Free Into the Future: A Callahan Novel by Celya Bowers Page B

just played the game the other night.”
    “Now, I’m really curious about it.  What did the disc look like?  Did it have the video game brand marks on it?  Company warning labels, you know, anything like that on it?”
    The light finally went on in Lizzy’s brain.  “You think it might be a link to the Paul puzzle?  I didn’t look at the disc. It should be still in his video player.  And before you ask, my brother Jason bought it for him about a year ago.  He claimed every child needed one.  And at the time, I was the only one in the family with kids.”
    “Mr. Sour Puss has a soft side,” Tristan smiled.  “That’s good to know.   I always thought Jason had one mood….bad.”
    Lizzy laughed.  “It’s not his fault.”  Lie.  Jason was a piece of work.  “He simply married the wrong woman, then that woman ran off with another woman.  He’s trying to work through his distrust of females now.”
    “When is he getting over the ‘I hate English people’?  Just because she was from England.”
    “Probably never. He gets along with Cam pretty well.”
    “Cam’s a Callahan.  They’re charmers. I’m a MacDonald, we’re not so charming.”
    She thought about his statement.  He might not have the charm of Cam, but he had sensitivity towards her and she loved him for it.  “Says you.”
    His tanned skin blushed.  “Stop trying to get me off track.  I really need to see that disc.  Maybe we can get Brad to look at it.  Has Paul been trying to get in your house lately?”
    “Always.  I never let him in.”
    “Maybe he’s realized his misplaced it and needs it back.”
    “Then why not just ask for it?  That’s what I’d do,” she said.
    “Honey, think like a lawyer,” Tristan prodded.  “Come on, think about it.  Your company is being investigated, you probably hid some records, but you can’t remember where, then it comes to you.  Your ex-wife has them.  You can charm her to get them back, but if she wasn’t having that, what’s your next move?”
    “Find another way into the house,” Lizzy said.  “Why doesn’t he just ask PJ if he’s seen the disc?”
    “Then PJ gets curious about it and asks you.”
    That idiot, she thought.  “Then I start looking for it.  And since I work for the sexy and intelligent city manager, it might send up a red flag and the authorities might be involved.”
    “That’s my girl,” he said.  “He has to figure out if you have it and where is it?”
    “So why all that drama with CPS?”  That was a mystery she would love to solve as well.
    Tristan sighed.  “My guess is that he wanted a reason to get into the house.  He could offer to talk about the kids at your house.  Seduce you and search the house.”
    “So whatever is on the disc could put me and the kids at risk?  I mean, I’m sure he’d throw us under the bus if it meant his life or ours.”
    “Well, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”  He kissed her on the lips.
     
    A few hours later, Lizzy admitted to herself, that yes, she was deeply in love with Tristan MacDonald.  They had lunch with the kids before taking them to Paul’s mother’s home.  To a very shocked Lizzy, Tristan introduced himself to Paul’s mother.  He made sure that the older woman knew that he in Lizzy’s life and wasn’t going anywhere. As the kids were playing upstairs, they sat in the living room to have a very adult conversation.
    “I love those kids as if they were my own,” Tristan said to Paul’s mother.  “I will make it my life’s work to make sure that they or Lizzy are not harmed emotionally or physically by your son.”  Tristan sat next to Lizzy on the sofa, while Paul’s mother sat in her favorite recliner.  The shocked expressions on her face was priceless.
    With that admission, Lizzy knew she had to fill Paul’s mother on what was going on.  She didn’t want Beatrice Hall to be in the dark about her son.  “Bea, there are a few things you need to