“I don’t think . . .”

Mary pulled out her appointment book. “I understand. No charge for today. I’ll see you next week.”

“No. I think I’m good. I’ll . . .”

Mary wanted to explain but knew that would just make things worse. “If you change your mind.”

Mary stared at the closed door before burying her face in her hands.

The flowers on her doorstep at home put the smile back on her face. There wasn’t a card, a habit she was noticing about Glen. Maybe there was something to that . . . like him not saying good-bye.

Instead of asking, she sent him a text. I miss you, too.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The cockpit of the Challenger was nothing like the plane Glen had taken Mary up in the previous week. In the copilot seat, Jason kicked back as they cruised at thirty-two thousand feet somewhere over the Atlantic.

The phone in Glen’s pocket buzzed and he took a second to look at Mary’s update.

He expected a time stamp and an all’s well message. Instead he warmed into the words, I miss you, too.

He glanced over to find Jason staring at him.

“What?”

“I’ve seen that look before.”

“What look?”

Jason pointed in his direction. “That one. The one Trent wears whenever Monica texts him.”

“I like the attention, what can I say.” He put his phone back in his pocket.

“It’s more than that.” Jason turned his gaze back to the controls in front of him.

It was more than that.

“Have you ever been in love, Jason?”

He looked out the window as if the sea had the answer. “My inability to give you a name suggests the answer is no.”

Glen closed his eyes and saw Mary’s smile, smelled the shampoo she used on all that hair. He pictured the single drawer in his home with her underwear.

“You love her, don’t you?”

He did . . .

Jesus, he did.

“How did that happen?” he asked to the sky in a whisper.

Jason unbuckled his belt and climbed out of his seat, patting Glen on the shoulder as he left the cockpit. “You could do worse.”

Before his brother disappeared into the cabin, Glen asked, “Do you think Mom would have liked her?”

“Are you kidding? Mom would be decorating a nursery and promising the first grandchild a pony. Not to mention Mary’s tamed you. A task even Mom and Dad couldn’t achieve.”

Glen texted Mary back once Jason left. Thirty-two thousand feet and all is well.

It took a while for the dot, dot, dot to turn into words. Texting while flying is dangerous! Stop it.

I’ll text when I land, call you in the morning.

Looking forward to it.

Yeah . . . Glen had it bad.

Mary walked out of her office at just after three.

Kent had taken the duty of walking her to her car when she worked late, but she didn’t ask him to on early days.

That didn’t stop the man from showing up anyway.

“You don’t have to keep doing this.”

“Someone has to keep an eye on you.”

He walked her across the parking lot with a smile.

“I think I scared him off, or the police did. Everything is quiet here . . . quiet at home. I think the cloud has parted.”

“It’s when you stop watching that bad stuff happens. I work with lawyers, I know this stuff. I’ll just keep this up if it’s all the same to you.”

She unlocked her car. “That’s sweet. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, I just don’t want to keep putting you out.”

“You’re not putting me out, Mary.”

“Okay. I’ll let it go then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She placed one foot in her car, talked with him over the car door. “I’m not coming in tomorrow.”

Kent’s lips twitched. “Big weekend?”

“Quiet weekend, actually. Glen is in London on business.”

The information seemed to please him.

“You have my number if you need something.”

“I should be fine, but thanks.”

He stepped away from the car when she closed the door.

In the rearview mirror, Kent stood watching her drive away.

“This is getting awkward,” she said to herself.

“Go! We are going to be fine.” Mary sat with Leo in her lap.

Dakota’s cast had come off the week before, and she and Walt were wearing something other than sweatpants and shorts and ready for a couple of hours away from the house.

“It feels strange . . . doesn’t it feel awful?” Dakota tugged on Walt’s arm when she asked the question.

“Two hours, Dakota. Leo and I will survive.” Mary dangled her hair in Leo’s face and watched him smile. “Won’t we? I think we should invite all the neighborhood kids over and get pizza. Isn’t that a great idea?”

“C’mon, Baby Mama. They’re going to be great.” Walt dragged Dakota out of the house.

Mary giggled at Leo. “We finally got rid of them, didn’t we? Silly parents.”

A list of possible reasons Leo was crying sat beside the list of instructions and every possible phone number Mary might need if there was an emergency.

It was comical watching Dakota squirm about leaving.

It was Dakota and Walt’s first date since Leo’s birth, and overdue according to everything Mary had read on the subject.