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Then everybody would be mad. I hadn’t spent time with my family or my friend in nearly a month.
Besides, tonight Joe didn’t need the extra eyes.
“You need anything done around here? Mike said he fixed the sink upstairs.”
My mother loved to take care of us but was slow to ask for repairs or things that were harder for her to do than before. Things my pop would’ve done.
She waved me off. “No. No. But thank you for asking.”
It had always been loud around the table, even before my brothers had been married. I hadn't realized how much that noise was a comfort until it was quiet. I loved the laughter, the brotherly jabs, the stories that had been told at this table.
There wasn't a time I sat here that I didn't miss Pop. There was a hole that would never be filled. He'd been such a presence, and meals weren’t the same without him. Nothing was.
But I was grateful Ma cared for us the way she did. Didn't matter how old we were, we could count on her.
And I could count on my family. Where would I be without them?
I rubbed my stomach and covered my empty plate with my hand when she tried to refill it. “Saving room for dessert.” I rinsed my plate and set it in the sink, then wrapped my arms around Ma’s neck from behind. I kissed her cheek. “Thank you for dinner.”
“It’s here every night if you want it.” She pushed out of her chair. “Let me get you something to take to John. I made the Italian cake you like so much.”
“I swear it’s like you’ve been gone forever. She makes all your favorites,” Bobby grumbled.
I grinned. “’Cause I’m the favorite.” I took the boxes of food from her. It was enough to feed the entire fire station for a week. “Love you, Ma. See you soon.” I kissed her cheek again. “You call me if you need anything.”
“I will, baby boy.”
I flicked my chin to my brothers and sent them a silentcall me.
Loaded down, I piled all the food in the front seat of my truck. Before I cranked the engine, I stared at the unread text still on my screen. What did I think? If I didn’t touch it, it would go away?
I dimmed the screen. Distance. We needed distance.
The SUV roared to life when I turned the ignition. I shifted her into gear but kept my foot on the brake.
That text.
It arrived early in the evening. What had sparked that? Usually they weren’t so blatant.
Screw it.
I tapped out a response.
Meet me in twenty. You know where.
Chapter Five
Beau
I tossedmy earrings on the dresser.
They landed next to my phone, which lit with an incoming text. Almost midnight. I should be used to the mind games by now, yet somehow I hadn’t learned how to school my emotions against them.
I read the words. Put my earrings back on and grabbed my coat.
Carefully, I pried the bedroom door open and looked up and down the hall. The coast was clear. I tiptoed over the hardwood floors.Thank God I left my shoes in the foyer.
I slipped one on and balanced on one leg to affix my other high heel.
