OPERATION: PROTECT FAMILY

A scared widow and her defenseless son have former marine Thad Pearson on red alert. Someone is systematically wrecking Lindy Southerland’s life. First her house. Then her bank account. And unless the thug gets what he wants, her child will be targeted next. The woman jumps at every shadow, but refuses to go to the police. Why? With Thad’s every protective instinct in overdrive, he guards Lindy and her son as if they’re his own family. But keeping his scarred heart safe proves his toughest assignment yet. And leads him straight into a mastermind’s deadly trap.

“Who would want to hurt you?”

When Lindy whirled and gawked at him, Thad was certain he’d asked the right question. “What do you mean, hurt me?”

“Just what I said. This is no computer mix-up. It’s deliberate. Somebody wants you broke and they’ve just about succeeded in making that happen. What I need to know is, why? Who’s that mad at you, Lindy?”

“Nobody.” She leaned her elbows on her knees and cupped her face in her hands.

“Okay,” he drawled, choosing his words carefully, “then who might still have it in for your late husband?”

Her head snapped up. Her jaw gaped. It took several long seconds for her to regain her composure and in that short space of time Thad saw a myriad of conflicting emotions.

“You don’t have to tell me a thing,” Thad said. “But you should confide in someone, preferably somebody in law enforcement. You do see that, don’t you?”

She pulled her jacket tighter. “I...can’t.”

He had to find out why.

VALERIE HANSEN

was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed, she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

Married to her high school sweetheart, she now lives in an old farmhouse she and her husband renovated with their own hands. She loves to hike the wooded hills behind the house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for all of the Love Inspired Books lines.

Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Standing Guard

Valerie Hansen

MILLS & BOON

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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

—Psalms 23:4

I wish I could honor all the people, past and present, who have brought me to the place in my life, and in my faith, where I’m able to write these stories. There would not be room for all those names if I took up pages and pages, so I’ll simply say a heartfelt “Thank you” to friends and family.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

ONE

“Mama? Mama?”

The little voice was barely audible, yet it was enough to reach into Lindy Southerland’s subconscious and rouse her from a troubled sleep.

She sat up in bed, raked her long, reddish-gold hair back with her fingers and strained to listen. Could she have imagined hearing Danny calling?

Suddenly, something hit the floor somewhere in the otherwise silent house. The thud was muted but unmistakable. Had her only child fallen out of bed?

“Mama?”

Danny’s high-pitched plea was tinged with anxiety. “Coming, honey,” she called. She hadn’t imagined hearing it the first time. Poor little guy sounded scared. Again. No wonder. Neither of them had slept well since they’d seen Ben...

Banishing the memories of her family’s kidnapping and her husband’s murder that continued to haunt her, Lindy threw back her blankets, stood to slip into a warm robe and belted it, while exiting her room.

How she hated the night. Her irrational fears had increased in the six months since she’d been tragically widowed and she didn’t know how to fight back. Or how to help her seven-year-old son.

She took a settling breath and mustered her courage. Danny needed her. That was all that mattered.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, trying to fool herself by pretending she was composed and unruffled. “I’m okay. Danny’s okay. We’re fine now.”

But she wasn’t fine. And her little boy wasn’t fine, either. They’d been through too much, seen too much, suffered too much.

“I’m coming, honey,” she repeated. “Mama’s coming.”

Trembling inside, she padded barefoot down the second floor hallway. Danny’s open door was illuminated by one of the tiny night-lights she had placed throughout the house after her son had begged for them. Not that she blamed him. Their world seemed far less gloomy and intimidating when it wasn’t filled with darkness.

Lindy expected to spot his tousled head on the pillow but the blankets were too bunched.

She tiptoed closer.

Reached for the edge of the covers.

“Mama!”

Lindy whirled in the direction of the distant echo. He sounded terrified!

Without pausing to think, she physically answered the child’s summons, her feet slapping the cold, hardwood floor, the hem of her robe fluttering behind her as she bounded down the stairs as fast as she could without falling.

She paused at the bottom. “Danny? Where are you?”

All she could hear was his whimpering nearby. Had he been sleepwalking and awakened somewhere other than his bed? That was most likely the case. It had happened before. The pediatrician had assured her it was probably just a phase the child was going through but that didn’t keep Lindy from hurting for her confused little boy.

“Danny?” Still on the trail of his soft sobbing, she dashed past the entrance to the ultramodern kitchen.

What she glimpsed in her peripheral vision took a second to register. Although momentum had already carried her well beyond the doorway, she suddenly realized she’d seen movement. Menace.

A huge, dark shape jerked and shifted as she darted past.

Lindy almost faltered. If not for the continuing sounds of her child’s weeping she might have bolted, run for her life. But she could not think only of herself. She had to find Danny.

She rounded the corner into the living room and stopped. Held her breath. Cast around with her eyes and saw no one. Nothing. Where was he? His last plea had definitely come from this direction but there was no sign of him now.

The sound of childish crying had ceased. All she could hear now was muttered cursing and multiple, heavy footsteps behind her. There had to be at least two prowlers, maybe more, and she had nowhere else to go. She was cornered!

The high back of the brown tweed sofa caught her eye. It wasn’t much but it was the only object in the room big enough to provide an adequate hiding place. She prayed Danny was safe, well hidden.

Lindy raced for cover, turned sideways, edged behind the bulky piece of furniture and then froze momentarily, straining to listen, to better assess her situation.

A shout of, “Get her,” made the fine hairs on her arms prickle more than the icy February weather outside.

“Why me?” another male voice replied. “You’re the clumsy one. We could of gotten in and out without a problem if you hadn’t dropped that stuff.”

“Shut up and do as you’re told. I’m almost done.”

Lindy nearly gasped aloud when something cold touched her ankle.

“Mama?”

She fell to her knees, opened her arms and pulled the thin figure closer. “Danny!” His name was little more than a hint on her breath.

“Mama, I...”

“Hush.” Lindy gathered his shivering body closer. “Don’t talk.”

A nod told her that he understood. Satisfied, she grasped his shoulders and held him so they were eye to eye. Terror painted his shadowy expression so vividly Lindy could hardly bear to look.

“Shush,” she mouthed, directing the boy’s attention beyond their hiding place with nothing more than rapid eye movement. They could hear at least one person drawing nearer. Once the footfalls reached the carpeted living room, however, the noise was muted.

They heard that prowler pause and yell to his partner. “I don’t see ’em in here.”

Lindy pulled closer her quivering child and held tight. Was it possible this man was too dumb to think of looking behind the couch? Could anyone be that dense?

A long shadow flowed across the floor and crept up the wall behind her. He might be slow-witted but he was coming closer just the same. Should they stay there like sitting ducks or make a run for it?

Was there a chance they could get to the front door, unlock it and flee before he overtook them? She doubted it. Besides, it was freezing outside and Danny was wearing only light flannel pajamas.

“I’m done in here,” the more distant prowler shouted. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“You sure? What if she saw us?” The bulky shadow shifted and shortened slightly, as if the man might be moving away.

“What do you care? You know what happens to witnesses who get in our way.”

The man closest to Lindy laughed hoarsely, making her skin crawl. She bit her lip to stifle the urge to scream.

“Yeah,” he said, projecting his voice as if making an announcement. “No cops, lady. You got that? You rat to the police and we’ll be back. Next time, you and your brat won’t be as lucky as you were when good old Ben got what was coming to him.”

He was still snorting and chuckling as the sound of his morbid attempt at humor faded away.

Lindy slumped down, pulled Danny into her lap and just sat there, rocking him and weeping silent tears while she wondered what to do next. She knew she should call the sheriff and report the break-in. That’s what a normal person would do.

But she wasn’t a normal person, she was the widow of Ben Southerland. And Danny was his son. Some of the higher-ups in the criminal organization that had abducted her and Danny, and had cost Ben his life when he’d tried to save them, had evaded capture.

The police had assured her that those kinds of white-collar crooks would have no further interest in her family.

Lindy had wanted desperately to trust their opinion and had almost convinced herself they were right—until tonight.

