by Lynn Bulock
Mike started to protest, but looked at his mother. How would Hank Collins arrange a safe house without the help of the biggest property-management firm in the county? He raised an eyebrow silently and looked directly at Gloria. She gave him an enigmatic smile back. “All right. I’ll leave it there. But this place has a phone, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it has a phone. Or at least I’ll have a cell phone you can call that I’ll carry with me. And I’ll have a computer there so I won’t let Martin Properties get further behind than they are already. It won’t be forever. Hank says if things work out he’ll let me have a police escort to the office and preschool real soon.”
Lori leaned down and rested her head on top of his. The move brought Mikayla down to hair-grabbing level. There wasn’t much damage she could do on Mike, but she tried. Those tiny fingers running through his hair were sweet.
“I guess we let Hank have his way, then. Thanks for telling me up front.”
Lori looked in his eyes, serious now. “You’ve had enough surprises for one day. I’m not adding one more.”
“So you knew about this?”
“I had an idea. I’m not sure how.”
“Yes, you are. You figured out the first time you left us alone how miserable I am with babies,” Gloria said, laughing a little. “It’s hard to hide.”
Tyler looked around at the adults. “What is everybody talking about? I want to go have lunch.” He slid off Mike’s lap and started looking at things on the bedside table. “Hey, Mom, Mike uses his crayons, too. Can we trade pictures? I drawed one of the fire, too. But yours is better.”
Mike felt his chest tighten. “Sure. We can swap if you want. Where’s yours?”
“Here on the bed. I’ll leave it with my fire engine. I don’t need it anymore, and Mom says they have to fix your arm where you got burned.”
“Yeah, they do.” His throat was tightening along with his chest. Mike promised himself that he would not tear up over this beautiful child and his generosity.
“Well, it really helped when they did the gross stuff to me if I had that fire engine to hold on to. I figure you can use it when they fix your arm. Then you can give it back to me. All right?” He laid his small hand on Mike’s good arm.
“All right.” The tears threatened anyway. This was a gift from God more precious than anything else he’d been given today. Or maybe ever. “And I’ll be sure to give it back as soon as I can. Probably by Wednesday. Now give me another hug and let your mom hug me, too.”
“Great,” Tyler said, rolling his eyes. “More of that stuff. Are you going to kiss her, too?”
“You bet. Close your eyes if it bothers you.” Mike felt a laugh replacing the tightness in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, the cage dreams would fade now.
Chapter Seventeen
It felt odd to go to the apartment in Union, knowing Mike was out of the hospital and back home. Lori thought maybe time would make things easier, but it didn’t. A week after moving into the apartment everybody was still unsettled and grouchy.
Lori had her police escort now and was showing up at the office. Tyler loved riding a police car back and forth to preschool. Lori wasn’t so sure she exactly adored having a uniformed officer pick her up every place. And it certainly didn’t make Mike happy.
“This is driving me nuts, you know.” Mike was scowling again. It was his favorite expression since he’d come back to work. Lori tried to humor him whenever possible. This kind of life wasn’t doing her any good, either. The apartment in Union was nice, but it wasn’t convenient. She missed being across the yard from Mike and his mom. It was aggravating having only a cell phone and a strangely rigged line for a modem so she couldn’t even pick up the telephone and chat. And Union was just far enough that the hand-held radio, which somehow avoided being burnt to a crisp, was out of its three-mile range from the Martins.
So she felt isolated, which she knew wasn’t the point of being in the apartment. Hank and his deputies checked on her daily, so she wasn’t totally alone. And she was never out of the necessities like bread and milk because they didn’t want her in the convenience stores closest to the place, so whoever was checking up on her always got “orders” and brought things to her.
Still, the distance brought up how much she and even the kids had gotten used to having Mike in and out of their life at will. Tyler missed piggyback rides and Miss Gloria’s goats. Mikayla, who now recognized a variety of voices, seemed to be listening for Mike’s even when she wasn’t at work with her mother.
So Lori knew why Mike was unsettled and crabby. The distance, on top of his itching, healing skin grafts and everything else had to be aggravating. “I know this has to be hard on you, too. I keep hoping Hank will tell me the grand jury has convened and we can get back to a normal life. Although I don’t know what that would mean, besides a real phone line.”
That brought on another scowl from Mike. “Oh, come on. It would mean a lot more changes. You’d move back with us, wouldn’t you? At least for as long as there’s an us to move back to. I keep waiting for those two to announce an engagement I am not even supposed to know about. Then I figure I’ll be house hunting, too.”
“Your mother would never kick you out of your own apartment.”
“I know she wouldn’t. But if you think I’m living with a pair of middle-aged newlyweds and a herd of goats on the same property without your comforting presence, you have another think coming.”
That did it. She had to laugh. “Hey, aren’t you doing your Bible study like you promised? Remember Philippians 4? ‘I can do all things in Christ which strengthen me.”’
Mike smiled in response. “Verse 13. But I don’t think it applies to goats.”
“Oh, definitely to goats. There are lots of goats in the Bible.”
