There was an invisible, but palpable tension between the duo that spoke of words unsaid and stories untold. Ira’s interest was piqued.
“Stop it, both of you.” Sue glared back and forth between the two men. “Don’t be so darned stupid. It isn’t your fault you had to dedicate yourself to finding Hannah. Two years of back maintenance is nothing. You’ll be caught up in no time. Stop blaming yourself for what happened with Hannah. She’s back and she’s safe. After that, nothing matters. Though I do wish you’d marry Amy.”
“Mom,” Flint’s voice rose in warning.
“Don’t you sass me. You love Amy. You proposed, didn’t you? Why don’t you get married already?”
“We’re not talking about my love life. We’ll marry when we’re ready. We’re still getting to know each other. It isn’t easy blending two families. Especially when they have issues. Casey and Amy have barely started to get to know each other.”
Suddenly, Ira understood. He’d been in town last winter when crap hit the fan. While Flint was looking for his runaway daughter, he’d stumbled upon a missing teenage girl, Casey. RCMP officer, and now Flint’s fiancé, Amy, had taken the child under her wing. Working together, they’d managed to find Flint’s missing daughter, Hannah, and bring her home. No wonder the man was being cautious about rushing into marriage. He had a relationship to rebuild with his daughter before taking on a new wife and her foster child.
“I’ll just head out to the barn and look around, unless anyone objects.” Ira cleared his plate and mug to the sink. He had to get out of here. For all that these people were his family, it didn’t feel right to land in the middle of what was clearly an ongoing argument.
