Hearing Sam repeat his reasoning soothed him. “Thanks.”
“No worries. We need to figure out how to protect her and Jordan. She’ll be fine when she’s on the boat, but the kid is an easy target.”
“I can protect him.”
“Not if you’re on the boat.”
“I don’t need to be. I can walk Jordan home from school, stay with him until Gretchen gets home.”
A long pause. “You sure?”
At least it wasn’t a complete refusal like last time. Perhaps he’d proven to Sam he was in a better place. “Yeah, I am.”
“All right. I’ll send you Dot and Nhiari’s numbers in case you need them. Are you staying at Gretchen’s a bit longer?”
“I’m staying for dinner.”
“Call me when you’re ready to leave. It might not be safe for you after dark. Not if Kurt sees you as a threat.”
Though it rankled, Sam was right. Arthur wasn’t prepared for a battle yet. He hung up and turned the sausages again. They were almost ready.
“Something smells good out here,” Gretchen said.
She walked into the room with her arm around Jordan.
“Not hard to cook a couple of snaggers.” He switched off the gas and transferred the sausages to a plate. “How are you, Watson?”
The boy shrugged. “OK.”
Yeah, that was probably the best they could hope for.
Gretchen got the salad from the fridge and they sat down.
“Want a snagger?” The boy nodded and Arthur dished him up a sausage and then offered one to Gretchen. All at once he was struck by how cosy and natural it was, despite what had just happened. This was what it was like to be a family.
The deep yearning shocked him, and he reached for another sausage to cover his jolt. He’d never thought of having a family of his own, had always thought he’d be wedded to his job. But this felt… nice, comforting.
“Sherlock,” Jordan said.
Arthur blinked. “Yes?”
“Will you tell me about your dad?”
Arthur’s hand tightened around his fork. Gretchen mouthed,You don’t have to. Her understanding soothed and he relaxed his grip. Maybe his story would help Jordan. “What do you want to know?”
“Did he do things with you when you were a kid?”
“He was in the army, so he’d be gone for months at a time,” Arthur said. “When he came back, he forgot we weren’t his soldiers. He was very strict. We had to make our beds and keep our rooms clean, and tidy the house.”
Jordan screwed up his face. “Did he take you to the zoo?”
A memory surfaced. “Once. Amy and I had a great day taking photos of the animals and reading the signs. But when we got home, Dad gave us a test about what we’d observed.” He pressed his lips together. “Neither of us passed and Dad was disappointed. The next time he took us out it was to the museum, and I spent all my time taking notes and I forgot to have fun.”
“He sounds mean.”
“I guess he was, but I was young. I just wanted him to be proud of me.” Now he was no longer blinded by that need, he could see how toxic their relationship had been. The barriers of defence he’d had for his father stripped away, leaving him raw. He swallowed the lump in his throat, blinking his eyes to stop the tears from falling. He’d clung to the naïve hope of that ten-year-old for far too long.
“Did he do anything for your birthday?”
