cardboard edge at the same moment as his. But this time, his palms covered hers, and when she jerked her attention to his face, he looked at her as though wondering just how badly she wanted to remove them.
* * *
Ethan had been trained to spot children who had been abused. In fact, he’d been required to view an extensive video series on the subject that had made him extremely uncomfortable. However, he had been able to spot the signs more clearly after learning what to look for.
But even though his training had been geared toward abused children, he didn’t miss the signs in adults, as well. And he knew without a doubt that Lindy Burnett, at some point in her life, had been abused.
“Lindy, are you okay?” He asked the question as softly as possible, in the same tone he’d use with one of his students, because the beautiful woman across from him, her strawberry hair tumbling forward and those vivid blue eyes filled with an agony that couldn’t be disguised, seemed more fragile than any student he’d ever approached with questions of abuse. And Ethan realized that he hadn’t merely missed Jerry this weekend; he’d missed this intriguing woman, too.
In fact, he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t also shown up early because he knew she’d be here in the store, and that he might have a chance to spend time with her, like this. But there was something troubling the gorgeous lady, and in spite of knowing he shouldn’t get too close, Ethan wanted—needed—to help.
She blinked, cleared her throat, and then slowly slid her hands from beneath his. “I’m fine.” She made a sound like a combination of a cough and a hiccup, then repeated herself. “I am fine.” She looked away to place more fish on the opposite side, or to hide her face so he couldn’t see too much, with those long, strawberry tendrils tumbling forward.
He knew he shouldn’t be so concerned with this striking lady. Past experience had taught him that the more he cared, the more he’d get hurt when yet another woman in his life let him down. But she seemed so very broken. And Ethan couldn’t ignore the need to help someone who’d clearly been abused.
She wasn’t fine; he was certain of that. But he was equally certain that she wouldn’t discuss it with him. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
And he hadn’t come to Claremont to determine what was wrong with this troubled woman. He was here for Jerry. Even so, it was all he could do not to reach forward, push those long strawberry curls out of the way so he could attempt to see what she was trying so desperately to hide.
He swallowed, knowing he shouldn’t push. “Okay, then.” Picking up a green fishing rod, he grabbed a yellow fish from the box. Determined to think about his future son instead of the enthralling lady beside him, he threaded the fishing line through the tiny hole in the fish’s mouth. “Might as well get some of these ready to go.” He knotted the line in place. “Maybe Jerry will want this one.”
She jerked her head up to answer, tossing those curls over her shoulder which made her look even more appealing. “He’ll want a red one.”
Ethan laughed, glad that she hadn’t shut herself out of conversation with him completely and also bemused by her statement. What would make her think he’d want red? “You sound so sure of that.”
“I...” She paused, her eyes wide, as though she wasn’t certain what to say. Then she added, “I think little boys like red.”
He shrugged. “Actually, red is my favorite color. Maybe it’ll be his, too.” He started to reach for the red fishing rod, but then his phone rang in his pocket. Withdrawing the cell, he glanced at the display.