Chapter Thirty-One
Alan
I mentally prepared for the fireworks I was sure were coming when we walked inside, but the house was quiet when I shut the door behind me.
I glanced around the foyer—the wood floors and wainscoting were scuffed and worn and in need of refinishing, and I was willing to bet the walls hadn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in over a decade, but otherwise, the place was spotless.
“Your home is beautiful, Mrs. Bradbury.”
She offered a polite smile. “Please call me Carol.”
Just then, raised voices came from the other room.
There’s the fireworks.
But Carol kept her smile plastered to her face. “Can I offer you something to drink while we wait for Ed to finish his, uh, conversation with Kevin?”
Before I could answer, a man who I assumed was Jess’s dad appeared from a hallway to the right. “You must be Alan,” he said as he stepped forward and offered his hand. “I’m Ed. It’s nice to meet you.”
I was still holding Ruthie’s carrier, so I gently set it down so not to disturb her then shook the man’s calloused hand.
He was in better shape than I’d been expecting and had a full head of chestnut-brown hair, the same shade as Jess’s. While Jessica looked like her mom, her brown hair and eyes came from her dad.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
I knew treating Jessica’s parents with respect was going to go a long way.
“Why don’t you join me in the living room so we can get things hashed out with Kevin.”
I felt Jess bristle next to me, and I understood why. Her dad wanted to talk about her life but wasn’t including her in the conversation.
Maneuvering this was going to require delicacy. I wasn’t going to call Ed out—especially in front of Jess and Carol, but I needed to let Jessica know I had her back.
I turned to her and asked, “Are you okay with that?”
My question seemed to surprise her because she drew her shoulders back when she looked up at me.
“Ye—yeah.”
I subtly gave her hip a tiny squeeze before following Ed down the hall and into the living room.
Kevin was sitting on the couch with one hand flung across the back cushion with a bored expression, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
His jiggling foot, however, told a different story.
Ed sat down in a recliner and motioned toward the loveseat across from him. “Have a seat.”
As I did what he suggested, he addressed both me and Kevin. “You two have already met?”
I nodded. “Jess introduced us the other day.”
Ed continued, “So, Alan, you said on the phone you wanted to talk to me about Jessica?”
I glanced over at Kevin. I think Ed thought he was making a power play by having Kevin in the room, like that would make me uncomfortable.
Hardly.
“I’m going to ask her to marry me, and the honorable thing to do is talk to her father first.”
“You want my permission to marry my daughter?”
No, not really. I couldn’t give a shit less, but I know it’s important to Jess.
“That’s why I’m here, sir.”
He crossed his ankle over his knee and studied me for a minute.
“Kevin also wants to marry her. He’s got a good job with the county and his own house. What can you offer her?”
He wasn’t interested in if Jess and I were in love, just what I brought to the table.
“Well, I own a construction company that was just awarded a grant to build low-income housing. And, I have a few other contracts with the government.”
I purposefully phrased it that way so he’d think my “other contracts” with the government were through my construction company. Not as a contracted counterintelligence agent.
I continued, “Both my houses are free and clear. Jess and Ruthie will be well-provided for.”
I wanted to add, “Not to mention, I’m not old enough to be Jess’s dad or Ruthie’s grandpa,” but that seemed like a given.
Ed nodded solemnly as he stroked his chin.
“Both your houses?”
“I have a beach house on the Cape plus my house in Lancastle.”
“So, you’d expect Jessica to move. Away from her family and her church.”
Well, shit.
If we were truly husband and wife, that would only make sense. And while I wanted nothing more than to be Jessica’s husband in every sense of the word, I wasn’t going to get ahead of myself. We hadn’t even kissed yet.
“I can do a lot of my work from a home office, and when I need to be in Lancastle, it’s an easy enough flight.”
“So, do you have a house in Haven Springs?”
“Not yet. Right now, I’m staying at my friend’s house. Brian O’Shaughnessy—maybe you know him? He’s a sergeant with the Haven Springs Police Department.”
“I know his dad, Angus. Good man.”
Before I could offer that Jess and I could look for a place to rent, Kevin interjected, “I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars.”