“Including you.”
“Oh, baby, you know I love your questions,” James said. “I just … would a massage and viewing of Jaws make you happy?”
Mandy patted James’ chest as he swooped in to give her a kiss. She knew it was an effort to distract her so she averted her mouth and sidestepped him. “It’s a start. We’ll see how the night goes from there.”
MANDY found Emma sitting on the back patio a few minutes later, the auburn-haired siren’s gaze focused on the trees behind the house. She looked lost in thought.
“Do you want company or would you prefer being alone?”
Emma’s smile was small but genuine when she flashed it in Mandy’s direction. “I would love company,” she said. “I ran into the house because I thought I would be able to see Finn and Avery, but they’re both down for the count.”
“You could wake Finn up. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Even as she said the words Mandy knew Emma wouldn’t do anything of the sort.
“He needs his rest,” Emma said. “The doctor said the wound wasn’t serious, but he still has to take it easy. He can’t wear himself out. Worrying about me is taking a lot out of him.”
“You might not believe this, but he did very little worrying about you today,” Mandy offered. “In fact, I was the one worrying because I was afraid James would explode all over your mother and Finn was the one who said it would be fine.”
“Really?”
“Finn thinks you’re the strongest person he knows and he loves you more than anything,” Mandy said. “He said he wasn’t worried about you seeing your mother because he thought it would be good for you.”
“It was good for me,” Emma acknowledged. “Seeing her was … like closing a door and locking it. There’s no way she can shove a toe into my life again. There’s no way she can push her way through that door.”
“That’s good,” Mandy said. “I was a little worried, but the only thing Finn was upset about was not being with you. Oh, and he was a little agitated because he thought you asked me to hover.”
Emma snorted. “Did you hover?”
“I sat with him and Avery for a bit,” Mandy replied. “Finn is so good with that baby. He makes him laugh and he cuddles him all of the time. They’re beautiful together.”
“Does seeing them together make you want to have a baby?” Emma asked, genuinely curious.
“No. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a maternal bone in my body.”
“I don’t think that’s true because I’ve seen you with Avery,” Emma said. “If you don’t want a baby, though, you shouldn’t have one. They’re a lot of work. The reward is great, don’t get me wrong, but you and James seem happy with the life you’ve built.”
“We are happy,” Mandy agreed. “How was he with Sheila?”
“Mad.”
Mandy smiled. “How was he with you?”
“Wonderful.”
“How was he with Jeff?”
“He’s good with Jeff,” Emma said. “They talked about sports. I wasn’t in a chatty mood on the way home so he had to fill in all of the conversational gaps. He did well, though. He’s a good man.”
“He is a good man,” Mandy agreed. “I’m still going to make him pay for gossiping about my questions with Finn. I don’t like gossip.”
Emma’s laughter was so loud it jarred Mandy. “You don’t like gossip?” she challenged. “You just gossiped with me about what Finn said while I was gone.”
“That was different,” Mandy protested. “I didn’t want you worrying about him. I thought you should know he’s proud of you.”
“You also gossip with Ally every chance you get,” Emma pointed out. “You two can’t help yourselves.”
“Yes, well … that’s beside the point.” Mandy crossed her arms over her chest. “Certain gossip is okay. The stuff about my drooling and questions is not.”
“Whatever,” Emma said, giggling. “You just like having fake fights so you can make up. I think it’s cute.”
“Well, it won’t be so cute tonight when I make him massage me for an hour.”
“It will still be cute then,” Emma said, shifting her eyes back to the trees. “Did James tell you what my mother said?”
“He did,” Mandy confirmed, sobering. “What do you think?”
“I think if she’d gotten her way she would’ve taken off with Owen Parker’s money and Jeff and I never would’ve been born.”
“That’s not what happened, though,” Mandy said. “You’re here and you’re wonderful. You can’t focus on what-ifs because it will drive you insane.”
