“Hey, when’d you get here?” I ask, standing up to give her a hug.

“Just now.”

“You even stop to see the house yet?”

“No, Murphy said you needed something.” She nods toward the open office door.

I motion her inside. “Where’s Alexa?”

“Outside with Murphy.” She glances over her shoulder. “She’s missed him a lot.”

“I promise I won’t keep him down here longer than I need to.”

A flash of guilt crosses her face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know you didn’t, sweetheart.”

“If he’s still here when classes are over, we’ll just move down for the summer.”

“He’d like that. But I know he’s pretty anxious to move into that big house he’s building for you.”

“I swear he added more bedrooms and I’m scared to ask why.”

I raise an eyebrow. “We both know why.”

She tosses her head back and laughs. “Yeah, probably.” Her eyes sparkle and she leans forward. “What about you and Lilly? Chance needs a little brother or sister, don’t you think?”

“Hopefully, a brother. He’s already got Alexa and Grace to look after.”

She claps her hands together and squeezes her eyes shut, something she’s done since she was about four years old whenever something made her really happy. “This is so great. They already have a big brother.” Her face sobers some. “Sorry. I’m sure it’s been rough and I don’t really know what happened. I’m just happy they’re here now.”

I shake my head, not offended at all. It’s a weird fucking situation and I’m grateful Heidi has been as welcoming to Lilly and Chance as she has. “Same.”

“So,” she says, sitting back and adopting a more business-like tone, “I talked to Bree last night.”

“Wedding stuff?”

She laughs. “Yeah, lots of that. But I asked her about school, and how on earth she and Liam find time to spend with each other with him working such long shifts.”

Damn, Heidi’s smart. Instead of placing her firmly in the “little sister” category her whole life, maybe we should’ve been grooming her to patch-in to the club.

“And she reminded me Liam actually works the afternoon shift. But he’s had a lot of overtime lately.”

“Working downtown?”

“No, covering shifts for the officers with more seniority who are working downtown, adding extra coverage near the big trial. Sounds like he’s been stationed out by the mall and near campus. I didn’t ask her directly about the trial or federal building at all.” She flashes a devious smile. “Didn’t have to.”