by Trina Solet
"That's new," Ned said and beamed at her. That was one step closer to calling him daddy. Feeling a little choked up, he went over and kissed her on the cheek.
After scolding him to go sit down, Mina started singing again with Jeff's help. "Jeff and Mina, that is us. We did cooking, we did stuff. We didn't do shopping 'cause we had enough." And on the end they added, "And Professor Daddy too."
Ned clapped loudly and the kitten got startled and jumped away from him.
"That's very good," Jeff praised Mina. "Now show him your dance."
The dance was Mina twirling around and around while Jeff made sure she didn't fall down from getting dizzy.
"That's a pretty dance," Ned told her.
She wobbled and blushed. They all had a snack and then it was time for her to get ready for bed. Tonight, instead of reading to her, Ned sang the story to her. He sounded terrible, but Mina liked it anyway.
Once she was asleep with the kitten snug in the folds of her comforter, Ned went to the kitchen. That's where Jeff was hanging out.
"That was some song," Ned told him.
"I know. Professional songwriting is not in my future," Jeff said as he went to the fridge to get a bottle of water.
Ned didn't agree at all. "Wrong. That song got Mina to call me Professor Daddy. That is the best song in the world."
"I'm sure she'll call you dad or daddy one of these days," Jeff assured him.
"That would be nice, but I don't want to push her. She lost her parents so recently," Ned said. "Professor Daddy is good enough for now."
"Professor Daddy. You should have all your students call you that," Jeff said as he took a long drink of his water.
"You keep that idea to yourself," Ned warned him. Then he remembered how anxiously Mina was waiting for him to come home. "It scares the hell out of me how much Mina likes you. She doesn't realize that you won't be around forever." A part of Ned had trouble with that idea too.
"What if I guarantee that I'll always be around?" Jeff asked.
"I wouldn't believe you," Ned said bluntly.
"Hey, I'm a man of my word," Jeff said. He sounded offended, but Ned still couldn't take his guarantee seriously.
"Fine. What if you get a job offer out of state?" Ned asked him.
"I won't take it. I only took the offer to work on Mrs. Diaz's house because it's right across the street," Jeff pointed out.
Ned upped the ante. "What if the job pays a lot of money?"
"I still won't take it if it means leaving you guys," Jeff insisted.
Now Ned brought out the big guns. "What if a great guy wants you to move with him to Hawaii?"
"Hawaii? You play dirty. I still wouldn't go," he said grudgingly like he had to give up Hawaii right then and there.
"Yes, you would."
"Not unless the guy had a beard and an adorable little daughter."
"Now who's playing dirty," Ned said as Jeff grabbed him around the waist.
He set aside his almost empty bottle of water. Jeff moved as if he was going to kiss him but then he stopped. All he did was take Ned's hand, run his thumb over the knuckles and give Ned a thoughtful look. It was clear that he had something serious on his mind.
"Do you really worry that I'll leave you guys?" Jeff asked.
"It might happen," Ned said. He didn't think it was a strong accusation, but Jeff frowned.
That little bit of doubt was too much for Jeff. "I mean it, you know. I'm not going anywhere," he said earnestly. "And I'll prove it to you."
"I look forward to that."
"And you'll take me seriously?" Jeff asked.
"I already do."
"But you doubt me too."
"I have to be cautious for Mina's sake."
"I understand," Jeff said but the pained and needy look in his eyes was pure hell. Ned knew that he needed to hear something more.
Ned closed the distance between them and took Jeff in his arms. "I have as much faith in you as I possibly can. I believe every word you say is the truth. But I'll still take that hard proof," Ned told him.
His hand circled to the back of Jeff's neck and brought him in for a long, passionate kiss that told him everything he wanted to know.
Chapter 23
Jeff only had a few minor things left to do at Mrs. Diaz's house. He had some patched spots to paint and a set of shelves that he removed for painting to put back. But otherwise the place looked pretty good.
