Jacob didn’t respond and Dylan was afraid he’d said something he shouldn’t have, and then Jacob sighed.
“We were a couple for nearly a year, then we had a falling out because of Brenda. She told Pearl a lie about me that I knew nothing about, and it broke her heart. I didn’t know why she quit me until long after I’d married your mom. Brenda was always a little wild, but I didn’t know the depths of her deception until she got drunk one New Year’s Eve and told what she’d done for a laugh.” Then Jacob went into detail about the lies, and shook his head. “I’ll admit, it was a shock, but it was in the past. Asher was two years old and as they say… I’d already made my bed.”
“Oh man. Did Pearl ever know this?”
“I doubt it. And I was sad that she’d been hurt like that. Water under the bridge,” Jacob said.
“Ash and Gunner send their love. They’re already in investigation mode and determined to figure out why this happened and who did it. I’m staying in Amarillo to be with you,” Dylan said.
“You don’t need to do that, son.”
“Yes, sir, I do need to do this. You were the best dad that three little boys could have, and this is our chance to give back to you. Now, I’m getting the nod that visiting time is over. I’m staying in a hotel just down the street. I’ll be back in the morning to see what your doctor has to say. Just rest and get stronger.” Then he leaned over and gave Jacob a gentle hug. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too,” Jacob said, then shifted slightly and closed his eyes.
* * *
Dylan’s head was spinning when he left the hospital. Finding out what Brenda had done to break up Pearl and Jacob hadbeen shocking. But like Jacob said, “water under the bridge.” He drove past his hotel to a fast-food drive-through, and then headed back to the hotel.
The sky had been gray all day, which meant no elaborate sunset, and the bite from the wind was getting colder as the day was coming to an end. Dylan parked near the entrance and hurried inside, then took the elevator up to his room. It wasn’t home, but it was warm and clean and quiet. He shed his coat, washed up, then sat down in front of the TV with his food and called Angie, talking as he ate, while she updated him on all the projects. Then he began filling her in on everything they’d learned.
“Are you three in any danger?” she asked.
“I don’t see how or why we would be, but we’re definitely on alert, and I have two hard-nosed cops for brothers. Don’t worry about us. I’m just sorry I’ve dumped all the work on you, but so grateful to you. You are my world. I know you know that, but I don’t say it enough. I love you, lady.”
“Love you more,” Angie said, and hung up.
Dylan finished his food, then cleaned up the refuse and put it in the trash. He was stripping down to shower and shave when Gunner called. He smiled. They were already checking on him.
“Hey, Gunner. Yes, I’m fine. Dad was awake and talking. He’s getting stronger and they’re considering moving him out of ICU into a regular room. I’ll find out more tomorrow.”
“Oh, good news,” Gunner said.
“How’s Nora?” Dylan asked.
“She’s okay. Hurting some, but she is a continuing revelation,” and then he proceeded to tell Dylan about Nora’s stalker incident. “I’m going out on a limb and say it’s also the reason she chose a job that she could work from home. That workplace stalker did a number on her, even if she won’t admit it.”
Dylan was stunned. “Good lord. Poor kid.”
“I know. Take care. Call if you need us,” Gunner said.
“Same to you,” Dylan said, and then headed for the shower.
* * *
Gunner fell asleep on the sofa watching TV, and Asher covered him over with a blanket and left him there. He was a big boy. If he woke up later, he’d take himself to bed.
Nora was already in bed, but Asher needed to make one last sweep through the bar before he joined her. He felt the warmth as he opened the door between and started up the hall.
The security light lit up the parking lot, and the lights beside the door were on. The door was locked, and there was no sight of an unattended vehicle anywhere. But as an added deterrent, he jammed the back of a chair beneath the doorknob, then put a bowl of balls from one of the pool tables on the chair seat. It wouldn’t stop someone from coming inside, but it would make a hell of a noise when they did it, and that’s all the warning he would need.
Satisfied that all was well in the front, he went back into the house and locked the door between, then made one last sweep through the house, making sure the back door was locked, and the porch lights were on. As he walked through the kitchen, he glanced at the door leading down into the basement and on impulse, turned the lock on it, too, but when he walked into the bedroom and saw Nora lying in the bed, curled up on her side with her bandaged hand resting on a pillow, it turned on every protective instinct he had. He was never going to get over what she’d gone through alone.
He stripped, left his clothes on a chair, and headed for the shower. Minutes later, he came out freshly shaved, with a towel wrapped around his waist. The covers had slippedfrom her shoulder, revealing the T-shirt she was sleeping in. He frowned, and moved closer for a better look, then froze. It was his old high school football jersey. She’d kept it all these years! Sleeping in it.
Shaken by the revelation, he removed the towel from around his waist and hung it back up in the bathroom, and ever so quietly, eased himself into bed behind her, pulled the covers up over both of them, and laid there listening to the sound of her breathing, and fell asleep.
* * *
