"Want to talk about it?"
Sandra hesitated. Terry was law enforcement, and what she was uncovering might eventually require his expertise. But she needed to be certain of her facts first.
"Not yet. Still gathering information. But I may need to pick your brain about something soon."
"Anything you need. You know that."
They talked for a few more minutes about when they could see each other and his kids, the easy intimacy still amazing her. After hanging up, Sandra climbed out of the cooling water and wrapped herself in her robe.
She settled at her kitchen table with the Patterson contract and a notepad. One glance at the figures confirmed her suspicions.
The contract clearly showed electrical costs at a 60 percent upcharge with no additional line items or mention of upgraded materials. That markup was way above the industry standard.
Sandra stared at the numbers, her legal mind cataloging implications. Builders needed profit margins, but this level of inflation suggested the possibility of deliberate fraud. And if Blackwood was doing this with one house, how many others were affected?
She pulled out her laptop and started a new list of what she’d need to gather evidence to build a case. Tomorrow, she'd start making official inquiries. Tonight, she had enough information to know that Manuel Garcia's problem was perhaps just the tip of a very large, very illegal iceberg.
29
Terry stood on his front porch, hands in his pockets, watching Sandra's car pull into his driveway. The way she moved with quiet confidence, and the smile that spread across her face when she spotted him waiting never failed to send a jolt of satisfaction through him.
She stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked up at him, that smile reaching deep inside him and settling somewhere around his heart.
He took a step down and lifted his hand. When she placed hers in his, he drew her forward and kissed her, keeping it lighter than he would have liked since the kids were probably watching from the window.
"Perfect timing," he murmured against her lips. "I just pulled a chicken-and-rice casserole out of the oven."
"Homemade?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Store-bought," he admitted. "But reheated with love."
The word hung in the air between them, and Terry felt his chest tighten with shock at what had just slipped from his lips. Love. He'd said it so casually, so naturally, like it had been waiting there all along for the right moment to surface. Therealization hit him… not the word itself, but how absolutely right it felt.
Christ, I love her.
The thought should have terrified him. Instead, warmth spread through his chest, settling deep and sure. This wasn't the affection he'd tried to build with Patricia. This was something deeper, more solid. It was the kind of love that grew from respect and trust and the daily choice to build something together.
She laughed, seemingly unaware of the seismic shift happening in his chest, and they moved inside, where Sandra was immediately greeted with the kind of exuberant welcome that still amazed Terry. Emma rushed over for a hug while Toby launched into an elaborate story about his science project that involved growing crystals and accidentally spilling salt water all over the kitchen counter.
Dinner unfolded with the easy rhythm they'd developed over the past few weeks. Not for the first time, Terry realized this was exactly how he wanted family time to be. Toby and Emma looked relaxed, smiling, and genuinely happy. They loved their mother and accepted her more distant approach to parenting, but seeing them with Sandra made Terry witness their blooming when she was around.
She loves them too, he realized, watching Sandra listen to Emma's detailed explanation of her latest art project with the same focused attention she gave her legal cases.And they love her back.
The thought of what that meant for all of them made his throat tight with emotion. He'd spent years protecting his children from disappointment, carefully guarding their hearts from anyone who might not stay. But Sandra wasn't just staying. She was becoming part of them, woven into their daily routines and future plans with a permanence that felt as natural as breathing.
This is what it's supposed to feel like. Terry watched his family gather around his kitchen table, acknowledging that's what they were now…a family. This is what I've been waiting for without even knowing it.
After dinner, the kids settled at the kitchen table with their homework while Terry and Sandra tackled the dishes. The domestic routine felt natural now, as if they'd been doing it for years.
"What do you know about Harrison Blackwood?" Sandra asked suddenly, her tone casual but with an underlying tension that immediately caught Terry's attention.
He jerked his chin back, surprised to hear the builder's name come up in conversation. Terry started to ask why she was wondering about Harrison Blackwood, but something in Sandra's expression told him this wasn't idle curiosity.
"He's a builder of custom homes," Terry said slowly. "Works all over the shore, the whole Chesapeake area. He's active in the community. I've never heard anything negative about him. I know he donates to local charities, sponsors some youth sports teams."
"That's what I've heard too," Sandra replied, then chewed on her bottom lip in the way she did when something was bothering her. A little furrow formed between her brows.
Terry leaned his hip against the counter, studying her face. His curiosity was definitely piqued now. "Come on, Sandra. You didn't just suddenly think of Harrison Blackwood out of the blue. Why are you asking?"
