Hide and Seek

by H. L. Wegley

  She pulled her hand from his and tossed him a tissue. “Sounds like it’s IQ-nulling.”

  “Something like that.” He draped the tissue over his right hand.

  “But you seemed to recover quickly enough to your full one-hundred forty-five, right?”

  Where did that number come from?

  His gaze jerked up from his hand to her face. “You didn’t really do what I think you did. Did you?”

  “I don’t know what you’re thinking. But I do know I hacked the university’s admin database and got the goods on Mr. Lee Brandt.”

  “But I thought you were Miss Honest.”

  “Like I said before I’m not perfect. But I did check you out. Admissions records, high school transcripts, complete with IQ scores, college grades, reports from your master’s committee, everything. No way was I going to have this kind of reaction to some gaga-eyed guy without knowing all about him. But you were clean, with a one hundred forty-five—”

  “What kind of reaction are we talking here?”

  “The kind I’ve never had before and that’s all you need to know.”

  He reached for her hand. “What if I need to know more?”

  She slapped at his hand. “Don’t push it!”

  “What about the trust?”

  Her voice softened. “That came when I saw you were putting my needs ahead of yours. Even putting my life ahead of yours. I knew I could trust you when—”

  “A few minutes after we entered the cave, right?”

  She stared at him. “I should kill you right now. You knew and yet you manipulated me into disclosing personal stuff that—”

  “Stuff we’ll share for the rest of our lives—the truth about ourselves—truth we’ll never use to hurt each other. Remember what I told you about a relationship with God being intimate, like between a husband and wife—nothing in between?”

  Her eyes widened and she reached for his hand. “Is all that just informational, or are you asking me to marry you?”

  He wrapped his hand around hers. “Something like that.”

  Go on, man. Tell her.

  “Something like what?”

  Yeah. Tell her.

  “Something like—well, you know I told you I don’t date?”

  Jennifer’s head tilted down. Her hand went limp.

  His own brain had ganged up on him. Both sides. He just needed to say it. “But I would like your permission to ask the appropriate person in your family if I may court you.”

  It’s about time.

  Yeah. It’s about time.

  It was time. Probably the only time he would ever have.

  Jennifer had raised the bar to an impossibly high standard. Despite her fiery temper she stood head, shoulders, and much more above any woman he had ever met. Life without Jennifer—he couldn’t let that happen.

  Her face tilted upward, but it wore a frown. “Does courting mean we can’t date?”

  “Technically, we can’t date, that is, not until we’ve begun courting. Then we spend a lot of time together getting to know each other better.”

  She smiled warmly. “Courting sounds a lot like dating, but it also sounds very—”

  “First I need your answer. May I, you know, with the intent that we marry whenever we’re finished courting?”

  Her coy smile crept onto her face. “What do you think we’ve been doing for the past,”—she glanced at her watch—”sixty-five hours and forty-five minutes?”

  “If you knew that’s what was happening why didn’t you help me out a little? You can be pretty hard on a guy.”

  “You had it easy. Most guys just get pepper-sprayed. But who said courting me was going to be easy?”

  “If you’re counting this past weekend something tells me it won’t. But I hope the coming months are a lot less eventful than the last sixty-five hours and forty five minutes.”

  Jennifer cocked her head. “Are you sure that’s what you want? It would make for a pretty dull courtship, don’t you think?” She studied his face. “Besides, what makes you think we’re talking months, anyway?”

  Had he heard correctly? “Not talking months? Then let’s just elope now.”

  “You’re jumping the gun. First shouldn’t you get permission to court me?”

  “Yes.”

  But she said her father died two years ago.

  “Who do I need to talk to?”

  “My grandfather. But I need to warn you, be careful never, ever to cross Granddad. He never forgives anybody for anything.”

  “Sounds a lot like his granddaughter.”

  “C’mon, Lee. You can’t complain about me until I make you run the flea cave in your underwear.”

