Declan

by Chris Keniston

  "You didn't yesterday." Hands behind his back, Reed stood at parade rest. Some marine habits were harder to break than others.

  "Which is why we're waiting for an investigator to declare things business as usual." DJ hated this part of the job, but he wasn't about to let on to his officer. Waiting to find out if you still had a job or would be facing trial thanks to a stubborn DA, media with an agenda, or witnesses who couldn't keep a family portrait straight never mind the details of a gun battle in a panic filled moment. At least here and now, none of those issues should come into play. The incident was cut and clear, the witnesses all would be fine. Hopefully sooner than later.

  Reed shifted his weight, his stance more relaxed. "Any idea how long it'll take?"

  "A few days. A few weeks. Who the hell knows." DJ heard the frustration in his voice and forced his shoulders to relax, immediately feeling some of the tension leave his body. Not that he didn't still have a shit ton of crap on his plate. In Dallas, he'd be home watching the plants grow. At least here, he could keep doing most of his job. The only difference being, unlike yesterday, if all hell broke lose again for the second time in decades, Reed would be the one calling the shots. "I figure I'll spend this afternoon filling out forms until my fingers fall off. Hopefully this will all be over with sooner than later."

  "Old man Thomas came in to town to open the feed store."

  The tension in his shoulders was back. "You might want to keep an extra eye on the place. The old goat won't take kindly to the gossip and looky-loos." Now might be a good time for DJ to pick up an order from the feed store for Finn, or place it if necessary. "Any word on Jake and Charlotte?" The first thing he'd asked Brooks this morning was for an update on Jake. Stable was the only thing Brooks would say. DJ was set to meet with both Adam and Brooks at the café shortly. Not that he had much to report, but it was something they did when they could and this morning, he not only could, he needed to. Turning his wrist, he confirmed the time. "I'll be at the Silver Spurs if you've got any questions." He paused and looked around the office that had been his domain since leaving Dallas. "She's all yours."

  Jaw clenched tightly, Reed nodded.

  Yeah, buddy. DJ knew exactly how the guy felt. He'd learned a long time ago there was no controlling everything in life, but right about now, he'd certainly like for just one thing in life to go the way it should.

  Normally, DJ would have hopped into the squad car to drive the short distance from the station to the café, but until the investigation into the Thomas shooting was over, DJ couldn't respond to any police business that didn't involve his desk and computer. Besides, exercise was good for him. He reminded himself of that tidbit with every step until reaching the front door.

  "How's my guy?" Spotting him from across the café, Abbie hurried to greet him.

  DJ didn't bother with words, he simply nodded. He and Abbie went back a long way. Longer than when she'd rolled into town looking for work—and peace of mind.

  Stopping in front of him, Abbie grabbed a couple of menus and used the time to study his face. Since no one from Tuckers Bluff had actually looked at a menu since they were first printed back when Frank came on as cook, he knew what she was doing. After stalling as long as she could without drawing attention to herself, she must have decided he wasn't about to wig out on anyone because she nodded back and signaled for him to follow. "Your brothers are back here with their wives. You may need to mediate. Toni looks spitting mad."

  Glancing ahead, DJ didn't know if he should laugh or turn tail and run. He was pretty sure any second now fire would come pouring from Toni's nose and steam from her ears. "What has her all riled up?"

  "What always riles a woman up? Money and men. Lethal combination." She shoved the menu at him and waving to the table with a little extra flourish, smiled and turned back to her other waiting customers.

  Now that he was close enough to see the whites of everyone's eyes, he was almost positive he should run for the hills. There was no winning an argument, and that's what it looked like, if it was the women against the men. Surely, after years of watching their parents and then his aunt Eileen, Brooks had learned if the lady of the house ain't happy, nobody's happy. "Should I come back later?" It was a chicken's question, but a key survival instinct was living to see another day.

  "No," four voices roused at him.

  He grabbed an empty chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to the end. "Do I want to know why you all look like someone put gravel in your grits?"

