“Grammy, aren’t you supposed to be slowing down now that you’re in your late eighties?”
“Who has time to slow down?” she asked, smiling at her grandson. “That wouldn’t get lunch on the table.”
The women who’d been busily working on the food stopped their efforts and came to stand behind Grammy.
“Ellie, I want you to meet my grandmother, Mrs. Emmalee Phillips.” Then Joe put his hand on Ellie’s back and completed the introduction. “Grammy, this is Ellie.”
“Hello, dear.” The older woman in front of her completely transformed from the aggressive protector of the kitchen to the sweet older woman who seemed to embody the endearment her grandson called her as she shuffled forward, tucking her spoon into the pocket on her short apron, and took Ellie’s hands in her smaller ones. “We are so happy to meet you after listening to Joe and his cousin talk about you for months.”
Ellie did the math in her head, knowing she and Joe hadn’t been seeing each other for long enough to qualify for that kind of greeting. She wondered if the woman was off in her timing or if Joe’s interest went further back than Phillips had indicated. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Phillips,” Ellie said, remembering her manners before the silence went on too long.
“Call me Grammy, dear, like everyone else.” She patted Ellie’s hands a few times before letting them go and reaching over to grab a cookie from the platter Joe had tried to access. “Have a little something so you don’t get too hungry while you’re waiting on us to finish up in here.”
“Are you sure?” Ellie asked, unsure of the protocol in this situation. Janice had taught her to always defer to the desires of her host, but the memory of that crack on Joe’s hand was still fresh in her mind. A quick look showed his tanned skin was slightly red, so she didn’t want to fail if this was some sort of test.
“Of course,” Grammy promised. “I made them, so they’re mine to give. But they aren’t there for someone else to take.”
Ellie was satisfied with that answer and took a bite, amazed at how much flavor the treat had. It was all she could do not to moan in appreciation.
“They’re great, right?” Joe prompted.
Ellie nodded, watching as his eyes focused on the remaining half in her hand.
She held it out to him, and he smiled before asking, “Grammy, can I have the rest of Ellie’s cookie?”
“It’s may I have,” she corrected, “and all you have to do is ask.”
Joe took the bite straight from Ellie’s fingers into his mouth, his lips slowly pulling away. He didn’t bother to hold back his appreciation and made a sound of approval. “Her peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are my favorite.”
“May I have another?” he asked his grandmother.
She spun to return to her work and called out over her shoulder, “Not if you want ten fingers to eat your lunch with.”
One of the women standing in front of them cleared her voice, as if reminding them they were waiting for introductions as well.
Joe wiped his mouth quickly with the pad of his thumb and cleared his voice. “Ellie, this is my Aunt Louise, Garrett’s mother, and this is my mom, Josie.”
She couldn’t stop the question that came blurting out. “You’re named after your mother?”
The inquiry seemed to please the women in front of her, giving Joe’s mother a chance to answer. “Honey, I was the one who had to give up all sweets because I was pregnant and then had to endure the twenty-two hours of labor. His daddy had the easy part, so there was no way I was going to pretend like he deserved the naming rights.”
That seemed to crack up the kitchen, and Joe shook his head, mumbling, “Shoot me now.”
Just like that, she was comfortable and the nerves that had kept her tied in knots over the last few days disappeared. They exchanged pleasantries before being pushed out of the kitchen, with Joe being reprimanded to get Ellie something to drink and take care of his guest.
“Making her stand around in the hot kitchen is no way to treat somebody we all want to come back.”
Joe pulled her quickly away, through the sliding doors in the living room that led outside. There were at least a dozen children in the backyard, which was secured with a chain-link fence that had gates on both sides of the house to the front. Phillips was tossing a football to the same kids he’d been chasing earlier while a little girl seemed to be attempting to intercept every pass he made, much to the irritation of the boys. Ellie liked her style.
Seeing what caught her attention, Joe said, “That’s my niece, Annie, my sister’s oldest.”
“I’m not sure I’ll remember everyone’s name,” Ellie confided, not able to count how many people were outside because the kids kept moving and the adults weren’t that much more stationary.
They moved to the side of the yard, where there was a bench swing they could share. Over the next three hours, people kept them supplied with food and drinks, and Ellie was convinced she’d met half of Richmond, given how many people came by to introduce themselves. The best part was how so many of them thanked her for coming with Joe.
The last one was a little girl named Tina, who Ellie figured was no more than four years old. After chatting with them for a few seconds, she curtsied and said, “I’m glad you’re here with Uncle Joe. We were worried nobody would ever take him.”
Joe pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes. If Ellie didn’t know better, she would think he was embarrassed. “I told you, you had nothing to worry about. They love you. It’s me they can’t figure out how to handle.”
His arm had been on the back of the swing, and between interruptions, the tips of his fingers had lightly rested on her shoulder or upper arm. Each time someone would walk up, he’d move his hand to the back of the swing. This time when he resumed the soft contact between them, she felt brave enough to scoot over closer to him and lean into his side. He jerked his free hand away from his face and smiled at her.
