Part 30 (1/2)
”Morning.”Ross opened his arms to Emma and kissed her cheek.
”You look beautiful this morning.”
”It's always a good day when everyone's this nice to you,” Emma said, feeling happy. ”Do you want to do some sightseeing today, Daddy?”
”I'd rather go start on some of the house repairs Cain told me about.” He nodded when one of the women who worked for Jarvis held up a carafe of coffee.
”We didn't invite you for that,” Emma said. ”Tell him, honey.”
”Ross, you aren't here to repair our house,” Cain said dutifully.
”I know this place is huge, but tell me you both aren't ready to get home. And you know I built the majority of the house you grew up in,” he told Emma. ”Besides, Hayden's birthday's in a couple of days. He's going to feel more comfortable having his friends over if he's home.”
”If you promise not to work yourself into the ground and take some help with you,” Emma said, ”then knock yourself out.” She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot on the floor when she heard Cain laugh. ”What's funny?”
”It's good to see where that well-developed stubborn streak of yours comes from.”
”Ha.” Emma picked Hannah up when she ran to her. ”I'm mildly persistent compared to you.”
”Compared to Mom you're not what?” Hayden asked. He was dressed for school and Mook was right behind him, carrying his book bag.
”I'm not stubborn,” Emma said.
”Uh-huh.” Hayden dragged out the phrase. ”She's got a good sense of humor, huh, Granddad?”
”Good imagination too.”
”What happened to the highly complimentary group from earlier?”
Emma said.
”You're stubborn, la.s.s, but incredibly beautiful.” Cain kissed the side of her neck. ”I've got to head to the office, but I'll call later to see if Ross needs any help.”
”Are you putting on a tool belt?”
Cain didn't answer but did gently swat her on the b.u.t.t. ”I'm heading over to Rick's funeral as well.”
”Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?”
”I'd feel better if you kept low for a few days.” Cain kissed her again and headed out.
On the way to the riverfront warehouse Cain took out the list of pa.s.sengers from the day Rick was killed. She would find the answer to what had happened in one of the names, she was sure of it. Lots ofJuan s, Muriel had been right about that, but not oneJorge . She had no idea about this situation yet, but at least Dallas Montgomery wasn't such a mystery anymore.
Instead of having the driver go into the building as he usually did, Cain had him stop in front. ”Cain, this isn't a good time to break with routine,” Lou said. It was the first time he'd spoken all morning.
”I want to grab a cup of coffee, not dare someone to take a shot at us.”
”There's coffee inside,” he pointed out. ”All Rick was doing was picking up a bag and look at what happened.”
”I'm working on that because I don't want it to go unanswered, and not because of the insult to me. Rick was a good kid and deserves to be avenged.”
”Still, there's coffee inside.”
”But our friendly federal agents aren't likely to wander into our kitchen, are they?” Before Lou could wave out some backup, Cain put her hand on his shoulder.”Just you and me, Lou. We don't want to scare the timid things away.”
The cafe across the street was crowded with guys who worked at the various docks close by, but the waitress wiped off a table in the back corner and smiled at Cain as they took a seat. She ordered a sweet roll to go with the coffee and acknowledged every greeting the other patrons offered.
”What'd you get Hayden for his birthday?” Lou asked. After Cain cut her sweet roll and offered some to him, he picked up half of it.
”A hunting trip he asked about a couple of months ago. I told him how much my brother Billy liked thesport, and he wants to try it out.”
”You're going hunting? When was the last time you did that?”
”I've only been once, so it's been awhile. Hayden seemed excited, and I didn't have the heart to let him down.”
”He's excited about spending time with you, Boss.” Lou accepted a refill and another roll.
”I spend time with him,” Cain said as she brought her brows together, not understanding what he meant.
”I know you do, but he's got to share you now. When Emma and Hannah moved in, he didn't have you twenty-four-seven like he did before.” He brushed his hands off and finished his coffee. ”Not that he'd change things, but I think he still misses it a bit.”
”Thanks for telling me, and I'm glad we're going away for a few days. The trip's not until the fall, but maybe we can squeeze some fis.h.i.+ng in when it gets warmer.”
Lou's face became devoid of emotion as he nodded. ”You're about to get a bite now.”
”I sure made that intro easy for you,” Cain said with a short laugh.
Throughout their talk she'd kept her eyes on Shelby and Lionel, who were seated at the counter returning the favor.
”What do you think it'd take for these guys to stop watching?”
”That's an easy one too, Lou. They'll stop when I give them what they want, but that won't be today.”
”Cain, could we join you for a minute?” Shelby asked. The two empty chairs at their table had their backs to the door and were in the way of the wait-staff traffic to and from the kitchen. They were the worse seats in the place, making Cain smirk when she pushed Shelby's chair out with her foot.
”Are you here for the sweet rolls?” Cain asked, and Lou smiled slightly.
”Good place to get coffee.” Shelby sat down and laid her hands on the table.
”Just happen to be in the neighborhood, or are you planning to join the longsh.o.r.eman's union?”
”Could we call a truce until we finish our coffee?” Shelby asked.
”You know why I'm here.”
”Sure, what can I do for you?”