Page 98 of Someone to Watch Over Me

“Not tonight, but they’ll be here on Saturday.”

“Oh good,” Joy says. “I need some baby snuggles.”

“Dylan loves his Aunty Joy snuggles,” Roni says of her young son.

“Aunty Joy’s got enough love for all the babies, sugar.”

We fill our plates and form the usual circle of chairs in the living room.

Iris begins the meeting. “I mentioned that we’ve got two new members joining us, and I thought I’d tell you about them tonight so you’re aware of their stories before Saturday.” She glances at Roni.

“The first one is my boss’s sister Angela,” Roni says.

Her “boss” is the first lady and badass homicide detective Sam Holland Cappuano. Her brother-in-law’s sudden death at Camp David during the holidays last year made for shocking headlines around the world.

“Sam connected Angela and me a while ago,” Roni continues, “and we’ve kept in close touch since her husband, Spencer, died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.”

It’s been big news that he bought a lethal dose on the street to treat unrelenting back pain after being cut off from pain medication by doctors. Sam and her team hunted down the dealers and charged them with multiple murders tied to the tainted product.

“His death was such a tragedy,” Christy says.

“Yes, it was, and Angela has been left with three young children to care for on her own, which, as many of you know, is the hardest part. Her son, Jack, was very close to his dad, and managing his grief has been a nearly full-time job for Angela.”

“I feel that,” Iris says. “It’s so hard. I’m glad Angela has decided to join us.”

“She’s wanted to for a while,” Roni says, “but wasn’t ready until now.”

“I’m looking forward to meeting her and doing whatever I can to help,” I say as the others nod in agreement.

“You guys will like her,” Roni says. “She’s one of us.”

“I think you’ll also like Luke,” Iris says. “His son Beckham is in school with my Tyler. Luke’s wife died from colon cancer a year ago, leaving him with four young kids. Beck is the oldest.”

“Oh Lordy,” Joy says. “That man needs us.”

“He really does,” Iris says. “I’m so glad we were able to convince him to give us a whirl. Gage was instrumental in that, letting him know there’d be other guys and other single dads.”

“That helped,” Gage says.

“We’ll take good care of him,” Kinsley says.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it,” I offer hesitantly, “how with the power of hindsight, we can all see that joining this group was the best thing we ever did for ourselves, but at the time…”

“It was the scariest thing,” Brielle says. “What in the world did I want with a group of widows when it was all I could do to keep my own head above water?”

“Exactly.” I smile at Brielle. “I had to be talked into it, but once I was here, the benefit became immediately clear to me. Finally, I was with people who got it, who understood how hurtful the ‘at least you never had kids’ comments were, or ‘he’s in a better place.’”

Everyone groans. We hate that one. The only place he—or she—belongs is with us.

“Could I get your advice on something, guys?” I ask tentatively.

“That’s what we’re here for, sugar,” Joy says. “What’s going on?”

“I told you how I was laid off.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Gage says. “That job was killing you.”

“I’m trying to see it as a blessing.”

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