“It’s interesting, isn’t it? If you only pay attention to the nuances, undercurrents, and facts in plain sight, the things you can learn are often surprising.” Mary held up a coffee pod. “Medium, right?”
“That’s right.” Rather than standing, he sat at the kitchen table. He didn’t make too much out of the fact that there were three chairs instead of four. That might have been some of his Aunt Samantha’s wishful thinking when she set this place up for Mary. Or it might be that a fourth chair had been removed, to be used elsewhere.
He’d bet it was in her bedroom, placed in front of a desk.
Once she’d made her own coffee, she joined him at the table. Anthony held her chair—sneaky devil—and then took his own seat.
It certainly wasn’t lost on Mary that she was sitting between them. She smirked at him and then rolled her eyes.
“So what, paying attention to nuances, undercurrents, and facts in plain sight have you surmised about us?” Toby watched her face to see her reaction to his question.
“Well, let me see. Anthony, you are a deliberate thinker. You like your facts laid out in a neat row, and your focus on the job is absolute. You’re more than a friend of the families, and that tells me that you’re trustworthy and nonjudgmental. You don’t hold much of yourself back, and you really do expect the people you meet in your day-to-day life to be as upfront and honest as you are, yourself. But you can spot a con a mile off, and if you are rigid in only one area, that would be in your respect for the rule of law.”
“She nailed you,” Toby said.
Anthony toasted her with his coffee cup. “You did, cupcake. What can you tell me about Toby?”
Mary’s cheeks became a light pink, and Toby thought that look was sweet on her, and one she didn’t wear often. She wasn’t used to compliments, and that was a damn shame.
She turned her gaze on him, and it was all he could do not to squirm. I should have thought through my challenge to her better.
“Toby is a man of absolute loyalty, but he doesn’t suffer fools gladly. If he has your back, he has it, period. He’s also a man who takes insults to heart. And if he feels betrayed, then all bets are off.”
Toby didn’t think it was his imagination that her look, just then, turned tender. “And at some point in the recent past, something happened that upended his world. Something that left him feeling raw.”
Toby felt everything within him go still as stone. Mary’s words felt like a laser, one that threatened to cut out the poison that had so recently seeped into his soul.
That she would say exactly those words let him know she not only thought too much but she thought too well.
He was usually fast to come up with a quip or a line that would redirect the attention of whoever got too close to his wounds.
But before he could do just that, she toasted him with her cup. “So tell me, Wyoming, what have you figured out about me?”
Chapter Four
Well, that’s interesting.
Toby was so focused on her and the words she’d given him that he hadn’t even noticed the look in his best friend’s eyes.
Anthony Corbett had not been surprised by Mary’s revelation about his best friend. The expression on his face had been admiration and had been directed at her. She didn’t think for one moment that Anthony knew the nuts and bolts of whatever had happened to Toby, just that something had.
If there was one thing that she’d learned from years of studying human beings, it was that when a soul had been damaged, it needed to be repaired.
Maybe Anthony and I can do something about that for Toby.
She saw the calculation in Toby’s eyes, just a slight flash, but enough to tell her that she needed to stop him. It was pure reflex working in him now, so she couldn’t blame him. But she didn’t want any glib lines between them.
So she copied Anthony’s gesture and toasted Toby with her cup. “So tell me, Wyoming, what have you figured out about me?”
She held his gaze long enough that she knew that he knew that she knew…something. And hopefully, he understood and believed that she wasn’t going to push or prod or ask for anything more than he was willing to give.
As far as she was concerned, the evening so far was going very well. They were playing “getting to know you.” and while there was no actual music to go with it, it was a dance of sorts. A dance they needed to master if they were going to move forward.
Move forward? Well, you’ve done an about-face and jumped right in with both feet, haven’t you?
You know, you could just take the night off.
Mary put a lid on her inner good versus bad angel bickering. Arguing with oneself could be exhausting. She needed her wits about her with these two men.
Toby’s expression resumed that smartass edge she liked on him. “I’ve figured out that your being a student and attending varied classes is not a sign of an inability to focus on a single goal. It’s a testament to your ability to focus on a goal that others can’t see. And I would bet that each of the courses that you’ve taken over the last few years were not given by traditional teachers, were they? They were offered by professionals who were experts in their various fields. Yes?”
“Yes. Why learn from teachers when you can learn from the people living what it was you wanted to learn in the first place?”
“Why, indeed. And that half-leery, half-hopeful quality I noticed in your expression when we met first met? That was based on the fact that I’m a cop, and you were…bracing for a rejection or a brushback of some sort. Correct?”
“Right again, Wyoming.”
“That’s why you gave off that vibe?” Anthony focused his attention on her. “Well hell, that’s a good thing to know, cupcake. We both thought you really didn’t like us.”
“I didn’t know whether or not I liked you. I just knew I didn’t necessarily trust you.”
“What changed your mind, then?” Toby asked.
That was a hell of a good question and one that begged for a deeper explanation than she wanted to give just then. Fortunately, she was a bit more adept at fending off or turning a conversational gambit than Toby apparently was.