* * *

Thad Pearson wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on the women’s conversation. He was simply standing in line several places behind them while waiting to order his fast food lunch at Hickory Station before returning to work at Pearson Products. The fact that one of them was Samantha Rochard Waltham, a former nemesis of his in regard to the permanent placement of his brother’s orphaned children, made it hard to ignore what was being said.

“Prowlers? Really? I can’t believe you didn’t phone the police last night,” Samantha told her companion.

When the other woman shook her head, her reddish-blond hair swung in a silky cascade that partially hid her cheeks from view. Although her voice was softer, Thad was able to hear her reply.

“I didn’t find anything missing. It was no big deal.”

One underlying sense grabbed Thad and refused to let go. Fear. An unmistakable tinge of tension and dread. She might choose to claim that the event she was discussing was no big deal but her body language said otherwise.

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t report a break-in, Lindy,” Samantha argued, sounding as if she were a parent lecturing a foolish child.

Thad’s brow creased. Lindy? That name was unusual enough to ring a bell but he couldn’t quite place where he’d heard it.

When the young woman lifted her chin and he could see her profile more clearly he was immediately struck by her natural beauty. And by a deepening sense that she was terribly vulnerable, although if anyone had asked him why he felt that way, he’d have been at a loss to explain.

Her voice rose. “I don’t intend to make waves and take a chance on losing custody of my son again. You, of all people, should understand.”

Ah, so that was her problem, Thad mused. He could definitely identify. He knew Samantha had only been doing her job as a volunteer for CASA, Court-Appointed Special Advocates for children, when she had recommended that his late brother’s kids be adopted by outsiders, but he was still struggling to accept it.

“Everything worked out fine the last time we went to court,” Samantha reminded her companion. “You can trust the police. You’ll have to learn to do that, if and when you apply to become a CASA volunteer yourself, like you said you might.”

“I trust you more. That’s why I asked you to meet me here. I wanted you to know what happened. Just in case. You’re not assigned to look out for Danny anymore so there’s no conflict of interest. Right?”

“This has nothing to do with what happened in the past. I’m your friend. And I’m telling you to use your head. Make a police report. Let the pros handle it.”

Thad remained silent as Lindy paid for her food, turned and started to walk away without waiting for her outspoken friend to follow.

He continued to observe her wending her way through the crowd to a nearby booth. Clearly, she had problems. Perhaps serious ones. While her personal life was none of his business, he nevertheless felt concerned. It didn’t matter that such feelings made no sense. He was used to following his instincts. Doing so had kept him alive when he was overseas and it was a part of his character he nurtured.

The woman called Lindy never looked back. Never seemed to notice that she had attracted his attention.

Thad paused long enough to say a quick, silent prayer for her before stepping up to the counter, smiling at the clerk and placing his own order.

* * *

Lindy sat back in the booth and folded her arms. She was feeling a chill in spite of her designer jeans, sweater and embroidered denim jacket. “You might as well give it a rest, Sam. I’m not changing my mind.”

“Then at least let me tell John.”

“Not on your life. Your husband’s too good a cop. There’s no way he’d keep his mouth shut, not even if you asked him to. The guys who broke in were probably just dumb kids looking for drug or booze money.”

“The way you described them, they didn’t sound like typical juvenile delinquents.”

“They grow ’em big around here. I think it’s the Ozark water,” Lindy said, managing to smile past her burgeoning feelings of guilt over the deception she felt was so necessary. If she once mentioned the prowlers’ specific threats, she was certain Sam would feel compelled to inform her husband—and that must not happen.

“Um. Speaking of kids, how’s Danny holding up?” Samantha asked.

“He’s okay.”

“Good. You need to start taking him to church, you know.”

“What brought that on? Are you worried that I’m not being a good enough mother?”

“Of course not. It’s time Danny made some new, happy memories, that’s all.” Sam chuckled wryly. “You won’t believe who got roped in as Sunday school teacher for the second and third grade boys’ class at Serenity Chapel.”

“No clue.” Lindy picked up a narrow slice of steaming veggie pizza, inhaling the enticing aroma before taking a cautious bite.

“Thad Pearson. Didn’t you notice him in line behind us when we ordered?”

“You mean the guy who took over Pearson Products?”

“Uh-huh. Have you met?”

“Not exactly. I saw him from a distance when I dropped off my résumé. He’s certainly not the kind of person I’d picture as a Sunday school teacher.”

“Me, either. But he does an amazing job with the kids. It’s too bad he couldn’t adopt his brother’s orphans.”

“Why not?” Lindy took another bite.

“PTSD. He got a medical discharge from the marines because of post-traumatic stress. Unfortunately, that meant, as a CASA representative, I couldn’t recommend him as a prospective parent, even if I’d wanted to.” She focused her gaze across the room and brightened, her smile becoming a broad grin. “Well, butter me up and call me a biscuit. Here he comes.”

Lindy swiveled in her seat. The man was dark haired, muscular, athletic looking and wearing jeans that were worn but clean. He also had on a red polo shirt and matching jacket which bore the Pearson Products logo.

She was about to avert her gaze when it caught his and lingered a heartbeat too long. Blushing, she sank down in her seat and began wishing she could slide all the way under the table, especially when Samantha waved and hollered, “Thad! Over here.”

Lindy gaped. “What did you do that for?”

“So I could properly introduce you to Danny’s Sunday school teacher.”

“I never promised I’d start going back to church.”

“Ah, but you will. For Danny’s sake, of course.”

The hulking figure who soon hovered over Lindy made her feel as small as a child herself.

“Thad, this is Lindy Southerland,” Samantha said. “She has a son the same age as your nephew, Timmy, and I was just telling her about how the kids in your class at Serenity Chapel love having you as their teacher.”

“Pleased to meet you.” He nodded to Lindy as he answered Samantha. “I do my best.”

To Lindy’s surprise, the man looked almost as ill at ease as she felt. Was he glancing around the cramped dining area because he was wishing he could make a polite getaway?

“Please, join us. We have lots of room,” Samantha insisted. She checked her watch. “As a matter of fact, you can take my chair. I have to be getting back to the hospital ASAP. Nearly every bed in my wing is full. Doctors can get away with taking long lunches but we nurses don’t dare.” She gathered up her jacket and trash, slid out, took Thad’s drink from him and placed it on the table opposite Lindy before rushing off.

For a few long seconds, Lindy wondered if the man was going to grab his soda and flee, but he didn’t. Shrugging, he sat down with a resigned air, nodded another silent greeting and began to unwrap his foot-long sandwich.

“I apologize,” Lindy said, feeling her cheeks burn. “Samantha sometimes gets carried away.”

“No problem. As long as it’s all right with you.”

As soon as she said, “Sure. It’s fine,” he picked up his sub and began to eat.

Lindy felt strange sitting across the narrow table from a man—any man. Since being widowed she’d already had to withstand a few well-meaning efforts at matchmaking and had had no trouble doing so. Consequently, it was awkward to find herself trapped in this kind of social situation.

If the attractive man had not seemed so resigned to her presence, she might have left without finishing her lunch. Since he was essentially ignoring her, however, she had no such compunctions. She wasn’t sure what PTSD entailed but she figured polite silence couldn’t hurt him.

Half of Thad’s food was gone before he spoke another word. “So, you have a little boy?”

“Yes. Danny.”

His brow knit. He studied her. “Southerland. Any relation to the accountant who got himself shot a while back?”

Well, that was certainly blunt enough. Thad Pearson might be a man of few words but the ones he did use were definitely to the point. “Yes,” Lindy said. Her chin jutted. “Ben was my husband. And he was an investment counselor, not an accountant.”

“Sorry. I lost my only brother about a year ago.”

“I know. How are his kids doing?”

“Really well, thanks.” He finally smiled, sort of, giving Lindy a strange, tingling sensation and making her wish he had remained stoic. “They’re great kids. Megan is so young she’s adjusted the best. Tim and Paul are coming along, too. Jill and Mitch Andrews make much better parents than I thought they would. Do you know them?”

“I think I used to see them at church. Your brother and his wife, too. They were a lovely family.”

