Maximum Memories

by Abby Gordon

  “Mom, would they really have…”

  “I don’t think so,” she whispered. “Your father’s putting them on notice not to.”

  Charlie must have seen the furious expressions on the group behind them.

  “Is it going to be safe for you to work here?”

  She looked at him quietly as Max drove up.

  “Get in the car. I’ll be right there.”

  Obeying, the boy got in as Max groaned. “What the hell is she doing?”

  “Putting them on notice.”

  “She’s a wonder,” Max whispered with obvious pride.

  Holstering her weapon, Ginny spun on her heel, strode to the waiting SUV, and climbed in. Hugging her son, she reached over, grabbed Max’s shirt and pulled him closer to kiss him.

  “Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ginny hummed as she pulled an apple pie out of the oven. It was Friday. This weekend Charlie had decided on an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie marathon. He had said, with a straight face, that he thought it kinda cool that a mother would do anything to protect her son.

  The woman on the radio sang about a kiss that was out of this world. Ginny started singing along. Then a group started in about how amazing the woman they loved was.

  Ginny smiled. She hadn’t seen Max in four weeks. He’d said he had loose ends to take care of before he stayed for good. He didn’t know what he would be doing, but he would make sure that they weren’t apart again. Ginny absolutely believed him.

  Amazingly, Charlie had shown little effects of the twenty-four hours of violence that had touched his life. Once the debriefings had stopped, he’d had nightmares for a week. Each night, he’d fallen asleep between them on the couch. Max had carried him into Ginny’s room and their son had slept on her bed. He’d woken up only twice after that. And each time, she had been awake, sitting up, pulling him to her as she called for Max.

  Max’s leaving had been tough for him. Her steadfast faith had helped at first. As the days had turned into weeks, he’d started to waver. Every time he heard a car, he was looking toward the front of the house. He tried to be stoic about it, but she could tell it was wearing on him.

  Ginny had kept to their usual routines, knowing the normalcy would help. For both of them. Because all she wanted was what she’d had a glimpse of for a week. Her and Max and Charlie. A family.

  She refused to consider that Max wouldn’t come back. He had promised.

  She believed him.

  She closed her eyes as a wave of exhaustion swept over her. And on the heels of that came the dizziness and nausea.

  “Right on time,” she muttered, shaking her head and smiling slightly. “History repeats itself.”

  “Hey, Mom, I’m home!” Charlie called out. He dropped a backpack, sleeping bag, and his sports bag on the bench. “That tropical storm’s coming in soon so coach cut practice short.”

  “Hey, sweetie,” she smiled, hugging him. “Have fun at Devon’s last night?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he grinned. “It was a blast. We worked on the game for hours.”

  “And I’ll bet you’re absolutely starving despite all the food Mrs. Griffin gave you last night.”

  “Of course,” he laughed, already lunging for the cookie jar. He saw the pie and froze. “Oh, man, that looks perfect, Mom. Like in one of those gourmet magazines or something.”

  “Thank you, love,” she smiled, eyes twinkling. “But you still have to wait for after dinner.”

  “Darn it,” he muttered, settling for a handful of cookies. He watched as she poured him a glass of milk and one for herself. “Mom, are you okay? You look tired.”

  She gave him dry look. “You’re going to have to work on the charm before you start dating, Charlie. That’s not the way to flatter a girl.”

  “I know,” he nodded, taking the glass. “But you’re still not better from the flu you had last weekend. And that was a lot longer than a day or two. It’s been hot and humid, Mom.”

  Charlie eyed her face. She had a feeling he wasn’t buying her stay strong act. His faith in his father was wavering.

  “He’ll come as soon as he can, Charlie,” she whispered softly.

  With a light smile, she sipped her milk.

  “You sure? I mean, it’s been over four weeks and he said…”

  “I know it’s hard, baby,” she said softly. “And I’m not sure what all he’s doing.” Well, she could make several educated guesses that would be fairly accurate, but Charlie didn’t need to know any of them. And she certainly didn’t want him to think about the details of his father’s job. “But I do know that he’ll come to us. He promised.”

