looked around. “Where’s Jordan? He didn’t come out with you?”
“Nah, he got to talking to your boyfriend in there about the inequality in available legal care for minorities, and it was like someone turned a switch. Your guy is passionate. I’m surprised he’s working on his father’s campaign.”
“He’s trying to figure things out,” I said, but I couldn’t help but smile. “He’s amazing when he gets fired up about something he believes in.”
“I could see that,” Ryan agreed. “Now, what’s the plan to find out who this stalker is?”
“I don’t know. He’s either smart enough or ordinary enough that he’s using paper that’s available pretty much everywhere. Felix is talking to the other homeowners up and down the river to see if any of them have security footage that might help identify the boat, but other than that, we got nothing.”
“Okay, we’ll keep working it from our end, and you keep him safe on yours.”
“That’s the plan. Speaking of keeping him safe, I should probably get back in there before Jordan has him signed up to volunteer to do who knows what.”
Trey
When the guys came back in the room, I could tell they’d worked everything out, and I’d been right earlier, Rand was beautiful when he smiled. I wanted to go over and kiss Roman and tell him I was proud of him for fixing things with his brother, but I wasn’t sure if he would appreciate that in front of his family. Instead, he saved me the trouble by coming over to where I was sitting and leaning down to give me a kiss. Guess that answered that. There weren’t enough seats in the room for all of us, so he sat down on the floor in front of me, leaning back against my legs.
“Oh,” Laney said. “We’re one chair short for Sunday linner now. Conny, I think we need to buy that sectional we looked at.”
Conrad’s face lit up, and he said, “The one with all the recliners?”
“Yes, dear, the one with all the recliners.” They continued talking about how they could arrange the furniture and what color they should buy, and I took it all in. It gave me a warm feeling to know she was assuming I would be back, and watching them interact with each other was fun. I really liked Jordan and thought once I was out of my current situation, we could be good friends. I also really liked Laney. She wasn’t like any mom I’d ever known. She was fun and a little rowdy. I’d picked up on the fact that she liked to stir things up among the boys, and Conrad was the peacemaker of the family.
“What do you think?” Roman asked while we watched them.
“I think they’re fantastic.”
“They’re a crazy bunch. They play hard, but they love hard, too. My mom is the stereotypical mama-bear. Jordan was eight when they got married, the same age as Ryan. That’s how they met. Conrad was widowed when Jordan was a toddler, and he was raising Jordan on his own. My mom was a single mother with three boys. Jordan and Ryan met at school, and they were instant best friends. Between coordinating all the sleepovers and rides to the water park, Conrad and my mom fell in love. Best thing that ever happened to us, that’s for damn sure. And you just watch someone try to tell her that Jordan isn’t her son. She’s fierce.”
I wanted to know more. He had never once mentioned his biological father, and it was easy to see how much they all loved Conrad and how much Conrad loved them, but now wasn’t the time for questions. Now was the time to pay attention and learn from the people who loved Roman best, and they had a lot to teach me over the course of the night. By the time we’d eaten and were ready to leave, they’d all shared stories about Roman, embarrassing him and making my day.
Eventually, we got up to go, and Laney followed us to the door. “If you two are able, I’ll expect you both for dinner in two weeks. Roman, don’t be a stranger between now and then, you know how to text.”
“Yes, Mama,” Roman said, rolling his eyes as he leaned down to hug her. We both turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm, stopping me and pulling me into a hug.
“You take care of my boy,” she said, adding an extra squeeze that had me tearing up just