Page 19 of Emeric

“Anything you want help with?”

Her eyebrow was cocked again. I wished she’d never learned how to do that from Jordan. Although, it didn’t have the same effect on me as it did on others. “Are you asking because you’re bored and have nothing to do or because you’re trying to be a nice, supportive brother?”

“Option B.”

“Then the answer is no, I’m good. Thank you for the offer. You have enough on your plate without me adding to it.”

“You’ll still call me if there’s an emergency you don’t have time to handle?”

She grinned and stood. “We make the most money in those situations. Call if you need to talk. I’m serious, Em. Day or night, I’m here for you.”

“Ditto. Thank you.”

8

OLEANDER

One of my favorite parts of my job was when Vail visited his sister. Cat and her husband, Dana, were the best people. They’d been through a lot and had come out on the other side. Now, they were happy and healthy with two kids and a third on the way.

Anytime Vail went to see her, I got to go since I was his guard. It was a perk of my employment. Others might not see it that way, but I did.

“God, you’re weird,” Sheldon said from the passenger seat. He wasn’t scheduled to do anything today, so he tagged along for the visit.

“No one told you to come,” I reminded him.

“There’s going to be a third child soon.” My best friend was not a kid person. He visibly recoiled when Cat tried to hand him her daughter, Ivy, when she was smaller. “Why would they want another?” He shook his head as if just the idea was appalling.

“The baby wasn’t planned,” Vail spoke up from the back seat. He had his German shepherd, Aspen, with him, lying on the seat beside him, wearing a harness and seat belt to keep him safe. It was also easy to unbuckle him in case someone came after Vail. Aspen had come a long way. He excelled in bite work and could attack on command. The other side of him was the sweetest, goofiest dog around.

“When did you find that out?” I asked. Had this been any other person I was guarding, I wouldn’t have said anything. Vail and his family had welcomed me with open arms. They were a home away from home.

He chuckled. “Last week. She hasn’t been feeling good and was saying how sick to her stomach she felt. Then she yelled at Dana and told him it was all his fault she was pregnant again. I didn’t even think to ask if the baby was planned or not, but Cat said she wasn’t going to try for another after what happened with Ivy and Carson.” He didn’t need to elaborate. We all remembered it too well.

Vail’s ex had kidnapped Cat and her kids to draw Vail to him. It worked. Vail went, except we were there too and made sure everyone we cared about made it out alive. Vail’s ex didn’t. It took Cat a long time to feel safe again. Therapy helped, as did having a strong support system.

“Is she happy though?” I asked, wanting to draw Vail’s attention to the present and not let him get caught in the past, where nothing but nightmares existed. Vail’s ex made his world a living hell, but life was much better now.

“She is.” I glanced in the rearview mirror to find a smile on Vail’s face. “I can’t wait to be an uncle again.”

“I’m not going with you to visit once she gives birth,” Sheldon grumbled.

“No one even asked you to,” I told him. “You invite yourself along, then complain about being near kids.”

“You act like I can’t stand them. I just like to look at them from afar, not actually hold them or be responsible for them.”

“God forbid.” I rolled my eyes.

If my daughter had lived, Sheldon would have been an amazing uncle to her. She would have been the exception to the no kids near him rule. There was no doubt in my mind.

I pulled into the driveway where Cat’s son, Carson, waited by the front door. He was six and in love with Vail’s dog. The feeling was mutual. As soon as I opened the back door and he was free, Aspen jumped down and ran right into Carson’s arms for a hug.

“How can you not love the sight of that?” I asked Sheldon.

“It’s fine, I guess.”

“Something’s wrong with you.”

“If you’re only figuring that out now, I question how present you’ve been in our friendship.”