Page 26 of Part & Parcel

Kelly shook his head. “I was supposed to go with Nick to Opening Day. He was so worried about it when he woke up in Miami, I got him tickets. Thought it’d be . . . I missed it, though.”

Owen pursed his lips, nodding but refusing to comment.

Kelly ran his hand over his face. “I miss him. And I feel stupid for fighting with him.”

“One little fight in two years, I think you’re doing pretty well.”

Kelly snorted. He didn’t point out that they’d only spent about one third of that time together, and it was hardly a little fight. It didn’t matter. “I’ll call him right now.”

“Good plan.”

“Thanks, babe. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime, Doc. When you get this shit sorted, you and Nick come out to see us. I want you guys to meet Riley before I fuck it up,” Owen said with a grin.

Kelly barked a laugh. “We’ll plan something solid when I get back to Boston.”

“Copy. Talk later, Doc.”

“See you, boss,” Kelly said fondly, and Owen ended the Skype session.

Kelly was left sitting in the sun with a lot to ponder, his phone burning a hole in his pocket as he thought about Nick, so many fucking miles away.

After a few minutes to let everything sink in, he pulled out his phone and dialed Nick.

Butterflies began to flutter through his chest and belly as the phone rang. It made him grin. Plenty of people had caused him butterflies over the years, but Nick . . . Nick was different. Nick was the only one who could instill those anticipatory nerves so long after their first kiss. Kelly was going to make sure he never took that for granted again.

“Doc?” Nick answered after a few rings, and Kelly sat up straighter, frowning at Nick’s winded voice, at the chaotic noise in the background.

“Nick?”

“Listen, I love you!” Nick blurted, breathless and panicked. “Neither of us are hurt, babe, but I got to go. We’re trying to make it home.”

“What? Why—”

“I got to go!” Nick shouted, and Kelly could hear the distinct sound of sirens before Nick abruptly ended the call.

Kelly sat frozen, the phone still to his ear, eyes unblinking and heart racing. What the hell had Nick and Ty gotten themselves intonow?

He finally shook himself into moving, exiting out of Skype and pulling up his internet browser, doing a quick search for Boston to see if the news would bring up anything that might give him a clue.

Two minutes later, Kelly was staring in horror at dozens of reports about a bombing at the Boston Marathon.

“Oh God, Nicko,” he whispered as he clicked through the details. Had Nick and Ty gone down to see the marathon like Ty had mentioned to Owen? They’d both run it a couple times when they were younger, and Nick had often volunteered to work the marathon and parades before he made detective.

Kelly shook his head, cursing Nick for not giving him more information. He was calculating how long it would take him to get there if he bought a plane ticket right this second when his phone buzzed in his clenched fist.

He fumbled with it getting it to his ear. “Nick?”

“Hey,” Nick answered, and he sounded much calmer now. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, we’re on theFiddler. You saw what happened?”

“Yeah, what the hell, dude?”

“I don’t know. Look, I know you’re probably about to buy plane tickets, but hold off, okay?”

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