Page 17 of Holiday Grief

“I was thinking Jasmine.” While she hadn't babysat before, she’d spent lots of time with Claire over the last several months, and if he thought she’d say yes he’d ask her to move in with them permanently. Baby steps. As hard as that was to abide by sometimes, he knew that the only way to continue gaining Jasmine’s trust was by taking things slow. He was pretty sure he already had her love or was at least close, but he wanted that elusive trust as well.

“You guys are a really cute couple,” Jessica teased. His partner had been supportive of his growing relationship with Jasmine from the beginning, babysitting Claire a few times so he could take Jasmine out on dates.

“I know it’s her busy time of year, but hopefully she can take a few hours off.” It was a lot to ask, he got that, but he wanted someone he trusted to look after his daughter, and Jasmine was right up there on that list.

“Why don’t you call, and I’ll let the Hopman family know we’re on our way.”

While his partner did that, Adam snatched up his cell phone from his desk and walked over to an empty interview room. Bringing up his contacts, he found Jasmine’s name and paused for a moment to stare at the photo he used for her. It was one he’d snapped over the summer where Jasmine had her arm around Claire as she pointed out a fox they’d spotted while on a hike. Behind them the sky was that deep, vivid blue of summer, and the sun was streaming down on them both. Their expressions were filled with wonder and delight, and the angle of the picture made it look like they were both looking off into the future.

Every time he looked at this picture he liked it more, and he’d actually had it printed onto a canvas to give to Jasmine as a Christmas gift. He’d had a copy made for him, too, and he couldn’t wait to put it up on his wall as soon as he’d given Jasmine hers.

“Adam, is everything okay?” Jasmine asked when he hit call and she answered on the second ring.

“Fine, I was just wondering if I could ask you a favor.”

“A favor? Of course. What do you need?”

“Something came up at work, and my parents are out of town, and the sitter has to leave in a little over thirty minutes, so I was wondering if you could watch Claire until I get home.”

“You want me to babysit?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask. This is your busy time of year, so I understand if you can't leave the farm. Plus, it’s a busy time of the evening with Claire. You’ll need to do dinner, and maybe bath and tuck her in if I'm not there. You know her routine and what she likes to eat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of what?”

“Me babysitting. I've never done it before.”

“Not on your own, but you’ve spent plenty of time with her, you know her, she knows you, and she’ll be thrilled to see you.”

“Umm, well, yes, I guess I can. I mean, I can leave here. Everything runs like clockwork, and I'm mostly the behind-the-scenes person anyway. I was only catching up on correspondence which I can do later when I get home.”

“Thank you so much. I owe you, big time.”

“I guess I better get thinking of how you can repay me then,” she teased.

Even though he knew she didn't mean it that way because they hadn't done more than some kissing and a little touching through clothing, Adam’s mind immediately took the dirty route. While she was absolutely worth the wait, it didn't mean he wasn’t looking forward to getting his gorgeous girl into bed and showing her how much he loved her and her delectable body.

“You do that, green eyes,” he said.

From the way she sucked in a breath of air, Adam knew that her mind had taken the same train of thought his had.

Maybe his beautiful woman was a little closer to being ready to take that next step than he’d thought she was.

Now he couldn’t wait to get home, tuck Claire in if he made it in time, and then spend some time showing Jasmine just how grateful he was not just because she babysat for him but just to have her in his life.

Chapter Six

December 4th

5:29 P.M.

One minute to spare.

Jasmine quickly locked her car and hurried up the path to Adam’s front door, giving a sharp knock.

A moment later, it was opened by the sitter, bouncing at her feet was a very excited Claire.

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