Chapter One #2
Bonnie emerged from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of stew, and Dan hurried over to take it from her hands. “And not helping a lady is another one.” He shot Sean a pointed look. “Now grab the salad and bread so Bonnie can sit down. She’s been slaving over your dinner all day.”
He grinned and snapped off a salute. “Yes, sir.”
The women laughed while Dan narrowed his eyes at him.
“Little brat.” The insult carried far too much affection to sound convincing.
Sean returned with a large bowl of salad and a basket of warm sliced bread and set them on the table. Taking the seat across from Grace, he bowed his head while Dan asked God’s blessing over the meal.
As Jinx snored beneath Dan’s chair, most of the conversation centered on Grace and Sean catching up on the years they’d missed.
Sean explained how he’d earned his master’s degree in criminal justice while serving in the Army.
“After I got accepted into the FBI Academy at Quantico, I put in for an honorable discharge. So far, my entire FBI career’s been in Jacksonville, Florida, but I requested a transfer so I could be closer to my new niece or nephew. ”
Grace nodded after taking a sip of wine.
“Dan told me KC got married and that his wife is expecting. That’s wonderful.
I can’t wait to meet them.” She smiled. “I barely knew KC—he was already seventeen when you boys came to live with Dan, and then he left for the Navy the following year. Since I was only nine and mostly visited Bonnie during summers and holidays, I knew you and Brian a lot better.”
Her words pulled Sean back to a time he rarely let himself dwell on.
He’d been fourteen and Brian sixteen when their parents were killed in a plane crash. They’d been flying to Hawaii to celebrate their twentieth anniversary when the plane went down shortly after takeoff, killing everyone aboard.
Dan, already widowed and without children of his own, had taken in all three boys without hesitation.
He’d raised them the same way his brother and sister-in-law had—with rules, discipline, and plenty of love.
Becoming a parent overnight hadn’t been part of Dan Malone’s plans, but he’d never once treated the responsibility like a burden.
Sean knew how lucky they’d been.
Despite losing their parents so young, all three brothers had grown into respectable men who served their country in different ways. KC had made a career in the Navy, while Sean and Brian had gone into law enforcement after serving in the Army and Air Force, respectively.
Their uncle couldn’t have been prouder and never missed a chance to tell people so.
Shoving aside thoughts of the past, Sean turned his attention back to Grace. “Well, you’ll see KC and Moriah in two weeks when they come down for Easter. Bonnie invited everybody for dinner.” He flashed the older woman a grin. “God bless her and her cooking.”
Bonnie laughed and waved him off while Sean continued, “You’ll see Brian too. He’s a special agent with the State Bureau of Investigation now and lives outside Elizabeth City.”
“Good for him.” Grace’s face brightened. “I can’t wait to see him.”
Sean forced himself to keep eating even as something sharp twisted in his gut.
He remembered teasing Brian years ago when it had been painfully obvious that young Grace had a crush on his older brother. Back then, it had been harmless and almost funny.
Now? The idea of Grace looking at Brian that way again bothered him a whole lot more than it should have.
The rest of the evening passed with an easy comfort Sean hadn’t realized he’d missed, and his guests finally left a little after ten.
Three hours later, he was dead asleep and having a very distracting dream involving Grace Whitman’s mouth, hands, and a whole lot of temptation he had no business thinking about.
Unfortunately, an annoying ringing sound kept interrupting the fantasy.
He cracked open his eyes and realized the noise came from his cell phone vibrating across the nightstand beside him. Groaning, he grabbed it without checking the caller ID. The interruption—and the state of his body—did nothing to improve his mood.
“Who is this?” he muttered.
A brief silence followed before a familiar voice answered. “Sean? It’s Sheriff Griffin. Sorry to wake you.”
“Matt?” Sean glanced at the bedside clock. One fifteen in the morning. A flicker of unease slid through him. “What’s wrong? Is Uncle Dan okay?”
“No. I mean—yes, he’s fine.” Matt let out a breath. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. But I need your professional help. Dan told me you were staying at the beach house. I’m out at a homicide scene, and I think we’ve got a major problem on our hands. I’d appreciate it if you came to take a look.”
Sean sat up, the last traces of sleep disappearing fast. Swinging his legs out of bed, he crossed to the dresser and pulled on a clean pair of jeans.
“Where are you?”
Whatever waited for him out there was bad. Matt sounded rattled, and that alone had Sean’s pulse spiking.
“Do you remember how to get to Red Maple Park?”
“Yeah.”
“When you get here, one of my men will point you in our direction.” Matt hesitated before clearing his throat. “And Sean?”
He froze with a T-shirt in hand. “What?”
“I hope you’ve got an empty stomach.”
Damn it.