Uh-oh, I said too much, Lindy decided when she saw his smile fade. The way he was staring at her made her uncomfortable, although she could not have said why if her life had depended upon it. There was no anger in his expression, nor was it the kind of intense look she sometimes got from single guys. Thad didn’t act as if he wanted to date her. He seemed to be trying to understand her instead.

That would be a good trick, she thought cynically. Since she didn’t have a clue what made her tick, there was no chance a stranger would be able to figure her out.

Choosing to simply finish the final bites of her pizza, she wiped her fingers on a napkin and started to clear her side of the table.

Before she could rise, however, Thad said, “Wait,” reached for her hand and laid his over it. There was no coercion, no threat and certainly no intimacy. She felt as if his touch was meant to convey empathy.

“I lost my dad when I was pretty young,” he explained. “It was my older brother, Rob, and my life in the military that saved me. Literally. I’ll never be able to repay that debt but I keep trying. No matter how hard you work at it, you can’t be a father to Danny.”

She tried to pull free her hand, although not hard enough to strain, and the intensity of his dark gaze deepened.

“Hear me out. The kid needs men in his life,” Thad said gently. “Bring him to my class Sunday mornings or take him anywhere else. I don’t care. Just find him somebody to look up to. For his sake.”

This time, when she eased away, he let her go. She wasn’t about to listen to advice from a stranger, even though they had both experienced traumatic pasts.

Lindy swept her crumpled napkin into her little pizza box, grabbed her empty soda cup and stood. She wanted to come up with some witty remark in parting but the man’s words were tying her tongue. So was the realization that he was probably right.

Just last night, after the prowlers had left, Danny had said he wished his father was there so he could feel safer. No matter how hard she tried to compensate, she could not be Ben.

She didn’t want to find someone else like him, either. Her late husband had been a liar and a thief and his short temper had left bruises on both her and—at the end—their son. She would never place Danny anywhere near a physically abusive relationship again. Never.

Halfway to the trash receptacle Lindy turned and glanced back. Thad was sitting very still, watching her, yet there was no judgment in his expression. On the contrary, it was so benevolent it made her feel as if she were wrapped in a warm, cozy blanket that would invisibly protect her from the world’s wickedness.

“I’ll think about it,” Lindy said quietly and saw him begin to nod before she looked away.

Somewhere in the depths of her confusion about practically everything in life, she sensed that she had already made that decision. Danny could benefit from knowing Thad Pearson. Therefore, she would take him to Sunday school. It might even be easier to convince herself to leave him in the care of that teacher than any of the ones at his elementary school.

Lindy smiled. There was an additional benefit for a mother who could hardly bear to let her only child out of her sight. At church, she could linger in the hallway outside Danny’s classroom and no one would think it a bit odd.

No one except, perhaps, his understanding teacher.

TWO

There weren’t many conundrums that bothered Thad Pearson for very long. After the years he’d spent in war zones, he was used to meeting challenges head-on. Right now, he figured he must be thinking about battle casualties again due to the familiar, wounded aura around the woman Samantha had railroaded him into eating with.

Lindy Southerland’s personal problems were probably common knowledge in Serenity, Arkansas, and for once he wished he’d paid more attention to gossip. He knew she was a widow because her husband had died a violent death in some kind of gang shoot-out, but that was about all.

“It’s enough,” Thad murmured, dumping his trash and heading for the café door. He didn’t have to know a lot about the kids he worked with to help them. Besides, that woman might never drum up enough courage to actually bring Danny to his class.

Mrs. Southerland was clearly scared to death. Not having known her prior to returning to the States, he had no idea if her unsettled persona was a new development or if she’d always been the nervous type. Either way, living with someone like that couldn’t be easy on the boy. If Danny was about the same age as his nephew, Timmy, then he was seven or eight. Not too young to understand simple logic or too old to be reached via kindness. A good age.

Thad checked his watch. He’d promised to refill the break room fridge with sodas for his crew and figured this was as good a time as any to swing by the store. He’d been trying to loosen up and not run the Pearson kitchen-gadget business with his usual military precision, but he knew he was still a long way from being the hassle-free kind of boss his brother, Rob, had been. Providing free sodas would be another step in the right direction.

Pushing his cart to the nearest of the two checkout stands at the little local market, he was surprised to recognize a familiar voice coming from the customer ahead of him in line.

“But it has to be good,” Lindy Southerland was insisting to the clerk. “I put plenty of money in that account a few days ago.”

When she exchanged that debit card for a credit card with a shake of her head, Thad was struck by how beautiful her reddish-blond hair was when it swung. During lunch he’d noticed it was long and framed her heart-shaped face but he’d been looking so intently into her green eyes, trying to read her thoughts, he hadn’t paid attention to much else. Now, however, he could appreciate the graceful way her hands were moving as she held them out, palms up, in supplication.

Lindy’s next words fit the pose perfectly. “What? That’s impossible. I almost never use that card. It can’t be maxed out.”

“It isn’t,” the clerk said. “It’s been canceled.”

“No way.”

Thad saw Lindy’s confusion and realized she was too frustrated to be thinking clearly. He stepped forward and opened his wallet. “Here. Let me get this for you.”

The emerald eyes widened when they met his. Recognition dawned. “No, thank you. I can take care of it.” She was rummaging in her copious shoulder bag. “I don’t usually carry my checkbook but it may be in here.”

“Well, since we’re holding up the line, how about I bail you out temporarily? You can pay me back after you figure out what’s wrong with your cards.”

Lindy sighed noisily. “I guess that will be okay. We are both friends of Samantha.”

Thad didn’t think this was the right time to inform her that he was less a friend of Samantha Rochard, now Waltham, than he was a former adversary. Oh, they had made their peace regarding the permanent placement of his niece and two nephews but that didn’t make them buddies. Thad could count his close friends on the fingers of one hand without using half the digits. His military doctors had been right when they’d warned him that he might not relate well to most folks, although he was beginning to warm up to Jill and Mitch, probably because of their connection to his brother’s children.

Paying his own bill as well as Lindy’s, Thad carried their groceries while she walked beside him and continued to paw through her purse.

“Which car is yours?” he asked.

“What? Oh, the silver one over there.”

“Nice.”

“It was my husband’s,” she said flatly. “It’s paid for and it gets good gas mileage so I kept it. I suppose I should have traded it in on a smaller model but I just never got around to it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a luxury car. Where do you want this stuff? In the trunk?”

“Yes.” She pressed a button on her key ring and the trunk unlatched with a click. “Thanks. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get everything sorted out.”

“No hurry. You know where to find me on Sunday mornings. I’m looking forward to meeting Danny.” The startled expression on her face made him chuckle wryly. “Not very subtle, am I?”

“No. Not very.” She began to smile and reached out, clearly offering to shake his hand.

Thad shifted his own grocery bags so he could oblige. He hadn’t anticipated feeling her tremble. It was not that cold for a short walk outside.

Rather than release her immediately, he held on long enough to ask, “What is it? What else is wrong?”

“Nothing, I...”

“Don’t you know it’s a sin to lie to a Sunday school teacher?”

“It’s a sin to lie to anybody,” Lindy said. She seemed to be struggling with a decision for a few moments before she sighed and spoke again. “It’s a long story. My house was burglarized recently. I surprised them in the act so I didn’t think anything was stolen.” Her forehead furrowed. “Now, I’m not sure. I mean, the cards are still in my purse. They can’t have been used.”

So that was the rest of the story he’d partially overheard. “You don’t have to have a card in hand to debit to it, you know. Look at sales on the internet. All you have to do is type in the right numbers and it’s a done deal.”

She paled and swayed slightly. “Oh, dear.”

“What did the police say about your break-in?” Thad asked, knowing what she’d probably say.

“I didn’t call them.”

“You should have.” He scowled, hoping his opinion would make her change her mind. “What stopped you?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Okay. Look, I have a little experience with computers. If you’ll let me, I’d like to help you.”

“What can you possibly do?”

