Page 240 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Head home and get some sleep. We’re going to do the same.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “We?”

He took a certain amount of pleasure in seeing the shock on her face but couldn’t let her think there was anything between him and Jamie. “Separately.”

“For a second there, I thought you two were a married couple.”

“He missed his chance.” Jamie smiled. “My wedding is next month, and I’m not marrying this big oaf.”

Another vehicle approached, and Emily stared in its direction. Wade wasn’t surprised to see it was her boyfriend. Austin parked and sauntered over. “I thought I’d find you here. Shouldn’t you be on your way home by now?”

“I came by to check on things before I left. It’s not every day a girl finds human remains.”

“Thank the good Lord for that,” Wade said.

“It’s time to get going, Em,” Austin said.

She slid an arm around Austin’s waist and gave them a wave.

Wade waited until they both drove away before turning back to Jamie.

“Ouch,” she said.

“Yep.”

“You care deeply for this girl, don’t you?”

“Never stopped.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “But she found someone, so I’m going to leave it alone.”

“Good idea. Let’s grab dinner.”

“That’s a plan I can get behind.”

Wade leanedon his kitchen counter while Jamie bustled around in his kitchen. “When you said, ‘let’s grab dinner,’ I thought you meant at a restaurant.”

“My cooking is better.”

“I doubt you’ll be able to make anything fancy with what I have on hand.”

“Get out of the kitchen. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

He lifted his hands in surrender and left through the sliding glass doors onto the patio overlooking Lake Harmony. He’d gotten the place for a steal when the real estate market tanked. The three-bedroom, two-bath chalet was more house than a single man needed, but he’d expected to marry and have kids. Unfortunately, time marched on while he was busy with work, and he never met the right woman.

He watched as his neighbors’ children played on the dock. They were the perfect family. Would things have been different if he’d gone back for Emily? Maybe they would’ve been married with kids by now, but there was no point in dwelling on the past. It was time to think about the future. She had a man in her life. Maybe now he would be able to get some closure and move on,possibly even find someone to settle down with before he was forced to give up the dream of a family of his own.

“Dinner!” Jamie’s voice rang out loud and clear over the sounds of his neighbors’ kids playing.

He hurried inside. “You didn’t have to shout.”

“I wasn’t shouting. I’m loud by nature.” She handed him a plate. “Voila.”

“It smells like breakfast.” He inspected his food. “What is it?”

“A frittata.”

“Looks like quiche.”

“Nearly the same thing.”

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