Page 56 of Her Football Star Ex

But even though a big part of me was embarrassed that Emerson now knew I had left her to go cry like a baby in our son’s bed last night, I dug deep to salvage what was left of my dignity and said, “Yes, I think I’ll be okay. Thanks for asking.”

“That’s good.” Jaxon smiled, content with my answer. Then he looked at Emerson. “Is breakfast almost done? I’s starving.”

“Almost,” she said. “How about you go wash your hands in your bathroom and then it should be ready.”

“Okay,” he said. And in a few seconds he had disappeared down the hall.

I was tempted to follow after him, just to avoid the awkwardness that clung in the air, but Emerson looked like she had something to say. Hopefully it didn’t have anything to do with me bawling like a baby. Because if she’d heard me too I might just need to hand in my man-card.

But she surprised me by saying, “While he’s gone, I just wanted to tell you that the police called me this morning.”

“They did?” I sat up straighter.

“Yes.” She pulled the tortillas out of the microwave and set them on the counter. “They said they caught the guy who left the doll last night.”

“Really?” I asked, feeling some of the tension release from my body. “Who was it?”

She turned off the stove and set the skillet on the granite countertop. “Apparently, it was the teenage son of the guy I prosecuted last week.”

“It was?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I guess he blamed me for his dad going to jail and forcing him into the foster care system. So he decided that playing a few pranks on me was warranted.”

“Do you know what he was doing last night when they caught him?”

“The police said he had another doll, this time with its head cut off.”

“What?” My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “That’s sick and twisted.”

“Yeah, it is.” She shrugged. “But they have him in custody now and are trying to figure out what to do with him.”

“So do they think it’s safe for you to go back home?”

“They said they’ll still keep an eye on things for a few days just to make sure there was no one else involved, but they think I can sleep there tonight without any worries.”

“I can get you a hotel if you’re worried about it.” I offered, still not sure I was ready for her to go back home.

“That’s nice of you to offer.” She looked at me through her lashes. “But I think I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I appreciate you helping me out last night, but I think I’ve got it from here.”

Which was Emerson code for: Sorry if I got your hopes up, but I don’t need you in my life anymore.

21

Emerson

“How did your date go?”Kira asked when she dropped by my office Monday afternoon. I had gotten in later than usual since my schedule was off after staying at Vincent’s.

“My date?” I scrunched up my nose, trying to remember what she was talking about.

“Yeah…” She returned the confused expression. “Didn’t you have a date with a guy on Friday night? Dinner at Element 47?”

Oh yeah. With everything that had happened yesterday, I’d completely forgotten the first half of my weekend.

“Sorry, it’s been areallyeventful weekend.” I stacked a pile of manila folders together on the top corner of my desk for her to file.

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