  “And you believe him?” Charlie whispered, eyes pleading for a positive answer. “I mean, Grandmother and Uncle Peter and Uncle Paul didn’t. Uncle Vince…”

  “You heard that?” She frowned, making a mental note to tear a strip off her uncle. Vince had been scrambling to explain two weeks ago when he’d come by to talk. All she could do was hope that Charlie hadn’t heard the first part of the conversation. Vince had wanted her to take a special assignment for her mother. When she’d refused, he’d lost his temper and tried to drive a wedge of doubt in her mind about Max. He’d failed miserably. “Charlie, Vince and the rest of my family are in a corner right now. They deceived your father and me for ten years. The two of us figured it out and have them by the short hairs. They don’t like that at all.”

  “So, he came out here to push you to do something?” Charlie frowned at the idea of anyone trying to push her around.

  “He tried to make me have doubts about Max.” Ginny’s voice hardened. “I told him to stop wasting my time and his breath.” She could see the fear and doubt in his eyes. Oh, he had been through enough! And so had she. But she knew deep in her heart that Max would come to them. “Charlie, he’ll come back to us. He knows the truth about the past and he will come to us. Nothing could keep him away.” She framed his face with her hands and stared into eyes that were so like what she saw every night in her dreams. “Charlie, do not have doubts on this. Max will come to us as soon as he’s able. I believe this with every breath I take. Every heart beat. I don’t believe in many people, but I do believe in him.”

  Before she could stop it, a yawn broke through and she barely covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Mom, you’re tired. I know it’s Friday, but we can watch movies tomorrow when you feel better.” He hugged her tight. “If you believe he’ll come, then I’ll believe it.” He grinned up at her. “You’ll sleep good tonight. It’s supposed to thunderstorm.”

  Ginny gave him a wry look. She liked rain. Straight rain. But not thunder. She hated thunderstorms. Charlie giggled. The sweet childish sound settled down her nerves on so many levels.

  “Thanks, sweetie,” she murmured, giving him a mock-stern look. “I was about to go take a nap.”

  “Good idea,” he nodded. “I’ll watch the O’s get hammered by the Sox.”

  With a soft smile, she hugged her son.

  Chuckling as her son settled down to watch his beloved baseball team play the now perennial series contenders, she went to her room. And straight to the bathroom. She knew it wasn’t the flu. And she knew why she was tired. Only one time in her life had she felt like this. She’d wanted to wait to confirm it. To have Max with her. She was certain, deep inside. But the test would tell her.

  “One night with Max Shannon,” she muttered, reading the box she’d picked up while grocery shopping. Wincing, she could just imagine the rumors that were going to be flying around the small town. It was one thing to be a single mother, but a divorced single mother who wasn’t known for dating suddenly buying a pregnancy test was a whole ‘nother ballgame. “And he hits a bulls-eye again.”

  She didn’t bother to wait for the results. She carried it with her into the bedroom and put it on the nightstand. Changing into a pink nightie, she crawled under the covers and glanced at the plastic stick. With a smile on her face, she fell a
sleep.

  Charlie popped a bag of popcorn, got a can of root beer from the fridge, and settled down on the couch. And kept an eye on the bottom right corner of the screen where the weather satellite photo was. The longer the game went, odds were it would get rained out. They were getting early effects with the thunderstorms, but the bulk of the storm was still moving fairly quickly up the coast. Right now a band indicating a break in the storm was over the city, but a wide band for rain was close to it.

  Charlie preferred playing baseball to just watching. But if the storm was going to rain out his practice, he wanted to at least watch a full game of his favorite team. He could hear his mother moving around in her room for a bit, but within fifteen minutes, the only sound in the house was the chatter of the announcers.

  In the middle of the third inning, with his team up by one because of an error, Charlie heard tires on the gravel drive. His head lifted and turned to look out the window. It was too dark to tell the color. Only four-thirty and he couldn’t see fifty feet past the living room window. Remembering what his father had done, he was off the coach in a flash and shutting the curtains. Every nerve in his body went on alert as he peered through the heavy drapes.

