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Back The Newcomer Save as PDF
Chapters (71)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. Epilogue
  68. Acknowledgments
  69. Also by Mary Kay Andrews
  70. About the Author
  71. Newsletter Sign-up

Joe swung his legs off the sofa and sat up. He took both her hands in his. “That’s a nice word picture you just painted there. Can I ask? Is there a man anywhere in this picture? At all?”

Letty stared down at their joined hands. “You guys—you and Isabelle—you didn’t really have a dad. Right? In fact, earlier tonight you pointed out that Isabelle turned out just fine without a dad.”

He groaned. “First off, you should never listen to my advice, because clearly I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. I think, if you asked Isabelle, she’d tell you—as long as Mom isn’t within earshot—that she got a raw deal, not having a dad. But she might also point out that she had an awesome big brother who bitched and moaned—but still took her to the middle school daddy-daughter dance, and taught her how to drive a stick shift, and who, once she turned fourteen, threatened to arrest any little fucker who as much as tried to lay a hand on her without her saying it’s okay.”

“I wish Tanya and I had had a big brother like you,” Letty said, kissing his cheek. “Maybe then things could have worked out differently for both of us. I wish I could wave a magic wand and invent a brother like that for Maya.”

Joe pressed his forehead to hers. “You turned out more than okay. You’re a good person, Letty. I know you’ll make the right decisions for Maya. But don’t forget about you. You deserve to have a life too. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”

He kissed her lightly. “You could have a life. And a man in your life. And awesome sex, on the regular with that man, you know, once we find a live-in babysitter.”

Letty laughed despite herself. “You’re incorrigible.…”

Someone was pounding on her door. “Letty? Hey, Letty? Joe?”

She jumped up and unlocked the door. Vikki Hill was grim-faced. “I just got back from Gianni’s. Someone broke into my room. It’s been ransacked. And my Glock is gone.”

46

THE FBI AGENT WAS OBVIOUSLY shaken. “Looks like that prowler was for real. My room’s been turned upside down.”

Joe grabbed his phone. “I’m calling it in right now. Can you tell if anything else is missing?”

“No. As soon as I saw the lock had been jimmied I went in, saw the mess, and looked for my gun. When I saw it was missing, I backed up and came directly over here. Thank God I had my purse with my badge and ID and credit cards with me.”

“Shauna?” Joe spoke into his phone. “Can you get over here ASAP? We’ve had a break-in at the Surf. No, I don’t want to call it in to dispatch. I’ll explain when you get here.”