“I think you know exactly what it’s missing.”
Griffin let go of her hand and turned away.
“Griffin….”
“I want your opinion about the master bathroom,” he said, heading for the foyer. “I’m thinking of retiling the walls.”
“Honey….”
At the stairs, Griffin paused. Daisy was following him, pushing a sleeping Sadie across the hardwood floor. Her expression told him everything he needed to know: there was worry and concern and a laser focus that he was sure could force him to tell the truth about anything.
“One thing at a time, okay? We have a wedding to finish planning and bathroom tile to obsess over.” Griffin leaned against the railing, incredibly grateful that Jim was off on a business trip with Matt. Every second in the new house made that siren’s call to parenthood a bit sharper. It was like he picked the perfect home to support his fantasy of Jim and two point five kids.
Maybe a dog too.
“Right. There’s plenty of time. But I think you not telling Jim is going to bite you on the ass in the end.” Daisy walked to stand next to him. She reached out to touch his arm. “Take it from me, okay?” She laughed, self-deprecating in a way he wasn’t entirely used to. “Lying because you think it’s going to stop a fight from happening only results in a bigger fight.”
“Full disclosure, huh?” Griffin smiled down at her. She’d come a long way.
He’d made the journey himself.
“Bennett is well aware that our relationship is built on a 100 percent honesty policy. A lie is a betrayal.” Daisy dropped her gaze to the floor. “And that’s as much for his benefit as mine. I never want to be in a relationship again where I’m lying about how I feel or what I want, and letting my partner do the same.”
Griffin stepped down the stairs until he could take her into his arms. “You’re so wise and settled. Whatever happened to my silly starlet? I used to be the brains of this operation.”
Daisy thumped his back, then hugged him back tightly. “You get to be pretty now—I’ve got this.”
JIM SAT on the bed in his hotel room, scanning down e-mails on his phone. He and Matt were spending the night in Cape May, consulting on a job for a couple that were friends of Shane’s. Matt had turned in early, but Jim couldn’t sleep.
Fifteen alerts about Tripp Ingersoll.
Some were stories about business restructuring of his family’s corporation. Two were brief mentions in gossip columns about who was where with whom. Tracey, his ex-wife, already had a new beau, a fashion designer in New York.
Tracey had moved to the East Coast.
Another story mentioned their upcoming divorce in a piece about high-profile divorces. Tracey, it seemed, was very interested in getting at as much money as she could.
Seemed like Mrs. Ingersoll was feeling a little bitter about her time spent with Tripp.
It made Jim curious.
Jim’s lawyers—the PBA guy and the woman Ben recommended—both told him that the delays from Tripp’s camp were clearly signs that they had no case. And his book deal had quickly died on the vine; preorders were nonexistent and the whole thing stalled, the book unreleased.
Jim desperately wanted to get his hands on that manuscript.
The “how” currently stymied him. He could ask Shane if he had publishing contacts, ask Bennett whom he knew in that industry. But that would open him up to questions he wasn’t ready to answer.
Like why are you doing this?
What do you hope to accomplish?
Questions he couldn’t answer.
He felt unsettled in a way he hadn’t for years. He wanted to know—that was it for now. He just wanted to know there was proof out there that Tripp Ingersoll had killed Carmen Kelly. Then maybe Jim could rest.
Then maybe Ed Kelly’s spirit would stop burning a hole in his heart. Because maybe—and it was fanciful, he knew—maybe once he did that, he could address the elephant in the room with Griffin.
Epilogue
EVAN SAT on the bleachers, watching Elizabeth march around in a formation on the field with her girlfriends. They’d begged for a ride to the park so they could practice their “moves”—the color guard was apparently a serious thing for eighth graders in school, and Elizabeth found marching and swinging a flag to be exactly how she wanted to spend her time.
He didn’t understand it, but bless anything that made Elizabeth giggle like that.
Next to him sat Danny, who had his nose buried in his phone but occasionally looked up at the girls.
One girl in particular.
Her name was Star, and she had pink hair and a nose ring. Of course she was the girl he was desperately trying not to notice.
Evan’s phone buzzed—Matt. He was with Jim on a business trip to Las Vegas, where they were observing a casino’s security system at the behest of a new client who was thinking of buying the place. Because he liked their craps table.
Every time Evan thought he’d observed shocking rich-person behavior, Matt and Jim had another story.
