Page 15 of Operation Protector
“And,” Hayley said, picking up something else Liam had left behind, a box with two cell phones that looked rather heavy-duty, “you each take one of these. They’re our own phones, with links to each of us and headquarters. The red button here is the emergency call out to anyone close by, if you need it, or if you need a fast answer to something.”
Ali nodded as she and Colby both took one. Then he turned his head to look at Ali. She saw him swallow as if his throat were tight. And there was a warmth in those blue, blue eyes of his that told her he meant what he said next, deeply. “I…thank you. Again. For worrying about Gracie. For helping out now. For…everything.”
“I’m pretty fond of that little girl of yours,” she said with a smile. “And,” she added pointedly, “I trust her judgment.”
And I trust those eyes.
She couldn’t help thinking of the last time she had gone with her instincts on that particular thing. When she’d looked into a man’s eyes, trusted. And with that man she’d found love and an all too short three years of happiness before fate and illness had stolen it all from her.
And now in Colby Kendrick’s eyes she saw all she needed to see, the love and worry for his daughter, the desperation, the gratitude he was feeling. It was all genuine, there was no wall around it, and it was no facade put up to fool others. This man was for real, and even if all this was only visible because of his near panic about Grace, it was still real.
His heart was real.
Some part of her mind tried to point out that she’d met the man all of a couple of hours ago, and she didn’t disavow it entirely. Just mostly. Because it was outweighed by the memory of the pure adoration in little Grace Kendrick’s face as she spoke of him.
Judging by how quickly he was back, Ali guessed this wasn’t Quinn Foxworth’s first time installing security cameras. He went back to the laptop and worked on it for a moment, then nodded.
“All right,” he said. “We’ve got the entire back side of the other house on one, and the front and driveway on the other.” He looked out to her great room, then back up at Ali. “And if you don’t mind, we can cast this to the TV so we don’t have to always be in front of the little screen here.”
She nodded immediately. “Any movement would be more obvious, too, on the big screen, wouldn’t it?”
Quinn smiled at her. “Exactly.”
Moments later they were settled in the great room, on the couch in front of the fireplace and TV. The previous owner of the house had included the rather complex setup in the sale, thankfully, since that was not at all her forte. And actually, the evergreen framed view of the big house wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it could almost be an acceptable screen saver, if you were into that kind of thing. She herself preferred mountains and wilderness, and this time of year, snow. But then, that was why she lived here in the first place.
“When’s your next scheduled time with Grace?” Hayley, who had been reading things on her phone for a while, finally looked up and asked.
“Friday, after she gets out of school.”
“Do you pick her up there at the school?”
He laughed, and there was that bitter undertone again. “She won’t allow it. Wants me to come to the house to get her, so she can be there.”
“To remind you she’s in charge?” asked Ali with a grimace, starting to truly dislike the neighbor she’d barely met.
His gaze snapped to her when she spoke, and he looked both surprised and…grateful? What, that someone saw his side? Or was it perhaps simply that someone was listening to him? And actually wanted to help? Obviously it was taking him a while to get used to that, to having help.
“That’s our first step,” Quinn said. “We make sure someone is always with you when you pick her up. As a witness. We’ve got Liam, and Teague if he gets back from Oregon when scheduled.”
“I could help with that,” Ali suggested.
Hayley smiled at her. “I don’t think so. If Colby shows up with a woman, I’m guessing it’ll really set her off. And you being a neighbor might make her suspicious.”
Ali looked at him. He shrugged. “Yeah. No one could possibly replace her. Besides, she doesn’t want me, so of course nobody else would either.”
“So she lies to herself, too?” Ali asked, making her tone as saccharinely sweet as she could.
Colby blinked. He averted his gaze in an almost shy way. But slowly, a smile curved his mouth.
Sure, nobody would want to kiss that gorgeous mouth, Ms. Superior-to-us-all.
“I’m thinking maybe I should make solo contact,” Hayley said to Quinn. “We can come up with some pretext, so I can get close enough to feel out the situation. Get her to trust me with whatever plans she might have.”
“Pretext like what?” Ali asked.
Hayley shrugged. “We’ll have to think of something.”
“Or not,” Ali said. “Let me do it. I already have the perfect in, the new neighbor thing. I can make a downright nuisance of myself, when motivated.”
