Vital Secrets Vol 4-6

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

“How did you sleep?” Bella asked Jandy as she walked into the kitchen on Sunday morning.

“Not bad, all things considered,” Jandy replied, heading for the coffeepot. “Bel, I just want to say again how much I appreciate you guys putting us up. Hopefully it won’t be for long.”

“Nonsense,” came the reply from Bella as she continued making pancakes. “Stay as long as you need to. Maybe I haven’t made it clear enough, but I am really enjoying having a bigger family! I didn’t realize how lonely being an only child was until I met you all. So, although I’m sad about the reason, I’m happy you’re here so we can hang out more.”

She deftly flipped the last pancake then gasped in surprise as Jandy wrapped her up in a fierce hug.

“Oh, honey,” Jandy murmured. “I sure do love you.”

Bella chuckled and hugged her back.

“And I love you! Now, turn me loose, the pancakes are gonna burn.”

Jandy laughed and stepped away.

“Mugs still in the cabinet by the sink?”

“Yep, help yourself.”

Nathan strolled in at that moment with Charlie in his arms.

“There’s my sweeties,” Bella announced, and kissed her husband and child. “I didn’t hear him fussing.”

“He wasn’t, that’s the strange thing,” Nathan answered. “I peeked in to check on him and he was standing up in his crib just looking at me.”

“Huh,” Bella said. “Maybe that’s a good sign of things to come.”

“’Andi! ‘Andi!” Charlie squealed and held out his arms toward his aunt.

“Coffee can wait - there’s no way I can refuse that kind of greeting,” Jandy beamed as she came over and took the wriggling child from his father’s arms.

“Hello, handsome boy.”

Charlie put his tiny hands on each of Jandy’s cheeks and began to babble animatedly.

“Is that so? I’m intrigued, tell me all about it,” Jandy prompted, and he shrieked with delight and kept going.

“I knew she’d make an awesome aunt one day,” Nathan observed softly as he stood with Bella at the stove watching Jandy get Charlie situated in his highchair.

“And you were absolutely right. Have I told you lately how much I love your family?” his wife asked him as she smiled. “Because I really, really do.”

“So, how far are we going to try to go today?” Lizzie asked Donny as they climbed back into the moving truck’s cab.

“I was thinking stop somewhere around Green River, Utah,” he replied as he gazed at the map. “That’s about an eight-hour drive. Then tomorrow, we can stop in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and be at your house in Pantego by Tuesday night.”

He showed her his planned stops on the map, and she nodded.

“Divides it up pretty evenly. I like your style, Atherton.”

“Oh yeah? Prove it,” he teased, and found himself on the receiving end of a passionate kiss.

“You keep doing that, we’ll go right back inside and get our room back,” Donny warned, wearing a megawatt smile.

“Why, whatever do you mean, dear?” Lizzie batted her eyelashes at him, and he chuckled.

“All right, you. Let’s get going.”

She surprised herself by giggling as she strapped on her seat belt.

Oh, for crying out loud - he makes me giggle. I hardly ever used to giggle – until him, Lizzie realized. I could almost get used to this.

“What?” he asked, eyebrow raised at her puzzled expression.

“Well, don’t let it go to your head, but you make me ridiculously happy, that’s all.”

Donny reached for her hand and kissed it.

“Same here, you know.”

“Man, are we sappy, or what?”

“Yep, absolutely.”

She scrunched her nose and sheepishly declared, “I kinda like it.”

Now Donny roared with laughter.

“I do too, Lizzie. And after everything we went through, I think we deserve some sappy, don’t you?”

“No argument from me,” she agreed. “Let’s get moving, we’re burning daylight.”

“Good morning, fiancée of mine,” Joe whispered in Trish’s ear. “How about some breakfast?”

“Sure,” she murmured sleepily. “Meet you in the kitchen.”

“No need, love,” he answered, and as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she realized he’d brought her breakfast in bed.

“Oh, Joe, how sweet! What a nice surprise,” Trish exclaimed, and kissed him as he placed the tray across her lap.

He sat on the edge of the bed and made small talk as she ate.

“What would you like to do today?”

She mulled it over for a moment, then said, “I believe it’s supposed to be nice out today. How about a stroll through the botanical gardens?”

“I think it’s a perfect day to do just that,” he replied with a soft smile.

