She pulled herself straight, putting her hands on her hips. “Hysteria? I’m merely passionate in my fight against unethical banking practices. Someone’s gotta stand up for the little guy.”
Reed sighed, patting her on her shoulder. “You’d be more effective if you tried to stay out of jail.” He leaned toward her ear, and said in a mock whisper, “It’s getting embarrassing having to bail you out repeatedly.”
“Oh, I’ll kill you, you dirty-dealing slumlord!”
She pretended to swing at him and Reed laughed, ducking as he sidestepped into the house, but wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in for a side hug. “Hey, sis.”
“Hey, yourself.”
Reed heard Josie’s laughter behind them along with the high-pitched puppy barking. “Boys!” Josie called and feet sounded in the upstairs hall, bringing to mind a heard of elephants clomping down the stairs as his half-brothers, fifteen-year-old Vance and twelve-year-old Cyrus, burst into the room, greeting Reed exuberantly. Zach stepped out of his office. Noise erupted and the puppy danced around at their feet, barking with excitement. Reed laughed, glancing over at Josie to see her standing by the door, watching the scene with a smile on her face and so much love in her eyes that it caused his heart to swell.
No one deserves this more than you, he thought, smiling at his birth mother.
He’d been raised in a wonderful, loving home with two parents who adored him, and then he’d been given a second family the day he knocked on Josie’s door.
And Reed was grateful for it all. Every piece of it.
After a lively dinner where Reed got all the latest updates from the Copeland kids and watched his half-brothers shovel insane amounts of food into their mouths, he helped Josie with the dishes, chatting easily with her about random topics as she washed and he dried.
“I saw the news about the murder at that hospital,” she said, placing a pan into the sink. “Zach said you’re on that case.” She shot him a worried glance.
“Yeah. It was . . . pretty gruesome. No leads yet.” He took the plate she’d just washed and began to dry it using the dish towel he was holding. He was always hesitant to talk to Josie about the more violent aspects of his job, which was silly considering her husband did the same work. Zach had moved up the chain of command and was working his final years with the department as a lieutenant on first shift. Reed seldom saw him on the job. But surely Zach talked to his wife about the cases he was a part of, even the ones that were morbid, the ones that contained details that were hard for anyone to hear. She was used to it, Reed was sure. And yet, he couldn’t help feeling . . . protective of her reaction to information that might bring up the trauma she herself had experienced.
“Actually,” he said, placing the dish towel on the counter after drying the final plate, “I wanted to ask Zach about a few aspects of the case.”
Josie nodded, picking up another dish towel and drying her hands as she turned to him. “Go on back to his office. You know he’s always happy to talk shop.” She nodded toward the back of the house where Zach’s office was located, and where he’d gone to take a call right after dinner.
Reed kissed her on her cheek. “Thanks for dinner. It was delicious.”
“Anytime.”
Reed left the kitchen, walking toward Zach’s office. The door stood open and he heard the water running in the bathroom next door. Figuring Zach had left momentarily, Reed entered the office, taking a seat on the couch under a gallery of Zach’s awards and commendations. He’d watched Zach receive a few of those awards and he knew the recognition always made Zach slightly uncomfortable. He was humble that way. Reed didn’t know for sure, but he suspected Josie had been the one to hang the awards on the wall because she was so proud of her husband. Otherwise, they’d be in boxes in a closet.
It was part of the reason Zach Copeland was one of his heroes. He didn’t do the job for recognition. He did it because he cared so deeply about helping victims, about being one of the good guys in a world that desperately needed them.
As he sat there, something on the corner of Zach’s desk caught Reed’s eye and he frowned, walking to where it was. The