Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
I an sat at his desk and set the coffee cup down. Then he pushed his chair forward and rubbed his eyes. The screen still swam in front of him, so Ian leaned back in his chair and glanced over at Marissa, who sat a few desks away with a furrow between her brows and a solemn expression on her face.
He picked up a pen and threw it at her.
Marissa blinked and twisted to face him. “What’s the matter with you?”
“It’s a slow shift, and nothing is happening,” Ian replied, pausing to link his fingers together. “What are you doing?”
“Catching up on paperwork.” Marissa rolled her eyes and turned her back on him. “You need to stop interrupting me.”
“It’s boring.”
Marissa gave him an incredulous look. “I’m not here for your entertainment. Maybe you should work on your own paperwork.”
Ian snorted. “When you’re an insomniac, you end up catching up on a lot of paperwork.”
Marissa scowled. “Stop rubbing it in my face and find someone else to pester, Railings.”
With that, she spun around in her chair, and her fingers hovered over the keyboard. Ian picked up another pen and was going to throw it at her when his phone rang, slicing through the air. He received a few startled looks from the other officers on duty and gave them all a sheepish smile.
When Bryce Rolland’s name flashed across the screen, Ian’s stomach clenched.
He frowned, pressed the phone against his ear, and hunched over his desk. “Look, I already told you that we didn’t mean any harm. If you’re calling to tell me you’re pressing charges—”
“I’m not. I’m calling to apologize,” Bryce said in a strange voice. “I realize I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, especially when you’re just trying to find closure because of your mom.”
“I’m sorry about your dad’s office. The door was open, by the way.”
A heartbeat later, Bryce exhaled. “I should get that fixed. I haven’t been avoiding your calls. I’ve just had a lot of demanding clients and a lot of bills to pay.”
“I understand.”
“And the nursing home isn’t cheap, so I had to focus on my paying clients. I’m sure you can understand.”
Ian glanced over at Marissa, who was leaning sideways in her chair, and shot her a smug look. She shrugged, pulled her chair closer, and waited till Ian set the phone down on his desk. Then he set it on speaker, and it went silent.
“You still there?”
“Yeah, I have an idea.” Ian elbowed Marissa, who sat up straighter and folded her arms over her chest. “What if I hired you as my PI?”
“What?”
“I need you to dig up the evidence your father compiled, and you need to pay the bills. This seems like a win-win situation to me.”
Marissa hit the mute button and snatched the phone off Ian’s desk. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t hire him. What if he’s working for Eric?”
“What if he isn’t, and he’s my only chance at getting any answers?”
“There are too many unknown variables,” Marissa sputtered, her face turning a bright red. “It’s not safe to hire a guy like this. You haven’t even vetted him properly.”
“I did, and he’s clean.”
“Did you run his name through the system?”
“Yes.”
Marissa frowned. “And he’s got nothing? No shady past? No strange debt?”
“That’s what ‘clean’ means.” Ian plucked the phone out of her hand. “Look, I appreciate you looking out, but I know how to do my job, Mar. I’ve got this.”
And here was his chance to take some things off his plate and make more time for his sick wife.
Marissa gave him a skeptical look and dragged her chair back across the floor. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“You can tell me I told you so later.” Ian took the phone off of mute and pressed it to his ear. “Sorry about that, Bryce. I had an emergency. So, what do you think?”
“I’ll send you my hours, and if you approve, we can get started right away.”
“So, you went from barely trusting the guy to breaking into his dad’s old office to hiring him as the PI?”
“Yup.”
Sophia leaned sideways and sniffed. “What are you on, and can I have some?”
Ian shoved her away. “I’m not on anything. I just need the information he has, and the guy has bills to pay. What’s wrong with what I suggested?”
“What’s wrong is Marissa is right, and he could be a dangerous guy, and you’re letting your impatience cloud your judgment.”
Ian stopped tearing off tiny pieces of his sandwich. “Impatience? Soph, it’s been forty-plus years since Mom was killed. This is the first real lead we’ve ever had. I can’t just walk away from it.”
No matter how much he wanted to.
Plus, hiring Bryce left him enough time to focus on Lucy.
Why couldn’t anyone understand that?
Sophia sighed, and her breath crystallized in front of her. “I still think it isn’t the right move.”
Ian set the sandwich down on the steps between them. “What would you do, then?”
Sophia tilted her head in his direction. “I don’t know, to be honest. It’s a lot to take in.”
In silence, they both stared at the empty street and the park across from it. Ian’s eyes swept over the streetlamps, stopping at a lone figure near the end. He squinted, and the figure disappeared, making it feel as if the two of them were alone in the world.
He knew Sophia meant well, but she couldn’t possibly understand what it was like for him.
How could she?
