Page 111 of Hidden Depths

“That’s a good start. I hope you hang onto that until you return to work. After you’ve completed the necessary reports, I trust you will enjoy a relaxing break for once.”

“I will. And I’ll keep in touch.” Tom smirked.

“Don’t. I don’t want to know where you are or what you’re doing. All I want to know is when you’ll be starting back.”

“Yes, sir.”

Chapter27

Sara laughed so hardthe wound in her arm was hurting again. “Stop,” she said to Isla and her husband, who were reenacting the first time they met in Peter’s living room. “I can’t believe that’s the truth. You must be exaggerating.”

“Not even a little,” Peter said as he put a picture frame back on the mantle. “I didn’t see her throw this frame at him, but I may have inadvertently been the reason she was able to knock Jay out with the fire poker. This living room has seen some crazy stuff over the years.”

“None as crazy as that, though, surely.”

“Hard to say.”

“Well, Jay,” Sara said. “I want to formally thank you for letting us borrow your wife. I wouldn’t have survived without her.”

“It was better for all of us,” Jay said. “She kept telling me how to hammer a nail. It was driving me crazy.”

“But he was a little jealous,” Isla said. “He would have loved to have been a part of that.”

“We had plenty of action here, didn’t we, Peter?”

Peter stretched his mouth into a grimace. “You mean like when you hit that nail so hard the hammer went through the wall?”

“Sometimes I don’t know my own strength. And also, I was angry.”

“About what?” Isla said.

“Everything. The unfairness of life sometimes. I was thinking about why you had to help Sara and everything that’s happening to Jemi and the abuses some of those kids we work with suffer. I got mad.”

“All the more reason to get the love of God out there,” Peter said.

“Speaking of which,” Isla stood. “We should get going.”

“But you’ll miss Tom,” Sara said. “He’ll be here soon. He just got a little delayed.”

“I know, but we’ll have to catch him another time. We have the finals.”

“You guys play a sport?”

“No, it’s those troubled kids Jay mentioned. They started a basketball team, and they’ve been killing it. If we miss the game, we will be ostracized for certain.”

“Good luck, then.”

“Thanks.” Isla gave Sara a hug. “Look after yourself. No matter what happens, live your life to the full.”

“I will. I feel good about the future. Who knows what could happen?”

Peter walked Isla and Jay out, then returned to Sara, who was sitting on the couch with her arms wrapped around her knees.

“How’re you feeling?” he said, dropping into an armchair.

“Fine. Why?”

“You look nervous.”

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