“Are we going in for lunch?” he asked, looking toward the house.
“No,” Brianna told him. “Lunch is coming to us. With this many people, Uncle Andrew relies on a buffet to feed the masses. For a while, before everyone started getting married and having kids, he had this really long table specially made so that he could seat everyone together. But then the marriages and babies came, along with another really large branch of the family—”
That seemed a little mind-boggling. “Wait. Where were all those people hiding before that?”
It was a familiar story to her because she was part of the second wave of Cavanaughs to descend on the city, increasing the police department by a third.
“Uncle Andrew’s dad had a younger brother whom he lost track of when his parents were divorced. To give his dad, Shamus, a feeling of closure, Uncle Andrew located this younger brother a few years back, or rather, he located the younger brother’s offspring.” She saw that she’d managed to snare his interest. “Unfortunately, the younger brother had died before Shamus had a chance to reunite with him.”
“Damn,” Jackson murmured, “I’m sorry I asked.” When he saw the look on Brianna’s face, he had to ask, “Why are you grinning like that?”
Her eyes crinkled. He did his best not to notice. “Because you did ask.”
“So?” he asked gruffly.
“So,” she stressed with a satisfied grin, “you, Jackson Muldare, are not nearly as aloof as you’re trying to pretend to be.”
“I’m not pretending,” he insisted, a bit more forcefully than the situation warranted.
“Yeah, yeah.” She waved away his protest. “Just come and eat. Uncle Andrew’s meals are guaranteed to mellow the surliest of beasts.”
“Is that supposed to describe me?” Jackson asked.
Once again hooking her arm through his, Brianna steered her reluctant guest toward a large platter of sliced roast beef.
“You?” she asked, fighting to keep a straight face. “No. You’re not surly in the least.”
Ignoring the sarcasm, Jackson turned his attention toward what really did look like a feast. There were three kinds of meat and a bevy of side dishes, and that didn’t even begin to cover the desserts. All in all, it was overwhelming.
He could recall nights when he and Jimmy had had nothing to eat because their father had used what money there was to buy whiskey. The boy he once was momentarily felt like a kid in a candy store.
“You’re the veteran,” he said, addressing Brianna. “What’s good here?”
There was something almost infectious about the smile on her face as she turned toward him and said, “Everything.”
He knew she was talking about the huge buffet that extended over the surface of four very large tables, but that wasn’t what he found himself thinking about.
* * *
Jackson had no idea where the time went.
They’d arrived at the former chief’s house well before eleven, and Jackson had silently promised himself that he was going to find a way to leave by one o’clock at the very latest.
But one o’clock came and went, as did two and three and then the hours after that. Somehow, between the food, the conversation and the company, the hours seemed to melt into one another, and eventually they took the daylight along with it, ushering in dusk, then twilight and, finally, evening.
Jackson was rather astonished to realize that the day was all but gone and he hadn’t felt the desire to flee even once after having been introduced to the man responsible for all of this.
When, after many of the couples with children had called it a night and left, Brianna finally turned toward him and asked, “Are you ready to go?” he had to admit that it came as a surprise to him.
“Why? What time is it?” he asked, turning away from her brothers Luke and Ronan, who were regaling him with stories of what a hellion Brianna had been growing up. He had to admit that he was enjoying himself.
“A lot later than I thought it would be,” Brianna told him. Pleased with the way the day had gone, she didn’t bother suppressing her grin. She had to ask, “I was right, wasn’t I?”
“If you were,” Luke spoke up, laughing, “it would be the first time.”
“You’ve got that right,” Ronan said, high-fiving his brother.
“Good night, boys,” Brianna said deliberately as she took command and steered Jackson toward the front of the house. “Some of us are working an active case,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to talk shop,” Jackson said. “Isn’t that some sort of rule at this gathering? As I recall, those were your words initially, weren’t they?”
“Well, it’s nice to know you pay attention sometimes,” she replied, smiling at the man she’d initially been prepared to drag here if she had to.
It was probably the drink he’d had with her mother, a former ambulance driver who had gone on to manage several ambulances, but Jackson caught himself telling Brianna after a significant pause, “Oh, I pay attention, all right.”
The problem was, he thought, he was paying too much attention. To her. If he wasn’t careful, the woman was going to reduce him to a bowl of mush and that was not the way he saw himself. Definitely not the way he wanted to be.
Chapter 18
“No such thing as making a quick getaway when it comes to your family, is there?” Jackson asked more than half an hour later.
They were just now finally outside Andrew’s house. It had taken them all this time to work their way from the center of the house to the front door. There had been a legion of people to say goodbye to.
“How do you keep track of all their names?” he asked incredulously.
“Practice,” Brianna answered glibly as she got into her car. “I attend as many of these get-togethers as I’m able to.” When he looked at her as if she were crazy, she added, “It’s good to feel part of something.”
Jackson shrugged noncommittally as
