With that, she was gone and the three men exchanged relieved looks. Floyd looked back to make sure Daisy was out of the room before snorting and saying, “It wasn’t pretty. His throat was cut from ear to ear and he was totally covered with blood.”
Mike shook his head. “Mexican Mafia?”
He could tell that Floyd didn’t want to speculate just yet, but he nodded and said, “Kind of looks that way. What was that you said about that distributer of his by the name of José?”
Mike had a feeling he knew where this was going. “Yeah, well, this guy José was kind of second in command. And he was the one I had the most contact with before but he seemed to have disappeared about the time I got shot. At least, that’s what they told me at the agency at the time.”
Floyd looked straight at him. “Do you think you could call someone and find out if they have anything new on the guy’s whereabouts?”
Mike thought for a moment. “Sure. Ollie said that if I needed anything at all just to call him.” He grinned. “I’m sure he wasn’t talking about something like this but I’ll see if I can get the info anyway.”
After a couple of minutes of getting the run-around from Ollie on the phone, Mike grew angry and said, “Look Ollie, Sheriff McCracken is sitting right here with me and he found Hershel Hollis’ body this morning and it looks Mexican. All we want to know is if José is back in the area or do we need to be looking for someone else?”
“Okay Mike, settle down. You don’t have to get all riled up now. I can tell you that much but no more. You know the regulations as well as I do. Yes, José is back in the area and if I were to make an educated guess as to who did Hollis in, he’d my number one boy.”
After he disconnected the phone, Mike filled Floyd and Jason in on what he’d learned.
Floyd slapped his thigh and said, “That’s exactly what I figured.” Then he looked at Mike. “Do you think you might be in any danger from José now?”
Mike thought about that for a moment then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. You see, José is obviously not a local and doesn’t feel threatened by me knowing about him like Hollis was. He’s the type of guy who’ll just hop back across the border any time things get too hot for him here. It looks like that’s what he did back in January.”
Floyd frowned and said, “Yeah, but it looks like he came back here to take over this time.”
“Yes, I think you’re probably right. But José is one of those macho types who thinks no one can touch him and he won’t be concerned about me anymore especially after my getting shot.”
Floyd shook his head and picked his hat up off the coffee table. “I sure hope you’re right. Got to go.”
With that, he was gone, leaving Mike hoping he could get back together with Daisy. But just then Sarah called everyone to dinner.
* * *
Daisy had wanted to sit next to Mike at dinner but Lucy beat her to it. The little girl hopped into a chair on one of the long sides of the table, patted the seat next to her, and said, “Mike sit here . . . please.” Then she patted the seat on her other side and said, “Mommy, you can sit here.”
Mike’s eyes were on Daisy and she blushed but managed to smile and say. “I guess we have our orders now.”
Mike laughed and ruffled Lucy’s hair. All sorts of strange emotions flooded Daisy as she watched Mike’s large hand on top of her daughter's head. But she liked it. You couldn’t fake that touch.
Jason had apparently heard what Lucy said, so he pulled the chair away from the table so Mike could wheel his chair into the now vacant spot.
Once they were seated, Daisy looked over Lucy’s head at Mike and felt those emotions again. He was grinning down at Lucy as he listened to her telling him a story about something that had happened in her first week of pre-school.
Again, Daisy was so thankful she’d been able to get Lucy into the program. She just knew it was going to be great for her little girl to be able to play with other kids her age, not to mention all the things she would learn while she was there.
But, Daisy had hoped to be able to talk to Mike during dinner without having to talk over the top of Lucy’s head. Even that was denied to her since Lucy kept up a steady stream of chatter all through the meal. Daisy still could do nothing but look down at her little girl and smile to see her so happy.
She looked across the table at her parents and they were doing it again. They both had that knowing look on their faces again. She was going to have to remember to ask her mom about that later.
When the meal was over, Daisy looked down and saw that Lucy was starting to droop a little. She looked over at Mike and said, “I hate to eat and run but I think nap time is a little overdue.”
She was pleased to see that Mike was visibly disappointed that she was leaving. That was great. Wasn’t it?
He leaned across Lucy who was rubbing her eyes now and with a serious face said, “Will the two of you do me the honor of accompanying me to the steak house tomorrow evening?”
She laughed at his formal wording and could plainly see that even though he had asked in a playful manner that he was very serious.
“Yes, Mike, we would love to.” She leaned closer and whispered in his ear as he leaned to meet her. “But you don’t have to take Lucy too.”
He leaned back and said, “Oh but I want to, at least the first time.”
“Does that imply that there will be more times?”
“You know it does, at least as far as I’m concerned. But this time though you’ll need to drive. Okay?”
“Okay. But right now, I’d better grab my parents so we can get sleepyhead home.”
Once Daisy had Lucy down for her nap, she stepped out into the living room where her parents were sitting together on the sofa. She took a seat across from them and said, “Well, this has been quite a day. First, Mike gets some feeling back and then we learn that Hollis was killed.”
