That evening, Lewis was happy to buy all the rounds that night for himself and Hathaway and Macklin, as long as they would carry the glasses. And he agreed to pay for the taxi for them afterwards. Cheryl made a formal complaint against Knox and the matter was now in Innocent's hands. But they still could not resist speculating about the personalities involved.

"I thought he was married." Macklin threw out the first pitch.

Lewis grinned. "Oh, aye, he is. But if you'd ever seen his wife, you'd know why he would find anyone else, even Hathaway attractive."

Macklin waffled. "Oh, I don't know. James isn't so bad."

Lewis smirked. "You really think so?" But his intentional slight went unnoticed.

"Oh, whoa, look at that." Hathaway's attention was taken up by the two people who had just entered the pub.

Mack and Laura Hobson were looking for a place to sit down. Lewis stood up slowly and waved them over. The mismatched pair joined the detective threesome. Toasts were drunk and glasses raised to each member of the party.

When Mack went up to get the drinks, Lewis turned to Hobson. "Mack? How did that happen?"

"Not that it's your business, but he called me to let me know about the little rehab sessions you had with him the last couple of evenings. We both thought the conversation would be nicer in person with a little beer to go along with it."

"There's no such thing as 'a little beer' for Mack. I'm sure he had some ulterior motive."

"Well, he won't get much satisfaction there. The man has a heart but he's not exactly my type." She changed the subject. "He said you were really working hard on your mobility."

"Once Mack and Hathaway got me head turned around, nothing was going to stop me."

By the end of the evening, Mack had his arm around Cheryl Macklin, and she seemed happy with that outcome. Lewis, Hobson, and Hathaway took a taxi together to Lewis's flat. Hathaway set up the Scrabble and they ended up playing and drinking beer until early in the morning, eventually falling asleep on the bed, the guest bed, and the sofa. And while James and Laura were delighted with the complete, English breakfast Lewis fried up for them the next morning, it was clear that the happiest of the three was Lewis. Although it was slow and difficult, he had been able to cook it and serve it by himself with nothing burned or spilled.

"Hey, look!" Hathaway was pointing out the window. Snow was coming down thick and fast.

Lewis groaned. "This time, I'm just going to stay inside."

* * *