“Not floppy-eared Nubian ones with odd dispositions. One of those stinkers got out of her compound the other day and I had to chase it out of your house. She was eating what was left of the artificial flowers in the kitchen.”
Lori found herself giggling. She couldn’t resist. “Oh, great. Those pink ones? That was one of the few things I really wanted to save. And a goat ate it.”
Mike shook his head. “How can you laugh about that?”
Lori shrugged. “Better to laugh, I guess. How about if after work I take everybody, go back to the house and sift through stuff while it’s still light. Tyler can help your mom feed her awful goats, and you can come with us and jiggle Mikayla while I go through drawers.”
Mike perked up a little. “Sounds good. Then I can take everybody out for burgers afterward, and take you home….”
“You can take us out for burgers,” she said, laying her fingers on his mouth to stop the rest of his sentence. It was a mistake to touch him like that, even in the middle of the office. His lips were warm velvet under her fingers. She lost the thread of what she was going to say while she concentrated on the delightful feel of him. “Where was I going with this? Oh, yes. You can take us out for burgers. But you can’t take us home. You know that. We’ll go home via my police taxi service, as usual.”
His lips crinkled in a frown under her fingers and she moved them to let him talk. “I really thought that losing that heap of junk you were driving would be a blessing. That you’d at least need me for my car, if nothing else.”
“I need you for dozens of things, Mike. The car isn’t really one of them. Now kiss me quickly while there’s nobody walking by the window. That’s something I definitely need you for.”
His answering kiss wasn’t as quick as Lori had suggested. But it felt wonderful, and she couldn’t complain. How would it sound anyway, to tell Mike that he was kissing her for too long? The gleam in his eyes when he pulled away told her he already knew what she would have said. He walked back to his desk slowly. And when he got there, he turned and winked. It was going to be a long time until two when they could all pack up and leave the office.
“Are you nervous?” Lori looked more than nervous; she l
ooked like she was ready to jump out of her skin.
“Terrified. Keep holding my hand.” Her eyes were huge as they stood in the hallway of the county courthouse, waiting for her to be called in to testify before the grand jury.
Even though they’d waited for this moment for weeks, Mike wanted to take it back. Lori was a wreck. “I won’t let go,” he promised. “Not until you have to go in there where I can’t go. Want to pray about the whole thing some more?”
Lori nodded. “Yes. Definitely. You would do that with me?”
“For you, anything. And that’s a big anything. I’m still working on this prayer stuff, especially with anybody else around to hear me.”
They found a bench close to the door where Lori would be called in. No one in the courthouse hall seemed to notice them as they settled there. Mike prayed softly, but still out loud. He asked for God’s guidance in the situation, for His peace to be with Lori as she did what was right.
“Amen,” Lori chimed after him. She squeezed both his hands, reminding him how much smaller her fingers were than his.
“Hey, once this is over, can I finally drive you home?”
“It’s probably still against Hank’s rules, but I’m going to say yes,” Lori told him. “I feel like this is a big day. Closing one chapter in my life, and opening up another one. We should celebrate that somehow.”
“I plan on celebrating several different ways.” Mike felt very tongue-tied suddenly. This was the opening he’d been waiting for, and now he felt reserved and shy. He’d just asked for God’s guidance for Lori. Surely he could claim it for himself, as well, couldn’t he? He breathed a silent prayer and let out a deep breath.
“This new chapter stuff. Does it mean that you feel at peace with Gary now?”
Lori looked surprised. “I think I already do. I’m not doing this for him, Mike. If I’m doing it for anybody, it’s for my children. Some day they’ll be old enough to ask about their father. I won’t keep any secrets from them. We’ve both seen what that can do.”
“And how.” Mike shook his head at the vision of his mom in family therapy with him after his skin grafts. Some of it had been as painful as the burn healing, but all of it had been necessary. They were making progress toward a new relationship, based on honesty.
He still didn’t know as much as he’d like about the life he had before he came to the Martins. He probably never would. The information was spotty at best, and much had been destroyed by the lawyer’s misguided attempt to create his new identity.
Still, he was looking ahead. Mike was getting to know this person who lived inside his skin. He was a different person than he’d been before the fire, and it took some getting used to. “You’re right in keeping as few secrets as possible from them. It may be years, decades even, before they want to know everything.”
“But when they do, I want to tell them I did what I could for their father’s memory. That he was, in the end, a good man who made some big mistakes. And one of those mistakes cost him his life.” Her eyes misted with tears and Mike reached up, swiping a thumb across her soft cheek. “I’m not sure if it matters in the end if Hughes gave him the drugs that made him run off the road, or just had someone else do it. Either way, we’ll probably never get a confession. But at least we know something.”
“You’re a good woman. But then I’ve said that since we first met.”
“And I’ve said that being good doesn’t matter.” She laughed wryly through her tears. “Good hasn’t helped me much in this situation. I’m not even sure, still, that I did the right thing.”
Mike wanted to fold her in his arms and keep her safe. But this slender body that felt so good in front of him held a tiger’s spirit, and held too tightly, she would scratch. He had to learn to let her fight her own battles, even when it worried him. “You did what you thought was right. And you’re doing it now.” The door next to them opened and a bailiff stepped out.