Frank, ever the cop, said, “Somebody saved the taxpayers a bundle of money on that one.”
“Frank!” Connie elbowed her husband lightly in the ribs. Then she looked at Daisy and her face became serious. “Nevertheless, according to the sheriff, it appears that you are no longer in danger and I would say that my feelings agree with him.”
Her dad placed his arm around her mom’s shoulders. “Yes, we think that if we stay here any longer we’ll just be getting in the way of something that’s about to happen.”
She was shocked. How did they pick up on that? Then she remembered those knowing looks between the two of them. She started to protest, but her mom said, “No Dear. No need to deny it. Everyone there today could see that you and Mike both only had eyes for each other. The rest of us might as well have not even been there.”
She was blushing now. “But . . .”
“And, I might add, that we’re pleased.” Her mom said, as Daisy’s blush deepened.
She turned to look at her dad, knowing he would say something now.
“Don’t worry Kitten. We will be just fine back in Florida knowing that you and Lucy are out of danger now.”
Connie spoke up again. “We’ll plan to be back for Thanksgiving, and we’ll probably all be meeting at Chet’s house up in St. Louis, okay?”
“Sure Mom. But you don’t have to rush off you know.”
They spent an enjoyable evening playing cards and Daisy went to bed glad that they had come. She hadn’t realized how much she missed them. Well, she’d just have to see what she could do about seeing them more often. Lucy sure would love it.
As Daisy lay in bed later, she thought back to the events of the past week or two. My, so many things had happened that were causing big changes in her life . . . and her daughter’s too.
Was it all good? She sure hoped it was. But as she thought about it though, she couldn’t think of a single thing that was bad. Best of all was that she was really getting to know Mike and she definitely liked what she was learning. She did want to pursue something with him.
That
was a first for her. She hadn’t even wanted to much more than talk to another man in the three years since Richard had died. Why now? Why Mike? She wasn’t really sure, but she knew one thing for sure. She was going to find out.
Then a sudden thought hit her. Until she began spending time with Mike and Sarah even Karen, she hadn’t realized how lonely she had been. Well she certainly wasn’t lonely anymore. She had friends to turn to. She had Mike to . . . What?”
She fell asleep with those thoughts going around in her mind and with a smile on her face.
Chapter Nine
For the second day in a row, Mike woke up with that strong feeling of expectation going through his whole body. This time though, he knew why he had that feeling. He was going to the high school this morning to talk to Ron about going back to teaching. He couldn’t believe how excited he was.
He slid his legs out of bed without having to use his hands very much to drag them. That felt great!
He looked over at his wheelchair and the urge to try to stand was so strong that he had to work hard to fight it off. Karen had been adamant when she had repeatedly warned him never to try to stand without her and the bars at PT. She said she would tell him when that would be safe. So he was able to quell that urge, but just barely.
After he showered and dressed, he wheeled into the kitchen where his mom was all smiles when she greeted him. She walked over to where he had paused his wheelchair in the doorway, leaned down, and hugged him.
“What was that for?”
She stepped back and continued to smile down at him. “I’m just so thrilled that you’re getting better . . . and also that you’re going back into teaching.”
A thoughtful look passed over her face and he wanted to ask her what had happened but she spoke tentatively to him then.
“Son, I want to tell you something that your dad and I always felt very strongly but didn’t dare say to you before.”
She certainly had his attention with that statement. “What is it Mom?”
“Well, I hope you won’t be upset now.” She pulled a chair out and sat down to face him before continuing.
“You see, there was much more to the fact that we wanted you to become a teacher. It wasn’t just because we were teachers.”
She paused, seemingly, to let that sink in. “Your dad and I taught for thirty years and we were able to observe hundreds of teachers in that amount of time.”
She paused to take a deep breath and let it out. “Well, we realized that there are some people who became good teachers because they work hard at it until they accomplish their goal. Then there is another group who really never become good teachers no matter how hard they try or don’t try, which is the case for some.”
She reached across the table, pulled a coffee cup over to her and took a sip before continuing. “But there is yet another group. They are the ones who are naturally great teachers and they just become even better the more they teach.”
She stopped and reached out to touch his hand on the wheelchair arm. “Mike, you’re one of those natural teachers and it does my heart good to see you going back into teaching. I just know that you love teaching.”
He couldn’t believe it. His eyes had grown moist. He struggled to speak. “Yes Mom. I do love to teach and talking with Daisy this past week has helped me realize just how much. I was telling her some about my time with DEA when I realized that the happiest times were the times when I was undercover working as a teacher. And yes, I am looking forward to getting back into it.”
She stood and hugged him again before going over to the counter to get his breakfast then she sat it on the table in front of where he had just maneuvered his chair.
After that, they ate their breakfast in a comfortable silence before getting ready to go to the high school.
As his mom was pushing him through the double doors at the entrance to the high school building, Mike was thinking back to the last time he’d been in this building. It had been a Thursday, the day he had been shot. He’d just finished giving a test in his last class but had decided to grade them later.
