Two Hearts Find Christmas

by Tamara Ferguson

  .

  Chapter Eleven

  Josh woke up the next morning not remembering where he was.

  But when a wet nose poked at his face, he sat up from the bed. “Good morning, Ralph,” he muttered. “I’ll bet you want out?”

  Making his way into the bathroom as quickly as possible, soon he was pulling on a T-shirt and walking through the hallway beside Ralph.

  Nina was already awake, he figured, hearing the clatter of dishes and silverware being laid on the kitchen island.

  “Hi,” she said. “You guys must have slept pretty well. I’ve been awake for at least an hour.”

  “What time is it?” Josh asked.

  “About six. I must’ve napped for a long time last night because I feel pretty well rested today.”

  “I have a watch packed away somewhere that beeps out the time for me. I used to wear a watch all the time, but for some reason I keep forgetting to put this one on. Of course, I’ve only had it for less than a couple of weeks.”

  “Yeah, you might want to get in the habit of wearing it. Although, when I take you downstairs, I have this huge battery-operated clock on the wall. You could always reach out for the hands and figure out what time it is when you’re working out.”

  Josh sniffed the air. “Gee that smells good.”

  “Bacon,” she answered, sounding like she was smiling. “I made a lot of extra food for you to eat. But I’d better take the dog out first. Why don’t you get started, and then after breakfast, we can both go outside again with Ralph so you can find your way around the property when I’m not home.”

  “Where would you like me to sit?” Josh asked, reaching out to the island surface.

  “A little to the left, there’s a stool. Take a seat. Your fork is on the left and your knife is on the right, and there’s a mug of coffee for you near the knife. On the plate you have scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. There’s another tray in the center of the island filled with hash browns. They’re all yours if you want them.”

  Josh laughed. “How many people were you planning on feeding?”

  “You don’t fool me. I’ve been watching how much you can eat when I’m having breakfast with you at the center.”

  Grinning wryly, Josh heard Nina clipping the leash on Ralph.

  “What a good boy,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Josh answered.

  Nina snorted, opening the back door. Ralph must’ve been restraining himself following her lead. “You’re a good boy too, Ralph,” she said dryly.

  Josh grinned, sitting on the stool and finding his fork as she closed the back door behind them. He was pretty good with using a fork now, but Nina had divvied his food into a deep wide bowl for him anyway.

  About five minutes later, when Nina walked back inside, Josh was already finished with his eggs and bacon and was working on the potatoes.

  “Need more coffee?” she asked.

  “Nah, I’m fine.”

  He heard the rustle of her pulling off her coat. “There’s a mudroom here, next to the back door, and there’s a bunch of hooks for coats and hats lining the wall. I’ve got the winter coat Luke gave you hanging here along with a couple extra stocking caps and pairs of gloves that should fit you if you need them. Your hooded parka is hanging in the closet of the bedroom you’re using.”

  Josh heard the click the Ralph’s nails on the hardwood floor, and he sighed as he settled nearby.

  Nina was pulling out a stool beside him and sitting down. “I figured you might want to unpack your own clothes so it would be easier for you to find them. Plus, I didn’t feel right going through your personal stuff.”

  “That’s alright. I don’t have a whole lot to hide.”

  Nina began to eat, and they talked about what would be happening the rest of the week. She was worried he’d be bored, but there was satellite television downstairs, and even a computer he’d be able to use if he wanted, since she’d enabled it for speech.

  They cleaned up the kitchen together, and soon Josh was pulling on his coat and ski mask and walking outside beside Nina holding Ralph’s leash. Frigid temperatures were coming in and it was only about twenty degrees right now at seven in the morning, but they made their way around the house and up the driveway to the road first.

  “We’re still pretty isolated out here, because of the denseness of pines, but there’re a few places, like Jake said, that it’d be easy for you to be spotted. The front of the house for one—it’s been cleared because I had all the trees and shrubs trimmed way back so I could appreciate the lakefront view.”

