Cross My Heart (A Contemporary Romance Novel)

daughter, as if assessing her for injuries, and then snapped back to Jenna.
    Her heart was still thudding against her ribs. She started to ask if he and Jim were all right, but he spoke first.
    “What the hell are you doing here?”
    He looked like he had when he’d taken down the addict—cold and furious.
    “We just…came for a visit.” She held up the white deli bag. “We brought you a sandwich.”
    He stared at her in disbelief. “This is a free clinic in a bad neighborhood. You don’t come here for a social visit. What were you thinking?”
    Her head was spinning. His anger cut through her like a knife, affecting her far more than it should have.
    She tried to pull herself together. He’d just been through an intense confrontation, the kind of thing he wouldn’t want Claire anywhere near. Of course he was upset.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, hearing her voice tremble. “I have friends who live in this neighborhood, I don’t think of it as a bad area. I’ve been in much worse—”
    He cut her off. “I’m sure you have. And I know you can take care of yourself, Jenna. You make sure everyone knows that. But that doesn’t mean you can just waltz into an unsafe situation. Especially when you’ve got my daughter with you.”
    “I didn’t think it was an unsafe situation! I would never have brought Claire here if—”
     He paid no attention. “What if you’d gotten in that guy’s way? What if he had a gun or a knife? What if you or Claire—” he glanced at his daughter again, and did a double take. “What happened to your hair?”
    In all the turmoil, she’d completely forgotten about the haircut. She turned to see Claire looking at her father with big eyes. “I got it cut,” she said.
    “I see that. I also see that it’s blue. You dyed your hair blue ?”
    “The color was my idea,” Jenna said quickly. “And it’s only temporary.”
    He just looked at her. “That is your specialty, of course.”
    She stared at him. Before she could make any kind of response, another voice spoke.
    “Jenna? What are you doing here?”
    It was Jim Healy, looking fully recovered from having his throat grabbed.
    She took a deep breath and did her best to smile. “Claire and I came by to bring Michael some dinner,” she said. “We got here just in time for the fireworks. Are you all right?”
    “Fine, thanks to Michael. You two know each other?” he asked, looking at his friend.
    Michael was frowning, his jaw tight, and he didn’t answer.
    “We’re neighbors,” Jenna said after a moment. “I spent the day with Claire since Michael had to...” she stopped suddenly, remembering that Jim was the reason Michael hadn’t been home.
    “Yeah, I owe him twice,” Jim said with a quick grin. “The surgery ended early, which is why I’m here. I came to cover the rest of the shift. I had no idea it would be so exciting,” he added wryly.
    “Claire and I should head home,” Jenna said. Her face felt hot and her throat was tight.
    “All right,” Michael said. His tone was cool, and she couldn’t tell if he was still angry. “Jim, I’ll take you up on your offer after I finish some paperwork. Jenna, I’ll probably be twenty minutes behind you.”
    “Okay,” she said, and then she and Claire were walking through the clinic waiting room and out the front door.
    As soon as she was outside the tears that had gathered behind her eyelids started to slip down her face. She wiped them away quickly, but not quickly enough.
    “Jenna, please don’t cry. My dad was just worried about us.”
    Jenna looked down at her. Claire didn’t seem upset. What was more, her assessment of Michael’s reaction was undoubtedly correct.
    She took a quick breath. “I should be the one comforting you, kiddo. Not the other way around.”
    Claire shook her head. “I’m totally fine. Seriously.”
    “I’m glad. But, still...I should have checked with your dad before taking you to the salon. And I should have called ahead before we went to the clinic.” Jenna unlocked Claire’s door and went around to the driver’s side. “I’m so sorry you were there for all that.”
    “It was intense, huh? Not just that guy and the police and everything, but the way my dad freaked out. He never does that.”
    Jenna glanced at her as she pulled out of the parking lot. “He doesn’t?”
    “Uh uh. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him lose his temper. I mean ever . He really was worried about us. You could see it in