Page 60 of Mine to Keep

Chapter12

Jamison sat on the outdoor patio of his mom’s favorite diner and sipped a soda while he waited as patiently as he could for the chief. His cell vibrated on the table.

Chip:Don’t shoot the messenger but check out Jon Kaplan’s article.

Fuck. He quickly pulled up the local magazine and cringed. It was all about Steve and his family, and it mentioned the local police chief and her son.

Ortheirson.

Well, shit.

It wasn’t the first article that Jon had written, and it wouldn’t be the last, but Jamison was tired of it. He set his phone, screen down. He wasn’t going to deal with it now. At least this article hadn’t been an interview.

Egrets ran about the seaside restaurant. Kids laughed and cried while their parents tugged them toward the beach access.

He loved the Lazy Turtle Diner but didn’t come often because it was his mother’s spot, and he ran into her almost any time he came lately, which was the last thing he wanted.

She’d called this meeting, and since it was a week after the scheduled biopsy that he wasn’t supposed to know about, he hoped that was the reason for their lunch.

If it were something else, he would polish off the roll of Tums burning a hole in his back pocket.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” his mother’s voice called over all the tropical sounds.

“No worries,” he said. “But I do have to get back to a contracted project, so I don’t have much time. I’m sorry. I really am.”

“It’s okay. Seth tells me that your side business is starting to take off and that your website looks really nice. He mentioned that Bryn did it for you.”

“She did. She’s also working for me, taking leads when I’m at the station. It’s really paying off.”

“Seth mentioned that.” His mother waved at the waitress and mouthed something. The waitress smiled and nodded. “I’m glad that’s working out for you.”

“It’s all coming together, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without Bryn.”

“She’s quite the talented young woman,” his mother said as the waitress placed a Diet Coke with lemon in front of her. “I’ll have my usual.”

“Sure thing,” the waitress said. “And for you?”

“Bacon cheeseburger, loaded, and fries.”

“How do you want that cooked?” the waitress asked.

“Medium.”

The waitress tucked her notepad into her pocket and headed back inside.

“Everyone raves about Bryn’s jewelry and the quality of her work. I have a second appointment with her later today to discuss some custom pieces for Nancy, Farrah, and your nieces.”

“She does amazing work. You won’t regret it,” he said. “But can you do me a favor and not let her give you the friends-and-family discount? Or the you’re-Jamison’s-mom discount or whatever she’ll try to call it. She does that way too much.”

“She did that with the first few pieces I bought, so I’ll make sure I put my foot down.” His mother pushed her sunglasses up on her head and sipped her soda. She stared out at the ocean. A strong breeze sent the waves crashing against the shore with an angry slam. “I wanted to thank you for staying so long last week at Nancy’s party and for talking with Steve. That meant a lot to the both of us.”

“You’re welcome.” He wasn’t sure that was the right response. The party wasn’t about him, his mother, or Steve. Besides, he’d had a really good time with Bryn. The only real negative that’d come out of it was that he was now fielding a lot of questions about his relationship with Bryn and what she meant to him, and that wasn’t easy to define.

Because he didn’t know.

He didn’t understand his feelings.

They didn’t make much sense to him, and the more he tried to sort them out, the more they became jumbled in his mind and heart.

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