Fourteen
O f course my amazing day took a turn, because halfway through a late lunch, Darwin had to get up and run to the guest bathroom.
The sounds of the barfing were horrific enough on their own, but, of course, he missed the toilet with the force of the projectile vomiting.
Since Luke could not clean that up—the instant retching told me that wasn’t possible—I was on latrine duty while he and his mother put Darwin in our bed because we wanted him close enough that we could hear him if he needed us.
An hour later, Griff succumbed, and though he said he’d be fine in his room, he was nearly an adult, after all, I made him get in our bed as well and heard the relieved sigh when he didn’t think I was paying attention.
Luke went to the store for supplies like Gatorade, saltine crackers, chicken noodle soup, and ginger snaps for the nausea. No one believed me, but Shaw’s mother swore by them for herself and all her daughters-in-law when they were pregnant, and stomach flu had nothing on morning sickness.
Wanting to be close to Griff and Darwin, who were propped up in our bed, with buckets on the floor for emergency spewing, and watching Lord of the Rings , I sat in the wingback chair, which Luke and John had retrieved from the attic, along with the matching ottoman.
Viola came in, and seeing it, explained that she’d gifted it to Caitlyn and Luke when they were newly married.
“I loved it as soon as I saw it in this beautiful antique store in Cape Cod, but it simply wasn’t her style. I offered to pay to have it reupholstered, but it just went in the basement in their old place and up into the attic here.”
“Well, I love it. It’s a nice big chair, firm but comfortable, and I feel like the lord of the manor when I’m sitting in it.”
She laughed, clearly delighted and then suddenly scowled as though she’d thought of something. “May I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“What on earth is with all the casseroles in the refrigerator?”
I waggled my eyebrows at her. “When your son got home, all the lovely women in the neighborhood brought him sustenance.”
“Is that right?”
“Handsome unmarried man,” I reminded her.
She grunted. “I would have brought sandwiches or a fruit salad if I was trying to court a man with kids.”
I shrugged.
“But c’mon, that’s food for a wake not food for popping over and bringing a snack.”
“I completely agree.”
“And some of that—I don’t think it’s good.”
“You know, I gave away like six huge casseroles.”
“There’s a tuna one in there,” she said with a shiver. “Who eats that?”
“You’re being prejudiced against tuna,” I scolded her.
She studied me and I couldn’t contain my grin.
“I was worried for a second that we weren’t going to be friends.”
“I hate it so much,” I confessed.
Her chuckle was warm. “That’s because it’s disgusting.”
“Feel free to get rid of everything. There’s tape on the bottom of the pans so the kids can return them.”
“I’ll make some pound cake to send with them.”
“That would be really nice of you as long as one stays here.”
“Fond of pound cake, are you?”
“I like lemon.”
“I can do that.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her.
“Okay, good, that’s all settled,” she announced, leaving the room.
When Luke returned, he said the Eena police station was swarming with federal agents in windbreakers or head-to-toe hazmat-looking suits.
“Jared Colter does not mess around.”
“No, not ever,” I replied.
Luke crossed the room to me then, and dropped down to one knee beside the chair.
“Yes, peasant?” I teased him.
“I love these children, but I had big plans for this bed tonight.”
I lifted my phone and showed him the alert from the school district.
“I’m sorry, does that say an outbreak of stomach flu has closed school through Wednesday?”
I nodded.
At that moment, John and Viola carried in the long end piece from the sectional in the living room.
“Thank you,” Tatum said, carrying in blankets and then darting out.
“What’s happening?” Luke asked his parents.
“She didn’t want to be left out,” Viola replied.
“Nope,” I said, putting the kibosh on that, pointing outside. “Not gonna happen. Take that right back out.”
Luke seemed to think that whoever was sick at the moment, that was the end of it, but I knew better. I’d seen an entire platoon struck down, taking turns puking. It was not happening on my watch. This was why school was canceled, after all.
Tatum and her grandparents retreated to the living room, and Luke and I stayed with the boys in the bedroom.
I was in the chair to the right of Darwin, and Luke sat between his sons on the bed, helping them eat crackers and wash it down with flat, room temperature Sprite.
I realized I’d never in my life watched movies with a family, and now I had my own.
When a cracker hit me, I looked for the culprit and found Luke, staring at me, evidently concerned. I stood up and leaned over an already sleeping Darwin to reach him. “I’m just happy,” I murmured, smiling at him.
He reached out, cupping my cheek, to ease me close for a kiss.
