Hide & Seek - Nicole Edwards Page 0,25
before taking a pull on his beer. “Bryn, Sadie, Tori, Griffin, Cal, and Trey. And yes, I know I bungled the order. So yeah, I think I can handle their occupations.”
“All right, but listen carefully. There’ll be a test at the end.”
“Bring it, Navy boy.”
With a grin, Brantley said, “I’ll start with Sadie, she’s the oldest. She’s married to Devon and she’s a stay-at-home mom to two girls, Ashley and Meghan. Then Tori, who’s married to Killian. They’ve got one son, Eric. Tori just recently got a part-time job at the bookstore in town. Something to get her out of the house. And the last of the girls is Bryn. She’s full-time in school to get her teaching degree. She decided rather late in life that she wanted to do something different.”
Yeah, Reese knew there was no way he could keep up with all this.
“Next in line is Trey. He’s in security, though he’s never really found anything that suited him. Usually works the night shift at high-end hotels and whatnot. I came next. Then Griffin. He holds the prestigious title of Coyote Ridge bank president. He’s got a master’s in finance.” Brantley took a swallow of his beer. “And last but not least is Cal. He’s a mechanical engineer, recently engaged to April.”
Reese shook his head, forked food into his mouth, and attempted to line it all up in his head.
“Did you catch all that?”
He swallowed, took a drink, then met Brantley’s gaze. “Oldest is Sadie. Stay-at-home mom. Then Tori. Part-time at the bookstore. Bryn, late bloomer, teacher. Next Trey. Security. Then you.” He paused to think, then grinned. “Griffin, bank president. Youngest is Cal, mechanical engineer.”
“Very good.”
“I don’t know why but I thought they were all married,” Reese said.
“Nope. Only Sadie, Tori, and soon to be Cal. Trey and Bryn are each divorced. And Griff’s never been married. What about your brother and sister? I know you said Z’s married and works for that security company. What about Jensyn?”
“She’s single. Married to her job.”
“Which is?”
“Psychiatrist.”
“Ouch.”
Something nudged Reese’s leg. He looked down, saw Tesha staring up at him.
“You hungry? Or need to go out?”
Those sad eyes implored him but gave Reese no clue as to what she needed.
“I’ll get her food. You take her out, just in case,” Brantley said. “I’ll even do the dishes.”
Reese peered up at him. “And for that, I’ll make it up to you later.”
“You bet your ass you will. But after you give her a bath.”
Smiling, Reese led Tesha out into the backyard.
***
Baz finished his day on a high note. He had remained at HQ until he completed his call with the Seattle detective who had handled the initial case of the missing five-year-old boy, learning more than he’d hoped to from the discussion. So much, he used what he’d learned as an excuse to call JJ as he was leaving the office.
“Mind if I stop by?” he asked.
“For what?”
Her snippy response made him smile. This woman didn’t trust easily, that much he’d learned already.
“I wanted to discuss the case with you.”
“We don’t have a case, Detective. If you don’t recall, the kid in Houston was found.”
He chuckled as he steered his truck toward the diner on Main Street. “I do recall,” he said patiently. “We’re still workin’ on the nationwide social media scam though, right?”
JJ sighed. “It can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“Nope.”
“Fine. But you have to—”
“Bring dinner. I know. Got it covered. Be there in twenty.”
Baz disconnected the call, headed into the diner. He placed a to-go order, selecting what he knew to be JJ’s favorites, and waited at an empty table near the front while they prepared it. When the Styrofoam packages nestled in a white plastic bag were delivered to him, he jotted his name on the credit card receipt, added a hefty tip because karma was a real thing, then headed out the door.
Rather than assume JJ had drinks on hand, he dashed into the Gas n’ Go, grabbed an orange Crush for her—another of her favorites—a Powerade for himself, and a single red rose from the scrawny selection near the register. He paid, hopped in his truck, and headed over to JJ’s.
Before he could even raise his hand to knock, the door swung open, JJ’s irritated yet still ridiculously beautiful face appearing.
“You’re late,” she grumbled, her gaze swinging to the rose he held in his hand.
Baz smiled to himself when he saw the instant shift of her expression. He was doing his damnedest to keep this woman off her game