  “Do you still have a boathouse?” he asked, as they made their way down the drive.

  “Yep. But there’s only a canoe inside.”

  Josh nodded thoughtfully, walking along the edge of the driveway. Distinguishing landmarks, that’s what he was looking for since he couldn’t see. With a concrete ledge running along one side, it would be easy for him to follow the drive, even with accumulating snow.

  “Okay,” Josh said. “Let’s return to the back door. That’s going to be my starting point for each specific area I’ll have you lead me to.”

  “Oh—okay.”

  “Take me to your boathouse next.”

  Once they were standing near the base of the staircase again, Josh let Ralph lead, by trailing the sound of Nina’s steps. “There’s a brick path underneath the snow?”

  “Yep. How’d you guess?”

  “Tree roots are making the pattern irregular, so I should be able to find my way back and forth. Three trees on my right, along with some kind of birdbath?”

  “Right.” Nina sounded surprised. “I keep the boathouse unlocked.”

  “Okay. Let me see if I can find my back to the house from the boathouse.”

  When Josh reached the base of the staircase with Ralph only five minutes later, he heard Nina laugh. “Geez, Josh. I bet you’d be able to teach some of those newly enlisted kids a thing or two. I remember Mom used to say that Dad’s biggest frustration was training the young guys who were so damn cocky and always thought they knew it all.”

  “Yeah, I’ve met a few of those myself. In fact, I’ve seen more than a couple of soldiers lose their lives overseas because of their inability to follow orders,” he said quietly.

  “I’m sorry, Josh,” Nina said softly as her gloved hand clasped his.

  “Yeah, me, too, Nina. Some of these kids enlist, not knowing at all what they’re getting into when they do. They’re stupidly expecting some kind of excitement or adventure. I’d break your heart to see what happens sometimes over there when you’re forced to face reality.”

  Josh sighed heavily. He was beginning to have some thoughts about the future, and it’d be especially helpful to create a course of action if his vision never returned. It would keep his mind occupied this upcoming week developing a plan before running his idea past Jake.

  “Okay,” he finally said. “Let’s do one more area. There’s a small sandy beach on your property, right?”

  “Yep, it’s still there.”

  “Lead the way.”

  He followed Nina again, and this path was the easiest yet cause the edge of the beach began only a few yards away from the wooden steps running down from the edge of the patio, recently added beside Nina’s house. They stood on the beach for a few brisk moments, until he heard Nina’s teeth begin to chatter.

  “Time to get back,” Josh said. “Sorry, Nina.”

  “I’m fine. But, yeah, we’d better get moving. The temperature must have dropped another ten degrees since we came outside.”

  Josh made it back to the house with Ralph in record time, and Nina was scrambling closely behind them so she soon caught up.

  “Ralph has gotta be hungry,” Josh said, walking into the kitchen with Ralph behind Nina.

  Bending down, Josh removed Ralph’s leash and, a few seconds later, Josh could hear him slurping water from his bowl.

  “Tim said you should try to establish a routine and feed Ralph
at the same time every day. I figured we’re not going to be getting up at six every morning, so it’d be better to feed him after you’ve spent some time with him outside.”

  Reading Tim’s directions out loud, Nina gave Josh the scoop for the dog food that she’d left inside the large plastic container Tim had transferred the food into the night before. Even though it took him a while to do it for the first time, Josh measured out the food, feeding Ralph on his own.

  “I think I’m just going to move the food and water bowl over here next to the pantry, Josh, to make it a little bit easier for you. It’d be stupid for you to have to carry it across the kitchen. Plus, you’re closer to the sink for filling up his water when I’m not around.”

  “Yeah, I could see myself tripping over him and have the dog food go flying across the room.”

  Nina laughed.

  After the dog finished eating, Nina accompanied Josh downstairs for his workout.

  “Ralph is sure being good,” Nina said a few minutes later, while Josh was preparing his equipment. “He’s laying out of the way just watching you.”

