Thankless in Death (In Death #37)(117)

“Don’t let that stop you.” She took the glass of champagne Roarke handed her. “That was quick.”

“It was already out and open.”

Nadine walked over, gave Eve a hard, completely unexpected hug. “I love them,” she murmured in Eve’s ear. “I love them all, and want to marry them.”

“How much have you had to drink?”

“Just the right amount. God, they’re so much fun! You’re a lucky woman, Dallas.”

“I’m feeling pretty lucky.”

“I’m having the best time.” Easing back, Nadine plucked up her glass of champagne, lifted it in toast. “And I’m getting an exclusive with you and Roarke together, on Now.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Oh, but I am.” Fun and affection danced in Nadine’s crafty green eyes. “I’m going to get you drunk enough to agree before we have the pie.”

“Good luck with that.”

“I’m feeling pretty lucky, too. Oh, Morris is going to play the sax. I want to marry him when he plays the sax.”

One of the uncles sang with the wrenching melody, and half the room shed tears. Eve thought they liked it.

Mavis bounced up to give her a squeeze, then Charles. Everybody seemed to need to hug.

“I got that name and contact for you,” Charles told her. “It turns out you didn’t need it.”

“I’m glad I didn’t.”

She started to step back. She really needed to take her weapon harness off, secure it upstairs. But she glanced down to see Sean and Nixie staring up at her.

“What?”

“You got the bad guy,” Sean stated.

“Yeah, we got him.”

“Did you zap him a good one first?”

Violent little bugger, she thought. She liked that about him. “No. I just knocked him down. Twice.”

“That’s something then.”

“He killed people,” Nixie said.

“That’s right.”

“Now he won’t anymore.”

“No, he won’t.”

She nodded, smiled. “I have your surprise.”

“Yeah? Hand it over.”

She ran to Elizabeth, got a slim rectangle wrapped in gold paper.

Gifts were always weird to her, so Eve ripped the paper off—like a bandage from a wound—to get it done fast. And looked down at a framed drawing of herself.

She stood, eyes hard, weapon drawn, coat billowing. A little reminiscent, she thought, of an illustration in one of Roarke’s classic graphic novels—and just as frosty.

“I drew it, but Richard helped.”

“A little,” he confirmed.

“A lot,” Nixie whispered.

“It’s great. It’s really great. I look kick-ass.”

Nixie giggled, slid her gaze toward her adoptive parents. “It’s an assignment. My therapist said for me to make a picture of the person I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving. I thought about it a lot. Because I’m really thankful for Elizabeth and Richard and Kevin, but I wouldn’t have them to be thankful for except for you. I wrote an essay on the back. It’s part of the assignment, and the present.”

“Oh.” Eve turned it over, saw it was a two-sided frame. And as she skimmed the careful writing, felt her throat close.

“Would you read it?” Sinead asked, and looking up, Eve saw the movement had stopped, and everyone waited for her. “Would you read it to us, Eve?”

“I …”

“Why don’t I do that?” Understanding, Roarke took the frame.

The person I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving is Lieutenant Eve Dallas. She kept me safe when I was scared and I was sad. She took me to her house with Roarke and Summerset and Galahad so nobody could hurt me, not even the bad people who killed my family and my friend.

She told me the truth. She promised me she would find the bad people and make sure they were punished. And Roarke said she would never stop until she did that. He told me the truth, too.

She helped me find Richard and Elizabeth and Kevin. They’re not my mother, my father, and my brother. But they’re my family now, and I know it’s okay to love them. It doesn’t mean I don’t love my mom and dad and my brother.

Dallas didn’t treat me like a baby. She told me I was a survivor, and that’s important. She worked hard, and she even got hurt, but she found the bad people, and she made sure they got punished.

She told me the truth. She kept her promise. So she is the person I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving. Nixie Swisher.

“Well done, Nixie.” Roarke bent over to kiss her cheek. “Well done.”

“It’s good?” she asked Eve.

“It’s real good,” Eve managed. “I’m … ah. I’m going to put it in my office, at Central. And it’ll remind me to tell the truth and keep promises.”

“Really?”

“I said so, didn’t I?”

Nixie threw her arms around Eve’s waist, then ran over to Elizabeth. “She liked it.”

“Yes, she did.” Elizabeth sent Eve a watery smile, then pressed her face to Nixie’s hair.

“That was lovely, absolutely lovely.” Sinead got to her feet. “And a perfect way to lead us to our feast, I’m thinking. Let’s get a move on. With this lot of us, it’ll take an hour just to settle.”