But the cell phone on his hip began to ring, and his smile faded as he remembered it was his Sunday to be on call.

“Wallace,” he answered, then listened for a minute before saying, “What’s the address?”

A pause, then Joe said, “I’ll be there in fifteen.”

He hung up and looked at her.

“Rain check on that stroll?”

“Absolutely. See you later?”

“You bet.”

“Be safe, sweetheart.”

He paused at the doorway and looked back at her.

“Hey. Be thinking about where and when you wanna get married. I’m good with anything you decide, I just want to marry you.”

“The wheels are already turning,” Trish confessed, and he grinned.

As he ate his cereal, Grant checked his emails, and was delighted when he saw Edward Baker had already responded.

Good morning Mr. Forrester. I would be happy to walk you through Fort Concho’s history! When would you like to come down to San Angelo?

Grant set his bowl aside and composed a reply.

That’s great to hear, Mr. Baker. I’ve already booked accommodations for next weekend. My plan is to interview you, but also experience ‘Christmas at Fort Concho’ firsthand so that I can highlight the event in my article. I’m scheduled to arrive mid-morning Sunday. When might we meet?

He added his usual signature block and hit ‘send’, and by the time he’d returned to his home office from putting his bowl in the dishwasher, Baker had replied.

The festival kicks off at ten a.m. Monday, so, let’s meet at the library at noon Sunday. That gives us plenty of time to walk the fort and cover the historical significance beforehand. I look forward to meeting you.

Baker had also included the address to the library in his email, and Grant dutifully noted it in his binder before confirming their appointment.

They’d just finished breakfast and Jandy was helping Bella clear the table when her cell phone rang.

Jandy glanced at the number and took the call, listened for several minutes, then fired off several questions.

When she hung up, she looked at the group.

“That was the fire chief. We are not allowed to go back in yet. It’s partially collapsed, and he wants city engineers to sign off on its stability first before he lets us wander through it. He says it may not be safe to try to go back in at all, and if that’s the case, we’ll just have to raze it to the ground completely. But he was able to determine the origin of the fire. It wasn’t the oven, like I thought.”

“What was it?” Tony asked.

“An electrical fire. We had a short-circuit in an outlet,” she revealed. “And from what he described it sounds like the fire traveled along the wiring to spread really quickly to the rest of the place.”

“Covered by your insurance, I hope?” Nathan asked.

“Should be,” Jandy answered. “I need to call our agent back and get him to meet us onsite at some point. He’s going to need to document the damage before anything else can happen.”

She dialed and waited.

“Hey, Jason, I just heard from the fire chief…. Yes, he told us…. Really? Oh, all right…. Yes, thanks, Jason.”

“Huh,” she said. “Evidently Jason’s already done his assessment. Total loss, and one hundred percent covered – after the deductible, of course.”

“Well, there’s some good news, at least,” Bella pointed out. “And look at the positives here – no one got hurt, and if you ever wanted to make any changes to your house, now’s the perfect time.”

Tony’s eyes lit up.

“She’s right, honey,” he exclaimed. “We could have a brand new, open layout with that kitchen island you’ve always wanted.”

“And a great big garden tub in the bathroom! I’ve always wanted one of those, as well. Hey! We could make the den bigger! Get rid of that formal dining room that we hardly ever use,” Jandy responded. “We’ve talked about remodeling for years, but we just never got around to it.”

“I think this is gonna turn out to be a blessing in disguise, honey,” Tony announced as he crossed the room to hold his wife.

“I know we lost some things that cannot ever be replaced, and I know how sad that makes you. But we have each other, Jandy, and that’s really all we need.”

By the time they reached Ogden, Utah, Lizzie and Donny were past ready for a break. They stopped to refuel the truck, then scouted out a place to have lunch. By mutual agreement they lingered over dessert, taking as much time as possible to relax before reluctantly climbing back into the cab.

“These seats,” Donny began, and grimaced. “Can you imagine if we had to drive this thing all the way to Virginia?”

“I know, right?” she quipped as she tried to adjust the driver’s seat so she could reach the pedals more comfortably. “The good news is, we just have to get to Pantego in this damn thing, and we can unload it and then turn it in. The seats in the SUV are like heaven compared to these.”

She frowned, then growled.

“Is that as far forward as it goes?”