“Start by checking your accounts to see when they were tampered with, file a claim to have the money returned, then tighten up security to make sure nobody can do any more damage.” He paused, smiling at the irrationality of his suggestions and wondering why he’d made them. “Or, you could just swing by the bank on your way home and do all that in person.”

Lindy began to shake her head. “I can’t. My husband insisted we keep our accounts in Atlanta, even after we moved here, and I never got around to changing to a local bank.”

“Then my offer stands. I learned a lot of useful tricks while I was working for Uncle Sam. I’m pretty sure I can help you.”

“I’d heard you were a soldier. I had no idea that job involved computers.”

“We had guns, too,” Thad said, continuing to smile for her benefit. “I was taught to handle both.” He eyed an old blue pickup that was parked several spaces away. “There’s my truck. Since you didn’t buy any perishables you can follow me to my office and we can get started right away.”

“I don’t know, I...”

He held up his free hand as though taking an oath. “I promise you. I am one of the good guys. I even have the medals to prove it. I can dig them out and show you if necessary.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Good, then hop in your car and let’s go.”

“Why are you doing this?” Lindy asked, still acting hesitant.

“Because you look like somebody who needs help and I’m in a position to offer it, that’s all. No ulterior motives. Scout’s honor.”

It was easy to tell she remained anxious. He assumed that was because of those useless bank cards and the fact that someone had violated her privacy. He could understand feeling that way. He just hoped she would take him up on his offer instead of changing her mind and driving off.

Watching in his rearview mirror, he was relieved to see the silver sedan pull out and fall smoothly into line behind him. She was going to let him help. Good. If he’d ever met someone who needed a friend it was Lindy Southerland.

Why care? he asked himself. That was an excellent question. Perhaps it was because of the woman’s demeanor. Or maybe it was meeting a widow who was raising her child alone that had tapped into his conscience and created such a strong desire to offer assistance.

He’d seen plenty of widows overseas; enough to last him a lifetime. And every time his work had fractured more families, his gut had tied in bigger knots. Knots that still lingered and had resulted in a medical discharge in spite of his continued desire to serve.

The doctors who had judged him no longer fit for duty hadn’t understood. Nobody did. There was no job Thad had ever tackled that he hadn’t approached with complete dedication. That was why he’d assumed personal responsibility for the outcome of every skirmish and why the shrinks who had debriefed him had insisted he be sent back to civilian life.

Well, here he was. And, in retrospect, his presence had been advantageous after Rob and Ellen had died in the fire that Ellen’s sister, Natalie, had caused. But that didn’t make life fair; not for his lost brother, not for Rob’s orphaned kids who had been given to people who were not even kin, not for all the survivors who had to carry on in spite of broken hearts.

That needless sense of loss continued to disturb Thad but not in the same way it had at first. His personal faith had faltered initially, then had deepened in the aftermath of the tragedy, yet he was still searching for a satisfactory explanation for all the pain his family had suffered.

Perhaps he always would.

* * *

Lindy knew she was being foolish to trust a virtual stranger but there had been something about Thad Pearson that had emotionally connected him to her. From the moment he had touched her hand and shown such concern for Danny, she had liked him. She couldn’t help herself.

But do I dare trust him this much? she asked silently. If she’d been the least bit computer savvy or had known someone else who might be willing to go to bat for her, she wouldn’t have turned to Thad. However, since he was not only handy but had dropped into her life at exactly the right time, as if heaven-sent, she felt compelled to let him try to help. Worst case scenario, she’d have to change the passwords on a few accounts. Other than that, she couldn’t see any big risk.

Sensing movement out of the corner of her eye, Lindy glanced into her side mirror. Speaking of risks, what did the driver of that big, white, dual-cab pickup think he was doing? This narrow section of road was no place to try to squeeze by.

Her hands tightened on the wheel. The other truck had pulled even with her and was easing to the right, encroaching on her lane.

She tapped the brakes, slowing to give the larger vehicle room to drop in between her and Thad. Since she knew where they were headed, she didn’t need to stay right on his bumper. Besides, somebody had to do something before that other driver caused a wreck.

Lindy fell back, waiting for the more massive truck to sail on by. It did exactly the opposite, pacing her exactly.

Scowling, she glanced over, trying to see who was driving, but was thwarted because the truck sat so much higher off the ground than her car. Its broad side door and right fender stayed even with her no matter how she varied her speed.

Her heart pounded. Her breathing grew shallow, rapid. Had Thad noticed what was going on? It sure didn’t look like it.

Again, Lindy changed speed, shoving the gas pedal to the floor. Forty became fifty. Then fifty-five.

The rear of Thad’s truck loomed ahead. She thought she saw his head turn, saw him look back.

Suddenly, the white truck swerved.

Slammed into the side of her sedan.

Hit hard enough to shove her onto the narrow shoulder!

Metal crunched and grated. Gravel flew. She almost overcorrected and went into a ditch, then regained the edge of the roadway and came to a stop as the reckless driver accelerated and sped away.

Incredulous, she just sat there, her fingers clamped to the steering wheel, her eyes wide. Staring blankly.

The driver who had forced her off the road passed Thad as if his truck were standing still and disappeared around a curve.

She could barely breathe, barely think straight.

This was turning into the second worst day of her life.

* * *

Thad stopped the moment he realized what had happened. Jumping from his truck he ran back to Lindy. “Are you all right?”

The side window rolled smoothly down. Her breath was condensing into visible clouds and her complexion had lost its rosy glow. “Did you see that? That idiot was trying to wreck me!”

“Sure looked that way.” Thad continued to check the road as he spoke in case the heavy-duty truck came back. “I thought he just wanted to pass us until I saw him deliberately ram you.” He was leaning against her car with both hands capping the edge of the door over the window slot. “Who was he?”

“I don’t have the slightest idea. I didn’t recognize his truck, either.” She peered forward and winced. “How bad is the damage?”

“Looks mostly cosmetic,” Thad said. “Though you should still have a garage check over the car before we go on.”

Lindy let go of the steering wheel and stared at her hands, watching them shake. “I’m not sure I’m ready to drive again, anyway.”

“No problem.” Straightening, Thad slipped his cell phone from the clip on his belt, flipped it open and stepped away from her car to speak. He didn’t ask Lindy’s permission. He simply called the sheriff.

She was tugging at his elbow long before he finished the call but he persisted. “That’s right. Hit-and-run. Highway 9, south of town. Nobody’s injured. A guy in a white truck sideswiped Mrs. Southerland’s car then took off. No. We didn’t get a license number and we didn’t know the driver.”

Lindy yanked on his arm. “Stop!”

He ignored her. “It’s pretty cold for us to wait out here. How about we leave the car as it sits and I take her with me to the warehouse? Is that all right with you?” He recited the license plate number and make of her vehicle. “Okay. If you have any questions for us, you can reach us at this number. It’s my cell. Or at Pearson Products. We’re headed there.” He ended the call with, “Right. Thanks.”

“What did you do that for?”

Lindy was practically screeching at him so he reached to place a calming hand on her shoulder. To his amazement, she ducked as if expecting a blow.

Thad raised both hands and backed away. “Whoa. I’m not going to hurt you. Just calm down. You’ve had quite a shock.”

“I told you I didn’t want the authorities involved in my business. Why did you have to call them?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because somebody almost rolled your car into a ball—with you in it.” He knew he’d spoken gruffly but he didn’t know how else he was going to get through to this stubborn, irrational woman.

Lindy covered her face with her hands.

Thad started to reach for her, then stopped himself. She’d already indicated reluctance to accept physical comforting. He could get himself into deep trouble by trying to give it again.

Instead, he waited patiently until she pulled herself together, then nodded toward his pickup. “My ride’s not fancy, but right now that’s our only transportation. Unless you want to wait out here for the cops and freeze to death, I suggest you come with me the way I told them you would.”

She stood so still for a few moments he wondered if she was going to refuse. Finally, she seemed to regain her composure. “I’ll need my purse. And I suppose I should take the groceries in case they tow my car.”

