Enforcement Administration? “Why would you work with them?”
“They were doing some things in the Phoenix area, and I had a little undercover experience. They’d offered me a couple of assignments, but I never took them because I didn’t want to be away from you. When you refused to see me for all those weeks, I finally accepted the job.”
“You worked for the DEA?” she demanded. “Was it dangerous?”
His gaze slid from hers. “I was perfectly safe.”
“You’re lying. You weren’t safe. You weren’t safe at all. You were working for the DEA and you didn’t tell me. That’s wrong, Dad. It’s really wrong.”
“Joylyn,” he began, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.
“No. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I don’t want to know any of it. You should have told me back then and you didn’t, so I don’t want to know now.” She pointed toward the front of the house. “I have work to do. You need to leave me alone to get it done.”
“I want to talk about this.”
“No. We’re not talking.” She felt the familiar tears fill her eyes. “No talking.”
“Joylyn, please.”
She closed her eyes, willing him to leave. It took nearly a minute, but finally she heard him get up and walk out of the room. When he was gone, she opened her eyes.
More laughter erupted from the backyard. The sound made her feel empty inside. They weren’t her friends, not anymore. She placed a hand on her belly and willed her love to flow to her son.
“We’ll get through this,” she told him. “I’m never going to leave you or let you feel scared. I’m going to take care of you. Your dad will, too. You’ll see, little one. You’ll see.”
* * *
AFTER CHURCH, Wynn changed into old jeans and a T-shirt. She wanted to go through her decorations and figure out what would last another holiday season and what needed to be tossed. While she believed in the magic of a glue gun, sometimes an item was beyond repair and had to be released to find a new life elsewhere.
She walked into the garage and pushed the button to open the big door to give her light and a breeze. At the far end were several shelving units filled with clear bins. All her decorations were stored there, by holiday. The Christmas ones took up two entire shelving units.
She ignored the bins with wreaths and lights. She always checked both at the end of the season, so she knew they were fine. The same with the ornaments. It was everything else that needed to be examined.
She moved her car outside to give herself extra room. As she walked back into the garage, she couldn’t help glancing toward Garrick’s house and smiling. They’d talked the previous evening. He’d phoned close to nine, and they’d stayed up talking until nearly midnight.
Their conversation had started out being about Joylyn’s horrible friends who had finally left around five in the afternoon, but then they’d ended up discussing everything from their favorite subjects in school to how he’d met his first wife. They’d only hung up when both their cell batteries had started flashing warnings about being seconds from dying.
She supposed given that they lived next door and the late hour, she could have suggested he come over. As long as they were relatively quiet, Hunter wouldn’t know—once he was asleep, he was out for the night. But she hadn’t. Some because she didn’t want their first time to be like that and some because the anticipation was really nice.
She pulled out the first bin and opened it. Inside were decorations she put around the house. There were several stuffed Santas in all shapes, sizes and species. She had a cow, a giraffe and a space alien, all in Santa suits. She checked each item to make sure it was still in good condition, then moved on to a bin filled with Jim Shore holiday pieces. There was a small jewelry box tucked in the corner. Inside was a pinecone charm on a chain—something she wore every year at the holidays.
She fastened the chain around her neck, then smoothed the charm with her fingers.
“I’m ready for Christmas now,” she said with a laugh.
Another bin held a half dozen throws in Christmas patterns. At the bottom of the bin was a blanket she’d crocheted. It wasn’t especially fancy or even square, but she’d made it herself after Hunter had been born and she’d wrapped him