Chapter 37

Laura was making a mental to do list as she walked into her office the next morning. She was trying to write it all down when the office admin knocked on her door. "Did your friend get you yesterday, Dr. Hobson?"

She looked up at the older woman, "What friend?"

Handing a stack of papers to Laura, "A man, he called about 4. I told him you were in a meeting. He said he would catch you later."

"What makes you think he was a friend?"

"He's called before."

Laura looked up from her notebook, "When?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

Laura shook her head, "No, Madeline, just curious as to when he's called before."

Madeline smiled, "Three, maybe four times over the past month."

"How do you know?" At Madeline's look, she clarified, "How do you know it was the same person? I do know more than one man."

Madeline laughed, "He has a Geordie accent. Pretty easy to tell."

Laura smiled, happy to have even more confirmation. "Thanks, Madeline. I'm going to be leaving at three today. Should the mysterious man with the Geordie accent call this afternoon, tell him I am in a meeting."

"Any reason why?"

Picking up her paperwork, Laura smiled. "Yes, a very good reason."

Laura called Sarah on her way home. She asked her to take Matty out for a treat rather than coming straight home. Once home, she freshened her hair and makeup then stationed herself where she could watch.

Ten minutes later, Robbie appeared. She watched him, analyzing him. He looked good, had lost weight. He leaned against the tree, sipping from a bottle of water, totally at ease. Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the door.

Robbie was looking down the road, he knew the direction they would come from. He didn't see or hear the door open.

"Hello, Robbie."

He turned, startled. "Laura, how did you know?"

She smiled, "It seems our son is quite a good detective too." She laughed at his quizzical look, "He saw you yesterday and a few other times. Last night he mentioned seeing the nice police man."

"I guess I need to work on my stake out skills." He paused, "I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to see him."

She nodded, "You could have called."

"I know and I would have, I just wanted to see him, see if he was adjusting."

"He is. He hasn't had a nightmare in over a month. He's thriving at school."

"And you, Laura, how are you doing?"

She laughed, "I'm sleeping again." A comfortable silence fell between them, "Would you like to take a walk?"

He nodded, "Very much so."

They fell into an easy rhythm. Neither was in a hurry to talk. Laura was the first to break the silence, "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, patched things up with James." He laughed, "You probably already knew that."

She laughed with him, "I suspected, but didn't know. James doesn't tell me much about you. We talk about Matty and your cases and my work and our personal lives…"

"But not about me."

Shrugging she smiled up at him, "It seemed easier."

"He doesn't say anything about you either."

"Not surprising. He's good at keeping secrets, our James."

Robbie nodded, "He told me he knew about Matty for a year before he confronted you." She laughed, remembering when James said he knew about Matty. "Would you like to get a cup of coffee, maybe?"

"It's a little late for coffee. How would you feel about some ice cream?"

"Ice cream?"

She laughed, "What, I'm hungry and I'll throw in sprinkles."

"On one condition?" She raised an eyebrow, "You let me buy."

"On one condition?" He raised an eyebrow, "Come to Matty's birthday, Saturday next."

"Laura, are you sure?"

She nodded, "Yes, he wants to meet you." She raised her hand, "He wants to meet the nice police man. He doesn't know who you are or what you are to him."

He closed the distance between them, taking her hand. "I don't care, Laura. I'll be there. Whatever terms you want? Give me a chance."

"All you've ever had to do was ask, Robbie."

"Without seeming too forward, I'm not just talking about Matty."

She dropped her head, then squeezed his hand. "Let's see how ice cream goes."