“I’m assuming they will,” Thad said. It was a relief to see her acting more stable. “They probably won’t need your keys so you’d better pull them. The dispatcher said they were really busy today. Since nobody was hurt here, it may take them a while to respond and we don’t want your car stolen before they arrive.”

Lindy almost laughed. At least Thad thought she did. She’d been so upset before, it was hard to tell how she was feeling until he heard the sarcasm in her tone when she said, “The way my life’s been going lately, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. I’d expect it.”

He stood back while she unlocked the trunk, then carried her purchases to his truck and placed the plastic bags in the cab between the driver and passenger seats. The way he saw it, he was already on thin ice with this woman and having a pile of groceries as a buffer between them was to his advantage.

Did he wish he hadn’t volunteered to help her? Not really. If he hadn’t been there when she’d almost wrecked, she’d have been stranded, particularly because she was so against police involvement.

Thad observed her as he held open the passenger door and she climbed in. She seemed pretty normal in most ways, so why was she so scared of the cops? Could there be a connection between her current problems and her late husband’s criminal activities? Had she been personally involved?

No. No way, his instincts insisted. He’d know if Lindy was a crook at heart. Truth to tell, she seemed so totally innocent it was laughable. He could far more easily imagine her as a helpless lamb being circled by a pack of hungry wolves than the other way around.

That picture of helplessness stuck in his mind as he rounded the truck and slid behind the wheel. If he were to consider the accident he had just witnessed as a deliberate attack, how might that change his tactics going forward?

He cast a sidelong glance at the woman riding beside him. She was obviously still tense. Her hands were clasped around the strap of her purse and she was holding on to it as if she were suspended above a bottomless chasm by that one, thin strip of leather.

Strange notions kept surfacing, insisting to Thad that he had been put there to provide an anchor for Lindy’s lifeline. Was that possible? Sure. Why not? If someone had asked him a few years ago what he’d be doing these days, he would never have guessed he’d be managing a kitchen-gadget business in a little Ozark town. And if they’d suggested he’d be playing bodyguard to a pretty but unstable widow, too, he’d have laughed in their faces.

So, what now? Only one thing was certain. No matter what his original motives had been or how circumstances had conspired to draw him into this woman’s problems, he was committed. He knew Lindy Southerland needed help and it was his duty to provide it. Period.

THREE

Pearson Products was located next to the single-runway Serenity airport outside town. Lindy had passed the site often but other than the one time she had tried to apply for a job there, she’d never had reason to stop.

As Thad drove around to the rear of the largest metal building, she was struck by how isolated the manufacturing and shipping complex seemed. The hardwood trees on the surrounding hills were bare but would soon begin to bud, and by summer the open area would feel like a tiny island amid a sea of green leaves.

If there had not been other cars parked there, she might have been more uneasy. “I never realized how far out of town this place is. It’s really secluded.”

“It wasn’t always.” Thad pointed. “Rob and Ellen used to have a house attached to their office on the far end of this long building. You can still see the foundation. I made my office in the warehouse instead of rebuilding after the fire.”

“So, you don’t live out here like they did?”

“No. I have a little place off Old Sturkie Road. It isn’t fancy. I don’t spend a lot of time there.”

She chose to open her own door rather than wait for Thad to do it. Ben had always made a big deal of holding doors for her and otherwise treating her gallantly in public, though he’d abused her in private, so Lindy now insisted on fending for herself. It wasn’t that she objected to a man showing good manners, it simply seemed intrinsically necessary for her to demonstrate self-reliance as often as possible.

If Thad minded her behaving so independently he didn’t give any sign of it. Smiling, he directed her to the rear entrance to the warehouse and caught the heavyweight metal door behind her as she passed through. The area was open and airy like a barn, yet bore the chemical odor of new plastic. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell but it was a noticeable change from the crispness of the February air outdoors.

“This is our shipping department,” Thad said, pointing to rows of bins and shelves filled with brightly colored kitchen tools and several long tables. “You probably know most of these folks better than I do. That’s Margaret over there in the brown sweater doing the packing and Louise Williams pulling orders. Vernon Betts looks after the factory and Angela runs the mail room.”

Lindy raised a hand to wave when Louise looked up and smiled. “I do recognize a few faces. We moved to Serenity a couple years ago but I really haven’t gotten out much.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve been so tied up in trying to salvage this business I don’t have time to socialize, either. If it wasn’t for church, I’d probably be a hermit.”

She followed Thad as he led the way to a rudimentary office located at one end of the cavernous, rectangular building. That area was anything but posh. The floor was concrete, the walls unpainted plasterboard. There were bundles of assorted cardboard boxes stacked in one corner. The massive, oak desk was so messy it looked as if someone had upended a carton of trash in the middle of it, then stirred the pile of paper with the blade of a shovel.

Lindy had to smile. “I love your filing system. How’s that working out for you?”

“Poorly.” One corner of his mouth quirked and his dark eyes sparkled. “I know I need help. I just don’t want to hire and then have to lay off somebody. Orders are sporadic since Rob died and I can never be sure how the cash flow will hold up. Ellen used to process orders while her sister, Natalie, kept the books.” He grimaced. “You probably heard how that turned out.”

“The embezzlement? Yes. I’m sorry.” Lindy’s fingers itched to get a chance to sort through the messy piles of paperwork.

“Tell you what,” she said, eyeing his desktop. “While you try to figure out what happened to my credit, why don’t I start sorting this stuff into some semblance of order?”

“I don’t know...”

“Well, I do,” she said flatly. “You’re helping me and I’m going to return the favor.” She pushed up the left sleeve of her jacket to check her watch. “I can stay until just before three when I have to pick up Danny at school.”

Thad nodded. “It’s a deal. Let me know when it’s time and I’ll run you back into town.”

“If you do that, I’ll owe you even more hours of work here,” Lindy said.

She was delighted to see him grin and hear him say, “Uh-huh. That’s kind of what I’d figured.”

* * *

Thad was so engrossed in his computer search he let Lindy answer the business phone. He had to smile at how professional her “Pearson Products. How may I help you?” sounded. It was good to have an accomplished executive assistant, if only for one afternoon.

She made a face as she covered the mouthpiece and held out the receiver. “It’s the sheriff. They’ve taken my car into town and parked it behind the station. We can pick it up any time.”

“Okay. Tell them I’m going to call Seth Whitfield at the garage and have him check it over first. You shouldn’t drive it until we know it’s safe.” To his surprise, Lindy looked anything but pleased.

She put the phone back to her ear. “Thank you, Sheriff. Mr. Pearson has suggested that I have the car examined by a mechanic but I’ll take your word for it that it’s roadworthy. We’ll be there before three.”

As soon as she’d hung up he questioned her. “What was that?”

“That was me, taking care of myself and making my own decisions,” Lindy said firmly. “I decided to skip the expense of taking the car to a repairman. The sheriff assures me the damage is only cosmetic.”

“Okay. I can see you don’t want car advice.” He swiveled in his chair and gestured toward the computer screen. “However, I think you should look at what I’ve found online.”

“What?”

Thad allowed her to look over his shoulder while he brought up screen after screen. Then, he ended with her official credit rating and heard her gasp.

“I didn’t know they went that low,” she moaned.

“Neither did I until I saw yours. What’s going on? This shows that you maxed out your credit cards and failed to pay the minimum so they were all canceled.”

“No!” It was nearly a shout. “I don’t use any credit cards unless I absolutely have to. What about my debit card? Did you check that?”

“I’ll need your account number and password,” Thad said. He started to get up so she could take his place at the keyboard.

Instead, she merely recited a short sequence of numbers. He typed them in. He could sense Lindy’s closeness behind him and hear her rapid breathing. The woman was clearly agitated. He didn’t blame her.

The checking account balance blinked onto the screen, accompanied by Lindy’s sharp intake of breath. “That’s impossible. I just transferred money into that account from my savings.” She leaned closer. “Can you check that, too?”

“Sure.” He paged down and clicked on the listing.

Lindy’s squeal of astonishment was so loud and unexpected it made him jump. He felt her hand rest on his shoulder only long enough for her to say, “Sorry.”

