“Our Sweet Lady Mother and Jesus be praised,” Bobby said. “Broth, did you say? Why, my mouth is just watering already.”
“Behave,” Kieran told him. “You’ll drink your apple juice first and love it, and then we’ll talk about broth.”
“Aye, Miss Finnegan,” Bobby said. “Whatever you say.”
Julie had been standing with her hands behind her back. Now she produced a cup with a spoon in it. “I brought you ice chips,” she told him.
They all laughed.
“Maybe juice won’t be so bad,” he muttered, once his dry, cracked lip had been soothed.
A new nurse came in, Jarrod, tall and fit, with a quick smile and easy manner. He was pleased to see that Bobby was doing so well. He was there to take Bobby for another scan, but he expected positive results, given how alert Bobby was.
Bobby told the nurse about his desire for a Danish.
“If all goes well, you can have one in a few hours. Ice chips were good?”
“As sweet as me Sainted Mother’s tit,” Bobby said.
Jarrod grinned, glancing at Kieran and Julie, then left, telling them that Officer Clayton was on duty outside the room and would be happy to know Bobby was doing so well.
Bobby’s smile faded the minute the three of them were alone in the room again. “I suppose the lawmen will be here any minute with their questions. Aye, and that’s fine. I’m up to talking now.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than the door opened. An aide was there with a plastic pitcher of ice water and a glass of apple juice. She warned Bobby to drink slowly.
The minute she was gone, Officer Clayton walked in, a nice young guy in his early twenties, and told Bobby how happy he was to see him doing so well.
As soon as he left, Julie said, “I guess everyone is hoping you can help catch the guys who hurt you, Bobby.”
“Don’t you think that I’d like them caught?” Bobby asked softly.
A technician came and rolled Bobby down for the promised scan; Julie and Kieran stayed in the room, looking worriedly at each other.
“This is really terrifying,” Julie told Kieran.
“Yes,” Kieran said, wondering if Julie suspected that Finnegan’s was somehow connected to the jewelry store robberies.
Julie leaned forward. “Kieran, you be careful. You’re always coming and going at odd hours, and you never think to be afraid, no matter how late it is.”
“I’ll be careful. We all will.”
Julie’s eyes brightened. “Not to mention now you’ve got an FBI guy in your corner.”
“What?”
“Oh, Kieran, please. Maybe you two think you’re acting cool, but there’s something in the air when you’re together. Something good. Are you sleeping with him yet?” She read the truth in Kieran’s eyes. “Oh! You are sleeping with him. Don’t look as if you just ate a pack of peppers. I’m not judging.”
Julie stopped speaking. Her eyes had wandered to the door. Kieran looked in that direction, too.
She wished she could crawl under Bobby’s hospital bed.
Craig was back, and Mike was with him.
If such a thing as spontaneous combustion existed, Kieran was pretty sure it would have happened to her at that moment. She felt as if she was burning up and knew her face must be an unbecoming shade of crimson.
Mike was one good guy, she realized. He was pretending that they hadn’t heard a thing, though she knew that both men must have heard at least the tail end of Julie’s speech.
“Good morning, Kieran, Julie,” Mike said. “We were relieved when we heard that Bobby is doing so well.”
“He’s out for a scan,” Julie said quickly.
“Yes,” Craig said. “We heard from the officer outside.” His eyes turned to regard Kieran. They were frost blue, betraying nothing. “Why don’t you two go down and get some coffee, maybe even breakfast?” he suggested. “Detective Mayo is going to be joining us in a minute, and we need to talk to Bobby when he comes back.”
Julie was instantly on her feet. “Oh, yes, coffee,” she said, a little too much enthusiasm in her voice.
Kieran stood. “Of course,” she said.
She had to walk past Craig. He was the epitome of an FBI agent, crisp and clean in his dark blue suit. As she got closer, she realized that he must have showered recently, because his hair was still damp. She wanted to reach out and run her hands down the fabric of his suit or trace the freshly shaved contours of his face.
She managed to flee the room quickly, Julie at her heels.
“I’m so, so sorry about embarrassing you that way,” Julie said.
“It’s all right,” Kieran said.
“I still feel terrible. And now his partner knows, too. I hope I didn’t get him in trouble.”
“It’s all right,” Kieran repeated. “Really.”
“But it’s true, right?” Julie said. “You are sleeping with him.”
They were standing in front of the elevators, surrounded by both visitors and staff, and Julie wasn’t exactly whispering. Embarrassed, Kieran said, “Julie, keep it down. Please.”