Page 60 of Clear Blue Sky

“Before we get into Marcus and some things we’ve learned, we want to know how serious things are with this lady friend of yours,” his father said.

“Both your brothers think this is the real deal.”

“It is,” Nelson admitted. “You’ll like her.”

“All we want for you is to be happy,” his father said. “If Brandi brings you joy, then I’m sure we’ll love her.”

“What’s her mom like?” His mother climbed up on the stool and leaned over, resting her chin in her hands.

“She’s supersweet and they’ve invited both of you to the premiere party.”

“That is so kind of them,” his mom said.

“You can tell them we’d love to attend.” His father moved about the kitchen as if he lived there. It never bothered Nelson. These were his parents and they’d always made themselves at home. But all of a sudden, he became hyperaware that Brandi would be spending more and more time here and at some point, he wanted them to live together.

As scary as that thought was, it’s the direction his life had taken.

Nelson took down four mugs, but only poured three, setting aside the last one for Brandi when she did decide to step from the master bedroom. He blew into the dark brew, which was a little stronger than he normally liked, and took a long sip. “You didn’t come all the way up here to talk about Brandi, so what did you find out?”

“We did want to meet Brandi.” His father unzipped the bag and pulled out a tablet. “And she could be part of why Marcus and Roxy are here.”

“How so?”

“We’ll get to that when she’s in the same room so she can shed some light on the things we’ve found,” his father said.

“No. You can tell me now, especially if you believe—”

“Don’t get defensive.” His mother raised her hand. “This isn’t accusatory. There are some things we uncovered that she probably has no idea about. This is all a chain reaction leading up to this moment.”

“Can Brandi be present when we go over every detail? Including the ones from the mission?” Nelson asked.

His parents glanced at each other like they used to when he’d been a teenager and they were deciding his punishment for being bad. They never even had to say a single word. They just knew what the other was thinking.

“She can.” His dad held up a finger. “But she can’t tell her parents or brother what we discuss. The only people who will be read in on this are your brothers and the state police.”

“Jesus, Dad. I feel like you’ve totally ambushed me.”

“I know and I’m sorry it had to be this way.” His dad put out four plates around the kitchen table along with the necessary utensils. “Your brothers don’t even know we’re here yet.”

“What the hell have you uncovered?” Nelson asked.

“Why don’t you go get that girl of yours and we’ll discuss everything we know.” His mom took her mug and moved to the table. “Don’t take too long or we’ll assume one of two things.”

“Do not put her through any harassment.” He pushed from the counter and stared down his parents with the best version of his father’s evil eye he could manage. “We went through enough of that last night. Besides, I’m not a child.”

“No. You’re a grown man.” His father laughed. “But you’ll always be our child and embarrassing you is our number one job.”

“You’ve done a good job of that my entire life,” Nelson mumbled.

* * *

Brandi held on to Nelson’s hand with a death grip.

“Relax,” he whispered.

“Right, because you’re not twitching either.”

“Not about you meeting my parents. Just about the fact they flew here because whatever they found out they felt the need to tell us in person.” He pulled open the bedroom door and practically shoved her through it.

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