Since the work he needed to do was nothing major and Mrs. Diaz wanted to be able to show the house soon, Jeff went over there during the day and took Mina and the kitten. He let them play in the back yard, which had been spruced up as well. Jeff kept an eye on them through the window and made sure the patched spots were dry.
Painting didn't take long. Jeff was ready to put the shelves back. The shelves went in one of the smaller bedrooms, or maybe it was an office or a den, it was hard to tell when all the rooms were empty. The good thing was that the window in that room looked out onto the back yard. Every two seconds he looked out there to see Mina trying to stick flowers on the kitten's head only to have the kitten bat them away.
Setting the toolbox down by the door, he made sure he hadn't lost any of the original screws. The shelves were leaning against the wall, ready to go. Jeff turned to get the screwdriver.
He glimpsed a shape that shouldn't have been there. Instinctively, his arm went up. He only had a second to register what was happening and react before his skull was cracked open by the hammer coming at his head. He blocked it just in time.
Only the handle of the hammer connected with his forearm, but it hit him hard and the pain was intense. He saw a man with a green stocking cap pulled over his face. Jeff grabbed for the hammer but missed. Seeing the guy start to swing that hammer once again, Jeff rushed forward and tackled him to the floor. The hammer flew out of his hand and Jeff moved to grab it. He felt a kick to his side, but the hammer was now in his grip.
He scrambled to his feet only to see his attacker doing the same. The man didn't come after him though, he ran for the front of the house and out the door. Jeff rushed the other way, to the back porch. Hammer in his hand, he stood there panting for a minute, watching Mina and the kitten playing in the freshly mowed grass like nothing had happened.
*
After a call from Jeff, Ned came home to a police car in front of his house and another one across the street. He went straight to Mina and Jeff. Jeff's arm was in a sling, but he was holding Mina in his arms anyway.
"Jeff had accident," Mina told Ned as she wrapped her arms around him and he took over holding her.
Jeff already warned him that he didn't tell Mina what really happened. It seemed to have worked. She was only a little scared. Ned looked over at Jeff. He eyed his arm worriedly and wondered what else might be wrong that Ned couldn't see.
"Jeff?" Mina said, looking at him too.
Noticing Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence standing in front of their house, Ned took Mina over to them. "You can arrange for your kitten to have a play date with their cats, OK?"
After leaving Mina with them, Ned approached Jeff. "What happened?"
"I think I surprised someone who broke into the Mrs. Diaz's house. A guy came at me with a hammer. Picked it up right out of my toolbox," Jeff said, keeping his voice low though Mina was too far to hear.
"Are you all right?" Ned said and looked at his head worriedly. He saw a small bruise on his temple but nothing that looked serious.
"I'm fine and Mina was outside. She didn't see anything. She's used to all kinds of noise while I work. The guy was gone by the time she knew anything happened. I'm so sorry," Jeff said.
"She seems all right," Ned said as they both looked over at her being fussed over by the Lawrences.
"I took Mina with me while I did some work, like I told you. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was dangerous. I would never..." Jeff started to say, looking stricken but Ned stopped him.
"I know. It's all right."
Jeff lowered his
eyes and shook his head. "Damn. I shouldn't have..."
"It's not your fault. This is a safe neighborhood," Ned said and touched his uninjured arm lightly.
"I never thought something like that could happen." Jeff raised his eyes to him, and Ned could see how upset he was.
"Jeff, Mina is fine and you aren't hurt too bad, that's what matters," Ned said trying to put his mind at ease.
Jeff nodded, but Ned could tell that he was still blaming himself. Ned sent him to keep Mina company while he went to speak to the police officers he saw coming out of Mrs. Diaz's house.
The police were done with their work before dinnertime. A police car was cruising past their house every half hour, just in case. Mina had taken to waving every time she saw it go by.
Though Mina was fine, Jeff was shaken and preoccupied. He was on the phone for a while having an intense conversation with someone. After that he seemed very subdued. He helped with dinner, but then went to his room for a while.