  27

  Tuesday afternoon, March 21

  As momentous as the last four days were for Lee Tuesday was even more important. The day wouldn’t determine if he lived or died, like Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Rather, it would determine whether he lived wishing he had died.

  Jennifer sat beside him in the white sedan. She didn’t appear to be worried. But she knew this unforgiving man who lived one hundred miles to the south. Their two-hour drive down I-5 held no terror for her.

  He grew more nervous with each mile. There was so much on the line and he had never met Jennifer’s grandfather.

  To top it all off he had to show up in a rental car which had none of the class of his ‘65 Mustang convertible. “I was sure you would want to drive your SUV down here.”

  “No, Granddad should see you in your car.”

  “But I don’t have a car.” Would that count against him?

  “This car is fine for visiting Granddad. Have you gotten any word from the insurance company about your Mustang?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Sort of. Since it’s a classic car, they’ll pay me a comparable price for it. I didn’t like their first set of numbers so I ran my own comps. My Mustang was worth more than I thought. The insurance company will come around after they see my numbers. They’re a good company and I’ve been with them since I was sixteen.”

  “So are you looking for another ‘65 Mustang convertible?”

  “No. My Mustang was really too light to be safe. It could literally jump off the road if you hit the gas pedal on wet pavement.” He shot her a glance.

  It drew her attention.

  “My next car will be carrying some precious cargo so I want a big, safe car. What would you like me to get?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been called cargo before. I’m not sure how I feel about that. But I do like classic cars.” Jennifer paused. “I think you should get whatever you want. You don’t have to ask me.”

  “But I’m thinking you’ll probably be spending some time in my new car, too.”

  Jennifer rested her hand on the console. “You mean when we’re not in the SUV?”

  “Yes. We won’t be in it all of the time, will we?”

  “No, I don’t have to drive all of the time.” She drew an X on the console with her index finger. “Didn’t most of those old cars have bench seats, you know, so a guy’s date could slide over to the middle?”

  “Yes. But we have seat belt laws, now. What were you suggesting?”

  She moved her hand to his shoulder. “Only that I like the bigger classic cars. But remember this. I don’t park.”

  “That’s good. I don’t, either.” He glanced at her and grinned. “Why park in some dark spot when you can kiss in a cave?”

  Her coy smile appeared. “So that’s why you dragged me up that mountain and climbed down the rock to the hidden cave. To take advantage of me.”

  “If I remember correctly, it was you who took advantage of me.”

  She pulled his right hand off the wheel and held it. “I’m guilty. So what do you plan to do about it?”

  Her hand felt warm, soft. He pulled it to his lips and kissed it. “One thing’s for sure. I’ll never forget that kiss. Bad things tend to happen to me in caves.”

  “Bad things?” She pulled her hand fro
m his. “Maybe I should take back the kiss.”

  He reached for her hand and missed. “I didn’t mean the kiss. I meant—”

  Don’t air your dirty laundry, man.

  She grabbed his hand and gripped hard. “You need to tell me the rest. No secrets, intimate, nothing in between, remember? Something happened to you in a cave. Something you’d rather not tell me. Out with it.”

  “It was just a little panic attack.”

  She squeezed his hand even harder. “You took me to the caves to keep me safe and you have panic attacks in caves?”

  “At least I’m not afraid of heights.”

  She shook her head. “Just afraid of depths.”

  He exhaled sharply. “OK. Once my buddy and I lost our light while climbing a cavern wall. One like you and I climbed. A smelly one with foul air. When the light went out I couldn’t breathe. I panicked and bailed out into total darkness. Didn’t have a clue how high up I was. Fortunately, it was only about fifteen feet. Fortunately, I have strong legs and ankles.” He looked at her face. “Fortunately, I survived.”

  Jennifer was silent for a few moments. “How many people have you told about this?”

  He sighed. “Just one. You.”

  “Lee?”

