came to his mother. “It depends on how things go with Judah,” he said. “But I’d like to.” He put a hand on her arm, holding her blueberry-colored gaze. “Can we talk for a second?”
“Sure. Let’s take a walk.”
They stood and slipped out together, heading out the front doors of the animal hospital and down a few stone steps to find an empty bench under a tree.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as they sat down.
“Yeah, yeah.” He settled back, stretching an arm over the back and giving her narrow shoulders a light squeeze. “Really good, actually.”
A smile tugged. “That’s nice. You know what your aunt Annie used to say. ‘You’re only as happy as your least-happy kid.’ So hearing you say you’re good makes my heart warm.”
He eyed her for a moment, wondering how deep they could, or should, go. “You know why I’m happy, I assume.”
“Pretty sure the reason is in the OR right now, and I don’t mean the dog.”
“I like the dog,” he admitted with a wry laugh. “But yeah, I like the dog doctor even more.”
“That’s wonderful, Dec. You know I’ve always been fond of Evie Hewitt.”
Really? Even after the fire? “There are no…hard feelings?”
She sighed softly, nestling closer as she plucked at an imaginary thread on her jeans. “There are feelings,” she said matter-of-factly, in true Colleen Mahoney fashion. “And many of them are still hard to process, but not for one minute do I bear a grudge against Evie or her family or Gloriana House itself. Is that what you’re asking?”
“I guess it is. I think she’s a little…nervous? I don’t know if that’s the right word. Just worried that seeing you might bring back bad memories for both of you.”
Mom shook her head. “No, I don’t want her to feel that way. Especially now that you’re together again.”
“I don’t know how together we are,” he said on a laugh. “We’re sharing responsibility for a dog, and I’m helping her around Gloriana House and…” We’re kissing. He left that part out.
“I’m happy you’re able to be in the house and let go.”
He swallowed. “‘Letting go’ is a relative term. I’m…facing stuff.” He threw her a look. “And I’ve been reading the investigation files.”
“I heard.”
Inching back in surprise, he frowned. “Connor or Braden?”
“Both,” she said. “They think they’re protecting me whenever anything comes up that has to do with your dad’s death.”
He nodded. “I guess they talk to you more about it than I do.”
“You never talk about it,” she said.
“That’s why I’m reading the files and trying to, you know, come to terms.”
“I’ve read those files,” she said. “And the department kept me up to speed throughout the whole investigation.” She gave him a questioning look. “Are you finding…contradictions?”
“Maybe. I’m trying to track down the arson investigator who thought the fire was suspicious, but if you’ve read the reports, you know that wasn’t the official determination.” He tried to read her expression. “What are you thinking, Mom?”
“I’m torn,” she admitted on a sigh. “I’ve always had this nagging feeling that something wasn’t right about that fire. It wasn’t like your father to break a rule and take a risk, but something compelled him to that night.”
“Did you ever talk to George Rainey? That was his partner on the call.”
“You know he died at the World Trade Center?”
“I did know that,” Declan said. “But before he left? You knew him, I assume?”
“Very well. He was never quite the same after that fire. He shouldered a lot of blame for losing a partner.”
Declan nodded, totally understanding that. “He didn’t say what was different that night? Why he thought Dad left his side?”
“Nothing more than what was in that report.”
Which was that he got momentarily separated from Dad, losing sight of him in the smoke. Declan nodded, considering how much to share with her. “I’m trying to shed some light now on what happened. You don’t mind, Mom, do you?” The last thing he wanted to do was ease his own pain, but cause more for his mother.
“I don’t mind,” she assured him. “But I do question the cost.”
“The cost?”
She turned and looked hard at him. “Evie. It could cost you Evie.”
He blew out a breath. “You sound like Connor.”
“A man who knows firsthand how your life can be improved by the love of a good woman.”
“Mom, if something happened that wasn’t in that report—if Dad made a huge mistake or if the investigators did—we have to know.”
“Yes, I get that,” she agreed. “And honestly, I’ve always