Falling for the Brother

Miriam said nothing. With a fork in hand she expertly turned the bacon frying in the pan, not even slowed down by the fact that she was working with only one arm. Bacon that would be too much for the one person it would now feed.

So they could have bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches for lunch.

“If you’re trying to make me look bad by proving that my staff is incompetent, it’s not going to fly.”

Again, Miriam ignored her. With the hand of her casted arm, she pulled two pieces of bread out of a bag and popped them in the toaster, resealing the bag.

Harper tried not to think about the times the older woman had made her breakfast, chatting the whole time, treating her like a beloved member of her family. Never having known either of her grandmothers, Harper had taken Miriam as her own, glad to have a relationship with her. She’d thought, if nothing else, they’d developed a trust in each other that wouldn’t be broken.

What she made herself think about was the fact that Miriam was a victim. One look at the still-purpling bruise spreading to the middle of her chin brought much-needed clarity.

“I’m trying to help,” Harper said softly. “If Bruce didn’t hurt you, then let’s clear his name.”

The only response she received was the sound of eggs cracking.

“If one of my officers made a mistake, I need to know about it and I need to know how.”

Miriam pulled the bacon out of the pan, laid it on a paper towel and, picking up the bowl into which she’d cracked eggs, she poured the mixture into the bacon grease.

Maybe not the healthiest breakfast, but Harper knew it would be delicious.

“Other women’s lives could very well depend on my staff doing their jobs well.”

With the same fork she’d used for the bacon, Miriam whipped the eggs in the pan.

“You want me out of here, then give me what I need,” Harper said, wishing she could comfort Miriam, not piss her off. “I’ll gladly leave you in peace, but I can’t. Not until I know who you got past last night and how it happened.”

Harper continued trying to get through to Miriam, watching while she dished up her breakfast, sat down and ate every bite, then cleaned up afterward.

All to no avail.

She was going to have to discuss the incident with Lila. To put herself and her two officers on report.

But first, she was going to talk to Mason. If being at the Stand was making Miriam defensive, he might have to try something else. They needed her to open up, to tell them what had happened to her—not to challenge the plans they had in place to protect her.

Or maybe Harper should step aside for a couple of weeks, stay out of Miriam’s world. But if she did take time off, Brianna would also be gone from the Stand and according to Mason, the ability to see her great-granddaughter was what had convinced Miriam to stay.

She was already listening to the ring of his cell phone as she headed up the walk toward her office.

It had been a long day and the morning wasn’t even half over.

CHAPTER NINE

MASON DIDN’T GET to speak with Harper Wednesday morning. He’d been in the shower when she called and had listened to her voice mail. The last thing any of them needed at the moment was for Gram to be causing Harper and her staff problems. He’d known he was asking a lot in requesting her help, but he’d never considered for a second that he could be putting her job in jeopardy.

Not that she’d said so, but it couldn’t be good for the head of security to be considering a break from work just a month into her new position.

He’d get back to Harper. But not until he had some answers to give her.

He’d been planning to spend the morning canvassing Miriam’s neighborhood to find out if anyone had noticed anything unusual in the past few months. A visitor who was there when Bruce was not, for instance.

He wanted to know if anyone had noticed any change in his brother’s behavior or heard Bruce raise his voice.

He also planned to visit the grocery store where Gram regularly shopped. Plus her hairdresser. And her retired officers’ wives group. If he was going to figure out what had gone wrong in Gram’s life, he had to build a clear picture of what that life had become.

Instead, he found himself back on the freeway to Santa Raquel. If Gwen called, ready to meet with him, he’d have to put her off, too. Just until he got back to town. That was one meeting that couldn’t happen too soon.