by Pandora Pine
Faulk burst out laughing. He’d been so nervous about what Riordan was about to say, his words were a relief. “Oh, thank God.” He leaned forward to brush their lips together. “When you said the kids were crazy about me and didn’t include yourself in that, I wasn’t sure where you were going. Phew!”
“Does ‘phew’ mean that you want to take this crazy ride with me and the girls?”
Faulk nodded. “Oh, yeah. They are such remarkable little people. We’re all going to have so much fun together.”
Riordan squeezed his hand. “There is one thing I want to talk to you about though.” The bright look in his dark eyes dimmed.
“Let me guess. My job?” Faulk had a feeling this was coming. For a widower, the number one thing on his mind had to be stability and above all, not wanting history to repeat itself.
“Here we are! Drinks and chowder. Sorry for the wait. I thought it would be easier to bring them at the same time.”
“Thanks, Penny.” Faulk smiled brightly at the waitress. He didn’t mind at all, the fewer interruptions the better, in his book. He took his time taking a sip from his soda and opening the package of oyster crackers that came with his chowder and dumping all of them into his bowl. Faulk couldn’t help noticing the dainty way Riordan added three crackers to his chowder before taking a taste of it.
“This is delicious.” Riordan’s eyes lit up. “What I would do for this recipe.”
“You’d have to fool Isla into eating it.” Faulk laughed.
“I’m sure Uncle Faulk could figure something out.”
Faulk was sure he could too. It seemed like such a delicate thing though, teaching kids to love animals, but also introducing them to how tasty they were at the same time. He’d have to work on that. Thinking about poor Isla’s reaction to eating lobster was keeping his mind off talking about his time at work and how he’d explain that to Riordan. It wasn’t going to be easy.
“So, Cold Case.” Faulk took a sip from his Coke.
“You said before that it has a slower pace than where you were before.” Riordan’s look was understanding.
“That’s true. Major Crimes was a hard gig. I worked undercover a lot, which is the most dangerous assignment you can pull. One wrong move and your cover is blown.” He’d come close to that happening a time or two, not that he was going to tell Riordan those stories.
“Is that part of the reason you wanted out?”
Faulk nodded. “Not only was I prone to getting put into another undercover assignment, but Major Crimes deals with gang violence, drug and human trafficking, as well as prostitution. The worst of the worst humanity has to offer. I didn’t want to be a part of those investigations anymore. I wanted something where I could still make a difference, but without the high risk.”
“How’d you get involved with Cold Case?”
“I knew Ronan O’Mara from a previous undercover stint and his name came up in the Dragonni case. It was actually on a hit list. When my captain pulled me out of the assignment, he still wanted me on the case, so I ended up working as Tennyson Grimm’s personal bodyguard at the psychic shop.”
“You worked at West Side Magick?” Riordan laughed.
“Wait until you see the pictures.” Faulk flipped through his phone until he found them and handed the device to Riordan. “My fake psychic name was Harry Atlantis. I was a hit.”
“Oh. My. God.” Riordan looked at Faulk and then back down at the pictures of a platinum blond Faulk with pink highlights, wearing a collared shirt with only one button done.
“Do you like what you see, sailor?” Faulk started to laugh.
“I can’t even believe that’s you.” Riordan’s dark eyes glittered with amusement.
“It was a lot of fun being in the shop with all the guys and Emilyn, until Dragonni’s goons showed up. Cole’s baby was in the shop that day, so was Em, who was pregnant at the time, and Cassie was working in the adjoining store. It was pretty tense.” Faulk’s gut turned thinking back to that day.
“You saved everyone though.”
“I did, but it was absolutely terrifying at the same time.” Faulk would never forget the two armed goons who’d been there with a message for Ronan.
“How is Cold Case different from that?” Riordan sounded more curious than accusatory.
“The fact that so much time has passed from when the original crime was committed usually helps in terms of dealing with former persons of interest and reluctant witnesses. Sure, some witnesses might have died, but situations change too. I find that people are often more willing to talk since these secrets have been weighing them down over the years.”
