In Your Dreams (Blue Heron #4)(99)

“Fine. See you later, then.”

“Oh, hooray! See you later, baby!” Knowing to quit when she was ahead, Hadley practically skipped away.

“You two-timing Officer Em?” Dalton asked, sliding over.

“No,” Jack said. “It’s just dinner.”

“Dude, are you crazy?” Dalton said. “It’s not okay! Although, props, man. She’s gorgeous.”

“Em?” Jack asked. “You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

“It’s fine,” she said. It was not fine. And yet, she knew he was fond of his former sister-in-law. And it wasn’t like they’d made plans that he’d just canceled. Nor did she want to be that kind of girlfriend who told him who he could see and who he couldn’t, because, let’s face it, those women were control freaks.

Still. Teeny Tiny wanted him to come for dinner, and he was going.

“Oh, you’re screwed,” Dalton said. “Sucks to be you, pal.” He ran down the ice and slid once again.

“Is he right?” Jack asked. “‘Fine’ does tend to signal doom when it’s said like that.”

Em glanced over his shoulder. “It’s fine. I have to get the kids back.”

“It’s just that Frankie and I stayed friends.”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“Shit. I’ve screwed the pooch here, haven’t I?”

“No. You can have dinner with anyone you like. This is America. Life, liberty and dinner with your crazy ex-wife.”

“I haven’t seen Frankie in months.”

“Jack, it’s fine.” She summoned a smile. “But you’ll miss me.”

He bent down and kissed her on the mouth. “You got that right.”

Emmaline dropped the kids back at the church and then headed for home. Looked as though she’d have to cook tonight, alas. She unlocked her front door and went inside.

There were four suitcases in the living room, and sitting on the couch with Sarge on her lap was her sister.

“Angela!”

At the sound of her voice, Sarge leaped off Angela, grabbed Squeaky Chicken and began twirling in his love circles, whining around his toy.

“Oh, Emmaline, it’s so good to see you! I’m so sorry I didn’t call first!” Angela unfolded herself like an elegant flower and hugged Em tight, causing further joy from Sarge, who leaped against their legs, trying to get in on the action.

“It’s great to see you,” Em said. “What a surprise!”

Angela made a rueful face. “You’ll have to forgive me,” she said. “It was impulsive, I know.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yes, yes, it’s fine. It’s just...well, I’m a bit at odds. Can I stay with you for a little while?”

“Sure,” Em said. “It’s your house, too. Nana left it to both of us. But what’s going on?”

“I’m filling in for a colleague at Cornell,” she said. “It was rather sudden, but frankly, the timing was perfect. You see, I just ended a relationship.”

“You did? I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

“Yes. I wanted to tell you at the wedding, but it didn’t seem the right time. It’s been ending for a while, actually, but now it’s official. And Mama and Papa...They’ve been circling. You know how it is when they sense you’re troubled.”

“Like vultures?”

Ange smiled. “I knew you’d understand perfectly.”

“You can stay here as long as you like,” Emmaline said, meaning it. “We’ll finally live together.”

Angela’s eyes filled with tears. “And how lovely that will be. Also, Emmaline, I’ll need your help telling Mama and Papa some news.”

“What news is that?” Was she pregnant? They’d be thrilled. Hell, Em was thrilled at the very thought.

Her sister took a deep breath. “I’m g*y.”

Em’s mouth fell open. “I, uh...wow. I didn’t know that.” She paused. “Will they be crushed that it’s you and not me?” she asked, and much to her relief, Angela burst out laughing and hugged her. “Just promise me you’ll have biological babies someday,” Em added. “We don’t want your gene pool to go to waste.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ONE OF THE things Jack remembered most about Hadley was she couldn’t cook to save her life. From two flights below, he could smell smoke.

“It don’t smell so good in here,” Frankie said when she opened the door, using her good-ole-boy accent. “I may be staying with you tonight, Jack, ’cuz it may be that something crawled in that there oven and took its life. Or it could be Big Sister’s version of pot roast. Best if we don’t try to find out.”

“Hey, Frankie,” Jack said, giving her a hug. “Good to see you.”

“You, too, big fella! We’re going to O’Rourke’s, if you don’t mind. Hadley was trying to impress you by cooking, but I remember the burgers at O’Rourke’s with a deep and abiding fondness, so I’m not at all sorry with this turn of events.” She thudded down the hallway to get her coat.

Jack took a couple of steps into the apartment. There was a nearly empty bottle of Blue Heron Chardonnay on the counter. The wedding photo beamed out at him.