Page 18 of A Burning Rage

“It’s a party,” Luke exclaims.

“Everyone help yourselves,” Bridget says as she sets out a stack of plates. “The food’s hot, and we have plenty, so dig in.”

“Thank you,” I say to her as I lay out silverware and napkins. I wrap my arm around her. “This is exactly what I needed.”

Bridget hugs me back tightly. “You don’t need to thank me, sweetheart. You know we’ll always be here for you.”

As I gaze around the room, I see so much love and support, it’s overwhelming. Shane’s family has become my own as well. I’m surrounded by sisters and brothers, nieces and nephews. I catch Shane’s gaze from across the room, and he smiles at me. Suddenly, there are tears in my eyes, but this time, they’re ones of joy.

The icing on the cake is when I hear a deep voice coming from the front door. “I heard there’s a pot luck here this evening,” my brother, Tyler, says as he walks into the house with his husband, Ian. They’re each carrying a covered dish.

“We’ve got a lot of food,” Luke says.

“That’s good,” Aiden says, “because I’m hungry.”

Everyone helps themselves to food. Some of the adults drift out the back door to sit outside on patio furniture while they eat. Some find a spot in the family room, on the sofa, armchairs, and floor.

We seat all the kids at the kitchen table, although we don’t have enough highchairs for all the little ones. Molly leaves little Henry sleeping in the double stroller, while she holds Hazel on her lap. Mia sits on Sophie’s lap. Annie holds Emerly, and Bridget helps Everly. Ava sits in her highchair, while Luke and Aiden eat outside with the others.

“Just look at all these beautiful babies,” Bridget says as she admires all of her grandchildren.

I smile, wondering if Shane and I will soon add another little one into the mix.

After everyone is done eating, the guys take care of the dirty dishes while the women get the kids cleaned up. Lia passes out brownies. We pour milk for the kids, and Cooper passes out cups of freshly made coffee to those who want it. I notice he made a pot of decaf as well, for me.

Bridget stands on one side of me, and my mom stands on the other.

“Everything will be all right,” Bridget says. “If I know my son, and I do, Shane won’t let anything happen to you.”

Chapter 7 – Shane

I’m in my downtown office building the following morning when there’s a knock on my open door.

Diane stands in the doorway and informs me my nine o’clock appointment has arrived. “Detective Jamison’s here to see you, Shane.”

When Tyler walks into my office, I feel an overwhelming sense of deja-vu. Seeing him in his black suit and tie takes me back to the day, five years ago, when he walked into my office wanting to hire my company to protect his younger sister.

“You’re still wearing the undertaker’s suit, I see. Aren’t you a private investigator now? You could wear anything, and yet you still look like a homicide detective.”

He gestures to his suit. “This is how I dress when I’m pissed.”

“Then I guess you were always pissed when you were a detective.”

He shrugs, not bothering to contradict me. “I didn’t have much to be happy about back then.”

That’s a rare admission for him to make. Before he met Ian, Tyler had no social life to speak of, certainly no love life. He was deep in the closet and in utter denial of his sexuality. Ian charged through Tyler’s defenses like a battering ram and changed all that.

“Ian has certainly softened your edges,” I note.

Tyler surprises me by smiling. “You could say that.”

I gesture to one of the chairs facing my desk. “Have a seat.” I lean back in my desk chair. “Thanks for coming to meet me here at my office. I thought it would be best if we talked away from Beth. She’s stressed enough as it is over this Andrew Morton debacle. I’m trying to shield her from as much of that as I can.”

Tyler’s expression darkens. “I was going to ask how she’s doing.”

“She’s trying to hold it together—mostly for the kids’ sake. They take their cues from her, and she wants to keep things as normal as possible.”

Tyler nods. “How can I help?”