Protecting Her(72)

I smile and take it from him. “That’s right. You have to have dinner first.”

“Told you,” Garret says, shaking his head. “You have to follow the rules, Dad.”

I try not to laugh. Pearce goes over and musses up Garret’s hair. “Where’s your helmet?”

“Upstairs in my room.”

“Go get it. We’ll do a few plays before your Uncle Jack gets here.”

The doorbell rings.

“I think they’re early,” I say.

“I’ll get it!” Garret runs to the door.

“Who’s this big guy with the shoulder pads?” I hear Jack say.

Pearce and I walk into the living room. Jack’s holding Garret and giving him a hug. He loves Garret and so does Martha.

“Uncle Jack, do you want to play football?” Garret asks.

Jack sets him down. “Maybe later. I want to talk to your mom and dad first.”

“Okay. Hi, Aunt Martha.” He hugs her.

“Hi, honey. Look what I brought you.” She hands him a box. It looks like a science kit, but with a Halloween theme. It has images of monsters around a volcano of green goo. I’m guessing the creation of the green goo is the science experiment.

Garret takes it. “Cool!”

Jack looks at me. “I told Martha you’ll spend hours cleaning that sh—” He stops before he swears in front of Garret. “That green stuff. But she insisted on getting it for him.”

“Boys love things like that,” Martha says. “The messier the better.”

I smile at her. “I’m not worried about the mess. Thank you for giving that to him. I’m sure he’ll have fun with it.”

Garret hugs her again. “Thank you, Aunt Martha.” He hugs Jack. “Thank you, Uncle Jack.” He takes the box and runs up to his room.

“How’d you get the kid to be so polite?” he asks Pearce.

“He’s such a sweet boy,” Martha says before Pearce can answer. “I love how he gives everyone hugs.”

“Have a seat,” Pearce says, motioning them to the couch. Pearce and I take the two chairs at the end.

“You just get home?” Jack asks Pearce, who is still in his suit.

“Yes. I came home early tonight.”

“Early?” Jack says. “If you still worked for me I would’ve sent you home at noon. It’s Halloween. You gotta spend time with the kid.”

“He’s not done with school until three-thirty,” Pearce says.

“Except for yesterday,” I mumble.

Jack heard me and asks, “What happened yesterday?”

“Holton took Garret out of school without telling us,” I say. “I went to pick him up, but he wasn’t there and nobody knew where he was. It nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Martha shakes her head. “What is wrong with that man? He should know better than to take Garret like that without telling you.”

“It all worked out,” Pearce says, as though he’s trying to change the subject.

Jack’s looking at Pearce like he knows something. Was Jack one of the men who was there? But he’s not friends with Holton. And Garret would’ve told me if Jack was there.

“So Martha and I have some news,” Jack announces.

“What is it?” I ask.

“We’re moving to Virginia.”

“Oh, no,” I say, disappointment in my voice. “Really?”

Martha sighs. “I know. I’m not happy about it, but a lot of Jack’s clients are in the DC area and he wanted to be closer to them.”

“So you’re going to live near DC?” Pearce asks Jack.

He nods. “Land of the thieves and the liars.” He laughs. “I should fit right in.”

Jack’s looking at Pearce, and again, it’s like he’s communicating something with his expression, but then he quickly looks back at Martha and me.

“We’re going to miss you both so much,” Martha says. “And my little Garret. I don’t know what I’m going to do, not being able to see him.”

“We’ll come and visit you,” I say. “I’m just so sad you have to leave. When are you moving?”

“In a few weeks,” Jack answers. “We’ve already got the house on the market.”

“You’re selling the house?” Pearce asks. “So I guess you’re not coming back.”