Micah is one of the top private investigators in the state of Texas. Which means his company is one of the best and often sought out by all types for the toughest of cases. Jodi got her PI license a few years after they got married and has worked with him in the more than a decade that they’ve been together.
“What’re you sayin’?” I ask.
“Well, since Jodi’s parents decided to come into town next week and we’ll be burning the midnight oil on this case for at least another two weeks, we’re probably going to have to miss the Montana trip.”
I muffle the curse that tries to fly out of my mouth.
Our family trip to Montana takes place every year a week or two before Christmas. There, we all lodge at the massive residence co-owned by our family and that of another rancher I worked with over the years who lives in Bozeman.
It’s meant as a time for all of us to get away, and as Gabe once put it, have a real Christmas with cold and snow, unlike the usual warm temperatures in central Texas on December 25th.
The sincere regret is right there in Micah’s voice. He doesn’t mean to disappoint me.
Even knowing that, though, I still have to ask, “Are you sure? You know it’s a family tradition, and Gabe and Lena have already had to cancel.”
I’m not above guilting my boys every now and then.
Micah sighs heavily. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Unless things change with this case, which after the amount of dead ends we’ve run into, doesn’t look like that’s happening any time soon.”
I clear my throat, attempting to dislodge the lump that’s formed in it. I should be happy that all of my boys have grown up to be as successful as they are. Not just in work but in their private lives.
All of them met the loves of their lives and have beautiful families of their own to show for it.
I’m grateful, mostly to Gina for raising and showing me how to raise them with love.
But dammit it hurts knowing they have their own lives and families, that while I am a part of, I’m not central to.
“Suppose it can’t be helped,” I say.
“Lena, me, and the team are doing our best to try to finish this thing before the trip, but …” He trails off.
“Don’t rush your work on account of me. I’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll have Gerry cancel our reservations. I’m certain there’s someone who’ll want to rent it out for that weekend.”
“Cancel? Wait, why?”
“Since you all won’t be able to make it. Neither can Gabe and Lena, or Ace and Savannah. What’s the point? The space is just too big for me, anyway. Listen, I’ll figure it out,” I tell him.
“That’s a shame,” he sounds sincere. “Shit, I’ve gotta go. This case …”
A minute later, I hang up the phone with my oldest boy, my heart feeling heavier than when I first answered his call.
CHAPTER 20
Ellyn
My heart flutters a little when I open the door to find Joel standing on my front porch. He’s dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans that show off just enough of the shape of his muscular thighs, and a green and blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
I do my best not to stare at the veins in his arms. I never thought I had a thing for muscular men, but Joel has me rethinking a lot about my attraction to the opposite sex lately.
Despite his handsome appearance and my fluttering heart, I poke out my lips and narrow my gaze at him.
“I could’ve walked over,” I tell him. “You didn’t have to escort me.”
His eyebrows draw in and down. “This is a date,” he insists. “Do I look like the type of man who would allow his date to walk around alone?”
I take my time to look him up and down as if inspecting him for an answer to the question he posed.
My eyes meet his again when a guttural groan penetrates the pause of silence.
