She hated that kind of thing, almost as much as she hated the way her breath became a little harder to catch when taking in the sight of him in his dark blue dress uniform. In front of him stood an attractive couple who might have stepped out of a Tommy Bahama ad. Clothes, hair, tans, and the glint of sun sparkling off jewelry—everything about them suggested the kind of relaxed wealth that turned life into a permanent vacation.
They were too far away for her to hear actual conversation, but the body language spoke volumes. The man leaned in to give Swain a one-armed hug—one Swain endured with uncharacteristic stiffness—and then turned and presented the woman. She smiled, said something brief, and offered a hand, which he took in the most perfunctory of shakes. The man spoke again, extending an arm enthusiastically toward a silver Tesla Model X parked across the lot. Still talking, he aimed a key fob at the vehicle and popped the locks. The back doors slowly opened from above, so it looked like a giant, gleaming bird of prey. The man put one arm around the woman’s shoulders and gestured for Swain to come along. Swain settled back against his ride, folded his arms across his chest, and shook his head. In the process, he caught sight of her. He froze for a moment, then unhooked the reflective sunglasses dangling from his shirt pocket and slid them on.
She’d never realized how effectively a single, brusque shake of a head could convey absolute refusal. The set of his jaw only underscored the message. But despite being much closer, the man didn’t seem to pick up on it. He just kept talking. Talking and grinning. A familiar grin. Familiar enough to snap things into place for Eden.
The man was obviously a Swain. Probably Marc’s father, although he didn’t look old enough to have a son graduating from high school, much less the academy. The woman was obviously not his mother, going by the introduction and subsequent interaction. He obviously hadn’t expected them to attend the graduation ceremony. And the most obvious thing of all? Their surprise appearance was not a welcome one for Swain.
Judging strictly by the visible evidence, Daddy Swain did pretty well. Maybe Marc didn’t want people knowing he came from money? Whatever the reason, it was clear from every rigid line of his body that his answer to the unexpected invitation remained a hard no. He wanted them gone as quickly and quietly as possible. It was equally clear to Eden that, much like her own father, Swain Sr. wasn’t used to taking no for an answer and didn’t do quick and quiet unless it suited him.
Perhaps compassion for what she perceived as a shared personal burden got the better of her, but without stopping to think, she peeled away from her group and waved to Swain. “Hey. There you are.” The sun bounced off the dark lenses of his glasses as he turned his head her way. His expression remained unreadable. Still, she’d decided to throw him a lifeline. He could take it or leave it. “We’re about to head out. Are you ready?”
F
or a good five seconds, he simply stood there, staring at her, or past her, or through her. It was hard to tell with the glasses. Then his lips curved into a ghost of a smile. “Almost. Give me one sec.”
“Is this one of your classmates?” the older man asked, coming closer. Eden heard a New Orleans clip in his southern accent.
“I’m one of her classmates,” Swain said without a hint of irony. “Cadet Brixton set the curve. The rest of us just tried to keep up.”
“Really?” He raised his brows as if impressed. “Congratulations. I gotta say, law enforcement officers have gotten a lot prettier since the last time I had me a ticket.”
“Gosh, thanks. Were it not for the personal presentation portion of the training, who knows how I would have made the grade?” Extending her hand, she added, “You must be Marc’s father.”
Beside her, Swain laughed in a way that acknowledged the insult. “Eden Brixton, Gerome Swain.”
“Romy,” his father corrected, shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you. This lovely lady”—he turned to the willowy brunette with artful blond highlights—“is my fiancée, Suzannah.”
At close range, Eden could see that the woman, though meticulously maintained, was closer to sixty than thirty. The paraffin-soft hand she shook boasted a sapphire cocktail ring large enough to choke a horse, plus at least three carats, total weight, in stacked diamond bands. They exchanged “Nice to meet you”s before Romy explained, “Suzie and I came off an absolutely amazing trip to this fantastic place she keeps in Positano, and I find out my only child is graduating from the police academy. Naturally, we jumped in the car and hightailed it up here to congratulate him. I promised my betrothed lunch at Cardinal Hill,” he went on, naming one of the area’s most exclusive country clubs. “Now I’m working on convincing Marc to let us make it a party. Maybe you’d join us as well, Eden?”
“I’d love to, but I can’t. Neither of us can, actually.” She glanced at Swain, then over to where her parents stood in the shade of a red maple, chatting with Shaun and Ginny. “We have a prior commitment. It was really nice to meet you, though.”
“Same,” Romy responded smoothly and offered up a faster, slicker version of the smile he’d passed along to his son. To Marc, he said, “Call me when you get settled.” He eased his arm around his fiancée’s shoulders again. “Suzie and I are about to close on a gorgeous little cottage just off Lakeshore Drive. We’ll have you down for a long weekend, so we can spend some time together before the wedding. I’m sure we can find you a comfy spot in one of the eight bedrooms.”
Marc made a very noncommittal sound. “The County Sheriff’s Department has dibs on my time for the next little while. Good luck with the close. Y’all should have a good real estate lawyer look the deal over. My criminal investigations class detailed all kinds of fraud a lowlife scum can commit under the guise of a legitimate transaction.”
Suzie nudged Romy. “That’s exactly what Annabeth said! And she knows a thing or two about real estate.”
Romy shot his son an odd look before turning Suzie toward their car. As they walked away, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Honey, Annabeth is a tired old busybody, fresh off a bitter divorce, mad about having to cut back on her lifestyle. You’re younger, prettier, and all around smarter with your assets. She’s so jealous of you right now, she can’t see straight.”
Suzie giggled. “Hush, you. I’m liable to get a swelled head. Nobody’s ever called me smart. Not even Myron, God rest his soul.”
Eden glanced over at Swain, who continued staring straight ahead. “So, that’s your dad and your new mommy?”
“Hush, you,” he parroted but turned and offered her a pained smile. “Thanks.” As the Tesla pulled out of the lot, he added, “I owe you one.”
“You owe me several, starting with when I didn’t drop-kick your ass for tossing out that ridiculous nickname.” She started walking across the lot. Swain fell into step beside her.
“Everyone gets a nickname, and nobody picks their own, so that doesn’t count. Nor does anything else you’re thinking of,” he said before she could mention the pat-down exercise or the way he’d tried to cut her out of the joint undercover operation in the commander’s office two weeks ago. “Take your one, choux, and let’s not argue.”
“Fine.” She stopped in the middle of the lot, turned to look at him, and crossed her arms. “Back out of the joint op. You don’t think it will work with both of us, so withdraw and let me do it on my own.”
“Choose something else. That one’s beyond my control. I’ve already tried.”
That stung. It stung to realize he disliked their chances of success so much he’d gone to Malone on his own and asked for a pass. “You know what, Swain? I grew up on a steady diet of military tactics. I graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt with a degree in criminology, and…oh yeah…I did pretty well here at the academy. Practically everyone who knows me thinks I was born to be a cop. Except you. Why?”
Despite the shield of the sunglasses, he looked genuinely surprised. “I never said you wouldn’t make a great cop. I’m sure they’ll be pinning commendations on you repeatedly as you rise all the way up the chain of command. You’ll serve with honor and dedication. You’ll be an asset to any department you join.”
Now it was her turn to be surprised. “Well, thanks. I guess. But if you really feel that way, why don’t you think I can hold up my end of this joint assignment?”