by Lisa Durkin
Her whole body went rigid. “Take your hands off me, Shane.” She stared into his eyes, pissed off and ready to strike out. When he didn’t move, she placed her hands on his chest and gave him a push that didn’t budge him. Finally he stepped back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
She didn’t hear conviction in his words. “Thanks for bringing me the news, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave now.”
He stared at her for what seemed an eternity. “Fine. Good seeing you, Rory,” he stated icily.
Rory stood exactly where she was. When he was gone, she let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding. She looked down at her shaking hands.
“Was that Shane?” Nicole came in several seconds later as Rory collapsed in her chair. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Rory covered her face with her hands as she leaned her elbows on her desk.
“That was Shane.”
“What’s going on?” Nicole asked, hyper-alert as she took a seat in front of the desk.
Rory rubbed her upper arms. “Shane was being Shane.”
“Still no white flag, huh? Well, he’s harmless; we know that,” Nicole assured her. Rory just looked at her.
“There’s some bad news. The FBI is going to watch the house because there’s been activity on a passport they believe belongs to Roan.”
“What? Oh God, what does that mean?”
“I don’t know, maybe nothing.”
“Is that why Shane’s in town?” Nicole asked
Rory breathed in deeply and looked at Nicole. “Apparently he was transferred here a couple weeks ago.”
Nicole held Rory’s gaze. “Do you want to come and stay with us? At least while Jackson’s away?”
“No. I’ll be fine. I’m sure it’s nothing. Look, let’s just get going. We have Energy and Commerce first thing today. I don’t want to think about this anymore.” Rory moved to gather her things, dismissing the subject entirely.
She moved through her day trying to ignore thoughts of both Shane’s visit and the news he’d imparted. She felt disconcerted and off balance. She went through the motions in her meetings. She could feel the tremors of anxiety in her body and was doing her best to hold it at bay. She thought of Jackson. She unashamedly admitted to herself that she missed him terribly and longed for the comfort he gave her. She remembered Shane’s hands pulling at her and wished she could replace those thoughts with the feel of Jackson.
Rory looked out the window of the livery car on her way home and wondered how Jackson’s mother was. She hadn’t heard from him all day. Delicious memories of the night before played through her mind again. She smiled and looked down at her hands. She was caressing her left wrist again. Jackson was right, she thought as she grabbed her bags on the approach to the building.
She looked around as she exited the vehicle and thanked the driver. She was feeling paranoid but the street looked clear. Even the paparazzi had decided to give it a rest. She smirked as she thought about the fact that Jackson and she were already old news. She shivered at the cold evening as she unlocked the front door.
She approached her condo and was relieved to see that the door was still closed and locked. She let herself in and made her way to her bedroom to change. She was feeling melancholy without Jackson and wanted whatever comfort she could find.
The phone rang as she examined the sparse contents of the refrigerator. Excitement and relief flooded her system at the sound of Jackson’s voice.
“How’s your mom?”
“Well, it could be better. She’s not reacting as well to the drug regimen as they would like, so they’re trying another cocktail to see if it’ll help.”
“I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispered.
“Just hearing you call me that makes me feel better.” He sighed. “How was your day?”
Rory took a deep breath and fought the impulse to hold back on him. “It was fine.”
He was silent for a moment. “What’s going on? You sound down. Spill it.”
“It’s really nothing. I don’t want to worry you while you need to be focusing on your mom. Concentrate on what’s important.”
“You’re my girl. If there’s something wrong, I need to know. You’re important.”
Her heart soared, but she was wary of telling him. He already had so much to worry about. She wanted to ease him, as he did her.
“Rory, tell me.”
“Okay… I got a visit from the Bureau today. They’re doing drive-bys of the building and alerted the Secret Service and Homeland.” She paused and he was quiet. “They discovered activity on a passport that may be an alias for my former brother-in-law.”
“I see.” He was quiet again.
“They said it might be nothing.” She needed to hear him concur.
“Yes, they’re right. It could be nothing. But I want you to be careful. Is your door locked?”
She strode over and turned the lock. “Yes sir, it is.”
“I’m not joking, Rory. I want you to be safe. Damn it, I wish I was there with you. Who came to see you from the Bureau?”
She cringed. “Shane Sutton. He was on my case in Cleveland.”
“I don’t know him. Is he any good?”
Not as good as you. “I guess. I don’t know. I’m sorry, Jackson. I don’t want you worrying about this while you’re dealing with your mom. Please, just forget about it.”
“I’m not going to forget about it… Damn, the doctor’s here. I’ll call you back, okay?”
“Are you there in your mother’s room?” she asked, surprised.
“Yes, let me talk to the docs and I’ll call you back.”
Rory hoped that Jackson’s mother improved quickly; he seemed so worried. She knew what he was going through with a parent in the hospital, dealing with a life-threatening disease. It wasn’t something she’d wish on anyone. She wanted to wrap her arms around him.
