Page 152 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

“Have a nice evening,” he said as he walked back to her car.

“I’m going to report that car stolen.”

Laughing, he said, “You do that.”

“I want half-hour updates on what’s happening.”

“You got it.”

The insubordinate ass drove off in her car with a toot and a jaunty wave. She’d make him pay for this, she thought as she went inside, was greeted by the doorman and headed up to the residence, determined to enjoy the evening with her family if she wasn’t allowed to be at work. And since when did a detective decide what a lieutenant was allowed to do?

Her cranky mood disappeared when she arrived in the residence to find Aubrey and Alden having a race in the hallway that was being timed by Scotty and Skippy the dog, who was running between Scotty and the twins like the wild child she was. Only Scotty could see Sam, so she held up a finger to tell him to wait a minute before outing her presence to the twins. In the meantime, she removed her coat and hung it just so over her shoulder so the kids wouldn’t see the blood.

“Alden wins this one,” Scotty declared. “Best two out of three.”

“What does that mean?” Aubrey asked.

“You won one, and Alden won one. So now we do it one more time to see who wins. Best two out of three.”

The little girl’s wrinkled nose indicated that she still wasn’t sure she understood the term, but she was ready to race again.

“On your mark,” Scotty said. “Get set. Go!”

The twins ran their hearts out, with Aubrey beating Alden by an inch.

Sam stepped into view, and they both ran back to hug her as Skippy came for her like a heat-seeking missile. “Go easy. I hurt my arm.” She bent to give the dog a pat on the head and a scratch behind her soft, silky ears.

“How did you hurt your arm?” Aubrey asked.

“I bumped it,” she said, not wanting them to know she’d been shot.

“Does it hurt?” Alden asked.

“Not yet, but it’s going to later when the medicine they gave me wears off. Did you guys already eat?”

“Not yet,” Celia said when she joined them. “We were waiting to see if you guys got home in time to eat with them.”

“Is Nick here?”

“He got home ten minutes ago and is grabbing a quick shower. The chef prepared barbecue for dinner.”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

Shelby came down the stairs from the third floor nursery, carrying Noah. “Hi there,” she said as the twins ran to greet her and Noah with hugs. “Did everyone have a wonderful day?”

“Everyone but Mom,” Scotty said as he accepted a one-armed hug from Shelby. “She hurt her arm.”

“Are you okay?” Shelby asked.

“I’m fine. Can you stay for dinner?”

“We’d love to. Avery has a meeting tonight, so we’re on our own.”

“It’s barbecue,” Scotty said.

“Yum. We’re here for that.”

“Let me just get changed,” Sam said. “We’ll find you in a minute.” She gave Scotty a kiss on the forehead before proceeding through their living room, where the white lights on their personal Christmas tree twinkled, into the bedroom where Nick was just coming out of the shower with a towel around his hips. “I’m so sorry I missed the Henderson thing.”