Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Before the man could say another word, Sam turned to me, kissed my forehead, and said he was going to go find his mother.
“I—what was that about?” Tony asked me as Sam walked away.
I waved my hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. He’s got a lot on his mind.”
“Well, I’m sure being a marshal is a big job but––”
“It’s the biggest job,” I said with certainty. “Sam is the chief deputy of the Northern District of Illinois.”
Both he and Kenzie stared at me.
I stayed quiet and let Sam's title just hang there.
“He’s in charge?”
“Of all of Chicago and the rest, yes.” I confirmed.
“I didn’t know that.”
“No, of course not,” I agreed. “Why would you?”
I had this thing I did. Not often, but now and then, I let uncomfortable, awkward silences just…go. Like let them lapse into squirmy, painful pockets of time. Dane always reprimanded me and would have now, were he here.
“And let’s be frank,” I finally said, which made both David and Kenzie look at me instead of over my head or at the floor. “Your initial reaction, back then, when you saw him at the open house he was attending with our kids––” I had to throw that part in. “—your gut reaction was anger.”
He lifted his hands. “Jory, really, it was a long time ago, and it’s not fair that––”
“You were surprised more than anything, I’m sure of that,” I soothed him. “But you have to understand that he was so happy to see you, and because you had kids the same ages as ours…he was hoping to reconnect.”
“But we can do that now.”
“Perhaps,” I agreed, because I was never the kind of person to just dash someone else’s hopes. I did the horrifying silence, but I tried to never be outwardly mean. What good ever came of that?
“Hey.”
Turning, I saw Sam across the room, leaning in the doorway from the foyer to the living room. He was motioning to me, and he had his mother with him.
“Oh, I’ve gotta go,” I told them. “But again, my condolences for––”
“Jory,” Kenzie began, “I’m so sorry for how everything happened back then, but I would really love––”
“Maybe we could have coffee sometime,” I told her, pulling out my wallet and passing her one of my business cards. “Give me a call and we’ll set a date.”
She nodded, held tight to the card, and shook my hand. David shook my hand as well, and then I left them, crossing the room to reach Sam and his mother.
“What’s the matter, love?” I asked him.
“I just wanna go,” he told me, and bent and kissed me.
Regina sighed. “You two are the sweetest couple.”
“Sweet?” Sam took instant offense, looking at her like she was nuts as he herded us to the door. “You can’t think of anything better than that?”
“Oh, I need to say goodbye to Evie,” she told him.
“No, I already told her you were really tired, so we had to go before you passed out,” Sam informed her.
She gasped. “You did not.”
He cackled, and she smacked him as we walked out the front door, and it was fun and normal. Apparently, Thomas had dropped her off on the way to Hannah’s event so she could ride with us to get some dinner. I offered her the front seat, but she declined, saying that we all had to sit with our own husbands. It was the cross we had to bear.
I was thrilled when we reached the restaurant and Dane and Aja were there. It was a nice surprise that Sam had engineered. He made my sister-in-law squeak when he hugged her, and his greeting for Dane included a quick clench as well.
“What’s wrong with your husband?” Aja asked me when we were alone at the table, Sam and Dane had taken Regina to check out the pie display.
“He just appreciates everyone in his life that he loves,” I told her. “I think he’s feeling very blessed at the moment and a little emotional.”
“Awww, he’s such a softie. You think he’s all scary and growly when you first meet him, but inside, he’s just lots of goo.”
“For the people he loves, yes, absolutely,” I agreed. “But not for everyone.”
“Oh, I know, and I know what that looks like, as I live with a man without a gooey center.”
I grunted. There was no argument. Dane either loved you or he was indifferent. There was no middle ground, and she was right, my brother did not possess a fluffy core. Sam was a bleeding heart compared to Dane.
When he got back to the table, he appeared horrified.
“What happened?” Aja asked, chuckling.
“My mother,” he groaned. “She just told the woman at the counter that Dane was her new husband and they’d just returned from honeymooning in Rio.”
Aja spit up her water, and I almost choked.
Once Dane and Regina came back, my mother-in-law looking quite pleased with herself and my brother still laughing, he tipped his head at his wife.