“Sit,” Debbie ordered. “It won’t take a minute. I’ve got anything you could possibly want.” She began rummaging through the refrigerator.

He watched the seductive sway of her body as she moved around the kitchen. His insides twisted themselves into pretzels, but he ignored the twinges. “Yes, Little Red. You certainly have.”

*  *  *

Cole and Debbie had come to an unspoken agreement. They’d agreed to disagree on certain issues yet to be resolved. Thankfully, it left the temperature in the Brownfield household somewhere back in the range of normalcy. No more frozen looks or cold shoulders between them, just lots of midnight dips in a chilly pool for Cole and sleepless nights for Debbie. Nothing serious and nothing that couldn’t be remedied…when the time was right.

But it took a routine call on a routine day for Cole to realize that time was not always going to be on his side…or waiting. Time had a way of running out when you least expected it. And for Debbie, it almost ran out for good.

*  *  *

“Just drop me off at the mall,” Debbie said. “You go on to your appointment, and I’ll take a cab home when I’m through.”

Morgan hesitated in the mall parking lot. It was broad daylight. Debbie was a grown woman, even if she was tiny. Women shopped alone all over the world…everywhere, every day. He knew he was just being overprotective. But he couldn’t help it. This tiny female had come to mean a lot to all of them, especially his eldest son.

“Well…” he began.

“Come on, Morgan. If I go with you and sit and wait, then you’re simply going to have to come back with me and sit and wait some more. None of that makes any sense, now does it?”

He sighed and grinned. “You’ve got me there.” And then he pointed his finger in her face. “But when you’re ready to come home, call a cab from inside the mall, and then wait at the door until you see it drive up. Don’t stand outside. You’ll simply be an easy target for some thug.”

“Okay, okay,” she agreed. “But don’t worry. This is no different from any big mall anywhere. I’ve survived Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City. I’ve survived the Galleria in Dallas. Surely I can survive Laguna Beach’s Village Fair.”

He nodded. “Do you have enough money?” And then before she could refuse, he thrust several twenties in her hand. “Don’t argue with me. It’s either this, or you come with me.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “See you back at the house.”

He waited until she was inside and then drove off, thankful that this little bit of nothing had come into their lives and thankful that he could now maneuver around more or less on his own.

*  *  *