Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
“Well, you are, Anna,” she said. “In fact, you’re the only one who’s been shot with either an arrow or a bullet in our little company.”
“I’m aware of that, but that could change. If you keep looking into cases like the Cupids or Nick’s dad’s murder—which turned out to be the same darn case—you could get hurt. Nobody wants you to be harmed.”
“I promise we’ll be very careful, dear. What do you say?”
Truth be told, I was torn. I didn’t want anything to do with them being in dangerous cases, but if they were going to follow through with this, I wanted to be there to protect them. “I accept. With a caveat that my actual job takes priority. I’m a lawyer first.”
“That’s fine.” She patted my hand. “We need a lawyer. Thelma’s becoming quite good at breaking and entering, you know.”
I groaned. This was just a little bit too much to deal with right now. “Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans?” I asked her, wanting to talk about anything except their detective agency.
Nonna smiled. “Of course. Your grandfather’s quite the romantic, you know? I’ve been hinting at a necklace I want.”
“What kind?”
She waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. He never buys what I hint at, so I don’t hint at anything I want. He thinks he’s quite creative, so he’ll get a necklace, but it won’t be the one I talked about. If he goes to Duke’s, Duke will lead him in the right direction.”
I chuckled. The woman was brilliant. “What did you get him?”
She looked away and then back. “This might be a little on point and a bit odd, but I found him a new fishing knife. That was before Nick’s case, of course.”
“I think that’s sweet. Did you put his initials on it?”
“No. I inscribed an Italian love saying. He likes that kind of thing.”
I reached out and held her hand. “Who doesn’t? I was really scared I might’ve gotten you shot. You need to be careful.”
Her chuckle was reassuring. “You need to be careful. We knew what we were doing, Anna. Don’t worry so much. Things worked out the way they should.”
She looked up as Aiden walked into the room. “All right, you two, I’m going to get going.”
Aiden wavered and looked from me to her. “I could drive you.”
“Oh, no. I’m sure Donna and Tessa waited for me since my car isn’t here.”
Aiden went into the hallway, looking the other way before returning. “Yep, you’re right. They’re by the front door.”
“Of course, they are,” Nonna said.
He held out his elbow. “You sweet boy,” she said, grabbing her trench coat. “We’ll need to drop by McLerrison’s farm and pick up my purse.”
“The police are already on it. They should have it back to you soon,” Aiden said as they disappeared down the hallway.
I took a moment to breathe. I loved my family, but sometimes, they were a bit overwhelming.
Aiden returned and sat by the bed. “Here we are again.”
“I know.” I winced. “Sorry about that.”
“Crashing into my truck was a good move. It forced Wilson against the back of the seat and gave you a chance to get the gun away from him,” Aiden said. “You did everything right this time, Anna, including having a police officer with you, calling for an ambulance, sending the picture, and calling me.”
“Yet, here I am,” I said.
“Yeah, but here you are in one piece.”
I grinned. “You’re not locking me down?”
“I didn’t say that. There will be a few changes around here, but you probably won’t notice them.”
Somehow, I thought I would.
Chapter 38
For court on Valentine’s Day, I wore a bright pink shirt beneath my black skirt suit jacket that matched my skirt and polished black dress boots. My stomach cramped, and acid kept trying to climb up my throat. I’d already eaten a bottle of Tums and taken some ibuprofen, but I couldn’t dispel the nerves. This was a huge deal for Violet, and I didn’t want to blow it. But the fact that she had run away after the basketball game on Friday and had a BOLO out for her was just bad news.
I stood at my table in the district court with Violet next to me. Uncle Buddy flanked her other side with Yara next to him.
“All right, everybody take a deep breath.” I looked at Violet. “No matter what happens today, the adoption will go through. It could be postponed because the judge can take all the time in the world to make sure this is a good placement.”
She tugged nervously on her ear. “But he could decide yes today, right?”
“I have the paperwork for him. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“I talked to the guy for two hours earlier,” she said.
The judge had agreed to an ex parte meeting with Violet earlier today, where they had tea in his chambers. It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t completely unheard of, either. When children were involved, a judge could meet with them and make sure they knew exactly what was happening. I liked that Judge Grizzio had taken the time to speak with Violet personally. He was a good man. Yet I also knew he would make his decision based on caution, which I understood.