Page 34 of Coveted Justice

“You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that. I have to admit I wasn’t sure how you would react. I should have known that you’d be okay. You’re the most understanding woman in the whole world and this just reminds me why I love you so damn much.”

His arms slid around her waist pulling her in for a soft, slow kiss. Even after all of these years, her toes tingled at the mere touch of his lips.

“I love you, too. But I am a bit worried about one thing.”

“And that is?”

“This little hobby you have of running for office. I would imagine that Brian isn’t going to be thrilled if you skip out on campaign stops to go question possible suspects.”

“That’s why the guys are helping. They know my time is limited. I met with them today and we’re divvying up the work. I’ll admit the timing is bad, but as was pointed out to me today until we find the person who killed Marty the press isn’t going to stop asking me about it. I’ll never get to talk about the issues this state faces and what I want to do about them. It’s a distraction that we need to resolve.”

“I can’t argue with that logic.” She took a step back, looking up into her husband’s face. “I don’t even want to go there, but what if…”

She couldn’t even say it.

“What if she’s guilty?”

“Yes, what if she’s guilty? I don’t think that she is, but if you’ve taught me anything in the years that I’ve been married to you it’s that the spouse is the likely suspect.”

He dropped a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

“It’s gratifying to know that you’ve been listening.”

“Not always, but sometimes.”

“I guess that’s probably fair,” he said with a grin. “I doubt I’m interesting enough to listen to all the time.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help you, just let me know.”

“You want to interrogate people and go over surveillance videos?”

“No, I was thinking about picking up food for you and the others. Something like that.”

“We might need that kind of help at some point, so I’ll keep your offer in mind.” He frowned for a moment and then smiled. “Wait, I interrupted you when I came in. You wanted to tell me something.”

“I did. I…have made a decision about my half-sister.”

“I’m listening.”

“After talking with you and then Sherry, I’ve decided to meet her. I can’t put it off forever, and to be honest, I just want to get it over with. I’m not excited about it, and I’m still not sure that I want another family member, but as Sherry pointed out that decision has been taken out of my hands. This is reality whether I like it or not.”

“I think you’ve made a wise decision,” Tanner said, refilling his glass with iced tea. “It isn’t her fault what’s happened and she grew up without a father. It sounds like she’s going to be around and you’re not going to be able to avoid interacting with her. Have you talked to your dad about it?”

“No, I’m still angry with him. It’s going to take more time to work through that. I did text him, however, to let him know that I’m willing to meet my sister.”

“Sister? You have a sister?”

Maddie whirled around to see Amanda standing at the entrance of the kitchen, her mouth hanging open in shock. This was not the way that she’d wanted to tell her daughter the news.

Tanner gave her the “we can’t pretend she didn’t hear it” look as Maddie rubbed at a now pounding temple. All of this drama was giving her headaches.

Amanda’s gaze swung from her mother to father, and then back again.

“What are you keeping from me? I’m old enough to know what’s going on.”

“You are old enough,” Maddie assured her. “And we’re not keeping anything from you. I haven’t known this news very long. I just learned about it last night and I’m still coming to grips with it. Because of that I hadn’t said anything to you. I was hoping to get some time to figure out how to tell you.”

“Tell me that you have a sister?”

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