Fake Marrying Her Dad's Best Friend (Her Dad's Best Friend 3)

We’ve been at the station for about an hour now. I’m tired and stressed out. Jeff’s visibly frustrated by how casual the police officers are about his in-laws kidnapping Danny. Because he’s not in physical danger, they aren’t taking this whole episode seriously. I can see that Jeff’s about to blow. They took all of our statements separately. I’m done, though, so I walk over to Jeff and put a hand on his arm.

“You’ve told them our story, right?”

“Yeah,” he says, glaring a little at the police officer’s notepad. “They know everything.”

“We’ll get your kid back, safe and sound. Don’t worry.” The police officer’s voice is unruffled. Totally calm.

“Thank you, officer. Is that all you need from us?”

“For now. Stick around. We’ll call you if we get any leads.”

“That’s so kind, thank you.” I pull Jeff gently away. “We should let them do their jobs.”

Jeff’s face is a little flushed. There are things that money can’t buy. But as soon as we get back into the car, I tell him, “You need to hire a private investigator.”

He wipes his eyes. “I was planning on it. The police won’t do anything. They have other priorities.”

I lace my fingers together with his. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I know you will." He sounded so tired. "I need to call the PI that I normally use. He's former FBI. He costs an arm and a leg, but he'll get the job done."

I hear the defeat and distress in his voice while he talks to the PI about the details of the case and asks him to investigate his in-laws. I wish that I could help.

He gets off the phone.

"What did he say?" I ask.

"He'll get back to me when he has something. The good news is that they aren't particularly good at subterfuge."

"We should go home," I say as quietly as I can. He needs to bend before he breaks. "A glass of wine and a hot tub will help."

"I can't relax when my baby boy is out there, kidnapped by people who should know better. I'd give them the damn shares if they'd just asked."

"Jeff, you can't think about what if scenarios. You need to focus on what you have now. And that means that you can only do a small number of things."

"What good is money if I can't protect the people I love?"

I don't have an answer for that. I wish I did. We drive home in stony silence. I immediately go to the wine cellar and pick up the first bottle I see. I also start up the hot tub. I uncork the bottle and let it breathe for a few minutes, putting a wine glass next to the tub. Jeff is going into his office and staring at nothing. I let him brood for a few minutes, until I'm sure that the hot tub is sufficiently full.

"Into the tub," I tell him. I sit in his lap. For an instant, he tenses up. I'm worried that he's going to push me off. And then his arms come around me.

"You'll feel better," I promise. I slide off of his lap and lead him towards the tub. "We're skinny dipping."

He takes a breath like he wants to say something, but we just don't get into it. He starts taking off his clothes, just like I am. And we're both naked as we sink into the water.

"Wine," I say, I pour it out. He takes a sip and his head falls back.

"We're installing a better security system," he says. There's a hitch in his breath. "I can't believe they tore him out of your arms."

"I can," I said. "I was there."

Jeff opens his eyes. "That's right. You were." He moves over to my part of the pool. "How are you feeling?"

"Worried about Danny. Tired. Worried about you. Danny doesn't like be separated from you. Remember how he was at my aunt and uncle's house?"

Jeff lets out a half laugh. "That's right. They have a handful." He kisses me so gently that I almost don't feel it. "Thank you, babe."

"It's what I'm here for," I say, kissing him back. Mission accomplished. We both float around there until my fingers are pruny. I get out of the tub.