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."