Page 55 of Protecting Silver
Daniel lookedup as he came out of his bedroom, and braced himself for what was about to happen. With his legs firm beneath him, he laughed and held his arms out as his youngest sibling launched herself in the air and slammed against his wide chest.
“Danny!” Nancy cried out as she wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck. She kissed his face several times, hugged him as tight as she could, then with her hands on his biceps, she leaned back and scowled at him. “How come you didn’t let us know you were coming?”
“Sorry, it was spur of the moment. Next time, I’ll make sure I give advance notice.” He grinned at her as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, brought her closer, and kissed the side of her head. With his arm still around her, they headed for the stairs. Daniel listened as his sister prattled on about her life since the last time they’d seen each other. He’d be the first to admit that he didn’t always answer her e-mails, but he did read them.
At the bottom of the stairs, he grinned as the front door opened and his other sister walked in. She took one look at him, and instead of hugging him like Nancy had, Ellie slugged him in the shoulder, and demanded, “Why the hell didn’t you tell us you were coming? What if I had plans that I couldn’t cancel?”
Daniel smirked as his sister tried to be as tough as nails with him. “Apparently, you didn’t if you’re here.”
“Bastard,” she whispered, and Daniel knew there was no menace or malice behind the word, especially when she launched herself at him, and wrapped her arms around him so tightly that he could barely breathe. He looked at Nancy in confusion, and she only shrugged at his concerned look. When he was finally let go, he studied his sister’s face, and only kissed her forehead. “We can talk later, if you’d like.”
“Nothing to talk about.” She shook her entire body, then stepped away. If he hadn’t been watching her so intently, he never would have seen the invisible cloak she wrapped around herself. Wanting to get to the bottom of what was bothering Ellie, but knowing now wasn’t the time, he made a mental note to set some time aside to talk with her.
Together the three youngest Atwater children made their way into the kitchen, and Daniel rubbed his stomach at the smells coming from the oven. He looked at the clock shaped like a rooster that he and his siblings had gotten their mother as a Christmas gift decades ago, and noted there was still several hours before dinner would be ready. He looked at his mother with a boyish grin.
“Got anything to eat?” He must have said the magic words, because in less than five minutes, he had a steaming plate of leftover spaghetti placed at his spot at the table. He looked over and almost gagged when he saw Ellie putting a large amount of cold spaghetti between two slices of buttered bread.
“What? I like cold spaghetti sandwiches, and I’m starved. I didn’t have any breakfast.” She closed the conversation with a large bite of her concoction. Daniel shook his head and dug into his own plate of food. He noticed that Nancy only had a salad. Between bites, the siblings caught up, and after several minutes, Daniel looked around and frowned.
“Where’s Bruce?” Before anyone could answer, the back door opened, and Daniel’s older brother walked in.
“Here.” He grinned at everyone, then immediately went to Daniel, hauled him to his feet, and wrapped him in a hug. It took everything Daniel had not to pass out from being hugged so tightly. That was when he remembered that he had grown up in a family of huggers. After Bruce released him, he went to the sink in the mudroom, washed his hands, then came back and grabbed the bowl of spaghetti. He only grabbed a fork and began to eat directly out of the bowl.
“Get a plate,” Anna admonished him, but he grinned as he quirked a brow at his mother. Laughing, she handed him one. With one last mouthful of the cold noodles, Bruce filled his plate, then put it in the microwave, putting the empty bowl in the sink. Once his plate was heated to his liking, he brought it over to the table and sat at his usual place. No one said a word as they ate their lunch.
“How long you staying for?” Bruce asked Daniel after he slowed down in his eating.
“I have to be back to the office on Wednesday, so until Tuesday.”
“Good, I know you have no interest in the ranch, but I’d like to show you some of the improvements I’ve made over the last couple of years.”
“Works for me,” Daniel nodded, then stood to take care of his plate, as well as the others. He rinsed everything and placed them in the dishwasher. When he turned back around, he frowned at their shocked expressions. “What? I live alone and there’s no one to pick up after me, I’m used to doing it myself.”
“So, no girlfriend?” Ellie asked.
“Unfortunately, no, I work, that’s about all my life has been lately.”
“How much do you work?” Beatrice asked as she put the finishing touches on the top crust of a pie she was building, before she placed it in the oven attached to the stove, and not mounted in the wall, where the two pans of roast beef were currently cooking.
“I don’t know, sixty, seventy hours a week.”
“You should slow down before you don’t have any life left to enjoy.”
Daniel only shrugged at her concern, then went over and kissed the side of her head to soften the blow. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
“See that you do,” she said, then hugged him.
The family sat around the table and talked for the rest of the afternoon, and when he wasn’t working in his office, their father and grandfather would join them. By the time it was time to set the table for dinner, Daniel’s mouth wouldn’t stop watering at the smell of the meat, vegetables, and pies cooking. As the siblings set the table, the men carved the meat, as the women dished up the vegetables, mashed the potatoes, and made the gravy. Five minutes before the meal was placed on the table, there came a loud knock on the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Douglas called when Bruce went to answer. He hurried around his son, and told him to take over carving the large chunk of meat he’d just abandoned.
Douglas made sure no one was following as he looked out the window beside the door, he quickly opened it and invited the visitor in.
“Agent Decker, thank you for coming.”
“Just Decker now, the Bureau finally retired me. Or you can call me John, my first name”
“What do you prefer?”
