Tender Is The Night (26 page)

"Devin is investigating a series of arson fires," Kate said. "An FBI agent died in a fire eighteen months ago, and that agent was Devin's partner. He left the Bureau to focus on solving her case."

"I'm sure you're aware that there have been two more fires," Devin said to Jack. "Maybe now you'll reopen the case that should never have been closed."

"That's already been done," Jack said tersely. "But we're not discussing this here. This is my family. And you don't belong here. You need to leave."

Before he could say a word, Kate stepped up. "He's not going anywhere, Uncle Jack. He's with me. And he's not using me. I know exactly what he's working on."

"You're both staying," Sharon said firmly. "Jack—I don't understand the problem between you and Devin, but you can work it out elsewhere."

The woman next to Jack put her hand on his arm. "Sharon is right," she said. "This sounds like business, and today is for family."

Jack blew out a breath and then said, "Fine. But I'm warning you—if you're messing with Kate, every man in this house will make you pay."

"Got it," he said evenly.

Jack turned and walked away, his wife following.

"Maybe we should go, Mom," Kate said.

"No. I meant what I said," Sharon said firmly. "You'll stay. You'll eat. You'll have fun. I'll catch up with you later."

"And I'll go find Jack," Tim said.

"Sorry about that," Devin told Kate.

She shrugged. "Uncle Jack was out of line. I'm going to talk to him."

"Don't do that on my account."

"I'm not doing it for you; I'm doing it for me. You're my guest, Devin, and my uncle can deal with it."

Her determined expression matched the one her mother had worn a few moments earlier. "You definitely take after your mom."

"I take after my uncle, too. He would go to the ends of the earth to protect his friends and family. He should understand your motives better than anyone."

"Kate, wait. There's something you should know first."

"What?"

"After Sam died, after everyone closed the case, I went to see your Uncle Jack, and I was out of my mind. I made some nasty accusations about cover-up. He threw me out of his office."

"It's understandable. You were grief-stricken."

"It was unprofessional. I don't blame him for thinking I might be using you to get to him. We had some bad words."

"We both know that you're not using me. And he needs to know, too."

"Hi guys," Emma said, interrupting their conversation. "What did I miss? Colton just told me that Dad tried to throw Devin out of the house."

"Devin will tell you," Kate said. "I'm going to have a few words with your dad."

Emma gave him a questioning look as Kate left. "Should I be worried for Kate or my dad?"

"Maybe your dad. When Kate gets fired up, there's no stopping her."

Emma smiled. "She said the same thing about you when we spoke the other day." She paused. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry we haven't been able to find the arsonist. Max is working on it, too."

"I know. I appreciate the help."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet."

"Let me show you the way. The last thing you want to be in this crowd is shy."

He laughed. "I've actually never been called shy."

"I'm sure." As they walked back toward the dining room, she said, "I guess Kate decided to tell her family she's in town."

"She was forced into it. We ran into her mom last night. By the way, her family thinks we're dating. It seemed like a good cover story at the time."

She grinned. "And now?"

"I have a feeling we opened Pandora's box."

"Oh, you definitely did. We'll stop at the bar on the way to the buffet. I think you're going to need another beer."

* * *

"Uncle Jack—can I speak to you?" Kate asked, breaking into her father's conversation with her uncle.

"I'll leave you two alone," her father said, moving away.

"Your father said I need to apologize to you," Jack said, not looking too happy with that thought.

"That would be a good start."

"I don't like that guy you brought."

"You don't know him. If you did, you would like him, because he's a lot like you."

"I don't think so."

"Devin told me that he came at you and some of the other fire investigators without a lot of finesse, but his partner—his best friend—had just been killed, and he knew that the wrong guy was being held accountable. No one believed him, but that didn't stop him from going after the truth. He quit his job so he could focus on getting the right person off the streets, and this past week there have been two more fires that fit the exact same pattern as the others."

