Page 8 of Proof

Then Chris saw the words CHARLOTTE—PENDING. The job was with the Western Division of North Carolina, covering territory from Charlotte to Asheville. His life was in North Carolina. His son’s life was in North Carolina. And what about Luna? They were getting so close. He didn’t want to lose her. He thought back to his conversation with Evan. First things first. Apply for full custody. He knew he had to talk to Luna about it. Get her take on it. Emotionally, intellectually, and of course, with Luna’s metaphysical superpower way of thinking.

Just as Gaines was leaving the room, his boss took him aside. “Chris, you are my most senior marshal. As much as I would miss having you on my team, the position in North Carolina WITSEC comes with a promotion and a raise.”

“The info says ‘pending.’” Gaines pointed to the paper in his hand.

“It does. ‘Pending’ whether or not you take the job.” Frank rested his arms on the table behind him. “You’ve been an excellent agent. You handle people well. I won’t lie—this job is a mountain of paperwork and managing people, but it will also give you a normal schedule. You’d only go into the field under extreme circumstances. But we can discuss this more after you mull it over.”

“Thanks, Frank. I appreciate it.” There was no mulling or thinking required. He’d ask for the job in Charlotte. If things got really ugly, and Lucinda got her way, he could negotiate a transfer. Maybe. But he wasn’t getting on that bus just yet. Not without a serious fight.

Chris had started to leave when Frank called out, “I’ll hold the job here until you make up your mind. But don’t take too long. I’m getting pressure.”

Chris made the decision right then and there. “I’ll take it.” The timing was actually quite perfect. More money. More stability. More ammo for his fight for custody.

Frank smiled and held out his hand. “You’ll do great. There will be a lot more face time with bureaucrats, but I have no doubt you can handle it.”

Chris shook Frank’s hand. “Thanks. This is exactly what I needed today.”

Gaines stepped quickly down the hall, shut the door of his office, and started to punch in Luna’s number to see if they could get together for the weekend. It had been three weeks since he had seen her. Much too long. But before he had a chance to press send, a call from Cullen came through.

“Hey Cul!” Gaines answered on the second ring. “To what do I owe this unexpected call?” Then he froze. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah. Everything is fine.” Cullen cleared his throat, for he was about to embark on a clandestine operation to suss out the situation between the marshal and his sister. “I’ve been considering expanding into classic car interior refurbishing.”

“That could be cool,” Gaines replied.

“Yeah, so there’s a classic car show in Asheville this weekend, and I thought if you’re free, maybe you’d like to go?” Cullen felt like he was back in high school, plotting against or with his sister.

“Carter has a game Saturday morning. Should be over by noon, but I wouldn’t get there until after three.”

Cullen quickly referred to the calendar again. “The show’s open until ten. But, hey, if it’s too much of a haul, I totally get it.”

“No, not at all. I’m just thinking it through. Carter’s mother is supposed to be at the game, and he’s supposed to go back to her place. That would save me some time.”

“Cool. Let’s plan on grabbing a bite to eat in Asheville and then go to the exhibit. I don’t think I’d want to spend more than an hour and a half there. I might buy something I shouldn’t.”

“That makes two of us.” Chris laughed.

Cullen waited for Luna’s name to come up. Nothing. Then he had to say, “I was hoping for a guy’s night, but I don’t want to get Luna in a tizzy.”

Gaines laughed. “No worries. I’ll let her know you invited me to a guy’s night, and she and I can meet up later.” Gaines was confident his plan would be acceptable to Luna.

* * *

Cullen didn’t want Luna to hear the news of their plans from Gaines. He didn’t want her to think he had gone behind her back—which he had—and then have to explain himself out of trouble. Or maybe not. Chi-Chi was correct. Gaines was his friend, too. But . . . but what if he told Luna he was just thinking of inviting Chris? That way, he would get a different reaction from the one he would receive if he told her he had already asked him. Yep, that was going to be his approach. He wiped his hands again and walked briskly into the café, hoping Chris hadn’t already called Luna. He heard her phone ringing and rushed into the shop just as he heard her say, “Hey, Chris. What’s going on?”

Cullen thought he was going to throw up. Luna was going to kill him unless he could circumvent that call. “Luna! Can you come with me? Quick!”

Luna looked at her phone and then back at Cullen. “Chris, I am going to have to call you back. Cullen needs me to look at something.” She ended the call.

Now Cullen had to find an excuse for hauling her into his workshop so abruptly. He hurried ahead of her.

“Cullen! What is going on?” Her dog Wylie echoed her question with a woof.

He decided to deviate slightly from the truth. “Listen, I’m thinking about refurbishing classic car interiors.”

“And?” Luna placed her hands on her hips.

“And there’s a classic car show this weekend.”

---