Maybe it was time to rethink this. Maybe he'd exaggerated the risk in his head. He was in Minton, Ohio, for God's sake! Miguel Guzman would never find him here! What was he thinking?

Maybe Roger was right. Maybe he needed to stay right where the Administration had decided he'd be safe. They'd done a risk assessment before they brought him here. They knew what they were doing. Maybe he needed to stay in Minton and disappear into life as Joe Mills, an ordinary man who was entitled to an ordinary life, albeit with an extraordinary woman.

He got another glimpse of Charlotte just as she turned off her light Right then, he knew the choice had been made in his heart long ago. He'd walked away from this woman once and regretted it with his whole being.

He'd be damned if he'd do it again.

''You need to get laid, not get involved."

"Is that right, boss?"

Joe paced along the windows near his desk, the binoculars still trained on the little group assembled in Charlotte's backyard. Watching Ned try to'put together that tent under the watchful eyes of Hank, Matt, and Justin was nearly as excruciating as the conversation he was having with Roger.

"You're in no position to cozy up to anyone, Joe-especially somebody like her. Couldn't you find a woman a bit more… I don't know… disposable?"

"Disposable?"

"Yeah," Roger said. "Your neighbor lady is like a hot home-cooked meal when you really ought to be going for drive-thru."

Joe thanked Roger for his observation and promptly told him it was his fault. "I told you to get me out of here. This is why."

"And I told you to stay away from the soccer moms."

"She's the only soccer mom in the world who could have gotten my attention."

"Then take your attention back."

"I can't. I don't want to."

"Are you telling me you've changed your mind? You want to stay in Minton now?"

Joe sighed and closed his eyes and all he saw was Charlotte's face the way it appeared that night at the Little League field, when she looked up at him and said, "I want you, Joe." She'd looked completely vulnerable. Completely beautiful.

And now he was completely smitten.

He had to trust that there was a reason for his being there, even if he didn't see it He had to trust his instincts- they'd kept him alive so far-and every fiber in his body told him to get to know Charlotte. To at least give it a try.

"I do want to stay. Can we hang on to the house?"

"It's yours for as long as you need it, but, Joe"- Roger's voice had become quite serious-"I'm not saying you don't have a right to some happiness, because God knows you do. Just stay sharp, okay? We've got your back, but you've got to do your part."

It was solid advice, and Joe appreciated it. "Roger that."

Two minutes later, Joe found himself standing on the property line near the shed, eavesdropping. He wasn't exactly hiding, but he wasn't jumping around waving his arms, either.

He watched Bonnie squint at the assembly instructions in her hand. "It says you need to insert Pole A through Sleeve A, honey."

"Oh, yeah?" Ned peered up from his bent position and shook his balding head in disgust. "I'd like to tell the guy who designed this tent exactly where he can insert Pole A, Pole B, and all the other poles."

"Ned, please. The kids."

"Mom will be home in a few minutes," Matt said, scanning the heap of aluminum poles on the grass. "She's good at stuff like this."

"Excellent idea." Ned stood up and rubbed his lower back. That's when he noticed Joe.

"Hey, everyone." Joe walked toward the group and extended a hand toward Bonnie. "We haven't been officially introduced. I'm Joe Mills." He took her hand in his and watched a reluctant smile enter her pale blue eyes.

"Hello, Joe. I'm Bonnie Preston." She nodded toward Ned. "I understand you two have met."

"Sure have."

Joe studied the collapsed fabric and the scattered poles. "Looks like you got a six-man tent here," he said to Matt. "These can be a real bear to put together. Mind if I take a shot at it?"

Matt's face lit up. "Cool!"

"Ned, you want to give me a hand?"

Within ten minutes, the tent stood erect, its sides pulled taut and even. The kids were experimenting with the zippered screen doorway as Ned and Joe secured the rain fly over the entire structure.

"The new technology threw me," Ned said. "Looks like you've put up a few tents in your time."

"Some." Joe gave him a friendly smile. "Not for a while, though."

Ned nodded. "Army, was it?"

"Yes, sir. You?"

"Marines."

The men smiled at each other. That's when Joe heard the arrival of Charlotte's minivan in the drive. He watched her get out of the driver's side and pause a moment to stare at the group in the yard. Then she opened the trunk and walked toward them, two bags of groceries in her arms and a confused frown on her face.

Joe knew the frown was for him.

"Mama! Mama! Joe fixed the tent!" Hank ran to her and peeked inside the grocery sacks. Then she said in a serious voice, "He looked really stable while he was doing it, too. Infinity stable, Mama."

Charlotte glanced up at Joe and frowned again. Based on how the evening at the ball park had ended, he figured ^he was about to thank him politely and make it clear she didn't want him around her kids. So he took the bags from her arms.

"I'll get these for you, Charlotte "

"No. Really. I've got them."

She actually tried to pry the bags from his hands-that's how hard she was fighting this. He had to admire her. She had willpower. She had determination. But she had met her match in Joe Bellacera. She just didn't know it yet.

"Let the man carry in your groceries, Charlotte." Ned was picking up little pieces of packaging trash from the ground around the tent. "It won't kill you."

Joe felt a rush of triumph when Charlotte sighed and headed toward the house. He followed right behind, glad that the kids were still fascinated with the tent's screen doors and windows and that the Prestons had decided to keep them company.

"Hosting a campout tonight?"

He saw the back of Charlotte's ponytail bob up and down as she nodded. "Six boys."

"What's the occasion?" he asked, following her across the back patio.

"Just something Matt likes to do every year before school's out."

She reached for the door handle and stopped-Hoover waited on the other side of the double doors, growling, teeth exposed.

"You dumb thing." Charlotte spun on her heels and marched over to Joe. She rooted through the grocery bags until she found the pack of NaturPride organic soy protein hot dogs. Sticks of toe fungus, as Matt would say. It made Joe smile.

Charlotte pulled one gray-tinted fake wiener from the pack and held it up. "Give this to Hoover when you walk in. You'll be Mends for life."

She took one of the bags from Joe and led the way inside. He held the hot dog in front of his knees, pleasantly surprised that the dog took it without chomping off his left arm, then let him pass without further ado.

"Strange name for a dog," he said, putting his foot on the carpet runner just inside the double doors. "As in J. Edgar Hoover, I take it?"

Charlotte plunked the bag down on the counter, then reached her arms out for the sack he held. She laughed, and at that instant Joe felt suspended in time. He gazed at her face-her flashing gray eyes, her soft pink lips, her full cheeks. She was so beautiful. He remembered the sight of her arching her back in ecstasy last night and he could barely breathe.

"The FBI guy? No way. He's named after the vacuum cleaner." She pulled items from the bags and began a complicated series of moves that included drawer opening, drawer closing, shelf stacking, and refrigerator placement that unfolded like a choreographed dance. She floated around her kitchen, ponytail flying, hands gesturing, words coming out. He was in awe. He'd never seen a human being move with such grace and efficiency.