She spent the rest of the evening watching the cable news networks and working at the coffee table. She had plenty of reading to keep current with. Committee reports and legislative updates seemed endless. At ten o’clock she finished reviewing the agenda and notes for the vote of the Appropriations Committee for Monday and started packing up the paperwork for the night.
She looked around the condo pensively and glanced at the door. She thought about when she first moved in. It had felt so empty and lonely. She didn’t feel so alone anymore, and it was because of Jackson. She had a sense of home.
She smiled and stacked her things on the kitchen bar. Jackson’s keys lay next to her bag. He had left her the keys “just in case”. She suspected because he wanted her to stay at his place, believing it was safer. She thought about his big bathtub and decided to help herself.
Jackson sat back in the chair next to his mother’s hospital bed and watched the nurse adjust the medication in the IV tubing. He thanked her as she left the room. He leaned forward and looked at his sleeping mother. She looked so frail. Her white-blonde hair was brushed out smoothly and her pale skin looked almost translucent it was becoming so thin and aged. The doctors hadn’t offered better news.
His brothers and sister had come and gone, as well as his useless father. Thomas Patrick Dorn had been at his wife’s bedside for about half an hour, then back to the office. Quite like the hit-and-run method he had employed with his kids.
He wished Rory had come with him. The thought of her alone was driving him batshit crazy. More than once he had recalled the photos and report in her FBI file. The situation was so damn frustrating.
More frustrating was his need to talk to her about Monday’s vote. He needed to explain that he had to trade, and he needed to make her understand why. It really wasn’t as bad as it seemed. That was what he was hoping he could convince her of, anyway. He rubbed his forehead. He understood her stress at dealing with her past. He had Saturday and Sunday to work it out with her. He wasn’t broaching that over the phone.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and he chec
ked the caller ID. “Hey, is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine here. How’s your mom?” Rory asked.
“Holding her own. I’m still here with her. We’ll see how she does tonight… Do I hear water?”
“Yes, it’s water,” she answered slyly.
Jackson rose from the chair and headed to the hall. “I’ve stepped away. Are you in the bath?”
“Yes I am. I’m in your bathtub, as a matter of fact.”
He put his head against the wall. “Oh God, and I thought I was already missing you.”
“I was missing you too,” she said in a seductively low voice. “So much so, you wouldn’t believe what I’m doing right now…”
“Tell me. Tell me,” he demanded.
“Well, I wanted to feel as good as I feel when you touch me, so…”
“Are you touching yourself? Where are your hands?”
“Jackson,” a soft voice called. He craned his head around and peeked in at his mother.
“I’m here, Mother, just a moment.” He turned back to the hall. “Damn it, Rory, that’s my mother. As much as I’d like to continue this, I have to go to her.” He felt like banging his head against the fucking wall. “Look, it’s late and I’m going to be here all night. Let me call you tomorrow.”
“Sure, we’ll talk tomorrow. Take care.”
He hesitated, feeling torn. “God I miss you,” he murmured softly.
She breathed in. “Me too. Now go to your mother and we’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, baby,” he promised.
He hung up and returned to the room. He sat on the side of the bed, taking his mother’s hand in his and kissing her cheek. Her blue eyes smiled up at him weakly.
“Please don’t let me keep you from the Congress, son, I’ll be fine.” Her soft, feminine voice was just a whisper.
“You’re not keeping me from anything.”
“Didn’t sound that way. Who were you talking to?” She looked deeply into his eyes.
“Were you eavesdropping, Mother?”
“Of course, you know me.” Her eyes closed again.
Jackson smiled and rubbed the back of her hand thoughtfully. “I was talking to the woman I’m going to marry.”
Patricia Dorn’s eyes sprang open and she gazed at her son. “You’ve fallen in love, Jackson?”
“Yes, I have.”
She searched his face. “About time you quit screwing around.”
Jackson laughed sharply. “Be sure and tell me what you really think.”
“I always do.” She swallowed hard. “May I have some water?” Jackson helped her with a drink of water and she rested back again. “You’ve been screwing around since Lauren broke your heart. It’s about time you got serious again. Now tell me about this lady.”
Chapter Twenty
Friday faded by in a haze of meetings and preparations for testimony at Monday’s appropriations meeting. Rory and Nicole met with Director Hammond of the EPA to go over their notes and determine anything else that was needed in case they were questioned.
The day dragged on in subcommittee hearings. Rory kept track of the time and thought of Jackson in Maine.
She didn’t talk to him until Friday night, but she was relieved to hear that his mother would be released Saturday. Jackson told her he would have to stay to see to her arrangements at home. He was very apologetic that it meant he’d have to delay returning home until Sunday. She was just happy to hear his mother was better. Bored, Rory threw herself into her work. She spent Friday and Saturday writing position papers and researching data for legislation.
She slept in his bed both nights. She didn’t want to tell him, but she agreed with him about her mattress on the floor. His bed was so much more comfortable. She skipped over that information when they talked on Saturday. He questioned her at length about her activities. He still seemed on edge, and she assumed it was about his mother’s condition.