“I think so,” he confirmed. “Sorry. Want me to keep driving?”

“No, that’s not fair to you,” she pointed out. “We said we’d take turns, and that’s what we’re gonna do. Even if it means I need to strap blocks to my feet like that little kid in the Indiana Jones movie.”

He snickered.

“That’d be quite a look.”

“Whatever works,” she said, beginning to chuckle. “I’ve been the same height since eighth grade. Trust me, I’ve learned a few workarounds. Maybe I won’t need blocks. Grab my body pillow out of the SUV, will you? I have an idea.”

Three minutes later Lizzie was smiling. Wedging the pillow behind her lower back and hips had moved her just far enough forward that she could safely operate the truck but still wear her seat belt.

“Much better,” she proclaimed. “Let’s roll.”

“Hang on a second, I have an idea of my own. Can’t believe we didn’t think of this before,” he said, and returned to the passenger seat moments later with a grin.

Donny placed a second pillow on the passenger seat, then sat down.

“So much better. Now we can go.”

The next several miles passed in a comfortable silence.

“Hey, I had a question,” Donny said suddenly.

“Whatcha got?” Lizzie said as she checked her side mirror before changing lanes.

“Well, I know it’s kind of an out-of-the-blue topic,” he began, and she threw him a puzzled look.

“What is?”

“Kids.”

“What about them?”

“Have you ever thought about having kids?”

“You mean, like, my kids? As in, be a mom?”

Did he seriously just ask me how I feel about kids?

“Well… yeah.”

Yep, that’s pretty out-of-the-blue, all right….

“Um…,” she fell silent for a moment as she searched for the right words.

“To be honest, I kinda figured that ship had sailed without me. My main focus has always been the job, you know? And I’m already thirty-six, so….,” she glanced over at him, concerned. “Why do you ask? Do you want kids?”

Donny sighed.

“Yes, and no. I mean, do I think it would be cool to be a dad? Yeah, I do. But I turn forty-four next month, Lizzie. If I had a kid now, I’d be in my sixties when he or she graduated high school. I don’t know how to feel about that.”

She arched an eyebrow.

“That’s not unheard of, Donny. Lots of people have kids later in life.”

“I know…I guess I just wanted to know how you felt about it.”

“Huh. Something to talk about in more depth, for sure. For me, it’s not a simple answer. There’s a lot of moving pieces there. I mean, for starters, I can’t be a field agent and be pregnant, Donny.”

“True,” he agreed. “And like I told you before, I would never ask you to give up your career. I know it’s your calling.”

“Have you ever thought about channeling that ‘dad vibe’ into working with kids somehow? Coach a team or volunteer at the local youth center? Things like that?”

“I hadn’t thought about any of those before,” he confessed.

They both lapsed into an awkward silence.

Donny gazed out the passenger window as he considered her suggestions.

She’s got a point. I never even considered any alternatives, he acknowledged. But that’s not where my focus should be right this minute. What I really should be asking myself right now is– how dumb am I to bring up such a serious topic? What was I thinking? We’re in the process of moving her across country so she can take the next big step in her career, and I bring up children? Already? We just said ‘I love you’ for the first time two days ago! What is wrong with me?

Meanwhile, Lizzie replayed the entire conversation on a repeating loop in her head as she drove.

I don’t know what to do here… what if he decides he really wants children of his own? That’s right up there with marriage! Next-level, deep commitment type stuff. Am I comfortable with that? Am I even ready for all that? she asked herself as they continued south toward Green River and their next overnight stop.

Joe returned to Trish’s house in the early afternoon, his eyes haunted and weary.

“I’m not sure how much longer I want to do this,” he confided as he dug into the sandwich that she’d made for him. “I enjoy mentoring Pete and helping him get to where he wants to be, Trish. But I’m just not sure how many more murder cases or notifications to next of kin I can take.”

“Rough one, huh,” she said softly, and he nodded.

“Really rough,” he murmured.

“Have you thought about your options, Joe? You don’t have to completely retire if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I thought about that,” Joe replied, and squeezed her hand. “If I just retired from the force without anything to move on to, you and I both know I’d be bored within two weeks.”

“Yep,” she agreed. “You’re so driven that you’d never be able to sit still for very long. But you’ve also got a lot of valuable experience, honey. You’d be an excellent private investigator. Did you ever think about something like that?”

