by Unknown
"Ma!"
"What? I'm an old lady. We say what's on our mind in case we lose our mind before we get another chance."
Katie's face reddened as she offered her hand to Clara. Clara chuckled but ignored the other woman's outstretched hand, instead grabbing her up in a hug. "No one's a stranger round here."
***
Katie hugged the older woman back still uncertain about what she saw. The front door to Clara's house was open and light flooded the stoop in front of it. From where she stood, Katie could see a large entry, one that seemed very out of place in what appeared to be a tiny cabin.
"It is very nice to see you again, Mrs. James."
"Oh, please, I'm not that old. Just call me Clara."
"Um, okay… Clara."
Clara turned to Kaiden. "She's adorable. Even cuter than I remembered."
Kaiden winked at Katie. "I know, right? That nurse's uniform didn't do a thing for her."
"Those scrubs you all wear are nothing like those adorable little dresses nurses wore in my day."
"Scrubs are a lot more practical though."
"Hmmm… I suppose you're right. Well, it's nice to see you again just the same. Kaiden, bring her inside. I'm going to go right quick and make sure the chicken coop is secure. Wolves…" She smiled at Katie. "Dang things get hungry and my chickens aren't all that smart enough to get out of the way."
Clara headed off toward the edge of the lighted clearing. Kaiden took Katie by the elbow and turned her toward the cabin. They stepped inside the cavernous entryway. It was even larger than it had looked from the driveway.
Kaiden closed the door behind them.
"What about your mother?"
"The wolves are terrified of her and Betsy. She has lived up here by herself for a long time."
"Betsy?"
"All her guns have names. The one she likes best is that old shotgun. She calls it Betsy."
"All her guns?"
"A hobby. Come on, let me show you around."
Clara James's hobby is to collect firearms on top of a mountain. This James family held a lot of surprises.
Katie couldn't imagine what there was to see, there couldn't be much left of the cabin. She followed Kaiden through a door and gasped. They had stepped into a massive great room with a kitchen and dining area on one end and huge living area taking up the rest of the space. An enormous flat screen television hung on the far wall surrounded by a brown leather sectional sofa.
Kaiden pointed toward the seating area. "Ma's newest acquisitions. She loves a good football game and got tired of going into town to see games on Sunday so she had the living room decked out theater style and a satellite dish the size of Staunton installed outside."
"Your mom is a go big or go home kind of person, isn't she?"
"No one has ever described her quite so well. Wait until you see the bedrooms and bathrooms." He led her down a long hall pointing out Clara's room, his twin brother's room, and Logan's room. At the end of the hall they stopped in front of a closed door. "This is my room."
"How… this place is huge… I mean from outside…"
"It looks like a little log cabin from out front but the home is built in to the side of the mountain. Completely solid and totally safe exactly the way she likes it. Let's go in here and you can clean up in the bathroom before Ma feeds you the obligatory spread of food she always pulls out for guests."
"Okay. I could stand to wash my face. It's been a long day."
Kaiden opened the door and walked into his bedroom. Katie followed, in total awe of what she saw. It was like taking a step back in time to the old west. Rustic, carved wooden bed, colorful Mexican style blankets and upholstery and a stone floor polished to a high shine gave the room a homey feel.
"This room is beautiful."
Kaiden grinned. "I hoped you would like it." He sat on the edge of the king sized bed. He motioned to a door at the end of the room. "The bathroom is through there if you want to use it."
Katie nodded and headed toward the bathroom. Her shower that morning seemed like it was days ago. The bathroom was as large and glorious as the bedroom. Peace and calm immediately wrapped itself around her in the form of cool stone and rustic earth tones. She eyed the large open shower longingly but she knew she didn’t have time to use it. Yet. After she washed her face and used the facilities Katie returned to the bedroom to find Kaiden stretched out on the bed with his head on the pillow. He smiled when he saw her.
"What did you think of the bathroom?"
She walked over to the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress. "Everything here is amazing. I never would have guessed from the way it looks on the outside."
"Exactly what she wanted." He smiled at her and patted the pillow next to him. "Want to rest for a few minutes before we eat?"
Katie eyed the pillow with longing. The bed looked so very comfortable and she was so worn out. The little nap she had in the truck hadn't done much to take the edge off her exhaustion.
"Okay. But only for a few minutes. I don't want your mother thinking I am some kind of tramp, jumping in bed with her baby boy."
Kaiden laughed. "My mother would be so overjoyed if you were here to take advantage of me. She is afraid I'll die alone after what happened with my ex."
Katie settled against the pillow and rolled to her side so she could face Kaiden. "I think your ex-wife was a nit wit."
"A what?"
"A complete and total ass. I don't know why she couldn't appreciate what she had. If you were my…" she paused, thinking about her next words. "I mean, we all want someone to love and be loved by. Why throw it away like that?"
"People can be pretty stupid sometimes." Kaiden reached over and laced his fingers in hers. "I am finding it easier not to care so much about Cara leaving now."
She caught the huskiness in his voice again and it warmed her. "I know what you mean. If only we could find Nathan. Then I can have my life back."