Ned was about to call him and Mina to dinner when Jeff came back carrying his backpack.
"What's going on?" Ned asked him as his insides clenched.
"I have to go. It's the best thing. I think I brought this trouble to you. I'm so sorry. Thank you for everything."
His words shook Ned to the core. "You're not leaving," he said through gritted teeth, but Jeff was already going into the living room. Ned heard him telling Mina that he had to take a little trip. Jeff kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him sadly.
Going over to hold her, Ned watched Jeff stepping out the door, his arm in a sling and a backpack over his shoulder. Ned was frantic but he had to stay calm for Mina's sake. Cursing under his breath, feeling helpless, he couldn't follow Jeff. Mina was in his arms, saying Jeff's name over and over again.
Chapter 24
Ned didn't waste any time. Once again he begged the Lawrences to help him out. They were always happy to have Mina, and Ned was so grateful to them. This time he didn't even know how long they would need to watch her. Instead of taking her to their place, he invited them over to have the dinner he had already put on the table. With the Lawrences at the dinner table and Mina looking at him anxiously, Ned left to go after Jeff.
Getting into his car, Ned headed straight for the bus station and hoped Jeff would be there. He considered that he might have gone somewhere else, to a friend's place or that he might be hitchhiking out of town. All he could do was go with his best guess.
As he drove, he kept an eye out for Jeff, but saw no sign of him. The bus station wasn't too far. Jeff would have time to walk there but hopefully not to get on a bus. Ned parked and rushed inside. He felt a horrible tightness in his chest until his eyes landed on Jeff.
Relieved and out of breath, Ned went up to him. "What the hell was that? After everything you said to me about staying with us no matter what, I can't believe you made me come out here to drag you back. At least it didn't take me long to find you or I would have gone out of my mind." Maybe ranting at him wasn't the way to go, but Ned couldn't help it. Now that he found him, his anger was starting to get the better of him.
Jeff sighed in resignation. "I guess a man who depends on the bus to get him out of town is easy to find."
"That's why you shouldn't have bothered trying to pull this crap," Ned told him in a gruff voice. "That was a dirty trick leaving like that. I had to get the Lawrences to come over and watch Mina and eat our dinner, so I could come chasing after you."
"You shouldn't have done that," Jeff admonished him.
"You're right. I should have brought Mina with me. She would wrap this up with one pouty face and have you in the car in two seconds flat," Ned said.
"I'm sorry I had to leave her like that." From his regretful expression, Ned could tell that he meant it.
"Don't be sorry. Come home with me," Ned demanded, but Jeff only shook his head. "I knew you were going to give me trouble. You had that stubborn look on your face as soon as you laid eyes on me. And I noticed that you didn't look happy to see me. Don't think for a second that I'm not offended," Ned told him pointedly.
"I didn't think you'd come looking. After what happened, I thought you'd be glad to see me go. That's why I made it easy for you, so you wouldn't have to kick me out or anything." Jeff seemed to think that what he was saying was perfectly reasonable.
As far as Ned was concerned, he wasn't making any sense. "Why would I want to kick you out?"
"Because I screwed up. I told you. What happened was my fault," Jeff said.
"You need to explain this to me. What is going on?" Ned asked.
Jeff took a deep breath and let the backpack drop from his shoulder. Then he started speaking. "There was something familiar about that attack. It wasn't that guy. I couldn't see his face or anything, but I don't think I've ever seen him before. But something was nagging at me. Then it came to me. It was the way he attacked me, swinging that hammer. I remembered something this guy Brody said to me. Brody set me up with this really fishy job. I took it then got out as fast as I could. Afterward he told me that one of the brothers I was working for took a hammer to a guy for stealing. And just a little while ago, Brody told me that the cops got the crew from that job, including one of the two brothers who ran the operation. So I started to think, what if they think I snitched on them or something. Once I put that together with what happened at Mrs. Diaz's house, I started to wonder. Maybe that attack wasn't random. I don't know how he found me, but I think the guy who attacked me might be the other brother, the one that didn't get arrested. You see now why I have to leave."