“Well, you see, the tests came back. You didn’t have rabies after all.”
Both men chuckled. Toby shook his head. “That was a good one. Okay, we’ll leave that alone for now.”
“Brother, are you going to tell me what you discovered about our sweet thang here?
Anthony had laid the Texas accent on thick, and Mary couldn’t help her wince. Then she turned to Toby. “You should get Cousin Adam to demonstrate for you his good-ole-boy drawl some time. It’s a hoot.”
“I’ll do that. And yes, brother, here it is. Our Mary is an author. She writes mysteries—probably crime-type mysteries if the cops she’s met give her grief—and she’s apparently damn good at it, judging by the award sitting in plain sight on her mantel.”
“No kidding? That’s great!” Anthony grinned at her. “So…why have you been keeping it a secret?”
“It just got to be a habit,” Mary said.
“I can completely understand that.” Toby nodded. “We have cousins back in Wyoming who’ve always acted as if Sean and Noah are little better than transients. Now, to be honest, those particular brothers of mine have always had that wanderlust—at least they did before they met their Brittany. And they, too, had taken different courses, geology and business and a few other areas of expertise that should have been clues. But because our cousins, encouraged by their mother, our Aunt Terri, were so obnoxious in their derision, Sean and Noah kind of closed down about the business they’d started shortly after college.”
Anthony looked between her and Toby and then slowly nodded. “I guess if you’re constantly misjudged or teased, it would tend to make you keep to yourself.”
“That’s what happened with me, although I have to say, my cousins and brothers were never mean in their attitude toward me. Well, except for the time they stole my diary and rea
d it out loud, laughing all the way. But my keeping to myself got to be such a habit I don’t think about it much anymore.”
“Aunt Samantha knows, though, doesn’t she?” Toby said. “That you’re an author?”
“She does. She must have done some digging around to find out, too. And she told all my aunts and Grandma Kate.” Mary sighed. “I was a bit put out at first, but then I realized they also understood my reticence to share. Because my cousins and brothers and their wives still don’t know.”
“And now you’re here. A famous author—wait. You have to have a pen name, right?”
“Of a sort,” Mary said. “MJ Kendall. Not M period J period, just MJ.”
“Which, on the surface, sounds masculine,” Anthony said.
“It does, especially if you’re used to thinking of authors of cop mysteries being men.”
Anthony winked. which she took as his letting her know he didn’t think that way.
“Okay, back to my point.” Toby tilted his head as he met her gaze. “A famous author from New York City, who lives in a ritzy apartment—you did agree to my description of your white-and-chrome minimalist décor—just up and moves from the Big Apple to Lusty, Texas.”
Mary felt a prickle of unease scoot down her spine.
“So tell me, New York, what the hell happened to send you packing from there to here?”
Mary could not believe that Toby, of all people, had just asked that. She saw knowledge of his mistake leap into his eyes. But before either of them could say a thing, Anthony chuckled.
“Looks like we’re going to be holding an intervention here, eventually. We can draw straws to see which one of you gets to spill their guts first. Will it be the up-and-coming police detective who dumped his career and his family to relocate to a small Texas city? Or the award-winning author who leaves behind the lights of New York, New York, for a hermit’s existence in a small spinster’s cottage in rural Texas?”
Mary closed her mouth, which had gaped open as Anthony had given his impression of a television announcer, which had actually been very good. Then she looked at Toby, who was as dumbstruck as she was. In his eyes she could see a bristling resentment.
She laid her left hand over Toby’s right. He turned his hand so that he held hers. Then Anthony took her right hand in his and squeezed.
She looked at Toby. “He’s got to have something, too, you know. It’s just not as obvious as ours, but we’ll find it.”
“Fucking right we will.”
That edge Toby had worn off and on since she’d met him eased some. She looked over at Anthony. “We will, you know.”
“You’d better. I’m counting on it.” He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “So, does this mean you’re willing to try us on, cupcake?”
Mary looked from Anthony to Toby. “I don’t play these kinds of games. I never have, because I’m not very good at them.”
“Cut yourself some slack,” Toby said. “I think you don’t play them because, at heart, you’re a very honest person.” He looked over at Anthony then back at her. “And we’re not playing games, either. Not the sort you mean. This won’t be casual for us or for you.”
They might all three of them have different pieces of their pasts they weren’t willing to share at the moment. But she had the sense that this moment between the three of them had been inevitable. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in fate. It was more than that. Until meeting these two men, she’d been under the impression that fate had chosen her as its raconteur only and not its heir.
“All right. But I have no idea what comes next.”
Anthony grinned. “That’s easy. Next, we finish our coffee and then kiss you good night. We found out last night how tasty you are and cupcake, we want more. And then we’ll say goodnight and see you at the meeting tomorrow.”
“Meeting? What meeting?”
* * * *
“Should I apologize?”
Anthony shot a glance over at his partner, a quick look to judge his mood. Sometimes the tone of Toby’s voice was a clue, but other times, like now, Anthony sensed his partner held himself too tightly wound. In those times he needed to see the man’s face.