“I’m not focusing on it as much as I am pondering it,” Emma clarified. “If we were never born and my mother wasn’t around to cover for him, my father might not have hurt as many children as he did.”
“And if you were never born then Finn would never be happy and Avery wouldn’t exist,” Mandy argued. “If you were never born this world would be a much sadder place.”
“You’re good for my ego,” Emma said, squeezing Mandy’s hand. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that because I’ll always be here,” Mandy said. “You remind me of James, though. I just now realized it.”
Emma arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “How?”
“He dwells on things like this, too,” Mandy explained. “He’s still asking himself what would’ve happened if he hadn’t left the day your father found us in the guesthouse. He blames himself for what happened.”
“Who do you blame?” Emma asked.
“Your father. There’s no one else to blame.”
“And see, if I was in your position, I’m not sure I wouldn’t blame me,” Emma said. “He was my father. He came for me. You delivered my baby and were willing to die for me. You had to kill him to protect us. How can you not blame me?”
“Because you didn’t cause any of this,” Mandy replied. “Emma, you can’t go through life wondering how things would be different if you changed one thing. You’ll drive yourself crazy. I don’t wonder how things would’ve been different if I didn’t go out on the driveway the day before the wedding to talk down the guy who was going to shoot James. I also don’t wonder if that girl we saved during the final fight at that drug house in Mount Clemens would’ve died if I hadn’t been drugged in that haunted house, which ultimately caused James to get fixated on the case.
“We don’t live in a world where you can change the past,” she continued. “You have to let that stuff go. You have to look toward the future. You and James struggle with that, and I really wish you would just let it go.”
“That’s an interesting way of looking at things,” Emma said, smiling. “I … .” She broke off when she heard Avery’s plaintive wail from inside the house. “My boys are up.”
“Go spend some time with them,” Mandy encouraged, keeping her smile in place until Emma was safely inside the house. Only then did she let it slip.
“You’re good with her,” Jeff said, appearing at the edge of the patio. Mandy had no idea where he’d come from – or how long he’d been listening – but his appearance surprised her.
“She’s good with everyone,” Mandy said. “She’s struggling a little bit right now. Everything seems overwhelming. She’ll be fine, though. She’s strong.”
“She is strong,” Jeff agreed, joining Mandy at the table. “I don’t think I realized how strong she was until I was forced to be away from her. Now I look at her and don’t even see the scared teenager I knew back before I went to prison.”
“She was strong then, too, but you were her rock,” Mandy said. “Emma has never said anything bad about you. You’re her hero. You made a mistake, Jeff. You were young and terrified. You were trying to do right by Emma. It’s okay to let that go. I have a feeling you hold onto things too long – like your sister – and that’s just going to haunt you if you let it.”
“I was only her hero because she had no one else to take care
of her,” Jeff said. “You’re her hero now.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Mandy chuckled and shook her head. “I think Finn is her hero.”
“She loves Finn beyond words, but you’re still her hero,” Jeff said. “You saved her. You saved Avery.”
Mandy averted her eyes, uncomfortable with the sudden shift in the conversation. “Did she tell you about that?”
“Finn did,” Jeff answered. “James and I talked about it a little bit, too.”
“Do you have something you want to ask me?” Mandy asked, forcing her tone to remain even.
“Did he say anything before you killed him?”
“We were grappling for the knife and it went into his chest,” Mandy explained. “He made a gurgling sound and then died. He didn’t speak.”
“Did you feel … relief … when it happened?”
“I was more shocked than anything else,” Mandy said. “I was prepared to die to save Emma and the baby. I … told Emma to make sure James knew I loved him. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You saved my sister and nephew,” Jeff said. “You did the only thing you could.”
“I still killed him.”
“Maybe you should let that go,” Jeff suggested, glancing up to find James watching the scene from the open doorway between the patio and house. “You should take your own advice and let the bad stuff go, because you did a good thing and it shouldn’t eat you up.”
