Tiny Dancer

VII de Cold Case Psychic Spin Off

Pandora Pine
(Mar 2019)

Etiquetas: Homo, Sobrenatural, Mistério

  
 
 
 
TINY DANCER

By
Pandora Pine
 
A cold case psychic spin off
novella
 
 Tiny Dancer
Copyright © Pandora Pine 2019
 All Rights Reserved
 
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used
in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of
the copyright owner except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons,
places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely
coincidental.
First Digital Edition: March 2019
 
 FOR STEPHEN
Don’t forget to mention me in your
Oscar acceptance speech.
 
PROLOGUE

Riordan
 
“Alexa, play Tiny Dancer, by Elton John!” Stephen Walker-Quinn
called out, grabbing his husband, Riordan Quinn, around the waist.
“Playing Tiny Dancer, by Elton John on Amazon Music,” Alexa’s
robotic voice replied, as the piano began.
“Well, this is a nice surprise.” Riordan grinned up at his dark-eyed
husband. “I can’t remember when the last time was we danced in the
kitchen.” He carded a hand through Stephen’s dark, silky hair.
“Life gets busy when you have a three-month-old baby girl and a
three-year-old daughter.” Stephen pressed a kiss to his husband’s
lips.
“Ah, I knew I was forgetting something.” Riordan laughed.
“Speaking of our babies,” he paused to look around the kitchen,
“where are they?”
“Aren’t you a candidate for father of the year?” Stephen dipped
his husband. “Isla is in the living room watching Snow White and
Macy is asleep in her pack and play. Knowing the attention span of
the average three-year-old is about four minutes, I figured we had
just enough time for a quick spin around the floor.”
“You are such a clever man.” Riordan pressed up on tiptoes to
kiss his husband. “I love you so much.” It was true. They’d met ten
years ago in college. Riordan was a senior majoring in Art History,
while Stephen was a jock, barely maintaining the lowest G.P.A.
possible to stay on the Salem State University football team.
Stephen had taken an art class focusing on Vincent van Gogh,
figuring it would be an easy grade, but that was before he’d come up
against the toughest TA in the Art History Department. Stephen was
failing the class and in danger of being kept off the football field
when he’d knocked on Riordan’s office door one Monday morning. It
had been love at first sight for Riordan. The feeling hadn’t been
mutual for Stephen. Not at first, anyway.
That had come over time. There had been trips to the Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston to see Van Gogh’s work in person for Stephen,
followed by Riordan sitting in the stands to watch Stephen sack
Salem State’s opposing quarterbacks. Love had blossomed on
Stephen’s part over time, and with his rising grade and maintained
eligibility.
“Daddy, Papa, you’re dancing!” Three-year-old Isla twirled into
the kitchen. “Me too!”
“Up you go, ladybug.” Stephen opened his left arm to lift the dark-
haired cherub.
She wrapped one arm around his neck and the other around
Riordan. “Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home.” Isla pressed a messy
kiss to Stephen’s cheek.
Stephen had called Isla his little ladybug since the day she was
born with a round birthmark on her left cheek. It was their special
thing. He always bought her ladybug presents; stuffed animals,
coloring books, and last year, a ladybug raincoat, boots, and
umbrella set that the then two-year-old would have slept in had they
let her.
“Papa, do you know what would make me happy?” Isla’s dark
eyes danced with mischief.
“Oh, I don’t know…” Stephen wore a look like he was pretending
to think about it. “A Happy Meal?”
Isla nodded so hard it sent her hair flying around her head in a
tornado of dark curls. “Chicken nuggets with honey mustard and
apples. Peas and carrots.” She offered a bright smile.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe you should ask Daddy too?” Stephen
winked at Riordan over their daughter’s head.
“Peas and carrots, Daddy?” Isla offered Riordan the same sugary
smile.
Peas and carrots was another one of Stephen and Isla’s special
father-daughter things. To be honest, Riordan didn’t even remember
where that one had come from. It was her way of saying please
when she wanted something really badly. “Well,” he paused
dramatically, “can I get a Happy Meal too?”
“Happy ending,” Stephen mouthed, with a saucy wink.
“No, silly,” Isla laughed. “You’re a big boy.”
“In that case, I’ll get some nuggets and fries, but not until after
our song ends.” Riordan pressed a kiss to the birthmark on Isla’s
cheek before he started to sing, “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.”
“Those are the wrong words.” Stephen started to laugh.
“They’re not when I’m singing it.” Riordan laughed. He had no
idea who’d first misheard those song lyrics, but they always made
him laugh.
 As the song wrapped up, Stephen hugged everyone tight. “Okay,
so that’s one Happy Meal for my ladybug. One nugget meal for my
nugget, and a Big Mac for Macy. Got it!”
“Noooooo!” Isla started to giggle. “Macy’s only three months old.
She doesn’t have any teeth.”
“Oh, so then who’s the Big Mac for?” Stephen looked around like
he was confused.
“For you, Papa!” Isla was giggling so hard she held a hand to her
tummy.
“Oh, that’s right. For me.” Stephen bent down to kiss Isla. “I love
you, ladybug. Love you too, Rear.” He bussed a messy kiss against
Riordan’s right cheek and then one on his left. “That’s for Macy. I’ll
be back in a jiffy.”
Riordan snorted. All these years later and his husband was still
calling him “Rear.” It was a play on the pronunciation of his name.
On the first day of class, he’d had his name written on the syllabus
and someone had called him Ree-or-dan. He’d been quick to correct
the student and had stupidly said that it was pronounced Rear-dan,
like rear end. Stephen had never let him live that down.
“Drive safe.” Riordan scooped Isla up as Stephen headed out the
door.
“Why don’t we set the table and get Macy’s bottle ready while
Papa is gone?” Riordan knew the minute they sat down to eat, the
baby would wake up and want to be fed.
Isla had been such an organized baby. It sounded so odd to think
that, but she’d followed the schedule he and Stephen set up to the
letter. Macy, on the other hand, was their rebel child. She ate when
she demanded to eat and slept when she wanted to sleep, which
was rarely and, much to his chagrin, lightly. He remembered when
Isla was an infant they could vacuum under her crib and it wouldn’t
wake her up. With Macy, sometimes breathing too hard would startle
the baby awake.
It never ceased to amaze him how very different their girls were.
Both of them had the same biological mother, but Stephen was Isla’s
father, while he was Macy’s. They were happy as a family of four,
with an even ratio of parents to kids, but Riordan knew that Stephen
wanted to try one more time for a boy. In his heart of hearts, he knew
he’d say yes to that. A little boy with Stephen’s dark hair and eyes
would be just the thing to round their family out perfectly.
As he was measuring out Macy’s formula, Riordan watched Isla
setting paper plates out for each of them. She didn’t walk from seat
to seat, the three-year-old danced. They’d enrolled her in classes
this year and she’d taken to it like a duck to water.
Isla had always been such a graceful child. Even when she first
learned to crawl it looked like her movements were choreographed
and synchronized. When she was learning to stand, she’d hold on to
the coffee table and jam to whatever music he and Stephen would
play on their phones. Putting her in an organized dance class
seemed like the next logical step. She’d loved the jazz lessons, but
ballet had been her favorite.
Those were the steps she was doing now as she moved from
spot to spot at the kitchen table, first setting down paper plates, then
napkins. Isla danced to the fridge to grab the ketchup for her and
Stephen’s fries, before dancing back again to grab the mayonnaise
for Riordan.
“All done, Daddy!” she sang out, with perfect pitch.
 Knowing Isla, she was going to be the first Grammy-winning
prima ballerina in history. “It’s perfect, honey.” He was about to ask
her to turn on the electric candles when his phone rang with
Stephen’s ring tone. “Hey, babe.”
“What was it Joe Pesci said about the drive-thru?” Stephen
sounded annoyed.
“Oh, jeez. What happened?” Riordan knew exactly what Joe
Pesci said. He wasn’t about to repeat that in front of their three-year-
old. Why was it that he and Stephen could stress the importance of
saying, “please,” and “thank you,” but slip once and call someone a
“butt munch” and that was the phrase that Isla took to preschool with
her?
“I forgot to check the food bags when the girl handed them to me,
but I hit the red light at CVS, so I looked then. All of the food is right,
but they forgot the toy in Isla’s Happy Meal. I’m on my way back
there now to get it. I’ll be home in a few…”
The awful screech of tires was followed by the sound of a horrific
crash.
“Stephen?” Riordan called out. There was no answer. “Stephen!”
Riordan was shouting now. He knew he should try to stay calm with
Isla in the kitchen with him and Macy in the other room, but he has
this feeling, this God-awful feeling, like half of him was missing.
The phone in his hand beeped three times. Stephen was gone.
 

Riordan
March, one year later…
 It was recital day. Isla was prancing around the kitchen practicing
her ballet routine while Riordan looked for her pink tights. He could
have sworn they were right here.
Welcome to his new normal. Riordan used the word new, but the
truth of the matter was that this disorganized, discombobulated way
of life was how they lived since that day when his world stopped
spinning.
When the call from Stephen had cut out, Riordan had
immediately dialed 911. The even-tempered dispatcher he spoke
with said they already had paramedics en route to the scene. He’d
been grateful for that, but had already known it was too late. Stephen
had died instantly.
Riordan supposed doctors used terms like that to make grieving
family members feel better. Instant death had to be better than a
long, drawn out death filled with endless suffering. What the Salem
police and then the coroner hadn’t understood was that dead was
dead. Fast, slow, painless, agonizing, Stephen was still gone forever.
His husband would never again call Isla his little ladybug. He’d
never see Macy take her first wobbling step. Stephen would never
kiss him goodnight or grow old with him. Of course, it was a small
measure of comfort that Stephen hadn’t suffered, it just hadn’t made
any real difference in how the last year had gone without him.
Maggie Quinn, Riordan’s mother, had come to stay with them.
She’d been his rock when they found out Stephen had been T-boned
by a driver running a red light.
His mother had been the one to help make funeral plans and she
picked out Stephen’s suit. Later, she’d been the one to make dinners
and supervise bath and story time for the girls when all Riordan was
capable of doing was crying endless tears.
Maggie held his hand when Stephen’s killer took a plea bargain
and got seven years for vehicular manslaughter, rather than the
more serious charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Finally, three months in, it had been Maggie who singlehandedly
staged the Come-to-Jesus meeting, insisting Riordan come back
from beyond the grave and rejoin the land of the living with his young
daughters who needed him more than ever.
It had been a long process to get from that moment to this one.
Maggie lived with them for six months. These last six without her had
been a challenge, but he was getting through them one day at a
time.
“Daddy!” Four-year-old Isla called out. “I’m ready.” She danced
into his bedroom in her pink tutu.
“Okay, honey. I just have to find your pink tights.” Riordan was
digging through a pile of laundry he hadn’t found time to put away
yet. He’d actually slept on the bed with the laundry stacked up on
Stephen’s side last night. It made him feel guilty, like he was a
hoarder on that TV show. Stephen would be so disappointed in him.
“But, Daddy!” Isla sang out.
“One minute, please.” Riordan could feel the razor tight hold on
his temper starting to slide away.
“Da! Da! Da!” Fifteen-month-old Macy toddled into the room.
“Oh, Macy!” Isla gasped dramatically.
Spinning around, Riordan saw his youngest daughter covered in
red. Blood? Racing to her side, he caught a distinct whiff of alcohol.
It wasn’t blood, but red wine. He must have left his glass in the living
room last night. Macy must have picked it up and drenched herself
with what was left in the glass.
“Isla, please keep your sister here.” Riordan ran out of the room.
Macy was wearing toddler shoes with hard bottoms, but shards from
wine glasses could be wickedly sharp. He hadn’t heard glass
breaking, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t happened. His head had
been in the clouds as he searched for those damned pink tights.
Running into the living room, Riordan found his wine glass intact
on the area rug, which was also soaked in wine. He didn’t care so
long as Macy was safe. Sitting on the edge of the sofa, he started to
cry.
There were still days when Stephen’s loss was too much to bear.
Now, with Macy’s close call, it was obvious his glass or two of wine
at night was a bigger issue than he thought. The father he’d been
when Stephen was still alive never would have left a glass where
Macy could have reached or broken it.
Two tiny bodies startled him by climbing into his lap. Both of his
children held Riordan tight. He didn’t know how he would survive
without them.
“It’s okay, Daddy.” Isla rubbed his back. “It’s just a spill.”
Riordan snorted at the way his daughter was comforting him. It
was exactly the way he would have comforted her, had their roles
been reversed and she’d spilled a glass of juice.
“Wet!” Macy announced.
“Yes, you are,” Riordan agreed, wiping the last of the tears from
his eyes. Looking at Isla, he noticed she was wearing her pink tights.
“Where did you get those?”
“Papa told me where to find them.” Isla smiled brilliantly.
 Riordan blinked at her. Maybe he’d misheard her. “Papa told
you?”
Isla nodded. “I’m still his little ladybug even though he lives in
heaven now.”
Riordan was flabbergasted. He’d never heard anything like that in
his entire life. He opened his mouth to ask what she was talking
about when the front door burst open.
“Noni!” Isla shouted. Grabbing Macy off the couch, both girls ran
toward the door and Maggie Quinn who’d just arrived.
So much for questioning Isla. That would have to wait until after
the recital.
Riordan knew he needed to get up and find Macy a new outfit,
but he needed another minute with what Isla had told him. Had
Stephen spoken to their daughter? Was that somehow possible or
was this just a case of a child with an overactive imagination missing
her dead father? Riordan sighed.
“I see you’ve tried out that new kids’ wine scrub that’s all the
rage.” Maggie laughed. She was carrying Macy, who was freshly
changed into a new outfit.
“Mom, you’ve been here for like ninety seconds. How did you do
that so fast?” Riordan felt his mouth hanging open.
“I’ve got fifty-five years of life experience with three kids and two
little yummies.” She pressed a kiss against Macy’s head. “I could do
this and bake cookies in my sleep.” Maggie grinned at him.
That sounded about right. Maggie had been Super-mom when he
was growing up. She’d been a fifth-grade math teacher and single
mom, of sorts, to him and his twin sisters since their father worked
sixty plus hours a week at a downtown Boston law firm. He spent so
many hours in the office, no one had noticed that Brian Quinn had
died there. It had been a massive heart attack. He wasn’t discovered
until the next morning when his secretary noticed he hadn’t been out
to get a cup of coffee. Riordan was twenty-five and his sisters were
seniors at Boston College, both majoring in communications.
“Is it time to go now?” Isla was bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“I can’t wait for you to see me dance, Noni, and for you to meet my
friend, Laurel.”
“I’ve heard so much about her.” Maggie smiled. “Are you going to
change before we go, Riordan?” she asked gently.
“Change?” Riordan asked.
“Honey, you’re wearing sweatpants and a grunge band tee shirt
from the 1990s.” She grimaced, presumably at his fashion choices.
“Huh.” Now that Stephen was gone, he never paid any attention
to what he was wearing when he wasn’t at work. “Okay, I’ll go
change.” He should look presentable for Isla’s sake.
Twenty minutes later, they were loaded into Riordan’s SUV and
on their way to Witch City Dance Studios. Isla was chatting with
Maggie while Macy zoned out to Frozen.
Riordan still couldn’t get his mind off what his four-year-old said
to him about Stephen. Was this something he should let go? Or was
it something he should ask about? Shit, who would he even ask? A
child psychologist? Her pediatrician? He was at a complete loss
here.
Pulling into the parking lot, he put all thoughts of Stephen away
and focused on Isla and the recital. This was a special day for his
daughter. After Stephen passed, Isla had stopped dancing. So much
of the sparkle that made her who she was had nearly gone out
completely. It went on like that for nearly three months without her
dancing. All of a sudden one day, he’d heard her giggling in her
bedroom. She was all alone, but there was a ladybug on the outside
of her bedroom window. Isla had laughed and dragged him into the
room to see it. From that day forward, she’d been back to her old
self.
Climbing out of the SUV, he went to get Macy.
“Da!” Her little arms went out to him, hugging him close when he
pulled her out of the car seat. He could see Maggie had Isla out of
her seat.
Walking into the auditorium, his nose was assaulted by the
sickening stench of carnations. So many people sent flowers to the
house and the funeral home after Stephen’s passing. Most of the
arrangements had carnations in them. If he lived to be one hundred,
their scent would always remind Riordan of loss.
The flowers were being sold to parents who wanted to reward
their little ballerinas for a good performance. He felt a twinge of guilt
in his gut. He hadn’t thought to get Isla flowers. It was too late to do it
now. He couldn’t. Not with carnations. Not with the death flower.
Reaching the dressing room Riordan’s heart sank again. Men
weren’t allowed inside. He started patting himself down, searching
for his phone.
“Riordan!” a melodic voice called out. “Sorry we’re late.”
“Hi, Cassie! We just got here too.” Riordan was relieved to see
Cassie Craig. She was Laurel’s mother. Laurel and Isla had hit it off
and become fast friends when the class had started, much to his
relief. She would be able to take Isla inside to finish getting ready.
 Both girls were hugging each other like it had been years since
the last time they’d seen each other, when it had only been
yesterday at the dress rehearsal.
“I’ll take them inside and get them ready to go.” Cassie’s smile lit
up the hallway.
Riordan nodded. “Thank you.” He turned to look at Isla, who was
giggling with Laurel. “Good luck, honey!”
“Cole and the others are in the auditorium already. We’re having
an indoor barbecue at Carson and Truman’s house after the recital.
You’re all invited.” Cassie picked up his left hand. “Come. There will
be kids there Macy’s age too, plus lots of food and good company.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say no. That had been his go-to
answer for so many things over the last year. He knew he couldn’t
avoid life forever. “Okay. We’ll be there. Thanks, Cass.”
Her whole face lit up. “You won’t be sorry. My brother-in-law,
Truman, is a master on the grill.” She patted his arm. “Okay, girls.
Showtime!”
“Bye, Daddy!” Isla waved with her free arm as she walked hand
in hand with Laurel into the dressing room.
Riordan smiled as he watched his oldest child giggle with her
best friend. He’d spent so much of the last year just trying to get by.
Maybe now was the time to take a page out of Isla’s playbook.
Making a friend to laugh and hold hands with seemed like a good
place to start.
Cassie Craig said there would be a lot of good people at the
indoor barbecue today. What did he have to lose?
 
 2

Faulkner

Cold Case Detective Faulkner Hayes, Faulk to his closest friends,

Uncle Fuck to the darling little cherub he was here to see, was
nervous. He had no idea why. It wasn’t like he was going to have to
get up onstage after Laurel’s recital and perform a pirouette of his
own. God help everyone if that were actually the case. Not exactly
the lightest man on his feet, he sure in hell would give everyone a
laugh.
The last seven months of Faulk’s life had been a roller coaster
ride. Back in August, he’d been working undercover for the Dragonni
crime family when head mob boss, Vito Dragonni’s appeal was
assigned a date before the First Circuit Court of Appeals. His captain
in Major Crimes wanted him embedded with the family in case Vito
won his appeal and was granted a new trial, which was exactly what
happened.
Dragonni was released from prison and only days later prominent
members of the team that convicted him turned up on a hit list, then
started dying. The long and short of it resulted in Faulkner being
pulled out of the assignment and asked to guard psychic Tennyson
Grimm, husband of Cold Case Detective Ronan O’Mara, whose
name was also on the hit list.
His time working with Ronan and his captain, Kevin Fitzgibbon,
was fortuitous. Faulk had been looking to get out of Major Crimes
and into something a little more sedate, with fewer bullets flying at
his head. It turned out Ronan was about to be promoted to sergeant
and Fitzgibbon was looking for a bright, personable detective to
replace him. Faulk and Fitzgibbon had hit it off and he’d been offered
the open spot in Cold Case.
Once the Dragonni case had wrapped up, he’d started training
with Ronan on how to work cold cases. It was different in that these
cases were years, sometimes decades cold and needed a different
touch to handle them. Patience was a virtue in this unit and empathy
was a detective’s greatest tool.
As Faulkner settled into his new role in the BPD, he was also
settling into his new family. Ronan, Tennyson, and the rest of the
West Side Magick gang wouldn’t have it any other way.
While he’d been acting as Tennyson’s bodyguard, Faulk had
posed as psychic Harry Atlantis at West Side Magick. He’d been a
hit with customers, nearly selling out the store’s inventory thanks to
his blonde dye job and bulging muscles. In that time, he’d saved the
lives of everyone at the store including Cole and Cassie Craig, when
Dragonni’s hit men came to call. Also, in the store that day was their
one-month-old son, Brady.
At dinner that night, Faulk had been introduced to Cole’s three-
year-old daughter, Laurel, who, for whatever reason had chosen him
as her person. She’d had a hard time pronouncing “Faulk” and it had
come out as “Fuck” instead. It had been so hard not to laugh when
she’d called him Uncle Fuck. Cassie had tried, in vain, to get her little
angel to call him Uncle Fall, but it hadn’t worked. Cole had even
asked her to call him Uncle Faulkner and that been a worse disaster
when Laurel pronounced it “Uncle Fuck-her.” So, Uncle Fuck he
remained, at least in private. He hoped.
To be honest, Faulk had fallen just as hard for the little lady as
she had for him. As an only child, he was never going to be an uncle
the old-fashioned way. With him not having been on a date in
forever, the prospects of him becoming an uncle through marriage
seemed pretty grim as well. Having Laurel in his life worked out
perfectly.
She was the reason he was sitting in the second row of the Witch
City Dance Studios’ auditorium. Laurel had been telling him about
this recital for weeks, begging him to come and watch her dance.
She’d jump up and down, then show him a wobbly pirouette. How
could he resist an offer like that?
On his way to the show, he’d stopped and gotten two dozen
roses. He didn’t know which color she’d like best so he got two, pink
and peach. He’d ask Cassie to tell him which one would be best. The
other dozen could go to the dancer who didn’t get any flowers at all.
“Oh good. You came!” Ronan O’Mara was all smiles as Faulk sat
next to him. His infant daughter, Everly, was cradled in his arms.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Faulk peered over his
shoulder to get a look at the one-month-old. She was a tiny little
thing with reddish wisps of hair and blue eyes. “How was it for the
two of you getting your little miss out of the house.”
“I think it went well.” Ronan grinned.
Tennyson snorted. “The second time around. We were so
nervous about getting Everly bundled up, strapped into the carrier,
and put into the new SUV the right way, that we forgot her diaper
bag at home. We had to double back for it.”
“At least we didn’t forget the baby.” Ronan waggled his eyebrows
at his husband.
Tennyson looked horrified at the very thought.
 Faulk’s stomach tightened at the idea of how much responsibility
went into being a parent. He was happy being the fun uncle, taking
Laurel out for ice cream or to the store for new toys and books.
Becoming a big sister had hit her hard. He was glad he could be
there to ease the burden for Laurel and her parents.
The auditorium lights started to dim and brighten. Faulk turned to
Ronan. “What does that mean?”
“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.” Ronan snorted.
Tennyson playfully slapped his husband’s arm. “It means five
minutes to showtime.”
Faulkner nodded. He knew this recital wasn’t going to be on par
with the Boston Ballet, but he sure as hell was going to clap and
praise Laurel like she was the prima-est prima ballerina in the world.
The lights of the auditorium dimmed for the second time. This
time they stayed down. The curtain pulled back and the strains of the
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies began to play.
Faulkner was instantly enchanted as all of the little ballerinas
started walking on stage. Some were moving faster than the rest,
others were too slow for the music. Some kids were looking for their
parents. One little girl was proudly waving to everyone like she was
running for public office. Where was Laurel? He scanned through the
ballerinas again, but he didn’t see her.
There was a small commotion stage right where the girls had
come from. Faulkner thought he could see one little girl encouraging
another to come out onto the stage. The first girl started to drag the
second one onto the stage. He wasn’t totally sure, but the dragger
looked familiar.
 Yup, that was his Laurel. The second girl looked terrified and was
starting to cry.
Out of nowhere, a man carrying a toddler ran up the stage steps
and took the crying girl’s hand. He moved into formation with the
child, whose eyes had brightened the second the man bolted toward
her.
As much as Faulkner wanted to watch Laurel’s every step, his
eyes were drawn to the father who knew every step of the dance.
Not only did he know the steps, Dancer Daddy could move. He was
in perfect sync with the other girls and the music. All of this while
holding a baby, who was probably about eighteen months old. The
tiniest dancer had moves of her own. Her little feet were kicking
along to the music as her father danced. Faulkner heard her squeal
with delight when all of the dancers started to pirouette.
Falkner noticed tiny dancer moved beautifully now that her father
was beside her. All signs of her earlier stage fright had evaporated.
He could also see the father’s lips moving as they danced together.
For a moment, he thought the dad was telling tiny dancer what the
next steps were, but from the beaming smile on her face, realized he
was keeping up a steady monologue praising her. What a man! What
a father!
Damn… If only he could meet someone like that. Kind and caring
with a heart as big as Texas. Not to mention with hips made for sin. If
that man could move like that on stage, Faulk could only imagine
how he’d move in bed.
As the last notes of the song played out, all of the dancers
bowed, the hot Dancer Dad included. When the audience started to
applaud, so did the tiniest dancer in his arms. He smiled brightly at
his little daughter which made Faulk smile in return. His gut
tightened, so did his jeans.
Parents in the crowd began to stand, giving the dancers a
standing ovation. When Faulk stood too, he could see Laurel
hugging tiny dancer, the little girl who’d had stage fright. The girl with
the hot dad.
His mind tickled on a name. Iva, Ina, Isla! That was it. Laurel’s
best friend was Isla and she’d chatted on and on about how she
wanted Faulk to meet her little friend. Faulk was more than willing to
do that. The ante was more than upped now that he knew tiny
dancer had a smoking hot father who was most likely happily
married.
Did that make him an asshole? Probably so.
He had an ace in the hole though. Faulk knew exactly who he
was giving the second dozen roses to: Tiny dancer.
“Mommy! Daddy! Uncles!” Laurel’s little voice called out. “We did
it!” She held up Isla’s hand like they’d just won a prize fight.
Faulk breathed a sigh of relief. Rather than calling the uncles out
individually, she’d gone with the collective name. She was waving
wildly from the stage. Isla was too. Faulk waved back. He couldn’t
wait until the rest of the recital was over so he could give Laurel a
hug and tell her how proud he was of her.
Okay and maybe meet the Dancing Daddy too.
 

