Griffin gave him an annoyed look. “Yeah, I’ve lifted her today. She’s clearly not wasting away.” He moved to Aisling and dropped a kiss on his wife’s head before smiling at his daughter, who was wearing a bib that read “Grandpa’s girl” and smacking her lips. “I take it I didn’t miss the big show.”
“You didn’t,” Aisling said, “but she is about to get fussy.”
“Awesome.” Griffin grabbed his chair and moved it so he sat next to Aisling. “What are we giving her first?” He made a face when he saw the small bowls on the highchair tray. “Why did you put it in bowls instead of feeding her out of the jars?”
“This isn’t the food we bought.” Aisling’s smile was grim. “This is the food my father had prepared by the kitchen staff.”
“It’s organic and healthier,” Cormack insisted. “Now, give that baby a spoonful so I can take over feeding her.”
“Um, I’m giving her more than a spoonful,” Aisling said. “Just ... hold it together. She’s going to be eating this for a long time. You’ll get your shot.”
Even though I was interested in how Lily would react to the food, I was equally intrigued watching the other Grimlocks. They all sat patiently — even Jerry, who wasn’t known for his ability to sit still — and watched as Aisling spooned up something that looked as if Lily had already deposited it in her diaper.
“Here we go.” Aisling made sure there was only a dollop of food on the spoon and held it toward Lily’s mouth. “This is beef something or other. I didn’t really listen when the cook was telling me. Apparently he made it with prime rib juice, so I bet it’s good.”
“Do you hear that, Lily?” Griffin was tickled by his daughter’s latest milestone. “It’s prime rib in a bowl – gooey prime rib.”
Lily seemed confused. She was used to a bottle and any number of people feeding her. She eyed the spoon warily, keeping her lips shut.
“I don’t think she wants it,” Braden noted.
“She’ll eat it,” Cormack argued. “Give her a moment.”
Lily’s face screwed up in concentration as she sniffed the food and then tentatively opened her mouth. Aisling eagerly slipped the spoon in and then pulled it out as Lily made a series of weird noises.
“Does she like it?” Aidan asked. “She doesn’t look as if she likes it.”
“I think she likes it,” Griffin countered. “She’s only had one thing her entire life. This is new and she’s trying to figure it out.”
As if to prove her father right, Lily reached for the spoon.
Delighted, Aisling filled it again. This time Lily’s mouth was already open when the spoon arrived.
“I told you,” Cormack crowed. “I knew she would like it.”
“Yes, you’re a veritable genius,” Braden drawled.
“Does anyone else think it’s weird that we’re sitting at the dining room table watching the baby eat when there’s prime rib here for the taking?” Redmond asked.
That was all the rest of them needed. Convinced that Lily was happy with her first baby food, they all turned to filling their plates. That allowed me to ask the obvious question of Griffin.
“Anything?”
He nodded as he dragged his eyes from Lily. “We have the cause of death. Grayson Thorpe was not dead when he went into the water. There was water in his lungs and he drowned, but he also had a weird mark on his chest.” Griffin pointed to the spot directly above his heart. “It was a puncture wound, but nobody can tell if he was stabbed or if he slammed into the jagged rocks. That’s inconclusive right now.”
I watched Braden slap a huge slab of prime rib on my plate. “What do you think that means?”
Griffin shrugged as he snagged the spoon from Aisling and dipped it into a green concoction. “There are several possibilities. He could’ve decided to go for a swim and been battered against the rocks by the river current. He could’ve been stabbed by someone and dumped in the water. He could’ve gotten drunk and somehow did it to himself. His blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit, though.”
“Which are you leaning toward?” I asked.
“I honestly have no idea,” he replied. “It hasn’t been ruled an accidental death, so I’m assigned to the case until we figure out what happened.”
He didn’t look thrilled at the prospect, not that I could blame him. “Let me know what I can do to help.”
Blurp. Lily made a face and immediately spit out whatever it was Griffin tried to feed her from the second bowl.
“What’s that?” Griffin asked.
“That would be Brussels sprouts,” Cormack replied.
“Why would you feed her those?” Aisling complained. “Nobody likes Brussels sprouts.”
“They’re good for her.”
“Yes, but they taste like ass.” Aisling used a napkin to dab at Lily’s mouth. “What’s in this last one?”
“That is a cauliflower concoction that is supposed to taste like mashed potatoes,” Cormack replied. “There’s even a little gravy in there.”
“Hmm.” Aisling spooned it up and let Lily sample it, grinning when the baby squawked in delight. “This is kind of fun, huh?”
Cormack’s fond gaze was for his daughter this time. He obviously loved watching her raise her own child, even if he did insert himself into the mix more often than was advisable. “It’s fun.” His smile remained for a full ten seconds before he grabbed the spoon from Aisling’s hand. “It’s my turn. Eat your dinner and let me handle the rest.”
Aisling shook her head. “Fine. Just know that you’re changing her when she craps out that cauliflower ... and you’re getting up with her tonight so I can sleep.”
“I’m fine with that.” Cormack repositioned Lily’s highchair so the baby faced him. “We love being up late together and reading books, don’t we, Sweet Pea?”
Lily didn’t respond, of course. Instead, she pointed at the bowl containing the beef-flavored concoction.
“A Grimlock through and through,” Cormack said.
Talk at the table turned to the furry convention. Cormack appeared to be doing his best to ignore the conversation.
“Did you see anything weird?” Aisling asked her husband. “Like ... did you see a rabbit and shark getting it on? I’ve always thought that would be cool.”
Griffin’s snort was full of delight. “They weren’t wearing costumes, for which I was thankful.”
“How would a shark be considered a furry?” Braden demanded. “There’s nothing furry about a shark.”
“There is in my head, and that’s all that matters,” Aisling shot back. “Speaking of that, I kind of want a Bigfoot costume now.”
Griffin shook his head. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I’m serious.”
“Don’t go down that path,” Cormack admonished. “That whole world is weird. I won’t want any of that brought under my roof.”
From the family that regularly played shark attack and sock hockey, that seemed a tall order. As much as I was concerned about the death of Grayson Thorpe — it was hard to swallow anything as a coincidence these days — I pushed it out of my mind. Here we had love and family. It wouldn’t do me any good to obsess when we didn’t yet have anything to obsess about.