by Freya Barker
The realtor is waiting outside, at Joe's request, giving us a chance to do a walk through with Clint by ourselves. Not exactly pleased from the look of him, but apparently smart enough to realize that when people showed up with a contractor, they were likely interested, he retreated to his fancy car to wait.
I can hear Clint stomping around, opening and closing doors and cupboards while I'm still taking in the space. This is pretty nice. Scratch that; this is fucking amazing. What looks to be a large mudroom with laundry hook-ups connects the building in front to the house and opens into a foyer of sorts. One that has the front door to the house on one side, a powder room and a stairway going up and one going down on the other. A big opening in the separating wall leads into the living space with a large eat-in kitchen to the left. Somebody has done at least some work on this place at some point, because the kitchen is an open concept and the big room almost wraps around it in an L-shape. Against the back wall, the living or dining room—whatever it is—becomes the full width of the house. The only thing missing is some large windows or a sliding door. My mind is already working up visions of what the right window placement would do in here because, I bet with a few changes, it would be bright as day in here.
"What are you smiling about," Joe mumbles in my hair, as I feel his arms slide around me from behind. I swing around and loop my arms around his neck, smiling into his eyes.
"The place feels right. It feels good. What do you think?" I watch him closely as his eyes scan the space and linger on the view out the window.
"I like it. It suits you and also... killer view," he says as he turns back to me with a smile. "But then again, with you around, I always have a killer view."
"Oh please... save the lines. Not like you need them on me. Thought it was obvious I'm pretty easy for you." I punch him lightly on the arm.
"Easy? Never. But so fucking worth it."
The kiss he plants on me has me reach up on my toes to get a little bit more. When he breaks away, I can't help the little whimper that escapes. A self-satisfied smirk appears on his face and I roll my eyes.
"Oh please, like I'm the only one affected here." And to prove my point I grab his now solid, hard cock through his jeans, causing him to hiss sharply.
"Uh... Sorry to interrupt," Clint's amused voice comes from the doorway to the foyer, "but I thought you guys might want to come upstairs for a look?"
I plant my face in Joe's chest where I can feel the rumble of his chuckles.
"Let's go see the rest of your new place, beautiful."
Upstairs the hallway runs the length of the house with a window at the end and has doors on both sides. I'm surprised to find two bathrooms side-by-side, until I see that one of them is the ensuite to the master bedroom. The other two bedrooms are across the hall. The en-suite is in decent condition and must have been added later, but the family bathroom desperately needs some work done; it dates back to the fifties at least.
With the wood floors throughout the house in good condition, there really isn't a whole lot I can see to raise flags, until Clint tells us to come to the basement and I'm envisioning carpenter ants or something equally devastating. When we start descending the second set of stairs, though, I'm surprised how clean everything looks. Pretty unusual for a basement. Joe lets out a slow whistle.
"Holy shit. This place is the bomb!"
I walk around him into a big newly finished carpeted space where someone has left behind a massive pool table. In the far corner, we find a built-in bar. A set of small windows allow plenty of light to flood the space.
"What am I supposed to do with a man-cave?" I point out, causing both Clint and Joe to turn to me with incredulous looks on their faces.
"Babe? You serious? Look at this. This place is perfect and this pool table is incredible. It's huge!"
"You know you sound about sixteen now right?" I chuckle at the excitement on his face as he walks around and admires the bar and the pool table.
"I know exactly where the big screen TV should go," he says to Clint as they start scanning the wall for outlets. Before they lose themselves in a discussion over the best furniture to put in my basement, I point out the doors on the side.
"Hey. What's in there?"
Clint looks over his shoulder and shrugs. "Oh, that's the extra bedroom and bathroom. I think the furthest one is storage of some sort. They must've just done this. The walls hardly have any scuff on them."