Riordan
 It had been pure gut instinct jumping up on stage like that with
Isla. He’d seen his daughter struggling and he’d leapt into action like
Spiderman, minus the spider suit.
Riordan had been to every single one of Isla’s rehearsals and
knew all of the steps by heart. They’d done the dance over and over
together at home because she loved it so much. It was their special
time together when Macy was napping or in bed for the night.
When they practiced at home, Isla never missed a step. What
Riordan didn’t understand was what had scared her so badly that
she didn’t want to go onstage. He’d have to ask her later when they
were alone.
When Isla’s dance was over, he had to go back to his seat for the
rest of the recital. There were several other classes left to perform in
the show.
It was agony waiting until the end to reunite with Isla, but finally
the last dance was over and everyone was emptying out into the
lobby to meet their dancers and give them flowers. Shit! He’d
forgotten to look for roses and now all of the vendors were sold out.
He’d have to find some way to make it up to Isla. She was a good
kid, she’d understand, but it was just one more way he’d failed her
since Stephen…
Riordan rounded the corner in the lobby and saw a strange man
kneeling in front of Isla handing her a dozen pink roses. What the
actual fuck?
“Isla?” Riordan asked carefully, not wanting to scare his daughter,
even though all kinds of alarm bells were ringing in his head. They’d
had the “Stranger Danger” talk before about her taking candy from
people she didn’t know but that chat hadn’t included not taking roses
from strangers. He honestly never imagined this scenario coming up
until Isla was much older, like say, thirty.
“Hey, Riordan!” Cole Craig said, offering his hand.
Riordan hadn’t seen Laurel’s father standing behind the stranger
with the flowers.
“Daddy! Look what Uncle Fuck gave me and Laurel!” Isla was
exuberant. Her dark eyes glowed with joy and pride.
The stranger’s icy blue eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He
stood up quickly, his full height was well over 6’. “I am so sorry, Mr.
Quinn,” the giant stranger started to say.
Jesus fucking Christ, here we go again. Just once he’d like to
meet someone who didn’t start an introductory conversation by
apologizing for his loss. For a city of nearly fifty thousand people,
Salem really was more like a small town where everyone knew your
business.
“My name is Faulkner Hayes. I’m a member of the Boston Police
Department’s Cold Case Unit. My friends call me Faulk and Laurel
hasn’t gotten the hang of pronouncing it yet. Please don’t punish tiny
dancer for her mispronunciation.” He grimaced.
Riordan found his first smile in what felt like ages. Not only was
Uncle Fuck not apologizing about Stephen, he was asking him not to
punish Isla for saying a bad word that it obviously wasn’t her fault for
saying. “Who’s tiny dancer?”
Faulk blushed. “That was my nickname for your daughter when
you were on stage dancing with her. You know, like the Elton John
song.”
Riordan froze at the mention of Elton John.
 Faulkner’s icy eyes narrowed on him as if they were trying to
work out what it was he’d said to earn that look from him.
“We don’t sing that song anymore,” Isla said sadly. “We danced
to it the day Papa…”
“Okay, honey, time to go.” Riordan reached for her hand. He
started pulling her away from the group of people surrounding
Faulkner.
“We’ll see you at Carson’s house, right?’ Cole looked concerned.
“Daddy! I want to play with Laurel!” Isla’s bottom lip started to
tremble and her eyes were glassy.
Shit! Hadn’t there been enough tears already? “Okay.” He was
too worn out to fight. “We’ll go to the party. Cassie said there would
be kids there for Macy to play with too.”
“That’s right,” Faulkner agreed. “Carson and Truman have two-
year-old triplets, Brian, Stephanie, and Bertha. I’m sure the four of
them will get along like a house on fire.” He turned to the baby
Riordan was holding. “You must be Macy. You danced like a little
princess today.” He reached for her hand.
Macy squealed and clutched at him.
“Sold.” Riordan thrust the baby at Faulkner. Any friend of Cole
and Cassie’s couldn’t be a bad guy, plus Laurel seemed to love him.
Kids could spot a fraud a mile away. He also noticed she was
holding a bouquet of coral roses. Faulkner must have given those to
her as well.
“Well, hello there.” Faulk readjusted his hold on the baby, giving
her a bounce, which made Macy laugh.
“Hi, everyone, sorry we’re late,” a curly-haired man with an infant
grimaced. “Our little miss had a big surprise for us.”
 “Spoiler alert. It was shit! All the way up her back and down into
her footies.” The taller man standing next to him shuddered visibly.
“She weighs seven pounds, the shit weighed ten. Can someone
please tell me how that’s even possible?”
Riordan snorted and started to laugh. First time parents for sure,
he thought. “Here’s another little spoiler alert. Baby physics never
make sense. Not to mention the smell.”
The two fathers burst out laughing. “It smelled like she spent last
night eating tacos and pickled eggs followed by a beer chaser,” the
taller one said. “She’s lucky she’s such a cutie. Ronan O’Mara, this is
my husband, Tennyson.” He held out his hand.
“Riordan Quinn.” Ah. These must be some of the interesting
friends Cassie mentioned. If memory served, Ronan was a member
of the Boston Police Department’s Cold Case Unit where he worked
with his husband, psychic Tennyson Grimm. The two of them were
locally famous for some of the cold cases they’d solved together
over the last few years. He thought one of the cases involved a serial
killer. “How old is she?”
“Everly is one month and two days old.” Tennyson beamed.
“She’s a champion shitter, just like her old man.” Ronan’s blue
eyes glowed with pride.
“Uh, Ronan, I don’t think that’s something we want to praise her
for, especially in public.”
Ronan pressed a kiss to the sleepy infant’s head. He turned to
Faulkner. “When did you get a baby? I thought there was something
different about you.”
“Some detective you must be.” Riordan rolled his eyes. “That’s
my daughter, Macy.”
 “Riordan is the man who danced on stage with his daughter, Isla,
Laurel’s friend,” Faulkner supplied.
Ronan’s eyes widened. “You’re father of the year?”
“What?” The last thing Riordan was, was father of the year. Three
hours ago, he couldn’t find Isla’s tights and thanks to his negligence,
Macy was drenched with the dregs of last night’s wine. If a man like
Ronan O’Mara had met him then, he would have locked him up and
called social services.
“While we were watching you dance, I said to Ten that I only
hoped I could be half the Dad you are.” He shook his head. “I’ve
been two days without a shower, worn two different colored socks
and when we didn’t have time to do our own laundry, I just turned a
shirt Everly hadn’t spewed on inside out and wore it a second day.
Shit, man, there you were on stage dancing every step like you
choreographed it yourself.” Ronan turned to Tennyson. “Father
goals!” Both men said at the same time.
“Thanks, guys. It isn’t easy being a single father of two little girls.”
Riordan looked embarrassed. “Some days I’m the one wearing my
shirt for a second day or sleeping beside a pile of folded laundry
because I was too exhausted to put it away before I collapsed into
bed. I give them everything I have, so by the end of most days there
isn’t a lot left for me.”
Ronan set a hand on Riordan’s shoulder. “I recognized your
name when you said it, but I didn’t want to pry.”
Riordan nodded. As a cop he supposed a veteran detective like
Ronan would keep up with whatever went on in his town. It hadn’t
escaped his notice that Uncle Fuck didn’t seem to know what Ronan
was talking about. He looked into Faulk’s kind eyes. “My husband,
Stephen, was killed in a car accident a year ago by a man who ran a
red light and T-boned the driver’s side of his car.”
Faulkner’s mouth hung open. His icy eyes wore a look of pure
devastation.
“The girls and I were home. He and I were on the phone when…”
Riordan shook his head. Today wasn’t a day for tears. “Isla stopped
dancing after that day. I knew that if I didn’t do something to get her
to reengage in life that I was going to lose her too. So, I signed her
up for dance class like I’d done every year since she was two. She
didn’t want to dance. She’d be like a little zombie when I’d get her
dressed for class. Then, she’d sit on the sidelines and not join in. To
be honest, I knew how she felt because I felt the same way. Nothing
was the same without Stephen. I knew I needed to lead by example,
so I took her spot in the class and learned how to dance. For the first
five minutes, I felt totally ridiculous. The teacher had to come over
and show me how to move my feet and hold my arms in position, but
then a miracle happened.” A smile curled his lips. “Isla joined me at
the bar. I could have cried with relief, but I had to finish what I
started. Lead by example.” Riordan snorted. “I took her out for ice
cream for dinner that night to celebrate us both rejoining the living.”
There wasn’t a dry eye around him. “Father of the year!” Ten and
Ronan reaffirmed.
Riordan was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with all the
attention. “Sorry, I, uh, didn’t mean to tell you my entire life story.”
Shaking his head, he turned to Faulk. “Will you carry Macy to the
car?”
“Sure thing. She seems pretty attached to me.” Faulk looked
down at the little girl who was asleep on his shoulder. Her left hand
was resting on his cheek.
“She’s probably going to wake up grumpy the second you move.
Macy is a very light sleeper.”
“Daddy says I sleep like a rock.” Isla grinned up at Faulkner. She
reached up and took his free hand.
“Me too!” Faulkner agreed.
“We’ll see you at Carson’s house.” Riordan held up a hand to
wave goodbye. He noticed Isla grinning up at Faulkner. How had
both of his daughters fallen head over heals in love with the giant
detective so quickly? Were they so starved for attention?
Part of it, for Isla, was the roses. Riordan was sure of it. He’d
have to ask Faulkner later how he’d known she liked pink roses so
much. The man was a detective, maybe he just detected.
What Riordan should be doing right now is not looking this gift
horse in the mouth. Only God knew where his mother was at the
moment. Without her, it would have been so much harder to get Isla
away from Laurel even if it was just to drive to the party. Faulkner
had been perfect at getting her away from her BFF without a fight.
“I thought you said this little fairy girl was a light sleeper?”
Faulkner’s words pulled Riordan out of his own head.
Riordan looked up at his precious angel who was mouth-
breathing and drooling on Faulk’s shoulder. Shit! Had she drunk
some of his wine when she’d dumped it on herself? He started to
laugh. Macy looked like she was sleeping off a bender. Or, she was
just a tired little girl who found a cozy shoulder to sleep on. “Maybe
you smell good.” He held the door open for Faulkner and the girls.
Faulk turned his bulky body to the side so he could slide out the door
without having to let go of Isla’s hand. Not a bad move for an
amateur.
“This is us over here. Silver SUV.” Riordan pointed. “Macy’s seat
is on the driver’s side.
“I’m on it,” Faulk whispered.
He had to hand it to Faulkner, for a man with no kids of his own,
he was knocking it out of the park. Isla had come with him to her side
of the SUV, giving him a chance to watch Faulk with Macy. Riordan
couldn’t help noticing the care with which Faulk got his daughter
settled into her seat. He even brushed her hair out of her face before
he started to buckle her in.
“You may want to check how tight the straps are,” Faulk said
when he met Riordan at the back of the car.
Nodding Riordan rocked back on his heels, sticking his hands in
his pockets. “Thanks. How did you learn to do that?”
Faulk grinned. “When you’re a member of this family, you learn to
do a lot of things. Cole’s brother, Carson, has three little ones about
Macy’s age. Sometimes it helps having six arms to wrangle them.”
“Uncle Fuck to the rescue, huh?” Riordan laughed at the blushing
man.
“Shit, I’m so sorry about that. When Laurel said that the first time
it was funny. Then we realized she couldn’t say Faulk and calling me
Faulkner was an even worse pronunciation.”
Riordan burst out laughing. “Uncle Fucker?”
Faulk laughed along with him. “No, worse, Uncle Fuck her. Cole
figured she could call me Uncle in public and use my name in
private, but obviously she told tiny dancer what she calls me. Please
don’t punish her because I’m the worst uncle ever.”
 “You’re not the worst uncle ever, Faulk. Why the flowers?” Now
that they were chatting alone, Riordan had to know.
“Laurel’s been having a hard time adjusting to life as a big sister.
Cassie thought dance class would help and she took to it like a pig to
mud. Whenever I see her, she shows me her new steps and talks
about her best friend who has the prettiest name in the whole wide
world.” Faulk held his arms open wide, like Laurel must do when she
talks about Isla. “I got her the flowers to show her how proud I was of
her for learning the steps and for being a good best friend in return.”
Riordan liked that answer. He would have done the same thing
for Isla back in the old days when he had more time and energy.
“Why did you get two dozen roses?”
Faulk snorted. “Oh, because I didn’t know which color Laurel
would like better, the pink or the peach. Then I figured I could give
the other flowers to the girls in her class, but when I saw how Isla
came alive when you started to dance with her, I knew the other
dozen were for her.”
“Thank you. I forgot to buy her some. You really saved my ass.”
That hadn’t come out sounding as grateful as Riordan had intended.
“Riordan, you saved her today. Actually, from the story you told
about signing her up for dance lessons, you saved her months ago.
After your dance today, I spent the rest of the recital watching the
other dads in the audience. I can’t tell you how many of them were
disinterested in all of this. They were on their phones or were half
asleep. Most of them couldn’t have done what you did today. The
rest wouldn’t have for fear they’d embarrass themselves. You’re an
amazing father. Then factor in that you’re doing it alone. I think
you’re remarkable.” Faulkner nodded. “I’ll see you at Carson’s.”
Faulkner turned to go.
Riordan watched him walk away. The last thing he would ever
call himself was remarkable. He opened the driver’s side door to the
SUV quietly and got inside.
“You’re welcome, Daddy,” Isla said.
“For what?” Riordan eyed her suspiciously in the rear-view mirror.
“For bringing Faulkner to you.” She smiled brightly.
Now Riordan was confused. “You brought him to me?”
Isla nodded. “You say all the time how much you love Faulkner,
so I prayed like Noni taught me. You’ve been so sad since Papa
went to live in heaven, so I asked God to send you Faulkner since
you love him so much. He answered my prayer.” Isla sounded
convinced.
Riordan’s mouth hung open. Isla had a point. He did love
Faulkner. William Faulkner. He was Riordan’s favorite author. He
started to laugh. “Thank you, honey.” They’d talk about her asking
God to send him a man later.
“Welcome, Daddy!”
Isla’s smile was worth it, even if he had no intention of seeing
Faulkner Hayes past today.
 

Faulkner
A widower. Riordan was a widower. Faulkner clutched the
steering wheel of his truck extra hard. Ronan obviously knew what
had happened to Riordan’s husband, but until today, he’d never
heard of Riordan Quinn. He had to admit the little girls had quickly
worked their way into his heart. So had their father.
Faulkner had been enamored with the man just watching him
dance. Riordan had an easy grace about him. He knew the steps,
and what was more, he was having a great time dancing with his
daughters. That was sexy as hell. He’d been half hard watching
Riordan move.
Then it had all come crashing down to earth when he’d heard
Riordan tell the story about losing his husband. It had only been a
year since Stephen passed away and he still looked lost without him.
There was no way Faulk could ask him out even though his dick
was one hundred percent on board with that plan. To be honest, his
dick was on board with any plan that even remotely involved the
possibility that it could get naked and then touched by someone
other than himself.
Pulling up in front of Carson and Truman’s house, Faulk realized
he was going to need to find a way to ignore the lunatic urges of his
long-suffering dick. It wasn’t going to be easy. Riordan Quinn was his
type of man exactly with his dark hair and intelligent eyes.
He looked at himself in the rear-view mirror, his icy blue eyes
were always his greatest asset. His dark hair, now that it was back to
being dark again, instead of being platinum blond when he’d been
undercover, was silky, inviting men to run their hands through it. So,
why wasn’t anyone running their hands through it?
Faulk had stopped sleeping around over a year ago. One-night
stands just weren’t doing it for him anymore. Coming to that
conclusion had been a mature, grown up step, but in that time, he
hadn’t been out on any dates either. Riordan was the first man he’d
met who he’d been truly interested in getting to know, but now it
looked like that was the worst idea he’d ever had.
Getting out of the truck, he could see all of his other friends were
here already. Faulk loved this neighborhood. Truman had lived here
for years and he and Carson decided to make this their family home
when they got married. Tennyson and Ronan wanted to live near
them and had jumped at the opportunity to buy the house three
doors down. Captain Fitzgibbon and his adopted son, Greeley,
bought the house across the street several months later when
Greeley decided to attend Salem State University. Greeley was now
living in the house alone since Fitzgibbon’s fiancé, Jace Lincoln had
bought a townhouse down the block from Carson and Truman. Faulk
hadn’t said anything yet, but he’d started looking for property in
Salem too. It didn’t have to be on this street, but he’d prefer it.
Now, he was just serving out the end of his lease in his North End
apartment in Boston. He’d needed the place when he’d been
undercover with the Dragonni family, but now he wanted out and to
be free of those memories.
Walking into Carson’s house, he was stunned by how many
people were there. The kids were gathered around the television
watching a Disney movie and he could hear the adults in the kitchen.
“Uncle Faulk!” a tiny voice chirped.
Before he knew what was happening, Isla was throwing herself at
him. Macy was toddling behind her sister.
“You made it!” Isla looked like seeing him made her day.
Faulk bent down so the girls could hug him. “Sorry I’m late.” He’d
spent a lot of time sitting in the truck thinking over what had
happened so far today.
 “It’s okay. Come watch Cinderella. Have you ever seen it?” Isla
took his hand and started dragging him toward an empty spot in the
middle of the living room floor.
Helpless, but to follow her, he noticed Macy raising her arms to
him. He scooped her up along the way. She wrapped her arms
around his neck.
“Hi!” she announced.
“Hi, cutie.” Macy was adorable with her light brown hair and
toothy grin.
“Hi!” Macy said again.
“Here!” Isla tugged his hand.
“Down we go.” Faulk whooped as he slid to the floor.
Macy echoed the sound and clapped her hands.
It was then Faulk realized his mistake. All three of Carson and
Truman’s toddlers, Velociraptors, they affectionately called them,
turned from the movie and started to whoop before getting up and
running toward him. All three climbed into his lap along with Macy.
“Mine!” Bertha shouted.
“No, mine!” Brian insisted.
“Mine!” Stephanie was patting his shoulder.
“Hey, guys,” Faulkner said quietly, like he did to a perp he wanted
to pay particular attention to him. “There’s enough of me to go
around.” He planted a kiss on the side of Stephanie’s head, pulled
Brian into his lap next to Macy and gave Bertha a tickle. He slid Isla
under his right arm.
Laurel ran into the room and slid under his left arm.
“That was Jedi Master impressive,” Riordan said from the kitchen
door. “Six kids settled in under two minutes.”
 “Faulkner Hayes, human jungle gym.” He grinned at Riordan,
dropping him a wink.
Riordan half-choked.
It didn’t escape Faulk’s attention that Riordan’s eyes darkened. It
should have, but it didn’t. His mind flashed to a scene of Riordan
sitting in his lap, riding his cock, which was so inappropriate,
considering his lap was currently loaded with the man’s kids. “I’m the
toddler pied piper.” Faulk shrugged trying to make it look effortless,
rather than like he was a pompous dick.
“Carson sent me in here to make sure everything was okay. He
worries when it gets too quiet.”
“Well, Isla asked if I’d seen Cinderella and well, I hadn’t, so she
dragged me to sit with her, and then Macy sat with me, which
prompted the Velociraptors to fight over me, then Laurel joined the
party. Now you’re here.” Faulk turned on his million-watt smile.
“Velociraptors?” Riordan laughed.
“That’s Carson’s nickname for the triplets. “Brian, Stephanie, and
Baby Bertha.” Faulk pointed to each child as he called them off. “So
named for their coordinated way of darting off in three different
directions at bed and naptime.”
“Like the movie dinosaurs.” Riordan grinned.
“Only without that sharp toe claw.” Faulk smiled brightly.
“Shhh!” Baby Bertha shot Faulk the stink eye.
Riordan snorted, hiding his laughter behind his hands. He
stepped closer to Faulk. “I’m here to take food orders. Do you think
I’ll be a hero or will the kids pounce on me and chew on my skull like
that game warden in the movie?”
 “Let’s find out!” Faulk smiled brightly. He grabbed the remote from
the coffee table, hitting the pause button.
“Nooooo!” Baby Bertha wailed like it was the end of the world.
“It’s your room to win back.” Faulk laughed. He started rubbing
the upset toddler’s back.
Riordan wore a tentative smile. “Hi kids! I’m Riordan! Truman is
gonna fire up the grill. Who wants something to eat?”
“’Rella!” Bertha demanded.
“’Rella!” Macy echoed.
Soon all of the kids had taken up that rallying cry, like tiny
Bravehearts, who were shouting for Cinderella, instead of freedom.
“I think you lost the room.” Faulk rolled his eyes. “Who wants a
hot dog?” Faulk raised his hand.
“Me!” Laurel’s hand went up.
“Me too,” Isla instantly agreed.
“How about you, cutie? Do you want a hot dog?” Faulk asked
Macy.
“Dog!” she nodded, snuggling deeper into Faulk’s side.
“How about you, Bertha? Do you want a hot dog?” Faulk poked
her most ticklish side.
The little girl looked back at him like she was going to pout, but
saw the funny face Faulk was making. “Hot dog,” she agreed.
“Hot dog!” Brian and Stephanie demanded. Soon all of the kids
were chanting for a hot dog.
“What’s going on here?” Ronan was laughing.
“It’s The Great Hot Dog Coup of 2019. Bertha’s going to take over
the world.” Faulk started to laugh.
 “I don’t doubt that for a minute.” Ronan paused, giving Faulk the
once-over. “You look good with a lapful of kids.” He turned and
headed back into the kitchen.
“Thanks, boss.” Faulk knew Ronan couldn’t hear him.
“How about you, Uncle Faulk? Hot dog, hamburger, or sausage?”
Riordan’s voice had gone soft.
“Hmm, I had no idea option number three was even on the
menu.” Damn, there he went again, flirting with the widower. What
the hell were the rules here anyway?
Riordan flushed a deep red. He cleared his throat.
Faulkner had scored an obvious bullseye. The man was so damn
responsive. He wondered if other men didn’t bother flirting with
Riordan because of his loss. Maybe they weren’t interested in his
baggage or in his precious cargo. He couldn’t help thinking those
men were idiots.
On the other hand, he could see the man was in obvious need of
a lifeline. “I’ll have a hamburger and a hot dog. The sausage will
keep for another time.”
Understanding dawned in Riordan’s dark eyes.
“’Rella!” Baby Bertha demanded her patience at a complete end.
“Yes, princess.” Faulkner hit the play button and the title princess
started to dance with her prince. Faulkner started to wonder if Disney
would ever make a movie where a prince got to dance with his
prince. That may never happen, but maybe he was one step closer
to dancing with a prince of his own after today.
 
 5

Riordan
They’d ended up staying at the party for far longer than Riordan
intended. When the little ones got fussy, Carson brought them
upstairs, Macy included, for naptime. He’d quickly set up one of the
portable cribs in the center of the triplets’ room for her and they all
got to sleep after a bit of baby banter, which the adults sat around
watching on the monitor. Isla and Laurel had been in the living room
watching Snow White and munching on snacks.
Truman had fired up the grill again for dinner, this time making
different types of wings. Riordan had wondered if Isla would eat
them, but once she saw Laurel eating the Asian sticky wings, she’d
joined in and loved them.
“Daddy?” Isla poked his arm. “It was fun today.”
He turned to his four-year-old. “You mean at Carson and
Truman’s house?”
Isla nodded. “I like all those uncles.” She snuggled closer to her
father.
Riordan was lying in Isla’s purple princess bed. They’d had bath
time and read a few stories. He’d been trying to figure out how to ask
her about what she’d said today about Stephen and also about
Faulkner, when his mind had wandered back to the barbecue. He’d
had a lot of fun with the uncles too.
“Honey, there are some things I need to talk to you about.”
Isla sat up in bed, pushing her comforter down. She narrowed her
dark eyes on him. “Okay, shoot.”
 Damn… She looked and sounded just like Stephen when she
said that. He cleared his throat. “You said this morning that Papa told
you where your pink tights were for the recital. What did you mean?”
“I couldn’t find my tights and you were acting all weird, so I asked
Papa for help. He told me they were in the dryer and they were.”
“What do you mean Papa told you they were in the dryer?”
Obviously, they had been since Isla had found them in there, but
how had she really known that?
Isla raised her dark little eyebrows. She was the spitting image of
his late husband with her dark hair and eyes. Stephen used to shoot
him that look all the time when he said something ridiculous.
“Daddy, Papa visits me from heaven. He says I’m still his little
ladybug and if I ever need anything, all I have to do is ask him.”
Riordan sat blinking at his daughter. He honestly didn’t know
what to say to her.
“I also asked him for Faulkner.” She smiled. It was sweet and full
of innocence.
“You asked Papa for Uncle Fuck?” Shit! He hadn’t meant to say
that. Faulkner had been one of the things he’d wanted to talk to her
about.
Isla giggled. “No, Daddy! You’re so silly. I heard you tell Noni how
much you loved Faulkner, so I told Papa. Maybe you’d start to smile
and laugh again if Papa brought Faulkner to you. He did and I was
right.” She folded her arms over her chest. A self-satisfied smile
bloomed over her face. “You smiled and laughed all day.”
His daughter had a point. He did have fun today. Faulkner Hayes
was a big part of the reason for that, but how did he tell her that
Uncle Fuck was the wrong Faulkner? “Isla, you know how Daddy
has his own bedtime stories?”
She nodded.
“Well, the man who writes them is named William Faulkner.
When you heard me telling Noni how much I love Faulkner, I was
talking about the writer, not about Uncle Faulkner. You asked Papa
for the wrong Faulkner. Do you understand?”
Isla’s face scrunched into a frown. “You said you loved Faulkner. I
asked Papa to send you Faulkner. Papa did and you laughed. I don’t
think it was the wrong Faulkner at all.” Her self-satisfied smirk was
back. “I think he’s the right Faulkner.”
Riordan’s eyebrow shot toward his hairline. “Right for what?”
“Right to make you laugh. To make you happy again. Papa wants
you to be happy.” Isla yawned. She pressed forward to kiss
Riordan’s cheek. “Goodnight, Daddy. I love you.” She snuggled
down into her nest of blankets with a happy sigh.
“Good night, princess.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head,
gently easing himself off the bed.
Damn, he didn’t even have a chance to ask her about what had
gone wrong at the recital today. Isla knew the steps by heart. She’d
performed in recitals on stage before. What had made this one
different? Riordan sighed. He’d have to ask her in the morning.
He stopped by Macy’s room. The toddler had been exhausted
from her day out. Not only had she danced on stage in his arms, but
she’d spent the day playing with new friends. She’d gotten along well
with the triplets. He hadn’t been sure at first how it was going to go,
but Macy had jumped right in and enjoyed her day. They all ate
together at the kids table, supervised by the great and powerful
Uncle Fuck, err, Faulk.
Even though the man had no kids of his own, he seemed to be a
wiz with everyone else’s. There was even a point in the day when
he’d been able to soothe a fussy Everly. The tiny redhead was
adorable in Faulk’s massive arms. The only bad part about Faulk
wrangling the kids was that it hadn’t given them much of a chance to
talk. Wait! Did he want to talk to Faulkner?
Backing out of Macy’s room, Riordan headed downstairs to the
kitchen. He opened the fridge door shaking his head over the
number of wine bottles he found there. Grabbing them two by two,
he set them all by the sink. Uncorking them, he dumped what was
left in each bottle down the sink before setting the empty bottles in
the recycling bin. He felt instantly better about himself. The next
thing he needed to tackle was the pile of laundry on Stephen’s side
of the bed.
It wasn’t any secret why there was always something piled up on
the side of the bed where his husband used to sleep. It was still too
painful for Riordan to even think about venturing back over to that
side of the bed.
When Stephen was still alive, they always slept curled up
together on his side. An old throwback to their days in the dorms
back at Salem State when they had to fit two male bodies in a single
bed. Riordan was always the little spoon with Stephen’s left leg
thrown over both of his.
It had taken months for Riordan to be able to sleep in their bed
again. Some night’s he’d fall asleep with Isla or on the sofa. After a
firm talking to by his mother, he’d started sleeping in his own bed
four months after Stephen passed. Maggie had insisted that Macy
and Isla needed to see that he was healing. She stressed how good
it would be for them to see him feeling better. He’d seen right
through his mother’s lines. He knew this was what was best for him
too.
Sorting through the pile of laundry on his bed, he put away
everything that belonged to him. All that was left on the bed were two
piles that belonged to his girls. He grabbed Macy’s things under one
arm, setting his left hand on Stephen’s closed closet door. He hadn’t
been in there since the day of the funeral.
Riordan had come home with a bag containing Stephen’s
possessions. His cufflinks, watch, his Salem State Football ring, and
his wedding ring. Riordan had put those things back in his jewelry
box, right where Stephen kept them, as if he were going to walk in at
any moment and put them back on. What to do with his rings was
another matter. He’d never taken off the football ring from the day it
was awarded to him until the day he died. Ditto with his wedding
ring. Sometimes he’d push it around his finger with his left thumb,
but it always stayed on his finger.
Riordan had briefly debated wearing the rings on a chain around
his neck, but hadn’t wanted to risk losing them. He settled instead for
setting them on top of the jewelry box. He hadn’t seen either object
since the day he buried his husband. He knew a time would come
when he’d have to clear out the closet, but that day wasn’t today.
What today was, was the day he stopped soothing himself with
wine and the day he reclaimed his entire bed.
Stopping by Macy’s room, he left her clothes on her dresser. He
looked in her crib and found her sleeping on her back, her ratty bear
clutched in her hand. The bear had been a gift from Stephen. He
knew at some point he should take it from her and replace it with
another toy so he could save it for when she was older. It was only
one of a handful of things she had left from her Papa.
He was leery to take the toy away from her though, not wanting
her to grieve its loss. Riordan smiled down at his sleeping daughter.
He’d go to the ends of the earth to protect her. “Goodnight, love
bug.”
Riordan went back to his room to grab Isla’s pile of clothes. He
couldn’t help thinking about her missing pair of tights this morning.
Was she imagining conversations with Stephen because she missed
him so much?
The two of them had been so connected. Stephen was Isla’s
biological dad. When they’d decided it was time to start a family,
they’d flipped a coin to decide who would father the child. Stephen
had called tails and it had come up heads. Riordan knew how much
it meant to his husband to father their child, so he’d told a little white
lie and said the coin had landed on tails.
He would never forget Stephen’s reaction. He’d burst out cry-
laughing and danced Riordan around the kitchen in the same way
Isla danced around it now. When he was done celebrating, he’d
asked Riordan for the quarter. His lucky quarter, Stephen had called
it. He put it in his jewelry box where it still sat, tails up. It was the only
lie he’d ever told Stephen over the course of their marriage. If he had
it to do all over again, he wouldn’t change a thing.
Leaving Isla’s clothes in her room, Riordan felt a sense of
accomplishment, like he’d done something worthy today.
 The text jingle on his phone broke him out of his back-patting
party. He hoped the message wasn’t from his assistant curator at the
museum calling out sick tomorrow. He knew his mother would watch
the girls if he had to go into work, but he hated asking when she did
so much for him already.
Picking up the phone, Riordan saw the message wasn’t from Ari
Whitten, but was from a number he didn’t recognize. [Lunch for four
tomorrow at the Rainforest Café? My treat. This is Faulk :D]
Huh. That was a really nice offer. Isla had been asking to go to
the rainforest-themed restaurant. They had animatronic animals and
it rained inside to simulate the conditions of a real rainforest. Plus,
there was a giftshop. He knew the toys would cost more than the
meal. Why was Faulk offering to pay? Was this some kind of a date?
His heart was hammering in his chest like he’d drunk half a
dozen energy drinks. Was he freaking out because he wanted it to
be a date or because he didn’t? [How did you get my number?]
Riordan was stalling and he knew it. The question was, would
Faulkner know it too?
[I’m a detective, remember? ;)]
Shit, was Faulk winking at him? There was none of this texting
stuff when he and Stephen met back in college. He decided on a
different tact. [Oh, so you asked Laurel’s Dad. Great detective work,
Sherlock.]
[You left before I could ask you myself. I had fun talking with you
today and your girls are great. I thought it might be nice to get to
know you better, as a friend.]
As a friend, my big toe… Riordan had to admit asking Cole Craig
for his number and then planning a family friendly activity was really
sweet.
The one thing Riordan needed right now was friends. All of the
friends he and Stephen made started drifting away after the funeral.
Some of them were couples Stephen had known through work or
college. Others had been acquaintances of Riordan’s. Either way,
couples didn’t seem to know what to do with a now single Riordan.
Faulk was offering his friendship. He would be a fool not to grab at it
with both hands.
[What time?] Riordan was shitting a solid gold brick. He couldn’t
believe he was actually doing this.
[Why don’t we meet there at noon tomorrow?]
[Noon it is.] Riordan shot back before he lost the nerve.
[Okay! I’m looking forward to seeing you and your tiny dancers!]
How did he end this exchange? He was so bad at this. He sent
back a smiley emoji and hoped that covered him. He was about to
set the phone down on his nightstand when Stephen’s beside lamp
flickered twice. “What the hell?”
Figuring it was just a hiccup with the power, he relaxed back
against his pillow and closed his eyes. All he could see was a vision
of Faulkner’s face.
 