  "Your brother is beyond bullheaded." Toni crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. This was the first time DJ could think of seeing these two anything less than happily hovering.

  "It's not bullheaded. It's not my money."

  "That's right." Toni leaned forward again. "It's mine now and I can do what I want with it. Or at least some of it!"

  DJ looked left then right, immediately noticing Adam and Meg were suspiciously quiet.

  "You tell her." Brooks waved a finger from DJ to Toni.

  "I plead the fifth. Especially since I have no idea what you two are arguing about."

  Brooks blew out a long breath. "After I left you and Becky this morning, I drove over to Butler Springs to check on Jake."

  "Which, if we had a small clinic here in town, you wouldn't have to do."

  "I'm not a general surgeon."

  Toni leaned back again. DJ could tell from the way her fingers tapped against her elbow she wasn't buying it. "But in an emergency you could have done it, couldn't you?"

  Another heavy breath escaped from DJ's brother. "Yes."

  "And if the town had a clinic you'd have gotten that MRI on Jake sooner wouldn't you?"

  "There's no telling." Brooks shook his head. "It might not have made any difference at all."

  "Okay, I'll agree there, but today would be easier on everyone, including Charlotte, if Jake were having his tests here."

  "Tests?" DJ asked.

  "We did an MRI this morning. I suspected there was a physiological problem with Jake, but couldn't get him into Butler Springs."

  "And…?" Meg urged, speaking up for the first time since DJ's arrival.

  Brooks ran two fingers up and down the side of his temple. Exhaustion taking over his face.

  "You know Charlotte's going to tell us when we get there this afternoon anyhow," Meg insisted.

  "You have heard of HIPAA laws?" Brooks let his hand fall to his side.

  "Oh for heaven's sake, we're not going to report you and neither is Charlotte," Toni huffed.

  Brooks turned to DJ. "You're going to hear about it soon too."

  DJ didn't mention that he was currently a little further down the chain of command then he'd been yesterday.

  "Jake's got a brain tumor. Based on its size and location, it may very well explain the growing fits of violence."

  "Operable?" Adam asked.

  "I'm not a neurosurgeon—"

  Toni's lips tightened as she glared at her husband. It was clear to everyone at the table that as far as she was concerned, her husband could walk on water and perform any surgery with his hands tied behind his back.

  "—but my guess is yes. And before you ask, if the tumor is the cause for the anger, Jake could return to normal."

  "Well, thank God for that." Meg nodded, a whisper of a smile gracing her features.

  "Which brings us back to the clinic here in Tuckers Bluff." Toni's expression softened. "If someone else offered to start a building fund you'd jump on it."

  This time Brooks' jaw tightened and DJ knew Toni was hitting a nerve.

  "Okay, I'll risk life and limb. Exactly what has you two squabbling?" DJ asked.

  Toni turned to face him. "William's life insurance check cleared my bank. I want to put some money away for college tuition for the baby, but I want to start a clinic fund with the rest."

  Now DJ got it. He looked straight at Brooks. "If the money came from anywhere else in town, what would you say then?" Damn simple question, but it nee
ded to be asked by someone besides the person offering the money.

  Brooks looked across the table to Adam. The oldest Farraday brother shrugged. Meg did the same as Brooks’ gaze shifted back from Adam to DJ. "I guess I'd start looking for land."

  "And there we have my other point." Toni took a sip of water. "I bumped into Mrs. Rogers in front of the Cut and Curl this morning. She mentioned that after yesterday, Mr. Rogers decided to stop putting off retirement and move to someplace warm all year round with more things for old people to do than rock on the porch and listen to their arteries harden."

  Meg turned to Adam. "Which is the Roger's place?"

  "The Antebellum house just outside of town." Adam looked to Brooks, no doubt thinking exactly what DJ was. That old place would make a great small town hospital, never mind clinic.

  "Actually," Toni said, "it's more Georgian with all that brick, but it probably was built in the antebellum period."

  All heads spun in Toni's direction.

  "Hey," Toni shrugged casually, "I took a few historical architecture classes so my brain wouldn't explode from all the math."