"Tomorrow we will pick him up at his parent's place and then this will be over. I am hoping you and I will be able to—"
"Kaiden! Where are you?" Clara's voice echoed down the hall and through the open door to the bedroom.
"Be right there, Ma!"
Clara stood in the doorway. "What are you screaming for, son? I'm old but I'm not deaf."
Katie sat up, feeling the heat in her face at being caught in bed with Kaiden. "I'm… we…"
"Relax, honey, you two aren't teenagers and I'm not gonna call your parents." Clara still had her shotgun slung over her shoulder.
"Chickens all right, Ma?" Kaiden asked as he stood up next to the bed.
"Caught me a wolf with ole' Betsy here. He was stalking the coop and dared to bare his teeth to me." Clara laughed as she turned to walk out the door.
Kaiden motioned to Katie to follow him as he headed down the hall toward the kitchen. Her stomach let out a large growl. It had been hours since she had eaten last. She hoped they were heading straight toward that massive spread Kaiden had promised her.
***
Kaiden followed his mother to the kitchen. The rumble of Katie's stomach had set his own to complaining.
"What do you have to eat, Ma? We're famished."
Clara laughed. "What do I have to eat? Aren't you a funny boy? Here, help me put some things out." She went to the fridge and started pulling out plates of food. Chunks of ham, a bowl of mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Kaiden juggled the dishes to the table while his mother followed with a jug of milk. Katie hovered by a chair, eyeing the food as it made it onto the tabletop. Kaiden grabbed some plates and silverware while Clara set out three glasses. After dishing up three plates and heating the food, the three of them sat down and began to eat.
"This ham is delicious," Katie managed between mouthfuls.
"Ma gets everything butchered fresh. No supermarket meat department for her."
"I had no idea what a difference it could make. I've never been much of a meat eater and now I think I know why. M
mmm… it really is delicious." Katie was close to finishing her plate and Kaiden liked the way she actually ate food rather than picking at the plate and pretending she wasn't hungry.
"So, Katie, I never got to thank you properly for taking such good care of my boy here."
Kaiden felt the heat in his cheeks when his mother leaned over and mussed his hair. Katie smiled around her ham and replied, "I was just doing my job, ma'am, but I appreciate your thanks."
"You went well beyond your job in ensuring Kaiden's comfort. We all appreciate it."
"By all she means me and her," Kaiden interrupted.
"And your brother Keegan. If we hadn't been able to trust Miss Katie here, we wouldn't have ever left the hospital. The staff would have been fed up with me gettin' in all their business!"
"I'm sure it wouldn't have been that bad."
"Oh, you don't know how challenging we James' can be." Kaiden and Clara dissolved in a fit of laughter.
"Well, I am very glad I was able to be there and make sure Kaiden's wound healed correctly."
"I think he got some pretty personal care—you definitely made him a lot less ornery!'
"Ma! What are you doing?"
"Just expressing my gratitude, son." Clara grinned at him.
"Like I said, taking care of him was my job." Katie winked at him. "The extra attention was because I wanted him to be comfortable."
"And then my son left the hospital without so much as bidding you a good bye. So, how did you end up back in each other's company?"
"It's work. And you know I can't—"
"Talk about work… yes, I am well aware of the secrets you keep." Turning to Katie she whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "If you get mixed up with my boy he will keep you in the dark all the time. Better be sure you have some thick skin."
"Mother, will you please stop?"
Clara raised her hands in surrender. "Okay! Okay, I give up. Not another word about your job. Easy to do since I know nothing about it."
"Ma!"
"Moving on then. Tell me, Katie, do you like chocolate cake?"
"Absolutely." Katie pushed her empty plate forward. "It's my favorite desert."
Clara rose from the table and carried the dirty dishes to the sink. She returned with a layer cake and some fresh plates. She cut and served a piece to each of them before speaking again.
"So, what brings the two of you to my door this evening?"
"Work. I told you on the phone that I ran into Katie as a part of a case."
"And that case has you bringing this young lady home to hang out with your mother?"
"Sort of. I'm after a suspect and intel says he is holed up here at his family's vacation home."
"Are you here after the Marks boy?"
Katie choked on her cake. Kaiden shot her a look but she just drank from her glass of milk and pretended nothing happened.
"What makes you say that, Ma?"
"Because the Marks family has the biggest vacation home in the area and after spending months locked up tight, it's been busier than a methadone clinic on Christmas Eve."
"What do you know about the Marks family, Mom?"
Clara shrugged. "What everyone knows I guess. They are wealthy, involved in politics. Maureen Marks sometimes stays out here alone, probably to have a break from all the pompous asses in and out of her house on the coast all the time."
"Is she here now?" Kaiden asked.
"Not too sure. Someone is though and I have heard it was the son. Of course, that's just old ladies gossiping in the supermarket."
"What else are they saying in the supermarket?"
"Not much at all. Maureen is the quiet sort and that boy of hers has always been involved in one scheme or another so I figured if he was the one holed up at the Marks place then he had to be in some sort of fix."
"Mrs. Marks is actually a very sweet, kind woman," Katie said. "She was never anything but nice to me. Unlike Nathan."
