“He’s playing you, you know. He’s figured out you’re a soft touch.”
“I can be tough. Just ask Joe and the judge, my mother and my sister too.”
Her expression clouded, and he decided to let it go. The conversation with her mother earlier today had left her pensive and subdued. He had a feeling she was holding something back from him, and he wondered if that was why he’d gotten a call from Chase midafternoon telling him they were coming for dinner. Ellie was close to Sadie. They seemed more like sisters than cousins. If anyone could get Ellie to open up, it would be Sadie.
“Yeah, you’re real tough,” he said, reaching out to give her bicep a gentle squeeze, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s when Sadie and Chase walked in. He sighed at the speculative gleam in his best friend’s eyes.
Chase hadn’t made an effort to conceal his amusement that Nate had found himself back at the inn. He’d declared it was kismet. The Fates had decided Ellie was the woman for Nate, and they were conspiring to keep him in Highland Falls. Nate thought that was a pile of bullcrap. For a brilliant guy, his friend had developed some weird ideas since moving to the small town. Then again, he’d married a woman whose grandmother not only believed that she had the second sight but also believed in unicorns.
“Look who’s here!” Ellie beamed, hurrying from the kitchen with her arms outstretched. The copper-haired toddler on Sadie’s hip beamed back at Ellie, making grabbing motions with her hands. Ellie scooped Michaela into her arms. “Auntie Ellie’s missed you so much! Did you miss Auntie?” she asked, showering the toddler’s face with kisses.
Michaela giggled, babbling nonsensical words at Ellie, who nodded along as if she understood what the baby was saying. “I know. It feels like forever since we saw each other. We need to have a sleepover. Do you want to have a sleepover with Auntie Ellie at the inn?”
“No, she doesn’t,” Nate said as he walked through the dining room to the sliding glass doors. Four sets of eyes stared at him. “What? We’ve got a dog and a surly teenager. We don’t need to add a crying baby to the mix.”
At Chase’s grin, Nate realized how that sounded. He should have kept his mouth shut. “Don’t listen to your uncle Nate,” Ellie said to Michaela. “He loves you too. Don’t you, Uncle Nate?”
Ellie danced her way to his side, making Michaela giggle. Her giggle stopped the second she looked up at him, her lower lip starting to tremble. “Aw, Nate. You made her cry.”
“Ellie, she’s fifteen months old. She doesn’t understand what you’re saying. Besides that, she hates me. Don’t you, squirt?”
“Of course she doesn’t. You love your uncle Nate, don’t you, Auntie’s sweet girl?”
Michaela shook her head, then buried her face in Ellie’s neck. Ellie made a face. “It’s your voice. It’s deep and growly. You need to pitch it higher. And you might try smiling at her. Your expression is a little fierce.” She nuzzled Michaela’s cheek. “That’s what it is, isn’t it, baby? But see, Uncle Nate’s not scary at all.” Ellie rubbed her palm over his chest. “He’s a good guy.”
Michaela ignored him, reaching up to pat Ellie’s face. “Good girl.”
Ellie’s eyes went wide. “Sadie, did you hear that? Oh my gosh, you are such a smart baby.” She took Michaela’s hand and patted it against Nate’s cheek. “Good boy.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not a dog.”
“Woof,” Michaela said, and everyone broke up, including Nate.
“Thanks for the laugh, squirt,” he said, opening the sliding glass door to step onto the patio. “Chase, come and give me a hand.”
“Michaela might not like you, but Ellie does,” Chase said when he joined him at the grill. “And you seem to really like her.”
“Not with this again. We’re friends.” He handed Chase the tray and called Ryder over. He was sitting at a table at the far end of the patio with Joe and the judge. The kid sauntered toward them, hitching up his pants along the way. “Ryder, this is Chase. He’s with the FBI and worked on your dad’s investigation with me last summer. He’s the reason we broke the case.”
“Don’t listen to him. Nate wouldn’t rest until we got everyone involved.” Chase clasped Ryder’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss. Your father helped a lot of people. We’re going to make sure he’s not forgotten.”
Mrs. M had been the one to suggest a charity in Brodie’s name. She’d contributed all the money raised from last summer’s We Believe in Unicorns event. Nate had matched her donation, and so had Chase. But Abby had raised the most money for the charity when she’d featured Brodie’s story on her YouTube channel.
The donations were still coming in. There was a lot of money in the account, more than Nate would have thought possible. Someday in the near future, they needed to figure out what to do with it.
Ryder nodded, looking down at his feet. “Thanks,” he mumbled. Then he asked Nate, “Can I go now?”
“Sure. Don’t forget to join us for dessert.” Ellie was right. He needed to cut the kid some slack.
“Sorry about that. I probably shouldn’t have said anything. I made him uncomfortable,” Chase murmured as Ryder opened the sliding glass door.
“I brought it up for a reason. He doesn’t talk about Brodie. I’m not a shrink, but I think he needs to.”
“Maybe you should take your own advice. You don’t talk about him either.”
“I’m not fifteen, and he was my friend, not my father.” Nate slid the burgers onto the grill, glancing over his shoulder at the sound of Ellie laughing. Through the glass, he saw her sitting on the floor. Her hair was down, her feet were bare, and she was clapping for Michaela, who staggered toward her like a drunken sailor. Ellie said something to Ryder, and he crouched a few feet away from her, holding out his arms to Michaela, laughing when she lurched in his direction.
“Ellie’s amazing with kids. She’ll be good for Ryder. She’d be good for you too, if you’d let her in.”
But he wouldn’t be good for her. He wasn’t cut out for long-term relationships, white picket fences, and a couple of kids. He had too much baggage, and that baggage weighed heavily on his conscience. He wasn’t a good guy. He’d crossed the line too many times to count. Ellie deserved someone good and decent. And that wasn’t him.
He turned back to the grill. “You don’t have to try and set me up with Ellie to keep me from going undercover. I’m stuck here for a couple of weeks.”
“I talked to your boss. You can have your job back if you want it. He’ll put you on mandatory leave with pay while you’re here with Ryder. You’ll have to serve out the rest of your suspension behind a desk, but you’ll be able to work with the task force.”
“Are you kidding me? You went behind my back and talked to my boss?”
“If I didn’t do it, your brother-in-law was going to. Your sisters haven’t let up on him since they heard that you quit.”
“And who did they hear that from?”
“My boss. Your brother-in-law.”