by Kacey Shea
After deciding to not re-enlist for another term I had hoped maybe we could find a way to kindle a romantic relationship, but so far I couldn’t tell if Evie was interested in the same. To be honest, I was too chicken shit to mess with the good thing we had going. Our easy friendship was something I valued most. I would never fuck that up, even if it meant she ended up with some other guy. I would always do whatever Evie needed, because she was just that damn important.
Evie was sure to get further into Reynolds’ personal life than I was. That was the reason I set up the PT sessions. He would probably hit on her, but I could trust her to keep her relationship with Reynolds strictly professional. It was just the kind of character and work ethic she had.
A few minutes after she exited the gym, Reynolds came running out of the building, looking around and yelling something that had Evie stopping in her tracks. I watched the brief encounter as the angry energy visually deflated out of Evie’s body language. I wish I knew what they were saying, because after a short conversation Evie drove off with a smile on her face and Reynolds headed back into the gym with more pep in his step than I liked to see. Ass. He probably made a move on her.
I continued to wait outside the gym until Reynolds exited the employee entrance fifteen minutes later. He got into his Dodge Charger and sped out of the parking lot. I held back a little and then pulled out, easily following his sporty ride off in the near distance.
A short five mile drive had him pulling into the parking lot outside a preschool. I didn’t follow into the parking lot, but continued along the road, making a U-turn a half mile down the road and pulling into an empty spot street side. I waited a little longer before he exited the preschool, smiling and laughing as he held the hand of a small boy who looked to be age three or four. The kid looked to be a mini version of him. Bingo. I wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions, but it looked like Reynolds was a daddy.
Well damn, things were getting interesting now.
Reynolds opened the door and pulled the front seat forward so the boy could scurry into the back. He leaned in to buckle the boy safely into his seat and then straightened the seat to get in as well. I noted how un-family friendly his vehicle was. I always hated that, when a guy drove a vehicle perfect for hitting on chicks and he had a house full of kids at home. If I was ever a father I’d proudly turn my truck in for a mini-van full of crazy fun. I know that wasn’t the norm for my gender, but hell, a van full of kids and a woman who loved me was my ultimate dream come true.
Reynolds pulled out of the lot and I once again followed at a distance. They ended up in a neighborhood not far from the gym and I was extra careful not to follow too closely when they pulled into a carport driveway. The neighborhood was quiet and not many cars or people were out and about on the street at this time of day. The homes here were small but the yards were maintained nicely. It was an older neighborhood, mostly brick or stucco one story homes, painted in a variety of colors that gave off a fresh, friendly vibe. It was quaint but cheery, a place I could imagine young families living.
I drove around and found a good stakeout point, where I could see Tate’s home clearly without my truck being parked directly across the street. It was more difficult to find a space in this setting, in broad daylight. I didn’t want to cause concern or draw attention to myself so I decided to keep an eye on things without the camera for now. If I saw any movement from the house I would be a little more daring.
A few hours of waiting with no movement at all had me itching for some action. I found myself wondering who the boy was. A few hours later a school bus came around the corner and stopped directly in my line of view. Well, that sucked. I couldn’t really move without causing attention to myself. And nothing draws attention like a large, muscular unknown man hanging out at a bus stop. I was sure to have two or three soccer moms calling the cops on my ass if I tried changing lookout positions now.
I impatiently waited as a stream of elementary aged children exited the bus and went in their prospective directions. A few mothers came out of their homes and walked down to the driveway ends to wait for their children to return from the day, while most children walked along without a parent to greet them. When the last child had exited and crossed the street safely, the bus pulled away and drove past my truck. My line of sight was finally open.
To my surprise, Reynolds was outside in the yard with the small boy. An identical, only older looking, boy ran over to them both. He greeted Reynolds with a giant hug. Reynolds picked the boy up and threw him into the air, causing both children to laugh hysterically. This day was getting more and more interesting by the moment.