“I can imagine guilt changes people.” Riordan certainly looked like he was speaking from experience.
“Yeah,” Faulk agreed. “Now don’t get me wrong, there are still times when things go south and bullets fly, but for the most part, these investigations are a lot more sedate, especially with Tennyson on the team.”
“How does he help?”
“When he works with Ronan, he talks to the murder victims. Sometimes they can tell us who killed them or where evidence is hidden. Then it’s just a matter of getting people to confess or speaking to other witnesses who know more than they’ve previously told us.”
“Damn, I had no idea. I thought you guys were just running old evidence for DNA or using new technologies to find new leads.” Riordan looked impressed.
“We do a lot of that too, but there’s still good old-fashioned police work involved in it.
“Here’s the lobster rolls, boys. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Penny asked.
Faulk looked to Riordan who shook his head no. “We’re good. Thank you.”
She nodded and walked away.
“I can’t guarantee that I’ll always be safe at work, but no one can make that promise to you. Do you think you can handle what I do for a living?” Faulk held his breath. So much was riding on the answer to this question.
“I can handle it. We won’t tell Isla anything about what you do, just that you’re looking for bad guys.”
Relief rolled through his entire body. “That’s all we tell Laurel too. She’s pretty happy knowing Uncle Fuck is a good guy who chases bad guys and wins.”
“Here’s to you, Uncle Fuck.” Riordan held up his glass.
“Right back at you, Dancing Daddy.” Faulk clinked their glasses together. He was about to take a sip when Riordan’s phone started to ring.
“Uh, oh. It’s Mom.” His face crumpled.
Riordan stabbed a piece of lobster with his fork. He had a very bad feeling that was going to be the only bite of dinner he was going to get.
13
Riordan
Of all the nights for the girls to both come down with the stomach bug, why did it have to be tonight? His mother had been very calm on the phone while she’d been describing what was going on, but in the background he could hear the chaos. Tiny gags and worse.
Faulk was amazing. While he’d been on the phone getting all the details on how sick the girls were from his mother, his date had flagged down their waitress and explained the situation. By the time he was done with the call and had run to the bathroom, their meals were boxed up and Faulk had paid the check.
“You can just drop me off in the driveway.” Riordan was already dreading what he’d be walking into when he got home. Two puking kids. He was not good with vomit. He was what his mother called a sympathetic puker. Once he heard or smelled the festivities, he often needed a barf bucket of his own.
“Are you kidding me? No way. You were just saying not even an hour ago that you needed help sometimes. Now is one of those times. Tiny barfers don’t look to be your specialty.” The look on Faulk’s face said it all. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“And they’re yours?” Riordan shot back with no heat behind the words.
“Sure. Everly spews on me all the time.”
Riordan snorted. “There’s a huge difference between infant spit-up and re
al human barf. This will resemble what they ate and it will smell like the devil.” Riordan almost gagged just thinking about it.
“That settles it. I’m coming in with you for sure. Also, what happens if you get struck down by this bug too. You’ll need to have someone there who’s immune.”
“Immune? You’re not Superman, Faulk.” Although right now he sure as hell sounded like he was the Man of Steel.
“Actually, I am, but in this case, I had the puking bug a month ago. Lovely Laurel gave it to me over Valentine’s Day. I was kind enough to watch her and Brady so Cole and Cass could get a night out and I spent the night getting hoarked on from two camps. It was ugly. Then Uncle Fuck’s tummy started to rumble. After a night of hot wings, it wasn’t pretty. I can tell you that.”
“Oh, God. Maybe you are the best man to have in a crisis then,” Riordan agreed as Faulk pulled into the driveway. He noticed the detective parked behind his SUV, rather than behind his mother’s.
“Promise you won’t get offended if the girls want me. Sometimes they get clingy when they’re sick.” Riordan gave Faulk’s hand a squeeze.
“No problem. I can do laundry or change beds if that needs to be done while you rock them or cuddle them.”
