Dead Silence (Stillwater Trilogy #1)(50)
Author: Brenda Novak

They had company.

“Oh, no,” she said, immediately recognizing the driver.

“What’s the matter?” Teddy asked.

As Joe Vincelli hopped out of his truck, Teddy stayed at her side, but Heath ran over to greet him.

“Hi, Joe! I didn’t know you were coming.”

Neither did Grace. “You invited him?” she muttered to Kennedy. The sight of Joe reminded her that Kennedy had always been an enemy. How long would it be before he told his friends about the Bible and what had happened last night?

“No,” Kennedy said, but there was no chance for him to explain.

“Here you are,” Joe said. “I knew I could find you.”

“What’s going on?” Kennedy asked.

Joe’s gaze cut to her. “When you mentioned you were going camping, you didn’t tell me you were bringing Gracie.”

“That’s Grace,” he said. “And you didn’t ask.”

“Grace. Right.” The smile that curved Joe’s lips indicated he found Kennedy’s correction amusing. “Well, no worries. I’m here to save the outing.”

“Save the outing?” Grace repeated.

“Don’t you know? Politicians are notoriously dull.”

“And you’re…?”

“Compared to Kennedy, I’m the life of the party. I don’t have a reputation to protect.” He winked at her. “You and I are alike in that way, eh?”

“We’re not alike at all,” she said.

Again, he gave her a smile that indicated her response meant something significant to him. “If you say so.” Reaching into his truck, he pulled out a box of doughnuts. “Anyway, I’ve come bearing gifts.”

“Do you have any with sprinkles?” Teddy asked eagerly.

Joe shook his head. “You kidding? Only pansies like sprinkles. I don’t like sprinkles. Do you like sprinkles?” he said to Heath.

“I like sprinkles,” Heath replied.

Teddy shifted Grace’s bag to his other arm. “Grace likes them, too.

Joe’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at her. “Wow, your takeover is nearly complete. Good thing I came.”

“And that means what, exactly?” she asked.

He chuckled softly. “Nothing.”

“Damn right,” Kennedy said.

Ignoring him, Joe nudged Heath. “Maybe if you could persuade Grace to be nice to me, I’d drive back to town and get her some doughnuts with sprinkles.”

She raised one hand. “Don’t trouble yourself on my account,” she said and headed for the showers, knowing that whatever had happened yesterday, today was bound to be much worse.

Kennedy watched Grace walk away with his two boys. When they were out of earshot, he turned to Joe. “Why are you here? You had to leave at five in the morning to show up so early.”

“I told you I might join you,” he said indifferently.

Kennedy stared at him. “No, you said you didn’t want to go to Pickwick Lake.”

Joe sauntered closer, eating a doughnut in only two bites. “It’s not that bad here,” he said, still chewing.

“What changed your mind?”

“Since when do I need a reason to visit my best friend?”

“You knew Grace was here, too. How?”

Joe hesitated, as if he might continue to deny the motivation behind his trip, then shrugged. “Buzz told me he saw you drive out of town with a woman in the car.”

Kennedy forked the rest of the bacon onto a paper plate. “And you found that compelling enough to track us down?”

“You haven’t dated anyone since Raelynn died. I was curious to see which woman you had with you.” He widened his eyes. “Never dreamed it would be Grace.”

Kennedy didn’t believe that for a minute. Joe hadn’t seemed at all surprised to see her. “So now you know.”

Joe made a clicking sound and stood with his feet apart, arms folded. “Yeah, now I know. But I should’ve guessed right off the bat. Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

Kennedy knew he shouldn’t ask, but he was bothered enough by Joe’s attitude that he couldn’t stop himself. “What makes sense?”

“Why you don’t want to press McCormick to solve my uncle’s case.”

“I’ve already stated my reasons.”

“I guess you did,” Joe said with a chuckle. “You just didn’t add that you’re more interested in getting a piece of ass than in seeing justice done.”

Kennedy put the spatula he’d been using on the tree stump that held the rest of his cooking supplies. “We’ve known each other a long time, Joe,” he said, lowering his voice. “I owe you more than any other man. But if you ever say anything like that to me again, I won’t hesitate to break your jaw. And believe me, the fact that I’m running for mayor won’t stop me.”

It seemed to take Joe a moment to absorb the fact that Kennedy meant what he said. When he finally realized it, the mocking smile slid from his face. “You’d let a woman come between us, Kennedy? Grinding Gracie? She’s that good?”

Kennedy recognized the mean streak that occasionally appeared in Joe. He’d seen that look before, whenever Joe started a fistfight at the pool hall or got into an argument with his ex-wife. But Teddy and Heath were already racing each other back to camp, so Kennedy retrieved his spatula and tried to make the situation seem as casual as possible. “I wouldn’t know.”

“But you want to find out.”

“I wanted some company. That’s all.”

Heath rushed to touch the truck before Teddy could. “I win!” he called out.

“You cheated,” Teddy complained.

“No, I didn’t,” Heath said.

“You had a head start.”

Heath brought a hand to his chest as though he’d been falsely accused. “I said, ‘one, two, three, go.’”

“I didn’t hear you!”

“Fine, let’s race back.”

“Okay. One, two, three, go,” Teddy hollered and dashed off before his brother could do the same.

When the kids were gone, Joe nudged Kennedy with his elbow. “Listen, I’m sorry. I’m dissatisfied. Tired of being divorced. Tired of my job. Tired of doing the same old things. I admit all that. I’m even willing to admit that Grace seems to have changed a lot. I can see why you might be attracted to her. But she’s still the same person, Kennedy. You shouldn’t let that pretty face fool you.”