Kaleidoscope (Colorado Mountain #6)(52)

Her eyes sliced to him, her head tipped and her brows went up. “Morning sex?”

He grinned. “Okay, forty-five minutes.”

“Right,” she muttered tetchily as the phone in her purse on the counter opposite him rang.

She glared at it and walked there.

Deck’s grin turned into a smile.

Apparently, the orgasms he gave her half an hour ago wore off.

She put down her mug, pulled out her phone, looked at the display and Deck’s gut clenched when her face lit up.

Fuck, she was gorgeous.

She put the phone to her ear and chirped, “Hi, Dad!”

His gut clenched again, but a different way.

This time it was just plain f**k.

Her face grew confused so this time he verbalized in a mutter his, “Fuck.”

She didn’t hear him. She was listening to her dad.

He knew what she was hearing.

He forgot, when he was putting the finishing touches on the case, and McFarland was definitely going down, he’d called Emme’s dad, Barry Holmes. This was before he knew Kenton Douglas had gone to Emme to question her and get back the ring.

He meant to tell her.

In all that happened, he did not.

Her eyes cut to him and they narrowed.

He repeated, “Fuck.”

“Yeah, Dad, I know but—”

She was obviously cut off. Two seconds later, her jaw got tight.

Deck sighed.

He knew Barry. He’d spent time with him at some of Emme’s dinner parties. He and Elsbeth had also been invited to their home for their annual Christmas party four years running and they never missed it. Now he knew he never missed it because it was a chance to see Emme. Then he just thought it was because he liked and admired Barry Holmes.

The man came from money, was given it and still, he worked for it. He was funny, shrewd, hardworking, honest, and he loved his family.

He made a mint but when his kids went to college, Barry paid room and board but his kids were responsible for tuition no matter how they had to go about that. Getting jobs, working for scholarships, applying for grants. It wasn’t heartless or miserly. He gave them their tuition back in full as a graduation present. He just made sure they worked for their education so it meant something to them.

They all did.

Elsbeth thought Barry was too hard on his kids.

Deck never agreed.

This was because he reckoned he’d do the same with his kids if one day he had the money but didn’t want them to grow up feeling entitled to it, like Elsbeth often demonstrated she felt.

But also because, with his kids, there was nothing hard about Barry Holmes. He might want to teach them life lessons and they might not be easy, but he often told them he loved them, shared wide and in their presence he was proud of them, and the family was close.

And last, even though he could afford country clubs and sprawling estates, his home was nice, large, well decorated, but it was warm and welcoming and not much more than a family of six needed. Just a solid, attractive, family home for him, his wife, two boys and two girls, a brood where Emme was the youngest.

Talking to Barry days ago, he’d called up the fact that losing Elsbeth had meant losing Emme and that had meant losing Barry, his wife, Maeve, and Emme’s loving but far-flung siblings (a sister in India, a brother in New Zealand and her other brother lived in Boston). All who, however far-flung, often came home to visit.

It hadn’t sucked as much as losing Emmanuelle. But it sucked.

“No, I’m not there because I’m, um… um…” Emme’s words brought his attention back to her. “Staying with Jacob.” Her eyes were big, pained, totally pissed and still on him. “Yes. Jacob Decker.” Pause then, “He’s… well, sure. He’s right here. We’re eating oatmeal.”

She made her eyes even bigger at him and if looks could kill, he’d be f**ked.

Then again, he was in danger of choking on the laughter he was swallowing.

“Sure, right, he’s eating,” she said as she made her way to him. “But he can talk.” She stopped two feet away. “Yeah.” Pause. “Okay.” Pause, then softer, “Love you too, Dad.”

The soft went out of her face when she took the phone from her ear and extended it to him.

“He wants to talk to you. And after you’re done, I’ll want to talk to you too.”

He reckoned so.

He fought back a grin but felt his lips twitch. They twitched more when her eyes narrowed on them.

He took the phone and put it to his ear.

“Mr. Holmes?”

“Barry. Barry. Son, for years, been telling you to call me Barry.”

Emme was pissed.

Barry Holmes sounded like he just won the lottery.

“Right. Barry,” he felt Emme’s eyes sharp on him at his familiarity with her father which was obviously invited, “what can I do for you?”

“Just to say, going into the office to get things started. I’ll be staying today, just in case. When’s that bond hearing you were talking about?”

He had explained to Barry what was happening, had been relatively forthcoming and asked him to come up to deal with McFarland should he be bonded out and head to work or even call in.

He did this because Deck needed that man far away from Emme. And that included him getting him suspended from work.