He had been anxious to check out a lead he’d picked up on the whereabouts of Hennesey, the man who had kidnapped Floyd’s daughter. It had turned out to be a good lead and he’d found the location just as Floyd had arrived. And now, for the first time, he could freely think of the rest of that night even though that was how he’d wound up in this wheelchair.
He was surprised. He had forced himself not to think about that night since it happened. Now he found that he could easily think about it and somehow he knew he wouldn’t be having a nightmare about it tonight.
With that euphoric feeling giving him a boost, he shook Ron’s hand after his mom pushed him into Ron’s office and backed out.
Ron took his seat behind his desk and gave Mike a hard look. “Does this unexpected visit mean what I think it means?”
He ended that question with a smile and Mike smiled back at him and said, “If you’re thinking that I’m ready to come back to teach, then you would be right.”
Ron clapped his hands together and said, “That’s great Mike. I sure didn’t expect to see you back this soon but I meant it when I said I’d hold your job as long as it took. I’m just glad that it was sooner than later. It’s so much better for your sake as well as for the students too. They really need to have continuity and now they’ll get it.”
Mike chuckled. “You don’t have to convince me. I’ve been sitting around my house for the past six months and I’m about to go crazy. I’m ready in more ways than one.”
He pushed his wheelchair around to where Ron could see his feet and raised first his right foot then the left off the footrest. Ron slapped his hand on the desk and said, “Mike, that’s fantastic. I’m happy for you.”
They talked about some of the details for a few minutes and decided that Mike would come in tomorrow and work with the substitute teacher for the rest of the week then be on his own again next Monday.
Ron stood and said, “Why don’t we go down to your first hour class and tell them right now.” He chuckled. “And I’m sure the rest of the school will know before noon.”
He shook his head. “Man have those kids ever been pestering me, wanting to know when you were coming back.”
Mike allowed Ron to push him down the hallway to his old room. On the way, he couldn’t help but marvel at how everything seemed to be coming together for him now after so long a time of nothing but frustration. Great!
When Ron pushed Mike into the classroom, it suddenly became completely quiet then all the students stood and cheered. That did him in. He had to turn his head in order to wipe his eyes. He wasn’t even going to think about the significance of him getting teary eyed. But it actually felt mighty good.
He felt mighty good.
* * *
Daisy awakened that morning more refreshed than she’d been for a couple of weeks. She felt as if a heavy load had been lifted off her shoulders.
She knew she’d been under a great deal of stress lately, but hadn’t realized how much until Floyd had told them that Mike and therefore she and Lucy were no longer in danger from Hollis. It was as if she’d been set free.
Then, when she thought some more about it, she realized that wasn’t the only reason for her happiness. Happiness? Yes, that was exactly how she felt right now and it felt absolutely great.
Of course, the next question was why. Why did she feel this way? She had to say that first of all it was Lucy and her parents. It had been reemphasized to her this past week just how much each of them meant to her.
Then she had to admit that Mike had a great deal to do with her happiness right then too. Yesterday, when she'd watched him talking and actually listening to Lucy, she’d felt something very powerful. She knew that four-year-olds could be rather tiring at times especially if you weren’t used to them. And Mike not only wasn’t used to Lucy, he hadn’t been used to anyone in his house for six months.
Yes, she was
beginning to think that Mike was a very special person in many different ways. And she was determined to get to know him even better, especially now that they didn’t have to worry about Hollis anymore.
When she finally made it into the kitchen, her parents were both sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in front of them. Lucy was sitting on her grandpa’s lap with a pout on her face.
Daisy was about to ask her what was wrong when she looked up at Daisy and said, “Make them stay, Mommy.”
Daisy looked at her mom who was giving her a pleading look and tried to smile down at Lucy. “Honey Grandma and Grandpa have to go back to their home. It was nice that they could come for a visit but they have things they need to do back in Florida. And you need to get ready for pre-school.”
Lucy seemed to think about that for a moment then she jumped down and said, “I got to get ready for pre-school.”
As soon as she was gone, Daisy’s dad said, “Thanks Kitten. We weren’t getting anywhere with her. We should have realized that mentioning pre-school would do the trick.”
Daisy laughed and said, “I think she was about ready to accept that you were leaving anyway, but she just needed to hear it from me too.”
His face grew serious and he said, “Now that she’s out of the room, I’d like to talk to my favorite daughter.”
That always made her laugh. “Dad! You know I’m your only daughter.”
That was when her mother jumped in. “Yes, Dear, we would like to talk to you, both of us that is.”
Daisy poured herself a cup of coffee then pulled out a chair across from them and waited for the awkward questions she knew were coming.
Connie took in a deep breath and started. “Your father and I have been observing you and Mike.”
“Mom!”
“No Dear. Please let me finish. We’re not going to try to tell you what to do. No not at all. We just want you to be happy.”
The Only Solution (Crowley County Series Book 3) Page 14
