I ALL BUTblack out for the next minute as Amy and Sid make small talk. Some part of me assumed Tom Sullivan was nothing but a sadistic gremlin who spent all his time ruining people’s lives, but Amy is clear evidence to the contrary. Even that man has a family. I can see the resemblance now in her red hair, but it’s hard to believe that anyone so cheerful could come from the same genetic stock as Tom.
The bartender calls to her and she places a hand on Sid’s arm. “That’s my drink. I should probably let you go, but I’ll stop by the farm sometime. There’re some campaign opportunities we should talk about.”
“Sounds great—” Sid starts.
“Oh, don’t leave on my account,” I cut in. “Eat with us! You two can catch up and then I can quiz you about him.”
“Kayla.” Sid scowls at me, but that only makes my grin wider.
Amy’s eyes dart between the two of us. “Really? Are you sure?”
“Absolutely! We’d love the company,” I say, like a lyingliar who lies. “And you’re the first ex I’ve met, so I needallthe gory details.”
Amy laughs. “I’ll do my best. It just was so long ago we—actually, if I’m staying, I should save the stories for the table. I’ll be right back!”
She prances back to the bar where her drink is waiting. In her absence, Sid and I whisper at each other furiously.
“What the hell? You dated Tom Sullivan’s daughter?”
“Niece. But same difference. He raised her.”
“Oh.” It’s not the same, actually. Who you’re raised by says a lot about who’s dead in your life and—to my displeasure—Tom Sullivan is now not only a man who has family, but one who’s lost family, too.
“What areyoudoing, inviting her to join us?” Sid asks.
“Trip to the farm. I’m saving us from another surprise attack.” I would much rather get this over with than live in dread that one of Sid’s ex-girlfriends could show up at a moment’s notice.
Sid huffs sharply through his nose. “Fine.”
Amy returns with a chair, thanking me again for letting her join. “Talking shop is such a buzzkill, so I really appreciate it. How long have you two been dating, anyway?”
I turn to Sid with what I hope appears to be an affectionate smile, because I am truly at the mercy of the current in this conversation.
“So…” Sid starts haltingly. “I don’t know if Tom mentioned, but I got my first sanctuary case.”
Amy sputters into her wine. “Are you serious? She’s your sanctuary seeker?”
“Yup.”
“Tom never tells me anything. Confidentiality and all that,” says Amy. “So, this was how long ago?”
“Ummm… six weeks?” He looks at me for confirmation, which is annoying because it’s not like Iknow. I nod anyway. “Yeah. The wedding was two weeks ago, so in total it’s been about six—”
“Thewedding?” Amy pales.
“We just really hit it off,” says Sid. “I know how it looks, but we had this special connection—”
This is bad. For all the progress we made today, we’re about to flame out the same way we did with Tom. Maybe Sid would be doing better in front of a neutral party, but Amy is a particularly awful test case. For all I know, he still has feelings for her. It could even be reciprocated. Am I about to watch my fake marriage crumble in front of me?
I don’t care who he shacks up with a few years from now, but for the sake of April’s broken pancreas, I have got to do something to mark my territory today. I scootch my chair closer to his and grab his hand.
“By special connection, he means I hit him with a rock.”
Sid turns the same colour as his pickled beets, while Amy’s hands fly to her mouth, muffling her shriek.
“More! You have got to tell me more,” she says, leaning forward.
“It was a total accident. I’d just come to the acreage and Carlos wanted to see how I used to hunt rabbits. Someone should have told Sid we were using the slingshots,” I say. “And then bam! Just like that, Sid’s got a bleeding hand and we’re arguing over whether or not to go to the doctor—”
