My Brother's Keeper
Chapter 22
"You're going to do
what?" Joshua came to a stop in front of his brother's office door. Had the younger
man lost his mind?
"That took longer than
I thought," Jerry said, looking up from his computer screen. "Like I told your
lovely wife - oh, less than 15 minutes ago -- when she was pumping me for details about
the weekend, I'm going to keep an eye on Santucci."
"Wait a minute."
Joshua raised his hands as if warding off the craziness of the idea. "Didn't Kim's
brother - the cop - said to stay away from him?"
"She really did fill
you in, huh?" Jerry looked impressed. "But yes. He did some preliminary research
and then got more detail. After the deeper look, he told us that there was some kind of
investigation going on and that we should just stay out of it, that the kids would be safe
and that we should go on with our soccer game."
"She was just worried
about you. And now I see why." Joshua moved farther into the office and settled in
one of the chairs. "What, pray tell, in that statement makes you think you need to
follow this guy around?"
"He said to stay away
from him. Let him do his thing like normal. Come on, Josh. How can the kids be safe if
Steve is telling us to stay away from this character?"
"Maybe because he's a
policeman," Joshua suggested. "Or. . . or maybe because he found out something
that you don't know. Whatever the reason, I think you should do what he says." He
just wanted his brother to be reasonable.
"Relax. I'm not going
to do anything dangerous. I'm just going to watch him. Just to make sure. That's what I've
been doing all season anyway." Jerry paused for a moment and frowned. "What do
you mean maybe he knows something that I don't know."
Joshua shrugged. "I was
just trying to talk some sense into you. I didn't really mean anything by it. But if you
think about it, he must know something."
"Yeah." Jerry
nodded thoughtfully. A disbelieving expression came over Jerry's face. "What if it's
all an act? What if Ray's like an informant or something?"
Joshua liked that even less.
"Jerry. You need to let this go, okay? What does Kim think about it?"
"I think secretly she
thinks I'm over-reacting."
"It's no secret. You
are over-reacting."
Jerry made a face.
"Maybe you're right. It's one more game. Steve said the kids are safe. It'll be all
right." He sounded almost convinced.
Joshua smiled wryly. His
brother was usually a good judge of character, with an almost frightening level of empathy
at times. But he couldn't help but think that love had turned his life a little upside
down. A change of conversation was definitely in order.
"So how did the rest of
the weekend go? Jasmine didn’t quite have time to fill me in on that. Did you pop the
question yet?"
"The weekend was
wonderful. And no, I haven't popped the question. Not yet, anyway."
"Not yet? Really? Is it
that serious?" Joshua's interest peaked. He knew that things had changed after Jerry
and Kim left their home, but he hadn't expected them to move so quickly. And he honestly
hadn't expected Jasmine's instincts to be so right on the money about Kim's feelings.
"She's the one, Josh.
She's the one. If I thought she'd say yes, I'd ask her today."
"Why wouldn't she say
yes?" Joshua asked jokingly. "For a chance to be with one of the Dumas
men?"
"She doesn't like to
rush into things," Jerry said. "I don't think the timing is quite right yet.
It's too soon."
"So you're waiting for
a sign?" Joshua raised a brow at him. "As your older and wiser brother, I should
tell you that with Jasmine I didn’t need a sign."
"No," Jerry shook
his head. "Just a good swift kick in the rear, if I recall. Every other indicator was
flashing like a beacon."
Joshua shot him a speaking
look. "Are you the only one who doesn't see the neon light flashing over your head
that says 'I belong to Kim?' All the women in this office have been lamenting the fact
since you met her."
"Funny. Sounds like
something I might say."
"Good. Learn from me.
And I'm not trying to rush you along either. I'm just happy the two of you got together. you found someone. And all that stuff about that
Santucci guy -- just put it out of your mind so I can tell Jasmine that I talk some sense
into you so that we don't have to worry?"
"Okay, it's out.
Happy?"
"Yes. Now get back to
work."