Page 293 of A Matter of Time

“Partner!” Sam’s dad clipped the word.

I shot him a look. Now I knew where Sam got his temper.

“You have something to say?” he dared me, finally looking up from the television screen to my face. “Go ahead, speak.”

“No, sir,” I whispered, drawing Beverly away from him before turning to look at her face.

“Good,” he grunted, like everything was settled.

“I’m so happy to meet you,” she said sincerely, clinging to my hand.

I saw the wide-eyed fright in her eyes and smiled tenderly. Poor thing, they were scaring the crap out of her. I knew that, for people who weren’t used to big families, the volume in the house, the yelling, and the way people just came and went could be a little daunting.

“Same here,” I told her. “So how long have you and Michael been going out?”

“About five months,” she said quickly, turning and smiling after him as he walked through the living room. “And I have to say that this is, like, the first time I have seen his brother not look mean.”

“Mean?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes,” she assured me firmly.

“How so?”

She thought a moment. “I think the scowling is my favorite. And the way he almost never speaks to me and how gruff his tone is when he does.”

“Really?” I just couldn’t get over it. “Well, you have to cut him some slack. He’s a police detective and⁠—”

“Oh, I know all about his job.” She dismissed my argument.

“So you understand why sometimes he can come off⁠—”

“It must be very stressful to be a detective; I’m not denying that. But it doesn’t really explain his mood since I’ve met him.”

“Oh. What does?”

“Well, I thought maybe it was because he was lonely.”

I shrugged. “That would seem reasonable.”

“So I asked Mikey, and he agreed with me that we would set him up with some of my friends.”

Mikey? “That’s really nice of you guys.” I nodded, thinking about how I could get Michael alone so I could strangle him. Set Sam up? Was he high?

“It was.” She smiled sheepishly. “But the second you walked through the door, Michael leaned over and told me to not worry about it anymore.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I think I know what Mikey wants now.”

“And what is that?” Not to be called Mikey?

“Oh please!” She giggled. “He was worried about his brother and thought maybe I could help him do something about it. But now that you’re here…he wants you and Sam to be together.”

“You think?”