The Next Ten: Beginnings Series Books 11 - 20

by Jacqueline Druga

  “Fuck.” Frank bent down and picked up the papers.

  “Sorry. I didn’t see you.” Robbie bent down to help.

  “I’m six foot fuckin three. How can you not see me?”

  “You looked smaller today, Frank.”

  “Oh.”

  Robbie lifted a sheet of paper. His eyes cased it. “Shit, Frank, you aren’t still reading this are you?”

  “Yeah. Actually that’s a new chapter. I threatened Danny for it. I can’t believe I’m reading.” Frank stood up with the papers.

  “Porno.”

  “No. It’s a graphic love story.” Frank rolled the sheets up and put them in his back pocket. “Besides, this Helen and Bobby story is getting good. Not to ruin anything for you but . . .” Frank dropped his voice to a whisper as if someone would hear, “There’s a brother involved.” Frank winked.

  Robbie swallowed. “You, uh, don’t say.”

  “Yeah and this Helen person is having an affair with . . .”

  Fear struck Robbie when he saw the far off look hit Frank. Did it suddenly dawn on Frank? Did Frank finally realize who Helen and Bobby were? Robbie got ready to take off in a run for the sanctuary of the chapel. “Frank?”

  “What’s up with Jenny? She looks like she’s trying to flirt with Hal.”

  First Robbie sighed a silent breath of relief, and then he looked over his shoulder to where Frank was watching. Jenny puppy dogged behind Hal, talking. Hal kept moving. Robbie snickered. “She probably is flirting. She likes him. El’s trying to fix them up.”

  “That would be so fuckin funny.”

  Robbie laughed. “Yeah. Hey, gotta go. See ya at the competition.”

  “No way. I’ll see you in the chapel.”

  Robbie stopped cold in his walking. “You’re, uh, coming to church.”

  “Yeah, if for nothing else but to ridicule you.”

  “You’re gonna heckle me in church?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  Robbie blinked a few times and started walking. “Thanks.”

  “Sure.” Frank looked away from Robbie and back to Jenny and Hal. Jenny had stopped him. Frank grinned. He had an idea.

  “Andrea is the noodle queen,” Jenny rambled, blocking Hal from going anywhere. “With the noodles she makes, the long flat ones, I make a wonderful lasagna. Have you had lasagna in a while?”

  “Can’t say that I have.” Hal seemed on edge.

  “What a shame.” Jenny took a deep breath, raising her big bosoms--which poked through her cleavage--with it. “So.”

  “So, I think services are . . .”

  “We have a few minutes. I was making a chicken tonight. And . . .” Jenny smiled and shifted her eyes when she saw Frank, not-so-subtly, sneaking their way. “I was wondering if . . .” Frank came closer. “If you would like to join me for dinner tonight?”

  Hal opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. In irritation, he turned his head to the hyena type laughing that came from Frank, who inched his way to him. “Frank!”

  “Hey.” Frank cleared his throat. “I couldn’t help but notice how cute of a couple you two make.”

  Jenny perked up and smiled. “Thank you.”

  Hal clenched his jaws. “Excuse me.” He took a step away. “Jenny, thank you for the invitation, but I can’t. Thank you again.”

  Like a lost little girl, Jenny with such disappointment on her face, watched Hal walk away.

  “Man.” Frank shook his head. “Can you believe that?”

  “He turned me down,” Jenny spoke, so upset.

  “And a dinner invitation. What the hell? Did you, uh, tell him you’d have sex with him?”

  “No.”

  “There you have it. You should have . . .”

  “Frank!” Jenny snapped as she turned to face him. “See. See. This is why I want a Bowman man. They aren’t dogs like Beginnings men.”

  “No, their fuckin pansies in sissy uniforms.”

  Jenny gasped. “I’m telling.”

  “Who?”

  “Hal.”

  Frank fluttered his lips. “Go on. He’ll tell you I’m right. He’ll say, ‘Frank’s cool. He’s right and . . . whoa.” Frank reached out and snatched Jenny by the arm when she started to walk away. “There is a reason I came over here.”

  “To scare Hal away? To sound so, so . . . Frank.”

