Mary’s eyes widened. “Oh, God, a whole slew of Typhoid Marys.” Then she cringed—likely never having cared for the fact that her name had been desecrated before she’d even been born.
“Well, that’s really bad.” Anthony’s mind began to think of all the ways that would be bad. Yes, wonderful for the person who contracts Covid and doesn’t suffer, doesn’t die. But that man or woman could unknowingly pass the disease on to a cherished loved one, who does get very sick and possibly does die.
“It is. In more ways than I want to think about right now.” Adam got to his feet and nodded to them. “Matt will send your statements via email for you to sign. Stay safe. I’m off to my lonely quarantine.”
“We’ll see you on the other side,” Anthony said.
Adam gave them a two-finger salute then left them on their own.
“I love you both, but right now, I could bean you for making the decision you did to possibly expose yourselves and get this thing. You didn’t have to do that.”
“We absolutely did,” Toby said. He met Anthony’s gaze and raised one eyebrow.
They’d discussed when and where they were going to propose, and whether or not to get a ring first, and if there should be wine and music. But really, they didn’t need any of that.
Anthony guessed, when all was said and done, there was no better place and time than here and now.
“I love you. Where else would I be but right here by your side? And hopefully for the next sixty or seventy years.” He brought her hand up to his lips. “Will you marry me?”
“There would be no life for me worth living without you, New York.” Toby grinned and picked up her other hand and kissed it. “Marry me, please.”
Anthony saw her tears, as he knew Toby did. But neither of them counted those tears as a bad thing.
“Yes. Yes, I want to marry you both. The sooner, the better.”
“You’re already our wife, in our hearts,” Toby said.
“You have been, I think, since I first set eyes on you.” Anthony understood now all the times his mother’s eyes had gone soft whenever she’d spoken about his father. That kind of love was the kind he’d always wanted for himself.
He’d give an extra big thank-you in his prayers that night. He was standing on the edge of his own best destiny. His own happy-ever-after. There would be hard times in the years to come, but sharing them with people you loved would make them bearable and would make the good times just that much sweeter. So yeah.
“Make the calls you need to make, darlings. I want to get naked with you both.”
“Best idea I’ve heard all day,” Toby said.
“The very best,” Anthony agreed.
Chapter Nineteen
Late afternoon had slid into early evening. After the calls had been made, they silently put together some sandwiches, because stopping for food later likely wasn’t going to be an option.
Or so Mary had hoped. Toby and Anthony had been exchanging silent messages for the last hour or so. But she didn’t worry about that. Right now, she wasn’t going to worry about anything because here she was in the one place in all the world she loved best. With her men.
“Better, sweetheart?”
The steam from the hot tub filled the room, and the sound of the bubbles, a soothing, calming sound, filled her soul
Mary sighed and leaned her head on Toby’s shoulder. She’d met Anthony’s gaze just before she did that, so he knew her intentions and her heart. Mary understood that Anthony knew, as she knew, that Toby was hurting. She was determined to do all she could to soothe his wounded soul.
“I’m okay. What about you, Toby? How are you doing? Was it a rough conversation?”
“Talking to Beck? A little.” He sighed. “He knows about the virus, of course. He’s heartsick that no one can visit Joey at the moment. I promised to keep him updated. The family is sending a letter to the administration of the hospital appointing me as their agent for his care. And in the meantime, the doctors will call if there’s a problem. I got that assurance based solely on my badge.”
“The hospital has your cell number as well as your official one?”
“Yeah. I’m going to contact them later and get an update. And I think I’ll give them Jason’s number, too—since I’m really not family. Until they receive that letter from Wyoming, they will be unwilling to stick their necks out too far to tell me too much.” Then he gave her a quick grin. “And when Joey wakes up, he’ll likely scream bloody murder that they’re telling me anything at all.”
“You know it’s not your fault that Joey feels the way he does about you, right? I mean, he was only a kid when you joined the force.” She sighed, looking for the right words. “Sometimes children are needy in a way the adults around them don’t realize.”
“My head knows that. The problem is, for a time—near the beginning, especially—I just felt that Beck was like a second dad to me.”
“But you didn’t take up his personal time, did you? You were invited to the occasional Sunday supper or holiday meal, but you didn’t take up his off-duty time.”
“No. We didn’t have an overly familiar relationship. That emotion, that was all on my part. And as Joey got older, it was his hostility and his mean streak that I didn’t like—two traits I don’t think his family ever truly saw.”
“Then rest easy. And if it isn’t suggested by anyone else, when he’s out of the hospital, you might suggest to them that he get psychological help.”
“That’s a good idea,” Toby said.
They sat quietly, and Mary closed her eyes for a bit, letting the heat and the jets work their magic.
“You know what? I think I’ve finally figured something out,” Mary said quietly. She
