“Looks like he works for the same company as always. I guess he traveled when he was married to Josie?”
I give a hum of agreement.
“He lives in the town he traveled to. He has a wife and one child.”
Kate gives me the name of the company Chad works for, and after thanking her we hang up.
Next up, I need advice. Scrolling to Cassie’s phone number in my contacts, it rings four or five times before she answers.
“Hey, Ty.” I think I hear a male voice in the background, but can’t be too certain. It could be a TV show.
“Hey, Cass. I need some advice from a woman. Think you could come over? Or I could come there?
“Um, I’m not home right now, but I can be there in…” She pauses. “Say, thirty minutes. Will that work for you?”
My brows furrow. “Where exactly are you, Cass?”
She clears her throat, and there’s the murmur of a male voice again. Definitely not the TV. “Liam’s. I’ll see you in thirty.”
I briefly recall that Liam is a member of Penny’s studio band.
“Sounds good. I’m gonna call Penny and ask her to join us. This is something she knows a lot about, so I want her input as well.”
“Ahh, so you need advice on Josie. Got it. Yeah, see you soon.”
She hangs up, and I scroll to Penny’s number.
“Penny Miller, soon to be James, phone,” Austin’s voice rings through my speaker.
Rolling my eyes, I say, “Hand the phone to Penny, please.”
Austin chuckles, and a second later Penny’s voice comes on the line.
“Hey, Ty! What’s up? To what do I owe the pleasure of a phone call from my favorite cousin-in-law.”
Repeating what I told Cassie, Penny tells me the door’s unlocked and to head over. With a quick text to Cassie telling her where to meet, I grab my keys from the kitchen table and head their way. It’s too damn cold to walk anymore today.
Letting myself in through the side door that leads to their kitchen, I’m greeted by Penny’s cat and the sight of Austinbacking Penny up against the kitchen counter, kissing her jaw while she giggles and bats him away.
“Austin, Tyler is on his way,” Penny murmurs.
Clearing my throat from where I stand, Penny gives Austin a playful shove and straightens her disheveled clothes. Feeling only slightly awkward, I divert my attention by kneeling to pet Penny’s cat who is rubbing against my leg, purring loudly.
“Come on in,” Penny says, waving me inside. “Where’s Cass?”
“She said she’d be here in about half an hour. She wasn’t home,” I say to Penny, not making eye contact with Austin. But out of the corner of my eye, I see a muscle in his jaw tick.
Standing in the kitchen, we make small talk until Cassie arrives, exactly thirty minutes from the time I hung up with her. Penny leads us all to the living room, including Austin who takes a seat on the arm of the couch next to Penny.
“I’m not missing any of this.”
I squint my eyes at Austin, head tilted. “When did you get so goddamn nosy? Is Henry rubbing off on you?”
“Just never thought I’d see the day when you were needing advice on a woman. Was beginning to think you were living a life of celibacy.” Then, to be a little shit, he adds, “Some of that forty-year-old virgin life.”
I chuckle and shoot him the middle finger. But that’s not far from the truth these last few years.
“So, what can we do to help?” Cassie asks, steering the conversation back on track.
