Page 112 of The Other Side

His own mother had been a complete failure, but now he had a new one–one he hadn’t expected. Uniting their families had been a product of their love, and it came with pros and cons. Having Sharon as a mother-in-law was a blessing.

“Good. You two deserve all the happiness in the world. I wish you many good years together.” Sharon wiped her cheek with her other hand. “I had no idea any of this was going on. Gage told me Thea left and she was safe, but that was all I’d heard.”

“That’s what we told Gage at first,” Thea said. “We didn’t know if we could trust him or not.”

“Gage would do anything for you, sweetie,” Sharon said.

“I know that now. Have you heard from him?” Thea asked.

Brett gave Sharon’s hand another squeeze before letting it go to check his phone. “I’ll ask Asa how it’s going with the detective.”

“I had my interview with the detective first, so his started as soon as mine ended. He might still be at the station,” Emerson said.

Brett fired off a quick text and got an answer immediately.

Asa: Almost finished. Is Thea okay?

Brett: She’s good. Thanks for everything.

“He said Gage is almost finished with the detective. I’ll send someone to pick him up.”

Emerson pushed off the wall where she’d been resting. “Someone named Hadley was there when I left. She said she was with Gage.”

“Oh, yeah,” Brett said. “I hope she’s calmed down now that she knows Gage isn’t being arrested.”

“Me too,” Thea said as she released a breath and the tension in her shoulders.

There was a knock on the door, and Jess peeked in. “Hey.”

Brett waved her in. “She’s okay. Come in.”

Jess stepped inside, and Linc followed close behind her.

Brett extended a hand to Linc. “You okay, man?”

“Still standing,” Linc said as he shook Brett’s hand.

Jess fiddled with her fingers as she stopped right inside the room.

Thea straightened. “Hey.”

Jess waved a hand. “Hey. I just wanted to see if you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” She turned to Sharon and rested a hand on her arm. “This is my mom.”

Jess nodded. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Jess, Brett’s sister.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Sharon said with a genuine smile.

“I just heard these two got married,” Jess said, giving Brett a side glance. “Thanks for the invite.”

Sharon’s smile grew impossibly wide. “I just heard too.”

Jess looked at the ground, then back up at Thea. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t fair to you. I get that none of it was your fault, but I was scared that Brett would get pulled back into the whole family feud mess, and I took it out on you.”

Thea lifted one shoulder. “It’s okay. I always understood your concern. I would have felt the same way.”

“But probably wouldn’t have been as mean about it,” Brett added.

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