Page 6 of Safe With Me

Maybe because of the inconvenience of having to look it up, a reminder of yet another concession I’d made because of Ted.

I’d never thought I’d have to change my entire life in order to push someone else out of it.

“Here you go. I’ve always found grease to be good for the soul.” She set the wrapped sandwich in front of me and passed me a couple of paper napkins. “And if you want a little booze with breakfast—” she nodded to the bottles behind her “—happy to help you out.”

“No, I’m good. I need to be somewhat alert to head to my apartment and meet my new boss later.” I unwrapped the already translucent paper from the sandwich and took a bite, eyeing Claudia as I chewed.

“Do you think this is stupid? I mean, I had a feeling Steven called to ask you to help me a long time ago, and you probably know how I lost my last job. But am I a coward for just leaving and not putting up a better fight?”

Claudia’s brows furrowed as she gave me a slow shake of her head.

“No, I don’t and no, you’re not. Again, I don’t know every detail, but for Steven to be that concerned for this long and for you to leave your life behind and run up here, you obviously didn’t feel safe there. And it’s impossible to live without a basic sense of security. You have a right to your own life and to love who you want, and it sounds like, had you stayed, he would have made that pretty difficult for you.”

I had to laugh around a mouthful of egg and cheese. I could only imagine what would have happened if I’d had the audacity to date someone new. I didn’t even feel comfortable doing it here since that feeling of someone watching me was still fresh enough to make me squirm.

“Well, given that I made a fool of myself in front of a man the second after I arrived here, I don’t think I have to worry about that any time soon.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Claudia said, her lips curving as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I noticed Mike take an extra minute to walk away just now.”

“Thatis something I can’t do.” I shook my head. “Not for a while, and not with my boss’s young son.”

“I met Mike when he was a teenager and he’s my best friend’s stepson, so he’s like a nephew to me. It’s a little weird to see him patrolling the streets in uniform. But he’s twenty-five, so not that young. About your age.”

“That’s sweet, Claudia, but I’m thirty-two. A whole seven years older than Officer Mike.”

“Oh, you’re a baby.” Shetskedand waved a hand.

“Yeah, right.” I let out a chuckle. Maybe thirty-two wasn’t old in the literal sense, but my bone-deep exhaustion from the last few months made me feel ancient.

“Jake and Peyton raised him to be a good guy, but I understand about not wanting to get tangled up in anyone for a while.”

Or ever.When it came to men, I’d lost all trust in my own judgment. Ted wasn’t always so unstable—or he hid it well. He had been sweet and charming at one time, and I had been into him enough to date him for a few months.

But before I knew it, things started getting weird and then just plain unhealthy. The thought of trusting someone and trustingmyselfwith someone still scared me to my core.

“Let me pay for breakfast,” I said, digging into my purse. “It’s the least I can do for all you’ve done and for screwing up your morning.”

“You’ll do no such thing.” She caught my hand. “You didn’t interrupt anything. I usually come in after I drop the little guy off at school when Jude has an early shift. I catch up on paperwork or read a book and enjoy the silence. Took me a minute to getused to the quiet, but now that I have, it’s nice and peaceful. Especially with having a kid who talks as much as me.”

I relaxed enough to let a real smile drift across my lips for the first time today…or maybe the past week.

“And you don’t have to keep thanking me. I was happy to do it. And honestly, it was so easy, it seemed like it was meant to be,” she said, patting my hand.

“Meant to be,” I scoffed. “That’s one way to look at it, I guess.”

“I’ve been there,” she said, flashing me a wistful smile. “When I made my escape here, I tore up the highway in a rage. I was so pissed off that I was doing ninety without realizing it until I was pulled over.”

“So I’m not the only one who came into town and had an altercation with a cop upon arrival?” I asked around the last bite of my breakfast.

“Nope. I ended up marrying the cop, so all’s well that ended well.”

She winked when my jaw went slack.

“That was Jude?”

“Sure was. You never really know.” Her eyes flicked to the entrance.

I laughed. Would there ever be a time when I’d consider dating someone? Dating theyoungson of my boss was not the way to begin a new and uncomplicated life. If I wanted to leave chaos behind me, that—no matter what I was or wasn’t ready for—was off the table.

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