Fire and Ice (Death and Destruction #10) - Patricia Logan Page 0,1
time he thought of what that poor little girl had been through.
Tessa Harrison—formerly Teresa Rose Campos—had been a near-victim of nerve gas that Mills Lang had intended on testing on her. When the ATF and FBI had stormed his warehouse and saved the little girl, killing four international terrorists and their goons as well as many of Lang’s men, Jarrett had lifted Tessa out of the acrylic box that had been constructed as her tomb. She hadn’t been quite seven years old at the time and had been horribly traumatized. Tessa was now living with her adopted parents and was a happy, healthy ten-year-old who was almost eleven, doing well in school and church, and playing AYSO. She’d completely come out of her shell with a lot of love from her parents and siblings, Kayla and Jeremy, and she’d blossomed.
“Don’t worry,” Jarrett drawled. “Nothin’s wrong. Megan says that the kids are doing a Nativity play for the church, but they need something from us. I got the idea it wasn’t money or anythin’ like it from the message she left. It was too early to call her when I first got up.” Jarrett glanced at the Felix the Cat clock Dot had given them a couple of Christmases before. The tail wagged and the eyes moved side to side as the clock ticked off the seconds and Thayne had proudly hung it in the kitchen where it wouldn’t scare casual visitors. He loved his mom but the silly clock didn’t exactly fit in with the mid-century modern furniture or the decorating style of the rest of the house.
“It’s eight thirty. Is that too early to call, ya think?” Jarrett asked.
“With three kids? On a Saturday? Not even,” Thayne said. He gestured at Jarrett’s cell, lying on the kitchen counter. “I’m gonna go feed Orville and Wilbur.” He started walking out of the kitchen to feed the ferrets when Jarrett stopped him with a hand to the sleeve of his robe.
“Hang on. Where’s the fire? What if she wants to talk to you?” Jarrett asked, frowning at him slightly.
Thayne stopped in his tracks. “You can’t possibly be intimidated by one tiny home-schooling mother from Camarillo, Jarrett. Besides, it’s not like you don’t know her. During soccer season, we see her every weekend. By the way…” Thayne gestured at the dining room table. “Tessa’s new cleats came in yesterday. We’d have to drop them off sometime this weekend anyway.”
“I’m not intimidated by Megan. I love the woman like the sister I never had. It’s her…” Jarrett waved his hands at the Christmas lights Thayne had put up all over the house. “It’s the religious stuff, you know. I’m just not exactly the religious type.”
Thayne snorted, taking another sip of his coffee before sobering. “Megan and her husband have no doubt about who they are but not only do they love Tessa and their kids, but they couldn’t give a shit about us and who we are to each other. How many home-schooling Christian moms do you know who are that accepting of a gay couple—so accepting in fact that they allow Tessa to call us Uncle Jarrett and Uncle Thayne? She’s pretty fucking amazing, Jarrett.”
“I know it, dammit. It’s just weird, that’s all. I come from bumfuck West Virginia, Thayne. You were there. There’s some bigots in my background.”
Thayne snorted again. “In all of our backgrounds, Jarrett. I’ve run into my fair share of bigots in southern California. So have you.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been to Tessa’s church,” Jarrett drawled. “They’re kinda conservative. We got some looks when we went.”
Thayne shrugged. “It’s bound to happen. Not everyone is gonna accept two gay men, Jarrett, even in southern California, and you know it.”
“I guess. I know Megan and her husband are okay with it all.” He reached up and ran his fingers through the white strands of his hair before offering Thayne a smile. “Anyway, let’s make this call and then I need to hose off.” He picked up his phone and hit speed dial, putting it on speaker as Thayne chuckled. The phone was picked up after the third ring.
“Jarrett?”
“It’s me, Megan,” Jarrett said. “Thayne’s here too and you’re on speaker. Everything all right, darlin’?”
“Oh, yes, Jarrett. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. Hi, Thayne. How are you boys?”
“Hi, Megan,” Thayne said. “We’re good. Tessa’s new cleats are here. We were gonna drop them off some time this weekend. How are you guys?”