Page 28 of Deacon

“And if he’s worried about a father, maybe we could start with the actual one instead of dragging Officer Eager into Sunday dinner.”

My hand stilled over the roast. I looked at her. “What do you mean by that?”

She glanced away for half a second before meeting my eyes again. “You know who he is.”

It wasn’t a question.

I set the spoon down carefully. “Of course I know who he is. Where is this coming from?”

“That box in your closet, for one thing.”

Cold moved through me all at once.

Her chin lifted. “You think I don’t know it’s there, but I do. And after the way you reacted the other night when you woke up from that dream…” She paused, watching me too closely. “I’m not stupid, Mom.”

She wasn’t. Jade had my mouth, her father’s instincts, and a gift for noticing the things I would rather leave buried.

Before I could answer, footsteps sounded in the hall. Matty leaned against the kitchen doorway and looked between us. “You two plannin’ to feed us, or are we all gonna sit in there and eat crackers?”

Jade straightened without missing a beat. “We were discussing whether there’s a safe path through the dining room that doesn’t involve getting trapped by Jude.”

Matty snorted and looked at me. “Kid, it’s one dinner.”

“That,” Jade informed him, “is exactly the kind of thing people say right before a terrible dinner.”

He ignored her and kept his attention on me. “He’s not that bad, Li.”

I gave him a look.

“What?” Matty shrugged. “He’s got a decent job, and he’s known the family forever. You could do worse.”

“Could do better,” Jade said.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“You should start.”

He rolled his eyes, but no real heat lived in it. “I’m serious. The guy’s been into you forever.”

I turned back to the counter before I said something sharp. That should have warned him.

It didn’t.

“I’m serious, Li.” Matty was still looking at me like I had made the situation more difficult than it needed to be. “The guy’s steady. Good job, good reputation, and none of the drama you’ve had to deal with. He’s the kind who stays. The kind who doesn’t run out on a woman and leave her with his mess for the rest of her life.”

The words struck hard enough to pull all the air from the kitchen.

I went still, and Jade spun toward him so quickly that her sketchbook bumped the counter. “Are you insinuating that I’m a mess, or that I was a mistake, Uncle Matty?”

For a second, he only stared at her.

“Jesus, no.” His answer came fast. “No, baby. That is not what I meant.”

Her chin rose. “Then what did you mean?”

The full weight of his words caught up with him, and remorse wiped the easy confidence from his face. “I meant your father was a bastard for leaving and not taking responsibility, whoever he was. That’s what I meant.”

Jade held his gaze, making him sit in it before she said, very clearly, “That is not how it sounded.”