A couple of hours passed, somewhat pleasantly as she enjoyed chatting with the women, but she was going insane with worry over Caleb and the charges. Was he okay? Were they yelling at him or treating him nicely? Was Jeff really dead? She was so confused and stirred up that her head was pounding.
More voices in the main part of the police station announced more family members. Emily stood to greet them, and her eyes widened. She had a large family, but these people were beautiful and impressive and honestly a bit intimidating. She got hugs of greeting from all the women and handshakes from all the men. They were sensitive around her, as if they knew this was horrific for her no matter what her relationship with Jeff had been. Yet only Caleb’s mom shared Emily’s level of stress. The rest of the group seemed to think Caleb would be let off soon.
Emily tried to put the endless questions in her mind to rest. Her mama was fond of saying, “No need to borrow trouble.” She tried to focus on meeting Caleb’s family and not the worries rotating through her brain. It was tough, but they were a lively, happy crew. It made her miss Caleb even more.
Luke made them all settle down and then introduced everyone in order of age, starting with their parents, Peter and Madeline. They were classy and kind and didn’t look old enough to have all of these adult children. Emily’s own mama looked like she could top Madeline by twenty years and at least a hundred pounds.
Next she met Joshua and Jade, a beautiful dark-haired couple. Her jade-green eyes were almost as beguiling as the Jewel blue ones. It was obvious that Joshua was the other billionaire in the group, judging by his custom-fit, expensive-looking suit, his laptop bag, and the way he just seemed to command respect.
Cosette was next. Her husband Isaac was in the Air Force and was out on assignment, so she’d come with Jade and Joshua. Cosette was a beautiful blond lady with a smile that looked like she had a secret. When she hugged Emily, she said, “Yum. Artisan bread dough. Do you bake?” She clasped Emily’s hands between both of hers as if they would be bosom buddies if the answer was true.
“Yes, I love to bake.”
“Oh my goodness. Finally!” Cosette held her and Emily’s joined hands up. “Emily and I will cook for the entire family!”
Emily remembered Caleb telling them how his mom was an awful cook while he’d moaned about how good her food was. She ached for him.
“Yes!” Several of the men cheered.
She already knew Luke and Mar, so next was Caleb’s twin, Seth, and his gorgeous blond-haired, dark-eyed wife, Breeze. Breeze had a humble, down-to-earth air about her that made Emily relax. Seth made tears prick her eyelids. She hadn’t hugged any of the other men, but she found herself hugging Seth.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he teased. “I’m not Caleb.”
She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t attack you. You just look so much like him.”
“Now that’s offensive. I’m much more handsome.”
Breeze pushed a hand at her. “They love to tease each other. You should see the pranks they pull. Are you okay?”
“Not really, but thank you kindly for asking. I’m a mess.”
Breeze gave her a soft hug and said, “These Jewel boys are the best men I’ve ever known. Caleb will come out of this just fine. I’m really sorry about your ex-husband.”
Emily nodded, appreciating the reassurance and the condolences.
“You know the beautiful Eve, and this is Rachel, her beautiful, much-older sister,” Luke said to wrap up the introductions.
Rachel looked a lot like Eve. Almost as tall as Emily, she had long dark hair and bright blue eyes. The only difference from her sister was that Rachel had some obvious scar tissue on the left side of her face; it was mostly covered by her long hair, which swept severely across her left forehead and was pulled forward in front of her neck on that side. When Emily had read up on the family, she’d seen articles about Rachel being burned by a bomb. So sad. Rather than take away from her beauty, though, the scars gave her an almost exotic and mysterious look.
Emily got another welcoming hug from Rachel, and then the family bombarded Emily and Luke with question after question. Sadly, they had no answers. It had been over five hours now, and she kept praying that the police would come give them some kind of news.
A young officer walked in the door a few minutes later and cleared his throat. Everyone turned to face him; as one, they held their breath. “I know you’re all kind of famous and stuff,” he began.
Joshua looked to Luke and rolled his eyes.
“There’s, um, media people gathering out front. It musta leaked about an NFL player being killed by a pro lacrosse guy who’s also from a rich family. Do you want to all sneak out the back? We’ll keep you informed of what’s going on, but you’d be a lot more comfortable waiting in a hotel.”
Luke straightened, and Emily was pretty certain he was going to put the kid in his place, but it was Rachel who strode forward. The officer’s eyes widened, obviously taken in by her beauty and impressive presence.
“Officer …?”
“Peterson,” he supplied, tugging at his shirt to straighten it and giving her a broad smile.
“Officer Peterson. We are not afraid of the media, and the only way you are going to get our family to leave these premises without our brother Caleb is if you arrest us all and haul us to a different jail. Do you understand?”
The guy swallowed, licked his lips, and said, “Okay, I’ll tell the chief … Okay. Um …” He looked down, then raised his chin in a show of bravado. “Can I get your phone number?”
The brothers all let out disgusted or angry growls. “Back off, dude,” Seth said.