“Guess this makes me official.” She rolled her shoulders and glanced around. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”
He made a swirly gesture toward her hair. “You might want a bandanna so if your hair gets loose it won’t get in your eyes.”
She worried her lower lip. “I didn’t bring one.”
“Got one in the car. Follow me.”
He led her to the ’65 Mustang. Hid a grin when her eyes went wide.
“Wow. That’s quite a car.”
“Been tinkering on it for a while. Decided to bring it out for a drive today.”
The two-seater looked sweet in the early-morning light. Or maybe he was jazzed to have taken it out for a spin, windows down, a fresh breeze blowing out the cobwebs after being cooped up all week.
“This is what Chambers meant when he mentioned your interest in restoring cars?”
“Yep.” He opened the door and leaned in to rummage through the glove box, pulling out a checkered square of cloth. “My dad and I logged a lot of hours working on cars like this. Mostly muscle cars. We’d restore and flip them.”
“A side business?”
“Not really. It was a reason to make time to be together.”
Her eyes took on a wistful gleam.
“How about you? Any hobbies you share with your folks?”
“Not unless you consider lecturing your daughter a hobby?”
Okay, then. He handed her the bandanna. “This should work.”
She took it, twisted it between her fingers.
“Don’t worry so much. This is going to be fun.” He nodded to the cloth. “Might help keep your glasses in place, too.”
Her fingers flew up to the arms of the glasses as she adjusted them. “Brought an old pair. Just in case.”
“You’ll do fine.”
Doubt and fear competed for prominence across her gentle features. Before he could stop and think about what he was doing, Dante laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. There was a spark from the connection. At her surprised glance, their eyes met and held. The deep, coffee-brown depths started his heart to hammering, which had nothing to do with the anticipation of the race and everything to do with the woman standing before him.
As if scalded, he jerked his hand back to his side. Eloise ducked her head. Uneasiness hovered between them.
“We should join the team,” he said finally.
They began to walk away when Eloise stopped.
“You forgot to lock your car.”
“No need.”
“Really? With all the auto thefts we investigate, you’re willing to take a chance?”
A slow grin curved his lips. “Never with my car.”
She waited for an explanation.
“One, I take my keys with me. Two, I disconnect the fuel cell. Even if someone tried to hot-wire my car—and with dozens of cops around that would be stupid—they wouldn’t get anywhere.”
She shrugged. “Your decision.”
He was about to defend himself when his phone rang. Yanking it from his pocket, he read the caller ID. His brother Dylan. “I need to take this.”
“I see Brandy. I’m going to talk to her.”
He watched her stroll away, shoulders hunched just a bit, before he tapped the green button. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”
“Got a minute?”
“Only. Getting ready to compete in a mud race.”
“A mud what?”
“You need to get out more.”
“Whatever. Listen, we have a problem with Mom.”
Unease skittered over his neck. “Is she okay?”
“Physically, she’s fine.” Dylan paused. Either for effect or composure. Knowing Dylan, the ultimate protector, Dante banked on the second.
“She’s dating.”
Dante blinked a few times. Had he heard Dylan right? “Dating?”
“As in going out with a guy who isn’t our father.”
“Our mother?”
“The only one we’ve got.”
Huh. She hadn’t mentioned this when he’d last talked to her. But then again, Jasmine Matthews could be cagey when she wanted to.
“In all fairness, our father is in the forever after.”
“Yes. But she’s dating.”
Dante and his brothers had talked about what they’d do if their mother ever decided to put herself out in the dating world again. Jasmine was in her late fifties. Young enough to find interest in another man. But growing up around his parents, seeing the depth of their devotion to each other, he and his brothers had been convinced she’d never take the plunge. Apparently they were mistaken.
“When did this start?”
“I just found out about it last night. Mom swore Kady to secrecy.”
Their mother had moved to Cypress Pointe, where Dylan was currently residing, to work with Dylan’s girlfriend, Kady, at her family’s floral shop.
“How could you let this happen?” Dante accused.
“Really? Have you met our mother? She has a mind of her own.”
No joke. Still... “Have you talked to her about this?”
“She told me to mind my own business,” Dylan answered gruffly.
Dante snorted. “Rich, coming from a woman who has made it her life’s mission to interfere in ours.” He shook his head. When their father had died, the brothers had promised each other to protect their mom, no matter the cost, and not let anything hurt her again, if they could help it. If this was one of those situations, they’d find any way possible to safeguard her. “Who is this guy?”
“She won’t say.”
“But being the dutiful son that you are, you found out, anyway, right?”
He paused. “She didn’t exactly confide in Kady, only mentioned a man in her life, and has refused to tell me his name.”
“But you’ll ferret it out of her, right?”
“You bet. She isn’t the only Matthews with mad interrogation skills.”
Dante didn’t doubt his brother for one second.
“Have you told Derrick and Deke?”
“Derrick laughed for about five minutes. Deke wanted to jump on the next plane home and start a search for the guy.”
“Well, I won’t add to your troubles by showing up. It’ll only make Mom clam up more.”
“Any chance you’ll be free in the coming days if we need a brotherly chat?”
Dante inhaled the smoky scent of the grill being prepared for the barbecue lunch. His stomach growled in anticipation. “Starting a new case on Monday. I’ll be undercover so I can’t make any promises. I can videoconference call with you guys if necessary.”