I smiled. “I never imagined Detective Ruby Lee would be making breakfast and serving me.”
“Hey, don’t get used to it. I just got up first. I had to tend to the puppy, and we were both hungry,” she teased.
“Sorry, babe.” I pulled her into my lap after she’d set my plate and coffee on the table. “I’m already used to it.” I gave her a long, deep kiss.
She broke away, laughing. “You know? I kind of like getting up and making you breakfast. I’m just not sure I can do it at five in the morning, when you usually get up. Plus, I have to get another job at some point.”
“Why?”
“It’s kind of how I make a living.”
“Baby, I have enough money to support you for ten lifetimes. You don’t need to work anymore.”
She punched my arm. “I want to work, you idiot. I’m a good detective.”
“Yes, you are.”
“So maybe I’ll start my own private investigating service or something.”
“Or maybe you could move in an entirely different direction,” I suggested.
“Meaning…?”
“Meaning…you told me you wanted to learn more about wine. I just happen to know a winemaker who needs some help.”
“You do?”
“I do. Jade was helping me before she landed her job as city attorney, and I haven’t had the time to hire anyone new.”
She lifted her brow. “I don’t hate the idea.”
I laughed. “I guess that’s good.”
“But being a cop is all I know.”
“Silly, I’d teach you about wine. You are capable of learning new things.”
I started to kiss her again, but the sound of my ringtone interrupted me.
“You need to get that?” She moved off my lap.
“Yeah, I should. It could be Joe or Talon.” I stood and walked to my bedroom. I didn’t make it in time, but the phone showed Joe’s number. I quickly called him back.
“Hey, Ry,” he said.
“Sorry. The phone was in another room. What’s up?”
“You need to get over to Tal’s place. Dad’s here.”
* * *
Ruby had stayed at my place to take care of the dogs and go into town for puppy food. I’d tossed her the keys to one of my extra cars and then walked over to the main house.
Jade let me in. “Hey, Ryan. They’re all in the office.”
“You and Melanie aren’t joining us?”
She shook her head. “It’s too much. This is really between all of you. We’ll know everything soon enough. Besides, my mom is still here, and it’s the nurse’s day off. Someone has to deal with her.”
“Okay.” I walked down the east hallway to Talon’s office.
My father sat behind the desk, which unnerved me a bit. This was Talon’s office, no longer his.
Before I could say anything, Talon said, “Hey, Ry. It was my idea for him to sit there. That way he’s talking to all of us, not just one of us.”
Joe and Marjorie were sitting in the office, Marjorie’s eyes already red-rimmed and swollen. I hated what all of this was doing to her.
“Are you okay, kiddo?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder.
“Dad just told her why Tal was taken,” Joe said. “But she’s doing okay.”
“Hey,” I said to my little sister. “None of this is your fault. Talon doesn’t blame you, and neither do the rest of us.”
She nodded and sniffled, but said nothing. It would take some time. I knew only too well. It had taken me some time to realize that my brothers and sister didn’t think of me as any less of a brother to them even though we didn’t share a mother.
I looked at my father icily. “I hope you’re happy. Look at your daughter.”
“None of this makes me happy, Ryan.”
“Where’s Daphne?” I asked.
“She’s safe at a top-quality mental hospital in California. I admitted her under an alias.”
“She should be here at home,” Talon said. “We’re her children. We should be taking care of her.”
“She requires round-the-clock care, Talon,” our father said. “You’re newly married, and so is your brother. And baby girl, you don’t want that for your life.”
He hadn’t acknowledged me in that comment. She wasn’t actually my mother. Still, it stung.
“She’s my mother!” Marjorie cried. “The only one I’ve got. I want to get to know her.”
“You can travel to visit her as often as you like, but she can’t live here. Neither you nor Talon can handle it.”
“I can handle anything you throw at me,” Marj said adamantly. “I’ve proven that.”
“Doing men’s work on a ranch and caring for a mentally ill parent are two different things.”
“You did it,” she countered.
“I did. Because what befell your mother ultimately rested on my shoulders. But you kids are faultless. Let the professionals care for her. She doesn’t even know who any of you are.”
“What if she gets better?” Talon asked. “What then?”
“Talon, she has been this way for twenty-three years. She’s not going to get any better. Now my decision on your mother is final. She is my responsibility. Not yours.”
Joe said nothing, which surprised me. His demeanor was noticeably less combative than it had been on the island. Now he was home, back with his pregnant wife. He’d no doubt been reminded of what was truly important.
Though it was none of my business, I decided to speak. “Why can’t she be someplace closer, where her children can visit her once a week at least?”
“The place in California is the best.”
“So?” I said. “Create a place in Grand Junction for her. We have the money. Hire the best. That way Tal, Joe, and Marj can visit her whenever they want.”
“Ryan’s right,” Joe said. “She needs to be closer to us.”
“I did a lot of research finding her the right place—”
“Bullshit,” Joe interjected. “You kept her on that island for God knows how long. You had a doctor and nurse for her there. Bring them here. You owe us that much.”
“You owe us a hell of a lot more than that,” I said. “For God’s sake, let my siblings have a relationship with their mother.”
“She’s not capable of—”
I stood. “You’re not listening! They know that. They don’t care. She’s their mother. They want to be there for her.”
“No.” He shook his head. “She can’t be in Colorado. I can’t run the risk of Wendy finding her.” He looked me straight in the eye. “What about your mother? Do you want a relationship with her?”
Chapter Forty-Two
Ruby
After picking up puppy food and some other necessities, I headed to my car when my phone buzzed. It was a text.
You and I aren’t through yet.
Of course I didn’t recognize the number, but I didn’t have to guess who it was. My father. I knew he’d turn up. I didn’t bother texting or calling back. He was playing his usual head games, and I wasn’t interested.
I stashed the groceries in the car, and my phone buzzed again. This time it was a call, another number I didn’t recognize.
I shook my head, deciding to ignore my father, but then changed my mind. Maybe he was ready to turn himself in.
Probably not, but I had to find out.
“Yes, what the hell do you want?” I nearly yelled into the phone.
“Uh…hi. Ruby?”
Shit. A female voice. One I recognized from the phone calls I’d received after our first return from Jamaica.
“Shayna! Is that you?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
“I’m so sorry. I thought you were someone else. Are you okay?”
“I’m…fine. Now. I just heard from Juliet. She’s home, Ruby, and she said it’s because of you. Thank you so much.”
“I didn’t do anything, really.”
“That’s not what she says. She says you were captured and you told her you’d get her out of there. To trust you. And you did. You got her out of there. Her and Lisa both.”
“Lisa’s in bad shape, Shayna. But she’s going to be okay.”
“That’s what Juliet says. She says I can’t see Lisa yet. She’s severely malnourished and is in the hospital in LA. She had to have IV fluids before the flight home. But she’s stable, and she’s alive, Ruby. She’s alive.”
Relief swept through me. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been worried about Lisa making it home in her condition. “They both have a long road ahead.”
“Of medical and psychological treatment. I know.”
“They’ll need you, Shayna. They’ll both need a friend.”