LITMIR.BIZ

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I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said. “You’re not leaving already, are you?”

      Josh slanted a look at Ross. “In a minute.”

      “You can’t leave yet. Your great-grandmother is here. She specifically wanted to see you.”

      Josh looked less than thrilled about being forced to talk with more Fredericks relatives but he nodded and allowed himself to be led away by the other woman, leaving Ross alone with Julie.

      “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said after a moment.

      He didn’t add that if he had seen her earlier, it might have made the whole thing a little easier to endure.

      She made a face. “I decided I would probably regret it if I didn’t come to pay my respects. I know Jillian casually from some committees we’ve served on together and it seemed the polite thing to do, for her sake alone. But more than that, I wanted to come for Josh. It seemed…right, especially as I feel a little as if I were involved, since you and I were on the scene so quickly after it happened and I was with Josh for those few hours afterward.”

      “Makes sense. It was nice of you to come.”

      She studied him for a long moment. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I get the impression you’re not very thrilled to be here.”

      His laugh was rough and humorless. “Is it that obvious? I can’t wait to leave. We were just on our way out. And just so you don’t think I’m rushing him away, Josh is as eager to get out of here as I am.”

      She frowned. “How is he really doing?”

      He gazed toward the door, where Josh was talking politely to an ancient-looking woman in a wheelchair. “Not as peachy as he wants everybody to think. He isn’t the same kid he was five days ago.”

      “That’s normal and very much to be expected.”

      “I get the grieving process. I mean, even though his relationship with his dad wasn’t the greatest, of course he’s going to be upset that he died a violent death. But something else is going on. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

      One of the things Ross liked best about Julie Osterman was the way she gazed intently at him when he was speaking. Some women looked like they had their minds on a hundred other things when he talked to them, everything from what they had for breakfast to what they were going to say next. It bugged the heck out of him. But somehow he was certain Julie was focused only on his words.

      “I’m sure he’s also upset about his mother’s arrest.”

      “True enough. If you want the truth, he acts like Frannie’s arrest upsets him more than Lloyd’s death. He’s furious that his mother has been charged with the murder and that she’s being held without bail.”

      “Have you talked to him about his feelings?”

      He rolled his eyes. “I’m a guy, in case it escaped your attention.”

      “It hasn’t,” she murmured, an odd note in her voice that sent heat curling through him.

      He cleared his throat. “I’m no good at the whole ‘let’s talk about our feelings’ thing. Not that I haven’t tried, though. Yesterday I took him out on my boat, thinking he might open up out on the water. Instead, we spent the entire afternoon without saying a word about his mom or about Lloyd or anything. Caught our limit between us, though.”

      Why he shared that, he wasn’t sure and he regretted even opening his mouth. What kind of idiot thought a fishing trip might help a troubled teen? But Julie only gazed at him with admiration in the deep blue of her eyes.

      “Brilliant idea. That was probably exactly what he needed, Ross. For things to be as normal as possible for a while. To do something he enjoys in a safe environment where he didn’t feel pressured to talk about anything.”

      “I used to take my brothers when we were kids. I can’t say we solved all the world’s problems, but we always walked away from the river a little happier, anyway. Or at least we stopped fighting for a few minutes. And sometimes we even caught enough for a few nights’ dinners, too.”

      She smiled at that, as he found he’d hoped she would. “You know, Ross, if you think it might help him cope with his grief, I would be happy to talk to Josh in a more formal capacity down at the Fortune Foundation.”

      He mulled the offer for a long moment, then he shrugged. “I don’t know if he really needs all that.”

      “I’m not talking long-term psychotherapy here. Just a session or two of grief counseling, maybe, if he wants someone to talk to.”

      Ross thought of Josh’s behavior since Lloyd’s death. He had become much more secretive and he seemed to be bottling everything up deep inside. Every day since his father’s murder, Josh seemed to become more and more tense and troubled, until Ross worried he would implode.

      He had seen good cops take a long, hard journey to nowhere when they tucked everything down inside them. He didn’t want to see the same thing happen to Josh.

      His nephew wouldn’t share what he was going through with Ross, but maybe a few sessions with Julie would help him sort through the tangle of his emotions a little better. He supposed it couldn’t hurt.

      “If he’s willing, I guess there’s a chance it might help him,” he answered. “You sure you don’t mind?”

      “Not at all, Ross. I like Josh and I want to do anything I can to help him through this hard time in his life. I would say, from a professional standpoint, it’s probably better if he gets some counseling earlier rather than later. Things won’t become any easier for him the next few months, especially if the case against Frannie goes to trial.”

      “It won’t,” he vowed. He was working like crazy on his own investigation, trying to make sure that didn’t happen. “I can’t believe such a miscarriage of justice would be allowed to proceed.”

      “You were a police officer,” she said. “You know that innocence doesn’t always guarantee justice.”

      “True. But I’m not going to let my baby sister go to prison for something she didn’t do. You can be damn sure of that.”

      Her mouth tilted into a soft smile that did crazy things to his insides. “Frannie is lucky to have you,” she said softly.

      He deliberately clamped down on the fierce urge to see if that mouth could possibly taste as sweet as his imagination conjured up.

      “We’ll see,” he said, his voice a little rough. “If Josh is willing, when is a good time for me to bring him in?”

      “I’ve got some time tomorrow afternoon, if that works. Around four, at my office?”

      “I’ll talk to Josh and let you know. I don’t want to force him to do anything he’s uncomfortable about.”

      “From the little I’ve learned about your nephew, I don’t think you could force him to do anything he didn’t want to do. I’m guessing it’s a family trait.”

      He actually managed a smile, his first one in a long time. He was suddenly enormously grateful for her compassion and her insight. “True enough. Thank you for all your help. I’ve been baffled about what to do for him.”

      He didn’t add that he felt as if was failing Josh, just as much as he had failed Frannie for the last eighteen years.

      “You’re doing fine,” she answered. “Josh needs love most of all and it’s obvious you have plenty of that to give him.”

      She touched his arm again, as he realized was her habit, and Ross felt the heat of it sing through his system.

      He wanted to stay right here all afternoon, to just let her gentle touch soothe away all his ragged edges, all the tangles and turmoil he had been dealing with since Lloyd’s murder and Frannie’s

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