Page 9 of Cuffed (Everyday Heroes 1)
“Time to eat, boys.”
And eat we do. The mountain of food all but gone by the time we finish and sit back in our chairs with overstuffed stomachs.
“How was your night out?” Mom asks Grayson, leaning forward on her elbows, eager to hear that after one date he’s ready to marry the girl and give her more grandchildren.
“It was fine.” Grayson shrugs. “Nothing spectacular.”
“He wore cologne,” Luke says and then lifts his eyebrows. “You only wear cologne when you like a girl.”
The whole table laughs. “Is that so?” Grayson says as he tugs down on Luke’s baseball hat and then gives him a noogie.
“That’s what they do on television.”
“Are you going to see her again?” Mom fishes, relentlessly, but Grayson turns to me.
“So who do you have on the line now, Grant?”
I don’t even have to look to know Mom’s rolling her shoulders and getting that sour look on her face. It has become the norm when discussing my lack of settling down and giving her babies to spoil and dote over.
“I don’t have anyone on the line.” I glare at him.
“You always have at least one, if not four, falling hook, line, and sinker,” he continues.
“That’s such bullshit. I do not. I—”
“He has Emmy Reeves on the line,” pipes in Grady, who then grunts as my foot connects with his shin beneath the table.
“Emmy Reeves?” Grayson says at the same time as my mom’s head snaps up to look at my dad.
“Emmy, Emmy?” she asks.
“Fuck off, Grady,” I mutter, knowing he threw me to the wolves to save Grayson’s ass.
But when I meet the expectant eyes of my parents, there is a gravity to Dad’s expression that I haven’t seen since his days on the force. It makes me realize things were probably ten times worse for Emmy than I ever imagined way back when.
As an adult, I can decipher those expressions and understand the things I couldn’t comprehend as a kid.
“Yes. Emmy, Emmy.”
Mom’s face brightens. “Did she contact you on that FaceWorld or InstaGreet everyone is using these days?”
“FaceWorld?” Grady says before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Mom, when are you ever going to catch up with the times? It’s Facebook and Instagram. I told you I’d be more than willing to teach you how to use them if you’d like.”
“And I told you that I’d rather remain happy and oblivious to all the ways people can stalk me online. I’m a cop’s wife, Grady. You keep your personal information off the internet so you can keep your family safe.”
“Yes, Betsy.” Dad nods, trying to stop this bickering before it starts. “So, Grant,” he asks and gives me his investigator’s stare, “how did you connect with her?”
“I saw her in to
wn the other day.” This has my parents sharing another glance. “What’s that look mean?”
“Nothing,” Dad responds.
“Nothing?” I repeat.
“Just surprised to hear she was in Sunnyville. Her mom liked to move around a lot.” Mom’s smile softens. “I used to love that little girl as if she were my own. The daughter I never had. I used to joke with your father that you were going to grow up to marry her someday.”
“Of course you would think that.” I roll my eyes.
