Page 29 of Three Steps Behind

“Thanks so much for talking with us,” she said, moving to give Nick a hug. “I’ll be praying for you.” She needed to keep him on her good side—at least for now.

“Thank you.” He patted her back, his embrace loose, then ushered them toward the door, where his club bag stood propped beside it. “And thank you for stopping by. I haven’t felt up to seeing visitors, but I’m glad you came.”

“Happy to do so,” she said, then halted in the middle of the foyer. “Oh shoot. I forgot.”

Nick frowned. “Forgot what?”

“I lent an evening gown to Taylor and a diamond bracelet that holds a lot of sentimental value. Would you mind getting them if I describe them to you?”

Nick glanced at his watch, irritation evident. “I’m going to be late if I don’t leave now. You know where Taylor keeps her things. Just go up and grab them.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll only be a second.”

“Just lock the door behind you when you go. And then you can leave your set of keys under the toad out front. With Taylor gone, I can’t imagine you’ll be needing them any longer.”

“Right. Will do.”

Nick headed out and shut the door behind him.

Deck glanced over at her with a smile. “Let me guess, you didn’t loan her those items?”

“Actually, I did lend her a dress, but the bracelet I added on so he’d understand the value was high and I wouldn’t quit asking until I retrieved it.”

“Smart thinking, Ace.”

Warmth infused her limbs. He hadn’t called her that since before she’d deployed.

She led the way up the curving staircase to the left.

“Where does the other side go?”

“Nick’s rooms.”

“Aren’t they all Nick and Taylor’s rooms?”

“Uh-uh. Taylor has her private sitting room—”

“Sitting room?” He arched a brow.

“It’s an old-fashioned name and probably notion as well, but it’s what she grew up with, so she has one here, and she has a makeup room with a walk-in closet the size of a bedroom.”

“What does Nick have, or dare I ask?”

“He has the same size walk-in closet, his upper office—”

“Upper?” Deck furrowed his brows. “As in he has more than one?”

She waggled two fingers.

“What in the world does he need two offices for?”

“That was always my question, but Taylor could never say. She only said he had people in the lower one on the first floor, but his second-floor office was off-limits to even her.”

“And she didn’t find that odd?” he asked as she led him through Taylor’s sitting room—a tall Southern glass tumbler still on her reading table.

She paused, taking it all in afresh. Taylor was gone, and, again, she hadn’t even gotten to say good-bye. From the sound of it, only Nick had. If there was no foul play, she couldn’t imagine how traumatic it would be to watch a loved one die right before your eyes. Though she supposed that happened often, but usually not with one so young and up-until-then healthy. Gone in a flash without warning. At least her family believed there’d been no warning, but Harper still had numerous questions to ask Nick. “In here,” she said, waving Deck into the closet.

“You weren’t kidding when you said the size of a bedroom.” He spun around. “How can one person wear so many outfits?”