Cuthbert's Way by LJ Ross

Author:LJ Ross [Ross, LJ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-11-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22

Ryan arrived home shortly after eleven, and felt his heart thud against his chest when he caught sight of a tall, well-built figure silhouetted in the porch light wielding a gun.

Charles lowered the rifle and secured the safety.

“Not exactly the warmest welcome,” he said. “But you can’t be too careful.”

To Ryan’s surprise, he leaned in to give him a manly, one-armed hug.

“Glad to see you back in one piece,” his father said gruffly. “The little one’s fast asleep, and Anna and your mum are in the living room.”

Ryan stepped inside the house and felt a blast of heat warm his icy cheeks.

Home.

“Go on through and see your wife,” Charles said, once Ryan had toed off his boots and hung up his winter coat. “I’ll bring you a bowl of soup.”

Ryan couldn’t have said why that, of all things, was enough to breach his defences, but it was.

“Thank you,” he managed.

“Don’t mention it,” Charles said quietly, before moving off towards the kitchen.

Ryan found two of the three most important females in his life sitting in the cosy living room, with the log fire burning. It was a festive scene, with a garland of ivy and mistletoe draped over the mantlepiece and Nat King Cole playing quietly from a speaker hidden behind the sofa.

“You’re back,” Anna said, and rose to her feet to return his kiss.

“Hi,” he said, simply, and drew her in for a close embrace. “How are you?”

“Better,” she assured him. “Emma’s had a lovely day. We went for a walk by the river, then practised our crawling, didn’t we grandma?”

“We did, indeed. Another month or so, and there’ll be no stopping her,” Eve replied, and patted her son’s cheek as he leaned down to kiss her.

“Hello, darling,” she said. “How was your day?”

Ryan settled himself on the sofa beside Anna, who rested her head on his shoulder, and thought of how to describe his day.

“Busy,” he decided. “Productive.”

“Oh?” Anna said, lifting her head again. “What can you tell us about it?”

He appreciated her being mindful of the confidential nature of his job and, for his part, were it not for the threat posed to his family, he wouldn’t have liked to bring any of the darkness home with him. Here was happiness and light, love and family, and it was his mission to keep it that way.

But there was a threat, so long as the situation remained unresolved, and they had a right to know the full extent.

His father came into the room and set down a small tray of soup and buttered bread, which he placed on a side table beside his son before joining Eve on the opposite sofa.

“Thanks,” Ryan said, and left it to cool. “I haven’t talked too much about this, over the past few months, because I haven’t wanted to worry anybody, unduly. You know what happened to DCI Tebbutt, from Durham Area Command?”

There were sober nods around the room.

“She was killed because of what she came to know about Cuthbert’s cross, as was the man who spotted the forgery—Edward Faber.

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