"Oh, so you know the Marks family?" Clara asked, her curiosity evident.
"I was engaged to Nathan."
"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! You don't say?"
"We… um… we broke up a while back. Among his other issues, Nathan has difficulty being faithful."
"I am so sorry to hear that." Clara's words were kind but not really sympathetic. Kaiden caught the sly look his mother passed to him. She was no more sorry that Katie's engagement had ended than Kaiden. If he knew his mother, she already had their wedding planned and he hadn't even confirmed to Clara that there was a reason to plan a wedding.
Because, technically, there isn't.
After they caught up with Nathan the next day he was going to have a real sit down with Katie and see what—if anything—really existed between them. Besides red hot hormones and explosive chemistry.
Yes, after they had Nathan.
Kaiden's phone began to vibrate in his pocket. "Damn, I forgot to call Hunter when we got here." He fished the phone out of his pocket and hit the answer button. "Hey boss, give me a minute." There was a rumble of choice words that he chose to ignore as he turned to his mother and Katie. "You two behave. Ma, no baby pictures or anything. I'll be right back."
He strode out of the kitchen, the echo of female laughter following him. He knew women and leaving them alone together could be dangerous. His mother was a nosy old goat and with Katie so sweet and trusting she would fall right in to Clara's web of questions without even realizing Clara had conducted an entire interview for a potential daughter in law.
Putting the phone to his ear again, he greeted his boss. "Hunter. Sorry. It took longer than I thought to get up here and then you know my mother. Everyone had to eat."
"Clara still making those sandwiches out of whole sides of beef?" He could hear Hunter smacking his lips.
"She doesn't know any other way. All those years of feeding three starving teenaged boys, I guess."
"I should have come with you. It's been a long time since I've had a meal that didn't come out of a paper sack or a freezer carton."
"Some other time, Hunter. Take a vacation or something."
"Maybe you could bring me a little care package?" Hunter's plea humored him.
"I'll see what I can do. Now, what do I need to know?"
"Marks is there. He's got a couple of body guards, his personal assistant, and that's it."
"Mom says there's been a lot of vehicle traffic."
"You told your mother why you were there?" Hunter snapped. "You know better."
"Yeah, and you know my mother. She was on that from the second I pulled into the driveway. She compared the Marks compound to a methadone clinic."
Hunter let out a loud guffaw. "She didn't!"
"She definitely did. All she knows is I am here to find Marks and that Katie used to be… used to date him." For some reason he couldn't bring himself to say that Katie had been engaged to another man.
"Well, your mom has a gift for figuring things out. I suppose you ought to thank her sometime."
"For what?"
"She gave you the genes that made you into a crack investigator."
Compliments were rare from his boss so he took it as such. "I'll be sure to write it in her Christmas card, Hunter. Anything else I need to know?"
"Local LEOs are set to meet you at noon tomorrow. I don't really think this guy is dangerous. The intel coming in says his only job was to get access to the lab. I think he was too much of a pansy to be involved in anything else. Guys like Nathan Marks don't like to dirty their soft, delicate hands."
"Where is this intel coming from?"
"James. This is Homeland Security—we have access!" Hunter burst into a round of laughter at his own bad joke. Kaiden waited him out before speaking again.
"Send me a satellite photo of the compound to my cell when we hang up. I want to see where all the entrances are so I can make a plan."
"Not a problem, James. Keep me updated."
"Will do."
"And don't forget to bring
me that doggy bag. There will be a little something in it for you come annual review time." Hunter sounded serious but Kaiden knew he was joking. At least, he hoped so. John Hunter really needed a woman in his life.
Kaiden let out a heavy sigh. "Got it boss."
"One more thing."
"Yeah?"
"Fingerprints came back on the elevator thing."
Kaiden had forgotten about that. "One of Marks' guys?"
"Nope. The security guard at the hospital."
"Son of a bitch. Seriously?"
"He has already been arrested by the locals."
"He give any reason why?"
Hunter laughed. "You won't believe it."
"Try me." At this point he would probably believe anything.
"He said he didn't like you."
"So he tried to kill us?"
"Not Katie, just you."
"No way." Kaiden couldn't help but laugh. "A little extreme, don't you think?"
"The old guy's a little off his rocker they say."
"A little?"
"He's actually excited about going to jail. Sad."
"Very sad."
"Okay, James, I'm outta here for the night. Keep in touch."
"Sure thing, boss." He hung up the call and stowed his phone back in his pocket.
As he was about to return to Katie and his mother, it rang again. The name Keegan flashed on the screen. His twin brother rarely called only to chat.
"Hey, Kee, what's up?"
"Just checking in. You blew out of Logan's reception pretty quick the other night."
"Work, man. You know how it is." Keegan had recently left the FBI and was taking a little break before joining the border patrol. He would be working out of Hampton Roads, the area of Virginia where Virginia Beach and Norfolk were. He was excited to have his brother nearby—life got a little lonely sometimes. It would be nice to have family to have a beer with once in a while.
"Yeah. Mom called earlier. She said you were at her place. With that cute little nurse from the hospital. Had any sponge baths lately?" His usually stoic brother seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
