“Dad?” Jeremy poked his head in the door. “Dinner’s ready. Guess what we’re having.”
“Manicotti.”
“Nope. Guess again.”
“Spaghetti.”
“Nope. Have you ever had cannelloni?”
“Once, I think.”
“Claire said it’s made with veal. She let me taste it. I love it.”
There wasn’t anything about Claire Jeremy didn’t like. As for Vic...
Jeremy’s bedtime couldn’t come soon enough for him. If the kidnapping hadn’t happened, he would have made arrangements for his son to spend the night at his aunt Carol’s. But Jeremy was still too fragile to be away from home yet. Vic needed to keep a constant guard on him and Claire. Until he put the people in prison who were trying to take Vic down for Quarls’s arrest, no one was safe.
He needed to talk to TJ about putting surveillance on his family. His family. Claire was family and had been for a long time.
“Dad?”
His gaze flicked to Jeremy. “Let’s go find out if Claire needs our help.”
“When are you going to ask her?”
Vic had been waiting for that. “I have to talk to her about a few things first.”
“But you promised.”
He put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Give me time, and everything is going to come out right. Trust me.”
His eyes grew dull before he turned away and hurried back to the kitchen. Vic hated that things were so complicated. Certain issues had to be straightened out until he could present Jeremy with a fait accompli. But that couldn’t happen until he got a declaration out of her that she was in love with him.
When he reached the kitchen, Jeremy was already at the table. Claire’s gray eyes lit on Vic. “Come on. The food’s hot.” She poured him coffee while he sat next to Jeremy. It was her way to serve them first and wait on them before joining them near the end of the meal. Before long that was all going to change.
“How come Kit came over?”
“He’s going to be working with me again.”
Jeremy put his fork down. “Is your vacation over?”
“Yes. I’m going in to the office tomorrow so I can clear up this latest case.”
“Will you be here?” he asked Claire with anxiety in his voice.
“Of course.”
Jeremy was showing signs of having a meltdown.
“Guess what, sport. After it’s over, we’re going to take a big vacation. I thought we migh
t go to Jamaica and stop at Disney World on the way.”
Claire look surprised before she smiled at Jeremy. “That sounds exciting, you lucky boy.”
“But who will take care of our horses?”
“You remember John at the local stable?”