“Only twice.” Sadie folded her arms and looked pointedly at Elyse. “I can’t travel with four boys.”
“Why are you looking at me?” Elyse asked. “I have three, and I know it’s not easy.”
Sadie sniffed at her remark. “It would be if you knew how to organize and discipline.”
“I have to be two steps ahead of five-year-olds all day,” Elyse said, standing up to her sister. “I know more than you think. What you’re saying is that Blue should visit more. Well, he was just here for two weeks. What do you want?”
Sadie huffed and turned to Blue. “Why are you still living out there? You have family here. The boys miss you, and Ma needs you. And now Ty has a good job for you. Almost like?—”
She stopped, and the house went quiet.
“Like Charles,” Blue finished. “Well, that didn’t take long this time.”
Nobody spoke for a moment.
“Look, I didn’t mean it the way you obviously took it,” Sadie said.
His mother set a plate on the table before him. Homemade pierogis with sour cream and caramelized onions.
“Eat,” she said, pointing at him. “You can argue after.”
Blue sat down to eat a second lunch and grinned. “It’s sure good to be back. I’ve missed these arguments.”
“Now don’t get all sarcastic with me,” Sadie said.
“Girls, stop picking on your little brother,” their mother said, raising her hands. “Especially you, Sadie.”
Elyse smiled as if she’d scored a point against her sister.
Sadie turned back to Blue. “I saw Athena this morning, and she asked when you’d be here. You know, neither of you are getting any younger.”
Blue could feel a headache coming on.
Tyrone Jackson picked him up at noon the next day in a department-issued sedan. The commander looked the same with his broad shoulders, close-cropped hair, and a handshake that could crack the bones in a man’s hand. He’d put on a little weight around the middle, but the expression in his eyes was as sharp as ever.
“Look at you, Mr. Hollywood,” Ty said, grinning. “Get in the car before somebody asks for your autograph.”
They drove to Ty’s favorite, old-school steakhouse. Dark wood, leather booths, frequented by lawyers and political types. Blue remembered coming here with his brother to celebrate his promotion to detective.
“You haven’t gone vegetarian on me, have you?” Ty asked.
“No, sir, Commander.” Blue grinned.
Ty slapped his back as they were shown to a booth. “Good. And I’m still Ty to you outside of work.” He ordered steaks and baked potatoes for them.
“I’ll get right to it,” Ty said after the server left. “As you know, I can’t hire you as a detective, but I can bring you in as a civilian investigative consultant. Good pay, government benefits, very little overtime—it’s great for people with families. I know it’s not the level you would have achieved if you had stayed here, but it’s a good position that pays well. You’d work on our highest-profile cases.”
“Ty—”
“Let me finish. You’re smart and disciplined, and you have instincts I can’t teach. Unless you’ve gone soft in the sun. I’m sure the island gig cleared your head, but you’ve been out there long enough. It’s time to come home and do the work you were made for.”
Blue drank from his water glass. “I appreciate the offer.”
Ty looked surprised. “But?”
“I have a life in Crown Island. A career and people I care about.” Blue hesitated. On the other hand, he should accept that he had lost Jo. “I need to consider this carefully, but I’m leaning toward it. I would have to find a place here.”
“Good man, that’s what I wanted to hear. Thought you were negotiating at first. Or maybe you have someone back there.”