“I take it you didn’t know you were broke.”

“I’m not.” She left him and slumped into the only other chair in the room after clearing it of bundles of product brochures. “I have money. At least I did. The investment company my husband worked for has been depositing a portion of his unused sick leave in my account every month and there was a life insurance settlement, too. I paid off my mortgage with that so I wouldn’t have a lot of big expenses.”

Thad leaned back and turned his desk chair to face her. “Okay. Suppose I believe you...”

“What do you mean, suppose? It’s the truth.”

“Poor choice of words. Sorry. What I should have said is, given your belief that you had sufficient funds in your accounts and plenty of room to charge more purchases on your credit and debit cards, what do you think happened to all the money?”

“How should I know?”

He watched her get to her feet and begin to pace what little space the office afforded. He had assumed that he could solve her problems with a few swift keystrokes after he located a simple glitch. This was far more complicated than that. If he believed her—and he did—then she had been hacked. Big time.

“Who would want to falsify records and ruin you?” Thad asked.

When Lindy whirled and gawked at him, he was certain he’d asked the right question. “What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. This is no computer mix-up. It’s deliberate. Somebody wants you broke and they’ve just about succeeded in making that happen. What I need to know is, why? Who’s that mad at you, Lindy?”

“Nobody.” She returned to the chair and perched on its edge, leaning her elbows on her knees and cupping her face in her hands.

“Okay,” he drawled, choosing his words carefully, “then who might still have it in for your late husband?”

Her head snapped up. Her jaw dropped. It took several long seconds for her to regain her composure and in that short space of time, Thad saw myriad conflicting emotions. The final one looked a lot like resignation.

“You don’t have to tell me a thing,” Thad said. “But you should confide in someone, preferably somebody in law enforcement. You do see that, don’t you?”

Standing again, she pulled her jacket tighter, folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Who says I’m afraid?”

“You do. It’s written all over you. And there’s no reason to feel that way when you have an alternative. Talk to the police. Let them help you.”

“I have nothing to say to them. I’ll phone the bank in Atlanta and the other credit card companies, explain the problem, and everything will be fine. You said so yourself.”

“That was before I saw the records.” Thad stood but didn’t try to approach her. He could tell how close she was to the breaking point and didn’t want to do anything that might push her too far. Nevertheless, he felt obliged to try to convince her to be sensible.

He found an empty place for his hip on the edge of the desk and struck a nonchalant pose by perching there. “Look, lady, you’re in big trouble. Somebody has hacked into your accounts and left you destitute. Unless you’re carrying a wad of cash in your purse, you can’t even buy yourself a hamburger right now. Understand?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“The way I see it, you have two choices. You can either report the theft and let the proper authorities step in or you can give up and let the bad guys walk off with your money—not to mention whatever they might also try to charge against your credit in the future.”

He could tell by the way her eyes misted that he had her full attention so he plunged ahead. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the cops for you.”

Lindy’s mouth opened. No words came. Thad didn’t need to hear any. The unbridled fear emanating from her reached him all the way across the office and raised the hair on the nape of his neck.

“They threatened you,” he said flatly. “I should have known. What did they say?”

Lindy pressed her lips tightly together, shook her head and averted her gaze.

Thad decided to take the chance of approaching, of gently grasping her shoulders so she’d have no choice but to look at him. When she didn’t jump at his touch or try to slap his face the way he was afraid she might, he took it as a positive sign.

“Look, if you keep their threats to yourself, they win,” Thad said. “Think about it. The only control they have over you is by intimidation. I know you’re a strong woman. You’d have to be to have weathered the trials I’ve heard about.” He paused, intending to censor his next statement, then let it continue unedited. “I’m going to help you whether you like it or not. I feel as if we were meant to meet so I could. Does that make sense?”

“No.” Lindy’s tone was weak, her voice tremulous.

Releasing her and distancing himself, Thad smiled. “It doesn’t to me, either, but that’s how I feel.”

“You don’t want to get mixed up in my troubles.”

“It’s already too late. I promised God a long time ago that if He’d let me live, I’d do all I could to help the helpless for the rest of my life.”

He immediately raised his hands, palms out, as if surrendering. “Don’t get mad. I’m not calling you helpless. I’m just telling you the story the way it happened. My unit was pinned down by sniper fire and I’d taken a bullet in the shoulder. I figure, since I’m standing here having this conversation with you, I need to remember that promise. That’s all.”

“A bullet in the shoulder?” Lindy sighed deeply and released the breath with a visible shudder. “We’ve got more in common than I thought.”

Thad didn’t realize what she’d meant until she took off her jacket, pushed up the softer sleeve of the sweater beneath and revealed a scar that cut a shallow groove across her upper arm.

Thad had seen lots of worse injuries, yet his gut knotted. Someone had hurt this sweet, innocent woman in the past and those same people might now be planning to do her further harm. He was going to see that they—or anyone else—didn’t get away with it.

“What happened?” His voice was gentle even though his fists were clenched.

“The shot that passed through my husband grazed my arm. We were both protecting Danny. Ben died trying to keep us safe.”

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

“Most people don’t know the whole story. They’re happy to blame Ben for everything and say he deserved whatever he got. It’s a lot more complicated than that.”

“The men who killed your husband—are they still after you?”

Lindy slowly shook her head. “They can’t be. Two died in the same gunfight and a third was arrested later. The problem is, I didn’t know for sure whether or not there were others who might have it in for us—until last night.”

“Are you positive the men who messed with your credit are from the same gang?”

“No. But I can’t afford to take the chance that they were lying when they threatened me. They mentioned Ben. That was enough.”

“And I suppose they also told you to avoid the police?”

“Yes. They said they’d be back and hurt Danny and me if I reported the break-in. What could I do? I have no way to fight them. I don’t even know who they are.”

Deep in thought, Thad scowled. “Why pick on you? And why now, after so much time has passed? What could they want? Was there a lot of cash in your accounts?”

“A couple thousand, and maybe another four if you add up all the unused credit I thought I had on the cards. It still isn’t much, even with what they managed to steal in cash advances.”

“Right. It doesn’t make sense to go to that trouble.”

Lindy huffed. “Well, at least we agree on something.”

“I have an idea.”

“If it has anything to do with calling the police, forget it.”

“Actually, no,” Thad said. “I still maintain that you’re making a big mistake but I think I see a way for you to get by while we figure this out.”

“We, Kemosabe?”

He was glad to see her starting to smile. His own grin spread as the plan came together in his mind. “See, that’s your problem. You’re going about this like a lone ranger when you need friends. How would you like a job?”

“You can’t afford me.”

“I can’t guarantee long-term employment, but as you can see, I have a desperate need for someone who can organize this office.” His arm passed over the clutter she had barely had time to touch, let alone sort properly. “First, we’ll set up a new bank account for you and tell whoever has been sending monthly checks to deposit them locally instead of in Atlanta.”

Hope shone in her eyes and her smile broadened.

“It’s not the perfect solution but it will allow you to live fairly normally until something else happens.”

The grin waned. “Like what?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want you to have any more trouble but if they do try anything else, we’ll be waiting. Sign up for online banking and I can imbed an automatic notification trigger in your new accounts so we’ll know the second someone else tries to access them. Maybe that way they’ll tip us off.”

“Okay, then what?”

He was going to say that then they could contact the police but kept that to himself. One day at a time, Thad thought. One day, one problem, one solution at a time. Arranged properly, those sensible steps could lead to the answers Lindy needed.

And if they didn’t? If they didn’t, he’d simply keep her employed and figure out a way to pay her, even if her wages had to come out of his own pocket.

That notion made him smile. Since his new executive assistant was about to start handling the company books, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He was positive she’d pitch a royal fit if she learned she was being subsidized.

Sobering, Thad admitted to himself that wages were the least of his worries. Unless he could figure out how to guard Lindy and her son when they were at home, no amount of money was going to be enough to keep her from further harm.

The way he saw it, the first thing he had to do was convince her to let him guard them.

He chuckled softly. It would probably be easier to hire a backhoe to dig a moat around her house and fill it with hungry alligators than it would be to talk her into letting anybody look after her the way he wanted to.

