“We are in the kitchen,” came the reply from his mom.
Hearing their grandmother’s voice, the kids ran to the kitchen to greet them while Lucas dropped off their bags by the steps. He walked into the kitchen and saw his dad sitting at the table while his mother welcomed her grandchildren.
Going towards his dad, Lucas hugged him. “Hey, how you doing, Dad?”
“I’m great, Son, it’s good to see you,” his dad said to him.
“You too,” he said patting him gently on the shoulder.
“You seem awfully happy today,” Asher said to him.
“I’m always happy, Dad. Nothing unusual with that,” he said as he walked over to his mom just as the girls ran over to their granddad, jumping onto his lap. He pulled his mom into a hug. “Hey, Mom.” He pulled back then kissed her on her cheek.
“Hello, Son.” She stared in his face. “Your father is right, you seem to be in a good mood. Are you seeing someone?”
What?Where the hell did that come from?“Um . . . no, what gave you that crazy idea?”
“Your eyes,” she answered as if it explained everything.
“What about my eyes?” he prodded.
“They look muchmore alive than usual.”
Shaking his head, he took a step back, looked at his reflection in the window and saw nothing like what his mother was talking about. Shaking things off, he looked back at his parents.
“I’m going out for a bit, mind taking care of the girls?”
“You didn’t have to ask, of course, we will, they are my grandbabies,” Asher answered.
"Where are you going?” his mom asked.
“I’m going to meet a friend,” he answered.
Hearing that, his mother perked up from where she was leaning against the counter. “Friend, what kind of friend?”
“Just someone I know, Mom.” Lucas had no idea why he didn’t simply tell her that he was going to meet Tucker, it wasn’t as if the man was a stranger to the family.
“Okay,” she said, and it surprised him.
It wasn’t like Marilyn Hamilton to give in so easily. She was known for her lethal interrogations. When he and his brothers were growing up, she knew exactly what kind oftricks to use to get them to spill the beans on each other. Christen was always the first to break. She also knew how to play the long game of watching and waiting for the right time to strike and get you to admit your secrets. Taking things for what they were, he nodded then walked over to his daughter and kissed her on the crown of her head.
“Be good for Grandma and Grandpa,” he told his daughter then tucked a lock of Rayne’s hair behind her ear. “Be good,” he said to her, and she nodded.
Before he was asked any more questions, he left his parents' home. He’d ordered the wings and loaded potato skins, right after he’d called Tucker, from Twisted Pizza, which was a few minutes' drive from his parents' house. After picking up his order, he brought up Tucker’s address and saw that he was about twenty minutes away. He snickered thinking what would happen if his mother realized just how close Tucker was to her. The poor man would never get a break. He pulled up to the address and parked in the driveway behind Tucker’s car.
Turning off the ignition, he grabbed the bag of food and got out of the car before he walked up the steps. He observed that the neighborhood was quiet and as early as it was the lights were out in most of the houses and that each one of their lawns was well manicured, every house was designed the same way and size.
How very Stepford wife?
He didn’t peg Tucker as someone to live in such an orderly neighborhood. Before he could knock on the door, the door swung open.
“Hey, you made it.”
“Yeah.” Lucas smirked when Tucker stood to the side to let him in. “You realize you're like a hop, skip, and a jump from my parents' house.”
“I won’t tell if you won't.” He closed the door and walked further into the living room.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Lucas said, handing him the bag of food before turning around, and noticed file folders spread out on the coffee table. They had so much in common. Even though he hadn’t attended the meeting with Mister Jacques, they had gotten the deal they were after and added to his workload. “I see you brought work home with you.”