I peek into door number one, and sure enough, there is a narrow space with basic shelving units on either side. It's a bit chilly. Cold cellar? Judging from the rubber stripping on the edges of the door, I would think so. Next is a three-piece bath, and the last door opens into a huge bedroom, where one wall is almost completely taken up by a closet with mirrored sliding doors. Shit. Maybe I'll sleep down here. I know that's not going to fly. If I buy this house, I know damn well who's going to be down here. In fact, I'd be lucky to ever see him again.
The thought of Fox gets me moving. We left him earlier in Neil's great care again, who had caught up on his sleep. Something Fox doesn't seem to mind at all. Despite the age difference, the two have more in common with those games of theirs than you'd think. I still don't want to be away from him all night. I want to at least be close by. He was getting irritated a little with me hovering over him all day and I can't blame him, but for my own peace of mind, given the danger that is still out there, I've gotta be nearby.
"Doc?" Joe sticks his head in the bedroom. "Wow, if you weren't already interested, I'd buy this place. I'd move down here and never come up for air. Fox is gonna fucking love this, you know that right?"
"I know, but we came here to see if this was feasible, not to fall in love with a pool table," I point out a little sharply.
"Naomi." Joe takes my face in his hands. "You know there is no room left in my heart for a damn pool table, but if Clint says this house is sound? Buy the house. The place has been on the market for a long time and I suspect the feed store at the front is what has kept it from selling. Lucky for you, it's exactly what you're looking for. You can put in any reasonable offer and I bet you'd get it."
His words stir a host of feelings in me and I almost blurt out what has been at the forefront of my mind for the past few days. I love the way he talks to me like I’m the most important person to him. I love that he voices support for anything I might decide. Fuck. I love him. But instead of telling him that, I reach up for a kiss and turn to go find my contractor.
After a short discussion with Clint, during which he tells us that aside from the pretty obvious renovations needed on the storefront to turn it into a working clinic, the house itself is sound, we head out the meet the realtor. The plumbing is working as is the electricity, which the realtor had turned on when I'd shown interest last week. Most of the work needing to be done is cosmetic and not urgent. In short, other than needing some new appliances and a good cleaning, there is no reason it couldn't be lived in. Music to my ears.
I tell the real estate agent I'll have my guy get in touch with him as soon as I get a call in and take one last look over my shoulder.
"Happy?" Joe asks, as we drive toward the diner for a quick bite with Clint before heading back to Cortez to see Fox.
"Yes. Yes I think I am, even though I would've like for Kendra to have a look at it first. But I love that it's my money, my house, my decision. Yeah, I feel good about it. What do you think?" I turn to him.
"Place suits you, and I think Fox will like it too. Especially when he gets a look at the basement," Joe winks at me.
Arlene's isn't that busy. When we walk in, Clint is already there at a table by the window having what looks to be a heated discussion with Beth. I'll never figure out what it is with those two. They can't seem to keep their eyes off each other when one thinks the others doesn’t notice, but they do nothing but bicker when they’re together. Actually...now that I think about it, it is a little familiar to what Naomi and I had going for a few years. Naomi elbows me in the ri
bs and tilts her head in their direction. She's noticed too. I just shrug. To give them some time to sort out whatever it is they have going on, I grab Naomi's hand and pull her toward the kitchen with me to go say hi to Seb.
"You guys attached at the hip now?" Arlene pops her head out of her office when we walk around the counter into the kitchen.
"Pretty much," I respond, pulling Naomi to my side and getting an eye roll in response.
"So?" Arlene pins Naomi with her glare. "How'd it go?"
"I'm gonna go for it. Already put a call in to my real estate agent on the way over here," she smiles.
"Fuckin' A! You'll get the place. I have a good feeling about it. Seb, you hearing this?"
"Picked up on it, Spot; seeing as you're louder than a foghorn. I'm sure half the diner knows now too." Seb walks over from the grill and throws his arm around a grumbling Arlene. "Congrats, Doc. That's awesome news," he smiles at Naomi.
We catch up for a few minutes, filling them in on Fox's condition, when Beth comes storming through the kitchen, passing by us without a word and goes right out the backdoor to have it slam shut behind her. Close on her tail is Clint who doesn't say a thing either, giving us a distracted chin lift before following outside right behind her.