Faulkner

He got to the restaurant half an hour early just in case. There was
a brightly colored bench with a green tree frog standing next to it.
That was where Faulk sat and waited for Riordan to get there with
the girls.
 Faulk couldn’t help laughing at the other kids who got so excited
when they saw the signature frog, the logo of the Rainforest Café.
Faulkner still couldn’t believe Cole agreed to give him Riordan’s
phone number.
When he’d gotten home last night, the first thing he’d done was
look up Riordan and Stephen Walker-Quinn. The story broke Faulk’s
heart. The car accident that took Stephen from his family had been
horrific and then the plea bargain the driver of the other car had been
allowed to take had added insult to injury. Isla had been three and
Macy was three months old. Faulk wasn’t afraid to admit his eyes
had gone misty over the thought of what those girls had lost. Riordan
too.
Faulkner didn’t even know what he was doing here. All he knew
was that he liked Riordan and his girls and this seemed like a fun,
spur of the moment idea. He’d been up late googling family
restaurants. He’d sent the text not knowing how Riordan would
respond.
As a father with two small children he hadn’t expected him to
respond at all, figuring he’d already gone to bed. It had been a
surprise when he’d written back and had been a little saucy to boot.
Faulk liked his men with a little sass in them. Riordan Quinn had
sass to spare.
Squeals of delight pulled him out of his own thoughts. He could
see Isla waving and calling out to him. Even Macy was shouting and
reaching out to him from her stroller.
Wow! That was a pretty humbling reaction. These people had all
been strangers to him yesterday, now they were waving and yelling
to him like he was beloved.
 “Hi, Uncle Faulk!” Isla flew into his arms.
“Hey, there, don’t you look pretty today.” It was true. Isla was
wearing purple leggings with a matching purple tutu. Her dark hair
was done in perfect ponytails, which bounced when she moved her
head.
“Hi, there,” Riordan greeted. Macy was holding her hands out to
him.
“Hi, Riordan. Hello, Macy.” Faulk knelt down to see the little girl.
She was all smiles. He ran a finger down the side of her cheek. “Are
you ladies hungry?”
Isla nodded. “Do you think they have macaroni and cheese?
That’s my favorite.” Her smile was so bright, it was almost blinding.
“I bet they do. Let’s go find out.” Faulk held out his hand.
“What’s your favorite food,” Isla asked.
“Mac and cheese!” He popped his eyes open wide.
“Really?” Isla sounded skeptical.
It was true. “I don’t have an awesome man like your Daddy to
cook yummy suppers for me, so it’s mac and cheese out of a box
unless someone like Uncle Cole or Ronan invites me to dinner.”
“And then it’s hot dogs?” Riordan snorted.
“That was just so the Velociraptors would eat. I had to set a good
example.”
“Set a good example?” Riordan’s mouth fell open. “I saw you eat
three of them.”
“Actually, it was four, but who was counting?” Faulkner grinned at
Riordan. “And I did have chicken and salad for dinner. I don’t always
eat like a two-year-old.”
 A worried look passed over Riordan’s face. It was there and gone
in a flash. If Faulk wasn’t watching closely, he would have missed it.
Interesting. Faulk held the door open for Riordan. Isla danced
through it first. He saw the smile that graced her father’s tired eyes.
Faulk wondered what had him up so late.
“Welcome to the Rainforest Café!” a pretty hostess greeted them.
“We have a reservation under Hayes,” Faulkner offered.
“Oh, yes. A reservation for four at one of our elephant tables.
Please follow me.” She grabbed menus and moved off into the
restaurant.
Isla’s eyes were wide as dinner plates. “The elephant table?” she
squealed, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. The little girl
was quick to follow behind the hostess.
“How did you know she loves elephants?” Riordan’s tone was
curious rather than accusatory.
“Isla and Laurel had a fascinating conversation during dinner
yesterday about which animal they’d have for a pet if they could.”
Faulk had enjoyed every second of being a fly on the wall during that
chat.
“Isla picked an elephant.” Riordan snorted.
Faulk nodded. “And FYI, she’s convinced Macy wants one too.”
Riordan barked out a quick laugh. “That sounds like my daughter.
Do I even want to know what animal Laurel wanted?”
“A tiger like Jasmine has.” Faulk lowered his voice. “It’s none of
my business, but should Isla be hanging out with a kid who has a pet
tiger?”
“Oh, my God. Seriously?” Riordan started to laugh again.
 “Here we are! The elephant table!” The hostess announced. She
set down the menus along with packs of crayons for the kids.
“This is my seat!” Isla announced. She hopped into the chair next
to the giant elephant.
Riordan started to unhook Macy from her stroller. “Just so you
know, Jasmine isn’t a girl in Isla’s class.” He put Macy into the high
chair, buckling her in before pulling it closer to the table.
“She isn’t? Who is she then, and why does she have a tiger? Is
she allowed to play with it?” Faulk felt his gut tighten. He knew he’d
just lapsed into full-on cop-mode, but Christ, a tiger?
Riordan’s lips quirked into a full smile.
Shit, he was gorgeous like that. Faulk wanted to see him smile
like that all the time, but maybe not over Isla and Laurel’s classmate
owning a pet tiger.
“Jasmine is a Disney Princess, Faulk. The tiger is a cartoon.”
Riordan patted Faulkner’s shoulder. He took the seat next to Macy.
“Oh, well, duh. My education in Disney Princesses is sadly
lacking.” Faulk started to laugh. “I guess this is my seat then, next to
the best ballerina in all of Salem.” Faulk wrinkled his nose at Isla. He
was stunned when her face crumpled into a frown. “What’s that face
for?” He held out a hand to her.
Isla reached out to play with his large fingers. “I’m not the best
ballerina. I was scared yesterday, My Daddy had to come up on
stage and dance with me because I was a big, fat fraidy cat.”
Faulk saw dawning light in Riordan’s eyes. He’d guess father and
daughter hadn’t yet discussed this sensitive topic. “What made you
scared?” he asked gently. He moved his eyes to the elephant behind
her so Isla wouldn’t feel pressured to talk. This was a chat, not an
interrogation.
“My Papa wasn’t there.” Isla’s voice was small. “He always sat in
the front row and cheered the loudest.” Fat tears fell down her face.
Without giving his actions a second thought, Faulk plucked the
little girl out of her seat and into his arms, holding her close against
his chest. He saw the wide-eyed look on Riordan’s face and just kept
rocking Isla. “That was very brave of you to tell us,” Faulk said.
“What was even more brave was for you to keep dancing even
though you were sad and scared.”
“It was?” Isla looked up at him. Her dark eyes were huge.
Faulk nodded. He wiped away her tears. “It sure was. Being
brave means doing something even though you’re scared.”
“Do you get scared?”
“All the time.” Faulk smiled. He looked up at Riordan to see he
was smiling and nodding along.
“But you’re a police officer. You protect little kids like me and
Macy.” Isla managed a watery smile.
“That’s true, but sometimes I get scared that I won’t be able to
catch the bad guy or that maybe he’ll hurt me or Uncle Ronan.”
“But you do your job anyway,” Isla confirmed.
“That’s right,” Faulk agreed. “Do you know what else I saw
yesterday?”
Isla shook her head no, sending her pigtails flying.
“I saw how much your Daddy loves you.” Faulk was looking at
Riordan when he said those words. “He knew every single dance
step. You must have practiced a lot together.”
 Isla looked across the table at Riordan who seemed to be having
a hard time controlling his emotions. “Daddy loves to dance with me.
I was just so sad that I didn’t see Papa yesterday. He told me where
my missing pink tights were and I thought he’d come see me dance
too.”
Faulk looked at Riordan in alarm. What was Isla talking about?
Stephen told her where her tights were? Had she seen and spoken
with her father’s spirit? He opened his mouth to ask Riordan about
that’s when their waitress appeared at the table to take their order.
His questions would have to wait. He grabbed Isla’s kid’s menu
and saw that they did have mac and cheese. He ordered that for her
along with a chicken tender basket and fries for himself.
“Is that from the kid’s menu too, Faulk?” Riordan teased.
“Funny!” Faulk shot him a monkey face. “I’ll share with Macy if
she likes chicken.”
“Chick!” Macy announced.
“One vote for chicken.” Faulk laughed.
“I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger with fries, please.” Riordan
handed his menu back to the waitress. “Juice for the kids and I’ll
have a Coke.”
“Me too,” Faulk added. “Thank you.” He opened his mouth to ask
about Isla seeing Stephen when Macy started slapping the table with
her little hands.
“Dada!” She grinned at her father.
“Hi, baby girl.” Riordan smiled back at her.
Faulk couldn’t help noticing she was the spitting image of him.
His mini me. Isla, on the other hand, must be Stephen’s daughter.
His heart broke for this little family shattered by tragedy, but now
wasn’t the time to think about that.
The large elephant behind them trumpeted. Both girls squealed
at once.
“Wow!” Riordan’s face lit up too.
That was one of the reason’s Faulk had wanted to bring the kids
here. The whole restaurant came to life at different times. They were
sitting near the elephants and gorillas. Across the way from them
were parrots and a rhino. He knew there would also be times when
there would be lightning and thunder. “How about a picture with the
elephant?” Faulk asked Riordan. “I’ll take it for you.”
“You too, Uncle Faulk. You be in the picture too,” Isla urged.
Riordan was getting Macy out of her chair and didn’t respond to
Isla’s plea. He was holding Macy under one arm and pulling out his
phone when a woman with a daughter of her own walked by. “Oh, let
me snap that picture for you.” Without waiting for an answer, she
took Riordan’s phone and held it up to take the photo.
“Smile, everyone,” Riordan urged.
“Cheese!” Isla called out.
“Chee!” Macy echoed.
“I snapped a bunch for you!” The woman handed the phone back.
“You have a sweet family.”
Before either of them could respond, she was moving past them
with her daughter, to marvel at the animatronic gorillas.
“Sorry about that,” Faulk whispered as he set Isla down. “I was
going to put Isla with you and take your pics together. I didn’t mean
to be in them.”
 “It’s okay, Faulk. They look great. You’re meant to be in them
since you invited us here today. I’ll send some to you. They’ll be
great reminders of our fun day out.” Riordan offered a shy smile.
Isla started tugging on his hand. “Uncle Faulk, let’s go see the
gorillas!”
“Do you mind if I take her?” Faulk grinned.
“She’s all yours.” Riordan returned the smile. “Just remember to
send me the pics.”
“Come on, tiny dancer, we’ve got some gorillas to meet.” Faulk
reached down for her hand. Isla happily took it. This would give him
a chance to ask her some quiet questions about Stephen.
“Aren’t they cute?” She bounced on tiptoes to see them better.
Faulk lifted her higher. “They sure are.” He pulled out his phone
and snapped a pic of Isla reaching out toward one of them. He kept
her back just far enough so she couldn’t reach.
Just then thunder cracked and lightning flashed. It started to rain
inside the café. “This is so cool.”
“Have you been to the real rainforest, Uncle Faulk?”
“Nope, but it looks like a cool place to visit.” He could see how it
would be an amazing place to take Isla. Get her up close and
personal with tree frogs and sloths. She’d have a ball.
“I want to go someday.” Isla sounded wistful.
“Me too, honey.” Faulk took a deep breath. “So, you said Papa
helped you find your tights?” He kept his tone light and casual. As if
this were just any old conversation. Again, not wanting this to sound
at all like an interrogation.
Isla nodded. Her dark eyes were still glued to the gorillas. “Papa
visits me from heaven.”
 “Can you see him or just hear his voice?” Faulk knew from his
time at West Side Magick that kids were sensitive to spirits.
“Both,” Isla whispered, as if it were a secret between them.
“What do you talk about when he visits you?” He was curious to
hear as much as she could tell him.
“Papa tells me that I’m still his little ladybug and that he loves me.
Yesterday he told me where my pink tights were.”
“Does he ever talk about Daddy?”
Isla shook her head no.
“I think it’s wonderful that he comes to visit you, honey.” Faulk
meant it. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her to have lost
Stephen when she was only three years old.
“You do?” Isla perked up again. “I don’t think Daddy believes me.”
Faulkner could understand that. He would have felt the same way
himself before he’d met Tennyson Grimm and the Craig brothers at
West Side Magick. “You know Uncles Cole, Carson, and Tennyson?”
Isla nodded.
“Do you know what their jobs are?” Faulk knew he was treading
on possibly dangerous ground here, but if anyone could help her, it
was those men.
“Nope!” Isla grinned at him.
“They talk to people up in heaven.”
“Like Papa?” Her eyes narrowed on him.
Faulk nodded. That was all he was going to say on the matter.
Riordan knew what those men did for a living too. He had every
intention of reporting back what Isla had told him.
The gorilla came to life making Isla laugh. He started taking her
picture.
 When he turned back to the table, he could see lunch was being
served. “Come on, monkey. Time for grub.” He pointed to the table.
“Thanks, Uncle Faulk.” Isla hugged him.
“For what?”
“Listening to me talk about Papa. I know it makes Daddy sad.”
“You’re welcome.” Faulk felt humbled by the four-year-old’s
words. He wasn’t used to being the trusted adult in this kind of
situation. He just wasn’t sure how receptive Riordan was going to be
to a near-total stranger telling him he should probably take his
preschooler to see a psychic medium for help.
This fledgling friendship was just getting off the ground. He hoped
what he had to say to Riordan wasn’t going to make it crash and
burn.
 

Riordan

Lunch had been a lot of fun. Faulkner kept the kids laughing and
eating, leaving him free to enjoy his meal. It had been a year since
he’d been able to do that. This time, when he thought about
Stephen, his chest didn’t pinch quite so tight.
“Daddy? Can me and Macy look at the elephants?” Isla batted
her eyes at him.
“Okay, but you hold your sister’s hand and stay right here where
Faulk and I can see you.” Riordan unbuckled Macy from her seat
and set her free. Isla took her hand and led her to the elephants.
Macy stared up at them in wonder.
 “I was hoping we’d get a few minutes of adult conversation.”
Faulk leaned over the table.
Riordan smiled at the handsome cop. “Were you interrogating my
child?”
“Would you be mad if I was?” Faulk grimaced. “Our friendship is
so new and I don’t want to misstep.”
He could see the genuine concern in Faulk’s blue eyes. “Tell me
what you talked about. I won’t be mad.” He held up his pinkie finger.
Snorting, Faulk wrapped his finger around Riordan’s. Faulk’s blue
eyes darkened.
Tiny pinpricks of awareness shot through his entire body. Riordan
knew Faulkner felt the hum of attraction too. What surprised him
more than their seeming instant connection was his own lack of guilt
over those feelings.
“I asked Isla about her experience with Stephen.” Faulk took a
deep breath as if he expected Riordan to drop the hammer and lose
his shit.
Riordan studied the man who was still sort of holding his hand.
Faulk was nervous about telling him what he’d spoken to Isla about.
He was curious about their conversation more than anything else.
“What did she tell you?”
“She said that he visits her from heaven, that he loves her, and
that she’s still his little ladybug. Yesterday was the first time he had a
different message when he told her about where to find her ballet
tights.”
Riordan was silent, thinking over these words. Fear churned in
his gut. He could see his daughter laughing with Macy at the
trumpeting elephant. It was a loud sound. One that should have
scared his little love bug, but there she was laughing along with her
big sister. That was the way it was supposed to be. The way
Stephen had wanted it. He’d wanted them only two years or so apart
so they’d grow up together as best friends. Now he was wondering if
Isla was suffering from some form of mental illness or trauma over
the loss of her father.
“Do not go there.” Faulk set his free hand on top of Riordan’s.
“Go where?” he was strangely comforted by Faulk’s large,
scarred hand. Their joined pinkies had shown him the flare of
attraction that was possible between them. This touch showed the
compassion Faulk had within him.
“Isla isn’t crazy,” Faulk said softly.
Riordan looked away from the bulky detective. It was one thing
for him to think those dark thoughts about his oldest daughter. It was
something else entirely for Faulkner to give them a voice. He felt a
warm hand on the side of his face.
“Riordan, listen to me. I know you’re friends with Cole Craig
thanks to Isla’s friendship with Laurel. Do you know what he and his
brother do for a living with Tennyson Grimm as their partner?”
“Yeah, they run that psychic shop over on Conant Street.” Was it
awful that he was more focused on Faulk’s hand on his face than on
their conversation?
“That’s part of it,” Faulk agreed. “A few months back, a mob boss
was coming after Ronan because he was one of the officer’s who’d
arrested him years ago. When he found out about Tennyson’s
psychic abilities, the mobster wanted to kidnap him and use those
powers to stay ahead of the law and for other nefarious reasons. I
went undercover at the psychic store to protect Ten. While I was
there, I saw some pretty amazing things. The mediumistic readings
those guys did changed people’s lives. They provided closure and
brought healing.”
Riordan pulled back from Faulk’s comforting touch. “Is that your
veiled way of drumming up business for your friends and trying to fix
me at the same time? I’m fine. I don’t need healing or closure.”
Faulk turned to face him more fully. “I never said that you did. You
didn’t let me finish what I was saying.” He flashed a killer smile, not
seeming to be put out at all by being interrupted by Riordan’s little
tirade.
Riordan took a quick look over at the girls who were still
enchanted by the elephant which was now shaking its massive head.
“Please continue.”
Faulkner’s grin broadened. “Thank you, kind sir. The point I was
getting to was that Ten told me all kids are sensitive to spirits.
They’re more open. They don’t question what they see and hear,
because they aren’t jaded like adults are.” He paused, seeming to
gather his thoughts. “Do you ever hear Macy saying Stephen’s name
when she’s alone in her crib? Maybe she’s laughing or sounding like
she’s having a conversation with someone?”
Shit, there were times when that exact thing happened. “Macy
babbles,” he admitted. “It sounds like a nonsense conversation until
real words like ‘Papa’ or ‘ya ooo’ pop up.”
Faulk laughed. “I must have missed the day in kindergarten when
‘ya ooo’ was taught. What does it mean?”
Riordan shook his head. He felt a reluctant smile tug at his lips.
“It’s fifteen-month-old speak for love you.”
 “Oh, I get it now.” Faulk turned his head to look at the laughing
sisters. “That’s so damn cute.” He turned back to Riordan, a serious
look on his face. “My entire point of this, talking to Isla, and now to
you, is just to help you out a bit. I can’t even begin to fathom how
hard it’s been for the three of you to cope with this loss. What I do
know is that Ten and the Craig brothers have real gifts. They could
be a resource for you if you choose to go to them about what Isla is
experiencing, but please don’t think there’s anything wrong with her.”
Setting a hand on his shoulder, Faulk stood up from the table. “How
about some dessert? I’m going to show the girls the parrots and the
waterfall. Why don’t you order something sweet and come join us?”
Riordan watched Faulk walk off. Both of his daughters were so
excited to see the detective. Macy raised her arms to be lifted up.
Faulk did just as she asked, flying her closer to the elephant.
Riordan heard Macy trying to pronounce elephant and Faulk
cheering her on. Isla was holding his hand and was looking up at him
like he hung the moon. If Riordan was standing next to the cop, he’d
probably have the same look on his face too, after what Faulk had
just told him about Isla’s ability to see and speak to Stephen being a
function of her age rather than there being anything wrong with her.
To be honest, he knew all about West Side Magick and what the
psychics there did for a living. Tennyson teaming up with Boston
Cold Case Detective Ronan O’Mara to solve the years’ cold Michael
Frye case had put the shop on the map and Ten’s abilities on the
national stage. Hell, Dateline had come to town to film a show about
the case that prominently featured Ten and Ronan.
When Isla mentioned speaking to her father it had never crossed
his mind to speak to Ten or Cole about that situation. Jesus, he’d
been in the same house with them for hours yesterday and had even
been alone with Carson when they’d been putting the babies down
for a nap.
He’d just thought Isla was being fanciful or imaginative. Was it
actually possible that Stephen was visiting their girls from heaven?
Did that mean his husband was visiting him too? Shaking his head,
he grabbed the dessert menu and flagged down the waitress. There
would be time to think more on this later. He wanted to get in on
seeing the parrots and the waterfall too.
 

