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“But…coffee!” she cried.
I leaned down and kissed her. “Be right back.”
I’d just poured cream into Ali’s cup when I heard my phone ringing in the bedroom. Given the time, I had it set to do-not-disturb mode. There were only two types of calls that rang through. It was either one of my parents or a call being forwarded from my secure unit.
I set Ali’s cup on the bedside stand beside her. “That’s hot,” I told her and laughed when she rolled her eyes.
“You’re such a Boy Scout.”
I grabbed my phone and went back to the kitchen to get my coffee, disturbed to see that the call I’d missed was from my dad.
If I had a stitch of clothing on, I would’ve gone outside the apartment door to return his call, but given Rock was out there, I’d spare him.
“Everything okay?” I asked when my father answered.
“What happened Friday?”
“Haven’t you received the brief?”
“Sumner, I insist you tell me what you’ve gotten yourself mixed up in. Whatever it is, I’ll help you in any way I can.”
“Dad, I need you to trust that I know what I’m doing. If a time comes when I need your help, I’ll let you know.”
“I love you, Son.”
I ended the call and took a sip of my coffee. When I returned to the bedroom, Ali was staring into space.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Are you?”
“My dad,” I answered, shaking my head.
“You shouldn’t talk to me about him.”
I set my coffee down and got back into bed. “Because of what happened yesterday with my mom?”
“Because I’m a journalist.”
“You’re right.”
“You shouldn’t talk to me at all.”
I rolled to my side and studied her. “Ali?”
She looked from the blank wall to me. “I’m serious, Cope.”
“I’ve been down this road a time or two. I know what I can talk about and what I can’t.”
“This is why we shouldn’t see each other anymore.” She waved her hand over the bed. “Like this.”
“I didn’t handle our conversation very well that day when I drove you back from the courthouse and I said that because you were a reporter, we shouldn’t talk. I didn’t handle much of anything well that day but, Ali, I believe we’re both adult enough to know which lines not to cross.”
“Are we? Because I’d say we crossed the biggest of them all.”
I lay on my back and looked up at the ceiling. I understood what she was saying. She was right, and I didn’t want to accept it.
“What about your job?”
