Page 183 of The Woman By the Lake

Riggs had time to get stuck into the new arbor, and so he could hit it early and keep at it until later, Nadia took his boy to school and picked him up.

Before starting dinner, they worked with Gia as a unit, and individually, with Hutch sending him directions on how to do that. He also offered to let him borrow Hannibal, one of Hutch’s personal dogs, an older one who’d worked with Gia on synchronized guarding.

“Two, in any situation, is better than one,” Hutch said.

But Riggs didn’t need his son and woman falling in love with another animal, and considering he was still concerned that Nadia would be tentative to act with worry she couldn’t control the dogs, he didn’t need her worrying about that with two of them, so he declined.

Bubbles was still at the end of the access road every night, and Nadia, who he was learning could hold a mean grudge, offered her usual stipulations that she didn’t know Bubbles or Riggs’s history with Bubbles enough to provide an informed opinion, so she only allowed, “It’s a nice thing to do, but not that nice.”

His mom was over for dinner that night, and they were kicked back at the dining room table, shooting the shit over the crumbs of a banana cake that Nadia had made, when the call came in.

He pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, and, sliding his gaze through Nadia’s where she sat beside him, he got up with a muttered apology and walked to the kitchen.

“Hey,” he answered.

“You want him, you got him. You and Storm should start fucking each other, you’re so good at fucking other people right up the ass.”

And with that dulcet declaration, Angelica hung up.

Riggs walked down into the living room, up to the landing and out the front door.

He didn’t call Storm until he was in the seating area.

“So you got the call too,” Storm said as greeting.

“You did as well?” Riggs asked.

“She just hung up on me five seconds before you called.”

“You hear anything from your attorney?” Riggs queried.

“No. I’m calling him at eight on the dot tomorrow, though. She’s in this mood, I want her to sign her name to it as soon as possible.”

“I’ll give my attorney the heads-up as well.”

“You think it’s gonna be this easy?” Storm asked.

He hoped so, for him and Storm. He hoped not, for Ledger and Viggo.

“We’ll see,” he replied.

“Right. Tell Ledge and Nadia I said hi.”

“You still hanging with Lynne?” Riggs asked, because he was interested, for Storm, and for Ledger and Viggo.

“Lynne?” Storm asked back, like he didn’t know who she was.

Riggs started chuckling.

Storm did it back, but assured, “She’s just a friend, man. Good woman, but I’ve been burned, you hear me? I’m gonna wait for someone like Nadia. Sweet and easy to look at, but more, funny as all hell.”

Lynne was a fine woman, but she was no Nadia.

“I hear you.”

“Later, Doc.”

“Later, Stormy.”

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