"As I told him earlier, I'm aware of the most recent fires, and the fire department is investigating."

"I knew you would reopen the case, because you're very good at your job. Just as Devin is good at his. You are also one of the most loyal people I know. I can't believe you wouldn't have done exactly what Devin did if the situation was reversed."

"He's not your boyfriend, is he?" Jack asked.

She shook her head. "No. We're working together. I didn't want to involve the family in my job. My boss assigned me to the case because he knew I was headed to San Francisco. He asked me to give Devin a few days of my time."

"That makes sense. You've grown up, Kate," Jack said, an admiring glint in his eyes.

"I have done that."

"How do you like the Bureau? Is it what you thought it would be?"

"It's not at all what I thought it would be, but I really like it."

"You're doing the Callaway name proud."

"I hope so." She paused. "Are we good? Do I have to worry about you taking a swing at Devin?"

"I never swing first. And we're good. I'm going to check the barbecue. Whenever Aiden is in charge, he turns our burgers into hockey pucks."

As Jack left, she moved towards her father.

"Everything okay now?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You're working with Devin, aren't you?"

"I am, but can we keep what I'm doing with Devin just between you and me for a few days?" Kate asked. "I don't want to worry Mom and get her involved. She has the wedding to work on, and I don't want to take anything away from Mia."

He nodded. "We can do that, for a few days anyway. But don't be surprised if your mom has already figured it out."

He was probably right about that, but she'd deal with her mom when she had to. "I also wanted to ask you why you were at the bookstore last night."

"We went to support Gerilyn. She's had a rough few years."

"You know Gerilyn Connors?"

"Sure. Brad was in my firehouse for a few years before he completely turned his life upside down."

"Drugs and alcohol, right?"

"Yes. He lost his job, and I thought he had lost his wife to his addictions, but apparently he's sober now, and she's found a way to forgive him."

"Brad Connors is a person of interest in the arson fires, Dad."

"I know. Gerilyn was complaining to your mother that the FBI was harassing Brad just because he used to be a firefighter."

"And because he was violent toward Gerilyn, and because several of the houses she worked on were targeted."

"I didn't know the ins and outs of it," her dad said. "Is he still a suspect?"

"I'm not sure, but what do you think about him as a suspect? Is he a man who would start fires?"

"I'd like to say no. I worked alongside him for four years. But that was before he started screwing up his life. The way he treated Gerilyn during the divorce was shocking to me. I guess I can't say for sure that he wouldn't burn down one of her buildings out of revenge."

"Why do you think she took him back? After everything they went through?"

"Hell if I know," he said. "A man shouldn't treat a woman the way Brad treated Gerilyn. There's no excuse. And I don't care if she still loves him; she should love herself more. I wouldn't want any of my daughters to take a man back who didn't treat them well."

"I think your daughters are all far too stubborn," she said lightly. "I better go find Devin. He's probably drowning in Callaways."

"You know, Kate…if you like him, it's okay."

"I do like him," she admitted. "But I've just started my career. The timing sucks."

"It almost always does," he said with a laugh. "Sometimes poor timing forces you to figure out what you really want."

"Or it just drives you crazy."

"That, too."

She hugged her dad and went to find Devin. He was in the dining room, working his way around the buffet.

"I see you got food."

"Yes, and it's all very good. How did your conversation go with your uncle?"

"He apologized for being rude to you."

Devin raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Jack Callaway apologized?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly an apology, but I made him understand that your behavior after Sam died is not really who you are. He gets it. He's as fiercely loyal to his friends as you are. And he's going to do everything he can to help."

"Now that there have been two more fires."

She understood his cynicism. "Well, yes. I know that doesn't excuse the inattention over the last year and a half, but it is what it is. I also talked to my father about why they were at the book signing. They're friends with the Connors. Brad worked with my dad."

"That's interesting."

"He had heard that Brad was a person of interest in the arson cases, but he didn't have any further information. I asked him if he thought Brad could be guilty, and he didn't say no, which is hugely significant."

