Page 88 of I'm Watching You

‘Then why haven’t you?’ The tension in her voice had Rex perking up his ears. Tasha smiled at the dog to reassure him.

‘I don’t know.’ She was having trouble finding a comfortable rhythm today.

Tasha wiped sweat from her brow, jumped over a pothole. ‘You know his work always –always– comes first. And don’t forget that little thing called his drinking problem. Or the little detour into that little cheesecake’s bed.’

The recap of Zack’s faults made Lindsay cringe. ‘I haven’t forgotten any of it. There were times I wished I could forget, but I haven’t forgotten.’

‘Good.’

Too many nights she longed for the old Zack. He’d been strong. With him she’d felt safe, a feeling she’d not had in more years than she cared to count. ‘He seemed different yesterday.’

Tasha shot her a you’ve-got-to-be kidding look. ‘Different how?’

Her heart raced and she found it harder to breathe evenly. ‘Different in the way he used to be, before the drinking.’

Tasha stopped and Rex halted. ‘You’re joking.’

Lindsay stopped. Sweat dripped from her forehead, stung her eyes. ‘What? I’m just saying he seems different.’

Tasha placed her hands on her hips. Her blue eyes looked as if they could breathe fire. ‘Do you know what you sound like?’

Lindsay wiped her brow. ‘I know, I know. One of my clients.’

‘That’s right. You sound like every woman whom you’ve ever counseled. How many times have you wanted to pull your hair out because one ofyourclients couldn’t see the bad in the man in her life?’

Lindsay’s defenses went up. ‘Zack is far from perfect, but heisa good man. He’s not like the others.’

‘Hey, don’t get me wrong. Zack isn’t a bad man. He’s flawed but he’s good at heart. And I like Zack. He’s one of the best cops on the force and I wish him the best. But he’s not husband material.’

Unshed tears stung Lindsay’s throat, forcing her to swallow hard. ‘I know.’

‘Look,’ Tasha said more softly, ‘my job here is not to rip out your heart, stomp on it, and make you suffer. But I don’t want you to forget that you and Zack separated for very good reasons.’

‘You’re right. You’re right.’ Maybe if she said it over and over it would sink into her own brain.

Tasha patted Lindsay on the shoulder. ‘There are a lot of really nice fish in the sea, kiddo. And a lot of them don’t come with the kind of baggage Detective Kier has. Don’t you have that nice doctor who’s interested?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well?’

‘Got it.’ Only she wasn’t interested in the other fish. She wanted Zack. Wanted what they’d had in the beginning.

They finished their loop around the park and it came time to cross Three Chopt Road and extend their run through the neighborhoods. Tasha went first and as Lindsay followed a van unexpectedly rounded the sharp curve. The driver hit the brakes and blared the horn.

Lindsay bolted the rest of the distance but paused on the side of the road, her heart pounding in her chest. ‘Damn.’

Tasha stopped. ‘Are you all right?’

Lindsay glanced at the van as it sped through the light a block away. ‘Yes.’

They started running through the neighborhood. The houses were small, one story, and most were built in the 1940s. The lots were large and most of the lawns were well manicured. Lindsay had always liked this neighborhood. She loved the feeling she got when she drove through. If she lived in this area, she could walk to get coffee or jog over to the university.

There was a house on Morgan Street that she had always loved. It was one of the simpler houses and needed a lot of work. But there was a large bay window in the front, and the backyard was huge and got at least five hours of sun a day. She’d always been able to imagine herself filling the barren yard with loads of flowers.

‘Let’s go by my house and see if it’s still for sale.’ She’d been ecstatic to learn that last month it had gone on the market. She’d thought maybe she could put together some kind of creative financing plan and swing the asking price – that is, until she pulled the listing up on the Realtor’s Web site and saw the actual cost.

Tasha grimaced. ‘Why do you torture yourself? It’s too expensive.’

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