"Again?" Seb asks Arlene, who just smiles and shrugs. "Jesus. Those two need to fuck and get it over with already. This has been going on for months. I thought you were a hard one to tame, love, but Beth? Holy shit. Never thought I'd say this, but I think the woman's got you beat."
I can feel Naomi's shoulders shake with laughter and I'm having a hard time holding it in myself, especially when Arlene elbows Seb in the gut hard enough to double the man over with a "Fuck, woman," growl.
"Serves you right. Let's get this clear, I tamed you and not the other way around. As for those two? I hope they figure it out at some point, there seems to be enough fire flying, but Beth's been burned way too many times before and you've gotta admit that Clint is about as subtle and sensitive as a rhinoceros during mating season. Every time that man opens his mouth, something inappropriate flies out. He can't seem to help himself." With a wistful last look at the backdoor Arlene turns back to us. "Since we seem to have temporarily misplaced a waitress, I'd better get my ass in there. Why don't you two give your order to Seb and I'll find you a spot."
"Actually," I tell her, "we were meeting Clint here, so where he was sitting is fine. We're gonna talk about the Parker place some over a bite before heading back to Cortez."
"Suit yourselves. I've gotta feeling he might not be the best dinner companion though," Arlene points out when the backdoor opens and Clint walks back in—sans Beth—frustration clear on his face.
A few quick burgers, a rough outline of a plan for the clinic and a promise to stay in touch later, we leave Clint in the diner's parking lot looking a bit forlorn. Beth had avoided our table like the plague, letting Arlene serve us. I feel bad for the guy. I remember all too well that feeling when everything that comes out of your mouth seems to be the wrong thing, and he has a severe case.
"That was Dooley, by the way. The call I got during dinner?"
"Yeah, I was gonna ask you. Anything new?"
"He'd been able to interview Rivas who was released in his custody from the hospital earlier this afternoon. Sounds like he may be getting somewhere. The guy was clammed up at first, but after confronting him with all the charges he is facing, I guess he came to the conclusion it might be best to admit he was working for someone else. As we suspected; Maxim Heffler. He had been sent to try and pull Fox in with drugs at first, ordered to stick close, but when I interrupted them at the dig that night, I guess plans changed. Rivas was told to 'take care' of Michael Vincent, the other kid who was picked up, then he was to warn your boy. The message on your wall was Maxim's message, put there by Felipe."
"I don't get it, though," Naomi pipes up, "wasn't Felipe from Grand Junction? How do those two connect anyway?"
"Apparently Felipe's older brother has been working for one of Maxim's clubs in Phoenix."
I want to hold back on the one piece of information I know will be devastating, especially for Fox if he ever finds out, but Naomi goes and asks the question I've been worried about.
"Okay, but I still can't figure out how they knew where to find us. How did he know?"
I look over at her, tightening my hold on her hand.
"James. Rivas said Maxim mentioned when he gave Fox's name and address, that it should be current, since he just got it off Fox's father."
All color drains from her face and her jaw clenches as she turns her eyes forward to stare straight ahead through the windshield.
"Miserable, low-life, son of a bitch, bastard," she hisses between gritted teeth, before turning back to me, tears brimming in her eyes. "Fox can never know. It would hurt so much."
"I know," I tell her softly, brushing a stray tear from under her eye.
"One more thing you need to know, something I didn't want to have to tell you, but it's important now; James was killed by a gunshot like I said, but it appears he was beaten severely and there was evidence of prolonged torture before he was finally shot. I don't think he gave up the information easily."
When she pulls her hand from mine, I know she's pissed. Fuck. She turns in her seat, her back to me now and I give her some time to process.
By the time I pull into a spot at Cortez Memorial, her silence is starting to worry me and I quickly unbuckle and pull her in my lap, meeting no resistance.
"Babe, talk to me please," I plead, wiping her hair back from her pale face, half expecting a panic attack, but finding a pair of clear chocolate brown eyes looking at me.