FOUR

Lindy picked up her car, parted from Thad and drove directly to the school where she waited on the sidewalk outside Danny’s classroom. The bell rang and a hoard of laughing, chattering children dashed past. The moment her son spotted her, he grinned from ear to ear.

“Hi. Guess what? I got an A on my spelling test!”

“That’s wonderful, honey.” She relieved him of his heavy backpack and escorted him toward the parking lot. Her aim was to keep him safe without scaring him. Too bad she had no idea how to accomplish that goal.

“Whoa!” Danny skidded to a stop and pointed. “What happened to the car, Mom?”

“I had a little fender bender.”

“Looks like a fender smasher.”

Lindy ruffled his reddish hair and grinned. “It’s not as bad as it looks. And I have some good news. I found a job.”

The child’s eyes widened and he stared up at her. “Will I have to ride the school bus?”

“No. Nothing will change for you. My boss says I can leave work to pick you up just like I did today. As a matter of fact, I’m going to take you back to the office with me so you can meet him.”

Danny stood very still and stared at the toes of his sneakers as if they were suddenly the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. “I don’t wanna.”

“Well, you have to. You’ll be staying with me every afternoon and there’s no way you can avoid meeting Mr. Pearson. Besides, he’s a nice man. You’ll like him.”

“Uh-uh.”

Rather than continue to argue, Lindy shepherded her son the rest of the way to the car, made sure he was belted in safely and got behind the wheel. There were times when she saw the boy as an adult in a child’s body and other times, like now, when he looked and acted even younger than his seven-plus years. She supposed that was to be expected. Eldest and single children tended to be ultra-responsible while kids who had been traumatized sometimes regressed. With her son, elements of both influences seesawed back and forth. Right now, he was behaving like a toddler.

Danny never said a word during their drive, not even when Lindy pulled into the Pearson Products gravel lot and stopped the car.

“I made sure there was a healthy snack waiting for you inside,” she said as she helped him out and hefted his pack. “I stopped at the market this morning and bought some of your favorites.”

Still, he didn’t answer. Lindy was thankful he at least let her take his hand and lead him into the building without throwing a tantrum. There had been times in the not-too-distant past when he’d balked at merely leaving his bedroom at home, let alone the house. Starting back to school had been a big step. Going to church again would be, too. And if Danny already knew his teacher, that would hopefully be an even easier transition.

Work momentarily ceased as they made their entrance. Lindy merely waved at the women packing merchandise and hurried Danny through the warehouse to the office.

The child had always acted withdrawn around his father but with other people he knew, he had been fairly outgoing. Until the shooting. After that he had seemed unable to relax unless they were totally alone. Maybe, once he got used to keeping her company in the office, he’d be able to loosen up and be more like his old self again.

Thad started to rise when she and Danny entered, then eased back down into his chair when Lindy silently signaled him to keep his distance.

What amazed her the most was how quickly he understood what she wanted. Not only did he tip back the chair, he laced his fingers behind his head and struck a nonchalant pose that would have fooled her if she hadn’t noticed the clear concern in his eyes.

“This is Danny,” Lindy said. “Danny, I want you to meet Mr. Pearson.”

Instead of offering to shake hands with the boy, Thad just smiled. “Hi.”

Although Danny didn’t reply, Lindy did see him dart a glance toward the man. So far, so good. At least he hadn’t broken away and raced out the door.

Gazing around for a place to make Danny comfortable, Lindy belatedly realized there were no empty surfaces on which he could do homework, nor was there a suitable chair for him.

She sighed and addressed her son. “Hmm. I wonder where we should put you?”

“Home,” he said softly.

At that, Thad chuckled and slowly got to his feet. “Tell you what, kid,” he drawled. “How would you like a room all your own, like a fort? I used to build those all the time when I was your age.”

Although the child edged closer to his mother and kept her between himself and the man, he seemed interested.

Thad crossed the small room and began assembling and taping empty cardboard boxes into the square shapes used for shipping. Lindy could tell he was choosing the largest ones and quickly saw that he was making the adult equivalent of children’s building blocks.

When he’d completed about fifteen he motioned to Danny. “Think this is enough? I figured we’d stack them over here, like this.”

The timid boy released his mother’s hand, much to her surprise, and took several steps forward. He pointed.

“Where?” Thad asked. “Here? Maybe over there? I don’t quite understand.”

Danny took three more steps, paused, then pointed again.

“Sorry, kid. Guess I’m dense. Where did you want these?”

“Over there, like this,” Danny replied, making the final journey and grabbing the closest cardboard cube. The box was large but lightweight because it was empty. He swung it into place against the wall, then added another on top of it.

“Oh, I get it,” Thad said, maintaining a serious yet friendly demeanor. “That’s smart. If we stack them in the corner we won’t need as many.”

“Yeah,” Danny replied, loud enough for his mother to hear.

Lindy was flabbergasted. Here was a child who exhibited unnatural fear of strangers, particularly big, strong men, yet he was pitching in to build a cardboard fort with Thad as if they were old friends. Amazing!

While she watched, Lindy saw her son allow Thad closer and closer, and her fondest hope was that this temporary truce would become permanent.

“Not like that,” Danny said. “Put the big ones on the bottom and the little ones on top. See? They won’t fall over if you do that.”

“Gotcha. You’re pretty smart, aren’t you? How old are you? About twelve?”

The boy grinned. “Naw. I’m almost eight. But I’m big for my age.”

“You sure are.” Thad straightened and backed away, hands fisted on his hips. “Think that will do or should we go find more boxes and make higher walls?”

“That’s good like it is,” Danny said, considering their construction as if he were the architect of a skyscraper. “It needs a door.”

“Hard to do without a frame,” Thad said. “How about we give that some thought while you get used to your new office?”

The child giggled and looked to Lindy. “Okay, Mom?”

“Perfect. Have you thanked Mr. Pearson?”

Thad raised his hands in the air and backed away. “No need for that. We both worked on it. Now, what about furniture? Danny can’t do his homework without a table and chair.”

“Really, I...” Lindy’s objection was cut short by Thad’s warning glance. “Right,” she continued brightly. “How are you two geniuses going to make those?”

She saw her usually reticent son look up to the ex-marine as if he held the answers to all life’s questions.

Thad began to grin. “I have an idea. We’re pretty much out of boxes in here. Follow me.”

He never looked back as he strode past Lindy to the door. It was as if he knew Danny would follow. As if he was willing him to trust. And so he did.

She stood at the office door and watched an amazing transformation occurring. Not only was Danny keeping up with Thad, he had double-timed enough to walk beside him. The sight of her timid son joining such a sizeable man in any endeavor left her speechless.

Maybe this job was more than the answer to her prayers for employment. Maybe it was for Danny’s benefit, as well.

She began to smile in spite of deep concerns over her fragile financial situation. Yes, she was still very worried about the canceled credit cards and her missing money, but there were more important things in life than that. Danny’s recovery and future happiness meant more to her than all the money in the world.

Even if the cause of the cyber attack on her finances was never found, the unexpected side effects of that hacking were something to be celebrated. There she was, in a job she wouldn’t have gotten if she hadn’t been in trouble, watching her son warm up to a man he might never have gotten close to otherwise. How could she complain? This was almost too good to be true.

* * *

Thad hadn’t been sure his ploy would work until he’d seen the sparkle in Danny’s eyes. It was obvious that the boy’s mother loved him dearly but, somewhere along the line she’d lost her sense of playfulness. That was where Thad had the advantage and he intended to make the most of it.

Gathering stacks of slim cartons that were still in bundles from their delivery, he wound a short stack in plastic wrap and handed it to Danny. “Here you go. You carry the desktop and I’ll bring the sides.”

The child was beaming when he returned to where his mother waited. Thad was pretty happy himself, especially considering the beatific smile on Lindy’s face when she gazed at her son.

It must be comforting to please someone that much, he mused, refusing to let himself dwell on that thought. It was his job to help this fractured family and that was exactly what he was going to do. Period. He wasn’t about to picture himself as part of it.