Reynolds was possibly the father of two young boys. Of all the possibilities, this was a surprise. I was expecting something more along the lines of discovering he was a player or a manwhore. Dad of the year, not so much. The boys’ features favored Reynolds so strongly that I’d bet money they were his offspring.
The little crowd made their way back into the brown stucco home, and it was back to the waiting game for me. I was starving and bored. I had years of experience with guard or surveillance duty, both equally tedious jobs, especially when performed across the globe under some pretty damn uncomfortable weather situations. However, in those times I always had a brother in arms to pass the time with, making it a little more entertaining. This was just plain boring.
I pulled a protein bar from the gym bag on my back seat and munched while I waited. Reynolds returned to work most evenings so I expected him to leave the house soon. I was extremely curious to see who would come home to take care of the boys, or if he would be dropping them somewhere before his shift. I didn’t have to wonder much longer.
A few minutes before five o’clock an older gray Toyota Camry pulled into the carport alongside the Charger. I pulled out my camera to get a closer view as a strikingly brown haired beauty exited the vehicle dressed in pink scrubs. Her face was stunning and even through a pair of scrubs I could tell she had a nice body.
The boys ran out of the front door to greet her, and she squatted to give each boy a big hug and kiss. Reynolds followed at a more casual pace and as the woman stood she leaned in to hug him. He leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled up at him with adoration. They had a brief conversation as the boys ran around in the yard, before hugging again. Reynolds pulled out his keys and yelled to the boys. They both took a quick reprieve from their game of tag to run over and hug him. The woman said something and the boys ran into the house. She smiled and waved as Reynolds backed out of the driveway.
Well, damn. Reynolds was the father of two children. And looked to be in a committed relationship with a beautiful woman. The way she interacted with the boys made it seem she was most likely their mother. Also, it appeared she and Reynolds were a couple. I wondered if they were engaged or even married. I felt a sense of pride knowing I had actually done some good detective work today.
I needed to head back to the apartment to fill Evie in on the news. It looked like she might not have to complete those ten sessions of PT after all! I knew she would be thankful for that. We would also need to update Stacey Mills-Sandoval of our progress. Stacey may not be happy with our findings, but at least she would see we had done a thorough job. I was sure we would continue to gain business from her and all her acquaintances, which was just fine by me. Beltran & Harper Investigators was off to a hell of a great start. Harper & Beltran. Whatever.
OH. MY. GOD. I WAS crying. Hot tears streamed down my face as I attempted to stretch out my hamstrings. I fell to the ground of my living room floor in utter defeat. I was so stupid. I was not made for the kind of workout Tate put me through today. “Please someone, just put me out of my misery,” I moaned from the ground. Laughter sounded behind me but I was in too much pain to even acknowledge Jon’s return to our apartment.
“What’s going on, QT? You seem to be having some problems.” He chuckled and made his way over to where I successfully turned and flopped myself on my back.
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“I fucking hate you,” I ground out through my teeth.
“Woah, woah! No need to take your frustration out on me. I’m here to help you. A little sore from today’s PT?” I winced in pain as I tried to reach for my right knee to pull it into my chest¸ but then failed horribly. I looked like a turtle stuck on its shell, legs flailing in the air.
“This is all your fault. You made me do it.” I tried to glare at Jon, but at seeing the laughter he was desperately trying to hold back, my frown turned into a smirk.
“Are you laughing at me?” I yelled out in mock outrage.
“I’m trying not to, but damn, I wish you could see how funny you look right now.” He watched as I tried to roll over and pull myself up off the ground. Unfortunately, I found myself stuck again in a position halfway between sitting and standing. I winced in pain. Jon came over and pulled me the rest of the way up.
“Let’s feed you and get started on our casework, okay?” I had to laugh with him, it was so ridiculous. My leg muscles were so tight I was walking like a peg-legged pirate. He took my arm and helped me onto the kitchen barstool.
“How did it go with Ortega this morning? Did you get everything we needed?” Jon busied himself around the kitchen, pulling out a carton of eggs and fresh veggies from the fridge. He chopped the veggies while we talked.