“Loretta Christine Harper.”
Mike couldn’t help himself. “Loretta Christine?”
She frowned a mock frown. “Not one word, mister. That is what it says on my driver’s license. Just sit here and pray for me the entire time that I’m in there. Got it?”
“Got it. Loretta.” Oh, there was a bit of fun to be had with this one, Mike was sure. Lori stood up, ran damp hands down her tailored black pants and walked into the chambers with the bailiff who had called her name.
Hey, Lord. What’s this Loretta business about? No matter what I’m supposed to call her, be with her in there.
Mike couldn’t sit on the bench while she was in there. It felt better pacing. So he paced, for over an hour until Lori came out. And then he held her while she cried for a while, which she assured him was due to tears of relief. He wasn’t sure if that was all she was feeling, but he held her and let her cry. And then he took her home.
Her apartment in Union was nice. It wasn’t as convenient as the green house, of course, but knowing that his mother arranged it from one of their good rental properties, Mike knew it was nice.
“Now, aren’t you proud of me for not checking this out earlier?” Mike asked as he parked in front of the building. “I could have done that, you know. I mean, it’s only a process of elimination on how many properties we deal with over here.”
“But you were a good, honest person and did what you were supposed to.” Lori leaned over and hugged him before she got out of the car. “I know how hard that was for you, and I really respect you for doing it. But at the same time I’m really glad that you can know where I am now.”
“That makes two of us.” Mike got out of the car and followed her up the stairs to her door. “You’re going to have to start letting me act like a gentleman, though. I haven’t opened a door for you in ages.”
“And you probably won’t unless I’m carrying Mikayla.” Lori unlocked the door and called into the apartment, “We’re home. I brought Mike with me. Or if you want to get really picky, he brought me.”
“Good.” Gloria came out from the kitchen. “I got spaghetti sauce going so you don’t have to cook. And we can’t really stay and have it with you, because I left a batch in the slow cooker at home. Kayla’s asleep, thank heavens. This time she and I seemed to get along better.”
“Of course. She’s getting to be more fun every day, isn’t she?”
Gloria nodded. “I love the noises she makes. She has this brilliant look, like she wants to just open her mouth and start a real conversation.”
“She gets that from her mother,” Mike quipped, earning himself a poke in the ribs. “Oof. Think we should go home, Mom?”
“Not yet. I want to hear how everything went. And I have to give Lori her messages. Between here and the office, relaying phone calls gets complicated.”
“I’ll say. I’m glad that won’t have to last much longer,” Lori said. “Let me fill you in on what I can, and you can give me my messages. Although I can’t imagine that any of them are terribly important or you would have taken care of them at work for me.”
“I did, when I got in there this morning. All of them that I could,” Gloria said. “There was one that wasn’t related to work, from a man who left a number. He said his name was Carl Brenner and he needed to talk to you as soon as possible.”
Although the name meant nothing to his mother, Mike could see it meant something to Lori. She turned pale, standing still for a moment, then seemed to shake things off just as quickly. “Great. I’ll call him back when I can. Let me get us both something to drink while we talk. That grand jury stuff is thirsty work. And I know the baby will want to eat the moment she wakes up. So if I’m going to put my feet up and have a cold drink, it better be soon.”
Mike wished Tyler had been home. That would have given him something to do while the women talked. As it was, he felt like a third wheel during the conversation. “When do we need to pick Tyler up from school?” he asked, pretty sure he knew the answer already.
“Not until four. He’s
staying with the day care kids just for today. Unless you want to go get him and bring him back for me. That would be wonderful,” Lori said with a smile.
“I’ll do it. If they’ll let me pick him up.”
“You and your mom are the only ones they’ll release him to besides me. If anybody gives you any trouble, you can give them Tyler’s password.”
“I don’t even have to ask what that is,” Mike said. “It has to be fire engine.”
“You know us way too well.” Lori shook her head.
Not always, Mike thought, wondering who the strange man in Lori’s life was that made her heart miss a beat just by the mention of his name in conversation. Until today he would have said that his name was the only one that could make her falter like that. It bore thinking about.
A week later Mike was even more confused. Lori came to work at the office every day now, instead of doing most of her work from the apartment where she could hide out. And she came to work whistling and humming and went home that way. But there seemed to be something contained, almost distant about her in an odd way.
The strangest part was that she was radiantly happy. At first he thought that was just because the weight of the grand jury testimony was off her shoulders. When he brought that up, she seemed glad that it was over, but not ecstatic. She and Gloria had several conversations behind closed doors, which he wondered about.
The strangest thing was that his mother accepted an invitation to dinner at Lori’s apartment without ever once suggesting that she cook at the house instead, and have the Harpers over. That was so odd that Mike had to remark on it, even though he was invited along. For all the satisfaction he got asking his mother questions about the whole event, he might as well have talked to his computer screen.
It wasn’t about Hank and his mom. That much he knew, because the older couple had “gone public” as they put it, and lunched together several times a week, even at the Town Hall. Everybody in Friedens probably knew they were an item by now.
