“More like some two.” I shut the door.
Jack gave me a look, and then turned back to Wills. “You’re all right now?”
But his son didn’t answer. “What are you doing here, Dad? Not that I have any objection to you coming to visit, but it’s a long way, and it’s Mother’s Day.”
“Jill has most of her children with her—”
And I’d learned that even though she wasn’t Wills’s biological mother, she’d always treated him as if she were.
He looked like something was bothering him, maybe even more than his grandparents’ repudiation of him.
“How are they?”
“They’re fine.”
“Is Alice back in New York?”
“Where else? Ginny insisted Alice needed to be there to have her grandchildren celebrate the day with her. And never mind about that! I’m going to kill your uncle.”
“Which one?”
“Pete, to begin with. When were you going to tell me?”
“Uh…tell you what, Dad?”
“That you were capable of taking on a pair of undercover cops and beating the shit out of them.”
“I don’t—”
“If you’re going to tell me you don’t understand what I’m talking about then you’re right, you don’t!”
“I was going to say I don’t know how you found out.”
That took some of the wind out of Jack’s sails. “I happened to overhear your brother and Patrick discussing how you got a DC cop flat on the floor with your foot on his spine.”
Shit. We’d worried that wouldn’t stay a secret long, but so much had gone on we hadn’t done much beyond cross our fingers that JR and Pat wouldn’t spill the beans.
“He was undercover,” Wills said. He was starting to sweat again.
“Babe, you need to sit down?” I whispered, but he shook his head.
“What difference does that make?” Jack demanded.
“Well, I did get the jump on him.”
“Hah. Right now you look like you couldn’t get the jump on a kitten.” He looked down. “Hello, Miss Su.” She’d come in to see what the excitement was and wound herself in and out of his legs. He stooped and petted her, but didn’t let her distract him. “Pete taught you that, didn’t he?”
“Let me take your jacket, Dad. Theo, would you make a pot of coffee?”
“Sure thing, babe. I’ll put out some baklava also. But all you’re getting is flat soda and pretzels. Jack, take it easy on him, please?”
“Flat soda and pretzels?”
“My stomach’s been upset.”
I couldn’t eavesdrop. On second thought, why couldn’t I? It didn’t take too much time to make the coffee. I tiptoed back and listened.
“Are you all right now?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, I’m pretty good. Theo takes good care of me.”
“He knows, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, but he only found out a few weeks ago. You really didn’t have to come down here, Dad.”
“Didn’t I? And you didn’t answer me. When were you going to tell me?”
“That I’d taken some martial arts classes? It’s no big deal, Dad.”
“That’s all it was?”
“Yes. Let’s go to the dining room. I want to have everything ready for Theo.”
I ducked into the kitchen—we’d have to talk about this when we went to bed—and got the coffee started.
* * * *
I set out the tray with cups, spoons, and dessert forks and plates, then added the creamer and the sugar bowl and the plate of baklava. All that was needed now was the carafe of coffee.
It had just finished perking. I’d let it settle and then fill a carafe….
The buzzer sounded, and I went to the foyer and pressed the button. “Can I help you?” I said again.
“Theo, it’s Pete Matheson. Would you—”
“Hold on, I’ll let you in.” I pressed the release and went into the dining room.
Wills was hugging Jack and saying, “I don’t mind, Dad. I don’t mind at all.”
“Wills?”
“Yeah, babe?” He saw the look I gave him, and he smiled, happier than he had been. “Dad’s going to be staying for a few days.”
“That’s awesome, Jack.” Wills needed to know there was family that loved him. “You can have the same bedroom as last time.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have any clothes.”
“You can borrow some of mine until I can take you shopping. I’ve been dying to outfit you,” I teased. “And afterward I’ll take you around DC while Wills is at work.”
“Thanks.” Jack looked a little taken aback, but I put that down to his spur-of-the-moment flight.
“Oh, that was Pete at the front door.”
“Yeah. Dad wanted to talk to him.”
“Uh…” So he drove all the way up from North Carolina? “Okay. He should be up here any second.”
“So how are you, Theo?”
“I’m good, Jack. I wish I could say the same for Wills.”
“What? Does this have to do with that cop?”