Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

A s soon as Kyle opened the door to Sibby's house, he knew he was in trouble. His entire family was sitting in the great room, the Patriot game displayed on the large screen television. His brothers, Tim and Conor, sat on opposite ends of the sectional couch wearing their lucky team jerseys, and each holding a bottle of Sam Adams as they loudly rooted for their team. His brother-in-law, Sibby's husband Geoff, was trying to wrangle his sons as they ran circles around the room. His father was asleep in the recliner, oblivious to the sheer madness and noise around him; Kyle was sure that his mother and sister were in the kitchen arguing about how much more salt to add to the Sunday roast.

Kyle knew where this would lead. Inevitably, when the Pats lost to the Giants, there would be a lot of sulking and Monday morning quarterbacking all through dinner – or at least until Sibby told them to stop already and eat the food she'd worked on all day. Then Sibby would grab the saltshaker from their mother's hand, threatening to tell her mother's cardiologist about the woman's serious addiction to the seasoning, adding that the doctor would need to up the levels of the other woman's medications to prevent the stroke she was sure to have as she over-salted the meat on her plate.

Kyle let out a sigh. It was just another average Sunday afternoon with his family, except this week, he had a woman by his side, and to make it even more interesting, that woman had a baby with her. He thought for the briefest moment that he should just back up and go out the door, before they were spotted, but it was too late.

"Kyle," Sibby yelled out over the din in the room. "So glad you could make it. Glad you brought your house guest along as well."

He drew in a breath. "Hi, one and all. This is Mia, and the little one's name is Sarah. Let's give them a minute before you all descend like the locusts you are."

"Come in, dear," his mother said, stepping around him and heading straight for Mia. "So glad you could join us. Sibby told us what happened, the accident and all. I hope you're feeling better now. I'm Colleen, by the way. And that sleeping beauty in the recliner is my husband, Tommy." She turned to Tim and Conor. "Do you think you might turn the volume down some? You're going to scare the wee one with the racquet you're making."

"Sure Ma," Conor said. "Right after the next play."

"Not later, Conor. Now," his mother replied sternly and a second later, the sound was off as the picture still played.

Kyle watched as all eyes turned on Mia. He knew he had to step in before his family overwhelmed her entirely.

"Mia's been through quite a trauma. Let's give her some space," Kyle said.

"Of course, Kyle. You don't need to be the behavior police," Tim kidded. "Unless you've been put back on the job. Has that happened yet?"

"Don't be an asshole, Tim," Sibby said. "If the disciplinary board had come back with a decision, we'd all know, right Kyle?"

Remembering the conversation he'd had with Mia, about his current work status, he felt his stomach turn. He had shared the information about the incident and opened himself up to her in a way that had surprised him. He had told her his deepest fear, that he was hesitant to shoot his gun, making him no longer fit to do his job. There was something about this woman that made him want to tell her everything and then bury himself so deeply inside her that he forgot his own name. He shifted his gaze to her. From the way she locked eyes with him he could almost imagine that she knew what he was thinking, and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He shook his head and quickly changed the subject.

"Will dinner be ready soon, Sib? I'm starving," he said.

"Soon, brother, soon." She turned her attention to Mia and led her over to the couch, sitting down herself and motioning for the Mia to do the same. "How are you feeling? Do you remember anything from before the accident?"

"Not really. I'm just grateful that Kyle has been so generous and has allowed Sarah and I to be his house guests. And Devon was able to retrieve my belongings from the car, so I have my ID now, my driver's license and passport."

"But you still don't know where you were supposed to be going?" Sibby asked.

"No. I know that I drove up from New York but…"

"Please don't tell me that you're a Giant fan. That would be a big problem…" Tim said.

"A what?" she asked.

Kyle's ears perked up. A New Yorker who doesn't know who the Giants are? Maybe she's not a sports fan.

"Just ignore him," Colleen said as she swatted the back of her son's head. "Leave the woman alone, now, Tim." She turned back around. "And this must be Sarah," she said looking at the baby in her newly purchased car seat, resting at Mia's feet.

"Yes," Mia said, bending over to unlatch the harness and lift the little girl onto her lap. "I'm so relieved that she wasn't hurt in the crash. I don't know what I would have done if she'd been harmed."

"Of course," Colleen replied. "We all do our best to protect our children, don't we? And she's such a pretty little girl."

Kyle looked over at the baby. She was dressed head to toe in pink, her chubby fingers in motion, her feet kicking in excitement. She seemed to know that she was the center of attention and was relishing every moment.

"Thank you," Mia said.

"Can I get either one of you a beer?" Geoff stepped into the room and asked.

"If you're here, where are the boys?" Sibby asked.

"In their room on their iPads. I needed a break so I told them they could have fifteen minutes of screen time before dinner."

"I hear you," Sibby said nodding in agreement. "And speaking of dinner, let me go check. It should be near ready." She retreated into the kitchen, their mother trailing behind her.

Kyle slipped into the spot his sister had just vacated on the couch and said to Geoff, "a beer would be great." Then he turned to Mia. "Or wine, if you'd like a glass."

"Just a glass of water, thanks," she replied.

Geoff went off to get the drinks and once he was out of earshot and Kyle saw his brothers turn back to watch the game, he whispered to Mia, "They all mean well. They're just a loud, crazy group of people. God love ‘em, though. I know that I do."

"It must be nice to have a large family," she said.

"Maybe you have one too and they just don't know how to find you. I know we'll figure this out."

