Page 8 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“You all good if I head off now, Kev?”
“Go. I’ve got this,” he said. “Get your hand looked at.”
Pulling out his keys when he reached his cruiser, Dan climbed into the driver's seat with a sigh. “What a fucking day.”
As if seeing Leah wasn’t bad enough, now a high idiot had stabbed him in the hand, so his mother would pitch a fit. He thought about detouring to Dr. Hannah’s surgery to check his shots were up to date, but then she’d fuss as much as his mother. He opted for just the latter.
Minutes later, he passed his uncle’s house, then pulled up to the family home of the Dukes. His oldest brother’s new four-wheel drive was parked there. A “family car,” Dan had called it to annoy him. Sawyer had just smiled.
Getting out, he was ridiculously weary for no other reason than it felt like he’d been awake for forty-eight hours, but the truth was, seeing Leah again had turned his world upside down.
He entered the house and headed toward the voices, braced for the inevitable.
There was usually someone here, but today he could have done without it.
Birdie, Leah’s best friend and Dan’s sister-in-law, could be here, and she deserved to know Leah was back. Maybe she already did.
What had been driving him slowly out of his mind all day was not knowing who was in that house with her. But why? He had no rights to Leah. She’d have moved on.
“And here he is, Double D,” his eldest brother Sawyer said as Dan walked into the kitchen. With him were his wife, Birdie, and Sadie, their daughter, who gave Dan a big gummy smile. “Making the hearts of Lyntacky’s women beat a little faster in the line of duty.”
“Knock it off,” Dan said, a little more sharply than necessary. “Hey, Mom.” He kissed her cheek. “Sorry, I forgot to pick up the supplies you wanted.”
She turned, cupped his face, and shrieked when she saw the bloodied tissues.
“Shit, Mom, you nearly deafened me,” Dan said, ears ringing.
“What’s happened?” Sawyer demanded.
“He’s bleeding!” their mother cried.
“It’s no big deal.” Dan hopped onto the countertop like he’d been doing since he was old enough to reach it. “Just had a little tussle with someone.”
“I’ll get the first aid kit,” Sawyer said. It was in the pantry, so he was back in seconds. “What the fuck, Dan?”
“Sawyer!” their mother snapped. “No cussing.”
“You cuss,” he shot back, opening the kit.
Robyn Duke ignored the comment. She was usually one of the most rational members of the Duke family, except when one of her brood was hurt. Then all reason went out the window. “Your brother is bleeding!”
“Mom—”
“You, shut up,” she snapped at Dan, so he did.
Still beautiful, she was a woman many men had tried to date after their father died when Dan was young, but she’d never accepted an offer. His mom always said she doubted she could love anyone like she had her late husband.
“You both know I’m a cop, right? Things happen, as evidenced by this.” Dan waved his bloody hand.
“Let me see,” his mother demanded.
Dan peeled off the tissues and held out his hand. The blood made it look worse than it was.
“It’s not that I don’t care, Dan, but I’m staying over here with my daughter,” Birdie said. “I don’t like blood.”
“It’s a new thing,” Sawyer added. “Didn’t used to bother her. That’s a nasty slice, bud.”
He stayed quiet while his mom cleaned the wound, applied antiseptic, and bandaged it.