  Okay, now he understood why his mother hadn’t planted tall trees around the house. And why she had insisted on a certain type of glass for the windows. So many things.

  Lightning flashed and an SUV appeared, stopping where his father’s had five weeks earlier. The driver got out and Charlie held his breath, straining to see through the rain. The man hefted a suitcase out of the back seat, then closed the door while holding something in his hands. Charlie went up on his toes, ready to run to get his mother.

  The man turned toward the house as another bolt of lightning lit the sky. Charlie saw the man’s face and grinned. In seconds, he was at the door, turning the light on, flipping the bolt, and pulling it open. The man’s long legs had him on the porch. Despite his excitement, Charlie was suddenly hesitant. All the nerves settled when Max looked up and smiled.

  “Hi, son.”

  “Hi, Dad,” came the grin.

  Putting the suitcase down, Max reached out with his arm and pulled Charlie to him. All the sleepless nights. All the days of looking over his shoulder as he transferred contacts to another agent’s care. All the fear and tension. All of it started to seep out of his muscles as he held his son.

  “Mom said you’d come,” he whispered. “She said as soon as you had finished what you needed to that you’d come to us.” He led Max inside and shut the door. “She’s getting over the flu and is taking a nap.”

  Max nodded, feeling relief that Ginny had been so sure this time. More tension left his neck. He hugged Charlie again. The bundle in his right arm squirmed and yipped. Charlie’s eyes popped wide as he got a good look at what Max held under his jacket.

  “My sister raises these,” he said, handing the brown fur ball to the boy. “She said this was the best of a recent litter.”

  “He’s mine?” Charlie whispered.

  The Chocolate Labrador puppy reached up and licked his face.

  Max grinned at the enchanted look on his son’s face.

  “Yep,” Max nodded. “Wait a second and I’ll get his stuff from the car.”

  Working together, the two had the puppy’s things put away where Del’s things had been. Having tracked their every movement, and now that the door was closed, the puppy started exploring, nose to the ground and tail wagging. When he got to the kitchen, he lifted his head and sniffed. Just above him sat the apple pie. Going up on his hind legs, the pup began barking.

  “Sh!” Charlie hurried over and picked him up. “You’ll wake Mom up.”

  The door to the bedroom opened.

  “Charlie? Was that a dog?”

  Max looked over and smiled. Sleepy, but rapidly becoming alert, Ginny stood in the doorway. She was wearing a pink nightshirt with a matching robe loosely tied around her waist.

  “Max!”

  She flew across the floor and threw herself into Max’s arms. He held her close, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face against her neck. Across the room, Max saw Charlie grin as he held his new puppy.

  “You’re safe,” whispered Ginny, leaning back and framing his face with her hands. “Thank God, you’re safe.”

  She pressed her lips to his and Max savored the kiss a moment before deepening it. As Ginny’s lithe body pressed against his, he groaned and crushed her to him.

  “I’m home, honey,” he whispered. “I’m home.”

  He kissed her again as Charlie made gagging noises. Stifling a giggle, Ginny burrowed her face against his shoulder.

  “Why don’t you take him outside in the back?” Max suggested. Charlie gave him a knowing look. “Your mom and I need to talk a bit.”

  “Uh-huh. Sure, Dad,” he grinned, tucking the puppy under an arm and going to the door. “Come on, boy.”

  Ginny blinked as Charlie opened the back door and went outside.

  “Where did the puppy come from?” she asked, turning to look at Max.

  “My younger sister raises them. That’s the pick of the litter.”

  “A puppy?”

  Max gave her a sharp look. “Um, not a good idea?”

  She smiled slightly and put her hand on his chest. “Well, um, it’s a good idea. It’s just…”

  “Maybe something parents discuss before doing?” He smiled. “So, before I buy him a motorcycle, I should check with you?”

  He bit back a laugh at the way her eyes widened in shock.

  “No motorcycle,” she choked out. “God, I had enough trouble when he was learning how to ride a bicycle.” She grimaced. “Not to mention he took out one of the lilac bushes.”

