He only had eyes for Faye.
“Faye, baby, I need to talk to you a second,” he called gently.
She only had eyes for him too and hers were wide and scared.
He watched her face pale and her lips form the silent word, “Malachi.”
But it was Silas who spoke out loud.
“Everything okay, son?”
Chace tore his gaze from Faye and looked to her father.
“No.”
At his word, Faye shoved back her chair and rushed around the table.
When she got close, he caught her hand and moved with her to the family room. He heard murmurings from the other room but he was focused.
When they stopped in the family room, Silas, Boyd and Sondra were with them.
He ignored that and moved into Faye. Lifting a hand to slide the hair off her shoulder, he then curled it around her neck and dipped his face close.
“Deck found Malachi. He’s been injured. It’s not good. They’re takin’ him to County now so we need to go, baby.”
“I’ll get our coats,” she replied immediately, broke from him and ran to the stairs.
“I’ll come with,” Silas announced.
Chace looked to the man. “It’s not –”
“I’ll come with,” Silas reiterated, holding Chace’s eyes a second then he turned to his wife.
Before he could speak, she gave him what he, their daughters and their grandson needed.
“Jarot will get his cake then I’ll be there,” she whispered.
Silas nodded then followed his daughter.
“You need anything, man?” Boyd asked and Chace shook his head.
“We’ll call, we do,” he muttered.
Boyd nodded.
Liza showed at the opening to the room. “Is everything okay?”
Boyd moved to her, murmuring, “Later, babe, let’s get back to our boys.”
Chace watched Liza look searchingly at her husband but she made not a peep as she followed him out of the family room through the kitchen toward the dining room. Boyd slid his arm around his wife’s shoulders, Liza reciprocating with one around his waist.
Sondra moved to Chace, lifted a hand, curled it around his bicep and squeezed while peering into his eyes, her ear dipped to her shoulder, her eyes warm and worried.
Faye ran into the room both carrying his coat and yanking her hair out of the collar of hers.
She came to a rocking halt, offered his coat to him and whispered, “Let’s go, honey.”
He nodded, took his coat, turned to Sondra and said quietly, “Dinner was great, sorry to cut it short.”