“I don’t think you’re that hard to handle,” Ellie teased.
“You seem to be alone in that opinion,” he assured her, looking over the people mingling around them.
“I’m glad,” she told him, finding this less-confident version of Joe endearing. He was always so perfectly in control and competent that she didn’t feel so intimidated after seeing him with his family. “Thank you for bringing me today.”
“Thanks for coming,” he replied, squeezing her tighter against his side.
“You two have officially moved into the disgusting category,” Phillips announced, moving so that he could force himself onto the swing beside Ellie, pushing her even tighter against Joe. “And now I’m the last one left unattached.”
“I don’t know…” Ellie said. “Two dates is a one hundred percent increase from your last relationship, so there’s hope that you might be bringing somebody of your own soon.”
“Aww, man… Why’d you have to bring that up?” Phillips asked, appearing to be horrified that his secret was out.
“You starting to consider settling down with just one woman?” Joe took his hand from Ellie just long enough to punch at his cousin’s shoulder. “Miracles will never cease.”
“I thought we had a deal about keeping that to ourselves?”
“I didn’t tell everybody—just Joe, who I would have told anyway,” Ellie pointed out. “And you didn’t uphold your end of the bargain… You left me alone to meet your family undefended.”
“You had an Army sniper literally holding your hand when you went in to meet everybody,” Phillips argued. “There’s no way you can claim to be undefended.”
“I was after Grammy got Joe with her spoon,” Ellie told him. “She’s kind of scary the way she can go from sweet old lady to ruthless defender without missing a beat.”
“You can’t be afraid of Grammy.” Phillips seemed to find the conversation amusing. “She’s less than five feet tall and wears variations of the same dress and slip-on sneakers all the time.”
&n
bsp; Joe flexed the fingers of the hand that had been abused. “Yeah, but she’s fast with that spoon. I keep thinking she’ll slow down or get easier to sneak up on, but that hadn’t happened yet.”
“You’re the only one dumb enough to try it,” Phillips said. “The rest of us learned our lesson years ago.”
****
Eventually people began to leave, so Joe took the opportunity to make their excuses, promising to return for the chairs the next morning.
Josie took Ellie’s hand between hers and held it tightly. “He’s a good boy, my Joe,” she confessed. “A little guarded, very protective, and fiercely loyal.” As she spoke, she patted Ellie’s hand. “But when he’s around you, he’s got a sparkle in his eye that I’ve never seen before, and he hasn’t smiled this much since he and Garrett were kids themselves. Whatever you’re doing, keep it up, because he needs it.”
Ellie couldn’t picture Joe withdrawn or anything less than how she’d known him in the short time they’d spent together. She knew he’d alluded to his time in the Army as giving him skeletons he’d rather stay locked up in their closet and figured that was part of why they got along so well, because he understood how she felt about her own past. But hearing his mother made Ellie wonder just how difficult his last tour had been and how it had altered him to have Josie gushing so freely about the changes in him now.
“I think it’s safe to say that we both need it,” Ellie assured her, knowing it was true. For all the changes Josie was describing in Joe, Ellie knew she’d experienced just as many herself. They were good for each other, which helped Ellie to know that she wasn’t the only one getting something from their young relationship.
After finishing their good-byes, Joe took Ellie’s hand and led her out to his truck. He helped her inside, pulling out her seat belt for her, and then closing the door only once she’d buckled in. She watched him stride smoothly around the front of the truck and climb in behind the wheel.
The drive back to her apartment was quiet. The evening was cool, but the cab of Joe’s truck was warm and comfortable. When they arrived, she attempted to get down from the cab gracefully, but she kicked the small box on the floorboard. Assuming he’d heard her struggle, she said, “I’m sorry I hit the box over here. I hope it wasn’t fragile.”
“What box?” He seemed confused and moved to look behind her.
Ellie pointed, and Joe shined a penlight on the package. If she hadn’t seen him grab it from the door, she’d have wondered how he always seemed to have whatever tool was necessary at his fingertips. Following the beam of light, she had to swallow twice before her voice would function. “Does that have my name on it?”
“It sure ain’t mine,” he replied, his voice soft and coarse, almost growling as he spoke.
Ellie watched as his eyes hardened and he moved closer to her, like he was using his body as some kind of shield for an invisible threat that could be lurking in the darkness.
He picked up her purse and gave it to her before telling her, “Call this in,” and grabbing his own cell phone and speeding dialing. She heard Garrett’s name in his conversation, so she quickly dialed Phil, figuring he’d know how to move on whatever was on the floorboard.
They disconnected at the same time, and Joe pulled her toward the apartment. “We’ll wait inside,” he informed her, still scanning behind them as they moved.
Ellie allowed herself to be tugged along, fighting a feeling of disappointment. She’d wanted today to be exciting, but this was not how she’d envisioned it happening.
Chapter 18
Ellie eyed the mug Joe held out to her, wondering if caffeine was a good idea, considering how shaky she was already feeling.
“It’s tea,” he volunteered, as though able to read her thoughts. “Something warm will help.”
