Free Dangerous to Her by Virna Depaul Page B

shaking, Mattie cursed Judge Butler for once again confirming that men couldn’t be trusted. Hoping to calm down, she paced outside, then juggled her files in order to get to her cell, which she’d slipped back into her pocket rather than her purse. She dialed Ty Martinez’s number. When he answered, she asked for a rain check, only saying that something unexpected had happened. She could tell by his voice he wasn’t happy with her, but rather than feeling bad about that, she felt relieved.
    She’d been distracted lately. Confused about her priorities. All a relationship would bring her was heartache and she’d had enough of that to last her a lifetime. Maybe when things settled down, she’d be more interested in getting to know Ty better. But right now…
    She slipped her phone back in her pocket and was heading up the walk when her leg slipped on the path still damp from the automatic sprinklers. Whimpering, she caught herself on her palms, scraping them and her right knee, but not before she dropped her armful of files and the bag full of Judge Butler’s offerings. Nose just inches from the sidewalk, she stared at the mottled concrete through a sheen of tears. “Damn him,” she whispered, head hanging, knowing in her heart it wasn’t so much Judge Butler that she cursed as it was Dominic.
    She’d moved on. She’d been able to go days without thinking of him, and given the similarity between him and Jordan, that was saying something. Now he was back, not content to keep his distance but wanting…what?
    Slowly, she straightened until she was sitting upright, knees pulled to her chest, forehead resting on her knees. Exhaustion wrapped around her and for a moment she was tempted to simply hide in the dimly lit shadows cast from the setting sun and the light on her front porch.
    The muffled sound of footsteps had her scrambling to her feet. Across the street, a man slowly walked toward her, his head down, and his features covered by the bill of his baseball cap and his upturned coat collar.
    Bending over, her hair covering half her face, Mattie quickly picked up the files she’d dropped. It was only when she straightened that she noticed the man had stopped moving and appeared to be staring at her. For a moment, she thought of Dom, but the man was too short and too thin to be him. Arms tightening around her files, she took a step closer, straining to see the man’s features. “Can I help you?” she called.
    He tilted his head slightly, indicating he’d heard her, but he didn’t move. Didn’t respond. The scrapes on her palms and knee throbbed, but couldn’t compare to the sudden chill of fear that danced down the length of her spine. She took one step back. Then another. Then she was spinning around, running toward her front door, and pushing back one of the bushes where she always hung a spare key. She fumbled to open the screen door, looking over her shoulder to check whether the man was coming after her.
    She couldn’t see him. Automatically, she checked to the right, to the left, and then in front of her again.
    But he was gone.
    Her heart slammed against her chest. She forcibly stopped herself from shoving open the door. She couldn’t go inside yet. Not until she was calm. She couldn’t frighten Jordan or Tony. She wouldn’t.
    With watchful eyes and her hand still poised on the door handle, she took several deep breaths and tried to will her rattling heartbeat to slow. As she calmed, she began to feel foolish. She scolded herself for overreacting. It had probably been some kid trying to amuse himself. Or someone who’d thought the woman sitting on the sidewalk might be a little too kooky to talk to.
    She shook her head. Dom’s presence, his sudden come-on, and the judge’s deplorable behavior were obviously making her more jumpy than normal. She pushed the door open and stepped inside her house, pasting an unconcerned expression on her face.
    “Mommy!”
    Mattie’s anxiety seemed to drop away