Faulkner
Monday morning found Faulkner in a very odd place. He was
sitting at Tennyson and Ronan’s kitchen table in Salem, rather than
at his desk in the Cold Case Unit in the South Boston precinct
house.
These visits had become a weekly ritual for Faulk, Ten, and
Ronan. Ten had known Ronan wouldn’t be able to stay out of work
for the full eight weeks after their daughter, Everly Erin, was born.
He’d been right. This once a week visit from Faulk kept Ronan in the
loop and at home. Plus, it gave Faulk time with his little nugget.
It was quite possible that Everly was the love of his life. He was
endlessly fascinated by her Cupid’s bow mouth and her tiny little
fingers, which always seemed to be reaching out for him. He was
further enchanted by the coos and other little sounds she made. It
never ceased to amaze him that he was able to soothe her when she
got volcanically pissed off. Her face would turn bright red and tiny
tears would track toward her neck. Uncle Faulk had the magic touch
to soothe the savage beast. At least that’s what he told himself.
Now he was sitting at Ten and Ronan’s kitchen table holding their
little miss and feeding her a bottle. The baby was making happy little
grunts as she drank down her breakfast. As for Faulk, he’d found his
Zen.
“So, Faulkner,” Ten started, “how are things with you and
Riordan?” The psychic wore a knowing smile.
“Is he reading my mind?” Faulk asked Ronan.
“Leave me out of this.” Ronan held his hands up.
Everly started grunting again when her bottle was empty.
“What a big girl you are,” Faulk cooed, sitting her up. He held a
burp cloth in front of her and started rubbing her back. “You ate so
good for Uncle Faulk. Yes, you did.”
“While I appreciate you feeding my baby, I know what you’re
doing.” Ten deadpanned.
“Of course you know what I’m doing. You’re psychic!” Faulkner
shot back.
“And you’re deflecting.” Tennyson did not sound amused.
“What was the question again?” Faulk grinned.
Everly let out a burp with some weight behind it. A bit of barf
came along for the ride.
“Oh, no, sugar plum.” Faulk dabbed at her dainty mouth. “There.
All clean. I bet your tummy feels better now.”
Ronan was grinning at Tennyson. “He’s a natural.”
“Yeah, a natural at evading my questions.” Ten rolled his dark
eyes.
 “That’s just plain offensive. Here I am providing excellent care to
your child and you’re accusing me of being duplicitous.” Faulk shook
his head. “Can you believe that, Everly?”
The baby responded with another burp. This one, thankfully, was
dry.
“That’s right, honey, you tell your Daddy.” Faulk smiled brightly at
Tennyson, who he was sure already knew what was going on with
Riordan. “I had a lovely lunch with Riordan Quinn and his daughters
yesterday.”
“I know that, Faulk.” Ten raised an eyebrow.
“You know that because someone told you or because of your
voodoo?” Faulk didn’t need to be psychic to know which answer was
correct.
“My voodoo.” Ten made air quotes over the last word.
Faulkner grinned. “If you know that, then why are you asking
me?” That was the problem with Ten. He never knew when the
psychic knew something or when he was digging deeper for the
whole story.
“I know you spent time with him, but I don’t know any details.”
Ten wore a Cheshire cat grin.
“I offered to take him and the girls to the Rainforest Café.” Faulk
shrugged. “The kids had a great time.” He stood up and offered his
butt to Ronan. “Grab my phone.” He winked at Ten.
“Uh, that’s my child your holding and my beloved husband is
across the table and your asking me to play grab ass with you?”
Ronan snorted.
“No, I’m asking you to grab my phone so I can show your nosy
husband pictures from yesterday, but if you don’t want to see
them…” Faulk trailed off. He knew both men wouldn’t be able to
resist photographic proof of his day with Riordan and the girls.
“If you insist.” Ronan rolled his eyes before putting his left hand
over them and reaching into Faulk’s back pocket with his thumb and
forefinger. He pulled out the phone as if it were something that was
going to rear back and take a bite out of him.
“Drama queen.” Faulk keyed in his password and pulled the pics
up before sliding the phone to Tennyson.
“Thank you, Faulk.” Ten smiled at his husband. “I’ve been saying
that for years, but no one will agree with me. I think they’re afraid of
Ronan slapping on the cuffs.”
“That would be a gross abuse of power. Wouldn’t it, Sergeant
O’Mara?” Faulk was referring to Ronan’s recent promotion.
“Bite me, Faulk. Let’s see those pics.” Ronan leaned over Ten’s
shoulder. “Damn, those are cute kids.”
“I was thinking how cute Faulk and Riordan look together.” Ten
gave Ronan a poke.
“Hmm…Maybe.” Ronan started to laugh.
“There’s something else here.” Ten’s fingers started tapping on
the kitchen table making it look like he was playing the piano along
with a tune only he could hear. “What’s going on with Isla?”
Smiling, Faulk shook his head. He knew sooner or later Ten
would hit the nail on the head. “She’s talking to and seeing Stephen.
Until I had a little talk with Riordan yesterday, he was starting to think
his daughter was…” How did he say that Riordan thought his four-
year-old was crazy? Shit, this was harder than he thought it would
be.
“Suffering from some kind of mental illness?” Ten offered gently.
 Faulk nodded. “It was gutting to see the look on Riordan’s face. I
told him about my time at West Side Magick and what I’d learned
from you about how sensitive kids are to spirit.”
A bright smile blossomed over Tennyson’s face. “Do you think
Riordan believed you?”
“He looked relieved, that was for sure. I told him all about the kind
of work you and the others do and he looked like he was thinking
that over. He also mentioned that maybe Macy is seeing Stephen
too. She sometimes babbles when she’s alone in her crib, laughing
and saying Papa.”
Ten nodded. “It sounds like she’s seeing Stephen for sure, but
Isla told you she’s seeing and speaking to him?”
“Yes. He’s telling her that he loves her and she’s still his little
ladybug.”
“That poor baby.” Ten shook his head. He reached out to set a
hand on Everly.
“Isla told me the reason for her stage fright was that she didn’t
see Stephen at the recital.” Faulk’s heart had broken for her.
Ten was flipping through the pics on Faulk’s phone. “You know
what’s the most interesting thing here?” He looked up at Faulkner.
There was a fascinated look in his dark eyes.
“What’s that?” Faulk had to admit the psychic had piqued his
curiosity.
“This.” Ten flipped the phone around to show him a picture.
It was an image of him and Isla together on the day of the recital.
It was taken after he’d given her the pink roses. They were both
leaning over the blooms to sniff them. It was really a sweet picture.
 Faulk supposed there were a few reasons why Ten would find the
photo interesting. First of all, it didn’t look like he and Isla had just
met each other. Secondly, it had been Isla who asked him to snap
this pic of them. He wanted to hear what Ten’s thoughts were. “Tell
me,” he urged.
“Isla’s wearing her ballerina outfit.” Ten’s Cheshire cat grin was
back.
Faulkner blinked at him. Whatever he’d been thinking Ten was
going to say, this wasn’t it. What did Isla’s outfit have to do with
anything? “I don’t understand.”
Ten turned to Ronan. He was wearing an expectant look on his
face.
Ronan narrowed his eyes. Faulk could see the wheels turning in
his mind. There was obviously something big here that both of them
were missing. What on earth was it?
“Oh!” He looked at Ten wide-eyed. “I remember now!”
Both men turned to Faulk, who was still drawing a blank. Shit,
why couldn’t he remember this important thing? “Help me out here,
guys.”
“When we first met back in August, I read you. Do you remember
what I saw?” Ten leaned forward over the table.
“Ballet slippers!” Faulk blurted out. “All you could see in my future
were the slippers. When Carson’s mother, Bertha, tried to read me,
that’s all she saw too.” Bertha Craig was the founder of West Side
Magick. She’d passed from breast cancer three years ago. Faulk
had never met her, but she’d been kind enough to take a peek into
his future.
 He came back to the present and what Ten was saying about
what Isla was wearing. “Do you really think this is what you were
seeing back then or is this one giant coincidence?”
“I’ll answer your question with one of my own. If this prediction
had been for someone else, a complete stranger, let’s say, and you
saw a picture of that person six months later with a ballerina, what
would you think?”
“That your prediction had been spot on.” It wasn’t a hard leap to
make. What was odd was that he’d forgotten Tennyson’s words in
the first place.
Back in August when Ten delivered his prophecy, the words had
been all he’d been able to think about. Then the situation with Vito
Dragonni had heated up, sending them all into protective custody.
When the case finally wrapped up and Faulk’s life got back to some
semblance of order, the ballet slippers had come back to him, but he
hadn’t seen any in his everyday life.
Over the last few months when there had been no ballerinas and
no slippers entering his life, he thought less and less about it until
he’d forgotten about it altogether.
“So, what does this mean? Am I supposed to be a part of Isla’s
life? Part of Riordan’s?” Faulk felt a fluttering of butterflies in his
stomach.
“The future is fluid,” Ten responded, folding his hands on the
table.
“Don’t give me that shit, Ten.” Faulk grimaced, looking down at
Everly, who was sleeping soundly in his arms. She had her left hand
resting against the side of her face, almost in an, “Oh, dear” gesture.
It was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.
 “There’s something here, Faulk, but I’m not sure what it is, and
really, if I did know, would you want me to spoil it by telling you?”
Ten’s look was genuine, he wasn’t being a dick here.
Faulk was twenty-nine years old. He was long past one-night
stands and was looking to settle down. If Riordan Quinn was meant
to be his forever love, he supposed it would be better to let it happen
organically, rather than with some kind of advanced knowledge that
everything was going to work out in the end, especially if this was
going to be the last time he fell in love. “Okay, I see your point.”
“I had a feeling you would.” Ten laughed.
“Is he always smug like this?” Faulk snorted.
“Not always.” Ronan shook his head. “Sometimes he sleeps.”
“Very funny.” Ten rolled his eyes.
“Do you have any advice here?” He wanted to get that question
in before the pair started to squabble in that cute way that they had.
“About Isla, I mean.”
“You told Riordan we’re available to help. I think you’ve done all
you can for now. My question for you is what’s your next move?”
Faulk had tossed and turned in bed thinking about that very thing
last night. “I don’t know. I really like him. I mean we’ve only talked
about his kids. We haven’t really talked much about ourselves.”
“What about asking him out on a date?” Ronan suggested.
“I’m not sure about his child care situation.” That had been
another thought going through his mind. “Who would watch the
kids?”
“That’s an easy fix. Just ask if you can bring dinner over for the
two of you to share after the kids go to bed. That way Riordan
doesn’t need a baby sitter and he’s home if one of them wakes up
with a nightmare or needs him.” Ten was all smiles.
Faulk had to admit that was a really sweet idea. He never would
have come up with that on his own. “Where did that idea come
from?”
“It’s what Ronan and I do now. We make dates with each other
for when Everly goes down for the night. Neither one of us were
getting much sleep and no sex for the first two weeks she was home
with us. So, we worked out a fixed schedule for her and started
setting dates for dinners and sex. It worked, so we kept doing it.” Ten
blushed. “Scheduling time, I mean, not having sex. Well, you know
what I mean.”
Faulk knew what Ten meant. “That’s a great idea.” The wheels
were already turning in his mind on how he could pull this off.
“Now that Uncle Faulk has gotten his fill of my baby and you’ve
set his love life to rights, can we please get down to business here?
Ronan rolled his eyes as if he were long-suffering.
“That’s our cue to leave.” Ten stood up from the table ready to
take the baby from Faulk.
“Goodbye, little love. Uncle Faulk will see you soon.” He pressed
a kiss to Everly’s forehead and handed her to Tennyson. “Oh, and by
the way, I left a present for her on the hall table. Isla helped me pick
it out at the Rainforest Café. She insisted that Everly was an
elephant girl just like she and Macy.” He’d bought all three girls
identical stuffed elephants at the gift shop. He’d also gotten them all
Rainforest Café frames for the pics they’d taken with the animatronic
elephants. He’d printed one of the pics last night and put it in his
frame. From the outside looking in, they looked like a happy family.
 He’d put the frame in his living room where he could see the
picture when he was watching television. “Yes, Ronan, we can get
down to business.” Faulk smiled at his Cold Case mentor. He was
looking forward to discussing the Martinez case with Ronan. He’d
gotten a lead on Friday that he thought might blow the case wide
open.
After ten years of no news to report to the still grieving family of
Matteo Martinez, Faulk hoped he’d finally be able to bring the
teenager’s killer to justice.
 

Riordan
Four hours after the text message had come in, Riordan was still
staring at it. [Take-out tonight after the girls are in bed?]
The message from Faulkner had come as a bit of a surprise in
that Riordan hadn’t heard from the detective since they’d said
goodbye yesterday in the restaurant parking lot. Not that he’d
bothered to message Faulk either.
Riordan spent the rest of Sunday getting ready for Monday. He’d
done laundry and put it all away, but for the clothes the girls would
wear the next day. He’d also made dinner and did all the dishes.
Once the kids were in bed, he’d spent the rest of the night
thinking about their time at the restaurant. Faulk had been amazing
with the girls, Isla especially. There was no debating that. While he’d
been initially dismissive, and then worried over her claims of seeing
her dead father, Faulk had listened to her and tried to explain what
was going on in a way that a child her age could understand. He
supposed part of it was the fact that Faulk knew more about this sort
of thing than he did.
Faulk had been friends with the psychic crowd for six months and
had learned as much as he could in that time. Riordan, on the other
hand, had known Cole Craig for two years, thanks to Isla’s friendship
with Laurel. Never once had he asked questions about Cole’s job or
if he saw anything about his or the girls’ futures.
There was no sense thinking about that now. What was done was
done. All Riordan could do now was look forward.
Currently, he was sitting in his office staring at the text message
from Faulkner. There was no mistaking this was a date. Yes, it was
at his house, but it was a date all the same. He wasn’t sure he was
ready for that step.
The problem was that he didn’t really have anyone he could ask
for advice either. All of his colleagues at the museum were strictly
business associates. He supposed the closest person he had to a
friend was Cole Craig. Grabbing his phone, he got up from his desk
to shut and lock his office door. The last thing he needed was Ari or
another colleague walking in on this non-professional conversation.
Once the lock was engaged, he hit the button for Cole’s number.
“Hey, Riordan! How’s it going?” Cole sounded chipper as usual.
“Hi, Cole. Things are good. I’m good.” Riordan couldn’t help
wondering if Cole already knew why he was calling.
“No, I don’t know why you’re calling, but I can tell you’re nervous
about something, so it must be important to you.” There was an
obvious grin in Cole’s voice.
Cole’s easy tone helped Riordan to relax a bit. They only ever
spoke to each other about things involving their daughters, so he
had to know something was up. Cole wasn’t necessarily using his
mind powers.
“Oh, I’m totally using my mind powers.” Cole was laughing.
Okay, that was a little freaky. Riordan held back a laugh of his
own. “It’s Faulkner Hayes.” Well, his cards were all out on the table
now.
“I had a feeling that was the case.”
“Your mind powers again?” Riordan found himself grinning.
“No.” Cole’s tone had sobered. “It looked to me like the two of
you really hit it off after the recital when Faulk was talking to Isla. He
was so impressed with you, by the way.”
“He was?” Riordan had to admit that was really sweet.
“We all were. I’ll be the first to admit I couldn’t have done what
you did up there dancing like that, not even with my gift. I have no
idea what the steps are, never mind how to make them. You’re a
hero, Riordan. To your little girl and to the rest of us Dads in the
audience. That was a real wake-up call to me that I can do better
with Laurel.”
“Really? You’re a great Dad, Cole.”
The psychic on the other end of the phone sighed. “Laurel’s really
been struggling since Brady was born. There’s been a lot of sibling
rivalry and I don’t think I’ve handled it as well as I could have. Faulk’s
been spending a lot of time with Laurel when he’s free and that’s
helped, but it’s not the same as having time with me. I’ve been
working so much.”
“I hear you. I’m in the same boat now that we’re a one income
family…” Riordan trailed off. This call wasn’t meant to be a pity party.
“Anyway, Faulk asked us to have lunch with him yesterday at the
Rainforest Café. The girls had a blast.”
“So did you.” It wasn’t a question. “I’m not using my gift,” Cole
clarified. “I can hear the smile in your voice.”
“It was a lot of fun. He’s a good guy.” Riordan had come to that
realization early on.
“So, what’s the problem? I can hear that in your voice too.”
“Faulk asked if he could stop by tonight with take-out after the
girls go to bed.” Riordan took a deep breath. “Yesterday, he said he
wanted to go to lunch to get to know me as a friend, but this sounds
a lot more like a date to me.”
“Okay,” Cole started, “it sounds to me like he wants to spend time
getting to know you as a man and not as a Dad. Does that make
sense?”
Riordan nodded. “It does.”
“Plus, by being home, it saves you from getting a sitter and
putting the girls off their schedule. Are you worried that he’s going to
push things too far, too fast since you’re in private rather than in
public?”
Was that what he was afraid of? “I don’t know. Maybe?”
“Do you want to spend more time getting to know him?” That
smile was back in Cole’s voice.
What did Riordan have to lose? He was just saying yesterday
that he needed more friends. If nothing else, Faulk could be that for
him. “Yeah, I do.” There. That wasn’t so hard to admit.
“Faulk is a good man. He isn’t going to jump you the second he
walks through the door. He’s the kind of guy who’s looking to find his
place in the world. He got out of Major Crimes and into Cold Case
because he was looking for a less dangerous job that would be more
family friendly. Ronan O’Mara has been his mentor in the
department. I know he’s been spending a lot of time with their new
baby. He loves kids.”
Riordan had seen that yesterday first hand and on Saturday
when all the kids at the barbecue had flocked to him as if his pockets
had been filled with candy. They hadn’t been. “It sounds like you
think this dinner with Faulk is a good idea.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters what you think. Do
you want to spend some quiet time getting to know a nice man who
obviously thinks the world of you and your girls or do you think its too
soon for that kind of friendship?”
He guessed that was the real question. Riordan had already
admitted he needed friends of his own. Spending time with everyone
on Saturday had been a good first step in that direction. He’d known
the moment Faulk touched his hand that this had the potential to be
more than just a friendship. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for everything
yet, but I do know that I like Faulk and I want to get to know him
better.”
“There’s your answer.” Cole snickered.
“Um, Cole…” Shit, Riordan couldn’t believe he was about to ask
this.
“Yes, Riordan,” Cole teased, as if he knew what Riordan was
about to ask.
“Are you, um, seeing anything about this? Me and Faulk?” Oh,
God! He’d just asked a psychic about his future. What the hell was
wrong with him?
 “There’s nothing wrong with you, Riordan. This is a bigger
decision for you than it would be for someone else because of what
you’ve been through and because you have Isla and Macy to think
about.” Cole took a deep breath. “There’s no better man than Faulk.
As for what I see, you’re going to have a nice time if you say yes.”
“If I say yes?”
“Nothing is predestined. You have freewill. With that, anything
can happen. Personally, I think the universe brought the three of you
and Faulk into each other’s spheres for a reason.”
Riordan was beginning to think the same thing. “Thanks, Cole. I
really appreciate your advice.”
“Anytime! Laurel’s been asking about a sleepover, so whenever
you feel like dropping Isla by for a night, just let us know. Cassie and
I would love to have her.”
“Isla would love that too.”
“Let me know how things go tonight. Later, man.” Cole clicked off
the line.
Well, Riordan guessed Cole gave a prophecy anyway. He looked
at the phone in his hand and flipped back to the hours old text from
Faulkner. [How does Thai sound?]
Setting the phone down, Riordan turned back to his computer
and the work he’d been neglecting all afternoon. He was planning
the museum’s summer exhibit and had some emails to return about
paintings he was looking to acquire on loan from other museums for
his “Summer on the Coast” exhibit. So many famous artists did what
others did and vacationed in the Bay State during the summer.
Riordan was hoping to put together an exhibition of those pieces that
exemplified summer in Massachusetts.
 Just as he was opening the first email needing his attention, his
phone dinged with an incoming message from Faulkner.
[Sounds perfect! :)]
Now that his stomach didn’t feel so tight, Riordan had to admit
Faulk was right. It did sound perfect.
 

10

Faulkner
He’d used too much cologne, Faulkner was sure of it. He wanted
to use just a hint of his favorite scent, but now that he was stuck in
the truck marinating in his own odor, it was obvious he’d used more
than he intended. Shouldn’t he have gone nose blind to the stuff by
now?
Hitting the power-window buttons, all four of them rolled down.
Thankfully, he was driving through the city streets of Salem at thirty-
five miles-per-hour instead of on the highway at double that speed.
The temperatures were in the twenties and he was already freezing
his ass off.
Faulk was hoping this was a first date of sorts but he didn’t want
to be too pushy if Riordan wasn’t ready to take that step. Showing up
smelling like he bathed in aftershave was definitely being too pushy.
Turning onto Riordan’s street, Faulk felt the butterflies in his
stomach kick into overdrive. It had been so long since he’d been on
an actual date. He hoped he remembered how to do it. Well, not it.
How to be a man on a date with another man, to be more precise.
JFC, he was losing his mind.
 He slowed the truck as the GPS voice on his phone started
chirping that his destination was on the left. Indeed, it was. Riordan’s
modest colonial looked black in the darkness, but it had a spotlight
pointed at the front door. He could see Riordan’s SUV in the
driveway. He liked the house. It looked like a nice place to raise a
family.
He parked the truck and grabbed the bags he’d brought with him.
One held a bottle of wine for them to share with dinner. The other
held something for Isla and Macy. He was going to miss not seeing
them tonight and he wanted them to know he’d been thinking about
them.
Even though it was freezing outside, Faulk’s palms were sweaty.
Shit, he hadn’t been this nervous since his first date with Chris Prior
back in high school. He’d been so nervous that he’d called Chris by
the wrong name when they’d been making out in the car later that
night. Coincidentally, that first date with Chris had also been Faulk’s
last with his hunky classmate.
He rang the doorbell praying tonight would be more successful
than that night fifteen years ago.
“Hi,” Riordan greeted when he opened the door. “Come in.”
“Hey, Riordan.” Faulk bit his tongue. He was about to tell Riordan
how great he looked tonight. His date was wearing worn jeans and a
soft-looking blue sweater. Faulk had the urge to run his fingers down
it to see if it really was as soft as it looked.
“What’s in the bags?” Riordan pointed to what he was carrying.
“I brought a bottle of Pinot Gris for us to share and I got the girls
a couple of things.”
“You did?” Riordan looked curious.
 “I’ll miss not seeing them tonight, so I went by the Hallmark store
and they had the cutest stuffed frogs dressed as ballerinas.” It had
been love at first sight for Faulk. He’d grabbed two of the super soft
frogs and brought them to the register where he found little bags of
gummy frogs, so he’d grabbed two of those as well. “Take a look.”
He handed the bag to Riordan.
Riordan’s hand brushed past Faulkner’s. “Oh, God, you’re frozen
solid. Why are you so cold?”
Faulk felt himself blush. Well, he guessed he wasn’t going to be
cold anymore. “Uh, I had the windows down in the truck.”
“Why?” Riordan looked stunned.
“I might have put too much cologne on.” Faulk grimaced.
Riordan’s eyes narrowed. He stepped closer to Faulkner. They
were only an inch apart. He stood up on tiptoes, his hands coming to
rest on Faulk’s broad shoulders. He delicately sniffed. “You smell
perfect.”
Jesus, save me… Riordan was so close. So warm. So here.
Faulk had no idea where he found the control to keep his hands to
himself. He cleared his throat. “Good. I didn’t want to be one of those
guys who bathed in it.” Faulk was staring down at Riordan the entire
time he was rambling on. His eyes were glowing and looked almost
surprised. This piqued Faulk’s curiosity. What had him so surprised?
Faulk couldn’t wait to find out.
Riordan’s hands were still resting on his shoulders. If he reached
out and took his hips, it would be like a middle school dance.
Riordan shook his head, pulling back from Faulkner, as if he
realized they were within kissing distance. He peered into the bag.
“Ha, these are so cute.” He pulled out the ballerina frogs, which were
about twelve inches tall. “The girls are going to love them. I’ll put
them at their places at the table so they’ll see them in the morning.”
Riordan motioned for Faulk to follow him through the family room
into the dining room. The whole house had an open floor plan with a
large stone fireplace, which was what separated the living room from
the family room. There was a staircase at the front door. “This is a
great house.”
“Thanks. It’s got four bedrooms and a hot tub.” Riordan
shrugged. “The fourth bedroom is a playroom now.”
Faulk understood what Riordan was saying. That room was
meant for baby number three. He watched while Riordan pulled out
the stuffed frogs and set them against the backs of Isla and Macy’s
chairs. He also set the candy next to the toys. “What thoughtful gifts.
They’ll love them.” Riordan was smiling. “Here’s the menu. Have you
been to Lotus Blossom before?”
Faulk nodded. “Their spring rolls are the stuff of legend.”
“I love those too and their lo mein,” Riordan agreed.
“Sounds like we’ve got a plan then.” Faulk reached into his back
pocket to pull out his phone.
“What kind of lo mein?” Riordan asked.
Faulk had a feeling they were on the same wavelength. “The kind
you like. Shrimp.”
Riordan’s mouth fell open. “How’d you know?”
Faulk smiled. “Lucky guess. Do you want to get an order of the
shrimp Dim Sum with the ginger dipping sauce?”
“Those are my favorite. I’ve been trying to get Isla to try them, but
she’s picky sometimes. Stephen was good at getting her to try new
things.” Riordan looked stricken. His mouth snapped shut.
 Faulk reached out for his hand. “It’s okay to say Stephen’s name
and talk about him when we’re spending time together. He’s a part of
you and part of the girls. Nothing that happens between us will ever
change or diminish that. No one who loves you the way you deserve
to be loved would ever ask you to put those wonderful memories
aside.” Faulk gave his hand a squeeze. “Now, I’m going to call our
order in, but when I’m done, I want to hear all about how Stephen
got Isla to eat.” Grabbing the menu, Faulk dialed the restaurant’s
number and placed their order.
“Okay, we’re all set. Food will be here in half an hour.”
Riordan was in the kitchen grabbing plates and silverware, which
he handed to Faulkner. He plucked two wine glasses from the rack
hanging over the kitchen island along with the corkscrew.
“Are these seats good?” Faulk noticed Isla and Macy sat next to
each other and he was indicating the seats next to each other, but
across the table from where the girls sat.
“Sure, these are fine. I usually sit here.” Riordan indicated the
seat across from Macy.
Faulk snorted. “Doesn’t that set you up for some messy meals
being all the way across the table.”
“Macy’s a disaster no matter where I sit. I just clean up when
she’s done and hope she got enough in her belly to make it through
the night.”
“Macy seems the sort to let you know when she needs
something.”
“True.” Riordan grabbed the bottle of white wine and started to
open it. “This is a great bottle. You’ve got taste, Faulk.”
 “You promised to tell me how Stephen got Isla to try new things.”
Faulk really wanted to hear the story. He liked the way Riordan’s
face brightened when he talked about his first husband.
Riordan took his time opening the bottle and pouring both
glasses. He handed the second one to Faulk. “Whenever Stephen
would eat something Isla had never tried before, he wouldn’t even
bother offering her a bite. He knew her answer would be to make a
sour face and shake her head no. So, he’d take a bite and moan out
loud and tell me how yummy it was. Then, he’d hold out a bite on his
fork to me and I’d repeat the process, telling him how good it was.
Stephen would go back to eating and would occasionally say how
delicious it was.”
“Let me guess,” Faulk laughed, taking a sip of wine, “Isla would
feel left out and ask if she could try it too.”
Riordan grinned. “Yeah. Sometimes she’d like it and sometimes
she wouldn’t, but she always tried a bite because Stephen made it
seem like so much fun.”
Faulk picked up his glass, holding it up toward Riordan. “To
Stephen.”
Nodding, Riordan clinked their glasses together. His eyes were a
bit misty. “How was your day?”
“I spent part of the morning with the prettiest redheaded girl.”
Faulk flipped to the pictures on his phone and slid it to Riordan.
Tennyson had snapped a couple of good ones this morning.
“She’s so cute. Were you at Ronan’s to see the baby or to visit
your boss?”
“A little of both since Ronan is still on paternity leave. I visit him
on Monday mornings to let him know what’s going on with my cases.
I give him the rundown while holding Everly. I love me some Everly
time.”
Riordan wore a wistful look. “There’s nothing better than babies
when they’re that small. They love being cuddled and you can hold
them for hours. I did that with both of my girls. I wanted them to bond
with me. I never wanted them out of my arms.”
“Ten and Ronan are like that too. They only hand the baby over
to me because my visits keep Ronan from getting happy feet and
wanting to go into the office.”
“Does he really want to go back to work or do you think he’s
trying to keep up appearances? I love my job at the museum, but
when Isla was handed to me, I never wanted to be anything but a
father ever again.”
Faulk loved the sound of that. “I think he misses the social aspect
of the job, working with us and Captain Fitzgibbon. He likes solving
the mysteries of the cases. He definitely loves being home with Ten
and the baby. Ten’s more like you in that he just wants to be Everly’s
father, but it’s a little more complicated for him.”
Riordan’s brow knit together. “What do you mean?”
“The way Ten explained it to me was that spirits know he’s a
conduit. They know he can see and hear them. If he doesn’t work
and pass along messages, they get frustrated and then angry with
him after a certain period of time.”
“Are you serious?”
Faulk nodded. “There was a time two years back when Ten lost
the use of his gift. The spirits wanting to pass along messages didn’t
understand why he was unwilling to do so for them. They got a little
rough with him.”
 “Rough? How? They’re spirits.” Riordan looked confused and
concerned at the same time.
“Yes, but they can cause physical damage if they have a mind to
do so. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end. Ten got his gift back
and he learned how to make himself unavailable to spirits from time
to time. His plan is to start doing limited phone reading for clients
while Ronan is still home and then he’s going to bring the baby to
work with him when he goes back.”
“Huh.” Riordan wore a wistful look. “I wish I could have done that
with my babies. Strapped them to my chest and walked into the
museum with them.”
Faulkner laughed. “I can’t imagine that would have gone over
well if Macy had spewed all over the Childe Hassam Isles of Shoals
paintings.”
“You know Hassam?” Riordan’s eyes glowed.
 “I do, but for nefarious reasons.” Faulk winked at him.
“Oh, were you investigating the art heist at the Piedmont Gallery
in Boston?”
“I was, but from the other side of it.”
“What do you mean the other side?” Riordan looked confused.
“I was working undercover at the time and had to pose as this
rich bitch sort looking to buy the stolen paintings. I was able to
recover all but two of the stolen works.”
Riordan’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t remember hearing your name
when the arrests were made and the case was solved.”
“That would have blown my cover. The BPD has to be very
careful with undercover cops, especially in this day and age of social
media.”
“Is that why you got out?” Riordan rested his chin in the cup of his
hand. He seemed to be studying Faulkner.
“No.” Faulk debated if he should tell Riordan the real reason, he
didn’t want to risk scaring him off. On the other hand, he didn’t want
to lie to him either. “I moved to Cold Case because I was looking to
slow down a bit. I wanted a steady nine to five job without so many
bullets flying at my head. I want to settle down and…” Faulk trailed
off. He wasn’t as brave as he thought.
“You want to fall in love and have a family. You can say it out
loud.” Riordan’s voice was matter of fact with no hint of emotion.
Damn… Riordan was so hard to read. “Yeah, those are the things
I want for my future. Cold Case was a good first step for me.”
The ringing doorbell stopped whatever Riordan was about to say
next. They walked to the door together, with Riordan taking the bag
of food, while Faulk signed the credit card slip. When he got back to
the table, Riordan was unpacking the food.
“This is much more than we agreed on.” Riordan raised an
eyebrow.
“I ordered a couple of things I wanted you to try.”
“Oh, you did, now?” Riordan wore a grin.
“Am I going to have to do the old airplane trick to get you to eat
up?” Faulk smirked before zooming his hand around like a plane.
Riordan caught his hand and pulled him closer. “I don’t think that
will be necessary. I’ll be a big boy and try it myself.” Riordan lifted a
hand to the side of Faulk’s face. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Faulkner shut his eyes for a moment, letting the heat of Riordan’s
skin melt into his own. “Me too. When I didn’t hear back from you, I
was worried that you were going to say no.” Faulk reluctantly moved
back from Riordan’s touch to pull his chair out for him.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to answer the question.
Was I ready to date again or not?”
“There was the “D” word again.” Faulk hadn’t said it. He’d been
very careful not to use that word with Riordan. “Okay.” He busied
himself by opening the box of lo mein and putting some on Riordan’s
plate before adding some to his own. He did the same with the crispy
spring rolls, giving them each one.
“I thought long and hard about it and then I called a friend.”
That stopped Faulkner in his tracks. The carton of dim sum was
hot in his hand as he lifted his blue eyes to watch Riordan. “Anyone I
know?” He kept his tone casual. Light.
Riordan nodded. “Cole Craig. I was looking for confirmation that
my own conclusion was sound. He agreed I was in a good place.
Cole also told me what an amazing man you are, but I already knew
that.”
Those words warmed Faulkner’s heart. “Oh, yeah?” He felt his
lips quirk into a grin. Faulk wondered how Riordan came to that
conclusion.
“Part of it was the way you were with Isla at the recital. You didn’t
know her at all and you were so kind and gentle. Then there was the
flowers. She’s still talking about Uncle Faulk’s roses.”
“Where are they?” Faulk hadn’t seen them when Riordan brought
him through the house.
Riordan laughed out loud. “They’re in her room. She insisted that
she wanted to see them when she fell asleep and when she woke
up. You totally charmed her. That was the other reason I knew how
amazing you were. When we were at Carson’s house the other day,
you were sitting on the floor surrounded by kids watching a Disney
Princess movie while all of the adults were in the kitchen. None of
the kids sitting on you were yours. I knew then you were a man
worth getting to know.”
Faulk sat with those words for a few seconds. He dumped the
dim sum onto their plates and reached for the crying tiger. He hoped
Riordan was going to like this extra spicy beef dish. “Those kids are
pretty amazing.” He looked up at Riordan. “All they want is your time
and a cuddle or two. There’s nothing disingenuous about them. They
just want to love on you.”
“That’s true.” Riordan picked up his fork. He pointed to the pile of
beef on his plate. “What’s this?”
“It’s called crying tiger. It’s a spicy Thai beef dish. The beef itself
isn’t what makes you cry, it’s the sauce that comes with it. The beef
is just richly seasoned.” Faulk stabbed a piece of it with his fork and
held it up to Riordan. “Taste it.”
Riordan bent forward, slipping his lips over the fork. He made a
little moan.
Faulk’s cock jerked in his pants. Holy fucking shit.
“That’s delicious!” Riordan’s eyes were glowing.
“I’m glad you liked it.” He cleared his throat and adjusted his
position in his seat to make more room for his half-hard dick. He
watched as Riordan cut the dim sum in half and dipped it into the
ginger sauce. Instead of bringing it to his lips, he held it up to Faulk.
He took the mouthful gladly. His eyes locked on Riordan the
whole time. He made a happy, satisfied sound as he chewed. “Thank
you.”
“My pleasure,” Riordan beamed back.
Faulk leaned forward, intent on capturing Riordan’s lips with his
own when the sound of tiny feet on the stairs interrupted his
intentions.
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla crowed as she ran on graceful tiptoes across
the hardwood dining room floor.
Faulk pushed back from Riordan to catch the little pixie as she
ran toward him. “Hello, princess! How come you’re not sleeping?” He
smiled at her as he gave her a cuddle.
“I don’t know.” She rubbed her eyes. “I woke up to go potty and I
came down to see Daddy because I missed him and I saw you.” She
wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I missed
you.”
Faulk felt his heart swell. “I missed you too, sugar plum.”
“Hi, Daddy!” Isla waved at Riordan.
 “Hi, Isla.” Riordan wore an amused smile.
“Are you having fun on your date with Uncle Faulk?” She batted
her eyes at him.
“Who says this is a date?”
“Well, Laurel says her Mommy and Daddy got late night, date
night Chinese food and then she got a little brother.” Isla looked up at
Faulk. “I don’t want a baby brother. Laurel says they poop all over
the place and then your Mommy and Daddy don’t love you
anymore.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true.” Faulk tried to hold back a laugh.
“Well, part of it is true. Baby brothers do poop a lot, but Cole and
Cassie didn’t stop loving Laurel. It’s just that Brady can’t do anything
for himself like you can. He can’t feed himself or use the potty, so he
needs a little extra help.”
“Just like when Macy was born, remember?” Riordan was
smiling.
“I remember. I guess I can have a baby brother if Uncle Faulk is
the other Daddy.” Isla sighed heavily.
“Isla,” Faulk snorted. “Do you think that late night Chinese food
means that you’re getting a baby brother?”
She nodded. “Oh! Wait! Laurel said that her Mommy and Daddy
were kissing too.” She looked back and forth between them. “No
kissing. Got it?”
Riordan barked out a laugh. “Got it.”
“Me too,” Faulk agreed. “No kissing. Can I hold your Daddy’s
hand later if we watch TV?”
Isla’s mouth twisted as if she were thinking it over. “Okay! I don’t
think I’d get a brother just from you holding hands.”
 “Thank you, honey.” Faulk pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I
brought you a present since I didn’t think I’d see you or Macy
tonight.” He pointed across the table.
“Oh! I love the ballerina frog!” Her dark eyes were filled with
happiness. “She’s a tiny dancer just like me.”
“That’s right.” Faulk could see that Isla was enchanted with the
toy.
“You got one for Macy too?”
“She was onstage dancing with you.”
Isla turned in Faulk’s arms to hug him again. “Thank you,” she
said out loud. “Take care of my Daddy,” she whispered.
Faulk crossed his heart and held up his pinkie.
She wrapped hers around it. “I love you, Uncle Faulk.” Isla
pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you too, Daddy.” She leaned over
to kiss him too. “Night, night, ballerina frog. We’ll dance together
tomorrow.” Isla waved and jumped off Faulk’s lap. “Have a good
date.” She danced back to the stairs and she was gone.
Riordan started to laugh. “I don’t know what’s funnier, Isla
thinking babies come from kissing after late-night Chinese food or
her not wanting a brother because they poop too much.”
Faulk laughed along with him. “I’ll never wash this cheek again.”
He pointed to the one Isla kissed.
Riordan laughed again. “She sure is keen on you.” His eyes were
twinkling. “So am I, Faulk.” He leaned forward. “How about I give you
another cheek you’ll never wash again?” Without waiting for an
answer, Riordan kissed Faulk’s other cheek. His lips lingered as his
hand came up to caress the other side of his face.
 Faulk’s stomach plunged. He never wanted this moment to end.
It was sweet and romantic all at once.
When Riordan pulled back, his cheeks were flushed and he was
smiling.
“We broke our promise to Isla.” Faulk grinned.
“I figure so long as there’s no little brother, she’ll never know.”
“Best first date ever!” Faulk held up a crunchy spring roll to
Riordan, who didn’t hesitate to bite off half of it. Faulk popped the
other half into his mouth, grinning as he chewed.
“Agreed.” Riordan nodded. The dining room light blinked twice as
the word slipped from his lips.
Faulk thought that was a bit odd, but all in all, he couldn’t ask for
more than Riordan agreeing that this was the best first date ever.
 