She took it, relieved to have something to wrap her hands around to prevent her from fidgeting. Phil had been pacing with his phone to his ear for the last three minutes, which was doing nothing to assure Ellie the box in Joe’s truck was an early Christmas present.
Just as she was about to get up to do some pacing herself, Phil made a few low gruff comments and then lowered himself into her easy chair. Joe sat next to Ellie, placing his hand lightly on her back. She took a second to appreciate how nice it felt. He wasn’t overwhelming her, but the gentle support served as a reminder that she wasn’t alone.
“Don’t fight me on this,” Phil began, instantly putting Ellie on edge. “We’ve got some kind of damn protector stalking you.”
“Huh?” she asked, feeling a little foolish about her less-than eloquent response.
“Garrison left a package for you,” Phil began to explain. “The boys have processed it and are going to bring it up for you to see before taking it to the lab.”
As he spoke, her front door opened and a tech she recognized from the office brought the box from Joe’s truck and placed it on her coffee table. Ellie put her tea down when he offered her a pair of gloves so she could move the contents of the package.
A note was on top in the script she now attributed to Dr. Garrison. The weather is changing, and since you don’t seem to wear jackets as you should, here are a few items to boost your immune system. We wouldn’t want you getting sick now, would we?
Below the linen note card, there was a sealed bottle of Vitamin C, some Echinacea, and Ginseng, along with a package of tissues. Each item in and of itself was harmless, but sitting in front of her, Ellie could feel the implied threat. Garrison needed her healthy in order to carry out whatever he had planned. Not seeing any more to be learned, she put the note back on top of the bottles and nodded at the waiting agent to take it away.
“I thought there was a detail on Ellie,” Joe said.
“Was, but with so many people coming and going, they were focused more on watching the house than the truck. Somehow he got in and out without being noticed,” Phil admitted, not seeming pleased by the news.
“What is it you don’t want me to fight?” Ellie asked.
Phil started tapping his cane on her floor, making Ellie wonder how long it would take her neighbor downstairs to complain. “Miller wants you in a safe house, locked away, with no visitors from your usual circle of friends. The nutty shrink seems to think you should be prancing around town, drawing out Garrison.”
She frowned, not overly happy with either of the suggestions so far. “What do you think?”
“I think this guy is crazy and I don’t trust the innocence of that note to mean that you aren’t in danger, but I don’t think locking you up is the right response yet, either,” Phil answered. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes while mumbling, “Your father would shoot me from the grave if I called this wrong and you got hurt.”
“I’m not going in a safe house,” Ellie calmly announced. “I’m also not going to parade around town outside of my usual routine. I don’t honestly think Garrison is gunning for me—at least, not yet. So, I’m going to keep doing my job, and I’ll be sure to keep you and whoever is tailing me in the loop if I do anything outside of my typical activities.”
Phil looked at her and narrowed his eyes. She met his stare, hoping she would come off more confident than she felt.
“All right,” he agreed, giving his stick one last hard tap on the floor. “We’ll play this your way, but one more package mysteriously delivered, and Miller’s advice is going to start sounding a lot more appealing.”
It took a while for everyone to finally clear out, leaving Ellie holding a cup of now-cooled tea with Joe beside her on the couch. He took the mug from her hands and set it on the table before gently pulling her to rest against his side. They sat in silence, leaning against one another until Ellie spoke.
“I guess this wasn’t the ending you had in mind for today, was it?”
His chest vibrated with light laughter at her comment. “I’d hoped for some excitement, but this isn’t what I’d planned, no.”
She tilted her face to see him better. “Wh
at kind of excitement?”
“I’m not giving away my secrets.”
Ellie relaxed once more, not believing he would share any more about his plans. “I had a great time today, until we got back here, of course.”
“Did you?” he asked. “My family wasn’t too much?”
“Compared to Phillips, the rest were tame,” she joked. “Plus, it was nice to see you a little less buttoned-up.”
“You think I’m stiff?” he asked, as though the idea were foreign.
“No, you seem confident with an air of mystery around you. But with your family, you were more relaxed and human.” Ellie wished she could explain it better.
“As compared to the nonhuman I am most of the time?”
“Sometimes I feel like you’re too perfect,” she admitted. “You’re completely together, with no self-doubt, no issues you need to work on, and it’s…intimidating.”
“I don’t know if I should be flattered you thought that highly of me or if I should question your judgment because of it,” Joe replied. “I’ve got more skeletons and issues in my closet than I care to talk about, so I tend to ignore them. Don’t let that confuse you into thinking I’m better than anyone else. I’m just as messed up as the next guy. I’ve just learned how to fake it better than some.”
“Better than me,” Ellie said.
“Differently than you,” he corrected. “Plus, I’ve had more practice. Of course, it doesn’t matter much when I’m around my family, because my mother won’t hesitate to bring out pictures of me without clothes on as a toddler or dressed like the lead singer from Kiss one Halloween when I was in elementary school. My service secrets don’t haunt me nearly as much as the potential for damage my own family could inflict.”
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