Page 110 of Traces Of You

Just like Clay wouldn’t be stupid enough to blame his mother for the wrong food items, he wouldn’t tell his brother no.

Ford drank his coffee as he followed Clay to his office up the stairs, waving to people he passed again.

“Reenie told Mom what happened last night. That’s why we got the brownies.”

“I should get them, not you.”

“I get them for being a considerate boyfriend and letting my girlfriend have her space last night.”

“I let her have it too, so I should get two.”

His brother rarely joked anymore. Not that there was much to joke about in the past month.

“You got a muffin with it and Mom said she’s bringing us both lasagna tonight.”

“Sweet. Reenie was on board with you staying? Or didn’t you give her a choice?”

“She has a choice. It was me or you. She chose the better brother.”

Clay took a large bite of his brownie, his lips smirking while he chewed. “Thanks for making me a choice that I didn’t knowabout. Maybe I’d have company and not want another woman in the place.”

“You? I doubt that. You’d say that if it was the case. Or is there someone?”

“Who the hell has time?” Clay said. “I’m running a business, babysitting my brother’s girlfriend, and installing security cameras.”

His cheeks puffed out. Clay had done nothing more than take care of most things for the family when he returned home. “Sorry. We’ll get this squared away.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Clay said. “Poor joke.”

“No, it wasn’t. There is a reason you said it. Why?”

Clay shrugged. “I don’t mind doing any of it. Maybe it’s giving me a touch of what I left behind.”

His brother rarely brought up his military career. “Do you regret leaving the Navy?”

“No,” Clay said firmly. “But watching out for Reenie reminds me of it. Not in a bad way, but maybe not in a great way either.”

He hated that for his brother.

That he was the one causing Clay to revisit whatever demons he might carry.

“With any luck we can get some information and this can be behind us soon enough.”

“If Grady has nothing new, there are always other routes.”

“Private investigator,” Ford said. “I’ve thought of it. Just to get information.”

“That and talking to someone in the department down there.”

“Until I can find out who to trust, I can’t risk it. We’ll go with what we’ve got.”

“What did you do with your deputy?”

“Nothing,” he said. “What am I going to do? He did his job. I can’t fault him for that. He apologized and I told him not to. Iwon’t be labeled dirty or let anyone think I am hiding things. It’s not my way. It happened, so we move on from it.”

“Are you going to show her how to fire a gun and fight back?”

Funny how he and Clay thought alike. He should have made that a priority but didn’t want to open old wounds by having violence around her. “That’s the next step,” he said. “I can’t move too fast.”