  “I think he waited as long as he could before waking me up to go outside this morning.”

  Nina laughed.

  “Steve should be here any minute to help you finish setting everything up,” she said a few minutes later when Josh was nearly ready to begin.

  When the doorbell ring, Josh heard Nina race upstairs to open the door.

  Steve didn’t stay long because Josh had his routine down pat, and even though Nina said she didn’t expect Josh to have any trouble, she’d get on her computer and fill in a few reports for work that needed to be turned in at the end of the week. “In fact, I’ll bring home some of my office work every day so I have something to do while you’re down here.”

  Josh grinned. “You know, you could always work out with me?”

  Nina snorted. “I like to keep in shape, but not as much as you do. I’ll stick to my sit-ups and push-ups and ankle-weight leg lifts, thank you very much.”

  Josh laughed for a minute, before getting serious and going to work.

  After about thirty minutes, Josh quit focusing for a minute after hearing a strange noise when he took off his shirt. “Did you just say something?”

  Nina cleared her throat, answering quickly, “Ah, no. I just found some information I forgot to add into my files.”

  Josh grunted, going back to work on his final pull. The machine he was using allowed him to slide whatever pound weights he wanted on a cable that worked like a pulley. Each of his hands gripped a handle which he pulled down from over his head stretching forward.

  When he finished, Nina came over and handed him a towel. “Uhm, ah, you probably want to take a shower?”

  Finally, he was beginning to figure something out, and it made him grin. “Yeah, that’d be nice. Want to join me?”

  “Huh?”

  And then seemingly snapping out of her shock, she punched his shoulder. “Oh, you.”

  Josh laughed. Geez it was nuts—here he was hiding out because someone was apparently trying to kill him—and he was enjoying himself.

  Because he was with Nina. He’d never had a real relationship with a woman before, and being with her felt good. Both of them, he realized, were not only loners, they were lonely.

  And that’s why he’d always felt so connected to her.

  Reaching for her hand, he pulled her into his arms.

  And kissed her rather passionately.

  But then the doorbell was ringing again, and Josh sighed heavily, pulling away.

  “Oh shoot, Nina, I’m sorry. I’m all sweaty,” he said, grimacing.

  “That’s alright,” she answered, sounding rather breathless.

  Just the way she answered made him begin laughing again.

  “Nina? Is everything okay?” Jake Loughlin called down the staircase from the kitchen.

  Josh started. “What the...?”

  “It’s alright,” she whispered to Josh. “Jake has a key,”

  “Of course he does,” Josh muttered.

  “I’m fine, Jake,” she called out. “Josh has just been working out. I’ll be upstairs in a minute after I show him where the shower is.”

  Nina grabbed Josh’s hand and walked him through a hallway, opening a door. “Steve gave me a bunch of extra towels for you. And there’s some sweats and a pile of T-shirts that Luke picked up for you folded on the bench. Can you find your way around all right? It’s a walk-in shower.”

  “Why don’t you run the shower before you go so it’ll be easier for me to find it? Plus, I’ll be finished faster if Jake has anything he needs to share with me before his crew arrives to install your security system.”

  “I’m giving you multiple jets,” she said, turning on the shower. “Okay, it’s done. And Ralph is standing right here,” she added with humor in her voice.

  “He’s sure been quiet,” Josh answered, starting to strip from his sweats.

  When he heard Nina take in a deep breath, he grinned.

  “Yeah, uhm...,” she cleared her throat, “he has. I’d better get upstairs.”

  “Chicken,” he breathed softly.

  “Oh, you.” She snorted. “I should’ve known you were messing with me this whole time.”

  Josh heard the door close behind her, but not before she began laughing.

  * * *

  “Okay, Josh. I have a copy of the security video from The Crystal Rock Tap from the night you stopped by with Nina,” Jake said, pulling a USB device from his pocket. “Let’s see if you recognize anyone, Nina. This is where it’s difficult since Josh isn’t able to see. Maybe someone’s here who you’ve seen around town or visiting the center?”