  “Yeah.”

  Her grip on his hand eased. “I love you. I’m glad you told me and I’m really glad you didn’t freak out on me Saturday.”

  Someday I’ll tell her how close I came.

  “Me, too. And I love you, too.”

  Jennifer watched him out of the corners of her eyes. “Besides liking classic cars there’s something else you should know about me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’m carrying.” Jennifer patted her side.

  “Carrying what?”

  “As they say in the movies, I’m packin’ heat. I do most of the time. I meant to tell you before now.”

  “So you really meant it all those times you said you’d kill me?”

  “No, unfortunately I wasn’t carrying it last weekend.”

  “Uh, I’d say that was fortunate.”

  She gave him a wide-eyed frown. “Fortunate? We could have defended ourselves.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t think of a single scenario where we could’ve tried to use that kind of gun on those people and survived to tell about it. You know, the thing called superior fire power. If we even once stopped running and tried to fight we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.”

  “You’re right. Maybe it was a good thing I left it in my locker in the computer lab Friday night.”

  “Do you mind telling me why you carry a gun?”

  Her hand went limp. “I had a bad experience with a stalker.”

  He slipped his hand from hers and caressed the back of her hand. “I’m so sorry you had to endure something like that. Where’s the guy now?”

  “He’s in prison. And, well, he walks with a permanent limp.”

  He grabbed her hand. “Jenn, you didn’t shoot—”

  “Shoot him? I certainly did. He’s lucky I didn’t try to kill him. I usually hit what I aim at.”

  He interlaced their fingers. “So it’s not all hyperbole, then?”

  Her coy smile returned. “As I said, I’ve never wanted to kill anyone but you.”

  So Jennifer had one notch on her gun. He smiled and, at the same time, felt sorry for anyone who threatened her.

  I’ll make sure no one ever gets the chance.

  He sensed it was time for a change of subject. “How about a red and white ‘62 Impala convertible?”

  Her head snapped around towards him. “A big car—did you really find one?”

  “Yes. It’s been restored, but it’s not completely stock. The engine has been bored out a bit. Oh, they added air conditioning and a nice stereo, too. And…” He grinned. “No bucket seats.”

  “Just remember, courting or not, I told you my rules.”

  “I know. We don’t park.” He paused. “I’ve only told the man I’m interested. What have you heard about your car?”

  “Only a rumor. Stewart’s trying to pull some strings to give me the SUV to drive while I work for NSA. Just like you said he’s using it as bait to get me to sign the work contract. He has some reasons for wanting me on board quickly.”

  He chuckled. “Oh yeah, about two hundred of them.” He paused for a moment. “So it was a good thing you and the SUV bonded?”

  “I think so.”

  He pushed up on the turn signal. “Well, this next exit is ours. How do we get to your grandfather’s place?”

  Jennifer looked out the passenger-side window. “We’re exiting onto the main drag through town. Just stay on it. In about two miles, there’s a Dutch Brothers coffee shop. Turn right. It’s a couple of blocks to his house.”

  He cancelled the signal and braked to a slower speed. “Dutch Brothers? I didn’t know Dutch Brothers had come this far north.”

  “That’s because you didn’t see my two full Dutch Brothers’ cards. The ones I rescued from my car at the Kerbyville police station.”

  He chuckled again. “So, you’re a heavy drinker too? But you can’t say I drove you to it.”

  “No. But it would be nice if you did.”

  He stopped for a red light. “I can take a hint. OK, it’s Dutch Brothers on me.”

  “You say the nicest things.”

  He glanced at Jennifer and found it hard to pull his eyes back to the road. “Could we live without coffee?”

  “Probably not. But you wouldn’t live without telling me the truth.” Jennifer’s mouth was smiling, but her eyes said there was an element of truth to her words.

  He reached out for her hand. “Please don’t start the threats again. I thought our relationship was beyond that.”

