Page 38 of We Thought We Knew It All
I flipped her over, eliciting a shriek. Pressing a hand to the bed on either side of her, I grinned. “Well, then I guess the rest will figure itself out.”
* * *
I pulledmy pants up my legs as I walked toward the door to answer the incessant knocking.
The smile that had been plastered across my face since Callie’s confession dropped when I saw who was there.
Jay stood on the threshold, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He rocked back on his heels nervously and glanced behind me into the house.
“Callie won’t come to save you,” I said, unable to muster any venom when I was this happy. “She’s in the shower.”
Jay cleared his throat, finally meeting my gaze. “I’m actually here to see you. Colby said you were here.”
“Okay.” I gestured for him to continue.
“Look, I think we need to talk. Are you free for breakfast before I head to work?”
When I didn’t answer, a voice behind me said, “Sure he is.”
I turned and met Callie’s pleading eyes where she stood towel drying her hair. “You should go.” She stepped forward, reaching up to give me a kiss. “For me. Just talk to him.”
Jay still stood in the doorway, watching us.
“I have to go pick up the boys from Colby’s anyway and get them to school. Then I have a meeting, so I’ll be busy most of the day.”
“Let me grab a shirt.” I sighed, walking back toward the bedroom. I slipped my shirt on over my head and pulled on my shoes.
On my way out, I bent to kiss the top of Callie’s head. “Call me after your meeting.”
Getting into my truck, I followed Jay to the nearby Perkins. We didn’t speak as the hostess led us to our table and the waitress poured our coffee. I ordered pancakes and bacon while Jay ordered an omelet. Lots had changed in the past ten years, but my hatred of eggs hadn’t.
“So,” I said, annoyed with my brother’s silence. “You wanted to talk. Spit it out.”
“Jamie, as blunt as ever.” He sipped his coffee before setting the mug down. “Look, I admit, I haven’t exactly handled things well.”
“You think?”
“Please, let me speak.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes and inhaled.
My brother looked tired. That was the only word for it. His suit was slightly wrinkled, and he looked at me with bloodshot eyes. An odd envy rose in me. I wished the death of my father affected me like it did Jay. I wished he’d been the kind of father one missed.
He’d been that for Jay. Whatever problems I’d had with the man, or with Jay’s relationship with him, I had to realize that my brother just lost a father he’d loved in a sudden and tragic way.
I sighed, waiting for him to be ready.
“He went to see you, you know?” Jay folded his hands together on the table.
“When?” Sergeant Carlson’s words came to me then, and I didn’t have to wait for an answer to know. “After I was shot.”
Jay nodded, bringing his mug to his lips. “It was the first I’d heard of you in years, but dad had been keeping track of your career through a friend of his. We thought you were going to die.”
I choked down a sip of coffee. “Just another disappointment, I’m sure.”
Jay, ever the calm brother, studied me, not rising to the bait. “We’d lost you long before that.”
His words were meant to make me feel some of the pain I’d caused, but they rang hollow instead. “Sometimes the past should stay in the past.”
“We weren’t your past, Jamie. We were your family.”
