“Act?” A raised brow.
“Patricia’s watching us. Actually, if you could grab my arse . . .”
“I’m in uniform, sweetheart. As much as I want to, I can’t grope you in public.”
“Oh, right, no, of course. Just thought you might help me conceal my Emperor’s New Clothes boxers, but understood.” He pulled himself a decent step back.
“Conceal your what boxers?” Owen glanced at the reflection of them in the shop window, and in seconds he had his cap off and was holding it behind Jason. “Into the car, quick.”
Owen herded him all the way into the passenger seat and slung himself behind the wheel. “Emperor’s New Clothes boxers?”
“It sounded better than naked butt?”
A groan. “What are you doing to me?”
“Yeah, sorry.”
A flash of smoke in those dark eyes. “Torture.”
But surely not as tortuous as the silence between them as they drove back to the station? Jane was waiting for Owen with her arms crossed, leaning against the patrol car.
Behind the wheel, Owen scrubbed his face and looked at him. “I have a surprise for you.”
“I’m not in the metaphorical doghouse?”
“Metaphorical or literal”—Jason perked up at Owen’s words—“for the time being.”
That was . . . “What’s the surprise?”
“I wanted you to discover it on your own. But this is the only way I can ensure no other shenanigans take place before my shift ends.” Tyranny glinted in his eye as he once more handed over the car keys. “Drive straight home.”
“Can I collect Mary first?”
A sigh. “Then drive straight home. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.” He dangled the keys over Jason’s open hand, pausing. “You any good with needle and thread?”
“Not really?”
“Happy to hear that.” Cool metal pressed against his palm, and Owen opened his door. “Wear my spare jacket around your”—he gestured—“and don’t throw those pants away.”
Jason found Alex calling Mary into the car.
Jason slid up to them.
Alex jumped, knocked his fingers on the back door, and shook them with a suppressed grunt. “Why is everyone sneaking up on me today?”
“Sorry.” Jason petted Mary’s head. “Did you two have a special outing planned? Or could I steal her back?”
“Oh, would you?” Alex looked relieved. “Only, I need to patch things up after this morning and Sammy’s a little allergic.”
Jason crouched to Mary. “You hear that, you’re coming back home with me.” He glanced at Alex, plucking stray dog hair off his T-shirt. “Will it be difficult, patching things up?”
A sigh. “He was upset about still being a secret. More than I thought.”
“Surely he understands your position.”
“Yes, he does. He’s been very patient too.” Alex blushed, looking along the magnolia-lined street toward Owen’s car, past it perhaps. “I know he looks big and burly, like he’s one of the strongest men in the world, but he still has feelings.”
Something stirred uneasily in Jason’s stomach; he swallowed to keep it down. “I hope you find a way to make everyone happy.”
“If I can’t, I’ll have to make a choice.”
“Choice?”
“Come out and keep them, or . . .”
“Hide from family and be miserable,” Jason murmured once Alex had reversed out of the driveway.
Mary pressed close to his side, and Jason resumed petting her. Then grabbed his phone and called Carl.
“Uh-oh,” Carl answered with a nervous laugh. “What have I done now?”
“Nothing,” Jason said, and paused. “I mean, other than flashing your mum.”
Silence. The rustle of leaves in a breeze. The clank of garden equipment next door.
“The reason I’m ringing is . . .” He rolled his shoulders and stroked Mary rather desperately. His words came out in an impassioned burst. “Cora needs to know you love her. That you know she had twins and adopted us out, and you’ve found your brother, and you still respect her. Hold her dear in your heart.”
“I can’t—”
“Sooner or later she’ll find out. Don’t let her turn down living with a good man and his daughters because of an uncomfortable conversation.”
A stir of movement came from behind him. He spun around, heart hammering. No, he’d imagined it. Just an empty porch.
“I . . . Don’t say anything. Not yet. I will tell her. After the wedding next week. I just need a little longer. Keep up the act, please? It’ll be easier once Pete’s married.”
And easier to be in Wellington, where Jason could wait and see if his blood-relatives ever reached out to him. Carl would tell Cora and Patricia he knew, but he would keep this twin-swap to himself. It’d be up to Cora if she had any interest in reaching out to Jason.
Yes. In Wellington it would be easier.
He frowned over the achiness in his chest.
“Mary Puppins,” he whispered and hugged her. “I’ve messed everything up, haven’t I?”
Mary did not yip.
To distract himself, he focused on the less stomach-churning moments of the day. Or stomach-churning in a different way. As they drove back home, he gave Mary an account of his day and attempted to describe the depth of his earlier mortification. Mary listened patiently from the passenger side, panting happily as he got to the part about his pants ripping. “There’s a part of me that never wants to meet his eye again.” Jason sighed and parked the car in the driveway. “But a much bigger part that will not be able to help itself.”