  “Our relationship can never be beyond threats.” She squeezed his hand. “It is beyond murder, though. I think.”

  He pulled his hand free to make the turn into the Dutch Brothers drive-through. “Great. What am I getting myself into?”

  When he stopped in the lane, Jennifer’s hand gently turned his face towards her. “Please look at me.” She paused.

  He glanced her way.

  “No…I mean really look.”

  He peered deeply into Jennifer’s eyes. For the first time he could read them like a book.

  She unmasked everything for him to see.

  What she revealed took his breath away. “If I can see those eyes every day you can threaten me as much as you want to.” He remained lost in her eyes until a car behind them honked.

  Jennifer nudged him with her arm. “Time to move ahead, and…you’ve got yourself a deal.”

  “But I’ve got to get past your grandfather to seal it. Except for the forgiveness part, he’s not like you, is he?”

  She gave him her enigmatic smile. “You’ll see.”

  In a few minutes the two drove up to Jennifer’s grandfather’s house as they sipped the last of their coffee.

  He slipped out of the car, walked to Jennifer’s door, and opened it for her. While they walked towards the front door, Lee took a deep breath, exhaled, and tried to relax.

  “You worry too much. Just be yourself.”

  She wasn’t overly concerned about this meeting.

  Maybe he should relax, too.

  Her grandfather was over seventy. But when he welcomed them at the door Lee noticed he had the bearing of a much younger, athletic man.

  After the introductions Jennifer occupied herself by miscellaneous cleaning tasks in the kitchen, while her grandfather invited Lee outside to the deck.

  The rain had stopped about noon and the sky had cleared. The sun felt warm on this first day of spring. Lee hoped it was also the first day of spring in the life of Lee Brandt.

  Her grandfather turned to face him. “So now we talk, Lee.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He studied Lee’s face. “Jennifer tells me you saved her life. You were going to sacrifice your life for hers. Is tha
t true?”

  He dipped his head. “Yes, sir, it’s true. But it’s not the whole story. We saved each other’s lives several times. But on Sunday when the gunman tried to shoot us Jennifer dove at him to give her life for mine.”

  Grandfather turned his head and watched Lee from the corners of his eyes. “I think there is more to tell. What did you do?”

  He took a breath and exhaled. “I dove for him, too, at the same time. Since I’m stronger I got to him first. But fortunately for us that’s when the SWAT team entered.”

  Grandfather still watched him from the corners of his eyes. “I see. And you are telling me the truth?”

  And you’ll kill me if I’m not, won’t you?

  “Yes, sir.” He nodded again.

  Grandfather turned and faced him squarely. “Jennifer told me you wished to court her. What do you mean by that?”

  How should he explain this? “When two people think they both have found the person they should marry they spend a lot of time together, getting to know one another much better. Then, if they believe God is leading them to marry they do so at the end of the courtship.”

  “I see.” Grandfather looked directly into his eyes. His gaze was nearly as piercing as Jennifer’s. “What if God says yes, but I say no to the marriage?”

  He gets right to the point, like his granddaughter.

  “Then, sir, I would respect your wishes. But I would probably knock on your door every week to see if you changed your mind. I love your granddaughter. What we went through together compresses time. I know Jennifer as well as if we dated for quite a while.” He stopped and waited for a response.

  Silence.

  After an uncomfortable minute Grandfather spoke. “I like your answer, Lee. But I have one more thing to tell you. I have a sixth-degree black belt in Karate. Though I am seventy-two years old if you ever hurt Jennifer, physically or emotionally, I will kick your head off.”

  This was guy talk. He knew how to answer it. “Sir, if I ever hurt her I’ll give you a free shot at my head.”

  Grandfather pressed his palms together. “It is done, then. You two go court. But hurry, because I am an old man who wants to know his great-grandchildren. Jennifer is my oldest grandchild, oldest by several years. Have I made myself clear enough?”

  He smiled. “Yes, sir, you have.”