Page 50 of The Secrets She Keeps

She mattered to Bethany, though, right? Maybe. She was Bethany’s little sister, after all.

She didn’t know why she did it, but she wrapped her fingers around Leena’s and held her little sister’s hand.

“That’s my best friend right there.”

32

“There is an incrediblygorgeous man outside our house,” Powell’s mom said from the window, after Powell and her brothers had cleared the table not even an hour later. Dinner had gone byfast.

And been totally eclipsed by her mother’s reaction to Powell’s news.

Her mom’s eyes were still damp. So were Powell’s.

Her mom was ecstatic. Just like Powell had suspected she would be.

Her dad—not so much.

He said he was thrilled about the baby,but the knowledge that one Detective Gunnar Nils Erickson wasn’t already planning the wedding did not please her dad at all.

Her dad was a wee bit of a traditionalist where Powell was concerned.

More than Powell had expected him to be. Far more.

Her parents hadn’t gotten married until Mac was three months old, after all. Her mom had had a point to make back then. She had been very emphatic about it too. Powell’s dad had thankfully caught on. Eventually. He’d struggled with that wholeI’m-an-arrogant-Barratt-man thing back then, her mom had said countless times. She said Powell’s father was still a work in progress.

Much like Mason Barratt’s sons.

“But while I know that is the father of my first grandchild out there, I am not surewhyhe is out there. He seems to be with a bunch of Coleson children. And Heather and Cara, of course. Plus the one who looks like Cara the most—and the one who always reminds me of you, Powell. Although, most of those young women look a great deal alike. It is very hard to tell them all apart.”

Gunnar was with Heather? Had something else happened?

“Which one is that?” her mother asked. “The smaller one.”

“That’s Samia, Mom. Trauma physician at FCGH. She’s very Powell-y, and not just because they are the exact same size and eye color and hair color and I think even age. They really act alike,” Alex piped up. “Samia’s just so little and cute and nerdy. So reminds me of our Pow-Pow.”

Little and cute and nerdy.Grrr.

Brothers needed their butts kicked. It was a well-known fact.

“There is another man out there, as well. He was there the night Haldyn was hurt,” Powell’s mother said, watching from the window and making no secret of it. “With Heather’s family. His baby is older than Heather’s. The very big, very angry, very beautiful dark-haired man.”

Powell’s mom always had been a little nosy. She’d been so full of questions. About Gunnar. And what was going on between them.

Questions Powell hadn’t really been able to answer.

Her father stepped up to her mother’s side and ran a hand down her spine. Powell’s mom shivered like it tickled. They still touched each other every chance they could. “That is the commander of the Homicide division, I believe.”

“Commander Rodriguez,” Powell said, seeing the man. He really was almost as beautiful as Gunnar. Almost.

“That’s him. He put that damned letter on my desk and told me to leave Heather alone or he would very helpfully rearrange my insides for me. I think he actually meant it,” Mac glowered at the man in question. “And could do it. He was smiling when he said it too. Very happy, too happy, considering the subject we were discussing. A bit…concerning, now that I think about it. Since he’s actually bigger than I am.”

That didn’t happen often.

Mac was six five and over three hundred pounds. He’d played football at FCU too. She’d heard that Gunnar’s friend had played for Baylor. They’d probably even played against each other, now that she thought about it.

Commander Rodriguez had a toddler sleeping in one arm, where he stood between Heather and Gunnar. Heather’s baby was strapped to her chest again, a tiny little knit hat on her head and her feet kicking so cutely. Gunnar and his friends were in a deep discussion now. While Heather’s little Frankie and several other young children played, with Cara, Cashlyn, and Samia watching over them. “He has three kids. I think he’s been spending a lot of time with Heather’s family.”

“Are they involved, then?” her dad asked. Sometimes, he could be just as curious as his wife, even though he would never admit it. “Heather and the commander?”

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