Chapter 17: My Sister's Ex—A Rib-Breaking, White-Sock-Wearing, Cheap-Cologne Guy
"Uncle! Uncle!"
Jenny buried her face in Sean's shoulder, the words muffled yet somehow crystal clear, as if the syllables themselves carried magic.
The little girl wriggled with excitement in her uncle's arms, then tilted her head up—her eyes sparkling, brimming with wonder and pure adoration.
"Did you drive the police car to catch bad guys today? Did the siren go woo-woo-woo?"
As she asked, she reached out curiously, tiny fingers tracing the textured grip of the Glock holstered at Sean's waist.
Sean couldn't help a low chuckle; the rumble of his chest vibrated through his shirt into Jenny's small frame.
He stood, cradling her securely—one large hand supporting her little body, the other ruffling her soft blonde curls.
The porch breeze rustled the courtyard palm fronds, a gentle whisper like background music for the tender scene.
Looking down at the small face filled with innocent trust and boundless joy, his expression softened enough to melt steel.
Sunlight bathed them both, gilding the two figures—one tall, one tiny—in warm amber light.
"Today,"
Sean's voice was low, gentle, a hint of roughness beneath the easy smile.
He turned, still holding Jenny, kicked off his shoes and slipped into house slippers.
He walked toward the brighter interior; the flip-flops smacked softly against the marble foyer—flip-flap, flip-flap.
"I caught some bad guys, yeah—and helped a little girl get back to her family. As a reward, they gave Uncle a nice long vacation."
Sean was always patient with children, especially Jenny.
"Uncle's the best! Mwah!"
Jenny lifted her little face, blue-green eyes twinkling, and planted a loud kiss on Sean's cheek.
The next instant her tiny features scrunched together.
"Ow!"
She clapped both hands over her mouth, giggled and squirmed, complaining in a muffled voice, "Uncle's scruff is scratchy! It's like... like being kissed by a porcupine!"
The prickly five o'clock shadow made Sean's heart melt completely.
Without hesitation he rubbed her blonde curls with rough affection.
"This porcupine-uncle will shave later, smooth as a baby's bottom! Then—"
he lowered his voice playfully,
"Jenny will have to give Uncle a few extra kisses as payback, deal?"
"Deal-deal-deal!"
Jenny bounced excitedly in his arms, small hands flailing—shaving had just become the greatest mission in the world.
The Sean on patrol and the Sean at home were two completely different people.
If his station colleagues saw him now, they'd never believe this was the same Sergeant Sean 'Three-Round-Burst' Horace.
"Uncle!"
She froze, swiveled her little face toward him, suddenly solemn in that way only kids can manage.
"Yeah, sweetheart?" Sean raised an eyebrow, amused, waiting for whatever random thought came next.
"On TV they said people would do anything for money—would you give me away for money, Uncle?"
The question dropped like a stone into the peaceful evening.
Sean blinked, then laughed softly—kids and their wild imagination jumps.
He adjusted his hold, making her more secure, his deep blue eyes meeting hers with the gravity of a sworn oath.
"How could I ever give up our adorable little angel Jenny?"
Warm fingers gently pinched her soft cheek with absolute certainty.
"Not for a million bucks, not for ten million, not for all the money in Fort Knox."
"Would you dump me for a million dollars?"
A slightly raspy female voice—tinged with emotion—cut in from the open-concept kitchen behind him.
Sean turned around.
Judith Harper—his divorcing sister staying with him temporarily—leaned against the sleek granite countertop.
An oversized gray cardigan wrapped around her noticeably fuller postpartum figure.
Sean, never one for sugarcoating things with his headstrong sister, snorted:
"A million?"
He gave a short laugh, eyes scanning over her.
"If someone offered to pay me to never see you again, I wouldn't even bother calculating the capital gains tax."
Judith pouted, shuffled over in fuzzy slippers, bringing a faint scent of vanilla body lotion and evening air.
She plopped onto the leather sofa beside him, the cushion sinking under her weight.
Hooking an arm through his, she rested her head on his shoulder, voice turning whiny:
"Sean! Why are you so sweet to Jenny and so harsh to me?"
Sean swayed slightly with her added weight, sighed in resignation, a flicker of genuine concern he couldn't quite hide passing through his eyes.
Years of bailing out his troublesome sister had become standard operating procedure.
With their parents retired to Arizona, big brother had to play the father figure role.
"Fair treatment?"
Sean grunted.
"You were nineteen, barely a college sophomore, rushing to marry some guy whose full name I still refuse to remember—right then your sister privileges got severely downgraded. I haven't kicked you out, and that's purely for Jenny's sake."
Every family has its problem child; Charlie Harper has Alan, Sean Horace has Judith.
Sean paused, voice dropping ice-cold, jaw tightening.
"And you know damn well I never liked him—first time we met, I cracked two of his ribs."
"What kind of grown man wears cargo shorts with pulled-up white tube socks, drowning in cheap Axe body spray?"
As her older brother, he absolutely despised the older man who'd pursued Vanessa while she was still a teenager.
Yet he was equally disappointed in Judith herself—she'd had so much potential, such a bright future ahead.
Heartbroken by her misfortune, furious at her stubbornness.
At least Judith finished her bachelor's degree at USC's Dental School.
She passed her boards, became a licensed dentist, could actually support herself now.
Which also proved their parents had deep enough pockets to fully fund both kids' education.
"Enough—stop it!"
Judith jerked upright as if shocked, eyes avoiding the deepening twilight outside, fingers nervously fidgeting with her cardigan's fringe.
"That chapter is closed! Don't mention him anymore, okay?" she pleaded, voice desperate.
Sean's sharp detective gaze caught her evasiveness; he knew all her tricks and wasn't letting her dodge this conversation.
"Closed?"
he echoed slowly, calm yet with the authority of a police interrogation.
"Don't change the subject. Mom called last week—said she misses her granddaughter. When are you taking Jenny back to visit? What are you planning to tell them? That their beloved son-in-law vanished into thin air? Or that your five-year husband suddenly discovered he's gay?"
Judith drew a deep breath, as though reaching a difficult decision.
She straightened up, though the extra baby weight around her midsection made the posture challenging.
Meeting Sean's gaze directly, her pale blue eyes held no more evasion—only cold determination and exhausted relief.
Word by careful word, voice cutting through the quiet of the living room, she said:
"Once the property settlement is completely finalized."
Judith paused, mouth curving in a humorless smile.
"We'll say he cheated, the marriage fell apart—end of story. He's lost interest in women; we'll never see him again. If he ever bothers me or Jenny, I'll take her back to Arizona. Then Jenny—and Mom and Dad—will never, ever have to hear another word about that... that disgusting, Axe-body-spray-wearing loser."
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