It was quick, but I felt it light me up, and before I could straighten, he whispered, “I never thought I would find a partner, someone who wanted me and my kids and loved us all so hard. You’re a gift, and I will never take you for granted.
” He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them, they were glistening with unshed tears.
“So you know, I’m all in, all yours. I’m stupid in love already. ”
“That’s good, because I love you too, Luke Duchesne.”
His sigh was long, as though he’d been waiting on the words. “That’s so very, very good to hear.”
I kissed him again, then got back to my spot in my new favorite chair. When my phone rang a few minutes later, I got up and walked out into the hall.
“Hey,” Owen greeted me.
“Are you on your plane?”
“Oh yeah, it’s my plane now too, huh?”
“Stop. Where are you?”
“We’re on our way to spend Thanksgiving with Dante and Darius and their families.”
“And you’re callin’ me why?”
“To give you an update. The crime-scene people found blood and tissue and even a tooth down there in the basement. From what the SAC told Jared, it was only surface-cleaned. He was certain Wilson meant to return and give the place a serious scrubbing, but he never got the chance. I mean, Newcastle PD took over that Sunday when you went and got Griffin, and have been there since.”
“Yeah.”
“DNA will take a few days—this is the FBI, after all, they work fast—but Newcastle PD has already issued a warrant for Wilson’s arrest. All his officers have already been picked up, and they’re holding Firmin on suspicion of being an accomplice to murder.”
“Damn.”
“I know, right?” Owen agreed. “I knew it would be fast, but that’s crazy.”
It certainly was.
“Without the key, we would have never been able to get them to go out and look. Too bad Mullane was a criminal. Seems like he was a smart guy.”
“I feel bad for his family,” I said, imagining how hard it would hit, especially right before the holidays. “Mostly his parents.”
“Like I said this morning, Wilson should hope that the FBI finds him before Ryan Mullane does.”
“Did the FBI talk to Mullane?”
“They let him know that the key to the Camaro was found. Apparently, he’s had people making inquiries, and they tracked James here to Eena before his phone was turned off.”
“Then what he thought happened, did in fact happen.”
“Yeah. They’re just confirming what I’m sure he surmised.”
I took a breath. “Okay, then. Thanks for letting me know.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You two feel all right, don’t you?”
“Oh God,” he groaned. “Why?”
“Stomach flu outbreak, but so far it just got Griff and Dar.”
“This is why after being around kids you need a Silkwood shower.”
“Charming.”
“I’m wearing a hazmat suit next time.”
“Maybe there won’t be a next time,” I growled at him.
“Oh, there’ll be a next time. Once a fixer, always a fixer, and you know it.”
I did know that.
“And, Nash?”
“What?”
“You have a lovely family, and they’re crazy about you.”
I grunted.
He was laughing when he hung up.
It was time to call Rais after that.
“I knew it,” he told me. “I could hear it in your voice. You were crazy about those kids from the jump, and the father needs you, and you’re a sucker for that.”
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
I did. “You’ll visit, yeah?”
“Of course I will. You will too.”
I would. I had to. He was my best friend.
“Also, I want a smokin’ deal on your place.”
“You can rent it.”
“I wanna buy it.”
I was quiet, not about to say a word.
“Oh, fuck off.”
“You’re gonna live with her.”
“I am.”
“You asked?”
“I did.”
“And she said yeah?”
“Of course she said yeah. This is me.”
He wasn’t fooling me one bit.
“She loves your place, and that helped, so…thanks.”
“I’ll make you a deal.”
“I know you will,” he sighed. “And, Nash?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m crazy happy for you. No one deserves a family more than you.”
“Thank you, brother.”
“And you know,” he said, instead of I love you .
“Same,” I assured him.
It was enough.
Despite being the one with the boys most of that Sunday—including all the puke cleaning—the bug did not get me.
It got Luke instead. Around seven, he was the one on the floor of the bathroom, having turned an alarming shade of gray.
He ran a fever, but not crazy high, and I ended up moving Dar over in the middle so Luke could get up and run to the bathroom when needed.
He got the shakes, and when the fever finally broke around four in the morning, I was there to take the blankets off and change his clothes.
“This is not sexy,” he muttered.
“No,” I agreed, smiling at him, threading my fingers through his hair. “But I do like taking care of you and the boys.”
“You can’t sleep in that chair,” he told me. “Go out to the couch.”
“This chair is heaven compared to some of the places I’ve slept,” I commented.
“You’re not a soldier anymore, or a cop. You get a bed now.”