Page 48 of The Hitman’s Final Job

They’re mid-conversation so they don’t immediately see me. I stay where I am, watching Rowan laugh at something Silas says. Rowan was always the responsible kid, even at a very young age. He was the kid who noticed when other people needed things and did something about it, who helped without being asked, who never caused problems, because causing problems would have meant more work for me and he was always, always aware of that. I used to worry about it. I used to wonder if I’d made him too careful, too considerate, too much the good kid who held everything together.

But here in Pine Ridge, with Silas beside him, he’s just Rowan. Laughing at something silly, probably, with his best friend, after a day of adventure and a night under the stars.

“Dad,” Rowan says, spotting me and raising a hand. “We need showers. Both of us. Desperately. But we’re also starving, so here’s what’s going to happen.” He’s already moving toward the house. “We’re going to the Sunrise Bakery for brunch. Silas, I’m taking Dad’s shower.”

The door closes behind him.

Silas’s intense brown eyes are on me, and I remember what happened the last time we were alone.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

He holds my gaze for a moment. “How was your evening?”

“Quiet,” I say, which is almost true. “How was the adventure? Rowan said he took you white water rafting? He’s obsessed with it.”

“Yes. It was extraordinary. Rowan will tell you about it over breakfast. In detail. Probably with sound effects.”

“He always does,” I say.

Silas smiles and then enters the house.

While they’re getting ready, I put the garden tools away and organize my shed, getting so into it I end up losing track of time. When I go inside to wash my hands and change, they’re back in the living room, ready to go.

At the bakery, Maria greets us with her usual warmth. “I’m going to need a moment, boys,” she says, fanning herself with one hand. “Three of you at once is a lot for a Tuesday.”

“But there’s only one really good-looking one, and we both know that’s me,” Rowan says.

“My money is on your dad.” She shrugs, then winks at me.

I watch the exchange with interest.

We sit at the corner table, and Rowan picks the seat that seems to have the better view of the counter area.

“Maria,” he says, when she returns with coffee for everyone, “I need you to give me a feast. Something that’s going to keep me dreaming about you until I can come back.”

She raises an eyebrow at him over the coffeepot. “You’re incorrigible.”

“And you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met,” he says.

“You’re a flirt,” she says, but she’s smiling.

“It’s not flirting if it’s true.”

Maria shakes her head and takes our order. Well, mine and Silas’s, because it seems my son has a special deal with Maria.

When she’s gone, Silas turns to Rowan. “So that’s why you keep coming back to Pine Ridge.”

Rowan goes slightly pink. “What are you talking about? I come back for my dad and radical sports,” he says.

“Of course you do,” Silas says. “Total coincidence that we had breakfast here yesterday too.”

“Total coincidence,” Rowan says. “She’s very pretty,” he adds belatedly.

I laugh. “I always knew it wasn’t entirely to visit your old man.”

“It’s mostly to visit my old man,” Rowan says with great dignity. “The rest is just a bonus.” He unwraps his silverware and fiddles with his fork. “Besides, it’s all harmless. My life is in Denver. And doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”