"Thank you," comes out of her mouth and totally takes me by surprise. What the hell? I thought for sure I'd at least get it with both barrels.
"Gonna have to clarify for me, beautiful."
She puts a small cool hand on my face and leans her forehead against mine.
"I get it. I got mad. I thought about it, but I get now. Thank you for trying to keep that from me. I was gonna yell at you for lying, or at least omitting information I think had a right to know, but I can see it came from a caring place. I haven't exactly been a pillar of strength. But Joe? I don't expect you to share the details of everything when it comes to your work. Just like I can't always share things with you, but if it relates to either of us or Fox, the other has a right to know everything. You don't get to decide what I can and cannot handle, just like I don't have a right to make that call for you. Those clean lines of communication you want? They require trust and I see I have some work left in earning yours."
Surprised by her words, I reel back in my seat causing her hand to drop from my face. What the fuck? She thinks I don't trust her?
"Here's the deal, keeping the graphic details of James’ death from you had nothing to do with trusting you, but everything with my need to protect you. You're a doctor, I know you can handle more than most. Babe, you've gotta understand, I'll always try to shield you from the ugly side of life—from danger. Not because I don't think you can't handle it, but because I don't want you to have to."
The soft look on her face and the way she snuggles against my chest tells me she's getting it, but I have more to say.
"I want those clean lines more than anything, but since we've finally gotten our act together, we've barely had a chance to do anything the normal way. Haven't even been on a proper date. I haven't had a chance to get to know all the things that make you who you are. I want that. I want to know all about you so that when I tell you the words that have been in my heart and on my mind, you'll have no doubt I mean every single one of them."
CHAPTER TWENTY
"Mom! Where'd my Coyotes ball cap go??"
I can hear Fox holler from the bedroom where I told him to start packing up his shit.
He's been home—well, at Gus and Emma's guesthouse—from the hospital for a week now and has milked his concussion for the entire time, driving me up the wall. He was r
eleased last Thursday, with strict instructions to stay away from any alcoholic beverages—to which he rolled his eyes, the brat—as long as he was taking the blood thinners. We were driven home by a veritable army of men. Joe with Fox and I in his truck, Gus with Neil in his Yukon behind us and behind that was Malachi, who Gus had called back from his assignment. Ridiculous if you ask me, but Joe said it was a necessary show of force to whomever was watching, so they'd know we were well protected.
Maxim Heffler has still not been caught, even though law enforcement nationwide is on the lookout for him. I've made a choice not to be paralyzed by this situation, even though my instincts have me cowering in a corner. I've tried to focus all my energy on planning for the clinic, although I've had to do most all of it online. Neither Joe nor Gus will let me go anywhere alone. In fact, I couldn't even tell you right now where my car is. Joe even drove me to check in on Katie the other day and hovered around while I checked on Mattias' progress and Katie's healing. Both were doing extremely well and that little boy with his shock of black hair is already displaying signs of being about as even-keeled as his father is in terms of temperament. For a woman who a year ago wasn't considering anything further than perhaps walking again, let alone a future that included motherhood, Katie is turning out to be an absolute natural. And she’s more laid back now than I've ever known her to be. I feel a small pang of envy at my friend's blissful existence, but catch myself quickly, remembering the hell she's had to live through to get to this place. Perhaps there is hope for me too.
Everything is so chaotic with Fox and I now sharing the bedroom; Fox on a cot on the floor, and Joe spending most nights on the couch, refusing to leave our side during the night. Soon that's gonna change. I was able to negotiate a temporary rental agreement for the Parker place until my place in Cortez sells. There have been a few nibbles but until we can get our furniture and the rest of our things out, it won't show at its best. It's also just been a week. Thank goodness for the cleaning service that managed to clear and then clean the place so it was at least in some shape for viewing. Joe and I had needed to spend quite a few hours there first to sort through the mess before they could even come in, but by Sunday the first viewings had already been scheduled.