"Do you really think so? Then why didn't they file a missing person's report? Maybe you can find the answer to where I was meant to be going? Maybe there are clues at my New York address?"

"I'll ask Devon to check with his contacts at the Manhattan PD. It's a possibility…" Kyle said.

"I find it hard to believe that your people aren't looking for you. They must be frantic. If they file a missing person's report, it will trigger a notification to my email."

"Maybe," she said slowly, nodding her head. "Or that's the hope, anyway. But I'm not sure if there is anyone out there for me. That's possible, right?"

Just then Geoff returned with a bottle of beer for him and a glass of water for her, ending the conversation. But something about the way she'd asked that last question him gave Kyle pause. To him, the tone of her voice made it sound like she wasn't sure if she wanted to be found.

Dinner was the raucous meal it always was, lots of reaching across the table, loud conversation and the one or two glasses of spilled milk. At least no one was arguing tonight; they all seemed to be on their best possible behavior in honor of their guest. Kyle sat back, watching the scene around him. His mother had wrangled Sarah away from Mia and was cooing softly in the little girl's ear. His nephews were in their seats, squirming, but sitting, nonetheless. Sibby kept running back and forth into the kitchen refilling bowls and platters; his brothers were debating the wisdom of the call of the last play of the Patriot game, happy that their team squeaked out a final minute victory.

In a rare moment of reflection, Kyle thought back to the conversation he'd had with Mia about his suspension from the force. She offered all the right sentiment, said supportive words, and didn't seem disturbed over the events as he explained them to her. Still, he had to wonder if she trusted him a little less now. For as heroic as he seemed to be surrounding her accident, he knew deep down that he was greatly flawed. He'd fired his gun wrongfully that night. If he got his badge back, he vowed to never make that same mistake again.

He glanced over at Mia. Her blue eyes sparkled in the light from Sibby's ornate chandelier, which hung over the dining room table casting prisms of light on the linen tablecloth. He'd brought this woman into his house and now she sat in the middle of Sunday dinner with his family, but he still knew nothing about her. It made him begin to question his abilities as a detective.

She looked up at him and smiled. He thought back to when they first met, when he finally opened her car door after the accident, and she spoke to him with a distinct British accent. Listening to her now, she sounded like she hailed from somewhere in the Midwest, with her flat, measured tone. Was he remembering it wrong? No. No, she sounded like someone who had spent her life in and out of fancy boarding schools. What was that about? he questioned to himself. Time to stop playing house and get into the database for himself to see if he could piece together this puzzle.

"Kyle, where are you, brother? I've been calling out to you to come help me in the kitchen," Sibby said, interrupting his train of thought.

"Sorry, Sibby, sure. What do you need?" He stood up and grabbed the now empty plates closest to him.

"Start clearing and we'll bring out dessert," she replied, disappearing behind the swinging door into the kitchen.

He followed her and once at the sink, he carefully placed the Sunday china down. He turned to go and get more dirty dishes when she stopped him.

"Tell me. How long do you think it's proper for you to have that beautiful woman in your home? You're doing her no favors if you don't track down someone who knows where she was supposed to be going when she crashed that car. You cannot seriously intend to have her stay forever. Have you considered that she might have a husband out there somewhere?"

"She's not wearing a ring, Sibby. Plus, she would remember a husband, wouldn't she?"

"C'mon brother! Take off those blinders you've got on. I mean, she's pretty, and all, but still. She might just have a husband, and most certainly, that child has a father. What have you been doing all week? And by the by, I didn't realize that the internet took off on Saturday and Sunday. Unless there's something else going on between the two of you…"

"Sibby! Seriously? She has a head injury and a baby. I was busy taking care of them and just trying to give her a minute to collect herself and feel better."

"Oh. So, you're not attracted to her or anything? News to me."

"What are you talking about? Are you really suggesting that I would make a move on a woman who can't remember her own name?"

"Take advantage? No, brother. But find yourself lonely with an incredibly beautiful and vulnerable female in your home? That's a ticket to disaster if I ever saw on, she said dryly."

"Nothing happened and nothing will happen, Sibby."

"Are you sure? It's been a long time since Meghan left you and a whole lot of women in between that you haven't brought home for Sunday supper."

"I couldn't come here tonight and leave her alone. She can barely take care of herself, let alone the baby."

"As I said. A ticket to disaster. You've got enough on your plate with the investigation coming to a head. Find out who this woman is and send her on her way."

"That's the plan, Sib."

"You know what they say about that, right? Man plans…"

"…and God laughs," he finished her sentence for her. Leaning in, Kyle kissed his sister on the cheek. "Thanks for looking out for me, but I've got this situation under control."

"It's safe to assume that your lady friend and her daughter won't be back next Sunday, then?" Sibby's eyes narrowed as she bore down on him with her famous death stare.

"I'd put money on those odds," he said and smiled. "I have nothing but time until I get my badge back. I'll figure out this puzzle way before next weekend."

Kyle turned and went back into the dining room to gather more plates.

"Can I help with those?" Mia asked, looking up at him, her voice soft, her eyes searching his own.

All at once Kyle felt his stomach flip with a nervous energy he hadn't felt in a very long time. Maybe he shouldn't have been so sure of himself when he told Sibby that he had everything under control. He'd bet and lost a whole lot more many times before this woman literally crashed into his life. Suddenly he wasn't sure about those odds at all, and when betting against himself, things never seemed go his way.