The next morning, Gavin drove Deb and Jason to the townhouse on Wind Energy Pass. Dan and Buddy, Dan’s exuberant cocker spaniel puppy, greeted them at the door. Dan let them in, swooping the puppy up into his arms and kissing it on the nose.
Miranda was sitting at the dining room table, her plate of bacon and eggs still untouched in front of her. “Hey. Are you guys hungry?” she asked, rising from her seat, revealing her mother’s influence as a hostess.
“No, we had beckfas at Mommy’s house,” Jason said, reaching for the puppy. Dan smiled and put the dog in his son’s arms. Buddy furiously licked the child’s face. He giggled. Can I go pay wit Buddy outside?” he asked.
“No, Honey. I want you to stay inside with us.” Deb replied.
“Otay. Poor Uncle Bob is gonna be lonely out dare all by hisself.” He pointed out the window overlooking the back yard.
They turned to look. “Ah, Christ!” exclaimed Dan, startled to see Bob in his backyard. “Damn, Deb, you know Bob freaks me out.”
“I didn’t know he was coming here, Dan. He comes and goes as he pleases. You know that,” she snickered.
Miranda giggled. “As long as Uncle Bob is with you and Buddy, you can play outside, Jason.” She knew that Dan found the man creepy, with his pale skin, dark hair, unusually young features, and ability to appear and disappear at will, but she found him charming and amusing. He was a bit of a criminal, no doubt. But he would protect Jason at all costs.
Jason beamed, looking to his father for approval. Dan begrudgingly nodded. Jason took his father’s hand and led him toward the basement stairs and the back door leading to the enclosed backyard. “Come say hi to Uncle Bob, Daddy. He said he wanted to tawk to you.”
“Really? When did he say that?”
“Last night, after Mommy put me back to bed when I had a bad dream when she was kissing Gabin.”
Gavin’s back stiffened, and he blushed. Deb snorted and bit her thumbnail.
“Mommy was kissing Gavin, huh?” Dan asked, following Jason and wagging his index finger at his friend.
“Yas. In her bedoom. See put on his tee swirt to go get me wadar,” Jason continued.
“Oh, Dear Lord!” Gavin cringed. “It keeps getting worse.” He stomped his foot on the floor. “Open, damnit. Swallow me whole.”
Miranda swallowed her laughter and sat back in her seat, staring at her plate until Dan and Jason had left the room. Once they heard the back door open, she looked up at Deb, “Good for you!” she quipped.
“Sure was,” Deb replied, sitting in the chair next to her, laughing. “A few times.” She picked up a piece of bacon off Miranda’s plate and broke it, popping half in her mouth smugly.
“Oh geez!” Gavin exclaimed, embarrassed.
“Don’t you know girlfriends tell each other everything, Gavin?” Miranda smiled. She was enjoying his discomfort. It was nice to see him have a human reaction. She’d never seen him embarrassed. And noticing that, she realized she’d never seen any range of emotion, really. He smiled. He laughed. But only just enough. It seemed like he was never overwhelmed by emotion.
“Yeah. Just never seen it in person. Even my sister closed the door on me first,” he answered, walking around the table to sit opposite Deb.
Miranda winked. “Have you met me? I’m told I’m rather blunt.”
Deb reached across the table and grabbed his hand. “And I’m her fiancé’s ex-wife. What can I say? He has a type.”
They both cracked up.
“You two can be really creepy together. You know that?” Gavin asked, giving them a wary look.
Miranda heard his words, but what she saw was a guy who always stifled his feelings. Deb deserved someone who didn’t do that. She wasn’t sure Gavin Mahoney could or should give into that kind of reckless abandon.
******
Dan reemerged from the basement to find Gavin sitting with his head in his hand as the women laughed. “Go easy on him, Ladies.”
He motioned for Gavin to come with him. Gavin, his blush just starting to fade, let go of Deb’s hand and followed Dan back to the basement.
“What did Bob have to say?” Gavin asked, his voice breaking.
Dan laughed. “It’s cool, Man. I gave you the greenlight a while ago.” He smacked Gavin on the shoulder. “As for Jason, he’s a little kid. He pops up unexpectedly at the worst possible moment. He isn’t going to be traumatized by walking in on you. At least I hope not, or I’m screwed.”
Gavin nodded. “Oh crap!” he suddenly exclaimed. “I still haven’t asked her out!”
“I think she’ll say yes,” Dan guffawed. Then he pointed out the door at Bob, who stood statue-like, watching Jason play. “He told me Frank went to Virginia this morning to visit their cousin’s daughter, aged 24. Her name is Theodosia Bowen. Maiden name, Zamphir. Seems her husband recently passed away, and she’s concerned her stepson is trying to cut her out of her inheritance. She’s also worried he may have killed the old man. You have any leave you can take?”
“Sure,” Gavin replied. “What about them?” He motioned to the ceiling.
“Well, you couldn’t have picked a more opportune moment to become a couple,” Dan winked. “I’m thinking we take Jason to see Uncle Brandon in Sterling. Your dad will be nearby, and he’ll be safe there. Besides, Bob won’t let him out of his sight. And the four of us go on a pre-wedding couple’s trip to visit my stepmother.” Dan’s adoptive father had remarried four years before he had passed away to a teacher, and the two of them had moved to a small town in Virginia. She still lived there.
Dan had set up a home office in the basement, having tired of working at the kitchen table. He made a few calls and arranged for his grandmother’s private jet, which he had moved to the Kane County airport since inheriting in November, to be ready at 7 p.m. Gavin called his cousin, who, in a strange twist of fate, had been revealed to be Deb’s half-brother. Brandon and his wife, Melissa, agreed to meet them at the Dekalb rest stop off I 88 and take Jason for the week. They were warned that Uncle Bob would likely be lurking but that he was not a danger, just creepy. They both called into their respective law enforcement agencies, taking leave before heading back upstairs and revealing the plan to Deb and Miranda.