“That hadn’t occurred to me, but it’s not a bad idea at all! I could probably get the licensing easily enough. And that way I could still work some cases with Nathan too, if I wanted.”

“Exactly. Think it over. Whatever you choose to do, you’ve got my full support. Now,” Trish leaned closer, “I have an idea for our wedding I want to run by you.”

“And that is?”

“Keeping it simple. You and me and the Justice of the Peace, followed by a week-long tropical getaway,” she said. “I’ve already experienced the big formal wedding thing once. It was stressful, gaudy, and expensive, and I have no desire to go through all that again, do you?”

He grinned.

“At fifty-two? Not really.”

“Then it’s settled,” Trish announced, and smiled. “We just need to get the license, book a date on the Justice’s court schedule, and decide where we want to travel afterward. So,” she continued, opening the laptop she’d brought to the table, “would you rather do an all-inclusive resort somewhere, or a cruise?”

The awkward quiet that had settled in between Donny and Lizzie accompanied them all the way to Green River. It wasn’t until the city limit sign came into view that she spoke.

“So, any ideas on where to spend the night?”

He searched for hotels on Google, then replied, “Up ahead two miles is a La Quinta. I think that will do, don’t you?”

“Should work fine,” Lizzie agreed, and navigated to the hotel’s parking lot.

They parked the truck and walked side-by-side into the hotel’s lobby toward the reception desk. The clerk was friendly and expedient, and in mere moments they’d been handed room key cards and a small map of the room layouts.

“What would you like for dinner?” Donny asked as they went back out to the truck to grab their overnight bags.

“Order in a pizza? I’m in the mood to just relax and watch some TV.”

He nodded once but did not speak again until they were in the room they’d rented. As they set their suitcases down, Donny ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

“Look,” he began, “about earlier…”

“Yeah, what was that?” Lizzie interrupted. “You said an out-of-the-blue topic, but I admit I had no idea you were about to bring up having a family.”

“If it helps any, I blindsided myself with it, too,” he admitted, and watched Lizzie arch an eyebrow.

“No, seriously. I don’t know what came over me, and I damn sure have no idea why I thought talking about kids so soon would be a good idea. My only defense at all is that you fascinate me, Lizzie, and I want to know everything about you.”

“Okay, but I think maybe we should have built up to that level of question?” she retorted. “Start small, work our way up? Not to mention, you didn’t sound sure about it yourself.”

“Because I’m not,” Donny said truthfully. “I never even thought about having kids until recently.”

“What brought it up?”

He gazed at her intently.

“Wait. Dating me brought it up?”

“Yes,” Donny finally said after a long moment.

“O…kay…,” Lizzie answered. “But here’s the deal. You and I don’t even live in the same state right now. I’m about to go through five months of intensive training, then start a brand-new career in Texas. You’re based in Colorado. Not only that, but we’re still early into this, Donny. I mean, we just took our relationship up to level two. Kids are like, level six or something.”

“I know that. I do,” he assured her. “And I’m not trying to rush either of us into anything, I swear. It just… it popped into my head and before I knew what I was doing it was coming out of my mouth, and I’m truly sorry that I freaked us both out.”

“You did. You did freak me out,” Lizzie told him. “But now, I’m also worried. Because I love you, and I think we have a great thing going here. But what happens if one of us decides that they really do want kids, and the other one decides that they don’t? What do we do then?”

“We keep the lines of communication open, and we talk it out,” Donny answered as he approached her and took her in his arms. “And I can tell you right now - I’m not walking away from you, Lizzie. I refuse to. I am in love with you - you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. Kids or no kids, my place is with you.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a great dad,” she murmured against his chest. “And I don’t want to see you throw away that chance.”

“Lizzie,” he said tenderly, and waited until she lifted her head to look at him. “This – us – means more to me than you’ll ever know. I’m with you, and I’m not going anywhere. You were so right about volunteering and mentoring. I’d never even thought about those things.”

She swallowed hard.

“Besides, I may coach or volunteer and then decide that trying to raise kids is definitely not for me,” Donny continued. “Keep in mind, I haven’t even decided for myself about it all yet.”

“So… mark us both as undecided for now, and table this talk for later?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “Now, what would you like on your pizza?”