Page 4 of Healing Hope

Detective Blackheart had been harassing her for the past several months, but this incident felt different. He hadn’t been in for several weeks, so she’d thought that he had moved on to other things. Which had disappointed her a little. The fine detective wasn’t normally the type that attracted her, but something about him intrigued her.

Maybe she was just hard up. Sighing, she turned back to her office, because someone had to keep the ship moving.

3

Jess looked up at the house in front of her. It was… smaller than what she was used to. A little more pedestrian. Good-sized for the suburban area they were in, she supposed. The house was a split-level with a stone facade, and it fit in perfectly with the rest of the houses along the street. There was nothing, really, to distinguish it. Well, the tail end of the red sports car she could see in the open garage was a little intriguing.

Glancing at the number on the box, she made sure she was in the right place. Yup, appeared to be. There was a shiny gray truck in the driveway as well, but the front yard was bare. If there was a child living here, there was certainly no sign of it.

She walked up the sidewalk to the front door and pressed the doorbell. There was a thump from inside the house, then the sound of running feet. Jess smiled at the sound of the child. Was she going to hide or get an adult to open the door?

The file that Carolina had given her hadn’t contained a lot of information. She knew Paul Jameson was a single father that had just gotten custody of his biological daughter after the mother died. There were no details about how she died or when exactly, but Jess didn’t think it had been very long ago. The little girl, Hope, was only four years old. Really young. Her birthday was in a week and a half.

The father was also a war veteran and an amputee. Jess wasn’t sure exactly how that tied into caring for his daughter, but she had a feeling it might be a bit of a consideration.

She heard a deadbolt click, and she looked toward the door.

Oh, Carolina. The promise she’d called out as she’d left Carolina’s office flitted through her mind, and Jess had a feeling her restraint was going to be severely tested. Paul Jameson was a very handsome man. Tall and muscular, he had a thick head of dark, closely-shorn, almost black hair sprinkled with silver that had not seen a brush recently. It looked like he’d literally rolled out of bed, though it was almost six in the evening. His eyes, a brilliant, stunning dark blue, also seemed a little heavy-lidded. His brows were thick and dark, and a thick, luxurious beard ran across his very firm jaw. Holy hell. He could have been Superman’s long-lost brother. She didn’t normally go in for bearded men, but she could make an exception.

Those laser-blue eyes focused on her.

“Yes?”

“I’m Jess,” she said, giving him a teasing smile. She held out a hand expectantly, but he just stared. “I’m from Helping Hands, Healing Hearts. Carolina said you would be expecting me.”

“Oh,” he breathed, glancing down at her hand. “Sorry. Paul Jameson.”

He reached out and shook her hand with his left, an awkward movement. It took her a long moment to realize that he didn’t even have a right hand, or arm, which was why he’d shaken with his left. The sleeve of his shirt arm hung loose and empty, shocking her to silence.

“Sorry,” she said with a light laugh to cover the awkwardness. “The file said you were an amputee but not which limb.”

He smiled slightly. “Yeah, I’ve never met Carolina, so she probably wouldn’t know. I’m running on a recommendation from one of your fellow contractors.”

Jess tilted her head. “Oh, really? Which one?”

“Erin Knox. The dog trainer.”

Jess nodded, grinning. “Oh, yeah, Erin’s cool. Did you meet her through the kennel?”

Paul rubbed at his eyes with his hand. “Uh, no. Well, kind of. Would you like to come in?”

Stepping over the threshold, Jess glanced around the living room, setting her travel bag and purse inside. Again, like the front yard, it was pristine. She couldn’t even tell a child had just been here. Glancing around, she took a few steps, wondering where the child had gone.

“Have a seat,” Paul said behind her.

Smiling slightly, Jess turned to the living room and sank down onto the couch with one leg folded beneath her, dropping her bag to the floor beside her. She thought she heard a dog bark somewhere in the depths of the house, then it was quiet. That was most definitely a fresh pile of poo on the far side of the room. Obviously, Mr. Neat Freak hadn’t seen it yet.

Paul Jameson sat on the opposite end of the couch, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry,” he told her finally. “I was working on the computer and I must have dozed off.” He glanced around, his handsome face going slack. “Can you hold on just a minute? I need to see where my daughter is.”

Jess watched him walk out of the room. The guy had a damn cute bottom. He walked out of the room and down the hallway to the left. Jess heard a door open, then very softly close again. Paul returned just a moment later. “She’s asleep, and the dog is with her.”

Jess frowned. That had definitely been a child’s footsteps running from the main room. Maybe someone wassupposedto have been asleep, and decided not to be. She snorted, glancing at Paul. He would have to learn to be sharper. “Did you put her down for a nap?”

“Yes, before I went to the office to work.”

“Did you see her go to sleep?”

He cocked his head at her. “No.”

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