  Meg shook her head, her eyes crossed in confusion. "Don't you have to do math to do architectural drawings?"

  "Not the same math as accounting. Design is way more fun." Toni rubbed her hands together and smiled. "So, am I right or am I right?"

  DJ looked to his brother and crossed his arms with a grin. To his left he could see Adam doing the same. Poor Brooks was outnumbered. And when Aunt Eileen found out what Toni wanted to do, there would be a wooden sign in the middle of town with a red thermometer measuring donations for all the fundraisers the town was about to be bombarded with before Brooks could mutter a protest. Yep, for all that was going wrong in the Farraday family, when it came to spunky women, some things were going very right.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Holy… Four hours. Becky swore she would only lie down for twenty minutes. A power nap. She'd even set her alarm. And slept through it. Springing up from bed as though the house were haunted and the Ghost of Christmas Past was on her heels, she looked around for her shoes before noticing she'd never bothered to take them off.

  So dang tired, she'd shuffled into the bedroom and flopped onto the mattress. What must everyone think of her abandoning that little baby for hours? Well, maybe not abandoning, but certainly shirking her responsibilities. Hurrying into the bathroom, she rinsed sleep breath from her mouth and then grabbed the keys and bolted out the door, sprinting down the stairs to the vet clinic.

  Trotting around to the back door, the place seemed awfully peaceful for somewhere usually filled with sounds of miscellaneous animals, their owners, and the employees going about their business. Not till she reached the front offices did she make the connection. Adam had cleared his afternoon schedule to meet with his brothers. The lab techs had closed all doors to the kennel room and the entire staff was huddled around Brittany. "Did anyone get any work done today?"

  "Nope." Kelly grinned. "It's almost like being a grandparent. All the fun and none of the responsibility."

  "We're just doing our part to keep things quiet," Pat, one of the lab techs, added. "When we're out here, all the kennel pets don't raise the roof."

  "Yeah," Kelly added, "out of sight, out of mind."

  Is that how the mother left her baby behind? Out of sight out of mind? "Well, thanks for the break. I was more tired than I thought."

  "And just think," Kelly pointed to the baby in Pat's arms, "how tired you'd be doing this for a few years if she were yours."

  "Well, she's not, so that's a moot point." And why did those words sting? Becky wasn't in any hurry to have kids. Like every little girl growing up, she'd dreamed of the romance and magic of falling in love. Expected to have a couple of years with her husband before starting a family. Fun, happy years like Adam and Meg seemed to be having whenever she saw them. Drinking in the besotted look on her husband's face much the same as the look on any of the three older Farraday men when they looked at their women. The way she'd always pictured Ethan would look at her as soon as he noticed she wasn't just the skinny girl next door. Except taking care of Brittany these last couple of days must have worn her out more than she'd realized. The dreams and visions of her and Ethan were cloudy and fuzzy and felt like they were slipping away.

  Then again, how could she lose someone she'd never had?

  ***

  "Charlotte and her sister are staying in a motel, but we promised we'd stop by today." Standing at the corner table, Toni leaned over and kissed her husband, her eyes searching his and smiling at the love reflected back at her. Hell, anyone looking at the guy could tell he adored his wife even if she'd just bested him in a disagreement.

  "Meant to get an earlier start." Meg kissed her husband softly on the lips. "Looks like we'll be grabbing supper with Charlotte in Butler Springs. Will you be all right on your own?"

  Adam nodded and, just for good measure, pulled Meg into his arms for a slightly more fervent locking of lips.

  DJ coughed. "Just a reminder, there are other people in the café."

  Meg let her forehead rest a second on Adam's and then, stepping around DJ, slapped him on the shoulder. "Have you considered getting a girl of your own? You're not getting any younger you know."

  Served him right for speaking up. Though lately, a girl of his own creeped into his thoughts—and under his skin—more often than was prudent. Not wanting to talk about his administrative leave, or the upcoming investigation, or even how all the latest discoveries would affect the entire mess, DJ opted to bring up the other complication in their lives. "Brooklyn forwarded me an email from the DNA lab confirming receipt of the samples. Both are good to go."

