Page 34 of Ultimate Justice

He readjusted his hands on the wheel, calling attention to the fact he wore no rings. Though he could still be married. Not that it mattered.

She shifted her focus to her bare left ring finger. She’d once thought her marriage was an unbreakable bond, the forever kind of thing. After she and Chris split up, she sold her engagement and wedding rings. Keeping them would have been a pathetic reminder of yet another failure. First her son. Then her marriage. Somehow, Chris had found a way to move on. She hadn’t.

Evan turned off Colorado Boulevard into the University Hills Plaza where another farmers market took up most of the parking lot. Colorful tents and food trucks stretched as far as the eye could see.

After parking at one end near a strip mall, Evan twisted in his seat. “Noah,” he said softly. “Time to wake up.”

Noah and Blue both sat up and yawned. “Where are we?”

“The University Hills farmers market.” Evan unbuckled his seat belt. “Do you recognize it?”

He squinted as he peered out the window. “I’m not sure. Maybe.”

Marlie met Evan’s piercing gray eyes. That was the closest to a “yes” Noah had uttered all day.

Evan grabbed a leash from the center console. “Let’s walk around. Get something to eat. Maybe you’ll remember something.”

“Can we get cake?” Noah pointed to the nearest food tent—Caty’s Cakes.

“Not before lunch,” Marlie said. The vendor’s table displayed a variety of cakes and cookies that, even at this distance, looked droolworthy. “We need to get you something with protein in it.”

“Like a hot dog? Or pizza?”

“No. Not like a hotdog or pizza. Like chicken or a turkey sandwich.” Noah’s adorable grimace made her want to smile, while at the same time, feel guilty. Pizza and a hot dog actually did sound more appealing.

“Aw, c’mon, Mom,” Evan said, winking at her.

“Not helping.” She sent him a mock glare. “He’s a growing boy. He needs solid protein, not meat by-products and preservatives.”

Evan crossed his arms, making his huge biceps even bigger. “Then what’s wrong with pizza? It’s got cheese, ergo it’s got protein.”

Marlie shook her head. “That cheese and all those processed meat toppings are also loaded with saturated fats, not to mention all the sodium and cholesterol.” Evan opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a waggling finger. “And before you suggest ice cream, it’s also chock full of cholesterol and enough sugar to feed a flock of hummingbirds for a month.”

“Hummingbirds?” Evan took a deep breath and sighed as he looked over his shoulder at Noah. “I think we’re outgunned here.”

Mimicking Evan, Noah took a deep breath and sighed. “I think you’re right.”

Of course, she was right. But how did Evan remain so disgustingly muscular and fit if he really ate pizza, hot dogs, and ice cream all the time? Duh. He didn’t. He was doing his best to be friends with a lonely boy who’d gone through a traumatic experience and whose life was in tatters. And it was working. Having found someone to commiserate with, the look of misery on Noah’s face had eased some.

“Let’s go find us a turkey sandwich.” Evan hooked the leash on Blue’s collar.

Outside, the sun was high overhead, the air warm and breezy, bringing with it the beat of live music—jazz, if she wasn’t mistaken. Heavenly smells of cinnamon and other spices, and grilling meats and vegetables, sent her tastebuds into overdrive. The breeze also brought with it the pungent scent of marijuana, now legal in Colorado.

“Do you see anything you remember?” Evan waved his arm at the tents.

Noah frowned. “I’m still not sure. All the tents look the same.”

“Let’s go look at the stores in the strip mall,” Marlie suggested. The mall shops were adjacent to the parking lot where all the tents were set up. “The tents may look the same, and the vendors could be different every week, but the brick-and-mortar stores would be the same.”

Evan nodded. “Good idea.”

The market was packed with so many people it was difficult to squeeze through the alleys running between the rows of tents without bumping someone’s shoulders. But having Blue take point was like a parting of the Red Sea. People took one look at the enormous German shepherd and gave him a wide berth.

For added safety, she grabbed Noah’s hand, unsure if he’d pull away as many kids his age would. Thankfully, he didn’t. Evan walked on Noah’s other side. Anyone looking at the them might assume they were a family doing something fun together on the weekend. The same way she and Chris used to do with Aiden.

She took a deep breath, easing the tightness in her chest. Chris had been busy working that weekend, or he would have been there with them. How many times had she wished Chris had been there? How many times had she wished she hadn’t taken her eyes off Aiden for those few precious seconds?

“Marlie?” Noah looked up at her. “Are you okay?”