Waiting On You (Blue Heron #3)(59)

“Put your leg down,” Colleen ordered. “You’re flashing Mr. Bancroft, and he’s kind of pervy as it is.”

“Hey, there, Paulie!” called Mr. Bancroft. “Got a problem?”

“Say no,” Colleen instructed.

“No! Go away!” Paulie barked.

“Henry! Get in the car,” Mrs. Bancroft ordered. “We’re already late! Paulie, what’s the problem?”

“Nothing! Nothing at all,” Paulie said. “I, uh, I...I have a bladder infection and had to stop. That’s all.”

Mrs. Bancroft paused, shook her head and got into the car.

“Let’s cut the improv, okay?” Colleen said as the Bancrofts drove away. “Say only what I say. Now hang on. This time, I mean business.” She looked at the pebbles in her hand, selected the biggest one and threw it with slightly more gusto.

The window shattered.

“Shit!” she hissed.

“Shit!” Paulie echoed.

But the broken glass did the trick. After a second, the front door opened, and there stood Bryce, blinking in the sunlight.

“Oh, my God, I see him. Oh, damn it all, he’s here,” Paulie said, her voice strangled.

“Calm down, calm down. Deep breath,” Colleen whispered. “It’s showtime. He’s a nice guy, you’re a nice woman.”

“Hey, Paulie,” Bryce said as he loped over to Paulie’s car. “Everything okay here? Our window just broke.”

Paulie inhaled audibly, her breath hitching in her throat. “Oh! Wow. Hi. Your eyes are so...so...blue.”

Colleen winced. “Stop that.”

“Stop that,” echoed Paulie.

Bryce stopped and tilted his head.

“Paulie, relax. Just...just say hi to him.”

Another shaking breath. “Hi, Bryce!” she said loudly. “What are you doing here?”

Bryce laughed. “I live here. How about you?”

A squeaky groan came over the wire.

“I threw a pebble, I guess. I think I had a blowout,” Colleen whispered.

“I threw a pebble, I guess,” Paulie parroted. “I think I had a blow job.” She clapped her hands over her mouth. “Out, out! I didn’t mean blow job. I never had a blow job. I meant something else. Out. I had a blowout.”

“Paulie, calm down,” Colleen whispered. “Jesus.”

“Jesus, calm down,” Paulie said, then wiped her forehead with her arm. “Uh...I...I have a flat tire.”

“Bummer,” Bryce said, not freaked out in the least by Paulie sounding as if she were possessed by a demon.

“Can you help me change it, Bryce?” Colleen asked.

“Can you help me change it? Bryce? Please? Please help me.”

Dear Lord. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

THE PUBLIC SAFETY building, half begun and currently stalled, was in a state of chaos. First of all, every one of the three agencies—police, ambulance and fire—felt that theirs was the most important. Lucas had already changed the plans so the police department office was situated between the fire and ambulance departments, because apparently those two fought the way his twin nieces did over who got to sit in the front.

Besides that, the ventilation had to be specialized, and the alarm system was fairly complicated. It was tricky to make such a functional building also be attractive inside and out, and the builder who’d quit hadn’t tried very hard. Lucas had requested the plans, then got to work on the design. He moved the back entrance so it didn’t come right into the fire department kitchen, repositioned Dispatch to the back of the building and reinforced the walls, added some windows on the eastern side so the place didn’t look like a crematorium. The town council was falling over with gratitude.

It was nice to be needed.

Funny, how much he really did love construction work. Never minded it a bit in the summertime during college, though back then, he thought it would be temporary.

When Frank Forbes had first summoned him after learning that Lucas had impregnated his angel, it was fair to say that Lucas expected to be thrown from the fifty-fifth story.

Frank Forbes was furious. Lucas couldn’t blame him. “So you want to marry my daughter, do you?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s the right thing to do.”

“The right thing.” Frank shook his head. “How do you plan to support them, my daughter and grandchild? You won’t be able to work if you’re in law school.”

“No, sir. I withdrew and got a job with Windy City Construction. I start on Monday. I can join the union after a year.”

Mr. Forbes gave him a long look, his jaw knotty. The silence was leaden.

Then he took a sharp breath. “Quit Windy City. You’ll work for this company, on construction, because Johnny Hall says you’re not bad. You’ll earn what all people at your level earn, and you’ll have a health care plan, same as all my employees. Windy City has an abominable safety record, and their work is shoddy at best.”

Lucas hesitated. “I’d rather make my own way, Mr. Forbes.”

“Yes, well, you should’ve thought of that before you got my daughter pregnant!” he snapped. Then he took another deep breath. “You and Ellen can live in one of my apartment buildings,” he went on. “I don’t want my daughter and grandchild living in a bad neighborhood, and that student apartment of hers isn’t big enough for a baby. You, however, will support your family. You will pay your bills on time, and I will never bail you out financially. You will sign a prenup saying you’ll never get a dime of Ellen’s trust fund. I will pay for Ellen’s law school; you will pay for your family’s living expenses. You will give this marriage a real try. If you hurt, mistreat or cheat on my daughter, I promise you your body will never be found. I love my daughter. She’s the most important thing in the world to me. Do you understand me, young man?”