  "How long will it be till we get the results?" Adam asked.

  "Brooklyn says we might have them as early as tomorrow."

  Brooks whistled. "Oh, this guy either has some sweet connections or he's lying through his teeth."

  "I'd go with sweet connections. I'm pretty sure we got bumped to the top of the list."

  Adam opened his mouth to say something, snapped it shut, looked around, and then pressing forward, whispered over the table. "Let's take the rest of this conversation back to my office."

  Brooks and DJ both nodded and pushed to their feet. At the register, the brothers paid the tabs and, hat in hand, DJ placed his on his head, tipped it at Abbie, and followed his brothers across the street to the vet clinic.

  "You know," Adam looked over his shoulder as he led the way, "the Rogers place isn't in town the way you wanted, but you could probably get the building and immediate grounds for a song and let Larry Rogers sell the rest off the land off to the highest taker."

  "Not many people want a big, old rambling house like that. I don't think all those rooms have been used in generations," DJ added.

  "I get it, guys. I'll admit a time or two I've thought the same thing about that old place, but I never thought Larry would be interested in selling."

  "Why not?" Adam pulled the clinic door open. "None of his kids are ranchers. I can't remember the last time I saw the whole brood come in for the holidays."

  "That's right." DJ stepped over the threshold. "Didn't they all take a cruise or something last Christmas?"

  "Yep." Brooks nodded. "And Larry paid for it."

  "See." Adam took off his hat. "I'm thinking bargain basement price tag."

  Huddled at the reception desk, all the women turned at the three brothers’ entrance.

  Adam pointed down the hall. "We'll be in my office."

  "Looks like the new formula agrees with her?" Brooks paused by Becky and took in the happy baby.

  "Seems so," Becky said, "though I've been upstairs sleeping."

  Adam smiled. "You look better."

  "Gee, thanks." Becky flashed a sassy smile and DJ’s gut did a somersault.

  He seriously needed to get a grip on his reactions to Becky. Ethan's Becky. Slowing at her side, DJ noticed the color had returned to Brittany's c
heeks and her eyes seemed clear and alert again. Good. Seeing the baby feeling better brightened his otherwise crappy day. And wasn't that another unexpected twist. Which meant one more thing to add to the upcoming conversation.

  Inside the office and with the door closed, Adam took a seat behind his desk. DJ plopped in a guest chair and looked up at his brother. "We know if Brittany's a Farraday she should be with Ethan—"

  "If he's willing to separate from the corps and stay home," Adam said.

  Brooks shrugged and shook his head. "Lots of servicemen and women have families while deployed. Ethan doesn't have to leave to get custody."

  "We all know that whether or not Ethan stays," DJ looked pointedly at each of his siblings, "if Brittany is a Farraday, she'll be taken care of."

  Both Brooks and Adam nodded.

  "My question," he continued, “is what do we do if the mother lied? What happens if that cute little baby the whole town is falling for isn't Ethan's?"

  All gazes bounced back and forth before Adam leaned back and sighed. "Do you really think she's not Ethan's?"

  DJ shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I've got some preliminaries on the mother. Brooklyn is digging deeper. So far I already know she's a real piece of work. At fifteen, she was picked up for shoplifting, joy riding, and once for being in a motor vehicle with open containers of alcohol. Ran away from home at sixteen. Married at seventeen, divorced at eighteen. Fell off the grid for a few years until she showed up in California."

  "And then?" Brooks asked.

  "A couple of DWIs, some unpaid traffic tickets in Chula Vista, near San Diego. One arrest for possession, but no conviction. Really good lawyer."

  "Who paid for that?" Adam asked.

  "Police reports don't give that kind of information. It's why Brooklyn is still looking into her."

  Adam rested his elbows on his desk. "What about family?"

  "Her parents are dead. Juvenile reports list an aunt."

  Brooks steepled his hands. "So you think she's lying?"