Lucky Charm (Lucky 1)
She finished two more spoonfuls, then asked, “So what are you doing today?”
Boy, was she talkative this morning. “I’m going to get some work done here.” He had clients in the city who had left messages he needed to return. He didn’t need to go to the office he rented in town, though.
She finished her cereal with a last, loud slurp and walked the bowl over to the sink. “Do you still like Gabrielle? ’Cause I really like her a lot.”
He swallowed a groan. “Of course I like her.”
“Will you marry her the way Mom married John?”
Derek’s palms began to sweat. Suddenly, without warning, the front door creaked opened and Hank’s voice bellowed throughout the house.
“Who wants to go feed the ducks?” he called out to announce his presence.
“I do!” Holly swiveled around and ran into the other room.
Derek followed her out.
“Can we bring Fred? Please?” Holly asked her grandfather, questions of marriage and Gabrielle temporarily forgotten.
Bullet dodged, at least for the moment, Derek was grateful for his father’s interruption. “Hey, Dad,” he said, joining them by the front door.
“Grandpa said Fred can come because he’s a lazy old bastard who’d chase his tail before he’d worry about running after a duck,” Holly said, pleased both with her grandfather’s answer and herself for getting to repeat the curse word without reprimand.
Derek scowled. “Can you both watch your language?” He turned to his daughter. “Holly, go put on some sunscreen and make sure you take your oldest sneakers. Duck poop and dog poop are hard to get out.”
“Will do!” She ran upstairs to the loft, giving Derek some time with his father.
“I need to talk to you before she comes back down,” he said immediately.
“Yeah, yeah. I already apologized to you for my behavior last night. Isn’t that enough?” Hank didn’t meet Derek’s gaze, looking down at his feet instead.
At least the older man was contrite, even if he hid it behind his bluster.
“An apology to Gabrielle next time you see her would be even better. But I have an important question for you right now. When you walked out in the middle of her speech, where did you go?” Derek watched his father carefully for signs of dishonesty.
His father raised both eyebrows, clearly surprised at the question. “I told you when you got home last night. I went to the john. Why are you asking?”
Derek walked to the sofa in the family room and Hank followed.
“Someone deliberately keyed Gabrielle’s car during her talk. Someone also put a threatening letter under her windshield yesterday afternoon. It sure looks as if somebody didn’t want her to speak about curses,” he said, pointedly looking at his father.
“Hey, I resent the implication. I’ve got a temper but I’d never threaten a lady.”
Derek didn’t bring up the shotgun Hank had planned to take to the library. He wanted to believe his father. Besides, he couldn’t see Hank deliberately destroying someone’s property or threatening anyone.
“Just watch yourself,” Derek warned him. “If anyone but me had seen you with that gun, you’d be answering to someone other than me—someone with a badge.”
“You need to show some faith in your own family. Holly, are you coming?” Hank called upstairs.
She ran down the stairs and rounded the corner, a baseball cap on her head and another in her hand.
“Is that for me?” Hank asked.
“No, it’s for Fred.” She walked over to the oversize sausage roll they called a dog and plopped the cap down on his head.
Derek laughed. “How do you expect him to see where he’s going?”
“He has me, silly! Ready, Grandpa!” She clipped Fred’s leash on just like Derek had taught her and grabbed Hank’s hand.