  For the next five minutes, Nina watched the video carefully on Jake’s notepad.

  She finally pointed out three men, who were sitting together in a booth far in the corner. “Is it just my imagination Jake, or did these three guys look unusually interested in us when we were talking to Jeff Thompson?”

  Jake nodded at her approvingly. “I was thinking the same thing, Nina. Do you recognize any of them?”

  She grimaced. “They’re awfully hard to make out. But none of them look familiar to me.”

  Finally, Josh spoke, “You know, I’ve been thinking more and more about the past, and the only ones I can see who might have a reason to get rid of me would be the guys who were working with me in that robbery ring.” He paused. “Along with my dad, of course.”

  Nina laid her hand over Josh’s.

  “That’s what I figured too, Josh, but there’s a problem with that. Namely why? As far as I know, only a few of us are aware that after you served that decoy prison sentence you enlisted. I’m pretty sure no one knows you turned them in. In fact, I think all of them believe it was a case of rotten luck you were caught.”

  “What about my name change?”

  “Adding Loughlin?” Jake shrugged. “I haven’t been keeping it a secret that you’re my cousin. Knowing what a scumbag your dad was, no one can blame you for taking me up on my offer to help you out, and getting you reestablished after you were released from jail.”

  Josh looked thoughtful. “I think you said everyone served out their sentence and they’ve all moved on?”

  “Yeah. Everyone except one, who ended up giving up the others, served eight to ten. Two of the guys, out of the ten we caught, were released early for good behavior but still served five years. Your dad supposedly moved out of state, Josh, and has been living near New Orleans, but we’ve been keeping an eye on him ever since he was released because of that trafficking ring we thought he was involved with.”

  “New Orleans, huh? That’s where I was born.” Josh sighed heavily. “So, what do we do now?”

  “What the heck? I’ll try a facial recognition program for these three. You’d be amazed at what we can do these days.”

  “So why would anyone want to kill Josh?” Nina asked worriedly.

  “Yeah. That’s what it
all comes down to,” Josh answered resignedly.

  “So, here’s a thought—could you have seen something you weren’t supposed to when you were growing up and still living with your dad?” Jake asked.

  Josh started. “Uh, yeah, maybe. It’s possible.”

  “Well, think hard Josh. I know what it’s like—trying to erase the past from your mind to allow yourself to move forward.”

  Jake pointed at a box for Nina, which was sitting near the back door. “I brought along some personal stuff that Luke sent along for Nina to go through with you. Maybe a few of the items inside will help you recall anything that might be important. I threw in what I had from your stay in the D.C. hospital too, by the way. And I had some of your other belongings stored away that I used to fill up the box.”

  He continued, “While you’re staying here at Nina’s, I can get a few loose ends tied up before I come up with a final plan.”

  “What are you thinking?” Josh asked.

  “How did anyone know you’d be outside at that particular time of the day when you were checked into the wounded warrior home? Whoever it was that shot at you drove right up to you.”

  “Shit. I never even thought about that,” Josh answered.

  “Yeah, well, I’m sorry to say it didn’t cross my mind right away either.”

  “So, someone who works there is keeping an eye on me?”

  “I’d say,” Jake answered. “I doubt if it’s a patient.”

  Nina looked worriedly at Jake first and then at Josh, squeezing his hand a little harder.

  Jake sighed heavily. “I think the only way to draw out your assailant is to be seen in public.”

  “I won’t put Nina in more danger than she already is,” Josh answered abruptly.

  “Look at it this way, Josh. Sooner or later, someone will probably go after one of your friends, or even Luke and possibly Kelly, and try to find out where you are. I think it’s best for us to arrange the time and the place where he might strike next.” Jake’s expression turned grim. “And after the way their first failed attempt was handled, I’m pretty sure your attacker is dead set on taking care of you for good.”