“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“So, what’s with the hickey, sis?” Dean gave her a wicked smile and reached for the pitcher of tea. He poured a generous amount into five glasses and lifted his up in the air. “Here’s to Kelli’s new boy toy.”
Kelli’s face turned a bright red. “You guys are awful. This is why I’m not bringing him to meet you.”
“So, youdohave a boyfriend,” Dana teased in between bites of food. “Come on, we’ll behave if you bring him over.”
Ian hid his laugh behind his glass.
When he was done, he left his kids bickering and playing with Teddy. In the bathroom, he looked at a few more things before reattaching the drain tailpiece. Then he washed his hands, wiped them on a towel, and pulled his shirt back on. Once he came back out, he realized everyone was outside in the backyard, enjoying the midafternoon sun.
With a sigh, he waved over at Sophia and stepped outside.
In the car, he turned up the heat and drove through the empty streets, passing shops and buildings on either side of him. When he pulled up outside the business complex where Lucy had a part-time office rented out for her bigger clients, he reached for his phone.
His call went straight to voicemail.
He frowned, got out of the car, and walked up the stairs. On the second floor, he pulled out his keys and peered at each one carefully. Ian grinned when he found Lucy’s spare office key, and the lock made a soft clicking sound. In the semi-darkness, his hand darted out to flick on the switch.
Nothing happened.
He crept into the office and walked straight into a set of boxes. Muttering, he wandered over to the curtains and wrenched them open. Ian spun back around and saw the stacks of boxes and the thin layer of dust over every inch of the room; his stomach tightened.
The office looked like it hadn’t been used in months.
What’s going on, Lucy? And why won’t you confide in me?
Chapter Four
“Are you seriously volunteering for another late shift?” Marissa paused to wind the scarf around her neck. Then she pulled the hat down over her ears. “Isn’t Lucy upset that you’ve been pulling a lot of night shifts lately?”
Ian didn’t look up from his computer. “No, she doesn’t mind.”
And it was because she hadn’t noticed.
Since their fight a week ago, they’d barely spoken more than a few words at a time. Outside of anything that needed to be done around the house or anything related to the children, the two of them had nothing to say to each other. Each day that passed without resolving their problems, Lucy felt further and further away from him.
He'd even caught a glimpse of the empty sheet of paper their therapist had given her, and it only made him feel worse.
Ian had no idea how to reach Lucy or if she even wanted to be pulled back.
Being at the station made him feel useful, like he wasn’t in the background fighting to be heard.
Marissa bent down to retrieve her purse from the bottom drawer on her desk. “Okay, if you say so. By the way, did you check and see if Lucy is in for dinner?”
Ian’s fingers kept moving over the keyboard. “Yeah, she’s pretty busy. Once things calm down, I’ll let you know.”
“All right, have a good night.”
“You too.”
As soon as Marissa was gone, Ian pushed his chair back and pressed two fingers to his temples. He rubbed in slow, circular motions, a feeble attempt at warding off the headache. Then he stood up and bent down to touch his fingers to his toes. He did this a few times in an attempt to shake off the stiffness, but nothing helped clear his mind—not even throwing himself into the other cases he had.
On the one hand, he was grateful for the opportunity to keep himself busy. On the other hand, not being any closer to a breakthrough with his mom’s case weighed heavily on him.
After taking several deep breaths, Ian sat back down at his desk and stared at his computer, his mind drawing a complete blank.
Why couldn’t he come up with anything new? Why didn’t the pieces fit together?
