Page 14 of Serial Burn

The banter came easy and Nathan almost smiled. Andrew reminded him a lot of James in the way he was laid-back and chill for the most part, but could be intense and driven when he needed to be.

It felt good, building the rapport that hopefully would develop into not just a lasting partnership but a friendship as well.

Time would tell.

FOUR

Jesslyn made it to the Cornerstone Café seconds ahead of Nathan and Andrew. Honestly, she needed to get it together or she was going to lose all semblance of professionalism and come across like a lovesick girl with her first crush. Which would not be totally inaccurate.

Ugh and double ugh.

The restaurant held just a scattering of patrons, so she grabbed a booth in the back corner with a view of the front door. Nathan and Andrew stepped inside, followed by Lainie and James. Jesslyn met Lainie’s gaze and grinned. Her friend hurried over and slid into the booth beside her. “Hey, when you said y’all were headed here, I talked James into picking me up so we could meet you.”

“I can’t think of a better surprise. How’s the wedding planning going?”

“The planning is basically done. Now it’s just making sure I keep all of the plates spinning in an orderly manner until the big day.”

James walked over. “We’re going to need a bigger table. Cole and Kenzie and Steph and Tate are coming.” At her raised brow, he lifted his hands. “It’s a slow d—”

Lainie shot out of her seat and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare.”

He smiled beneath her palm, kissed it, and said, “I know you’re not superstitious.”

“Well, no sense in tempting ... whatever.”

“Fine.” His phone buzzed. “Hm. Kristine is coming too.”

“Kristine?” Andrew asked. “The mysterious air marshal I keep hearing about but never see?”

Jesslyn laughed. “She flies a lot and she’s been distracted with family stuff but managed to slip away for a bit.”

“Oh fabulous,” Lainie said. “It’ll be great to catch up with her.”

Twenty minutes later, the group surrounded a large table in the private back room. Andrew and Kristine had been introduced and were seated next to each other. They fell into easy conversation.

With their drinks in front of them and their orders placed with Tamryn, who served them almost every time they walked into the café, all that was left to do was catch up.

Steph cleared her throat. “So, Jesslyn, any progress on the fire?”

Jesslyn stifled a sigh. She’d known the topic would be addressed at some point. And she truly didn’t mind, but Steph’s query brought back the hollow feeling in her gut. Then again, it was their church too. “No, not at the moment.”

Andrew waved his phone. “We do have a BOLO going out on the car Jesslyn saw at the scene and we’ve released it to the news outlets, just requesting the guy contact us.”

“You think he will?” Kristine asked, skepticism in her eyes.

Andrew snorted. “No, but with it on the news, maybe the public will also be on the lookout and will report any sightings.”

Tamryn set the food on the table and James blessed it, ending the prayer with, “And thank you for letting this group be in town at the same time and available for this gathering. We appreciate it. In your name, amen.”

Murmured amens floated from the group and then silence descended for a few moments while everyone dug in. “So,” Lainie said, “the wedding is fast approaching—if you consider a year from now fast approaching—and I want to make sure you’ve all got that date on your calendar.”

Steph gaped while Jesslyn raised a brow. “You really have to ask?” Jesslyn asked.

Lainie flushed. “Well, not usually, but since I scheduled something on that very day because I didn’t have it actually written on the calendar at home, I figured I’d better double-check. If it could happen to me...”

Kristine went into a coughing fit. Jesslyn, who was sitting next to her, pounded on her back until the woman gained control. Kristine cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, but you had to say that just as I was swallowing?”

Lainie giggled. “I can’t believe it either. In my defense, it was after a particularly brutal night in the ED and I hadn’t had much sleep.”

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