Page 30 of Shadow of Justice
“You want one, Mom?” Will asked.
As I sat there with my mouth agape, as Sam and Will cooked me breakfast.
11
My sister-in-law, Kat, lived on the outskirts of town in a brand-new home she’d built for her and her wife, Bree. On Sunday afternoon, Gus met me in the driveway. I could smell Kat’s cooking from there. Gus’s stomach growled as he got out of his car. But then, there was always something growling about Gus.
Kat stood in the doorway, giving us a friendly wave. They’d just put sod around the front of the house. She had fifteen acres of natural woods and a pond in the back.
“Come on in!” she called out. “Sorry about the mud.”
I stepped gingerly around a few puddles in the gravel driveway. Gus put a hand out when I nearly caught my heel.
“You hungry?” Kat asked. “I’ve got pork chops and mashed potatoes.”
Gus patted his stomach. “I could stand to skip a meal.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “It’s the least I can do now that your poor car’s caked with mud.”
Gus and I kicked our shoes off at the door. Deeper in the house, I could hear Bree singing along to a Patsy Cline song. She had a strong, clear soprano and sang in her church choir.
We followed Kat through the hallway into her newly built gourmet kitchen. We would celebrate Christmas here. Bree had a big family with six brothers and sisters, and countless nieces and nephews. It was good for Will. It had been just us and Kat for so long. He now had instant cousins near his own age.
Bree stood at the sink still wearing her blue scrubs. She’d just completed a sixteen-hour shift but didn’t have to go back for three days. She switched off her Bluetooth speaker.
“Wine?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“I’m technically on duty,” Gus said. “Thanks for letting us come out. I didn’t mean to disrupt your meal.”
“You’re not,” Kat said.
“Kat would take it as an insult if you didn’t enjoy some of her cooking,” I said.
“Well, I’m not going to argue,” Gus said. He let Kat usher him into a seat on their giant farm table in the center of the room. It could seat twelve.
Bree brought over a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. A few minutes later, Kat put dinner in front of Gus and me. He unfolded the cloth napkin and spread it on his lap. I wasn’t the least bit hungry, but knew not to protest.
“I’ll make up a plate for Will,” Kat said. “He doesn’t love pork chops but I made them with that apple glaze he likes.”
Bree sat down at one end of the table. Kat disappeared back into the bowels of the kitchen.
“You’re not eating?” I asked.
“Kat and I will eat together later,” she said. “She made all this just for you guys.”
A wave of guilt washed through me. “I didn’t want to put her to any trouble.”
Bree rolled her eyes. “You’ve met your sister-in-law, right? She lives for this.”
“She doesn’t have to make herself scarce,” Gus said. He took one bite of his pork chops and I swear his eyes rolled back into his head.
“She’ll flit in and out,” Bree said. “She’s worried about me.”
“We don’t want to dredge up bad memories,” I said. “I had no idea you were close to Ellie Luke.”
Bree shrugged. “I only knew her for those couple of years we were in college together. But we were close enough. There was a group of us that kind of found each other in nursing school.”
