“Sara, you can move in and make three meals a day if you want to.”
“Mike is the cook, not me.”
“He can cook too?”
Sara knew she was being pushed toward another man, but she’d made her decision about Greg, and she was going to stick with it.
As soon as they went in the main house, Luke took Mike outside where a charcoal grill had already been lit. A bed had been set up downstairs for Joce, and she lay on it, her big belly pushing up the light covers. Sara stood beside her and looked out the window at the two men, who were talking and laughing.
“They seem awfully chummy,” Sara said.
“Mike finally got Luke to agree to go to the gym with him tomorrow, and I’m so glad. Luke hovers over me like I’m going to kick off at any second. Promise me that you’ll stay with us in the delivery room. I’m afraid Luke will collapse.”
“I promise,” Sara said. “And I hope you’ll be there with Tess and me.”
“You’re—?”
“No,” Sara said quickly. “Tess is, but I’m not sure Ramsey knows about it yet.”
“So you and Mike have advanced to the point where you share secrets about his sister?”
“We don’t—”
“Is he easy to live with?”
“I don’t actually—”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
“Stop it!” Sara said, then quietened. “Look, before this whole thing gets out of hand, you should know that Mike is here on a case. And that’s not to leave this room.”
Joce gave a quick nod. “What’s the case?”
“Some woman, a big-t
ime criminal, is living in Edilean and Mike came here to find her.”
“How does he know she’s here?”
Sara shrugged. “I don’t know. He tells me little pieces here and there, but I can never get a full story out of him. Did you know that your husband ran me out of my own apartment so Mike could go through some secret tunnel and come up in my—Tess’s—bedroom?”
Joce’s eyebrows rose. “I knew something was going on because he didn’t use any pesticide in your apartment. But he did remove your toilet and kitchen sink.”
Sara looked out the window and glared at her cousin, who was drinking beer from a can, turning steaks on the grill, and laughing at whatever Mike was saying. She looked back at Joce. “Want to help me find out what’s going on?”
“Since my husband has been keeping secrets from me too, I’d love to help.”
The two women looked at each other in conspiracy.
Thirty minutes later, the meal was done and they were sitting around Joce’s bed, each with a tray full of steak, salad, and grilled vegetables.
Mike and Luke were dominating the conversation with their endless talk of working out. “I’ve seen what this guy does at the gym and he wants me to go with him,” Luke said.
“I know he can play Tarzan,” Sara said, and she and Mike smiled at each other.
“What does that mean?” Luke asked as he looked from one to the other.
Before Mike could reply, Joce spoke up. “So how did you find out this woman you’re hunting is living in Edilean?”