“I know that face.” Sophia stood up and dusted herself off. “I’m not trying to criticize you, E. I’m just letting you know what I think. We’re allowed to disagree, you know.”
Ian picked up his sandwich and handed it back to Sophia. “Yeah, I know.”
Reluctantly, Sophia took the sandwich out of his hand and shoved it into her purse. “You’re looking way too thin. I know that between Lucy and the case, you’re spread thin, but you need to take care of yourself too.”
Ian’s lips lifted into the ghost of a smile. “I’ll try.”
Sophia hiked her purse up her shoulder, and her eyes swept over his face. “And maybe stop volunteering for so many night shifts. You should be at home with Luce.”
Except he didn’t know how to look her in the eye yet.
He’d done everything he could to make his peace with her news, but the longer they went without answers, the worse he felt about everything.
All he wanted was to know the woman he loved was going to be okay.
Sophia’s hand darted out, and she squeezed his hand. “Go home, E. Let’s talk tomorrow, okay?”
Ian cleared his throat. “Thanks for stopping by. Say hi to Darren for me.”
Sophia nodded. “Will do.”
For the rest of his shift, Ian thought about what Sophia said, and it stayed with him until he clocked out and drove through the empty streets of Falmouth with closed shops and restaurants, except for a few fast-food restaurants and Sal’s diner. When he pulled up outside his house, he stayed in the car for a while, peering at the two-story Victorian shrouded in darkness. Then he pushed the door open and walked up the driveway.
Lucy sat with her feet propped on the coffee table, her face half-lit up by the TV. “You’re home.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping? Is everything okay?”
Lucy removed the cover and patted the spot next to her. “I just missed you.”
Ian kicked off his shoes and slammed the door shut. After unwinding his scarf and hanging up his coat, he wandered over to Lucy. She gave him a small smile when he sat down and placed his legs next to hers. Slowly, she brought her head to rest in the crook of his neck and sighed.
He draped an arm over her shoulders and ignored the twinge in his chest. “Are you sure you’re okay? Does the doctor have any news?”
“Not yet.” Lucy snuggled up against him and adjusted the cover so it was draped over both of them. “How was your shift?”
“It was okay. Bryce, the PI’s son…he called back, and he apologized, so I hired him.”
“I had a feeling you would,” Lucy murmured, her voice trailing off toward the end. “You’ve always been single-minded except, apparently, when it comes to your hobbies.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s been months since you built anything with your hands,” Lucy pointed out, drawing back to look at him. “I don’t want this to take over your whole life.”
Ian cupped her face in his hands and pressed his forehead to hers. “It won’t.”
“Let’s go outside, then, and work out that swing I was promised.”
Lucy threw the cover off and took her hand in his. After pulling him to his feet, she led him into the backyard, where she laid out his tools and the wood.
“You didn’t have to do all of this,” Ian told her gruffly. “We won’t be able to do much anyway because it’s late.”
“Let’s take measurements or something,” Lucy suggested, pausing to place both hands on her hips. “I want to help.”
“You’re awful at this sort of thing.”
Lucy shrugged. “Yeah, but we haven’t spent a lot of time together lately because I’ve had a lot on my mind. I don’t want us to be distant anymore.”
Ian’s lips twitched. “So, you want us to do woodwork together?”
“I want us to do everything together,” Lucy corrected, lifting her chin. When she looked directly at him, her bright eyes were full of love and humor. “But let’s start with the swing for now.”
Ian’s throat turned dry. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Just don’t expect me to help with any lifting,” Lucy teased, her expression softening. “I can keep an eye on things and keep you company.”
“You’re the best wing-woman out there.” Ian smiled before bending down to pick up the measuring tape. “How’s it going with that new client of yours?”
“I thought Sophia’s client was bad. This one is way worse. You have no idea how many times she’s changed her mind so far. I want to rip my hair out sometimes.”
“Maybe invest in a wig.”
Lucy shot him a dirty look, and he threw his hands up in the air.
The two of them talked and laughed well into the night. When Lucy sat down on the back steps, her eyelids growing heavy, Ian sat next to her. He waited till she was fast asleep before carrying her up the stairs and into their room.
When he crawled into bed, he pulled Lucy against him and buried his face against her neck.
She smelled like flowers and vanilla.
In the morning, he was up before the sun climbed into the sky. In silence, he got dressed and crept downstairs. During his run, he stopped by Decadent Treats to pick up a few things. On his way out, he waved at Emily, who offered him a bright smile and two thumbs-up.
The house was quiet when he went home and left the paper bag on the kitchen counter. Then he looked around for a piece of paper and wrote Lucy a sweet note. After securing it underneath the bag, he showered and changed into his work clothes.
For the first time in a long time, Ian felt like he could finally breathe.