Jackson was relieved about his mother’s improved condition, but he was in hell over delaying his return to Rory. Every moment he lost with her was less time he had to explain what would go down with the vote. He was becoming more and more nervous. He only had Sunday evening. He was going crazy, but there was no chance he would talk about this over the phone. He needed to be there with her physically when this came out.
The entire eastern seaboard woke Sunday to a complete whiteout. Jackson looked out the window and cursed. He showered and dressed before checking on his mother.
With everything covered, he packed his things and forced his family’s driver to take him to the airport. He would show up for his scheduled flight in hopes things weren’t as bad as they appeared. The limo slipped and slid in the blizzard, dashing his hopes. It took two hours.
His heart in his throat, Jackson decided he had to do it. He had to break down and explain things to Rory over the phone. He dialed her number from the backseat of the limo. Elbows on his knees, he bit his nails waiting for her to answer.
“Hey, baby…”
That was all he heard. The line went dead. He dialed incessantly trying to get her back, his blood pressure through the roof.
He sat in the Providence airport Sunday evening, ready to throw his cell phone against the fucking wall. It was fully charged, but no calls were coming in or going out. He desperately needed to talk to Rory. He had even tried to use the airline’s desk phone but found it was dead. He had waited too long to prepare Rory for the vote and now he was being punished by some evil force, he was sure of it.
The airline had promised to get him on the earliest flight possible to DC, after he pulled the congressman card. A flight was scheduled for three a.m., which was several hours after the snow was due to lift. If all went well, he could get to DC and to Rory by five a.m. What a nightmare, he thought, rubbing his face and looking around at all the stranded passengers.
She was worried sick about Jackson and at eight a.m. walked into his office suite and looked around. Nobody was in the reception area. She walked down the hall toward his office.
Abruptly, Jackson emerged from the conference room, pulling the door shut behind him. He grabbed her quickly and hugged her so tightly she couldn’t breathe.
“Oh God, Rory.”
“I missed you so much,” she whispered, relieved to be in his arms.
Jackson took her lips hard. He pulled back and looked into her eyes.
“Rory, I need you to listen to me.” The look on his face frightened her.
“What is it?”
“I need you to remember what I said. You’re my girl. I need you to remember that we’re together…” He faded off as the door to the conference room opened and Roy Charles, her party head, emerged. She looked at him, shocked to see him there. She cocked her head and saw several other men sitting around the table behind him, including Lawrence Page, the head of Jackson’s party.
A frisson of suspicion went through her. She looked back at Jackson and searched his face.
“What is this?” she asked in a low voice, releasing him and stepping back.
Roy spoke to her in his business tone. “Good morning, Rory. Could you come into the conference room please? We need to talk to you.”
Her gut tightened and the hair on the back of her neck stood to attention. She studied Jackson again before walking into the conference room.
It was crowded. Along with Roy Charles and Larry Page, two men who were hardly ever in the same room, there was Congressman Koepler and Jake Schnyder. Congressman Duncan and two other men Rory didn’t recognize were sitting at the table. Something was about to go down here and she was sure she wasn’t going to like it. She took the seat Roy offered and Jackson sat down beside her. She tried not to show that her heart was in her throat.
“Congresswoman, I’m Lawrence Page. Allow me to introduce my colleagues Congressmen Howard of Illinois and Tackler of Texas.” Both gentlemen nodded to Rory. “I believe you know the other gentlemen in the room.”
Rory’s heart san
k. She knew those names. Congressman Howard was the chair of the Homeland Security Committee and Tackler was the number two. Every Congressperson in the room sat on Homeland. She looked into Jackson’s eyes. He looked miserable and resigned as he stared back at her. She looked at Roy Charles, a man she’d known most her life, and their eyes held for a moment before she looked back at Page. Her spine straightened.
She spoke slowly and clearly. “To what do I owe the honor of this meeting, gentlemen?”
“Congresswoman, we need to discuss the vote scheduled for this morning,” Page began and Rory’s heart fell. Adrenaline flooded her body. It all came down to today. If she lost now, she forfeited the entire shipyard deal. She struggled to remain calm and show no fear.
“What about the vote, Mr. Page? I’ve worked hard to deliver an appropriation that my district desperately needs. Roy here can tell you how much the people of Ohio are counting on the jobs that will result from the shipyard this vote will ensure.” Everyone in the room was quiet.
“Rory, may I call you Rory?” Page asked.
Rory stared hard into his eyes.
Page cleared his throat. “Congresswoman, we are aware of the importance of this appropriation to your interests. Likewise, we have interests that are of monumental importance that we need your help with.”
She died a little inside. She knew exactly what he was going to say next.
“Congresswoman, we would like to place you into our vacant seat on the Homeland Security Committee. We need your help with legislation that is of utmost priority to national security.”
Rory’s eyes closed for just a second before she got a grip on the shockwave that raced through her body. She sat back in her chair and stared at him, unmoving.
“I have no interest in sitting on that committee, sir. You’ve asked, and I’ve declined. What more is there to discuss?”