It had taken him months to accept the fact that the military shrinks had been right about his mental state. Because of nightmares and flashbacks caused by the PTSD, he wasn’t the right person to parent his brother’s kids and it wasn’t fair to make them wait for a new home until he was well again—if he ever would be.

But he did have a way with children. He might not be suited for permanent fatherhood, but he could be a true friend, a buddy, on a level that youngsters understood. That was what he was doing when he led the Sunday school class and he was determined that the same would be true of his interaction with Danny Southerland.

Placing two medium-size boxes eighteen inches apart, Thad stood back and let the boy lay the planklike package across them to serve as a tabletop.

“Okay, now we need a chair.”

“I can do that by myself,” Danny insisted.

Watching him choose, Thad started to grin. He figured it was better to let the boy learn by making his own mistakes.

The minute Danny plunked down on the empty cardboard box he had selected as a stool, it collapsed and he fell on his back pockets, giggling.

“I think it might be better to use one with stuff in it,” Thad said, joining in the laughter. “I have just the thing. You don’t mind sitting on colanders, do you?”

Danny sobered. “What’s that?”

“A strainer, like I use when we make spaghetti,” Lindy volunteered. “They’ll be in boxes. You won’t even know.”

Thad’s grin widened when the child looked to him as if waiting for the final decision before saying, “Okay,” and swiveling to concentrate on his mother. “We can make that tonight for supper, huh?”

“If you want,” she said easily.

“And Mr. Pearson can come eat with us.”

Thad would have laughed aloud if there hadn’t been such a stricken expression on Lindy’s face. He thought about relieving her anxiety by refusing the childish invitation, then decided it would be advantageous to accept. The visit would give him a chance to look over her home and judge whether or not it was secure enough.

“I’d love to come to your house for supper, Danny,” he said. “How about if I bring some ice cream for dessert? What flavor do you like?”

“We don’t eat sweets,” Lindy blurted, her cheeks red, her eyes widening more by the second.

“Okay. Then I’ll bring dill-pickle-flavored,” Thad gibed. To his delight, Danny started to laugh so heartily he got short of breath and tears filled his eyes.

Judging by the incredulity on Lindy’s face, it had been a long time since she’d seen her son express that much unbridled amusement.

She finally recovered her composure. “All right. Please join us for supper, Mr. Pearson. And you don’t have to bring pickle ice cream. I suppose we can eat normal flavors once in a while without getting too many cavities.”

“Chocolate okay?”

She didn’t have time to comment before the office phone rang and she slipped into her formal persona to answer. “Pearson Products. How may I help you?”

Thad and Danny watched her grow pale, then reach for the edge of the desk to steady herself.

“What? That’s impossible.”

Thad didn’t know what was being said by the other party to the call but he could tell enough to cause him to reach for the receiver. Instead of balking, Lindy relinquished it to him.

“This is Thad Pearson. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Our business is with Mrs. Southerland.”

“Who has just passed your call to me. Now what’s going on? She looks like you just told her somebody died.”

“Mrs. Southerland has not kept up with her mortgage payments since before Mr. Southerland passed away and there was no insurance on the account to pay off the loan in case of the death of either party. Therefore, she’s seriously in default.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? In plain English.”

“According to the acceleration clause in her contract, we can assess late fees as well as require that the loan be paid in full to avoid foreclosure. Our records show that she is six months in arrears as well as owing substantial penalties and processing fees.”

“That’s impossible. She paid off that loan right after she got her husband’s life insurance settlement.” Thad looked to Lindy for confirmation and saw her nodding rapidly.

“Not according to our records. Since she has chosen to ignore our letters, I’m afraid we have been forced to begin foreclosure proceedings.”

“Hold on. Let me speak to your supervisor.”

“I am the supervisor,” the harsh female voice insisted. “I’m truly sorry for Mrs. Southerland’s situation but it’s out of my hands now. We’ve already filed a ‘Notice of Default’ with the county clerk’s office. This is merely a courtesy call.”

“Wait a minute. How did you get this number?” Thad’s grip on the phone tightened. “Well?”

“Mrs. Southerland left it as a secondary contact when she called our Atlanta branch earlier today. We’ve been trying to reach her at home for weeks with no success. If she had not telephoned us this morning to report a so-called theft of funds we would have had to settle for a registered letter.”

“You’re saying you’ve phoned her at home?” Once again his eyes met Lindy’s. There was no detectable deceit in her expression, only confusion. She shook her head adamantly.

Her scowl deepened as she mouthed, “No.”

“Okay, assuming you’re just mixed up about all this, give me a number where I can reach you. We’ll look into the situation and call you back.”

“Calling me won’t be necessary. If you disagree with our findings you’re welcome to write a letter to the State Banking Department and lodge a formal complaint. If your complaint is valid they may launch an investigation.”

“How long can that take?”

“I really can’t say.”

“All right. We’ll be in touch.”

He ended the call, sat down at his desk and slid his keyboard closer. There were a lot of things a savvy person could learn with the right connections and he counted himself among the best. Anything a hacker could hide, he could uncover.

He sensed Lindy leaning closer to peer over his shoulder as she said, “That must have been a crank call. I checked into everything I owed right after—well, you know when—and the only debt outstanding was for the mortgage. I took care of that months ago. There’s no way I can be in arrears.”

“Do you have receipts? Canceled checks?”

“No. I did everything electronically. That’s the way Ben always handled our bills.”

As Thad typed he noticed that Danny had reverted to his earlier shyness and was clinging to his mother. It didn’t take much to set back his healing, did it? Thad wasn’t surprised. The simplest memory or most innocent incident might be enough to trigger his own PTSD and unless he missed his guess, this seven-year-old was suffering from similar emotional damage.

Had Lindy taken the child to the right kind of doctors after his trauma? Did he dare ask?

Later, he reasoned. There would be plenty of time to quiz her about her son as they worked together. The last thing he wanted to do was make her mad enough to quit, at least not until he’d sorted out the mess she was in.

Frustrated, he leaned back and shook his head slowly, thoughtfully. “It doesn’t look good, Lindy. I can’t tell how far the hackers got yet but one thing is certain. They’ve totally corrupted your accounts to make it look as if you defaulted on the loan the way the bank says.”

“So it wasn’t just the missing cash we discovered today? It’s worse?”

“Much worse.”

Without turning around, he laid his hand lightly over hers where it rested on his shoulder and felt her trembling. Thad didn’t blame her. His own finances were in turmoil, thanks to having to keep the business afloat while he tried to pick up the pieces of his brother’s estate, but his money problems paled in comparison to what someone had done to Lindy.

He sighed. “Look, we’ll figure it out. I’ll work on it until I do. The important thing is not to panic. This can’t all have happened as a result of last night’s burglary. It has to have been in the works longer than that. This plan is sophisticated. Complicated. Somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to ruin your credit.”

“Why me? I haven’t hurt anyone or stolen anything. I’ve never even had a parking ticket.”

“Then you should have called the police the minute you had a reason to,” Thad said flatly. “Doing it now will look suspicious.”

“It doesn’t matter because I’m not calling them.”

One dark eyebrow arched and he stared up at her. “Why not? There’s no way to tell if this mortgage mix-up is connected to the thugs who threatened you to keep quiet last night.”

She met his gaze boldly. “Do you think it’s separate?”

“No,” he admitted quietly, worried about Danny’s mental stress as much as Lindy’s. “I think you’re in the crosshairs of some broad-reaching scheme you have no idea about and everything that’s been happening to you goes with it. There. Satisfied?”

Though she did nod, Thad was sorry he’d been so abrupt. The woman was in way over her head. For that matter, it was starting to look as if he was, too, by making the decision to help her, but he wasn’t about to throw in the towel. No, sir. When a marine was given an assignment, he carried it out no matter the hardships.

At its heart, this task was no different than combat. They—he and Lindy—were facing an unidentifiable enemy whose methods were hidden and whose tentacles of influence reached far beyond what was visible.

The menace was real. Very real. And he was going to protect her. No matter what it took.

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