But he looked at me and Heath. “I had a visit to my office this morning. From some uh…pigs?”
Ripley struggled to get off Liam’s back at that news, and Liam set his feet down on a chair, holding his hands while Ripley jumped up and down on it. “There were pigs at your office? Were they pink? Did they snort? Did you bring one home? Mae, can I have a pig?”
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be horrified. It was clear Liam meant the cops had been there, but Ripley always made things seem a little brighter.
“Uh, I don’t know about that, Rip,” Liam interrupted before I could answer. “These pigs were really mean ones. Old and fat.”
Ripley’s face fell. “Oh. Do they have names?”
Liam nodded. “They do. One was named Johnson, the other was named Stewart.”
Heath stiffened at my back. “They were looking for…”
Ripley’s big-eyed gaze bounced around the three of us. “They lost something?”
Liam nodded. “Yeah, they lost their…um…”
“Rooster?” I supplied.
Heath raised one eyebrow, then shrugged, like he didn’t mind being the rooster in this analogy.
Liam sniggered. “Yeah, they were looking for their rooster.” He picked Ripley up again and tossed him into the air, catching him easily as he fell back toward the earth. “But you know what I told those mean old pigs, Rip? I told them that they could go back to their pigpen, because they’re never gonna find the rooster by hanging around my office.”
Liam’s meaning was clear enough. The cops had come. They were putting on the pressure. We needed to be more careful than ever.
We needed to find the person who truly had killed Jayela so we could clear Heath’s name and stop hiding.
Ripley nodded in agreement. “Those pigs do not belong in offices. They belong in the mud.”
For those two pigs in particular, I couldn’t agree more.
I dropped the request form at Tori’s hospital on the way to work, and after my shift, there was a text message waiting for me on my phone. It was from an unknown number, but the moment I read the message, I knew who it was from. It wasn’t the hospital, like I’d been hoping for.
It was the details of my father’s memorial. Sent to me by the woman who probably should have been my stepmother, if my father hadn’t been a cold-hearted bastard who kept everybody at arm’s length.
As Rowe always did, he walked me to my car after my shift, before going back inside to finish his. He worked a mishmash of day and night shifts, but always tried to make sure he was there when I was. He opened my door for me. “Are you going to go?”
I tossed my purse onto the passenger seat but didn’t get in. “I think so.”
Rowe shoved his hands into his pocket while he studied me. “Huh. I didn’t think you would.”
I understood where he was coming from. He’d been there the night my father had died. He’d heard my stories of how he’d treated me growing up. He knew there was no love lost between the two of us. “Surprises me, too. But Angela…” I shrugged. “She’s not what I expected. And her kids…”
“Are your siblings.”
I blew out a breath. “Exactly. She seems to want me there. It’s tomorrow. She apologized for the short notice, but she says I’ll be welcome.”
“I’ll come, too. For moral support. Liam will as well, for sure. Heath would if he could.”
I leaned in against his chest, clutching my fingers in the shirt of his uniform and breathing him in. “I know.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “It’ll be good. You can share shitty father stories with them.”
My laugh was stifled by his chest. “I guess so.”
“Go home and get some sleep.”
I tried, but sleep didn’t come. I was still awake when Rowe came home hours later and slipped into bed behind Heath. We had more room now, after bringing in an extra mattress, but we were still all on the floor. I didn’t mind when it meant I got to have all three of them with me. We’d work out something more permanent eventually, something prettier and less like camping, but for now, just being with them was enough.
The sun rose, and Ripley burst in, jumping straight onto Rowe’s back. Despite the fact Rowe had only been asleep a couple of hours, he immediately tossed Ripley to the mattress and started tickling him.
I closed my eyes, enjoying his little boy laughter, and sighed contentedly when he grew tired of wrestling with the boys and came looking to me for morning cuddles.
I hated the thought that someone out there had the power to take him away from us. There was nothing about the child I didn’t like, even when he was tired or grumpy at me for making him come inside for a shower.
He’d stolen my heart in a different but no less powerful way than Rowe, Heath, and Liam.
“Love you, Rip,” I murmured to him.
He beamed at me, then wrinkled his nose. “Your breath smells like poop.”
All adults in the room burst into laughter, and I found the ticklish spot on his ribs. “Thanks, kiddo. I love your honesty.” I scrambled to my feet and locked myself in the bathroom for some girl time that included brushing my teeth. Twice.
By the time I came out, dressed in a long navy summer dress, the guys had all gotten themselves dressed, too. I was used to seeing Liam in a suit, and that always did it for me, but Rowe took my breath away.
“Quit staring at him like that,” Heath said in my ear. “Or neither of you are going to make it out the door.”
Liam moved in on my other side, placing a soft kiss beneath my ear. “That sounds like more fun than a funeral. I vote we do that.”
I swatted them both away. “Stop tempting me, because I would rather do almost anything than go to this funeral.” I gave Rowe and Liam stern looks. “I need the two of you to make me go, not entice me to stay.”
They grumbled their agreement, and Heath and Ripley walked us out to the steps of the cabin. Heath paused while we piled into the car. “Watch out for each other… Just in case Z—” He glanced down at Ripley by his side. “You know who might show up.”