Page 132 of Tulips and Lost Time

“What did you do to Graham for Laine?” I sit forward, resting my elbow on the seat ahead of me. “What happened?”

He scoffs, peering over his shoulder to meet my eyes. “What did you do to Graham?”

I sit back again, startled when his stare sparks something dangerous. A memory I’d long ago set aside in favor of my own sanity. A rage I worked through… in seemingly the same way Bish is suggesting.

“I saw some pretty interesting scars on Graham’s torso this one time,” he explains. “Got me thinking.”

“Why would you possibly have reason to see Graham’s torso?”

He grins again, shaking his head and bringing us around another corner. “No comment, Officer. Just let me know when you’re ready to purge the poison. Until then, I’ve got eyes on the dude.” Coming around one last corner and bringing the truck into the ambulance driveway where he’s sure to get a ticket, he pulls up a few yards from the emergency doors and cuts the engine. “Tell them not to tow me,” he chuckles, unsnapping his seatbelt and turning to meet my eyes. “If they do, I’ll have to get Soph to deal with it, and she gets kinda pissy about that stuff.”

My door opens, drawing my eyes to Marcus’ as he steps back to make room. “I wanna see my sister, Lenaghan, but I feel like it would be disrespectful to go in there before you and Bill. So…”

He waits as I unbuckle my daughter and turn to slide out, then he stands over her and strokes her brow.

“I’m gonna need you to hurry up and get in there.”

“What if I don’t wanna go in?” My voice thickens, shame and grief coalescing until it hurts the very center of my throat. My heart pounds, and beneath all the fabric that is my daughter, my hands shake. “What if I can’t see her? What if I can’t be brave enough to do it?”

“Then I guess I’ll help you.” He claps his hand to my shoulder and turns me until we’re heading toward the doors. Jess walks ahead of us, clearing the way and carrying a little shoulder bag overflowing with baby paraphernalia. Kane comes up on my left and Marcus walks on my right, then we emerge through the doors and Mitch steps into our path, his eyes soft and compassionate.

He carries a ball cap, the one I’ve seen him wear a thousand times, in one hand. And a bouquet of tulips he would have gotten from his sister in the other.

He’s not in uniform, which means he made his way here anyway, having heard that we’d be by.

“Mitch.”

He offers the flowers and tips his chin, studying a sleeping Billy and forcing a small smile. “Lenaghan. Baby Lenaghan.”

I choke out a soft, tear-filled chuckle and slip the bouquet between my arm and ribs to free up my hand. Then we’re moving again, Marcus’ grip on my arm and Mitchell stepping out of the way.

“I messed everything up,” I tell my escorts. “Breaking her heart when she was eighteen, then breaking it again every day for the following six years.”

“You’re lucky you said no at eighteen,” Marcus rumbles. Semi-joking. “Dating my sister in her twenties was bad enough. I might’ve legitimately killed you if you swooped during her teens.”

“I hurt her heart so many fucking times.” I allow them to lead me into the elevator, then out again on the third floor. “We fought the day of the accident, all because of a fucking fence.”

“Fighting is better than not talking at all.” Marcus clears his throat as we make our way through the halls, coming around one corner, then turning another. No hesitation. He knows where we’re going. “Fighting means you both still care. That’s important.”

“Shit.” My eyes burn as we come around our last corner and my family crowds the space. Britt steps forward first, her eyes red and swollen and her bottom lip gently, almost invisibly, trembling.

“Brat…”

“Luca.” She steps in and wraps her arms around my shoulders, careful not to squish Billy between us. “How was your first night at home?”

“Shit,” Kane answers as she pulls back. “We’ve been awake since two.”

“It’s hard to sleep with her not home,” I rasp, stepping out of her reach and grimacing when Jack taps my shoulder. That’s his hug, I suppose. His affection. “It’s impossible to sleep under those stars when she’s not there with me.”

“Hey, Luc.” Laine steps in next, squeezing against my side. She presses a kiss to the ball of my shoulder and pulls back to meet my eyes. “You look really, really tired.”

I cough out a laugh and lock down on the emotion clawing along my throat. “‘Cause I am.”

“Come on,” Marc gently pushes me along. “Let’s not keep her waiting.”

I extend my hand, fist closed, as we pass Ang and Scotch. Then I swallow the ache in my throat as we approach Alex, who stands by the door. He’s on duty, in full Chief mode. But he allows his lips to curl into a small smile that somehow eases a little of the dread in my belly.

“She’s pretty as hell, huh?” He runs his fingers over the dress covered in pink tulips and brings his gaze back up to mine. “Takes after her momma.”

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