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The next morning at breakfast, Sean broached the subject of a family dinner to meet Wolf, and Shirley’s face lit up.
“Bring him to supper tonight. I’ll make sure the rest of us are here as well, and maybe ask Ella, and John and Annie. And Cameron and Rusty? What do you think?”
Sean grinned. “It’s hard to find a stopping place, isn’t it? But that works for me, if it suits you. I understand Amalie met all of them at the hospital.”
“Rusty wasn’t there. Bringing Mikey wasn’t a good idea, but Cameron was. Aaron and Wiley were up on the roof with the dead sniper, waiting for the coroner to arrive.”
“They’ve both already met her. As for what was going on after I got shot, I know nothing,” Sean said. “I never lost a whole segment of time like that before.”
“And I hope you never do again,” Shirley said. “Call Amalie. Ask her if seven o’clock is okay? I know she’s working until six.”
“I will, and thanks, Mom. She offered to bring stuff, so let her know if there’s anything she can do to help. Itwill make her feel like she’s not making too much work for you.”
“We’ve got this,” Shirley said. “I’ll have Annie bring dinner rolls and desserts from the bakery and get Dani to bring a couple of salads. I can handle the rest. Clear it with Amalie and I’ll start the ball rolling.”
Sean picked up the phone and sent her a text.
Mom’s up for bringing Wolf to supper tonight. 7:00 p.m. Clear it with him ASAP and let me know.
“Message sent, Mom. House is chilly. I’m going to add a log to the fire,” he said.
“No, you’re not. You’re not cleared for lifting. I’ll do it, and remind you I grew up doing this.”
He sighed. “Then I’ll load the dishwasher. That I can do.”
A few minutes later, he had the kitchen cleared. Shirley had the fire going. And Amalie responded to the text.
Invitation accepted. Tell your mom thank you so much. We’ll see you at seven. I miss you. Love you.
Sean sent back a text.
I miss you more. Love you more. See you tonight.
After Shirley got the message, she went into spin mode, had everyone contacted and all of the food organized within two hours, and the only person who couldn’tcome was Rusty because Mikey had a cold. Cameron was coming on his own with her apologies.
Sean wisely stepped out of the way and went to his office with a cup of coffee and good intentions. They lasted until his shoulder got a cramp, and then he was flat on his back in bed with the heating pad, relieved his mother was too busy with her planning to fuss over him. The cramp would pass, and he’d be fine.
Amalie opened up her office, turned up the thermostat, then went to the back room to make herself a cup of coffee. As soon as it was done, she carried it to her desk and went to work.
It was nearing noon when a man entered her office carrying a huge bouquet of pink roses.
“Delivery for Miss Lincoln.”
“How beautiful!” Amalie cried, and jumped up from her chair. “You can put them there on the front desk!”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good day,” he said, and left on the run.
Amalie reached for the card, then turned it over to read.
First flowers to my darling daughter.
Thank you for dining with me last night.
See you later,
Love, Dad
Her vision blurred. “So, this is how it feels to belong,” she said, and carried the card back to her desk.