“Yeah, she finished up all the paperwork at the coffee shop. That was great coffee, by the way. I actually want to work that case tonight. I have this little system I use on guys before I date them. Of course, it didn’t work with Tate Reynolds because he’s not on any social media that we know of, but Veronica’s fiancé sure is. I’m excited to work this one because I feel like I actually know what to do.”
Jon paused his chopping to smile at me. “You are doing a better job than you think. I know you feel out of your league here, but you have to give yourself credit. You have great instincts when it comes to people, and you observe what most overlook. Add that to my amazing skills and we can’t lose on these cases.” He winked jokingly and I had to laugh back.
“How did the meeting go with Mr. Blackman?”
“Oh, what a weirdo. I’m actually glad you didn’t have to be subjected to him. He would have given you the creeps. He seems to have a warped view of women, given his history of his ex-wife cheating on him. We can go over his case after dinner. I still need to check to see if he sent in the documents and paid a deposit before we waste any time with him.”
A knock came from the front door and we both turned our attention in that direction. It swung open seconds later, revealing Kate dressed in a long, bright green and white chevron skirt paired with a simple black tank that showed off her cleavage and thin waist. She wore an incredible statement necklace with several big turquoise stones framed in antiqued silver. She looked completely put together and gorgeous. Her usual look. As Kate waltzed into our kitchen I thought I heard Jon mutter under his breath, “Remind me again why she has a key?”
“Hey, beautiful! Hey, meathead!” Kate sang as she came over to give me a side hug before sitting on the stool next to me.
“I see you’ve dropped the crutches? You over Pool Boy so quickly?” Jon said smartly as he cracked eggs into the sizzling skillet. Jon made the best food. I swear, since he moved in I was never hungry and I had probably lost a few pounds because he always prepared such healthy dishes.
“He was a towel boy, not a pool boy. Not that it makes much difference. I’ve moved on from him. Bigger and better fish in the sea.” She winked at Jon. I laughed out loud but he scowled.
“Love ’em and leave ’em? I didn’t take you for a one night stand kind of girl Kate. You should be more careful; STDs aren’t very attractive qualities in a woman.”
Kate looked ready to spit out something mean but I interrupted. “Okay, that’s enough children. Let’s please play nice tonight. I can’t handle any fighting from you two right now.” That seemed to work because Kate relaxed and smiled at me.
“Yes, and I didn’t come here to argue. I came here with a surprise. A peace offering, if you will.” She smiled at Jon, “Let’s call a truce, at least until we can’t stand it anymore, for the sake of our dear friend, Evie.”
He smirked at her theatrics. “Okay, I think I can manage that.” He flipped the veggie omelet from the skillet onto a plate and slid it across the counter to me.
“This looks amazing, thank you.” I began digging in.
“You staying for dinner?”
“If you’re cooking for me? Yes.” Kate was beaming as she pulled a small package from her bag. It was wrapped in plain brown paper and was about half the size of a shoe box. Kate placed it on the counter and sang out, “Surprise! It’s for you both to celebrate your new business venture.”
She was bouncing up and down in the chair next to me. “Come on, open it!” Kate absolutely adored thoughtful gifts, both giving and receiving them, and I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm.
“Thank you Kate, but you didn’t have to do anything.” She eyed the package expectantly, “Well don’t thank me until you open it!” I pushed my plate to the side and opened the paper, revealing a plain white box. I opened the lid to a long row of sleek black business cards. I pulled one out, and it read:
Harper and Beltran Investigators
Pi services specializing in all matters of the heart
[email protected]
“Oh my goodness, Kate. I love them! Thank you so much!” I tried to jump out of my chair to hug her, but immediately regretted the move when I almost fell on my butt. Thankfully, I was able to catch myself because of the close proximity of the counter. I groaned in pain as I straightened to a standing position and gave Kate a big hug.