11

Riordan

Saturday morning, Riordan was still thinking about the way the
lights in the dining room had blinked when he’d agreed with Faulk
that their night had been the best first date ever. It hadn’t escaped
his memory that something similar had happened before when he’d
agreed to go out with Faulk and the bedroom light on Stephen’s side
of the bed had blinked twice.
The house was only ten years old. The wiring was still fairly new.
What on earth could be causing lights to blink like that?
It was March in Massachusetts, and winds were known to blow
hard. The problem with that hypothesis was that both times the lights
blinked, the weather had been clear and the winds calm.
 Riordan thought it was just a case of the bulbs needing to be
replaced. He felt much better coming to that conclusion.
Now that he settled the matter in his mind, he had another thing
to think about. Faulkner Hayes. Riordan hadn’t been able to get the
detective out of his head. It wasn’t just that he was tall and
handsome with broad shoulders and a tight ass, the man had a heart
of gold.
After they’d finished dinner the other night, Faulk had washed the
dishes while Riordan had packed up the food. Faulk had been happy
to sit in the living room talking about art for two hours before driving
the forty minutes back to his own apartment in Boston. He was a real
gem, that was for certain, which was why this next date had to be a
good one.
He’d decided to ask Faulk to do something today that the kids
could be involved in too. He knew how much the detective liked
spending time with the girls. It had taken a while for him to figure out
a good family activity. Isla was all about princesses and dancing.
There wasn’t anything like that to do in Massachusetts in March.
His mind had moved on to the idea of the zoo, but most of them
were closed this time of the year or had the warm weather animals
off exhibit due to the cold temperatures. Then the answer hit him.
The New England Aquarium. It has a giant ocean tank, penguins,
seals, and a touch tank, if he remembered right. After that, they
could grab dinner and take the train home.
Faulkner had been instantly on board with the idea as well,
promising Riordan to meet them at the Government Center stop on
the subway’s Green line. From there, they’d walk the ten minutes to
the aquarium together.
 Oddly enough, the only thing that had been worrying Riordan
about the day was how Macy would behave on the forty-minute train
ride from Salem to Boston. He needn’t have worried. The toddler sat
on the bench next to him staring at the Massachusetts countryside
as it flew past. His bag filled with books and his iPad loaded with
movies never needed to be unzipped.
Isla, meanwhile, chatted the entire time about the animals she
was hoping to see. Tops on her list were the penguins. What she
didn’t know was that he’d made arrangements for them to have a
penguin encounter. The aquarium had Little Blue Penguins available
for meet and greets with guests. Riordan had booked that in a
heartbeat. Isla would get the chance to learn about the birds and get
an up-close view of their habitat. At the end of the encounter, one of
the penguins would be brought in for them to meet and get a picture
with.
He wasn’t so sure about meeting the aquatic bird, but knew Faulk
would be up to the challenge. Faulk seemed to be up to every
challenge. When Riordan had texted him about this day out, he’d
gushed over it, telling Riordan all of the fun things they could do
there with the girls.
It was getting harder and harder to shelter his heart from the
charming detective.
Ushering Isla and Macy off the subway train, he led them up the
stairs to the street level of the Government Center T stop. As
promised, Faulk was waiting for them.
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla waved and pulled away from Riordan as they
walked up to him.
 “There’s my best girl!” Faulk knelt down to meet her and give her
a big hug. He could see Macy was holding her arms out to him as
well. “Hello, pretty.” He stood up and kissed the toddler’s forehead
before doing the same to her father. “Hello to you too, Riordan.”
He felt himself blushing. “Hi, Faulk.” What that man’s lips did to
him. Lord have mercy. That was just a tiny kiss to the forehead.
What would happen when their lips actually met? Riordan shuddered
to think about it. Worlds might collide. Or stop turning altogether.
“Ready to go?” Faulk was staring at him as if he knew just what
was going through his mind.
“Ready.” He readjusted Macy on his hip, regretting his decision to
leave her stroller at home. He’d be able to rent one for her at the
aquarium, but it would have been too much trouble for him to deal
with one by himself on the commuter train and then the subway.
“Here, I’ll take her.” Faulk plucked Macy out of his arms and
rubbed noses with her. The toddler squealed in response. “Isla,
Daddy said you researched the aquarium together. What do you
want to see the most?”
“Everything!” Isla half-shouted. “Nemo and Dorie, Myrtle the
turtle, the seals and the penguins. Daddy said there are sharks too,
but we’re afraid of sharks.” Her little face scrunched into a frown.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were both afraid of sharks. I guess it will
be just me and Macy with the sharks then, right, kiddo?”
Macy started to laugh.
Riordan wasn’t big on sharks. He supposed it was a product of
the movie Jaws and not really understanding the giant ocean
predator. He was starting to regret that stance. He’d made Isla afraid
of an animal with his own fear. “Maybe I could learn more about
sharks today and I could like them too.”
“That’s a great attitude, Daddy!” Faulk gave Riordan a poke.
“What about you, Isla? Do you want to learn more about sharks too?
I think they’re kinda cute.”
“You do?” Isla shot him a funny look.
Faulk pointed up at a giant picture of a dappled shark on the side
of the aquarium. “I think he’s pretty cute. Don’t you?”
“Fishy!” Macy shouted.
“That’s right, cutie. He’s a shark.”
“’Hark!” Macy sprayed spittle as she exclaimed.
“Do you want to meet him? They have a touch tank where you
can gently touch sharks and rays.”
Macy’s eyes went wide. “Me ‘hark.” She nodded her head.
It was on the tip of Riordan’s tongue to object. He didn’t want to
see his youngest daughter eaten alive by an ocean predator. Then
his common sense kicked in. The aquarium wouldn’t have a touch
tank set up with animals that would hurt kids. He remembered
seeing pictures of the tank and the small animals that inhabit it. “I’ll
meet a shark too.”
“Me too!” Isla agreed.
“Well, let’s get on in there and meet a shark then!” Faulk held the
door open for Isla and Riordan.
“Thank you.” Riordan mouthed as he walked past. He couldn’t
help noticing the hungry look in Faulk’s eyes directed at him. This
was going to be an interesting day.
Riordan left the kids with Faulk, who was showing them the
picture of a real-life “Nemo” high up on the lobby wall, while he went
to get the tickets.
The kids agreed they wanted to see the touch tank first since
Faulk mentioned being able to touch a shark. He was still a little
leery about doing it, but if Macy could be brave enough, so could he.
Plus, he had big, brave Faulk with him. Faulk could save him from
anything. His heart warmed at the mere thought of having a man like
that in his life. Turning around from his place in line, he could see the
detective laughing with the girls as they pointed at something, he
couldn’t quite see.
“All set, everyone.” Riordan grinned when he rejoined the group a
few minutes later. “Off to the touch tank.” He could still hear a tremor
of fear in his voice. He needed to work on that.
“It’s going to be fine. The sharks on display are little ones. It’s not
like they’re going to have Jaws in the tank for the kids to play with.”
Faulk nudged his shoulder and picked up his hand. “I’ll hold Macy up
to meet them if you want to hold back with Isla.”
Riordan shook his head. “No, I think it will be good to show Isla
how to overcome your fear. I was the one who gave this silly fear to
her. I should be the one to show her how to overcome it.” He
straightened his spine.
“I’m really proud of you.” Faulk grinned. “Confidence looks sexy
on you.”
“Damn, Faulk. You mean that?” Riordan felt a shiver travel down
his entire body.
Faulkner nodded silently. His blue eyes had darkened and he
looked like he wanted to take a bite out of Riordan himself. Forget
the sharks, Faulk was the predator here. Riordan was feeling crazy
enough to let the detective have a little nibble.
 “Oh, wow!” Isla yanked on Riordan’s hand. “Daddy look!”
They’d walked into the humid lagoon area, complete with
mangrove trees and the twenty-five-thousand-gallon touch tank,
which was shaped like a giant kidney bean. The tank was kid-friendly
in height, Riordan was going to have to bend down to reach the
animals, if he was still courageous enough to touch them.
There were signs everywhere teaching people how to touch the
creatures and urging gentleness and the idea of letting the animals
come to you.
“Daddy! Look at the spotted one! Just like in the picture.” Isla’s
eyes lit up.
“’Hark!” Macy pointed too.
“Do you want to meet the sharks and rays?” Faulk asked Macy.
The little girl nodded.
He set her down on the ground and started taking off her heavy
winter jacket. “You have to be gentle, okay?” Faulk rolled up her long
sleeves before he ran two fingers down her left arm. “Can you show
me how to do that?”
Macy repeated what he’d just shown her.
“You’re so smart, cutie. That’s how you have to touch the sharks.”
He lifted her up closer to the tank, holding her tight with one arm.
Riordan was feeling a bit sick to his stomach. He could see that
Faulk had Macy in a tight grip. The tank itself was only eighteen
inches deep. It wasn’t like Macy was going to drown in the seconds it
would take Faulk to pull her out even if she did manage to wiggle out
of his grasp. He took a deep breath and reached for his camera.
Setting it to record, he trained it on Macy and Faulk.
 Faulk set his hand in the water, grinning when Macy copied him.
As if on cue, a cownose ray swam past, right under their fingers.
“Ohhh, soft!” Macy’s dark eyes glowed with excitement.
“The rays are so silky.” Faulk grinned at the camera. “Here’s a
shark. Should we touch him?”
Macy nodded. “Hi, ‘hark!”
Riordan could see the small spotted fish lying on the bottom of
the tank in a tangle of mangrove roots. It looked placid enough. He
held his breath as Faulk and Macy’s fingers breached the water.
“That’s it. Nice and gentle,” Faulk urged, as their fingers slid over
the shark’s back toward its tail. “Wow, Macy! We’re petting a shark.”
His voice was soft, but filled with excitement.
“Me touch,” Macy whispered back.
Faulk laughed with the toddler.
Riordan felt his heart start to hammer in his chest. It wasn’t
because his youngest child was touching a predator of the deep. Or
because her hand was in a tank filled with other sharks. No, Riordan
knew his heart was pounding because Faulkner Hayes had just
claimed a piece of it.
“Your turn, Daddy and Isla?” Faulk was grinning at them. He
grabbed a towel from his pack to dry off his and Macy’s arms.
“You turn, Dada!” Macy hugged Riordan’s leg.
“Yup, it’s our turn now, right, Isla?” Riordan shot his oldest
daughter his most confident smile.
“I’m ready, but let’s try the rays first. Like Uncle Faulk and Macy
did.” Her smile was a bit weaker, but just as determined as her
father’s.
 Handing his phone to Faulk, Riordan rolled up his right sleeve,
then helped Isla to do the same. He looked down into the tank,
watching the rays glide past him. “They remind me of you, Isla.”
Her nose scrunched up. “They do?”
“Look how graceful they are when they swim. Just like you are
when you dance.” Riordan was all smiles now. He could do this. For
Isla. For himself. Taking a deep breath, he stuck his right hand into
the water. It was so warm to the touch. He noticed Isla followed his
lead.
Of course, it wasn’t one of the silky cownose rays that swam
toward them, but the biggest shark in the tank. It was about three
feet long and had a nose that looked like the head of a shovel.
Digging deep for all the courage he had, he kept his hand in the
water and let his fingers glide along the shark’s flank as it swam
past. It made no move to bite either of them. It just kept swimming.
Its skin was a bit rough, like an emery board.
“Daddy! We did it! We touched a shark! I love them now. I’m not
afraid anymore. Thank you, shark!” Isla raised her dripping hand to
wave at the fish as it kept swimming.
Other parents and kids in the touch tank area started to applaud
Isla.
She hugged Faulkner. “Thank you, Uncle Faulk! You helped me
not be afraid anymore.”
“I’m so happy for you, honey. Do you want to meet more sharks?
I’ll take your picture.”
Isla nodded. “Come on, Macy! Let’s do it again!” Isla turned back
to look at Faulk. “Maybe we could get shark stuffies at the gift shop?”
She batted her eyes at him.
 Faulk started to laugh. “I think that can be arranged.”
Riordan dried off his hand before he came to stand next to
Faulkner. “You’ve cast a spell over us all.” His hand reached out to
wrap around Faulk’s hip.
Faulk turned to Riordan. His eyes dark with desire. “Are you sure
I’m the one casting the spell?”
Licking his lips, Riordan nodded. “Look at my girls. They’re
happier than they’ve been in a long time.” He pulled his eyes away
from the handsome cop to watch Isla and Macy. “So am I. This
shouldn’t be possible, but it is. You’re magical, Faulk.”
Reaching for the side of Riordan’s face, Faulk brushed their lips
together. Once, then twice. “No, the magic is all you. I felt it the
second I saw you dancing on that stage. Then it flashed over the first
time I touched you.”
“And now?” Riordan asked, breathless.
Faulk’s eyes slipped shut. His teeth were nibbling on his bottom
lip. “All I want to do is kiss you until they shut the lights off and they
tell us it’s closing time.” Faulk did kiss him again, this time using
those sharp teeth to nibble Riordan’s bottom lip. “But that will have to
wait.” Faulk flashed a killer smile. “We need more pics of you with
the girls and the sharks. That’s this year’s Christmas card for sure.
Go get them.”
Riordan was reluctant to pull away from the heat of the moment.
From Faulk. He did it though. He got down on his knees with his girls
and let the red-hot detective shoot as many pictures of them with the
sharks as he wanted. Riordan’s mind, all the while, was on Faulk
and sinking his teeth into him.
 