Riordan shook his head. Faulkner Hayes really was one in a million. “Mom?” He called out when he unlocked the door and stepped inside. The downstairs was quiet, but he could hear commotion going on upstairs. “Come on.” Riordan waved Faulk forward.
The stench hit him halfway up the stairs. He wasn’t sure if he could go on.
“You can do this,” Faulk whispered. “Isla? Macy?” Faulk called out.
“In here, boys!” Maggie shouted back.
“Master bathroom,” Riordan confirmed. It made the most sense. There was a bathtub and a shower stall in there. Stepping into his bedroom, Riordan saw a pile of soiled clothes on the hardwood floor. He could hear dry heaves and crying from the bathroom.
He wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he walked into the room. Isla was bent over the toilet while Macy was standing in the tub wearing only a diaper, looking like a wet dishrag.
“Oh no, Macy.” Faulk took off toward the toddler who was screaming and getting sick at the same time. Her dark hair was sticking up in wild tufts while her little body was wracked with heaves. “You’re okay. Uncle Faulk has you.” He turned to look at Riordan who was frozen. He was looking back and forth between the baby and Isla. Maggie was standing near Isla, holding her hair back.
“What do you need, Mom?” Riordan couldn’t believe what was going on.
“My own bed, kiddo. My own stomach started tossing when I called you, otherwise, I would have let you both enjoy your night.” Maggie Quinn looked positively green.
“Walk Maggie to the car, Riordan. Do you need a ride home or are you going to be okay to drive?” Faulk asked as he held Macy’s back to his front.
“It’s only a mile or so. I’ll make it. Call me tomorrow to let me know how the girls are doing.” She waved and Riordan took her out of the room. “This is going to be quite a test, huh?”
“A test for Faulk?” Riordan asked as he guided his mother down the stairs.
“Yeah, he seems dug in up there.” A ghost of a smile passed over Maggie’s face.
“He said Laurel had this a month ago. He got it from her.”
“You’re going to need a last man standing.” Maggie shrugged into her coat. “This isn’t good, Riordan. You might need to call their pediatrician if they can’t keep anything down. It started around 8pm and things were too crazy for me to take their temps.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks. I’ll start there.” Riordan opened the door for his mother. “Feel better.”
“I pray this doesn’t hit you, but those girls love all over you.” Maggie waved on her way out the door.
Riordan was already prepared for this stomach bug to take him down. Thank God for Faulk. When he saw her SUV pull out of the driveway, he sprinted back up the stairs where he saw Faulk had taken over for Maggie, holding Isla’s hair. Macy had calmed down for the moment and was resting her face on the cool lip of the tub.
“Mom said she hadn’t taken their temperatures.” Riordan had no idea what else to say.
“Both of them feel like they’re burning up,” Faulk said.
Grabbing the thermometer, Riordan rolled it over Macy’s forehead. “Damn, 102.8” He repeated it for Isla. “102.5”
“Wow, that’s not good.” Faulk looked back at Macy, who was still lying with her face on the tub. “Here, will you stay with Isla?”
Riordan stepped over to Isla. He watched as Faulk scooped up Macy. She didn’t have enough energy to wrap her arms around him. “I’m so sorry you’re sick, honey. We need to get her temp down. What would you think of me getting in the shower with her?”
“In your dress pants and loafers?” Riordan almost found a smile.
Faulk grinned at him. “I was going to strip down to my boxer briefs if that’s okay with you. I’d suggest putting her in the tub, but there’s still ick in there…” He trailed off, pointing instead.
Riordan grimaced. “The shower is fine. If it works for her, we’ll try it with Isla too.”
“Come on, honey.” Faulk walked into the bedroom with the listless toddler.
Riordan knew Faulk was going to strip down to his underwear. Was he evil for wanting to take a peek? To keep his mind busy, he turned on the water in the shower. He didn’t know how cold Macy would need it to be, but he turned it to where it was just between warm and cold. Faulk could adjust it from there.