  “I’ll teach him how to drive then,” he promised, then frowned. “Charlie said you had the flu. Let’s get you back to bed…”

  He stopped as she smiled and shook her head.

  “It wasn’t the flu,” she said quietly.

  “It’s something worse? Have you been to the doctor? Or…”

  Two of her fingers touched his lips. “Charlie!” Almost immediately, the boy came inside. “Sh, and hold your puppy.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  There was a yip.

  “Ginny.”

  She smiled. “Charlie, I did not have the flu.”

  “But you were sick all last weekend and you haven’t had any coffee…”

  Max inhaled sharply. “Ginny.”

  “Charlie, how do you feel about being a big brother?”

  There was a thud. They looked over and saw him sitting on the floor, leaning against the kitchen island. Max smiled and, with two fingers on her jaw, turned her face toward him.

  “Charlie, how do you feel about,” he reached into his jacket’s inner pocket, “your parents being married?”

  Ginny gasped. Max saw the tears in her eyes as he held up the topaz and pearl ring. Taking her left hand, he slipped the ring on her finger.

  “Marry me, Ginny. Let me spend the rest of our lives making up for the ten years we missed.” He kissed her fingers. “Let us raise our children together and sit on the porch swing as they chase puppies around the willow tree.”

  Tears flowing down her face, Ginny nodded.

  “Sweet,” Charlie whispered, nuzzling the puppy. “Hey, Dad?”

  “Yeah, son?”

  “Think we can talk Mom into a motorcycle in the next six or so years?”

  “No!” Ginny exclaimed.

  Max laughed, winking at his son, and kissed his woman.

  ****

  “What have you found out over the past few weeks?”

  Ginny smiled and rested her chin on his chest. It was the most satisfying day of his life. Ginny had changed into a tank and shorts and the three of them had watched baseball. They’d grilled hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob, and eaten them with baked beans on the patio as the rain beat down on the aluminum overhang. They’d watched Charlie’s movies. Near midnight, Max had sc
ooped his son up, while Ginny had gone up before him and pulled the sheets down. With their son tucked in, they’d secured the cottage and were now curled around each other in the master bedroom.

  “Is this what they call ‘pillow talk’?”

  “Considering our jobs? Yeah,” he nodded. “I think I know you well enough to know that you’ve been working very discreetly at who was behind all this.” He stroked her back. “So? What have you found out?”

  With a little laugh, she turned her head and rested it against his shoulder.

  “First thing I did, during the debriefings, was to have every record on Polaris pulled, printed, and put in my office. I’ve spent every day so far reading them. Everyone thinks I’m working on some huge after-action report that will demonstrate a pattern we missed or connections to other groups.”

  “What are you really looking for?”

  “Any hint of Polaris’s contacts within the Agency. There have to be a few of them,” she whispered. “And I’m fairly certain at least one is senior level.”

  He heard the fear in her voice and tightened his arms around her.

  “And you’re afraid it could be your mother or uncles?”

  “Yes,” came her low reply. “At some point, they were all field operatives. In fact, they all went on missions with Frank. My uncles were on both missions with Frank and Ariana. Mother was on the first.”

  “Oh, wow,” he breathed. They could have been involved from the get-go. There was no telling what they’d done. “Jesus, sweetheart, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

  “No, you were right. I have to, Max. This is too big. There’s no telling what damage has been done to national security. Not to mention the fact that the people in the Agency worked to keep us apart for ten years. They tried to drive me out of the Agency. They kept you from knowing about Charlie.” Tears slid silently from her eyes. “They drove me away from my brother and cousins. They did everything they could to isolate me. I have to know who so I can ask them why.”

  Gently he wiped her cheeks and met her pain-filled but resolute gaze.

  “Then we do it together,” he nodded. “And we make sure that Charlie and our home are safe. No matter what happens, they will understand that we are together and that keeping us apart was a mistake on many levels.” He kissed her forehead. “That day, up in Charlie’s room, I was explaining why you had kept his paternity from him. I told him about Polaris…”