 12

Faulkner

Four days later, Faulkner couldn’t get kissing Riordan out of his
head. It was the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep at
night and the first thing he thought about when he opened his eyes
in the morning. He needed more. That was crystal clear the
moments their lips lost contact with each other at the aquarium touch
tank.
From that moment forward, Faulk had been working out a way for
them to be alone together. Truly alone. Their dinner date at Riordan’s
kitchen table had been nice, but he was hoping for more than that
this time around. He wanted to wine and dine Riordan and it was
while they had been at the next touch tank that Faulk had figured out
where he was going to take Riordan.
The Edge of the Sea Touch Tank featured sea creatures that you
were likely to find on local New England beaches and tide pools. The
kids had been eager to get their hands wet again to hold the starfish
and urchins. While Faulk had been telling the kids about other kinds
of animals in the ocean, he mentioned lobster, which of course made
him think about Lobster Charlie’s.
The popular restaurant was only about a mile away from
Riordan’s house and they took reservations. That would be an easy
way to get them a table without the wait the restaurant usually
experienced for dinner. He figured a weeknight might also help with
getting a table.
When Faulk suggested the date, Riordan had been quick to
accept. Now he was pulling into the driveway behind an SUV he’d
never seen before. He assumed it belonged to Isla and Macy’s Noni.
The girls had told him funny stories about their grandmother during
lunch at the aquarium. Well, Isla did. Macy kept yelling, “Noni,”
before laughing hysterically.
He grabbed the bouquets of flowers off the passenger seat of his
truck and headed toward the front door. This time, Faulk hadn’t
made the mistake of wearing too much cologne. He’d taken every
precaution to ensure tonight was going to be perfect.
Ringing the doorbell, he could hear the pitter-patter of little feet
and giggling girls. “Uncle Faulk!” Isla laughed, when Riordan opened
the door. “Ohh, flowers. Those are beautiful. Are they for me?”
“Maybe.” He bent down to press a kiss against her forehead.
“Me!” Macy said, hugging his leg.
“Maybe!” Faulk kissed Macy too.
“Hi, Faulk. Are the flowers for me?” Riordan asked, sounding shy.
“Actually, they’re for all of the beautiful ladies!” He grinned at the
older woman standing behind everyone. “You must be Maggie. I’m
Faulkner Hayes.” He held out his hand to shake.
Maggie laughed. “I am. I’ve heard a lot about you tonight. My
granddaughters are enchanted with you.”
“The feeling is definitely mutual. These are for you.” Faulk
handed her a bouquet of purple wildflowers.
“Thank you, Faulk. These are beautiful.”
“These are for my tiny dancer.” He handed a pink bouquet to Isla.
“And for my tiniest dancer.” He handed a yellow bouquet to Macy.
Faulk was still holding one more bouquet.
“Boo-ful.” Macy grinned before sticking her face into the blooms
to sniff them.
 “Girls, why don’t we find vases for your flowers?” Maggie herded
them into the kitchen.
Faulk laughed while the girls headed off. “These are for my
handsome date.” Faulk handed the red bouquet to Riordan.
“The florist must have loved you.” Riordan gently sniffed at the
zinnias.
“She was quite impressed with my story about wooing a man with
two daughters and that man’s mother to boot. How did I do?” Faulk
leaned in to whisper.
“I’d say you hit the nail on the head. Purple is Mom’s favorite
color.”
“I knew it!” Faulk raised a fist in victory. “Are you about ready to
go?”
“After we kiss everyone goodnight.” Riordan wrapped his pinkie
around Faulk’s, tugging him toward the kitchen. “Uncle Faulk and I
are going to head out.” He couldn’t help laughing at his mother
getting the flowers into mason jars. She was soaked from Macy
wielding the sink hose.
“Bye!” Macy shouted before going back to playing with the water.
“Bye, Daddy.” Isla ran to Riordan, hugging him tight. “Have fun
with Uncle Faulk and don’t think at all about that really cute blue
lobster we saw at the aquarium.” She folded her arms over her
chest.
Faulk snorted. “Oh, Isla, Lobster Charlie’s is just a name. They
don’t serve blue lobster there.” He bit his lip to hold back a laugh.
After Isla met the tropical-looking crustacean, she’d insisted that she
and Macy get a blue lobster stuffie along with the shark stuffie Faulk
had promised earlier. By the end of their visit. Each child ended up
with a penguin and seal too. He’d bought himself and Riordan large
coffee mugs featuring sharks. The crew at the store had been sad to
see them go.
“They don’t?” Isla sagged with obvious relief.
“Nope.” What Faulk was leaving out was that they sold the
ordinary colored lobsters and he planned on having himself one,
maybe even two. Isla didn’t need to know that until she was much
older. “Do I get a hug goodnight?”
“Yup!” She flew into his arms, hugging him close. “Thank you
again for Munch, Claws, Wobble, and Bark.” She hugged him again.
“Who are they?” Faulk was confused.
“The stuffies.” Riordan snorted. “Munch is the shark. Claws in the
lobster. Wobble is the penguin and Bark is the seal.”
Faulk laughed. He was the one who told Isla that seals barked
like dogs. “What did Macy name her animals?”
“Mine!” Riordan rolled his eyes. “It’s what she shouts every time I
try to move one.”
“We’ll work on that. Won’t we love bug?” Maggie smiled fondly at
her granddaughter. “Have a good night, boys. Stay out as late as you
like. I have snacks and the remote.”
Riordan kissed his mother’s cheek. “Thanks, Mom. No long-
distance calls and absolutely no boys. Hear me?”
Maggie laughed. “Good heavens, Riordan. At my age I don’t
even know what I’d do with a boy.”
“I do!” Isla volunteered.
“You do?” Faulkner was shocked. What did Isla know about
boys?
 “You hold hands and tell him how handsome he is. That’s what
you did at the seal show, Uncle Faulk.” She wore a proud look.
Phew… Faulk was glad she hadn’t been looking when he was
kissing her father’s at the shark touch tank.
“Isla, tell me again about how brave you were to touch a shark!”
Maggie held up a hand to wave to Riordan and Faulk.
“I was so brave, Noni,” Isla started.
Faulk grabbed Riordan’s jacket and helped him into it before they
slipped, unnoticed out the door. He linked hands with Riordan as he
led his date toward the passenger seat of the truck. When they got to
the truck, Faulk gently pushed Riordan against the side of it. “Missed
you.” His lips brushed against Riordan’s.
“Me too.” Riordan was gasping for breath after one kiss. He was
quick to steal a second one before Faulk helped him into the
passenger seat of the truck.
Their chemistry was electric. Walking around the front of the truck
to the driver’s side, Faulk could still feel the ghost of Riordan’s lips.
They were firm and full of so much promise. “You make me want to
sit in the driveway kissing you all night long.”
“Feed me first so that we have the energy to do that very thing.”
Riordan laughed.
If Faulk didn’t know better, he’d think his date was twenty-one,
rather than thirty-one. Riordan sounded young and full of life. He was
going to make sure this mood carried through the entire date. “That
was a close one with Isla and the blue lobster.”
Riordan laughed. “I’ll just tell her in the morning that I had steak.”
Faulk snorted. “We’ll just have to make sure our next family
outing isn’t to a farm. If she finds out how adorable cows are, we’re
screwed.” Firing up the engine, Faulk pulled out of the driveway.
“You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” Riordan sounded
amazed.
“What, going on family outings?” Faulk wanted to make sure he
understood the question before answering it.
“Yeah. I mean, let’s face it, there were a lot of things about this
situation that could have sent you running right from the start, but
you’re still here.” Riordan reached out for Faulk’s hand.
He didn’t want to admit it out loud, but Riordan had a point. “Like I
said before. I’m at a point where I’m ready to settle down. A man
with kids of his own was never a situation I was going to run from in
the first place. Your girls are amazing. They’re inquisitive and
friendly. They accepted me into their lives as quickly as I accepted
them. It was instantaneous. Like we were all meant to know each
other. What worried me about the situation was you.” Faulk gave
their joined hands a squeeze before pulling away to turn into Lobster
Charlie’s parking lot.
“You mean my being a widower?” Riordan half-whispered.
“Right.” Faulk parked the truck. He turned to look at Riordan.
“Grief is one of those things that everyone has their own schedule for
dealing with. Some men are ready to date in a month, while others
never are again. I didn’t know where you fell in that range. What was
worse, I guess, was that I wasn’t quite sure how to ask.”
Riordan sat with those words for a few seconds. “I never looked
at it from your perspective before. I kept doing pulse checks of my
own. Could I do this? Was I ready? How were the girls handling
things? I tried to give you as many clues as I could, but we never
really talked about things, did we?”
 Faulk shook his head. “Why don’t we head inside and do that
over an amazing dinner?” He brushed a kiss over Riordan’s cheek.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, detective.” Riordan’s eyes were
glowing under the parking lot lights.
Faulk took his hand as they walked to the door. He could smell
the salt air from the ocean. A million stars twinkled overhead. This
was the perfect place to take Riordan tonight. “We’ve got a
reservation under Hayes,” Faulk said when they got to the hostess
station.
“Right this way.” Grabbing two menus, the hostess, dressed all in
black, led them into the restaurant.
Taking Riordan’s hand, Faulk guided him to their table.
“Penny will be right with you.” Nodding, the hostess walked away.
“This place is amazing. I’ve heard of it before, but I’ve never been
here.”
“It’s one of Ten and Ronan’s favorite places. They do take out
here all the time and we held their baby shower here too.”
“That’s amazing to think about, a baby shower for a gay couple.”
Riordan shook his head.
“It was the same thing that they have for women, only we did it
for the guys. What was also fun was the way we all pampered
Emilyn, their surrogate. We gave her gift cards for her favorite
clothing stores and chocolates and skin care. She’s one of the
psychics at West Side Magick. We all love her so much and it’s
obvious how much she loves Ten and Ronan.” A wistful smile
crossed his lips. “You didn’t have a shower for Isla?”
Riordan shook his head. “My Mom helped us out with a lot of
things for her, but no one thought to have an actual shower. Stephen
and I didn’t really have a lot of gay friends. Not like the group you all
have going. You know Cole texts me everyday now to see how I’m
doing. He wants Isla to come for a sleepover next weekend with
Laurel.”
Faulk felt his lips curl into a wolf’s grin. “Hmm, that sounds
interesting.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Maybe you’d like to have a
sleepover too? Mom’s always talking about how much she’d like to
have Macy for the night…” Riordan trailed off, the tips of his fingers
slid along Faulk’s.
“Is this the conversation we said we were going to have?” Faulk
smiled so brightly at Riordan. His cheeks were starting to ache.
“Yeah. I was nervous in the beginning. I thought maybe if we tried
things out it would mean I was being unfaithful to Stephen.”
“How do you feel about that now?” Faulk tangled their hands
together.
“I don’t think he’d see it that way. His number one priority was
always my happiness. I can’t imagine that would change in death.”
Riordan lowered his head. “It’s been so hard without him. I don’t just
mean the grief, because there were days when I thought it would
swallow me whole. I mean the workload too. Getting the kids out the
door in the morning, making dinners, doing laundry. There are nights
I fall into bed at 8pm after I get them settled for the night. I wouldn’t
trade it for anything, but I wouldn’t turn down some help either.”
“Hi, guys, I’m Penny. Welcome to Lobster Charlie’s. Our special
tonight is the seafood chowder which is loaded with lobster, shrimp,
and haddock, along with our twin lobster rolls which come with crispy
French fries and cole slaw. Have you decided what you’d like to
order tonight?”
“I don’t know about you,” Faulk grinned at Riordan, “but you had
me at twin lobster rolls. I’ll get that with the chowder, and a Coke,
please.”
“Make that two,” Riordan agreed.
“You’ve got it. I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Penny smiled
and was gone.
“Twin lobster rolls?” Riordan laughed. “I’m not going to need any
help polishing those off.”
“I don’t think I will either.” Faulk was still turning over what
Riordan had been saying before the waitress had interrupted them.
“Were you saying that you’re open to another serious relationship or
something more along the lines of what we have now, where you
have someone to hang out with and spend time with the kids?”
Riordan reached out for Faulk’s hand. “Oh, no. I’m sorry if I said
that wrong. I’m interested in a serious relationship with the right man.
The fact that you hit things off with my kids makes you so much
more attractive to me.” A blush bloomed over his face. “I’d like to
give this growing thing between us a chance, Faulk. The kids love
you so much. They talk about you all the time. Uncle Faulk this and
Uncle Faulk that. They’re crazy about you.” Riordan took a deep
breath. “To be honest with you, so am I.”
Faulk burst out laughing. He’d been so nervous about what
Riordan was about to say, his words were a relief. “Oh, thank God.”
He leaned forward to brush their lips together. “When you said the
kids were crazy about me and didn’t include yourself in that, I wasn’t
sure where you were going. Phew!”
 “Does ‘phew’ mean that you want to take this crazy ride with me
and the girls?”
Faulk nodded. “Oh, yeah. They are such remarkable little people.
We’re all going to have so much fun together.”
Riordan squeezed his hand. “There is one thing I want to talk to
you about though.” The bright look in his dark eyes dimmed.
“Let me guess. My job?” Faulk had a feeling this was coming. For
a widower, the number one thing on his mind had to be stability and
above all, not wanting history to repeat itself.
“Here we are! Drinks and chowder. Sorry for the wait. I thought it
would be easier to bring them at the same time.”
“Thanks, Penny.” Faulk smiled brightly at the waitress. He didn’t
mind at all, the fewer interruptions the better, in his book. He took his
time taking a sip from his soda and opening the package of oyster
crackers that came with his chowder and dumping all of them into his
bowl. Faulk couldn’t help noticing the dainty way Riordan added
three crackers to his chowder before taking a taste of it.
“This is delicious.” Riordan’s eyes lit up. “What I would do for this
recipe.”
“You’d have to fool Isla into eating it.” Faulk laughed.
“I’m sure Uncle Faulk could figure something out.”
Faulk was sure he could too. It seemed like such a delicate thing
though, teaching kids to love animals, but also introducing them to
how tasty they were at the same time. He’d have to work on that.
Thinking about poor Isla’s reaction to eating lobster was keeping his
mind off talking about his time at work and how he’d explain that to
Riordan. It wasn’t going to be easy.
“So, Cold Case.” Faulk took a sip from his Coke.
 “You said before that it has a slower pace than where you were
before.” Riordan’s look was understanding.
“That’s true. Major Crimes was a hard gig. I worked undercover a
lot, which is the most dangerous assignment you can pull. One
wrong move and your cover is blown.” He’d come close to that
happening a time or two, not that he was going to tell Riordan those
stories.
“Is that part of the reason you wanted out?”
Faulk nodded. “Not only was I prone to getting put into another
undercover assignment, but Major Crimes deals with gang violence,
drug and human trafficking, as well as prostitution. The worst of the
worst humanity has to offer. I didn’t want to be a part of those
investigations anymore. I wanted something where I could still make
a difference, but without the high risk.”
“How’d you get involved with Cold Case?”
“I knew Ronan O’Mara from a previous undercover stint and his
name came up in the Dragonni case. It was actually on a hit list.
When my captain pulled me out of the assignment, he still wanted
me on the case, so I ended up working as Tennyson Grimm’s
personal bodyguard at the psychic shop.”
“You worked at West Side Magick?” Riordan laughed.
“Wait until you see the pictures.” Faulk flipped through his phone
until he found them and handed the device to Riordan. “My fake
psychic name was Harry Atlantis. I was a hit.”
“Oh. My. God.” Riordan looked at Faulk and then back down at
the pictures of a platinum blond Faulk with pink highlights, wearing a
collared shirt with only one button done.
“Do you like what you see, sailor?” Faulk started to laugh.
 “I can’t even believe that’s you.” Riordan’s dark eyes glittered with
amusement.
“It was a lot of fun being in the shop with all the guys and Emilyn,
until Dragonni’s goons showed up. Cole’s baby was in the shop that
day, so was Em, who was pregnant at the time, and Cassie was
working in the adjoining store. It was pretty tense.” Faulk’s gut turned
thinking back to that day.
“You saved everyone though.”
“I did, but it was absolutely terrifying at the same time.” Faulk
would never forget the two armed goons who’d been there with a
message for Ronan.
“How is Cold Case different from that?” Riordan sounded more
curious than accusatory.
“The fact that so much time has passed from when the original
crime was committed usually helps in terms of dealing with former
persons of interest and reluctant witnesses. Sure, some witnesses
might have died, but situations change too. I find that people are
often more willing to talk since these secrets have been weighing
them down over the years.”
“I can imagine guilt changes people.” Riordan certainly looked
like he was speaking from experience.
“Yeah,” Faulk agreed. “Now don’t get me wrong, there are still
times when things go south and bullets fly, but for the most part,
these investigations are a lot more sedate, especially with Tennyson
on the team.”
“How does he help?”
“When he works with Ronan, he talks to the murder victims.
Sometimes they can tell us who killed them or where evidence is
hidden. Then it’s just a matter of getting people to confess or
speaking to other witnesses who know more than they’ve previously
told us.”
“Damn, I had no idea. I thought you guys were just running old
evidence for DNA or using new technologies to find new leads.”
Riordan looked impressed.
“We do a lot of that too, but there’s still good old-fashioned police
work involved in it.
“Here’s the lobster rolls, boys. Is there anything else I can get for
you?” Penny asked.
Faulk looked to Riordan who shook his head no. “We’re good.
Thank you.”
She nodded and walked away.
“I can’t guarantee that I’ll always be safe at work, but no one can
make that promise to you. Do you think you can handle what I do for
a living?” Faulk held his breath. So much was riding on the answer to
this question.
“I can handle it. We won’t tell Isla anything about what you do,
just that you’re looking for bad guys.”
Relief rolled through his entire body. “That’s all we tell Laurel too.
She’s pretty happy knowing Uncle Fuck is a good guy who chases
bad guys and wins.”
“Here’s to you, Uncle Fuck.” Riordan held up his glass.
“Right back at you, Dancing Daddy.” Faulk clinked their glasses
together. He was about to take a sip when Riordan’s phone started
to ring.
“Uh, oh. It’s Mom.” His face crumpled.
 Riordan stabbed a piece of lobster with his fork. He had a very
bad feeling that was going to be the only bite of dinner he was going
to get.
 

13

Riordan
Of all the nights for the girls to both come down with the stomach
bug, why did it have to be tonight? His mother had been very calm
on the phone while she’d been describing what was going on, but in
the background he could hear the chaos. Tiny gags and worse.
Faulk was amazing. While he’d been on the phone getting all the
details on how sick the girls were from his mother, his date had
flagged down their waitress and explained the situation. By the time
he was done with the call and had run to the bathroom, their meals
were boxed up and Faulk had paid the check.
“You can just drop me off in the driveway.” Riordan was already
dreading what he’d be walking into when he got home. Two puking
kids. He was not good with vomit. He was what his mother called a
sympathetic puker. Once he heard or smelled the festivities, he often
needed a barf bucket of his own.
“Are you kidding me? No way. You were just saying not even an
hour ago that you needed help sometimes. Now is one of those
times. Tiny barfers don’t look to be your specialty.” The look on
Faulk’s face said it all. He wasn’t going anywhere.
“And they’re yours?” Riordan shot back with no heat behind the
words.
“Sure. Everly spews on me all the time.”
 Riordan snorted. “There’s a huge difference between infant spit-
up and real human barf. This will resemble what they ate and it will
smell like the devil.” Riordan almost gagged just thinking about it.
“That settles it. I’m coming in with you for sure. Also, what
happens if you get struck down by this bug too. You’ll need to have
someone there who’s immune.”
“Immune? You’re not Superman, Faulk.” Although right now he
sure as hell sounded like he was the Man of Steel.
“Actually, I am, but in this case, I had the puking bug a month
ago. Lovely Laurel gave it to me over Valentine’s Day. I was kind
enough to watch her and Brady so Cole and Cass could get a night
out and I spent the night getting hoarked on from two camps. It was
ugly. Then Uncle Fuck’s tummy started to rumble. After a night of hot
wings, it wasn’t pretty. I can tell you that.”
“Oh, God. Maybe you are the best man to have in a crisis then,”
Riordan agreed as Faulk pulled into the driveway. He noticed the
detective parked behind his SUV, rather than behind his mother’s.
“Promise you won’t get offended if the girls want me. Sometimes
they get clingy when they’re sick.” Riordan gave Faulk’s hand a
squeeze.
“No problem. I can do laundry or change beds if that needs to be
done while you rock them or cuddle them.”
Riordan shook his head. Faulkner Hayes really was one in a
million. “Mom?” He called out when he unlocked the door and
stepped inside. The downstairs was quiet, but he could hear
commotion going on upstairs. “Come on.” Riordan waved Faulk
forward.
 The stench hit him halfway up the stairs. He wasn’t sure if he
could go on.
“You can do this,” Faulk whispered. “Isla? Macy?” Faulk called
out.
“In here, boys!” Maggie shouted back.
“Master bathroom,” Riordan confirmed. It made the most sense.
There was a bathtub and a shower stall in there. Stepping into his
bedroom, Riordan saw a pile of soiled clothes on the hardwood floor.
He could hear dry heaves and crying from the bathroom.
He wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he walked into the
room. Isla was bent over the toilet while Macy was standing in the
tub wearing only a diaper, looking like a wet dishrag.
“Oh no, Macy.” Faulk took off toward the toddler who was
screaming and getting sick at the same time. Her dark hair was
sticking up in wild tufts while her little body was wracked with
heaves. “You’re okay. Uncle Faulk has you.” He turned to look at
Riordan who was frozen. He was looking back and forth between the
baby and Isla. Maggie was standing near Isla, holding her hair back.
“What do you need, Mom?” Riordan couldn’t believe what was
going on.
“My own bed, kiddo. My own stomach started tossing when I
called you, otherwise, I would have let you both enjoy your night.”
Maggie Quinn looked positively green.
“Walk Maggie to the car, Riordan. Do you need a ride home or
are you going to be okay to drive?” Faulk asked as he held Macy’s
back to his front.
“It’s only a mile or so. I’ll make it. Call me tomorrow to let me
know how the girls are doing.” She waved and Riordan took her out
of the room. “This is going to be quite a test, huh?”
“A test for Faulk?” Riordan asked as he guided his mother down
the stairs.
“Yeah, he seems dug in up there.” A ghost of a smile passed over
Maggie’s face.
“He said Laurel had this a month ago. He got it from her.”
“You’re going to need a last man standing.” Maggie shrugged into
her coat. “This isn’t good, Riordan. You might need to call their
pediatrician if they can’t keep anything down. It started around 8pm
and things were too crazy for me to take their temps.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks. I’ll start there.” Riordan opened the door for
his mother. “Feel better.”
“I pray this doesn’t hit you, but those girls love all over you.”
Maggie waved on her way out the door.
Riordan was already prepared for this stomach bug to take him
down. Thank God for Faulk. When he saw her SUV pull out of the
driveway, he sprinted back up the stairs where he saw Faulk had
taken over for Maggie, holding Isla’s hair. Macy had calmed down for
the moment and was resting her face on the cool lip of the tub.
“Mom said she hadn’t taken their temperatures.” Riordan had no
idea what else to say.
“Both of them feel like they’re burning up,” Faulk said.
Grabbing the thermometer, Riordan rolled it over Macy’s
forehead. “Damn, 102.8” He repeated it for Isla. “102.5”
“Wow, that’s not good.” Faulk looked back at Macy, who was still
lying with her face on the tub. “Here, will you stay with Isla?”
Riordan stepped over to Isla. He watched as Faulk scooped up
Macy. She didn’t have enough energy to wrap her arms around him.
“I’m so sorry you’re sick, honey. We need to get her temp down.
What would you think of me getting in the shower with her?”
“In your dress pants and loafers?” Riordan almost found a smile.
Faulk grinned at him. “I was going to strip down to my boxer
briefs if that’s okay with you. I’d suggest putting her in the tub, but
there’s still ick in there…” He trailed off, pointing instead.
Riordan grimaced. “The shower is fine. If it works for her, we’ll try
it with Isla too.”
“Come on, honey.” Faulk walked into the bedroom with the
listless toddler.
Riordan knew Faulk was going to strip down to his underwear.
Was he evil for wanting to take a peek? To keep his mind busy, he
turned on the water in the shower. He didn’t know how cold Macy
would need it to be, but he turned it to where it was just between
warm and cold. Faulk could adjust it from there.
“Okay, here we go, Macy. Ready for our shower.” Faulk was
singing his words to her. Macy, for her part had her head against the
side of his neck.
Holy shit… Riordan couldn’t help noticing Faulk’s smoking hot
body. He was chiseled from head to toe and covered in a soft mat of
fur. Riordan wanted to take a bite out of him. He was definitely a bad
man for looking at Faulk like this when his kids were sick.
Faulk stepped into the spray. “I appreciate this temperature, but
this is way too warm, Riordan.” He shut the shower door. A second
later, Macy started to cry. “I know it’s cold honey. This is going to
help. I promise.”
Riordan stood by, holding Isla’s hair when the next wave of
heaves wracked her body.
 “You okay, tiny dancer?” Faulk called, his teeth chattering.
“Noooo,” Isla called back.
“You keep being brave, Isla.” Faulk called back. “Do you have
any Children’s Tylenol? That’s what Cole and Cassie gave to Laurel
when she had this.”
“Yup. I’ll grab it when Isla stops…” Riordan didn’t finish his
sentence. Faulk would know what he meant.
“We’re almost done, Macy,” Faulk sang. “We’re gonna need fuzzy
towels too.”
The toddler whined, but quieted down quickly.
Riordan went into the linen closet to grab his stash of meds for
the kids. He found an unopened bottle of Children’s Tylenol.
Grabbing the medicine dropper with Macy’s name on it, he sucked
up the right dosage and opened the shower door.
“Dada,” Macy said weakly. She didn’t even reach out for him.
“I know, love bug. This is awful. I’ve got medicine to help you feel
better.” He held up the dropper, hoping she’d take it on her own. This
stuff tasted like cherry candy, usually Macy had no trouble with it.
This time, she wanted no part of it. “Hold on tight, Faulk. This won’t
be pretty.” Pinching her nose, Riordan waited until Macy opened up
before squirting the liquid into her mouth. He rubbed her throat like a
puppy getting a pill. “I know that’s a dirty trick, Macy. Daddy’s sorry.”
He could feel tears pricking his eyes, but there was no time for this
emotional bullshit. His babies were sick. “I’ll grab her a towel. Warm
up the water for yourself. Isla’s going to be next, but it’s going to take
me a minute to get her ready.”
Faulk nodded, rocking Macy.
 Riordan grabbed a fluffy green towel. Opening it up, he was
ready for Faulk to hand Macy to him. He wasn’t prepared for how
ice-cold the baby was. She was angry too. That was good. It was
better that Macy had some fight back in her.
He got her dried off and changed into a fresh diaper and new
pajamas. Riordan debated putting her to bed or leaving her in his
room. Erring on the side of caution, he put her in her own bed, but
removed all of her toys, just in case she started up again.
When he got back into the bathroom again, Isla was sitting on the
bathroom floor looking lost. He couldn’t decide what to do. Should he
give her the meds and hope for the best or stick her in the shower
too? “Faulk, Isla’s just sitting on the bathroom floor. What should I
do?”
“You said her fever was higher than Macy’s, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Get her in here. Try the meds and then we’ll cool her off.”
Riordan did what Faulk asked. He took off Isla’s pjs and left her in
her underwear. “Honey, I’m going to put you in the cold shower with
Uncle Faulk, after you have this little cup of cherry medicine, okay?
It’s going to help with your fever.” He measured out the meds and
held the cup to Isla’s mouth.
Isla nodded and drank the liquid down.
“Hey, honey. Faulk took her from Riordan, trying to shield her at
first from the cold spray. I promise we won’t be in here long.”
Isla cuddled close to him, but didn’t make a sound. Riordan hated
to see her like that. “I’ll be back. I’m going to check on Macy.” He ran
from the master bathroom into the toddler’s room. Macy was laying
on her side with her eyes closed. “Thank goodness.” He touched her
forehead. She was still warm, but not as hot as she was before.
“Macy’s cooler. I think it’s working. She’s also not actively sick…”
Riordan didn’t want to jinx things by saying Macy had stopped
throwing up.
“Okay. I think we’re just about done here too. I’m freezing my
knees off.” Faulk’s teeth were chattering again.
“Hold on a second. I’ll grab towels.” Riordan went back to the
linen closet for more towels. He heard the water shut off in the
shower and the door open. “I’ll take Isla.” He set Faulk’s towel over
the top of the shower stall and reached for his daughter with both
hands. She was cold as ice too. “Okay, honey, let’s get you warmed
up. Thanks, Faulk.” Riordan nodded.
“I was hoping tonight would end with a shower. I didn’t think it
would be like this.” Faulk grinned as he wrapped himself in the fluffy
towel.
“Me either.” Riordan pressed a kiss to the top of Isla’s head as he
carried her into the bedroom. Say one thing about Faulkner Hayes,
aside from being Adonis in the flesh, the man was good in a crisis.
 

14

Faulkner
Faulk never thought he was going to be warm again. After getting
out of the shower, he got dressed in his regular clothes while his
underpants were in the dryer. He sat in a rocking chair in Macy’s
room with a cup of tea Riordan was kind enough to make him. It
wasn’t helping him warm up.
 Thankfully the toddler was sleeping. Every so often, he’d get up
from his seat and check to make sure her skin was still cool. From
what he’d seen earlier, it had looked like she’d thrown up all she had
in her, but when those bugs got revved up, sometimes you dry
heaved even when there was nothing left in you. That’s usually when
the party got started in the back. Faulk was praying Macy could
avoid that. Throwing and going, his mother used to call it. He
witnessed the throwing. The last thing he wanted to see was the
going.
“Hey, how are things in here?” Riordan poked his head in the
door.
“She’s still sleeping. How’s Isla?” Faulk asked in return.
“Same.” Riordan took a seat on the carpet next to Faulk’s chair.
“How are you? Any signs of queasiness?” Faulk reached out to
touch Riordan’s forehead. He felt cool to the touch.
“No, I’m good. Just worried about the girls.” The worry showed in
his eyes and the grim set of his jaw.
“Me too,” Faulk agreed. “They’re so small. I hate to see them
going through something like this.”
“Do you think we should try to get some rest ourselves?”
Faulk nodded. “You should. I’ll sit here in case one of them wakes
up, so I can be ready to leap into action.”
“No way, Superman. I’ve got the baby monitor in here. The
receiver is in my room. If anything happens with Macy, we’ll hear it.
Then you can jump up and rush to the rescue.” Riordan stood.
“Come on. I’ll sleep better if I know we’re all trying to rest.” He held
out his hand.
 “Okay,” Faulk reluctantly agreed. He wasn’t totally on board with
the plan, but there was nothing stopping him from getting up and
coming back in here to stand watch when Riordan was asleep. He
just didn’t want to leave Macy alone when she was this sick. He got
up from his seat, taking Riordan’s hand. They peeked in on Isla
before heading into the master bedroom.
“I left you a pair of sweats in the bathroom. I’m smaller than you,
but they should be big enough for the night.”
Nodding, Faulk headed into the bathroom to change. While he’d
been sitting with Macy, he’d been trying to calm himself down. When
he’d come into this room earlier tonight and seen how sick both girls
had been, he’d been scared, but his police training had taken over.
He’d managed the crisis and then gave himself time to fall apart in
private after the worst of it was over.
“You were amazing tonight,” Riordan said when Faulk walked
back into the bedroom.
Faulk wasn’t sure how he felt about those words. “I’ve seen a lot
worse situations in my time on the BPD. Had a couple of close calls
where I actually heard a bullet whiz past my head, but tonight was
awful.” Faulk sat down on the bed, facing Riordan. “I can deal with
things that happen to me, but watching helplessly while those two
little girls were sick like that, Christ, that was scary.”
Riordan smiled at him. “Love will do that to you.” He wore a
knowing smile. “You were so good with Macy. You being calm kept
her calm. I can’t thank you enough for all of your help, especially
since it came at the expense of our date.”
“Our date was the last thing on my mind.” Faulk snorted. “Wait,
that came out wrong.”
 “I knew what you meant.” Riordan laughed. “That was one of my
biggest worries about dating again. Would the man I picked love my
girls as much as Stephen did? For me it’s a must-have. It’s one of
the reasons I agreed to go out with you in the first place, Faulk. It’s
not even a question that you love them. I know you’re going to sneak
back into Macy’s room the second I fall asleep to make sure you’re
there if she wakes up sick or scared.”
Faulk nodded. “That was my plan. Unless you know a way to
keep me in bed.” He raised an eyebrow in challenge. Which was
completely ridiculous. What the hell was he doing flirting with
Riordan under these circumstances?
Pressing forward, Riordan kissed him. It was gentle at first, just a
grazing of his lips against Faulk’s.
Content to let Riordan take the lead, Faulk waited to see what
would happen next. He wasn’t disappointed. His hands came up to
frame Faulk’s face. Soft lips landed on his own. Before he knew what
was happening, Riordan was climbing into his lap.
Faulk could feel the hard column of Riordan’s erection pressing
against his own. Whatever he’d been expecting to happen when he
got into bed, this wasn’t it. He thought they’d chat for a bit about the
kids, maybe kiss each other goodnight, not make-out like teenagers
in the back of his father’s Buick. Not that Faulk was in any way,
shape, or form opposed to this. He’d wanted Riordan since the day
he’d seen the man dancing on stage.
“Put your hands on me, Faulk. Please.” Riordan’s voice was
needy. Filled with desire.
There was nothing Faulk wanted more. Without a second’s
hesitation, he slid his hands under Riordan’s navy tee. His skin was
hot to the touch, as if he were burning for Faulk. Whatever it was, it
was sexy as fuck.
Riordan hissed when Faulk’s finger’s grazed over his pebbled
nipples. “Jesus, Faulk!”
Whipping his shirt over his head, Faulk licked over Riordan’s
tender flesh. “Mmm, that’s a tasty little nibble.” Faulk dropped little
love bites across his chest.
Riordan whimpered, clawing at Faulk’s tee-shirt.
“Oh, is this what you want?” Faulk hauled his shirt off in one fluid
motion, sending it across room.
“Damn, you’re magnificent,” Riordan whispered reverently. He
ran a finger down Faulk’s chest, his own breath catching. “You’re
chiseled from stone, like Michelangelo’s David.”
No one had ever said anything like that to Faulk before. He
wanted to press pause on this moment to stick those words in jar
and seal them up for eternity. There wasn’t time for that. Riordan’s
insistent erection was digging into his stomach. “You want to talk
about stone? How about this monster?” He slid his hand over
Riordan’s pant-clad erection.
“Yes! Faulk touch me! Make me yours.” Riordan’s hands dug into
Faulk’s biceps, as if to emphasize his point.
Faulk could do that. Well, part of it anyway. He didn’t think either
of them was ready for the whole enchilada. Riordan probably didn’t
have the proper supplies anyway. That didn’t mean they couldn’t dip
their toes in the water.
Slipping his hands under Riordan’s firm ass, he lifted his lover-to-
be off his lap, depositing him flat on his back. One hand snaked into
his pants, fisting around Riordan’s erection, while the other cupped
the side of his face. “Do you know how beautiful you are like this?
Your eyes dark with need, your lips parted, and you panting for me?”
Riordan gave his head a tiny shake. His eyes were locked with
Faulk’s. “Please, Faulk.” It wasn’t a plea so much as it sounded like
a demand.
He knew exactly what Riordan needed. Pulling down his sweats,
Faulk took a few seconds to admire the view, his hand making a few
slow strokes up and down Riordan’s cock. His eyes were riveted to
the scene while Riordan whined, wordlessly, for more.
Lowering his mouth, Faulk kept his eyes on Riordan the entire
time. When his lips made contact with Riordan’s dick, he nearly
came off the bed.
“Ah, fuck! Faulk!” Riordan pawed at Faulk’s naked shoulders.
He knew it had been a year since Riordan had felt anything like
this, but shit, this man was about to come out of his skin. Bobbing his
head slowly, he gave his lover a few minutes to get used to his pace
and the sensations which had to be rocketing through his entire
body.
Riordan’s fingers dug deeper into his own flesh to the point where
Faulk knew there were going to be marks in the morning. His tongue
curled against the underside of Riordan’s erection in an effort to add
another layer of stimulation.
His hips canted up, sending Riordan’s dick to the back of Faulk’s
throat making the detective gag. He pulled back, grinning down at
his lover. “Anxious, huh?”
“I need your mouth on me. Don’t make me wait.” Riordan’s voice
was a scratchy whisper.
 Licking his wet lips, Faulk lowered his head, taking Riordan’s
cock back into his mouth. His right index finger slipped down to
Riordan’s most sensitive skin. His finger circled around the tight furl
of muscle without trying to breach it.
Moaning, Riordan’s cock pulsed in Faulk’s mouth.
Faulk greedily swallowed every drop as it shot from Riordan’s
dick. He could hear Riordan calling out for him as he writhed under
him. When his cock gave its last weak trickle, Faulk pulled off with a
wet pop, pressing a kiss against Riordan’s stomach.
“Holy shit!” Riordan whispered as Faulk pulled him to lie against
his bare chest.
“You can say that again.” Faulk held him closer, pressing a kiss
against the side of his head. He liked being close like this, holding
Riordan tight and talking. He had a feeling it wasn’t going to last
long. The tired father’s breathing was already starting to even out. It
wasn’t going to be long before he dropped off to sleep. That was
okay, Faulk would still be here when Riordan opened his dark eyes
again.
 