The how’s it going? text was accompanied by pictures of the suite Matt was staying in. If it had been painted in real gold and the bed made of money, it would have looked cheap in comparison to what he was seeing now.
“Holy crap, is that Matt’s room?” Danny said, leaning over his shoulder.
“Suite. I think there are three rooms,” Evan said absently. He texted back how much are you stealing when you leave?
I’m offended was Matt’s reply.
“Tell him to bring home the little shampoos and stuff.”
Evan sent along Danny’s request.
Full sized. Bought another suitcase. Won’t need soap ever again.
THE PHONE rang as Evan was herding everyone to the SUV and surreptitiously making sure Danny got to sit next to Star. It was the least he could do.
“Hey,” Matt said cheerfully when he picked up. “Listen, take the kids to Elena and Walt’s, then hop a plane to Las Vegas. I’m totally serious.”
Evan shut the sliding door and walked slowly to the driver’s side. “You’re totally crazy. I have to work,” he said sternly. “No fun stuff for me.”
Matt scoffed. “I’m working and I’m here! Come to Las Vegas!”
Evan leaned against the van. “I’m going to take a bunch of kids to our house, feed them a wholesome meal, drive them to their respective homes, check homework, and then pay the bills. What are you doing tonight?”
“Cirque de Soleil, front-row seats.”
They shared a laugh, but a part of Evan—a tiny, so very tiny part—wanted to call Elena.
“Did you hear yet?”
Evan sighed as the tone of the conversation changed. “Tomorrow.”
“You know you’re going to get a great score and you know they’re going to offer you Midtown South,” Matt said gently. “You ready for that?”
It was a subject they’d been over a thousand times already, but despite encouragement from everyone—from his ex-boss, Vic, to his former partner, Helena, to his friends at GOAL—Evan still struggled.
The kids in the van laughed and giggled. Evan was pulled back to where he was right now.
And it wasn’t as Captain Evan Cerelli of Midtown South, PR Poster Boy. At least not yet. But he couldn’t deny it was coming. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
About the Author
TERE MICHAELS unofficially began her writing career at the age of four when she learned that people got paid to write stories. It seemed the most perfect and logical job in the world and after that, her path was never in question. (The romance writer part was written in the stars—she was born on Valentine’s Day.)
It took thirty-six years of “research” and “life experience” and well… life… before her first book was published but there are no regrets (she doesn’t believe in them). Along the way, she had some interesting jobs in television, animation, arts education, PR and a national magazine—but she never stopped believing she would eventually ear
n her living writing stories about love.
She is a member of RWA, Rainbow Romance Writers, and Liberty States Fiction Writers. Her home base is a small town in New Jersey, very near NYC, a city she dearly loves. She shares her life with her husband, her teenaged son—who will just not stop growing—and three exceedingly spoiled cats. Her spare time is spent watching way too much sports programming, going to the movies and for long walks/runs in the park, reading her book club’s current selection, and volunteering.
Nothing makes her happier than knowing she made a reader laugh or smile or cry. It’s the purpose of sharing her work with people. She loves hearing from fans and fellow writers, and is always available for speaking engagements, visits and workshops. Find her at http://www.teremichaels.com and on Twitter (@TereMichaels), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/tere.michaels).
Faith, Love, &
Devotion Series
Book One
Faith & Fidelity
By Tere Michaels
Reeling from the recent death of his wife, police officer Evan Cerelli looks at his four children and can only see how he fails them. His loving wife was the caretaker and nurturer, and now the single father feels himself being crushed by the pain of loss and the heavy responsibility of raising his kids.
At the urging of his partner, Evan celebrates a coworker’s retirement and meets disgraced former cop turned security consultant Matt Haight. A friendship born out of loneliness and the solace of the bottle turns out to be exactly what they both need.
The past year has been a slow death for Matt Haight. Ostracized from his beloved police force, facing middle age and perpetual loneliness, Matt sees only a black hole where his future should be. When he discovers another lost soul in Evan, some of the pieces he thought he lost start to fall back in place. Their friendship turns into something deeper, but love is the last thing either man expected, and both of them struggle to reconcile their new and overwhelming feelings for one another.
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Table of Contents
Title page
Copyright
CHERISH
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
BLESSED
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
About the Author
Faith, Love, & Devotion Series
Cherish & Blessed Page 19