This was literally the first moment they’d had a chance to take a break all day. They were on their way back to the station after spending the better part of the day in a meeting with a couple of state cops over at the DPS. They’d had another detective from their squad, Nathan Blaine, with them on the way to the consultation. Blaine had stayed behind to get a ride from his wife who worked in the same building. They and Blaine were representing the WPD in a joint task force planning session.
Anthony believed these kinds of operations were valuable, although usually they were a trial. That was the only reason he was willing to sit through all the bullshit that sometimes fermented when the political types got involved in the cop job.
He’d been pleased to discover that Clint Parrish was one of the state cops who had been assigned to the task force. They’d been acquaintances for years. The world of law enforcement in Texas wasn’t as large a world as some might expect. He counted members of the Texas Rangers, the DPS, and even some of the federal agents of different agencies assigned to the local offices as friends.
Kate Benedict also considered Clint another grandson, so there was a social connection between them.
Anthony put his focus back on his partner. He didn’t need to ask what he was referring to. Toby hadn’t said a word about those tense moments at Mary’s last night after they’d left Lusty. But then, Anthony hadn’t expected him to.
“No. You’ll tell me what you want to tell me when you’re ready.” Anthony couldn’t hold back his smirk. “Or when Mary runs out of patience. Whichever comes first.”
Toby grinned. “She will, too,” he said. Then he took a deep breath. “I got burned pretty bad, emotionally. I just needed a certain amount of time to deal.”
“I figured. It’s cool, Toby. When you’re ready.”
“I’m going to work on getting there. If we’re going to build a relationship together with Mary, then I really need to be all in.”
“We all do.” Anthony didn’t know everything there was to know about living in a ménage relationship, but he knew more now than he had. Fortunately, the men he called friends in Lusty, all involved in solid ménage relationships, were willing to answer his questions.
It wasn’t a long drive back to headquarters, and before long the car was parked and they were on their way back up to their office.
Chief of Police Jonathan Robb met them as the elevator door opened onto their floor. “A moment please, gentlemen.”
Anthony had no clue why the chief wanted to see them. He shrugged in response to Toby’s questioning look and, with his partner, followed the man into his office.
“Have a seat.” The chief took his place behind his desk and sat back. “And relax, men. I’ve had a request, and I’m leaning toward granting it, but since the request involves the two of you, I wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it, first.”
“Sir?” Anthony was completely at sea.
“I understand you’re both acquainted with Kate Benedict?”
“Yes, sir.” Anthony blew out a breath. “I’ve known her and her family for some time now. Her oldest son is Caleb Benedict—Texas Ranger, retired.”
“I know Caleb.” Robb grinned. “Do you call her ‘Grandma Kate,’ too?”
Anthony couldn’t hold back his own smile. “Yes, sir.”
When Robb looked at Toby, his partner nodded. “I’ve been calling the lady ‘Grandma Kate’ for all of my life.”
“I figured. Knowing you were related—however vaguely—to the Kendalls of Benedict County did weigh some in your being hired for the opening we had, Lieutenant. We like our officers to have a local connection.”
Toby nodded. The two of them had talked about it, and Anthony knew that Toby was fine with that connection having played a part in his being hired.
“So,
Kate Benedict has requested that the two of you be available to assist with a security matter for the next couple of weeks. Now, it isn’t usual for the WPD to necessarily grant such a request. But Mrs. Benedict and her family have been damn good friends not only to our department but the city of Waco, generally. They aren’t the kind of people, either, to grandstand or to take a political role of any kind. Their generosity is always without strings.
“So gentlemen, if you’re agreeable, I’m going to process the paperwork so that the two of you are on special assignment for the next little while.”
“I’m agreeable,” Anthony said. “We had supper last night with the Kendalls, and we were invited to a meeting of their town council—they call it the Town Trust—for four this afternoon. We accepted because it was after shift, but I have no idea why we were invited.”
“Neither do I,” Toby said. “Though I did sense a bit of tension with Aunt Samantha.”
“Your aunt is as formidable in her way as is Grandma Kate,” Chief Robb said. “And one hell of a courtroom lawyer. If she was giving you even a hint of tension, then I’d say whatever is going on is quite possibly a serious matter.”
“We’ll keep you in the loop,” Anthony said. “If there’s anything that we think you need to know, you’ll know it.”
“Good. Now write up your reports on the task force planning meeting and then head to Lusty. And don’t worry about that assignment, either. It’s just in the beginning stages. Blaine can hold your place while you’re gone. You don’t want to keep either the Benedicts or the Kendalls waiting.”
They had their reports written and turned in within the half-hour. Then, without saying a word, they headed back out.
“Any guess as to what’s going on?” Toby asked.
“Over the years, I’ve discovered that Grandma Kate has her fingers in a lot of pies, and that has always translated to her being on the side of the angels.” Anthony stopped for a red light and looked at Toby. “But I have no clue why she’d want to bring in a couple of cops when she has Adam Kendall and Matt Benedict right there, not to mention the number of feds and spooks who are members of the families and make their home within the town limits.”
Love Under Two Detectives Page 5