15

Riordan
The digital readout on the alarm clock read 6:41am when
Riordan’s eyes blinked open. His face was still resting on Faulk’s
bare chest. It was a warm, safe place to be. The rest of the house
was quiet. He couldn’t hear any sound coming from Macy’s baby
monitor. When he got up in a minute, he’d peek in on both of his
daughters to make sure they were resting comfortably.
 Images of his time with Faulkner flashed through his mind. It was
as if he could still feel Faulk’s hands on his skin, his lips on his cock.
Riordan still couldn’t believe he’d been that bold, that he’d come on
to Faulk like that, climbed into his lap, asked the cop to make him his
own. He blushed in the dark just recalling his own words. The way
he’d begged and pleaded.
In all of his time with Stephen, sex had never been like that, not
even in the beginning when they were just getting to know each
other. It had always seemed to him that Stephen had known exactly
what he liked. What he needed.
For some reason, Riordan felt like he had to tell Faulkner what to
do, when to do it, and then had needed to reinforce that by fucking
himself up into Faulk’s sinful mouth. Hours later, he was still tingling
over the bone-melting orgasm. He didn’t think he’d ever come that
hard in his entire life.
It had also been a year since he’d been with another man.
Definitely the longest dry spell of his adult life. During his marriage to
Stephen the longest they’d ever gone without some kind of action
was four days and that had been when they’d first taken Isla home
from the hospital. Aside from that one parenthood-induced hiccup,
they’d always had an active and varied sex life.
Riordan figured that when he lost Stephen, he also lost the
sexually active side of himself. Sure, he handled his own needs,
quietly and in the privacy of his bedroom. He just never figured he be
kissed, touched, or sucked off by another man again. Now that he
had, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
Lying here with Faulk was nice. The detective’s arms were
loosely wrapped around him. All it would take was for him to back up
a bit and he’d be free from the comfort of Faulk’s arms. Riordan
wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to do that yet. He still had a lot on his
mind. Things that he needed to work out. Big things. Important
questions that needed to be answered. The biggest question of all
being did this night with Faulk mean he cheated on Stephen?
He shrugged imperceptibly. Riordan knew the question itself was
ridiculous. How could you possibly cheat on a dead man? Here they
were, lying in the bed where he and Stephen had made love,
planned for their future, laughed, and dreamed in each other’s arms.
Faulk was sleeping where Stephen slept. Dreaming where Stephen
dreamed.
In the heat of the moment, Riordan had been all in, now he
wasn’t so sure. Was he just having a case of buyer’s remorse?
Feeling guilty because he’d gone too far, too fast with a new lover, or
was he really upset because he thought he’d done something that
would taint his time with Stephen?
No sooner had that thought formed in his mind when Stephen’s
nightstand light flashed on and off twice.
“Oh, my God!” Riordan whispered sitting up quickly, startling
Faulkner awake. If that wasn’t an iron-clad answer from beyond the
grave, Riordan didn’t know what was.
Faulk yawned, stretching his arms over his head before rubbing
his left hand over his chest. He grinned at Riordan. “Good morning.”
He pointed at the left side of Riordan’s head. “Bad case of bed head.
Looks like you slept on my chest all night.” His grin softened as he
sat up. “It’s a good look on you.” Faulk leaned forward to brush a
kiss against his cheek.
 Bouncing out of bed, Faulk grabbed his shirt from the bedroom
floor and walked out of the room as he shrugged into it.
Jesus Christ, what was he going to do now? How the hell was he
going to tell Faulk that last night was great and all, but that the
detective needed to go and that they couldn’t see each other again.
“Good morning, little princess,” Faulk’s sweet-as-pie voice came
over the baby monitor. “How are you feeling this morning? Oh, look, I
think your fever’s down. Come here, honey.” Faulk made a little
groan as he scooped the baby out of her crib. Macy gave a little coo.
Riordan watched them on the monitor, not sure what he should
do. He kept watching as Faulk expertly changed her diaper and put
her in the new set of pajamas that he’d left on the changing table in
case there had been an incident in the night and she needed new
clothes.
Faulk sat her up on the table, reaching for her little hair brush. He
gently smoothed out her serious case of bed head. “There we go.
You’re all set now. Do you want to go check on your sister?”
Macy nodded, barely reaching out for him. She nestled against
Faulk when he lifted her up. That’s when Riordan lost sight of them
on the monitor.
Sighing, Riordan got out of bed and headed into the bathroom to
take care of his personal needs and brush his teeth. When he came
out, all three of them were waiting for him in front of the bathroom
door.
“Daddy!” Isla walked to him and wrapped her arms around his
middle. Macy also reached her arms out for him too. Faulk handed
her to him.
 “Do you want me to start coffee for you or make buttered toast for
them?” Faulk asked gently.
Isla shook her head. “No food.”
“They need to hydrate at least. Gatorade or something?” Faulk
wore a helpless look on his face.
“Let’s get them downstairs first.” Riordan’s head was spinning. He
should have just spoken to Faulk before he’d hopped out of bed like
Captain America to save the day. Now, he was going to have to have
this awkward conversation with both of the girls around. Granted
they weren’t at full strength, but they might still be active enough to
walk in on the conversation or overhear him talking to Uncle Faulk.
Faulk scooped up Isla as Riordan headed toward the stairs. His
plan was to settle the girls on the couch in the living room and put
Frozen on. He knew that would keep them busy for a bit and would
give him a few minutes of peace to talk to Faulk.
“Here we go, Macy. How about if we watch Elsa?” Not waiting for
an answer, he set Macy at one end of the sectional and wrapped her
favorite blanket around her. He kissed her forehead and felt that she
was cooler like Faulk had said. He watched as Faulk settled Isla in
with a blanket of her own. He pulled the movie up and handed the
remote to Isla to handle the volume.
“We survived the night!” Faulk pulled Riordan in for a hug before
he even knew what was going on.
Riordan took a second to enjoy the warmth of his embrace before
setting a hand in the center of his chest and pulling back. “Faulk,” he
started, staring at the floor.
“Riordan, what is it?” Concern laced Faulkner’s voice.
 “I…” Riordan took a deep breath. He dug deep for the courage to
look up and face the man he’d spent the night with. “Faulk, I can’t do
this. We can’t be together. I’m sorry.” He took a step backward from
the detective who, instead of looking stunned, looked incredibly sad.
Faulk seemed to be studying Riordan. “I understand. You take
good care of yourself and those amazing girls, Riordan Quinn.”
Taking a step closer, Faulkner brushed a kiss against his cheek. He
grabbed his pile of dry clothes from the dining room table and
headed for the door.
Riordan could feel his heart breaking as Faulk quickly changed
back into his date night clothes and slipped out the door. As the front
door clicked shut, the dining room light started blinking.
 

16

Faulkner
Four days later, Faulk still couldn’t believe this was his life now.
Even he had to admit that his night with Riordan had gone a little
further, faster than he’d anticipated, but he hadn’t seen that kitchen
chat coming. Not by a long shot.
What he had seen was the heartbreak in Riordan’s dark eyes.
That was plain to see. That look was still haunting Faulk. Possibly
because all he’d done, aside from going to work, was pace around
his tiny North End apartment since he’d left Riordan’s house early
Thursday morning.
Thankfully, today was Monday and he was heading to the one
place where he knew help was available, Tennyson and Ronan’s
house. He’d be able to cuddle his little nugget and get the happily
married couple’s take on what went so horribly wrong. As a last
resort, Ten could give him the inside scoop from the other side.
Back in August when they’d first met, all the psychic had been
able to see about his future had been ballet slippers, surely that
prediction hadn’t been about two weeks of pure joy in getting to
know Riordan and his girls only to have it crash and burn after one
night together. That just didn’t seem right. Maybe Bertha Craig would
be there today to help sort through this mess.
Ringing Ronan’s doorbell, Faulk took a deep breath.
“Hey, Uncle Fuck!” Ronan was grinning widely.
Faulk raised a silent eyebrow and stalked into the house. Shit, it
turned out he was in a worse mood than he thought.
“Uh, oh, don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise already.” Ronan
followed him into the kitchen where Tennyson was pouring hot water
into mugs for tea.
“Where’s my little nugget?” Faulk looked around the kitchen. He
didn’t see Everly Erin.
“She’s asleep in her pack and play in the living room.” Ten
seemed to be studying him. “It was odd. She demanded to be fed
early and fell asleep halfway through her bottle. She’s never done
that before.”
His lips curled into a sneer. “Well, that’s what you get for having a
psychic baby.”
Ronan snorted. “What crawled up your ass and died?”
“Yeah, I’m an asshole. That psychic baby crack was way out of
line.” Faulk crumpled into his usual seat at the kitchen table. Ten set
a mug of peppermint tea in front of him. Faulk shot him a, what-the-
hell-is-this look.
 “Just drink it. You’ll feel better. Now tell us what happened with
Riordan on Thursday.” Ten grabbed mugs for himself and Ronan and
joined them at the table.
“You already know.” Faulk narrowed his eyes as he wrapped his
cold hands around the warm cup.
Ten tilted his head to the side. “I know some, but Ronan doesn’t
know any of it.”
“Yeah, well whatever it is, even me with just my five senses can
see it isn’t good.” Ronan blew on his tea before taking a tentative sip.
Faulk tried to draw on what little reserve of strength he had left.
“Riordan asked if he and the girls could take me to the aquarium last
Saturday. We had a ball.” He looked up at Ten to see the wide smile
on the psychic’s face. “Riordan kissed me. He really kissed me. I
mean we’d been exchanging pecks on the cheek and that kind of
thing, but that kiss was the real deal. I was hooked.”
“We saw the pics. Cole sent them to us. With you and the girls at
the shark tank.” Ten shook his head. “The day I let my little girl put
her hand in the water with man-eaters is the day I roll over and die.”
Faulk had to keep from snorting when Ronan waggled his fingers
out of Ten’s line of sight. He mouthed the words, “I will!”
“I saw that Ronan O’Mara. If you think that for one minute that-”
Ten’s protest was cut off by Ronan kissing him.
“Keep your pants on, Nostradamus. They were little sharks and
the aquarium people wouldn’t be encouraging kids to stick their mitts
in the tank if there was the slightest chance they could get maimed.”
Rolling his eyes, Ronan turned back to Faulk. “Please continue.”
Faulk found his first smile since Riordan broke things off with him.
“Anyway, after that kiss, I wanted more. I planned a date with
Riordan at Lobster Charlie’s last Wednesday. His mother agreed to
come over and watch the kids. It was an amazing night.”
“I get the feeling there’s a but coming.” Ten sat forward leveling
his gaze on Faulk.
“Yeah, Maggie called to say the girls were sick. We rushed back
to the house, and boy, were they ever. Both girls were throwing up.
Macy was in the giant tub projectile vomiting by herself. Maggie was
holding Isla’s hair while she puked in the toilet. It was stomach bug
Armageddon. I ended up in an ice-cold shower, first with Macy and
then with Isla to help bring their fevers down. Then after they were
tucked into bed, it was Riordan with the fever. For me…”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “Was he all over you?”
“Sort of. He was making all the moves, I’ll say that. At the end, he
fell asleep on my chest.” Faulk shook his head. He’d never forget
that moment. His heart had gone thump for the widowed father. He’d
known in that moment that he was in love with Riordan Quinn. He
knew it would be a bit of time before those words would come
spilling off his lips, they’d both need time to get used to their
situation, but Faulk had known in that precious moment, his heart
was no longer his own.
“I don’t know either, Bertha.” Ten turned to look over his shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Bertha. I was hoping you would be.”
Faulk let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Bertha says she was riding shotgun when you were talking to
yourself in the truck on the way over here. She isn’t sure what’s
going on here. She was certain you and Riordan were destined to be
together.”
 Ronan stuck his hand in the air. “Excuse me for asking, but for
those of us in the room who aren’t psychic and already know how
the story ends, can you please tell me how the damn story ends?”
Faulk started to laugh. Leave it to his grumpy boss to help him
feel better. “When we woke up the next morning, Riordan had
startled or something and was sitting up next to me. I kissed his
cheek and then I hopped out of bed to see how the girls were. Macy
was just lying awake in her crib. I got her changed and put her in
new pajamas and checked on Isla who was awake too, but looking
lethargic. We all met Riordan in his room and the girls hugged him.
We went downstairs and tucked them in on the couch with a movie.
Then we went into the kitchen and he told me that he couldn’t do
this, that we couldn’t be together, and that he was sorry.” Faulk
wrapped his hands around his mug and focused on not losing his
shit in front of his boss.
“Yeah, I was thinking that too.” Ten turned back to Faulk. “Bertha
and I wonder what startled Riordan. It’s too bad you slept through
whatever it was.”
“Now hold on a minute.” Ronan narrowed his eyes. “You’re
thinking he was startled by an actual thing or an event and not just a
thought in his head?”
Ten nodded. “Isla said at the recital that Stephen’s been visiting
her. What if he was there that morning?”
“Shit, are you saying he might not want me to be with Riordan
and the girls?” Faulk was stunned.
“Maybe. I won’t know for certain until I speak to him, but some
spirits don’t like it when the people they love start to move on.”
 That did it for Faulk. He felt tears start to cascade down his
cheeks. He was up and out of his chair in a heartbeat. He ended up
in front of the sliding glass door, staring out at the snow-covered
backyard. He could deal with Riordan not wanting to be with him or
not being ready for a new relationship yet, but the ghost of his dead
husband not wanting Riordan to be happy, that was just beyond the
pale.
Faulk felt Ronan’s heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good
man, Faulk. Never doubt that. It takes one hell of a man to just dive
in like you did with a man who was widowed with two small girls. I
know it was only a few weeks, but there was a definite change in
you. My phone’s been blowing up with people at work asking what
the hell’s up with you. Why you’re laughing and humming to yourself
and always smiling. If you love Riordan as much as I think you do,
fight for him. Don’t let this be the end. You have resources.”
Faulk snorted. “You think I love him?”
“No. I don’t think you love him. I know you do. That goofy smile
says it all. And the way you treat those girls, please. Only a man in
love does that. Trust me, I’m a father. I know that kind of love.”
Faulk turned around. The look on Ronan’s face was full of
sincerity.
“Do you want to know what I think you should do?” Ten asked,
the tone in his voice gentle.
“I’m all ears.” Faulk turned his attention to Tennyson.
“Call him. Tell him you know this has something to do with
Stephen. Offer him my services.”
Faulk thought over what Tennyson was saying. “I just don’t
understand any of this. If Riordan doesn’t believe in spirits, how
could Stephen tell him that he doesn’t approve of this relationship?”
“It might not be that,” Ten ran a hand through his riot of jumbled
curls. “This could have nothing to do with what he believes in. If
Stephen did something that Riordan saw or heard with his own
senses, that’s a game changer.”
Opening his mouth, about to ask how that was possible, Faulk
shut it again quickly. He knew from what he’d seen from working with
Ten and Ronan that all manner of things was possible. “I get that
Stephen could have somehow spoken so that Riordan could have
heard him, but what did you mean when you said Riordan could
have seen something?”
Ten exchanged an uneasy look with Ronan. “Bertha?”
Faulk couldn’t breathe a second later when his tea moved six
inches to the left. He felt something warm on his left shoulder. “Wow.
Bertha moved the mug and she’s got her hand on my shoulder?”
“Right.” Tennyson nodded. “I’m not saying Stephen did anything
quite so dramatic, but it’s possible he did something to make Riordan
think being with you wasn’t what he wanted for his husband and his
daughters.”
Jesus, there was no way Faulk could compete with that. He was
never trying to compete with Stephen Walker-Quinn in the first place,
but a no vote from Isla and Macy’s other father certainly spoke
volumes.
“Oh, that’s a good point, Bertha. I never thought of that.”
Tennyson sounded surprised.
“Thought of what?” Ronan reached for his own cup, before
seeming to think better of it. The cup suddenly moved forward
bumping against his hand. “Okay, Bertha.” Ronan picked it up and
took a sip.
“What if Stephen’s message isn’t one warning Riordan away from
Faulk, but pushing him toward Faulk?” Tennyson grinned at both
detectives.
“I don’t get it.” Faulk felt like he was in The Twilight Zone. Nothing
made sense.
“Bertha?” Ten folded his arms over his chest.
Faulk’s cell phone started to ring. When he looked down at it,
there was no one calling him, but the tone was still jingling. “What
the hell?” Faulk picked his phone up and gave it a little shake. It
stopped ringing, but then Tennyson’s phone started to ring, followed
by Ronan’s.
“Tell me, Faulk, what do you think Bertha is trying to
communicate to you?” Tennyson waggled his eyebrows.
“I-” Faulk started to laugh. “Shit, how the hell should I know?”
“Exactly!” Ten sounded triumphant. “You have no way of knowing
what her message is to you. Let’s say though that you’d just spent
the night with a handsome man and maybe your own conscience
was feeling a bit guilty about that. Then you get some kind of
unreadable message from the other side…”
“Your mind would jump to the conclusion that your dead husband
didn’t want you to be with the hunky detective you’d just spent the
night with,” Faulk concluded.
“Hunky?” Ronan snorted. “What the hell mirror do you use,
Faulkner?”
Faulk was about to tell Ronan to get bent when his text jingle
sounded. Looking down at the phone he saw the message hadn’t
come from any number. [Call Riordan. XOXO, Bertha] He looked up
from the phone to see Tennyson holding both hands up in the air as
if to say he hadn’t sent the message. “Holy shit. That was what
Bertha was trying to say by making all the phones ring.”
Ten nodded.
Faulk was about to do just that when there was an angry squawk
from the living room. “Gentlemen, I believe I hear my true love
calling.”
“She’s had some real nasty surprises when she’d gotten up from
her morning naps lately!” Ten grimaced.
“Don’t spoil it for him.” Ronan looked disappointed.
Faulk could have cared less what surprise Everly had waiting for
him. Things were on the upswing. He had a plan for wooing back
Riordan. Everly was awake and was singing the song of their love.
“Oh, my, God, little nugget! What did you eat?” Faulk gagged as he
scooped her up.
Ten and Ronan burst out laughing from the kitchen. Faulk
couldn’t be sure because the stench was so nauseating it was
impeding his ability to hear properly, but he thought he heard the
love birds high-five.
 