“Okay, here we go, Macy. Ready for our shower.” Faulk was singing his words to her. Macy, for her part had her head against the side of his neck.
Holy shit… Riordan couldn’t help noticing Faulk’s smoking hot body. He was chiseled from head to toe and covered in a soft mat of fur. Riordan wanted to take a bite out of him. He was definitely a bad man for looking at Faulk like this when his kids were sick.
Faulk stepped into the spray. “I appreciate this temperature, but this is way too warm, Riordan.” He shut the shower door. A second later, Macy started to cry. “I know it’s cold honey. This is going to help. I promise.”
Riordan stood by, holding Isla’s hair when the next wave of heaves wracked her body.
“You okay, tiny dancer?” Faulk called, his teeth chattering.
“Noooo,” Isla called back.
“You keep being brave, Isla.” Faulk called back. “Do you have any Children’s Tylenol? That’s what Cole and Cassie gave to Laurel when she had this.”
“Yup. I’ll grab it when Isla stops…” Riordan didn’t finish his sentence. Faulk would know what he meant.
“We’re almost done, Macy,” Faulk sang. “We’re gonna need fuzzy towels too.”
The toddler whined, but quieted down quickly.
Riordan went into the linen closet to grab his stash of meds for the kids. He found an unopened bottle of Children’s Tylenol. Grabbing the medicine dropper with Macy’s name on it, he sucked up the right dosage and opened the shower door.
“Dada,” Macy said weakly. She didn’t even reach out for him.
“I know, love bug. This is awful. I’ve got medicine to help you feel better.” He held up the dropper, hoping she’d take it on her own. This stuff tasted like cherry candy, usually Macy had no trouble with it. This time, she wanted no part of it. “Hold on tight, Faulk. This won’t be pretty.” Pinching her nose, Riordan waited until Macy opened up before squirting the liquid into her mouth. He rubbed her throat like a puppy getting a pill. “I know that’s a dirty trick, Macy. Daddy’s sorry.” He could feel tears pricking his eyes, but there was no time for this emotional bullshit. His babies were sick. “I’ll grab her a towel. Warm up the water for yourself. Isla’s going to be next, but it’s going to take me a minute to get her ready.”
Faulk nodded, rocking Macy.
Riordan grabbed a fluffy green towel. Opening it up, he was ready for Faulk to hand Macy to him. He w
asn’t prepared for how ice-cold the baby was. She was angry too. That was good. It was better that Macy had some fight back in her.
He got her dried off and changed into a fresh diaper and new pajamas. Riordan debated putting her to bed or leaving her in his room. Erring on the side of caution, he put her in her own bed, but removed all of her toys, just in case she started up again.
When he got back into the bathroom again, Isla was sitting on the bathroom floor looking lost. He couldn’t decide what to do. Should he give her the meds and hope for the best or stick her in the shower too? “Faulk, Isla’s just sitting on the bathroom floor. What should I do?”
“You said her fever was higher than Macy’s, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Get her in here. Try the meds and then we’ll cool her off.”
Riordan did what Faulk asked. He took off Isla’s pjs and left her in her underwear. “Honey, I’m going to put you in the cold shower with Uncle Faulk, after you have this little cup of cherry medicine, okay? It’s going to help with your fever.” He measured out the meds and held the cup to Isla’s mouth.
Isla nodded and drank the liquid down.
“Hey, honey. Faulk took her from Riordan, trying to shield her at first from the cold spray. I promise we won’t be in here long.”
Isla cuddled close to him, but didn’t make a sound. Riordan hated to see her like that. “I’ll be back. I’m going to check on Macy.” He ran from the master bathroom into the toddler’s room. Macy was laying on her side with her eyes closed. “Thank goodness.” He touched her forehead. She was still warm, but not as hot as she was before.
“Macy’s cooler. I think it’s working. She’s also not actively sick…” Riordan didn’t want to jinx things by saying Macy had stopped throwing up.
“Okay. I think we’re just about done here too. I’m freezing my knees off.” Faulk’s teeth were chattering again.