Jeff squeezed Mandy’s hand as he rose.
“Just for the record, though, you’re my hero, too.” Jeff offered James a wan smile as he moved past him into the house.
James didn’t comment as he joined his wife, instead slipping his arms under her legs and tugging her onto his lap.
“I’m fine, James,” Mandy said. “I’m not going to cry or anything.”
“That’s good,” James said. “You know I hate it when you cry.”
“Yes.”
“Hey, baby?”
“What?”
“You’re my hero, too,” James said, tugging her close and rocking her small body as the tears she’d been fighting overflowed. “You can also ask me however many questions you want to ask tonight. I’ll answer every one.”
17
Seventeen
“What is this?” James wrinkled his nose as he studied the food on his plate.
“It’s dinner,” Grady said, enthusiastically digging in to his pasta. “Eat it.”
“Yes, but what’s in it?” James twisted his fork in the pasta and lifted it to his nose so he could inhale the pungent aroma. “It smells like fish.”
“It is seafood Alfredo,” Peter said, shooting James a disdainful look as he got comfortable between Grady and Mandy at the table. “My chef adds red wine and it makes the sauce taste like a bouquet of roses exploding in your mouth.”
“Huh.” James sniffed the food again. “It smells fishy. I’m not a big fan of fish. I’ll eat cod if it’s battered and slathered in tartar sauce, but in general I don’t like fish. I’m also not a fan of eating roses, just for the record.”
“I just watched you eat your weight in Red Lobster last night,” Peter pointed out, earning a snicker from the rest of the table. “By the way, Emma, I know you’re a vegetarian. That bowl there is the same sauce, but I had my chef whip up a special vegetarian Alfredo just for you.”
“It looks wonderful,” Emma said, smiling as she piled a huge mound of pasta on her plate. “I’m starving.”
Finn widened his eyes, surprised. “How hungry are you, sweetie?”
“Very,” Emma said. “James stopped at McDonald’s on the way home so I haven’t eaten all day.”
“James!” Finn fixed his brother with an angry look. “McDonald’s? You know she’s a vegetarian.”
“This is not my fault,” James said, extending a finger. “I had no idea they put beef stock … or whatever she said it was … in the oil for the fries. I didn’t even know it was a thing. I offered to stop somewhere else, but she said she just wanted to get back to you and Avery.”
“You’re such a turd sometimes,” Finn lamented.
“Turd,” Mandy said, giggling. She was in markedly better spirits after James allowed her to emote in private on the back patio. “That’s funny.”
“I don’t see you eating Peter’s marvelous dinner,” James said, pointing at his wife’s untouched plate. “Why don’t you go first?”
Mandy opened her mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. She was as leery of Peter’s food selection as James. “What kind of seafood is in it again?”
“Food that comes from the sea,” Peter replied, his agitation growing. “What kind of seafood do you think it is?”
“Well, the problem is that I like things like scallops, shrimp, lobster, and crab, but I’m not fond of things like calamari, salmon, and other … fishy … stuff. So exactly what kind of seafood am I looking at?”
James grinned as he watched his wife work her magic on Peter. The curmudgeonly mobster had a soft spot for the blonde that was both delightful and hilarious.
“The kind you eat,” Peter replied, refusing to kowtow to Mandy’s efforts at shaking him down. “Now, you should probably do just that, my dear.”
“It’s good,” Grady said, his mouth full of pasta as he reached for a glass of wine. “I’ve eaten tons of stuff at Peter’s house now and it’s always good. I’ve just learned not to ask what I’m eating before I shove it in my mouth. You should try that.”
“Yes, but I’m not you,” Mandy drawled. “I don’t stick anything in my mouth without knowing what it is.”
“I don’t think that’s true,” Grady said, swallowing. “James told me you often stick things in your mouth that … .”