“You are the best.” She pulled back to smile, and looked me up and down. “I’m glad you like them! I even had our tech guy set up the email and a simple web page for you. But what happened to you, my dear? You looked ready to pass out just from standing up?” Jon chuckled from the kitchen.
“I had a little run in with some weights today. Like, I tried to pick them up so many times that my body is on strike from all the movement.” I carefully sat back down in my chair. Jon leaned over the counter and slid a plate to Kate.
“Oh wow, this looks delish. Thanks Jon.”
I handed the business card over to Jon and he looked it over. “Why does it say Pi?” he asked with his brows knitted.
“It doesn’t say pie silly. It says, P-I. As in private investigation. Jeez, I would think you knew the term. You really should brush up on these things if you’re going to work in this industry.” Kate yammered on between shoveling bites of food in her mouth. Jon rolled his eyes and let out a loud breath of air.
“I know what that term means, but the way it’s printed on these cards, capital P followed by the lower case I, makes it look like the number. The mathematical constant. The ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.”
He looked at Kate with raised brows and she paused eating to study his face. He continued, “The Greek letter . . . 3.14159 I don’t know, the number goes on forever.” At that Kate’s eyes popped wide open in recognition. She stretched over the counter and snatched the card from his hand.
“Shit, shit, shit! Damn it. I’m so sorry you guys, I meant for this to be special but I totally fucked these up!” Kate had a particularly bad potty mouth that seemed to worsen when she was upset. I finished my food and reached my hand over to pat her arm reassuringly. “They aren’t that bad, I didn’t even notice the mistake until Jon pointed it out.”
She shot me a frown. “But now that you know it’s there, that’s all you’re going think about when you see them. Ugh, I’m really sorry you guys.” Jon just laughed and pushed her plate in front of her again.
“Eat before it gets cold. And I think it’s kind of funny. Don’t worry about it Kate, it was a sweet gesture.” Jon’s reply seemed to put her at ease and she went back to eating. Jon pulled his own omelet off the skillet, poured some hot sauce
on top and then started chowing down with a look of total bliss on his face. The man loved to eat.
My phone pinged from somewhere near my purse, alerting me of a message and I groaned at the thought of having to move to retrieve it. It pinged again and Kate’s lips quirked up in amusement. “Want me to get your phone for you?” I groaned again and hung my head in shame.
“Yes please.” She laughed and bounced over to retrieve it. The perkiness in her steps mocking my sore muscles. I had assumed it was a text from my sister so I was surprised to see I had a message from an unknown number. I unlocked my screen.
Unknown Number: Hey Evie, I told you I’d text you.
Unknown Number: I just realized how creepy that came out. This is Tate.
Unknown Number: Tate Reynolds. Your trainer. Super handsome and wanna be friend of yours.
I smiled at his awkwardness and attempt to be silly. I’d better put him out of his misery; who knows what he’d send next. I programed his number into my cell.
Evie: My legs no longer bend because of you. I’m not sure we can be friends.
Tate: I thought someone was being a badass today. I’m sorry. Is it really that bad?
Evie: I’m going to need a motorized wheelchair.
Tate: Ha! Make sure you take some Advil and stretch tonight.
Evie: Oh, so now you’re giving out medical advice. Aren’t you the talented one?
I looked up from my phone to find Kate and Jonathan watching me. Kate’s face brimmed with joyful curiosity while Jon seemed a little annoyed. “What? Did you guys say something? Sorry, I’ll put it away.” I slid the phone out of my reach so I wouldn’t be tempted to look at it again.
Jon looked across the counter and with a stern voice asked, “Who are you texting?” Kate grinned and leaned in conspiratorially.
“Yes, Evie, who you texting and why do you have that big grin on your face?” she sing-songed.
I was taken aback at their questioning and found myself not wanting to answer, which was silly, since my contact with Tate was strictly for business purposes. They had me cornered though, because I couldn’t lie to save my life. These two knew me better than anyone else so I finally admitted, “Tate Reynolds.”