Page 71 of But For You

He shook his head, pensive. “Sharks?”

“You said there were sharks already,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, so …” He looked at me. “Pa?”

“Some fish came on land and turned into dinosaurs,” I told him. “I think. Or something like that. You should have asked Milton while we were in Arizona.”

“Oh yeah, huh.”

“You could email him.”

He nodded. “I think you’re right though ’cause in my book, Dimetrodon was a fish and then a lizard and then a dinosaur but they’re in the same family as mammals.”

My kid with the memorizing of the dinosaur names. “There, you see?” I felt validated because my nearly six-year-old kid had agreed with me.

“Okay, so then fish don’t count.”

“Meaning?”

“They just stayed fish,” he concluded.

“Some stayed fish,” I corrected, hoping I was right.

“That’s correct.” Hannah nodded, putting that part of the discussion to bed.

“Then what about bugs?”

“Like, what did bugs turn into?”

“Yeah.”

“Robots?” I offered after a second. “Transformers?”

He started giggling. “I don’t think you get evolution, Pa.”

No, probably not, but he hugged me so tight and kissed my cheek, so really, I didn’t care.

SEVEN

Sam’s family came home on Sunday, cutting their trip short by half a day, and since I knew they would all be exhausted, I invited them all over to the loft for a quick dinner before they went home. Regina was so thankful and said the antipasto salad I had made, along with lasagna and garlic bread, was a blessing.

When Chaz and Pat showed up with wine later, when I was serving dessert, I had enough leftovers, so I fed them as well. It was helpful to have them there, as they got to add to what I was telling my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, and Sam’s siblings. Everyone loved the hideout, as they called it, and over dinner and after, we all talked about Sam’s case and the missing witness and the handsome man—Rachel’s words—who had left with Sam.

“He’s not handsome,” Pat assured her. “He’s a⁠—”

“Kids,” I cut him off.

“Jerk,” Pat finished, passing judgment on Detective Stiel.

“He is handsome though.” I smiled knowingly, thinking of the detective’s impressive build, sharply cut features, and gunmetal-gray eyes.

The man was gorgeous actually, and I would have been impressed if an even more beautiful man didn’t sleep in my bed.

When Sam called me later that evening to say good night to the kids, it was quick. But he called back right before I went to bed to rumble in my ear that he missed me and he loved me and to please keep his side of the bed warm.

“Dane moved us.”

“I know; he told me. I liked his idea better, and the Chicago PD really appreciated not having to park a patrol car in front of our house indefinitely.”