Page 53 of I'm Watching You

‘Sharon was fine. It just didn’t work out.’

The old man swore. ‘Bachelorhood ain’t what it’s cracked up to be. A man should have a wife and children.’

Imitating Pete’s raspy voice, Jacob said, ‘Dames are more trouble than they are worth. I do just fine by myself.’

Wrinkles deepened in Pete’s forehead as he smiled. ‘Don’t you want a family of your own, Mr Smart-mouth?’

‘No.’ Jacob hit the bag. Truthfully, the idea made him feel backed into a corner. ‘Besides, you never had a family.’

Pete shrugged. ‘Keeping you out of trouble wore me out.’

Jacob frowned. ‘Did you ever regret taking me in?’

The old man grinned and shook his head. ‘You drove me to the brink of insanity more times than I could count, but I was never sorry I took you in. I’m only sorry your mother never let me formally adopt you.’

Emotion tightened Jacob’s chest. He hit the bag harder.

‘If you don’t ease up on that bag, the bones in your hand are gonna look like Swiss cheese,’ Pete said.

‘I don’t want to ease up. It feels good to push myself.’

‘It’s not a matter of what you want, kid; it’s a matter of what you need. Lay off for today. You’ve done enough.’

Jacob stopped. His muscles ached with fatigue, just the way he liked it. But he always listened to Pete.

Pete grabbed a clean towel for Jacob and handed it to him.

‘Thanks.’

Pete started to unlace Jacob’s right glove. ‘So I guess you’ll be working this weekend?’

‘Depends on the case.’ Jacob wiped the sweat from his eyes. ‘What do you have in mind?’

‘I’m looking for a sparring partner for a fighter. I want to schedule a few friendly rounds on Saturday.’

‘I’d love to do it. I should know by late Thursday how the case is going.’

Pete nodded, satisfied. ‘Great. I knew I could count on you.’

Whoever said life was supposed to be easy?

The words Lindsay’s mother had spoken to her so often played in Lindsay’s head as she cradled a cup of coffee inher hands. She sat in an Adirondack chair on the back patio garden of her town house. The sun had crept up high in the sky but the air remained comfortable, thanks to yesterday’s storms, which had banished a lot of the humidity.

The rains had been a welcome respite from the July heat for her gardens, which covered most of her ten-by-twelve backyard. Her yard was separated from the others by a tall privacy fence that looked like all the others in the development. However, her yard was completely unlike the others, which were little more than patchy plots of grass.

Her yard was an oasis. She’d only been in this town house eleven months, but already she’d filled the tiny land plot with numerous flower pots overflowing with brightly colored annuals, including marigolds and petunias. There were more pots filled with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and sweet peas.

Lindsay had learned to garden from her mother, who had always kept a lush garden. Her mother had always taken pride in her tomatoes, which frequently placed in the county fair, and her roses, which were once photographed for the paper. Her mother had spent hours in that garden, tenderly caring for her plants. Lindsay had loved digging alongside her mother in the rich soil. In the garden not only could they create, but they could escape her father’s foul moods.

Sipping her coffee, Lindsay wished she had more gardening space and more land. One day, she’d have a real home with property around it to plant bushes and trees, and a vegetable garden. One day.

A flicker of movement caught Lindsay’s attention. She turned as Nicole pushed open the sliding glass doors. Her friend wore an oversized T-shirt and long pajama pants that brushed her ankles. Blond hair swept high on her head in a rubber band accented clear green eyes and a high slash of cheekbones.

Nicole surveyed the garden. ‘You and your garden. I’m starting to think it’s an obsession.’

Lindsay stretched out her legs. ‘What can I say? I’m a sucker for greenery.’

Nicole sat in a matching Adirondack chair next to Lindsay. She touched a bright yellow marigold blossom in a pot next to her chair. ‘Remember sophomore year in college when we had the room that overlooked a flat roof?’

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