  “Yeah.”

  “What?” Jenny folded her arms.

  “O.K., I have an idea. You and El are close, right?”

  “We’ve bonded, yes.”

  “Oh yeah?” Frank snickered. “Like the women at the House of Lesbians?”

  Jenny held back her disgust. “Yes, Frank just like that. We share intimate moments on a regular basis.”

  “Oh wow.”

  “Frank.”

  “What?”

  “What did you want?”

  “When?”

  Jenny growled. “This is why Ellen wants no part of . . .”

  “That’s it!” Frank snapped his finger and darted before Jenny to stop her. “O.K. I happen to know that my brother Hal has . . .” Frank cleared his throat. “He uh, has um this interest in you. Yeah. He said it the other night.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He told me he, uh, finds you real cute in a, um, healthy sort of way. That’s it and he wanted to get to know you a little more.”

  Jenny smiled. “Why did he turn me down?”

  “He wants me to be there with him on like a double-date thing. Yep. It’s been a while for him. He needs me for confidence. And uh, since I’m the master.” Frank nodded, impressed with himself on how well he could come up with a bold lie right off the top of his head. So convincing of one too.

  “Frank, I’m not fixing you up with any women. No. Aside from the fact that they find you revolting . . .”

  “Hey!”

  “I wouldn’t do that to Ellen.” Jenny turned.

  “Unless it is Ellen.”

  Jenny stopped and turned back around. “You want me to fix you up with Ellen?”

  “Well, yeah. Sort of.” Frank stepped to her. “I know she is trying to fix you and Hal up. I just want to use you to get to her.”

  “And I get to go out with Hal?”

  “Yes.”

  “O.K., let me know when. I’ll even subtly put in a good word.”

  “Thanks.” Frank nodded and smiled as she walked away. “Now I just have to make sure Dean doesn’t mind.” Starting in his own walk to the chapel, Frank stopped cold. “Whoa. Did I just say that?” Scratching his head, he looked at the church. He nodded knowingly, assumed it was the ‘God’ thing he was about to embark on that made him think unselfishly, and moved on.

  ^^^^

  Ellen stopped to tie her shoe in her race to get to the chapel. Even though she knew services would be a little late due to the number of Dan-Trams expected in for the Neville competition, she wanted to get a good seat. After all, Robbie was officially Rev. Robbie.

  Grinning at that thought, Ellen stood up in her shoe tying excursion a few feet from the chapel doors. As she did, she felt Jenny brush by as she was racing toward the chapel.

  “Sorry.” Jenny grabbed her arm to steady a wobbling, stunned Ellen. She nearly skid to a stop and spun around, snapping her fingers. “Andrea is fussing with Alex’s hair. They aren’t in there yet.” Jenny spoke rapidly.

  “O.K.”

  “They’ll be here shortly. She wants you to wait out here.”

  “O.K.”

  “And you should really consider getting back together with Frank. Bye.”

  Before Ellen could say anything, Jenny ran into the chapel.

  “A thought that’s probably crossed your mind,” Dean’s whispering voice spoke directly behind her.

  Ellen drew up an arrogant look and turned to face him. “To say the least. Getting back with Frank, sleeping with Frank, all which are on my mind . . . constantly.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You started it.”


  “I did.” Dean held up his hand. “But right now, I need to speak to you on a medical level.”

  “Go on.” Ellen folded her arms.

  “Where is it?”

  “What?” Ellen asked.

  “Elliott . . . I mean, Sgt. Ryder’s blood work.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?” Dean stepped to her. “Did you forget?”

  “No.”

  “Did you do it?” Dean questioned.

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “We were busy,” Ellen answered.

  “You were busy last time you were in New Bowman. How long does it take you? A minute?”

  “Dean, I’ll get to it,” Ellen said.

  “When?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Today?” Dean asked.

  “Dean!” Ellen moved back. “Why are you badgering me about this? Stop it. Just stop. It’s none of your business.”

  “The hell it isn’t. We’re a team in the medical community. This is important.”

  “I’ll get to it. All right?” Ellen looked away. “I’ll get to it when I can. What difference does it make?”