Ned didn't see at all. "You didn't mention any of this to the police, did you?"
"I didn't figure it out right away, only afterward. Then I called Brody. He didn't know anything new, but he was pretty sure that the other brother hadn't been picked up yet. It had to be him."
"And now you're running?"
"It's the safest thing to do for you guys," Jeff said. He still thought he was doing the right thing.
Ned didn't agree. He needed to know more. "What kind of job was this?"
"They were stealing from construction sites. They claimed we were pulling the fixtures, the appliances, the copper, whatever was worth anything because the house was going to be gutted for renovation. But everything looked like it had just been put in. That does happen sometimes though. When people have the money to throw around, they'll sometimes gut a perfectly new house. We were doing this on Sunday. That was even more suspicious. And I started to notice other things like how they parked the van out of sight, how fast they worked. Guys don't work that fast on a regular job. It dawned on me that this wasn't a legitimate job. But I was new and they were watching me. I pretended to work for a while then sneaked away."
"Why didn't you go to the cops then?" Ned asked.
"I didn't really know anything. I was just guessing. Plus I was afraid I'd get arrested myself. That was when I still didn't have a place to live. I was afraid to take the risk especially when I heard about how dangerous these guys might be. I guess I was a coward," Jeff said and hung his head.
"Not if there was a chance that you would get hurt or arrested, or both. Don't kick yourself about that." Ned didn't blame him for that but Jeff still blamed himself.
"But maybe this wouldn't have happened if I went to the police back then. I'm the one who worked that job I shouldn't have. I was dumb and I'm sorry I put Mina in danger."
"OK. You didn't know. But now you need to come back with me so we can sort this out," Ned told him kindly but firmly.
Jeff refused with a shake of his head. "That guy might come after me again. I can't risk that."
"I don't want that either, but I can't have you leaving us. Come back with me and we'll figure something out," Ned insisted and took Jeff's arm as if he planned to drag him away by force.
Jeff stayed firm. "No. I've already put out the word with Brody that I'm leaving town. That way they won't come looking for me at your place."
"And wh
ere exactly were you planning to go?" Ned asked. He was pretty sure that he wasn't going to his mother's.
"Somewhere where no one knows me. I'll find a job and..."
"Like hell!" Ned snapped at him. Hearing that Jeff had resigned himself to a lonely, desperate existence in order to protect them made him feel sick. There was no way he was letting him go.
"I'm sorry. But I have to go. By coming here, all you did is come to see me off," Jeff said and tried to walk past him toward the terminal.
Standing directly in front of him so he couldn't pass, Ned noticed just how tall Jeff was. Ned squared his shoulders, ready to get serious. Jeff was already shaking his head, but Ned wasn't going to be so easy to rebuff. He was dead set on taking him back home. For Mina, for Jeff, and for his own inappropriate and selfish reasons, Ned had to get him back.
"I'm not budging an inch. I'm not going back alone. I'm not giving up until you come home with me," Ned told him.
"How can I? I'm supposed to watch out for Mina and keep her safe, not put her in danger." Jeff was so upset and determined to punish himself, but Ned was going to break through to him no matter what it took.
"I know you're used to taking things on yourself, not wanting to burden anyone. You told me as much. But we can deal with this together. We'll watch out for each other and we'll keep each other safe. That's how it's supposed to work."
Jeff shook his head. He was so stubborn. Ned wasn't letting up though. He was dragging him back home no matter what it took, even if he had to use Mina to do it.
"If you run off, you'll break Mina's heart," Ned told him.
"I'd rather break her heart than let her get hurt," Jeff claimed but it obviously bothered him.
"I'm not giving you that choice," Ned told him. "I won't let her be hurt, not even by you."
"I would do anything for you and for Mina, but..."
"Good to hear. Let's go home," Ned told him sharply.
"Ned."
"You're not getting on that bus or the next one, or any of them. I'm not letting you," Ned practically yelled.