17

Riordan
His hands were shaking and sweating at the same time. How
was that even possible?
Tennyson Grimm was due here any minute now and Riordan was
all over the place. He’d spent all Saturday morning cleaning the
house and freaking out over the idea of having a psychic over to
reconnect him and the girls with Stephen.
He wasn’t sure which thing was giving him the most anxiety,
speaking to Stephen again or seeing Faulkner.
The text message from Faulk had come a few days ago. It was
short and sweet asking him to please let Tennyson read Stephen for
him and the girls. There was no mention of their shattered
relationship or of getting together to talk things over, just the plea for
Riordan to allow Ten to reunite him with his dead husband.
He’d thought about the request for hours. Riordan was positive
that Stephen was trying to send a message. Every time there was
something important going on with Faulkner, the lights would blink.
The first few times it happened, the lights would blink twice, but on
the day he told Faulk they couldn’t see each other anymore, they’d
blinked for ten minutes. Isla had started to cry, not understanding
what was going on.
It was that image of Isla crying, followed by Macy joining in that
convinced Riordan to say yes to this crazy idea. Before he’d started
his cleaning frenzy, he’d spent some time getting prepared for
Tennyson. He knew Ten had a reputation of being the real deal, but
that didn’t mean Riordan wasn’t going to be ready for him with
questions the internet and Stephen’s friends and former coworkers
had no way of answering.
Was that dirty pool? Probably. To be honest, Riordan didn’t care.
So much more was riding on this than Tennyson Grimm being able
to dispel his skepticism.
The ringing doorbell startled Riordan out of his own head. He
hurried toward the front of the house to get it. He was surprised to
see that Ronan O’Mara had come with his husband. He was holding
a baby carrier with his sleeping infant. Faulk was standing behind
them. He looked like the last time he’d slept was the night he’d spent
here. “Hi, everyone, please come in.”
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla shouted. “I knew you’d be back! I missed you.”
The four-year-old launched herself at him.
Faulk caught the running preschooler, swooping her through the
air before giving her a big hug. Macy was toddling behind her,
holding her arms out to Faulk.
Riordan watched while Faulk blinked back tears as Macy crashed
into him. She looked up at him, calling his name and yanking on his
jeans until he bent down to lift up the littlest Quinn too. Both of his
girls were laughing and hugging him. It was the first time they’d been
this happy since their group outing to the aquarium.
“How are you doing?” Tennyson set an arm on Riordan’s and
pulled him into the kitchen.
“I’m getting by. This week hasn’t been easy for any of us.”
Riordan shook his head. That was an understatement. “It took a
while for the girls to bounce back from being sick and of course they
wanted to know where Uncle Faulk was and when they were going
to see him again. They didn’t like my answers to those questions.”
Ten nodded. “I can understand that. I see how bonded Laurel is
to him. Same goes for us and Truman and Carson’s little ones. It
would be hard on those kids if one day Ronan just disappeared from
their lives.”
“How is this going to work?” As much as Riordan enjoyed
chatting with Tennyson, he’d had enough of the small talk already
and just wanted to get to it.
 “Why don’t we all have a seat around the table?” Ten inclined his
head.
“Okay. Do you need anything that belonged to Stephen? His
wedding ring or his watch?” Riordan’s hands were shaking so hard
now he could barely keep it under control.
“No, Stephen is already here.” Ten smiled gently as he took a
seat at the head of the dining room table.
Already here? Riordan sat in his usual seat at the table. Faulk sat
next to him, both of the girls were with him, jockeying for position on
his lap.
“Are you okay?” Faulk whispered.
Riordan looked up at him with shock in his eyes. He managed to
nod.
Ronan walked into the dining room last, taking the seat at the
other end of the table.
“Now that we’re all here,” Tennyson began.
“Hi, Papa!” Isla started to wave at the seat at the table where she
usually sat for dinner. “Who’s that lady with you?”
Turning to look at her, Riordan’s mouth hung open. Stephen was
here and he’d brought a lady with him? If this wasn’t The Twilight
Zone, he didn’t know what was.
“It isn’t The Twilight Zone, Riordan. I asked my mentor, Bertha
Craig, if she’d bring Stephen to the reading today. It turns out she
didn’t have far to go to find him. Stephen was already here.” Ten
offered Riordan a smile.
Isla laughed. “I told you Papa came to visit me.”
“Papa!” Macy held her hands out toward the empty chair.
 “Jesus Christ,” Riordan felt the tears starting up again. He knew
he cried an ocean’s worth of tears in the days and months after
Stephen’s death, but this was too much, both of his girls being able
to see his spirit and all he could see was an empty chair.
Suddenly, he felt warmth on his left shoulder. “Please don’t,
Faulk.”
“Uh, Riordan?” Faulk was holding both of his hands up. Neither
one of them was touching him.
“Stephen?” Riordan gasped, turning around. No one was
standing behind him, but he could still feel the warmth on his
shoulder.
“He’s got his hand on your shoulder and a smile on his face.” Ten
was smiling too. “There’s so much he wants to tell you.”
All of the test questions he’d spent the morning meticulous
preparing flew out of his head. There was no doubt this was the real
deal. Stephen was here. Ten said his husband had a lot to tell him.
Was he ready to hear it? That was the big question. “Okay.” Riordan
glanced over his shoulder. There was still nothing there other than a
clear view into the family room, but he could feel Stephen’s warmth
on his shoulder.
“First of all, he wants you to know there was no pain. He never
felt anything. Stephen wants you to stop picturing the crash in your
mind and what he must have gone through. One minute he was
talking to you about the drive-thru forgetting the thing,” Ten inclined
his head toward Isla, “and the next thing he knew, he was seeing his
father again.”
Riordan gasped. His hand automatically reached out for Faulk.
He clutched his arm so hard he was sure the cop would have bruises
in the morning. “No one knew that. Only Stephen and I knew that
they forgot the T-O-Y. He was turning around to go back for it when
the accident happened.”
Faulk hugged both kids tighter. Tears sparkled in his eyes. “I
never knew.” His voice was hoarse.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Tennyson said. The look
on his face had changed, as if he weren’t Ten anymore, but he was
speaking for Stephen.
“What is?” Riordan didn’t understand.
“How perfect Faulk is for you.” Tennyson smiled at the detective.
“Wait, I don’t understand.” Riordan shook his head. “Every time
something good would happen with Faulk, that’s when the lights
would start blinking. The first time I agreed to go to lunch with him.
When we had dinner here at this table. The morning we woke up in
our bed. Then when Faulk left…” Riordan didn’t know how much
more of this he could take.
“Those weren’t messages to stay away from Faulk, Pooh. They
were messages to run toward him.” Ten was grinning harder now.
Ronan snorted, before straightening his spine, looking as if he
were trying hard to keep it together.
“I’m sorry, Riordan. You were a bit skeptical about this whole
thing and when Stephen called you Pooh, I couldn’t resist. Only the
two of you knew about that nickname. There’s no way that would be
on the internet and there’s no way his coworkers would know you
called him Eeyore.”
Again, Riordan was feeling overwhelmed. Tennyson knew about
Pooh and Eeyore. More than that, Stephen’s little tricks with the
lights had to do with his approval of Faulk. “What was up with the
light show the morning Faulk left?”
“You mean the morning you asked him to leave and broke his
heart?” Ten asked gently.
“I… I broke his heart?” That couldn’t be right. Could it? They’d
only been seeing each other for a few weeks.
Faulk was silent.
“Hey, rookie,” Ronan said. “I think that’s your cue.”
“Come on, Ronan. This is hard enough. I’m fine.” Faulk sounded
embarrassed.
“Bullshit,” Ronan coughed into his hand.
Isla gasped. “That’s a bad word, Uncle Ronan. Not even Papa
can say bad words at the dinner table.”
Faulk burst out laughing. “Could Papa say bad words away from
the dinner table?”
Isla nodded, covering her mouth with her hand and giggling.
“Was your heart broken?” Riordan asked. He had to know. As the
week had gone on, he’d missed Faulk like crazy, not to mention the
way that the girls had been upset that Faulk wasn’t there to snuggle
with them.
Faulk’s blue eyes were misty. He nodded. “I was willing to do
whatever you asked me to do, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. All
I want, Riordan, is for you and the girls to be happy.”
Isla frowned up at him. “The girls weren’t happy.”
Faulk snorted. “Are you speaking for Macy now?”
“Yes. She cried and walked around calling out for you. That
means she wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy either.” Isla looked at
Riordan and nodded as if to prove her point.
 Cuddling both girls closer, he dropped kisses on their heads.
“That’s what they both need in their lives,” Tennyson said. “A man
who loves them like I would if I was still there. As for you…” Ten
trailed off.
“As for me, what?” Riordan looked back and forth between
Tennyson and Faulkner.
“You deserve a man who’s going to love you like you’re the only
man on earth. Like you’re his reason for breathing. The reason his
heart beats.” Tennyson wiped the tears tracking down the side of his
face. “Can you be that man, Faulkner?” Ten’s dark eyes turned to
him.
Faulkner swallowed so hard that his throat clicked. He looked
down at the girls in his lap and then over to Riordan who wore an
unreadable look in his eyes. He took a deep breath, his eyes going
from Tennyson to Ronan and then back to Riordan. “That’s an awful
big ask, Stephen.” Faulk grinned. “I want to say yes without a
shadow of a doubt, but I don’t know if that’s what Riordan wants me
to be.”
Was that what Riordan wanted Faulk to be? Now that he knew
they had Stephen’s blessing it changed things. “I told you things
wouldn’t work out between us because I thought Stephen didn’t want
us seeing each other.”
“How could you ever think that? All I ever wanted was for you to
be happy. To feel loved.” Tennyson was shaking his head.
“I know, Stephen, but without you here to say those words, I just
didn’t know if it was okay to move on. This family, this house was our
dream.”
 “All of this still is your dream. Now you just need to fill it with more
dreamers.”
“More dreamers? As in plural?” Riordan couldn’t believe his ears.
“There’s still that third bedroom. I may have met someone up
here.” Tennyson started to laugh.
Riordan’s eyes went wide. He had no idea spirits could have
relationships. “Someone as in a spirit for you to date? Is it Freddie
Mercury? No, James Dean? Elvis?”
Ten laughed harder. “No, not that kind of a soul. Stephen’s
laughing too hard to answer. I know what kind of soul he’s met.”
Ronan was nodding. “I do too.”
“Wait, how do you know” Faulk turned to Ronan with shock in his
eyes.
“When Emilyn was pregnant with Everly, Ten and Bertha were
able to visit her little soul in Heaven.”
Riordan shook his head. “Heaven has a soul nursery?”
“It does. I’m guessing Stephen’s been to visit a time or two.”
Ronan was wiping away a rogue tear.
“He says its been more than a time or two.” Ten swiped at his
own eyes. “All of these things are within your grasp if you’re only
brave enough to reach out for them. Are you brave enough, Pooh?”
“Oh no, Papa!” Isla sounded outraged. “Do not tell me that.” Her
hands fisted on her hips.
“Uh, oh.” Faulk started to laugh. “The only time I’ve ever seen Isla
get that upset about anything was when she lectured us about not
kissing…”
“Because kissing and late-night Chinese food brought baby
brothers,” Riordan finished. “Are we getting a son?” Riordan looked
at Faulk and then back to Tennyson.
“My lips are sealed.” Ten made a motion like he was turning a key
over his lips. He threw it over his shoulder and then dusted off his
hands.
“Mine aren’t!” Isla sounded more outraged than before. “Little
brothers are gross. They poop all over and then your Daddies don’t
love you anymore and… Oh! I like that.” Isla stopped ranting. She
turned to look at Faulkner. “Papa says his name is Isaiah Stephen.
After two of his Daddies.”
“Huh.” Faulk ducked his head. He pulled Macy and Isla closer
and hugged them.
“Two of his Daddies?” Riordan looked around the table. “Who’s
Isaiah? That name isn’t anywhere in my family.” He was totally lost
now. How could a baby have more than two fathers?
“It’s my middle name,” Faulk whispered. He offered Riordan a
watery grin.
“Papa’s gonna be Isaiah’s Daddy in Heaven. Then he gets to
come and live you and Faulk, Daddy.” Isla was all smiles.
“Wait, does that mean you’re okay with the idea of a baby
brother?” Faulk laughed.
“Only if it means you get to live here.” Isla smiled up at him.
“That’s something Daddy and I will have to talk about.” Faulk
exchanged a quiet smile with Riordan.
“You were my sun, my moon, and all my stars, Riordan. I’m
passing that mantle to Faulkner now. I know that he’ll love you with
all his heart and soul. You need to be all of those things and more for
him in return.” Ten folded his hands on the table.
 Riordan spent a moment with those words. They were weighty.
Momentous. Stephen was like that though. He was one for a grand
gesture. “What happens to you now?”
“I’ll keep an eye on things, but I’m done interfering, except for one
last thing. Maybe two.” Tennyson shook his head.
“Okay. What are the two things?” This had to be good. With the
way Ten was shaking his head, he looked like he couldn’t believe
what Stephen was telling him.
“When Faulk moves in, get a new bed. Maybe even a whole new
bedroom set. You don’t need memories of me intruding into your
new relationship.”
That was a good point. Stephen always made good points.
“What’s the second thing?”
“The quarter,” Tennyson said simply. “I always knew.”
Riordan gasped. He felt the sting of tears and was powerless to
stop them. “How?”
“What quarter?” Faulk asked curiously.
“When we were trying to decide who’d be Isla’s father, we flipped
a coin. Stephen called tails. I flipped it and it came up heads. I lied to
him and told him it was tails because I knew how important it was to
him to become a father. He asked to keep the quarter because he
was so excited about being a Daddy. It’s in his jewelry box upstairs.”
Riordan swiped at the tears cascading down his cheeks. “How did
you know?”
“That eyeball tick. Gives you away every time.” Tennyson started
to laugh.
“What eyeball tick? I don’t have an eyeball tick.” Riordan looked
around the table.
 “Yes, you do,” Faulk agreed.
“Ronan has something similar. All husbands do.” Tennyson
winked at Ronan.
“What? I object!” Ronan’s face crumpled into a disgusted frown.
“This isn’t court, Ronan, but I will be on the lookout for this thing.”
Faulk grinned at his boss.
“Is there anything else you want to ask Stephen or say to him
before we end for today?”
Riordan thought about that for a minute. He never had a chance
to say goodbye last time. Stephen was simply there one minute and
gone the next. “I couldn’t have asked for a better husband and father
for our children. I never dreamed things would end the way they did.
Your blessing on this relationship with Faulk means more than
anything, Stephen. I’ll always love you. So will our girls.”
“My eyes will always be on Isla and Macy.” Tennyson nodded.
“Goodbye, my love.”
“Bye, Papa!” Isla waved.
“Papa!” Macy waved along with her sister.
“Bye, Stephen.” Riordan managed a smile. He knew he wasn’t
going to be able to maintain it for long.
“Papa?” Macy looked around and then up at Faulkner. Her
bottom lip trembled. Then came the tears.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” Faulk held both girls tighter, reaching a
hand out to Riordan. “I’m feel so lucky to have gotten the chance to
have met him through Ten.” His watery blue eyes were locked on
Riordan’s.
“Me too, Faulk. Me too.” Riordan took Faulk’s hand and held on
tight. It was going to be a while until he got over what he heard
today.
 

18

Faulkner

It was hours before the girls were calmed down enough for bath
time, stories, and bed. Working together, Faulk and Riordan
managed to get through all the tiny tears and Macy repeatedly
asking for Stephen. Her pitiful wails for “Papa” were almost too much
for him to take. He bucked up though and did what he needed to
support the toddler.
By the time both girls were asleep, Riordan looked as worn out
as Faulk felt. Neither one of them had talked about it, but Faulk was
staying the night. He knew they were on the same page when he
walked into Riordan’s bedroom and the pair of sweats he’d worn that
first night were lying on the mattress waiting for him. Riordan was
sitting on his own side of the bed as if he were lost.
“Hey,” Faulk sat down beside him. “You okay?”
Riordan managed a weak smile. “I think so. I just feel like I aged
ten years and have the weight of the world off my shoulders. I also
feel like I could sleep for a month.”
“I hear you. That was really emotional today.” Faulk shook his
head. He agreed with the sleeping for a month sentiment. “For
everyone.”
“You’ve seen Tennyson do that before? Reunite people with
loved ones who’ve passed on?” Riordan asked.
“I have. It’s always emotional like that. Some people laugh.
Others cry. The thing of it is, I’ve never been on this side of a reading
before.”
“What, the personal side? No one’s ever had a message for you
before?” Riordan reached for Faulk’s hand.
“Oh, I’ve gotten messages, but not from my own people who’ve
passed on.” There was really no one in Faulk’s life on the other side
he’d been close enough to in life who would have a message to pass
along to him.
“You mean from Bertha Craig?”
Faulk nodded. “When I first met Tennyson, it was during the Vito
Dragonni case.” Faulk hated even saying that man’s name out loud.
“I remember you telling me about that.” Riordan gave their joined
hands a squeeze.
“It was a nerve-wracking time for all of us with Vito’s hit list and
everyone having a bullseye on their back. I asked Ten to read me.”
Riordan grinned. “What did he see? A widower with two little
cherubs?”
Faulk shook his head no. “He only saw one image. At the time it
made me think this psychic thing was a bunch of baloney.”
“What did he see?” Riordan wore a curious look on his face.
“It was a pair of ballet slippers.” Faulk snorted.
“You’re kidding.” Riordan’s mouth dropped open in obvious
surprise.
“Nope! Not kidding. Then, when I met Bertha Craig for the first
time, she saw the same thing. Ballet slippers, again.” It felt like all of
that was a lifetime ago.
“What did you think of that?”
“That it was nuts. I didn’t dance. I didn’t know anyone else who
did either. So, after a while, I forgot about the prediction. We dealt
with Vito Dragonni. I got transferred to Cold Case and life went on.
To tell the truth, it was Tennyson who reminded me about the ballet
slippers after the recital when I met you, Isla, and Macy.”
“Really? You’d actually forgotten about the prediction?” Riordan
wore a look that said he couldn’t imagine it was possible.
Faulk nodded. “I’m one of those guys who goes out and makes
things happen in my life, Riordan. If we’re going to be together and
give this relationship a shot, that’s one thing you need to know about
me. I’m not going to sit on my hands and wait for things to come to
me. I’m gonna go get them.”
Riordan looked up at him. “Did you ask Tennyson to come here?
Is that how this whole thing got started?”
“No. I was at their house on Monday like usual. I told Ten and
Ronan what happened the other morning and how you startling was
what woke me up. Ten thought that maybe something happened to
cause that reaction.” It still amazed Faulk how Ten had come to that
particular conclusion. It would have been the last thing on his list.
“And his first thought was spirit-related?” Riordan looked
shocked.
“Yeah. He thought yours would be too,” Faulk said gently. This
relationship was still so new. He didn’t want to put Riordan on the
defensive.
“What do you mean?”
“We’d just had our first night together and our first sexual
encounter. I was sleeping in the bed you shared with your husband.
It’s not a far reach to think you might have been feeling a bit off the
next morning and if you were feeling like that, an encounter with
spirit could confirm the thoughts swirling in your mind.” Faulk
brushed a kiss against Riordan’s cheek.
Riordan’s chin hit his chest. “That’s exactly what happened. I was
feeling guilty about being with you, here in this bed, and wondering if
that had been cheating on Stephen. Then the lights blinked twice.
They’d been doing that.” Riordan lifted his dark eyes to meet Faulk’s.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that sooner. This was the third time it had
happened and instead of thinking it was Stephen saying, ‘Go, you,’ I
thought he was saying, ‘No, you.’”
The guilt in Riordan’s eyes was unmistakable. “You have nothing
to feel guilty about. None of this has been easy for you. You have
every right to your own feelings.”
“Those feelings made me push you away and they turned out to
be wrong.” Riordan got up and started pacing around the bedroom.
“What if you didn’t know Tennyson? Or what if you hadn’t been the
kind of man who went after what he wanted? Jesus, Faulk, we could
have lost each other forever.”
Getting up from the bed, Faulk pulled Riordan into his arms.
“When two people are meant to be together, their hearts always find
each other. I have no doubt we would have run into each other at the
supermarket or at Isla and Laurel’s next dance recital. We would
have come back together.”
“You sound so sure.” Riordan sighed.
“True love finds a way, Riordan. If you’re going to believe in
anything, believe in that. Believe in me.” Not waiting to hear
Riordan’s response, Faulk kissed him. It was gentle at first, their lips
just brushing together.
 It didn’t stay gentle for long. Riordan grabbed Faulk’s hips, pulling
their bodies together with a crash. He moaned when Faulk opened
his mouth and their tongues met, dueling together in his mouth.
Moaning, Faulk went for the hem of Riordan’s shirt. It would
seem his lover was also a man who went for what he wanted. Thank
Christ what Riordan wanted was him. Throwing Riordan’s shirt to the
floor, he went for his pants next. As much as he wanted to take his
time and go slow, his long-suffering dick was urging just the
opposite.
Riordan seemed to be of a like mind. He was yanking at the
waistband of Faulk’s sweatpants, trying to push them down with one
hand and shove the other one inside at the same time, all while
Faulk was doing the same thing. It wasn’t working out so well, they
were doing this crazy dance routine around the bed.
“Hold on.” Faulk pulled away from Riordan who was panting.
Damn, if that wasn’t the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. A man so hot
for him he couldn’t catch his breath. Riordan Quinn was one hell of a
man. “Take your pants off and we’ll meet in the middle.” Faulk
grinned as he slid his pants down his hips and over his erection. He
was careful not to touch it, saving that for Riordan.
He couldn’t help noticing that Riordan was being equally as
careful as he stripped out of his sweats. Reaching for his lover, Faulk
couldn’t help smiling. There was nothing between them now. He
could feel Riordan against him in every place that counted.
“Are you going to stare at me all night or take me to bed?”
Riordan was dancing his fingers up Faulk’s back.
“Haven’t made up my mind yet.” Oh, Faulk was taking Riordan to
bed all right. There was no doubt about that. He was just enjoying
the view from here. He walked Riordan backward until his legs hit
the bed. “Is this better?”
“Nope. I’m not on my hands and knees with you pounding into
me from behind.”
Damn… That amped things up a bit. “Hands and knees, huh?”
Riordan nodded, biting his bottom lip.
“Did you stock up on supplies?” Faulk wasn’t anticipating that
he’d be staying here tonight. He’d been hopeful that it would turn out
this way, but he wasn’t going to put the cart a town ahead of the
horse and show up to a mediumistic reading with Riordan’s dead
husband, pharmacy bag loaded with condoms and lube, in hand.
Pulling away from Faulk, Riordan went to his nightstand. He
pulled out a brand-new bottle of lube and a box of condoms. I got
them this morning when I was out grocery shopping.”
“Are you sure this is what you want? We have all the time in the
world.”
Riordan opened his mouth like he was going to rush to say
something. Most likely that time was precious and nothing was
guaranteed, but he smiled instead. “I’m ready. I want this, Faulk, just
shut and lock the door before you come get me.”
Faulk snorted. Nothing would stop this party faster than Isla
walking in and asking why they were naked wrestling. Then she’d
see Laurel and tell her how the Chinese food hypothesis was wrong.
Daddies wrestling naked is how you get a baby brother.
Managing to wipe the smile off his face, he shut the door, locked
it, then turned back to Riordan, who’d arranged himself in the center
of the bed. Obviously, he wasn’t kidding or in the mood for foreplay
either. Faulk could work with that. There was always tomorrow to
have lazy sex or foreplay-only sex. There was time.
“Well, this is rather impressive.” He wasn’t just talking about the
way Riordan’s cock was hanging down to drag against the
bedspread, while his tight ass was poised high.
“How would you know? You’re all the way over there.” Riordan
winked over his shoulder.
Faulk had to admit that was a fair point. Grabbing the lube off the
nightstand, he made quick work of the seal, snapping the lid open. “I
love you, Riordan. Never forget that.” It hadn’t escaped his notice
that Riordan had yet to return those words. He would. They had
time.
He admired the view of Riordan’s cock, balls, and pucker while
he drizzled his fingers in lube. It had been a while for Riordan this
could be slow going. Pressing his index finger against his hole, he
gave a little push and was surprised when he slipped right in. “You
sly minx!”
Riordan gave a little snort. “I might have prepped a bit in the
shower.”
Testing that out, Faulk added a second finger. It easily joined the
first. Damn… His man was something else. Not wanting to waste
precious time obviously. He was going to have to work on that with
Riordan. Later.
Grabbing the condom, he suited himself up. What he wanted
more than anything was for Riordan to enjoy every moment of this.
He had a feeling Riordan wanted a hard, fast ride.
“Are you going to stare at my fabulous ass all night or are you
going to fuck it?” Came Riordan’s taunt.
 “Stare, definitely stare.” Faulk’s comeback was instantaneous.
There was nothing better than laughing with a lover in bed.
Riordan gave his ass a little shake.
That snapped Faulk out of his humorous bend. He was all
business now. Setting his left hand on Riordan’s hip, he lined himself
up with the other. Tip met hole. It was all he could do not to surge
forward and take Riordan with a savagery he hadn’t know was in him
until this moment.
This wasn’t about possession. It was about love. Commitment.
The first step in a lifetime of love. His hips gave a tiny push forward.
Both men moaned in concert. God above, he’d done this so many
times before, but this was an entirely new sensation. Faulk felt like
he was doing everything for the first time. He felt like he was coming
home.
Bottoming out, he rested his head against the back of Riordan’s
neck. Wrapping his arms around him., he gave a little tug on his
earlobe. “You ready for this?”
Riordan nodded. He seemed to be past the point of words. All
signs of his earlier cockiness were gone.
Holding on a bit tighter, Faulk started to move. “This is only the
beginning.” The beginning of everything, he thought to himself, but
didn’t say out loud. Then he was past the point of rational thought.
His thrusts got steadily deeper, harder. Riordan started moving
with him, in perfect sync. Flesh slapped flesh. Their voices rose and
fell together.
Faulk could see Riordan’s hands white-knuckled in the sheets.
Could feel his hole tightening even more around him. “You’re close,
aren’t you? Just a few more strokes and you’ll be there. Calling my
name. Feeling that white-hot bliss.” Faulk had no idea where these
words were coming from. “That’s it, babe, come closer. Come with
me.”
Riordan cried out. Faulk felt him convulse under him. Reaching
down, he wrapped his hand around Riordan’s erection to give him
that extra friction. Hearing him cry out that way, bucking back against
Faulk was what triggered his own release.
Closing his eyes, he whispered Riordan’s name and rolled with it.
His cock jerked hard, then started pulsing. He held on tighter,
releasing Riordan’s cock and anchoring himself to his lover at his
hip.
When he’d calmed, Faulk collapsed on his right side. Too drained
to move. He’d never felt anything that intense in his life. He
supposed that was what love did to you.
Riordan turned on his side, looking up at Faulk. “I love you too.”
He rested his face against Faulk’s damp chest.
His entire body glowing from what had just happened, his soul lit
up like the horizon at sunrise. Wrapping his arms around Riordan,
Faulk smiled. He was truly a man who had it all.
 

EPILOGUE

Riordan
Six months later…
Riordan’s heart was pounding in his chest. It was like a
hummingbird had worked its way into his heart and was fluttering its
tiny wings inside. He knew all about hummingbirds now. Faulk had
bought them a feeder this summer and the girls had lost their minds
watching the tiny jewels dart in and out for a sip of the nectar they
made at the dining room table.
Faulk was a big one for nature-themed outings. Since their trip to
the aquarium back in March, they’d gone to the beach looking for the
animals they’d seen at the tidepool touch tank. They’d also been to a
butterfly house where they could watch the insects hatch, then walk
among them. Macy had been especially enchanted with that, which
had Faulk running out to Home Depot, buying the proper flowers and
planting her a butterfly garden. They’d spent hours over the summer
sitting on a blanket, watching the butterflies visit their blooms.
Then came the birds. After the first brilliant goldfinch came to
check things out, Isla was hooked. That sent her and Faulk on an
adventure to the feed store. He’d come back with all manner of
feeders and types of seeds. The best thing in his purchases that day
had been a book that had pictures to identify what they were seeing.
He and Isla sat for hours going over that book and learning the
names of the birds who came to eat at their feeders.
Isla had been true to her word with helping to stock the feeders
and going on seed runs with Faulk. She’d quickly become the most
popular little bird watcher at the feed store. Last week, she’d seen
pictures of some of the farmer’s chickens. The store had a bulletin
board where farmers posted pictures of their hatchlings, like an
obstetrician posted pictures of the babies they delivered. Isla had
come home talking about these adorable red chickens. Riordan had
the awful idea that chickens, the petting kind, not the eating kind,
were in his future, come spring.
Chickens were neither here, nor there at the moment. Riordan
took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down.
 “You look like you’re going to deliver a litter of kittens,” Cassie
Craig laughed.
“I don’t think you’re far off.” Riordan wiped his damp hands on his
pants.
“I’ve seen Isla dance this routine. She’s going to be amazing.”
Cassie patted his shoulder and turned toward the stage.
They were sitting in the Witch City Dance Studio’s auditorium.
After seeing Isla dance with Riordan back in March, they’d had an
overwhelming demand for a Daddy and Me class. It had been Faulk
who’d signed up for it with Isla, purely by happenstance. Riordan had
been willing to do the class with her, but it had been Faulk who’d
taken her to sign up. He’d gotten stuck working late on that summer
exhibition and Faulk ran her and Macy over to the studio to sign up.
Isla had been convinced Faulk could do it and since he could never
say no to anything she asked for, he was here today as a performer.
This was also how Riordan knew Rhode Island Red chickens
were in his future. Well, Faulk’s soft side and the fact that he’d seen
blueprints for a chicken coop on Faulk’s nightstand before he’d
hurriedly shoved them under their new bed the other night.
The auditorium lights started to brighten and dim, the sign that it
was five minutes to showtime. Faulk had Macy with him too. He’d
promised to drop her off before the show started. He’d been
surprised that Cassie Craig hadn’t brought her back when she’d
come back from the dressing room from helping out Cole and Laurel.
She’d just smiled mysteriously at him and taken the seat beside him.
Miss Vivian, the head of the school stepped out onto the stage to
a round of applause. “It’s my pleasure to welcome you all to the Dad-
erina Dance. I will say, though, that not all the men dancing here
today are Dads. Some are stepdads, uncles, surrogates, and best
friends. I hope you enjoy all of the performances today and most
importantly, keep dancing!”
Riordan was feeling alarmed now. Where on earth was Macy? He
didn’t have long to wait for the answer. Walking out on stage dressed
as ladybugs, complete with wings, were Faulk, Isla, and Macy. The
ladybug song started to play and all three of them started to dance.
The tears started the second Macy made her first misstep,
bumping into Faulk and landing on her ladybug bottom. He started to
laugh and picked her up, setting her back on her feet and kept
dancing. Macy was laughing, twirling the wrong way, taking the
wrong steps, falling flat on her bottom again, but having the time of
her life.
When the song was over, she ran to Faulk, taking his hand and
bowing to the crowd who was going crazy cheering for them.
Before Riordan knew what he was doing, he was up and out of
his seat, walking down the aisle and up the stairs toward his family.
He’d known he was going to do this today, but hadn’t been sure
when. He just hoped to God someone in the audience was running
their camera.
“Daddy!” Isla left Faulk’s side to hug him. “How’d we do?”
“You were fantastic, honey!” He turned to the crowd. “Sorry
everyone! This will only take a minute!” He reached into his pocket
and pulled out the platinum wedding band he’d bought a week ago.
The audience gasped. Turning back to Faulkner, he could see the
shock registering on his detective’s face.
They hadn’t talked about this at all. Faulk had moved into the
house back in May, just in time for hummingbird season. Things had
been going great between them all. They’d settled in nicely as a
family and life was going along swimmingly. Isla had started
kindergarten two weeks ago. Macy was in daycare now that she was
two. Life couldn’t be better. Only it could, Riordan had realized.
He’d gone out and bought the ring, knowing life was too short not
to make Faulk his husband.
Miss Vivian ran out on stage, handing Riordan the cordless
microphone before dashing off again. He couldn’t help laughing.
“Our relationship started here in this very room when I got up on
stage to dance with Isla. What a fitting place for us to take the next
step, Faulk.” He paused to take a breath when he felt Isla tug on his
hand.
“You gotta propose on one knee, Daddy!” Isla grinned up at him.
“Oh, right!” Riordan rolled his eyes, getting down on one knee.
He looked up at Faulk whose blue eyes were misty. He seemed to
be holding it together for now. “You complete our family. You
complete me. I didn’t think I could ever be whole again, then I met
you. Faulkner Isaiah Hayes, will you marry me?”
“Will you marry us too?” Isla grinned.
Faulk lost it then. He put a hand over his mouth, nodding instead.
Macy hugged his legs. “Da!” she shouted loud enough for the
entire auditorium to hear without the microphone.
Riordan slid the ring on Faulk’s shaking finger before standing up
to hug him. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too. I can’t believe you did this. I had no idea you were
planning a proposal.”
“Some detective you are,” Riordan laughed.
“So this means I’m Dad?” Faulk swiped at his wet eyes.
 “That’s up to Isla and Macy.”
“Dad!” Isla agreed, hugging Faulk tightly.
“He said yes!” Riordan announced. He watched while the
audience gave them a standing ovation. He saw Ronan, with his little
miss strapped to his chest, walk down the aisle, his iPhone held up,
capturing this moment for them. He couldn’t help but wonder if he
would be up here with Everly in a few years dancing in matching
tutus.
What mattered now was that Faulk said yes. Their family was
complete.
Until the next tiny dancer came along…
 
IF YOU ENJOYED MEETING MEMBERS OF THE COLD CASE
PSYCHIC FAMILY, GO BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN WITH
BOOK ONE IN THE COLD CASE PSYCHIC SERIES, DEAD
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Boston Police Detective Ronan O’Mara enlists the help of Salem
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When the child’s body is found, the work to identify his killer
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Will working together to bring Michael’s killer to justice seal their
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Since the death of his former partner, Tony Abruzzi, at the hands
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Newly-minted Ghost Detective, Jude Byrne, finally has his life in
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