“That will be enough of that,” Peter said, cuffing Grady. “Don’t talk while you’re eating. In this case, focus on your eating and don’t talk.”
“Yeah,” Mandy sneered, making a face.
“You, too,” Peter ordered.
Mandy pursed her lips as she studied the food, resignedly. “If it’s gross and I get sick, James is going to make you sleep on the bathroom floor with me.”
“That’s true,” James said, watching Mandy carefully as she tentatively tasted the pasta. “She’s got a weak stomach.”
“I watched her eat five lobster tails and four pounds of crab yesterday,” Peter argued. “How weak can her stomach possibly be?”
“You’d be surprised,” James said, handing Mandy her glass of wine once she swallowed. “Well, baby? Will Peter be joining you on the bathroom floor, or will I be massaging you until my fingers fall off?”
“It’s actually pretty good,” Mandy said. “I am a little curious what these rubbery things are, though.”
“Rubbery?” Peter looked as if he was at his wit’s end. “There’s nothing rubbery in there.”
“Yes, there is.” Mandy could dig her heels in when she put her mind to it and she wasn’t afraid of Peter in the least. “These things with the weird line things along the edges are rubbery.”
“Those are oysters,” Peter said. “I spent a fortune to have them shucked.”
“Huh.” Mandy stabbed her fork into another oyster and lifted it so she could give it a long look. “Oysters are aphrodisiacs, right?”
“Yes.”
Mandy dumped the oyster on James’ plate and then went searching for other offending rubber bits to add. By the time she was done James had at least eight additions on his pile of pasta. “Okay, now I’m happy.” She dug into her meal with a bright smile.
“Why did you give me these?” James asked.
“Because you’re going to need extra strength when it comes time to wowing me tonight,” Mandy replied, not missing a beat. “I think you should be thankful for the extra help.”
James frowned. “Are you insinuating that I can’t wow you without help?”
“I’m insinuating that I don’t want to eat those and I can’t very well hide them in my napkin when Peter is staring
at me like that,” Mandy replied, unruffled. “That means you have to eat them.”
The table burst out into hysterical gales of laughter – even Peter – and James could do nothing but shake his head. “You’re lucky I love you, woman, because you’re a lot of work.”
“And you haven’t even started massaging me yet,” Mandy said, flashing an angelic smile.
“Not that I’m not thrilled with listening to Mandy mess with my brother, but I missed the update about the prison visit,” Ally interjected. “How was that?”
“Pretty much how you would expect,” Emma answered, gracing Finn with an appreciative grin as he rubbed her tense shoulders. “She was mean … and rotten … and horrible. She did tell us some information, but I’m not sure how much it will help.”
“I’ve got Sven running a search through our files for David’s drivers over the years,” Peter supplied. “I considered calling David to ask him myself, but the idea of intruding on his grief isn’t appealing. Plus, well, I don’t want to admit how I know he dated Sheila.”
“I would think it would be common practice for you guys to keep tabs on each other,” James said. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to him.”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise – and, yes, we all monitor each other – but that doesn’t mean it would be comfortable to talk about,” Peter said. “If we can’t find the information we need in a timely manner I’ll call him tomorrow. He’s gone through a fair number of drivers. I asked Sven to come up with information and photos on as many as he can track down. Perhaps we’ll luck out and be able to match a face with the person we saw on the video.”
“I have a very vague memory of the guy being next to Owen’s body, too,” Finn admitted. “I didn’t remember right away, but I’ve dreamt about it twice now and I’m sure I would recognize him.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Emma scolded. “Are you having nightmares?”
“Not nightmares, sweetie. Just … dreams.”
“And I thought I tired you out so much last night you wouldn’t dream at all,” Emma grumbled, making a face. The table lapsed into silence and when she lifted her head and found everyone staring at her she couldn’t help but flush with color. “Oh, what? I’m sure it’s not shocking that he talked me into being his dirty nurse last night. Get over it.”
Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Page 14
