Chapter 5
“Hey.” Krystal looked up from the pictures she’d been going through on the countertop, smiled as her husband walked in.
Mike yawned, then stretched as he stumbled toward the coffeepot. “Woke up and you were gone. You get called in today?”
It was early morning, well before the sun was up, but she hadn’t been able to sleep. “No, thankfully.” She paused as he refilled her mug before pouring one for himself. “You didn’t have to get up.”
“I promised the boys I’d take them hiking up at Sanctuary Falls.”
“Early in the season for hiking up there,” she murmured, her gaze straying back to neat stacks of pictures she’d started creating. “But I’m sure the boys will love it.”
He kissed the top of her head, then sat next to her at the island. “I know you need a morning to decompress after that last case.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. Two weeks ago she and her partner had been called in to investigate the murder of a mom of three boys.
Probably why it had hit her so hard. It had been the husband, so now the kids had lost both their parents and a bright woman had lost her life.
All because of an insecure narcissist who’d felt entitled to take his wife’s life.
So yeah, some cases were harder than others. “I do, thank you.”
“So why are you really awake?” He leaned in, kissed her shoulder and neck, making her smile.
“I had one of my feelings.”
“Uh oh. Which sibling is in trouble?”
Mike had never made her feel stupid or called her “feelings” woo-woo or whatever.
Because she was connected to her siblings, always had been.
After their mom had been murdered, she’d helped raise them.
“I wouldn’t say he’s in trouble, but I had a dream about Micah, then woke up with a weird feeling.
So I decided to start digging through some of these old photos I found last week. Figured it would keep my mind busy.”
Mike picked up a picture of her mom wearing a bright teal T-shirt with orange and pink stripes on the sleeves.
Her jeans were bell-bottom style even though the back of the picture had 1981 scribbled on it underneath Yvette and the girls.
“Who are the girls? I don’t recognize any of these women from your family. ”
“Ah, I have no idea.” There were four young women in the picture, including her mom. “But she looks familiar.” She tapped the woman next to her mom. They had their arms thrown around each other, big smiles on their faces. “I just can’t figure out why.” She shrugged.
Her father had never talked about their mom after her murder.
Had just closed himself off and screw the rest of the world, including his kids.
She wanted to understand, but a part of her would never forgive that.
Yes, he’d lost his wife, but she was a mom now.
She had kids of her own. She would never abandon them if something happened to Mike.
“Is it weird if I say your mom was hot?”
She snort-laughed in surprise. “I mean, it’s a little weird.”
“You look exactly like her.”
She grinned now even as a pang hit her right in the chest. “I know. It’s a little eerie looking at these pictures. I feel like my mom might have been a bit of a rebel.” She set down another picture of her mom sitting on a Harley, looking like she owned the whole damn world.
The rest of the women with her all had their own bikes as well, so she didn’t think it was a case of their boyfriends or whatever owning the bikes. “It’s weird that my dad never said anything about her being a biker. Or even owning a motorcycle.”
“Is it though? Did he ever say anything about her?”
She sighed, tracing her finger over one of the pictures.
“No, I guess not. I just hate that I know so little about her.” And for some reason, the older her own kids got, the more she wanted to know.
Her mom had been murdered, the case still unsolved.
It was part of the reason she’d become a cop—with the intent to become a detective.
“Have you called Micah?” Mike asked, changing the subject.
“Texted him. He still hasn’t texted me back.” He was a grown man, but still, she wouldn’t be able to rest until she heard from him.
They both paused at the sound of a herd of buffalo stomping down the stairs. Their three teenage boys were up and ready for their hike.
“I guess naked time is off the table,” Mike murmured.
“I didn’t know it was even on the table this morning.”
“Baby, it’s always on the table with you.” He leaned over and captured her mouth for a long moment.
“Ew, gross. We just woke up,” grumbled River as he stumbled in, already dressed and ready to go hiking.
Miles and Jett just looked at them in disgust before the three of them descended on the fridge like a wild pack of wolves.
She had three brothers so it wasn’t a surprise how much teenage boys ate, but it was still impressive.
“I’m going to let you handle this,” she whispered, picking up all the pictures and her coffee before stealing one more kiss in her escape from chaos.
She just wished she could shake the worried feeling about Micah. Her brother was smart and knew how to take care of himself, but she was always going to worry about her siblings.