How nice of him to offer. “I have to go pick up my son.”
Seeing him blanch slightly at the mention of her son, she wondered what had caused it.
“Kadin didn’t mention you had a son.”
She smiled to cover her wariness over his reaction. “He left out a lot about me.” The fact that she had a son shouldn’t be significant for what he’d come for. “Didn’t fill you in on the personal details, huh?”
“No.” He walked to the passenger door of his Yukon, seeming angry that he had not been told. Had Kadin deliberately left the detail out? But why? He must know personal details that Drury didn’t, details that may have prevented Brycen from coming to Alaska to take the case. She found herself much more curious about him.
She climbed into the passenger seat. As Brycen drove off the tarmac toward the airport exit, she caught sight of a man smoking a cigarette in the gravel parking area, near the entrance to the tarmac. Wearing a hoodie and sunglasses, he leaned against a light post, a few spaces from where Mountain Ridge Air Taxi’s shuttle van had parked—or broken down.
“Someone you know?”
Startled and impressed by his sharp observation, she turned to him. “No. Just nervous, I guess. I didn’t get a chance to tell Kadin that someone left a dead cat on my doorstep last night.”
He drove a few beats as the news registered. “I’ll take that as a welcome back.”
* * *
Noah Decoteau Jr. walked out of school, saying something to one of his pals before parting ways. He used to interact with a lot more enthusiasm and the number of his friends had dwindled. The light had gone out after Noah’s death and Drury couldn’t find a way to turn it back on. His resemblance to Noah didn’t help. Arrows of happier times stabbed along with immeasurable love. His head full of dark hair, the way he walked, even some of his expressions were mini versions of the adult. Would she ever get past the heartache? Did anyone who lost someone they loved to murder? Many times she’d felt guilty for living when he died. Or that she hadn’t grieved enough. She hadn’t told anyone that. But it was one of the reasons she’d called DAI. She hoped to find closure.
Glancing over at Brycen, she felt a lighter arrow pierce her, Cupid’s arrow. His rugged face and thick hair, big body taking up the seat without an ounce of fat. His eyes watched the kids and then turned to her. She’d only just met him and already felt a strong connection. Intimate curiosity. How could that be? From the moment she’d seen him leaning on the SUV, keenly observant, he’d struck something buried in her. He’d rekindled an interest in the opposite sex. What frightened her most, not just any man could have done that.
She must be excited to catch Noah’s killer, that’s all.
Opening the door, she got out as Junior searched for the Mountain Ridge shuttle van. Spotting her, he started to walk faster. Brycen got out on the other side and Junior saw him, staring a bit before looking back at his mother.
When he reached her, she messed up the top of his hair. “Hey, kiddo.”
He grumbled something and lowered his head.
“What’s wrong?”
He squinted up at her, sunlight streaming onto his face. “Gatchel Maxwell is stupid.”
One of the kids gave him a hard time today? “What did he do?”
“He said single moms don’t make any money and boys with single moms grow up to be crack-eds.”
He meant crackheads. “Well, I think boys with names like Gatchel are more likely to grow up like that.”
That sprang a smile onto Junior’s face, followed by a lighthearted laugh. A real kid laugh that reached his young brown eyes. Drury loved it. He’d withdrawn a lot since Noah died, but she could bring him out of it every once in a while.
She faced the SUV to see Brycen had gotten out and headed toward them.
“Who’s that?” Junior asked.
He stepped onto the sidewalk and came to a stop beside Drury. “Brycen Cage.” He held out his hand.
Junior eyed the hand and looked up—way up—at Brycen’s face.
“This is the detective I told you about.” Why had he offered his hand as though Junior were a professional business contact? She stopped a laugh. “This is my son, Noah Jr. I call him Junior.”
“Junior.” Brycen nodded once in acknowledgment, stuffing his hands into his front jean pockets. When Junior didn’t respond, he looked from the boy to the area surrounding the school, and she went to the back door of the SUV to let Junior in.
“Where’s Mac?” Junior asked.
He and the van driver had become fast friends. “Van broke down. We have a different ride today.” She gestured for him to get in the back.
Junior didn’t move as he sized up the big stranger. He’d gotten shy around men she encountered. Mac had taken a while to warm up to him. Drury often wondered what went through his little mind. Did he compare them to his dad? In a blue button-up shirt that matched one she’d gotten Noah, Junior looked a lot like his father.
“Why is he driving us?”
“He met me after work. He’s kindly offered us a ride home.” What was it about Brycen that put off Junior? Yes, Junior was shy around men, but he seemed defensive. What was different? Had he picked up on the man’s awkwardness? Big, imposing stranger who stiffened around kids? Probably.
And what made Brycen so anti-kid? Was it his lack of experience? Or did he dislike them? She couldn’t be sure which or if it was something else entirely, something personal that Kadin had left out.
Junior lowered his head and kicked at the concrete sidewalk.
“Junior?” She noticed he held something in his hand, a piece of folded paper. “What’s that you’ve got?” She went to him and held her hand out.
He looked sullenly up at her and handed her the paper.
She opened it and saw it was his report card. Seeing several unsatisfactory marks and long notes from his teachers, Drury quelled her sinking disappointment. “Junior, what happened here?”
He kicked at the concrete again and shrugged as though he didn’t care. Drury knew he did care.
“How many times do I have to tell you to keep up your grades?”
His head lifted and defiance sprang from his eyes. “I try.”
“Not hard enough. You used to be at the top of your class. Why are you still letting your grades fall so much?” Drury put her hand on Junior’s shoulder. “That’s not the Decoteau way. We give everything our all.”
Junior jerked away. “Then I’ll just stay here! I don’t want to go anywhere with you anyway!” He started marching back up the sidewalk toward the school.
“Noah Jr.!” Drury trotted to catch up to his small strides. She put her hand on his shoulder and stopped him, turning him to face her and bending to his level. He pouted at her.
She took in his adorable face awhile. “You’re going with me and that’s final. Got it?”
His pout plumped up his lower lip some more.
Drury ran her forefinger down the tiny bulge. “Brycen is the detective who’s going to help Mommy. You don’t have to like him, but you do have to get into the SUV.” She straightened, taking his hand. “And you have to get your grades back up.” She walked with him back to the Yukon.
Brycen leaned against the front bumper, ankles crossed and phone to his ear.
As she and Junior returned, she heard him say, “Thanks.” Before putting his phone away and impassively surveying Junior and then her.