"Why is that?"

"Because the firefighters in this town are brothers. They stand up for one another. The fact that my father couldn't immediately do that said a lot. Firefighters see the devastation of fire every day; the loss of life, the horrific burns, the destruction of families. They don't start fires; they put them out. But after all the drug and alcohol problems Brad had gone through, my father couldn't say for sure that he was innocent." She paused. "We need to figure out where Brad was last night and last Monday."

"I agree. We should get Emma's help on that. She has the power to investigate those fires specifically, and she can bring in the local police."

"Is she still here?" Kate asked, looking around the room.

"She had to take off. She said she and Max were going to take some time for themselves this afternoon. Apparently, they haven't had much of that lately."

"I'll text her the info. I'm sure she'll get to it when she can or tomorrow at the latest."

"In the meantime, we'll keep Connors high on the list," Devin said. "And we'll focus in on the properties on the target list that might have a tie to Gerilyn. She won't be eager to help us, but perhaps we can get the same information from Eileen since they work closely together."

"That's a good move." She paused, seeing her older sister approaching. "Hey, there's Annie."

"Kate," Annie said, surprise flashing across her face. "I thought you weren't coming until Wednesday."

"I got in a little earlier." She gave Annie a hug. Her sister was three years older than her with dark red hair and green eyes like their mother. But today those eyes looked a little tired, and Kate wondered why. "How are you doing, Annie?"

"I've been working a lot."

"Your company must be doing well."

"It is. I just wish there were more people in my company than just an assistant and me. But I can't complain." Annie's eyes drifted to Devin. "We haven't met."

"Devin Scott."

"Annie Callaway." Annie's gaze moved from Devin to Kate. "Is Devin a friend of yours?"

"I'm her boyfriend," Devin said with a grin.

Annie's jaw dropped. "Really? Well, isn't that a piece of news?"

Devin was enjoying his fake boyfriend status a little too much, Kate thought. "It's very recent," she told her sister.

"What do you do, Devin?" Annie asked.

"I'm a private investigator."

"That sounds interesting and a little dangerous. How did you and Kate meet?"

"On a job."

"He used to be FBI," Kate said. "Anyway, what is up with you? Are you bringing a guy to the wedding?"

"Nope. Flying solo," Annie said, more shadows filling her eyes.

"I thought Mom said you were seeing someone."

"That ended."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine." She paused. "It's good to see you, Kate. You do not keep in touch very well. I miss you."

"I promise to be better. It's been a crazy year."

"I know you need to get your feet on the ground in your new job as a special agent, but don't forget your family, especially your sisters."

"Never."

"Good. I'm going to make the rounds." She started to leave, then stopped. "Did you know that Hunter is planning to climb to Base Camp on Mount Everest in a few months?"

"What?" she asked in astonishment. Her daredevil brother had done some adventures in his life, but he hadn't gone that high or that far.

"Yes. He's training for it right now. He loves a challenge." Annie glanced at Devin. "Kate got the Callaway adventure gene like our brothers. Mia and I did not."

Devin smiled. "Adventure is the spice of life."

Annie groaned. "You're a thrill-seeker, too, aren't you?"

"I haven't climbed Mount Everest yet, but it sounds like a fun challenge."

Annie shook her head in bemusement. "Not to me. But I have a feeling Kate would join you."

"I don't know about that," she said. "It sounds like a lot of work."

"I'll see you two later," Annie said, heading off to visit with some of her other relatives in the living room.

"Annie looks like your mom," Devin commented.

"She takes after her, too. She's very protective when it comes to family, especially her younger sisters." Kate leaned across the table and grabbed a bite-sized egg salad sandwich off a tray and popped it into her mouth. "My aunt Lynda makes the best egg salad. Did you try these?"

"Yeah, I had about six of them," he said with a laugh.

"I'm glad you weren't being shy."