  Dean was nearly aghast. “Because I want to run those tests as soon as possible.”

  “Then what?” Ellen snapped. “Huh?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Then what? Run the test, find out, then what?”

  “Deal with it.”

  “How Dean?” Ellen spoke emotionally. “How? You tell me how, then I will get those samples and run those tests, until . . .”

  “Whoa,” Dean halted her. “Even in the old world things were incurable, un-treatable, but that still did not stop us from finding out. Get the samples.”

  “He’s my patient.”

  “We’re talking about a man’s health.”

  “We’re talking about my friend.”

  “Ellen.” Dean held up his hand. “Look. Do you want me to pull rank on you?”

  Ellen laughed. “Like this is the military. Pull rank? Who do you think . . .”

  “In the Clinic,” Dean spoke sternly, “I am over you. Do the tests or I pull you.” With a warning point, Dean turned from her.

  “Fuck you.”

  Dean only looked over his shoulder at her. “The tests.” As he returned to facing forward, a huge grin crossed his face when he saw Alexandra, Billy, and Joey running his way.

  “Daddy!” Alex called out excitedly.

  “Hey!” Dean held out his arms.

  Ellen rushed to him. “Don’t touch them, Dean. You aren’t allowed.”

  “What are you gonna do, El?” Dean snapped. “Arrest me? Have me pulled away? Yeah, that’s a nice thing to do to their father.” Regaining his smile, Dean swept up Alexandra into his arms the second she reached him. “Hey.” He kissed her and held her. “I love you.”

  “I love you.” She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him.

  The deep voice of the miniature Frank bellowed out. “Hey, Dad.”

  “Hey, Joey.” Dean bent down and kissed Joey then he leaned forward and kissed Billy as well. “Hey, Bill.”

  Billy looked as if he were having his usual bad day. “When you coming home?”

  “Soon,” Dean answered and stood up straight. “Soon.”

  Ellen folded her arms tighter and rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you guys go into church? I’ll be right in.”

  Dean set Alexandra down. “Me too. We’ll all sit together. O.K.?”

  Alexandra smiled and nodded.

  Ellen walked directly behind Dean and whispered in his ear. “Dick. Make me look like the bad guy.”

  Dean grinned.

  “Daddy.” Alex tugged on his jeans. “Can we sleep over your house again tonight?”

  Dean’s eyes bulged. “Um . . .”

  “It was fun.,” Alexandra continued. “Make sure you have all kinds of Bev cookies again.”

  Dean cringed. He didn’t need to turn around to see the daggers Ellen was visually tossing him. “Alex, go in church. I’ll be right there.” Feeling the heat of Ellen’s breath hit against his neck, Dean waited until he was in an all clear scope of his children and he turned around to Ellen. “Don’t hit me.” He jumped back.

  “I’ll just get Hal to break your nose again.” Ellen stepped to him. “You took my kids. My kids . . .”

  “El, it’s not like it sounds.”

  “Really?” Ellen tilted her head. “Not only did you violate a court order, but you proceeded to bring my kids to your little Dean and Bev love nest.”

  Dean laughed. “Sorry.” He held up his hand. “Love nest. Yeah. I live in a love nest.” he laughed again. “I don’t live with Bev, Ellen. I live with Frank.”

  “Yeah, right, you expect me to believe that?” Ellen tried to get by him.

  Dean blocked her. “Ask him.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. Ask Frank.”

  “Ask me what?” Frank intruded.

  Dean stepped back from Ellen with a pointing hand to Frank. “Ask him.”

  Ellen looked at Frank. “Does Dean live with you?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Frank!” Dean snapped.

  “Liar!” Ellen yelled at Dean. “God.”

  “No. No!” Dean pulled her back.

  Frank cleared his throat with a twitch of his head. “Dean, Judge Grace. Abuse.”

  Dean quickly removed his hand. “El, I’m not lying. Frank is.”

  “What?” Frank was clueless. “What am I lying about?”

  “Living with me,” Dean said. “Please tell Ellen we live together.”

  “Oh!” Ellen scoffed. “Go on bait him into helping you cover up the fact that you live with Bev.”

