Rason & Eliza - Cee Bowerman Page 0,37
arms.
“Eliza picked these right before we left her house.” I handed the cloth sack I’d carried in from the car to Nicole. She took it and I told her, “There are some cucumber and squash in there and quite a few tomatoes.”
“That’s lovely. I’ll see if Hank wants to add some of them to the salad.” Nicole smiled at me. “She’s lost in baby land and I need a bottle of water. Come with me and I’ll introduce you.”
I followed Nicole into the kitchen, passing Eliza as we went. She never even noticed the two of us as she was so totally engrossed in talking softly to the baby who was staring up at her.
“Hank, your sister’s here and she brought her friend and a bag of fresh vegetables from her garden,” Nicole called out through the open French doors that led out to a large wooden deck. She put the bag of produce on the counter and started sorting through it.
Hank walked through the open doors toward us - his gait relaxed, but the look on his face serious.
“Rason.” He nodded as he stuck his hand out. “Good to see you again.”
“Good to see you too,” I returned as I shook his hand. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Where’s Eliza?”
“She snatched the baby from your wife at the door and now they’re in the living room staring into each other’s eyes.” I laughed. “A bomb could go off and I don’t think Eliza would notice right now.”
Hank’s face softened as he glanced toward the wide doorway that led into the living room. “They’ve become fast friends, those two.”
“I’ve got quite a few nephews and nieces, but they live out of town. I don’t get to see them nearly as often as I’d like.”
“Well, I’m sure Eliza told you, but we’re new at this sibling thing. She’s taken to being an aunt like a duck takes to water, that’s for sure. You want a beer?”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“Let’s go grab one from the cooler on the deck.” Hank turned toward the open doors and then caught sight of the vegetables we’d brought. “Honey, will you peel those cucumbers? I’ll make a cucumber salad with the tomatoes and some fresh dill. I think that will go well with dinner.”
“Oh, I love it when you talk food to me, baby.” Nicole laughed as we walked past her.
Hank and I walked out onto the deck where his friend who’d whistled for the dogs was sitting. There were kids running around the yard, and I recognized Lout’s youngest two daughters playing with one of the dogs I’d seen earlier. It was an intricate family tree, but Atlas and Jazmyne were both connected to Grunt. Atlas was his stepson and Jazmyne’s brother Lout was his son-in-law, making Lout’s kids and Jaz’s nieces Grunt’s grandchildren.
I shook my head after I’d worked my way through that and took a sip of my beer.
“Is Rowdy coming over?” I asked them.
“Yeah, he was here a bit ago, but he took my old lady, our oldest granddaughter, and one of our sons over to ride horses until dinner’s ready.”
“Since the girls are inside, I’m going to do the big brother thing and talk to you about this shit that’s swirling around.” Hank said as he sat down in a chair and motioned for me to sit next to him.
“And I’m going to listen and then put in my two cents.” Grunt’s smile was almost as predatory as Hank’s scowl.
“Lout told me that your ex is a problem and might put my sister in danger.” Hank said as he leaned back in his chair and stared at me. “What are you doing to make that issue go away?”
“The cops are involved, and they’re actively looking for her as she’s currently under investigation for the damage she caused after breaking into my house. Her parents have filed a missing persons report, and her doctor wants her to be admitted because she told him that if she couldn’t live with me, she’d die with me.” I looked down at the boards below my feet. “I don’t know what to do. I snuck out of my house and had my friend drive me to Eliza’s so I could see her. Atlas just texted that he’s seen Robin driving up and down our street. I called the detective to tell him and he’s sending a patrol car over to my neighborhood to watch for her. All I can think is that if Robin’s cruising my street waiting for me