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The glint of the red bag Conner left on the bench caught her eye. He’d left her to drown in her sorrow and a chocolate truffle cake. He knew her better than she knew herself. Maybe it was time for her to stop being what everyone expected her to be. Could she risk upsetting her place in her family for more?
Chapter Twenty
Conner had totalk himself into not turning around all the way to his parents’ house. It was a little after eight and he had missed dinner, but he could use some parental meddling right about now.
They said in a crisis, like a car accident, fire, or bank robbery, no two people reported the same facts on what occurred. Was Hannah feeling as destroyed as him?
The sounds of his family sitting around the dinner table were comforting as he pulled into the driveway. Then he took one step on the lawn, and flood lights hit him right in the eyes.
“Conner, we thought you’d ditched us,” Rory called from beyond the bright lights.
Ever since retiring, his dad had become obsessed with installing every security system possible. Conner made it to the first step of the patio but stopped in his tracks when he heard what sounded like a vicious dog bark.
“Is this Fort Knox?” Conner asked, his eyes closed, waiting for the next surprise. The barking subsided.
Rory and Finn laughed.
“Stop, or I will shoot,” came his father’s voice, over what sounded like a loudspeaker.
From behind his closed eyelids, Conner saw the bright light go dark. He opened his eyes to find his brothers laughing hysterically. His father was nowhere in sight.
“Did Dad have his voice pre-recorded for an intruder?” Conner said.
Finn was laughing so hard he was bent over. “Yes, and they got a dog. Wait until you meet the vicious animal.”
Rory was belly laughing and couldn’t catch his breath, but Conner was in no mood to deal with his brothers’ antics. He pushed through the French doors that opened up into his parents’ home. It smelled like garlic and chocolate.
But before he could make it beyond the door, a small white puffball came charging over to his ankle and bit him.
“No, no, Biffy. Do not attack. Stand down.” His dad hopped up from the couch and scooped up the aggressive fluffy dog, then held it like a football in the crook of his arm.
“Please tell me that’s Mom’s dog, and you haven’t completely lost your mind,” Conner said, unable to stop staring as the dog preened while his dad continued to pet her.
“Biffy is part of our upgraded home security system. We call her Biffy, or Baby for short. Biffy, this is Conner.”
He held the dog out to sniff Conner.
“Don’t let all that white fuzz fool you. She’s a vicious animal,” Finn said, walking in behind him and giving the dog a pet.
“Have I entered the Twilight Zone? I was just blinded on the porch, threatened to be shot by my own father, and attacked by a five-pound powder puff. All that after I was for real shot during a raid and dumped by a girl who doesn’t want to admit she’s in love with me.” Conner plopped down at the dinner table in his usual spot and proceeded to load the empty plate from the dish with chicken pasta swimming in a white lemon sauce. After serving himself a huge pile on a plate, he took a big gulp from a wineglass close by.
His father, Rory, and Finn sat down at the table and waited. They remained quiet while he poured more wine and took several bites of food. Finn offered him the bread basket but didn’t say a word. After finishing his plate, Conner sat back and looked around.
“Where’s Mom?”
“Your mother had a last-minute work call and went into her study right before you arrived. She whipped up some brownies earlier when you texted that you’d be late. You have time to tell us everything while we wait for her,” his dad said.
“Not much else to tell. We made a huge break in this task force today and went ahead and served the warrant. When we took some shots at the door, one caught me on the tricep, four stitches. No biggie. But Parker Paletti was on the scene and told Hannah I was shot, which got her all worked up and confirmed for him there is something between us. It was tricky, but it served his purpose. Now she doesn’t want to be with me anymore. She thinks her family will disown her. And I forgot the double chocolate truffle cake I planned to bring at her place.”
“You two finally get together, and Parker won’t give his blessing?” Rory asked, standing up abruptly.
Conner watched as Rory retrieved a tower of brownies from the kitchen counter and set them in front of his place at the table.
“He still thinks I slept with his college girlfriend.”
“Geez, that was like five years ago. That’s a long time to hold a grudge,” Finn said.
“I didn’t do it,” Conner said more to himself than to his family.
