manages. She has a nursery attached to her office and a full-time nanny to take care of Luke. Joe Rucker is my sister’s chauffeur.
I ask her, “Have you talked to Mom this morning?”
Beth nods. “I called a little while ago and asked if we could come over this morning. She said yes, of course, but the request put her on alert. She asked me what was wrong.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her nothing was wrong. We just wanted to stop by for a visit.”
Of course, she suspects something is wrong. We never just stop by on a weekday morning, out of the blue, for a social visit. Especially not both of us at one time.
A cup of black coffee appears on the table in front of me. I glance back to see Cooper standing behind me. “Thanks, Cooper.”
He nods. “No problem. Can I get you something to eat?”
“No, thank you. My appetite is shot to hell.”
Cooper clasps my shoulder and gives me an encouraging squeeze. “Stop worrying. It’s going to be fine.”
Sam carries in two plates of food, one for himself and one for Cooper. They sit on the opposite side of the table. Sam steals a piece of bacon from Cooper’s plate, earning a look of amused reproach from his partner.
“Ingrid loves you,” Cooper says to me. “She doesn’t care about your sexual orientation. She just wants both of her kids to be happy.”
Just as we’re wrapping up breakfast, the elevator chimes. Joe Rucker walks into the penthouse apartment. The man is intimidating, I’ll give him that. He’s nearly six feet tall, broad shouldered, with arms that haven’t gone soft since he retired from heavyweight boxing. The man clearly still works out. His white hair is buzzed short, contrasting dramatically with his brown skin.
He walks over to the table just as Beth rises from her seat. “Hi, Joe. I’ll be ready in a minute. I just need to brush my teeth.”
As she races off, Shane washes Luke’s hands and face and lifts him out of his highchair. He kisses the baby’s temple, nuzzling him for a moment as the baby grips Shane’s shirt. Shane laughs as Luke makes a grab for his face. Then Shane makes a comical face, which in turn makes Luke laugh. “If you’ll excuse us, somebody needs a diaper change. We’ll be right back.”
“Hello, Detective,” Joe says to me in his deep, resonant voice.
In his late fifties, Joe is old school, respectful, with southern charm and manners. He’s almost old enough to be my dad, but he treats me with deference. I stand, and we shake hands.
His grip is firm and confident. “Miss Beth told me we’re taking a detour this morning to the family compound, to see your mother. I hope Miss Ingrid is well.”
“Yes, she’s fine.”
He nods. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Sam rises from the table, wiping his mouth on a napkin. “I’ll be ready to go in a minute.” And then he disappears down the hallway that leads to the suite he shares with Cooper.
I help Cooper clear the dirty dishes from the table and carry them to the kitchen sink.
It’s not long before everyone’s ready to go. I head down to the parking garage with the others. Everyone loads into the Escalade, and I follow them to Lincoln Park in my car.
Shane bought a brand-new residential development a while back, a private, gated community that currently consists of four homes, all belonging to McIntyre family members. The only exception is my mom. She lives here as well, certainly considered to be part of the family.
Shane’s parents have a house here, as does Shane’s brother, Jake, along with his wife and three young children. Shane’s pain-in-the-ass little sister, Lia, lives here with her fiancé, heart-throb and singer-songwriter Jonah Locke. And lastly, my mother has a small bungalow here.
Since the community is gated, with security guards monitoring the only entrance 24/7, the family members have more freedom here than they would elsewhere. Even Jonah can move about freely in this compound without fear of being swarmed by mobs of hysterical teenage girls.
The guard lets us in, and Joe pulls up to the curb in front of Mom’s house to let everyone out. I park behind them. Sam and Luke head across the street to visit Jake’s wife, Annie, and the kids, while Beth and I walk up to Mom’s front porch.
Mom meets us at the door, opening it before we have a chance to ring the bell. She has a wary smile