His mom laughed, and he enjoyed the lighthearted sound stretching to the ceiling. She might still be in a major flare-up, but the good humor she somehow located within her no matter how badly she felt was a bonus. She’d always been that way. Able to find the positive and joy even when she was hurting. She relied on her faith. Dug deep when the days were especiallydifficult and told herself that there were others suffering far more than she was, and she lived a blessed life. Reminded herself that she had her family surrounding her. Not only her related family, but her church family too. Both she believed to be blessings far outweighing her struggles.
Heading to the door to let Barbie out, Colin wished he could be as optimistic as his mom was. She set the perfect example, but he often fell short. Maybe it was different to be the one suffering than to be the one watching someone you love suffering. Or maybe he was using that as an excuse, and he could do better. Much better.
“Thank you, Barbie,” he said. “We very much appreciate your help.”
“Anytime.” She looked over Colin’s shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Brooklyn. Good luck in keeping this guy in line. His strong-willed nature must be tough in a relationship.”
“Oh, I…I can’t…” Brooklyn shrugged. “It’s not like that. We aren’t…”
“It’s all business between us,” Colin said before Barbie got the wrong impression. “Nothing more.”
“Um-hm. Right. Funny business.” Barbie giggled like a little girl and swept out the door.
Colin watched until she got into her small pickup truck and drove off. He couldn’t even imagine what it must’ve been like to grow up with such an eccentric mother. His mom might’ve been different due to her illness, but she’d fit the normal school-volunteering, cookie-baking mother mode. Now here they were, mother and son, trying to navigate life as it had been thrown at them.
He glanced around for any sign of Kane. He searched the heavy tree line. The lake shore. Shrubs lining the driveway. The only movement were tree limbs and grasses gently swaying inthe wind. He closed and secured the door, checking the lock twice.
He felt Brooklyn’s gaze on him as he returned but didn’t look at her to see if she was as uneasy with Barbie’s suggestion as he was. He sat in the sagging leather side chair and shifted to get comfortable over the almost protruding springs. The brothers really should up their furniture game here, but Colin wouldn’t complain about free housing. In fact, he would replace as much of the worn items as he could as a thank you to the guys.
His mother shifted to face Brooklyn, wincing as she moved. “So how did your visit to this awful man’s house go?”
“It was horrible seeing the victim,” she said, then shared details of their visit but nothing about the body. “The box will be brought back to the Veritas Center, and I hope we can be there when it’s opened.”
“If it’s safe to go,” Colin warned.
She flashed a hopeful gaze up to him. “Do you think it will be?”
“Yes, unless Tarver shows himself before then.”
“Of course you’ll go, then,” his mother said. “It’s too important to miss in case this Sierra person has questions.”
“It will likely be an overnight trip.” Colin met his mother’s gaze. “I can’t leave you alone, and I won’t let Brooklyn go without me.”
“I wouldn’t expect any less of you, son.” His mother smiled. “Barbie can probably come stay with me.”
Colin slid to the edge of his chair and focused on his mom. “We won’t go if she can’t.”
“I won’t be the one to stop Brooklyn from seeing this most important evidence.” She crossed her arms, and he knew he was in for a battle of the wills. “If Barbie can’t come, then I can find someone else. Maybe Mia or Megan are free.”
“They have children to care for,” Colin said.
“And they also have capable husbands. I’m sure Reid or Ryan could step up, or if not, then Russ’s Sydney might be able to do it. I’m sure one of them can. But let me start with asking Barbie.” She got up slowly, wincing as the pain settled into her joints, and grabbed her cane. “I’ll call her from my room so the two of you can keep on working on the investigation or whatever you might want to do.”
She winked and started toward her room, the clip-clop of the cane echoing in the house.
“That was about as subtle as a sonic boom,” Colin said.
Brooklyn looked down at her hands and started picking at a hangnail. “Guess we’re not doing a very good job of hiding our feelings.”
“Guess not.” He didn’t want to get into this discussion now. “I want to thank you for how well you’ve bonded with my mom.”
“It’s not hard to do. She’s one of the sweetest humans I’ve ever met.”
“Still, you somehow get her to do things that Dev and I only get a flash of irritation over.”
“Not sure what I’m doing differently, but I always wanted to be a nurse, so maybe that’s coming out in me.”
“A nurse?” He tried not to gape at the information. “That’s a far cry from being a hacker. How’d you end up in computers instead?”