  Dean nodded to Frank, “In a love nest none-the-less.”

  “How do you like that?” Frank said.

  “Frank!” Dean blasted. “You aren’t helping. She thinks I live with Bev.”

  “He doesn’t,” Frank answered.

  “Really?” Ellen had questioned to her. “Then where does he live?”

  “Um, I don’t know. Dean?” Frank asked. “Where do you live?”

  “With you, asshole.”

  “Since when?”

  “Frank!” Dean yelled.

  “What! Fuck! Don’t yell at me before church.” Frank rubbed his temple. “I’m trying here. We agreed. She wasn’t supposed to know we live in the same house.”

  Dean’s hand dropped in relief. “Thank you. El, ask any of the kids. How do you think I got them? Frank.”

  Ellen glared at Frank. “You helped break a court order.”

  “Absolutely,” Frank replied, “because that order was wrong. Wrong, El and so are you. I’m going to church now.” He backed up. “Notice the Christian in me coming out already?” Frank winked as he walked backwards. “How calm I am. Ah!” Exhaling loudly, Frank turned around and walked into the chapel.

  Dean and Ellen stood alone on the street. The bells began to ring.

  Ellen walked by him.

  Dean stopped her. “El, I don’t live with Bev. As weird as this is, Frank and I live together.”

  “Then how did Alex eat Bev cookies.”

  “We . . . we stole them.”

  Ellen was getting ready to walk away, but couldn’t. “Why would you steal cookies from Bev?”

  Dean shrugged. “We were there.”

  “We? Where?”

  “Me, Frank, and Henry. At Bev’s.”

  “One big party.”

  Dean laughed. “No. Remember the other day when Hal broke my nose? He overheard me with Bev. Well yeah, I was setting up going to her house, but I was setting it up so I could get in there and search it.”

  “For?” Ellen asked.

  “Anything,” Dean said so desperately. “Anything to prove that she’s setting me up. Anything that would tell me how and who she’s working with. I got a few ideas. We all do, but nothing concrete.”

  Ellen nodded slowly and started to walk away. She paused. “Did you
find anything?” She questioned, not looking back at Dean.

  “No. We had something. We had our hands on it, we think, but then someone, we don’t know who, came into the house and we had to run into the closet. When we came out, it was gone. So it had to be something. We have our heads together and were working on a bunch of things. I won’t say what. I don’t want you to think I’m looking for excuses. I’m just looking for answers.”

  So slightly, Ellen peered over her shoulder. “The three of you were in a closet?”

  Dean snickered as he moved closer to her and Ellen resumed looking forward. “Yeah, how about that? Get me, Frank, and Henry working on something and there’s mayhem. It was a pantry, El.”

  Ellen’s head lowered in a slight laugh.

  “Big Frank was in the middle with my nose smashed against the door and Henry with his expulsion of his nervous stomach gases . . .”

  Shaking her head, Ellen chuckled. “Must have been a sight. How did you get Bev out of the house?”

  “We didn’t. She was there. Sleeping. I uh . . . I knocked her out with an ether based pellet.” Dean’s moved to a hover over her shoulders, wanting so badly just to touch her.

  Ellen laughed. “You really knocked her out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks.” She walked to the church door and reached for it.

  “El, you believe me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thank you,” Dean said. “And . . . I won’t sit with you in church. I’m sorry to put you in that position with the . . .”

  “Dean,” Ellen hesitated. As she opened the door, her head tilted but her views were not on Dean . “It’s fine. Sit with your family.” She walked inside.

  Dean stared at the door as it closed. When it did, he clenched his fist, drew it with excitement to his chest, let out a quiet ‘yes’ with a tiny jump. Then Dean regained his composure, cleared his throat, and walked in the chapel.

  ^^^^

  Johnny saw them walk in at nearly the same time, but he didn’t think too much of it until Dean slipped into the same pew as Ellen and the kids. He perked up from his slouch in the pew, but not too obviously.

  They didn’t look angry and that bothered Johnny, but not too much. He knew he had set things in motion, a chain of events, and if one link failed, the others were surely strong enough to carry the heavy load.

  Johnny was confident.